San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Music venue blames bike lane for closure
Amado’s, a vibrant bar and music venue on Valencia Street, permanently closed its doors last week, with the owner publicly blaming the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s contentious decision to implement a protected bicycle lane down the street’s center.
David Quinby, who assumed ownership of the 150-year-old subterranean establishment eight years ago, called the pilot project “a death blow to arts and culture in the Mission and the city of San Francisco.”
Quinby claims the installation of the bicycle lane in May, which eliminated parking spaces and consequently foot traffic, led to an 80% drop in revenue and posed a significant logistical nightmare for musicians and performers attempting to navigate the space.
“Neighboring small businesses are suffering the same fate,” Quinby said, pointing to the Valencia Merchants Association’s recent survey indicating yearover-year declines as drastic as 50% in business activity. Notable establishments such as Stonemill Matcha, Pi Bar, West of Pecos and Third Culture Bakery have also closed this year.
“There is obviously no way to keep a staff employed with those kinds of catastrophic numbers,” said Quinby, whose problems were exacerbated by a major
flood in the basement of the venue in June.
While acknowledging external factors such as inflation and rising crime, business owners place substantial blame on the controversial yearlong pilot program for the central bike lane. The program, spanning from 15th Street through 23rd, involves alterations to roadways including the removal of metered
parking spaces replaced by loading zones for commercial and passenger vehicles. Left turns and right turns at red lights are prohibited on the eight-block stretch of Valencia as part of the pilot.
Quinby, rallying fellow business owners, plans a news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 5, to voice concerns, culminating in a march to the SFMTA office at 11
South Van Ness Ave. to demand the resignation of Jeffrey Tumlin, the agency’s director of transportation.
“The director of the SFMTA must resign immediately,” Quinby said. He contends that the bicycle lane was implemented without requisite environmental or economic impact reports and without soliciting feedback from affected business owners.
In a statement to the Chronicle, SFTMA spokesperson Erica Kato stressed, “We want businesses on the Valencia corridor to thrive, and we want to do everything we can to support them.”
The agency recently adjusted parking meter time allocations to enhance general parking availability, converting a portion of loading zones into general parking after noon and a substantial majority after 6 p.m.
“These changes will help customers who drive patronize Valencia businesses while keeping the street safe for people on foot, bicycles and scooters,” Kato said.
The SFMTA plans to reassess the bike lanes early next year.
Despite these adjustments, business owners like Quinby, who also co-owns the Riptide in the Sunset, advocate for more immediate measures.
Due to the closure of his venue, which remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic by hosting outdoor shows, he was forced to cancel the annual Christmas toy drive at Amado’s for the children of the Mission District.
“I’m just the canary in the coal mine,” he said. “Dozens of businesses are closing immediately and no one has been listening to us.”