The Square reports that five protesters were arrested yesterday during a weekly demonstration at the ARCO station at Fell and Divisadero.
The Friday afternoon protests, which actually started back in June in reaction to the BP oil spill, have morphed into a means of voicing anger about safety conditions for bicyclists in San Francisco. The ARCO station is notorious because drivers often turn into it by crossing a bike lane, which, if you’re a biker, is obviously not a good thing.
At yesterday’s protest, two demonstrators from an organization called Fix Fell, along with two other cyclists, apparently chained themselves to a pile of bicycles and blocked the entrance to the station. After “over an hour,” according to The Square, they were arrested. Another Fix Fell member then joined the fun and was arrested much more promptly.
It seems that even though Fell has gotten some improvements in the past few months, like a new turn lane to enter the gas station and a newly-painted bike lane, the protesters won’t be stopping any time soon.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who was there showing some support for the bicyclists, reportedly said, “The only way to make it work here on Fell is just to close this [entrance] down.” Provocative!
Anyway, we’ll keep an eye on this one I guess.