Ever since the expansion of bike lanes throughout San Francisco, they have been widely abused by members of the public. It’s fair to say that you’re just as likely to see them used as temporary car parks, as you are to see actual bikes using them.

Today – this went even further, as a freight truck in Valencia Street was seen using a bike lane to unload cargo. Here, the truck took up the bulk of the bike lane as the worker casually unloaded goods onto his trolly.

In fairness to the driver, Valencia Street is known for being a very busy area of the city. Nonetheless, this is a clear breach of what the lane is meant for. One local even claimed that “No matter where you put the bike lanes on Valencia, unless you make it impossible, people will use them like this.” And in all honesty, it seems as though this sentiment is true.

It looks as though a lot of people actually sided with the driver too – and you do have to question what exactly was meant to happen if they didn’t use the lane. Here, one resident wrote, “Street designs that don’t account for delivery people are just really bad ideas. On any street it’s problematic, on Valencia it’s detrimental to everybody’s safety and convenience.”

Maybe we’re being overly optimistic – but perhaps one day the bike lanes in San Francisco will be used correctly. Until then, you’re just as likely to see a UFO using them as you are cyclists which makes you wonder why they were implemented in the first place.