A San Francisco restaurant owner has embarked on a 30-day hunger strike to protest a new oversized bike lane that is driving away numerous businesses along Valencia Street.
Eiad Eltawil, 41, is currently sleeping in the park in front of his business, the Syrian restaurant Yasmin, and is only drinking water until May 7.
Outside the family restaurant, he displayed a sign denouncing the bike lane’s construction as “unfair, racist and Islamophobic policies” by “the mayor’s office, the MTA and the Valencia Street Merchants Association.”
‘This is my last resort. I don’t know how long I can last. I got a lot of loans. “I’m in debt and I just want to fight before I leave,” she said in an interview with ABCholding back tears.
The hunger strike follows the completion of the controversial cycle path eight months ago. A dozen businesses have closed their doors since then, according to reports. San Francisco Chronicle.
Eiad Eltawil, 41, a San Francisco restaurant owner, has embarked on a 30-day hunger strike to protest a massive new bike lane that is driving away numerous businesses along Valencia Street.
The hunger strike follows the completion of the controversial cycle path eight months ago. A dozen businesses have closed their doors since then.
Eltawil is currently sleeping in the park in front of his business, the Syrian restaurant Yasmin, and only drinks water until May 7.
To build the Valencia Bikeway, a 1.9-mile lane running from 15th Street to 23rd Street, the San Francisco MTA eliminated 71 parking spaces in Valencia.
Business owners said they witnessed customers canceling their reservations after half an hour of searching for parking.
‘Complete destruction; Just one hundred percent destruction. At least 20 companies have disappeared. Five companies closed last week. Eltawil said FOX.
‘At least thirty more companies [are] I’m about to leave. There are no longer seventy-one parking spaces. “They did it for a commercial parking lot,” he added.
“I don’t want bike lanes to be responsible for so many people losing their business,” Eltawil said.
‘I have already suffered a lot. At least this way, maybe someone in power will see my struggle and make some changes. It’s a last resort for me.
In February, Eltawil and two other business owners on the street filed lawsuits against the city of San Francisco, alleging that the bike lane violated their rights and impacted the local economy.
The claims demand the immediate removal of the cycle path and compensation for losses caused by the construction.
Nile Vignoles, who represents Valencia merchants, said: ‘It violates not only the civil rights of our customers but also the city charter that requires the city to protect the economic well-being of their businesses.
The lawyer added: “The central cycle lane has been a catastrophic failure for the businesses on Valencia Street.”
The bike lane was built with the goal of improving bicycle safety on one of the city’s most important cycling routes, according to the city website.
But even more accidents occurred after the cycle lane opened: between August and October there were 12 crashes between cyclists and cars.
Two fatal crashes were reported in the area last year: An 80-year-old San Francisco resident was struck and killed by a left-turning driver, and a 64-year-old woman was struck and killed.
The Valencia Corridor Merchants Association, which represents 200 businesses on the street, also protested against the bike lane and suggested an alternative bike lane design.
“We want it gone immediately,” said David White, one of the association’s members. ‘People are not happy. It’s a terrible design and it doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked.
‘We don’t think it’s safer. It’s anecdotal. We see many more accidents. “We see a lot of frustrated drivers driving in the bike lane,” he added.
The Municipal Transport Agency says: ‘We have spoken to parklet operators in Valencia and received their feedback on their loading needs to inform the design process.
“Our outreach and collaboration will continue throughout the spring as we work on solutions that better protect both businesses and cyclists in the corridor.”