Two-wheeled commuters who observed Bike to Work day may have noticed the latest improvement at Panhandle Park: a bypass at Fell and Shrader streets that permits westward-bound cyclists to cross Fell as they ride toward Golden Gate Park and JFK Drive.
The reconstruction is the latest in a a years-long transit and infrastructure project that's sprucing up the park. Work on the bypass included re-grading and paving, creating an ADA-compliant new transition onto Fell Street, and raised curbs intended to prevent washout from rainfall.
Other pedestrian crossings and ramps were repaired earlier in the course of Panhandle work—some of them, like those at Ashbury, as early as 2012—but few are used as frequently as the Oak and Shrader bypass.
The new infrastructure is expected to help promote traffic safety and ease congestion for cyclists, along with nearby north-south Masonic corridor improvements underway.
Cyclists made free use of the junction this morning during Bike to Work Day, but on social media, some called for additional infrastructure improvements in the area, including the relocation of a light pole near a curb ramp at Fell and Baker, and repair work on the park's multi-use paths.
