The creation of new bike lanes and other improvements under San Francisco's citywide bicycle plan was halted abruptly last week when a judge handed down an injunction against the plan's implementation.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren issued the injunction Wednesday after a coalition of pro-forma groups sued the city, claiming that the lack of environmental impact review on the plan was illegal under the California Environmental Quality Act.

The stated goal of the 250-page bicycle plan, first implemented in 1997 and most recently updated in May 2005, is to improve bicycle safety and to "refine and expand the existing bicycle route network."

The plan calls for many bicycle-oriented improvements, including the striping of new bike lanes, new bicycle parking and allowing bicycles on San Francisco Municipal Railroad metro trains.

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The preliminary injunction issued Wednesday immediately halts any implementation of the bicycle plan. It disallows bicycles on Muni trains and buses and orders a stop to "installing bicycle lanes on any street in San Francisco named or described in any part of the Plan and its maps," until the city and the petitioners come to a resolution.

Research and planning, however, will still be allowed under the injunction.

In response to the injunction, City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office argued that the bicycle plan is exempt from environmental review under CEQA. "There is no possibility that adoption of the plan would have a significant impact on the environment," reads a statement issued by the office.

But Rob Anderson, a spokesman for Citizens for Adequate Review and named petitioner in the suit, said in an interview Friday that the plan does require an environmental review under CEQA because it changes the physical landscape of the city.

"This is not about the merits of the plan itself. This is really a process problem. They're going to have to follow the rules like everybody else, no matter how good their intentions are," he said.

Leah Shahum, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, said it is "ironic" that opponents of the bicycle plan are using environmental law to oppose the plan's implementation. She said the coalition will urge The City to step up its planning and engineering efforts "so that once this case is settled, there's a whole slew of fantastic bike network projects ready to be implemented."

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said he supports the bicycle plan. In a written statement, he said “My office will fully commit the public resources needed to complete the Citywide Bike Network, prioritizing the resurfacing of roads that serve as bike routes and expanding secure bike parking and bike access to transit."

The case will go to court in September, at which time The City will either argue against the injunction or agree to conduct an environmental impact review.

amartin@examiner.com