If you've ever wondered what San Francisco means by "protected" bike lane, take a ride down 2nd Street and find out. Spoiler: the protection is largely theoretical.

One local cyclist recently counted three vehicles casually parked in the supposedly protected bike lane during a single commute — a personal record, apparently. The pattern is predictable: every gap in the flex posts meant for driveway access becomes an impromptu parking spot for drivers who either don't know or don't care.

As one SF resident put it, they're "just trying to get to work" — a modest ambition that apparently requires navigating an obstacle course of illegally parked cars.

Let's be clear about what's happening here. The city spent real money — your money — designing, approving, and installing protected bike infrastructure on 2nd Street. Flex posts were placed. Paint was laid down. Press releases were probably issued. And the net result is a lane that functions as overflow parking because there's zero enforcement.

This is the San Francisco governance cycle in miniature: identify a problem, spend money on a solution, refuse to enforce the solution, then wonder why the problem persists. The 311 system, which is supposed to handle exactly this kind of complaint, appears to be doing its usual impression of a suggestion box mounted over a paper shredder.

To their credit, some residents are taking a data-driven approach, filing reports through the SolveSF app and hoping that enough complaint volume in the SF Open Data system will eventually shame the city into action. It's a reasonable strategy, though betting on City Hall responding to data requires a level of optimism that borders on delusion.

Here's the thing: you don't have to be a bike lane evangelist to find this infuriating. If you're a taxpayer, you paid for infrastructure that isn't functioning. If you're a driver, the lack of enforcement means the rules are applied arbitrarily. And if you're a cyclist, you're swerving into traffic because the lane built to keep you safe is occupied by someone grabbing coffee.

Enforcement isn't a radical concept. It's the bare minimum. Either protect the lane or stop calling it protected.