SF’s Bike Yield Law: Overcoming the Mayor’s Veto Threat

Cropped, original photo by Julie Blaustein.

UPDATE, Dec. 8, 2015: Residents of District 3 should now write soon-to-be Supervisor Aaron Peskin and urge him to support smart enforcement and safer streets, and pass the Bike Yield Law: aaron.peskin@sfgov.org.

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If you want our city’s police officers freed up to focus on truly dangerous traffic violations instead of people cautiously biking through stop signs, your Supervisor needs to hear from you today. With Mayor Ed Lee threatening to veto SF’s Bike Yield Law, a simple majority is no longer enough to advance safer streets; overcoming Mayor Lee’s veto threat requires eight out of 11 Supervisors to support safer streets.

When dangerous behaviors like speeding, running red lights and failing to yield to pedestrians account for the majority of traffic deaths, that’s where most of our enforcement resources should be invested. That’s the SFPD’s goal, and the Bike Yield Law can help them achieve it, by freeing up officers who would otherwise be assigned to ticket people cautiously biking through stop signs.

We need to show everyone at City Hall how many San Franciscans support safer streets, and it starts right now with you.

Your Supervisor needs to hear from you. Write a letter today, sharing your support for the Bike Yield Law, and asking them to provide the SFPD the direction they deserve on how to eliminate traffic deaths and severe injuries in San Francisco. And if you copy me, I can be certain that we follow up and ensure that your voice is heard: chris@sfbike.org.

Please thank your Supervisor — and ask them to stay strong for smart enforcement — if they are among the Bike Yield Law’s co-sponsors:

District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar: eric.l.mar@sfgov.org
District 5 Supervisor London Breed: london.breed@sfgov.org
District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim: jane.kim@sfgov.org
District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener: scott.wiener@sfgov.org
District 9 Supervisor David Campos: david.campos@sfgov.org
District 11 Supervisor John Avalos: john.avalos@sfgov.org

If you are represented by some of the remaining Supervisors who have yet to pledge their support, please tell them why you back the Bike Yield Law, and ask them be your voice at City Hall in favor of safer streets:

District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell: mark.farrell@sfgov.org
District 3 Supervisor Julie Christensen: julie.christensen@sfgov.org
District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang: katy.tang@sfgov.org
District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee: norman.yee@sfgov.org
District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen: malia.cohen@sfgov.org

If you don’t know who your Supervisor is, click the map below to help you find your Supervisor.

SFSupDistMap

Please write your Supervisor today and copy me: chris@sfbike.org. If we all raise our voices in favor of smart enforcement and safer streets, we can realize those values.

Top image thanks to Julie Blaustein on Flickr, under Creative Commons license.
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