Celebrating Filipino-American History Month with a bike tour of SoMa Pilipinas

Posted on by Claire Amable

In partnership with SoMa Pilipinas and South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN) we successfully led the first ever ethno-tour of the Filipino Cultural District by bike on a few weeks ago on October 17. We were joined by roughly 40 participants ranging from ages 14 to 65 of varying skill levels and abilities. 

Cecilia Vega-Mayer, SFBike’s Director of Community Programs, and I both wanted to honor Filipino-American History Month by uplifting the struggles and resilience of the local Filipino community while also celebrating biking in San Francisco, as we’re both Filipinx-Americans who ride bikes as our primary modes of transportation.

When we talk about how past city planning decisions have harmed communities of color, one major historical example is the redevelopment era and the erasure of Manilatown, when the City evicted Filipino seniors from the International Hotel to make room from a parking lot in 1977, continuing through the dotcom boom and tech boom exacerbating rents and displacing working class residents in the 2000s. 

Having grown up in the South of Market, immersed in the thriving Filipino community for my formative years, I knew it made sense to partner with local organizations like SoMa Pilipinas and SOMCAN to host this event. San Francisco has such a rich Filipino history and culture, and our ride participants learned about some of that history at the four stops we made. 

Mint Mall: A hub of arts, activism, and culture with apartments on the upper floors and direct service organizations and retail occupying the bottom floors. The Mint Mall has served as a one-stop shop for the Filipino community for decades.

Victoria Manalo Draves park: Named after the Filipina-American diver from the South of Market to win two gold medals in the 1948 Olympics, which made her the first Asian-American to win gold in the Olympics. Today VMD Park is one of the few parks in SoMa, and local community-based organizations like SOMCAN regularly advocate to protect the park’s access to sunlight from new developments. 

Ang Lipi ni Lapu-Lapu mural: Originally painted by Johanna Poethig in 1984 and recently restored by artists Dev Heyrana, Mariel Paat, and Pablo Ruiz Arroyo last year, the 90-foot mural represents a visual timeline of Filipino immigration to the Americas spanning 500 years. 

Gran Oriente in South Park: One of the first properties in San Francisco to be owned by Filipinos, the Gran Oriente housed many Filipino bachelors, merchant marines and farm workers. The property was cooperatively purchased in 1948 by members pooling together $6000. 

Interested in taking this tour? Schedule the full two hour ethno-tour with SoMa Pilipinas here! 

On our nearly two-hour long ride, I spoke with many participants, some who ride bikes regularly and some of whom were riding for the first time in a long time. It was a casual, no-drop trip through downtown during afternoon rush hour that was full of laughter, young people singing along with Tagalog pop songs, and more tender moments feeling a sense of belonging riding with such a large group of other Filipino-Americans. 

Movement building is a lot of work and we’re in it for the long haul. To help us lead more events like this, consider joining or renewing your membership, or making a donation below!

Join today!

Ride against hunger: The Supermarket Street Sweep

Posted on by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

We’re sharing this guest post from our friends at Bicycle Law, who are presenting this year’s Supermarket Street Sweep on November 8, 2025!

Are you ready to ride for a cause that matters? The 18th annual Supermarket Street Sweep is your chance to turn two wheels, and your energy, into thousands of meals for our neighbors in need. This year, your contribution is more critical than ever. The SF-Marin Food Bank is facing unprecedented strain as the lapse of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits leaves tens of thousands of local households struggling to put food on the table. The hunger crisis is immediate, and the Food Bank desperately needs support to fill the gap and ensure no one goes without.

The Supermarket Street Sweep (often called just The Sweep) is an annual scavenger-hunt style bike race that benefits the SF-Marin Food Bank. Since 2005, hundreds of participants have zipped around the city to local supermarkets and brought back thousands of pounds of food to donate to this wonderful charity. To date, Sweepers have helped provide over 425,000 meals to neighbors in need.

This year’s Supermarket Street Sweep is on Saturday, November 8, meeting at Cupid’s Span (Embarcadero at Folsom St.), rider check-in starts at 11a and the race starts at 12p.

At Bicycle Law, we’re proud to sponsor this event – we’re a team of personal injury lawyers who specialize in helping cyclists and we’re committed to supporting the cycling community both on and off the road. In this pivotal year, please help us an even bigger impact by participating, volunteering, or donating. Now is the time to act, so learn more on our website and sign up to ride this weekend!

REGISTER TODAY

Community ride kicks off our efforts to improve biking and rolling in District 2

Posted on by Rachel Clyde

A few weeks ago, we hosted a bike ride and community meeting with our friends at Northern Neighbors to explore District 2 and talk about the biking and rolling priorities for this part of the city. District 2 covers neighborhoods including Pacific Heights, the Presidio, Lower Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, the Marina, Fort Mason, and Presidio Heights. These are neighborhoods full of tourist attractions and neighborhood favorites, so it’s crucial that people are safely able to bike and roll in these areas.

Using the SFMTA’s Biking and Rolling Plan that was passed earlier this year as our guide, we discussed some ideas on how to improve already existing bike routes and create some new ones. Ideas we discussed include formalizing a north-south route through Pacific Heights, creating better connections to downtown, protected bike lanes on Arguello, pavement quality on bike routes, and more. 

We look forward to continuing discussions for this part of the city and bringing the community’s ideas to Supervisor Sherrill and the SFMTA.

If you live or work in District 2 and would like SFBike to join an event or meeting to talk about biking in the area, please reach out to us. If you have thoughts on how to improve biking and rolling in D2, you can also share your feedback with us by filling out this survey. Otherwise, sign up for campaign updates to find out what we’re doing next.

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) is also currently working on a District 2 Safety Study and have a survey available to take. This is an excellent way to give feedback directly to the city and county.

Take the SFCTA District 2 survey

What’s happening with the Oak St Quick-Build?

Posted on by Rachel Clyde

In April of this year we won a huge victory when the SFMTA Board of Directors approved the Oak Street Quick-Build project that will build a protected bike lane on Oak St along the Panhandle and overall make conditions safer on one of SF’s high-injury streets. 

We learned during approval that, due to a Department of Public Works repaving project, construction of the bike lane wouldn’t start until 2026. If you’re as excited for this project as we are, you’ve probably been anxiously wondering when the work will start. Your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition reached out to Public Works and SFMTA to make sure the project is still on schedule. 

Oak Street, between Stanyan St and Van Ness Ave, will be repaved and remains on-track for construction to begin in early 2026. Public Works will award the contract to repave multiple streets across SF by the end of this year; then the team will be allowed to proceed. Thanks to the foresight of the project team at the SFMTA, Oak Street will be the first street in this contract to receive repaving.

We learned that the designs for the off-street portion of the bike lane that will be constructed at Oak and Masonic have already been submitted for cost-estimating and scheduling. The SFMTA intends to complete this portion ahead of the repaving so the bike lane can open as soon as the street is re-striped. The signal changes at Oak and Masonic are ready to be installed and will take place around the same time as the off-street path.

We’re optimistic that the project will be completed in spring 2026 and can’t wait to celebrate with our members, so keep an eye out for an event commemorating the completion of the Oak Street bike lane. 

We couldn’t do this work without the support of our members. If you aren’t a member already or your membership has expired, please join today so we can continue doing this work!

Join today!

Launching the Better and Safer Streets Collaborative in Bayview-Hunters Point and Fillmore/Western Addition

Posted on by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

In partnership with Walk San Francisco and San Francisco Transit Riders, we are excited to announce the Better and Safer Streets (BASS) Collaborative––an initiative focused in Bayview-Hunters Point and Fillmore/Western Addition to pilot a model for community-centered street transformations and advocate for safe streets and improved transit. 

If you’re a member, business owner, or community leader in Bayview-Hunters Point or Fillmore/Western Addition and want to learn more about the BASS Collaborative, please join us at our in-person kick-off meeting on Tuesday, October 28th at 5:30pm, RSVP here! 

For decades, communities like Bayview-Hunters Point and the Fillmore/Western Addition have suffered from unsafe street designs and top-down planning from City agencies that has led to a lack of community trust and buy-in. Both neighborhoods experience very high levels of traffic crashes and dangerous speeding, with many designated high-injury streets. 

With our years of experience working in these communities, SFBike, Walk San Francisco, and SF Transit Riders have joined together to facilitate holistic community conversations and action to address the needs of specific streets, individual neighborhoods, and San Francisco as a whole. 

Modeled after the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Task Force which brought together neighbors, community-based groups, street advocacy organizations to identify and shape safety improvements in the neighborhood. We know this is a proven approach and we’ve seen it transform almost every street in the Tenderloin in the past five years. Every community is unique and has different challenges, and we know there’s no one-size fits all approach to this work – it takes time to repair harm and build trust. 

The BASS Collaborative is actively meeting with community leaders, members, and local businesses in both project areas to get a deeper understanding of the transportation needs and unsafe walking and biking conditions in their respective communities. 

To learn more about the BASS Collaborative, please join us at our in-person kick-off meeting on Tuesday, October 28th at 5:30pm, hit the button below to RSVP!

Attend kick-off meeting

This meeting is exclusively for members of SFBike, Walk San Francisco, and SFTR who live or work in the project areas, community partners, and local businesses.

We’re Hiring: School Engagement Coordinator

Posted on by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

Who we are

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBike) works to promote bicycling for everyday transportation in order to transform our streets and neighborhoods into more safe, just, and livable places. Our member-based grassroots organization is considered one of the largest, most active, and effective groups of our kind in the country.

The position

The School Engagement Coordinator supports school communities to safely adopt sustainable and/or active transportation modes by acting as the initial point of contact for SF Unified School District schools prioritized by the San Francisco Safe Routes to School (SF-SRTS) program, assessing their transportation needs and safety issues and making recommendations of programs and resources. Within the SF-SRTS program, the role is known as the “School Engagement Lead.”

The School Engagement Lead engages with school communities, assesses their sustainable transportation needs, priorities, and capacity, and connects schools with the programs and resources offered by SF-SRTS to best address those needs. In particular, the School Engagement Lead will act as in-person ambassador for the program, regularly visiting school sites and building relationships with members of school communities, encompassing elementary through high schools. Over the course of the program, the School Engagement Lead will work with the program’s evaluation team to continually track and assess progress made by schools and specific groups within schools, refining recommendations and facilitating continued adoption of safe and habitual use of the “Four Fun Ways”: walking, biking, transit, and carpooling. The School Engagement Lead will maintain up-to-date familiarity with program offerings and strong relationships with the partner organizations offering them. In collaboration with SFBike’s SF-SRTS Project Manager and SFMTA staff, the School Engagement Lead will cultivate robust, sustainable school community engagement, with an emphasis on being culturally responsive.

Primary responsibilities include:

  • Build and maintain relationships with school staff, families, and community members by attending school and community meetings to engage with school staff and families and learn more about school community needs and priorities;
  • Regularly communicate with school staff, families, and community members through in-person conversations, phone calls, and email;
  • Assess receptiveness and barriers to program offerings and transportation choices at prioritized focus schools:
    • Gather feedback on school trip transportation choices and understand the current landscape of school travel;
    • Identify opportunities and challenges in the environment surrounding the school that impact transportation choices;
    • Build understanding of school culture, needs, priorities, and capacities and how they affect transportation choices and shape school receptiveness to programming;
    • Collect data to support findings and recommendations and document school and community feedback;
  • Develop recommendations to schools of SF-SRTS events, classes and other program activities and resources to make progress along the SF-SRTS Theory of Change and improve student safety and increase mode shift towards the Four Fun Ways;
  • Work with the Project Manager, SFMTA, and SFUSD to recommend the development of new events, classes or activities, if current offerings don’t meet existing needs;
  • Identify and cultivate transportation champions among school staff, families and community members;
  • Connect school staff, families, and community members with partners responsible for specific program offerings;
  • Follow up with school contacts after events, classes and activities; 
  • Regularly update school assessments and recommendations;
  • Maintain a daily log of interactions with school staff, families, and community members to maintain accurate records and support ongoing communication efforts.
  • Assist with outreach and implementation for Citywide Annual Events and ongoing program activities to ensure community engagement and participation.

Strong candidates will possess as many of the following qualifications as possible: 

We recognize that this position encompasses a number of different responsibility areas. We are committed to train and support our staff to strengthen their abilities in each area and we encourage applications from people who may not have all of the qualifications listed below.

  • 3+ years serving youth and families, preferably with at least one year with SFUSD or other public school system;
  • A commitment to and passion for the mission and core values of the SF Bicycle Coalition and SF-SRTS;
  • Strong relational skills, including experience developing community relationships, connections, or partnerships;
  • Experience using both quantitative and qualitative data to assess community behaviors and needs, especially in transportation;
  • Experience serving diverse communities from a wide array of cultural, experiential, and financial backgrounds, with an emphasis on cultural humility and responsiveness;
  • Proven organizational skills working with multiple partners, projects, and timelines;
  • Excellent communication skills (both verbal and written);
  • Experience and skills working both collaboratively and independently;
  • Experience with data management within database tools, such as AirTable;
  • Bilingual in English and another language, especially Spanish, Cantonese, Filipino/Tagalog, Arabic, or Samoan.

Reports to: Director of Youth and Family Programs, with input and additional direction from external SF-SRTS Project Manager

Salary and Benefits: The ideal start date is November 10, 2025 and will receive the annual salary rate of $71,817.04. 

Full-time benefits include excellent medical, vision and dental insurance with no employee contribution, 401k with 100% match of an employee’s contribution up to 3% of their annual salary, as well as three weeks of paid time off, half-days on Fridays, and a flexible work arrangement policy.

Hours: Full-time, exempt. The position will require early morning, evening, and weekend work, which varies depending on the season.

Location: Hybrid — San Francisco Bay Area. Staff and their supervisors will work together to determine the appropriate work arrangement based on the nature of the individual’s role, and in alignment with organizational policies and departmental needs and activities. We strive to be as flexible and fair as possible while ensuring in-person accessibility when needed to interface with our volunteers, membership, community, and each other.

To apply, please submit a PDF of your resume and PDF of your answers to the below three questions. Please make your answers roughly one paragraph each. 

  1. What inspires you to want to work at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition?
  2. What does transportation justice mean to you and how do you see it fitting into your career?
  3. What skills and/or experiences do you have that would make you a good fit for this role?

APPLY HERE

San Francisco Can Lead on Smart Red-Light Camera Enforcement

Posted on by Christopher White

A decade ago, someone dear to me was hit by a car when a driver sped through a red light. He was out for a run on a beautiful day. As he crossed 9th Street on the pedestrian signal, his life was violently altered, in a moment he will thankfully never remember. 

When I next saw him in the hospital, he was unrecognizable: eyes swollen shut, head wrapped in gauze, the shape of his face impossibly different. He remained in a medically-induced coma for several days, and when he awoke, he faced an extraordinarily long road to recovery. All the contributions he made to San Francisco as a social worker and yoga teacher were put on pause. But he was still lucky, in one way — he survived. 

San Francisco has always prided itself on leading the country in safe and sustainable transportation. We’ve created some of the most bike-friendly infrastructure in the country and became the second US city to adopt a Vision Zero policy. Vision Zero has made SF streets far safer than they would have been otherwise: in the policy’s ten years, the vast majority of US cities have seen traffic deaths and injuries increase, linked to distracted driving, heavier vehicles, and other factors, while in SF they fell. 

Most recently, we were the first in the state to implement California’s new speed camera program, which is quickly proving to be a much-needed safety tool for the community. But there’s a glaring gap in our approach to street safety: red-light enforcement that actually works.

As advocates who have been fighting for safer streets since 1971, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition sees the daily reality facing cyclists and pedestrians in our city. Red-light running isn’t just a traffic violation; it’s a leading cause of serious injuries and deaths among people who choose to bike, walk, or use transit — as my friend experienced that fateful day in 2015.

The problem starts with California’s outdated approach to red-light cameras. The current legislation that authorizes SF’s cameras requires that, to issue the violation, the cameras must capture a clear photo of the driver’s face. This results in thousands of violations being thrown out due to poor photo quality, a system expensive for the city to maintain, and ineffective in its outcome.

The fine issued is currently $500 for everyone, among the nation’s highest for red-light violations, with a moving violation on a driver’s record. While this seems like an effectively tough penalty, the outcome depends on the violator’s financial capacity. People living on low incomes often can’t and don’t pay, falling into a cycle of increasing penalties and financial instability — an unwelcome outcome in a city already facing a crisis of affordability. 

AB 645, the automated speed enforcement bill that passed last year and authorized the pilot of cameras to enforce reckless speeding, introduces corrections for some of the lessons learned from the state’s red-light camera program. The different approach to speed cameras has proven more effective, and it’s time for the red-light camera program to catch up.

A new bill heading to the Governor’s desk, SB 720, offers California that needed correction. When Governor Newsom signs this bill, San Francisco can again lead on smarter, more equitable traffic enforcement. The bill would reduce red-light fines to $100 for first-time violations — still a meaningful deterrent, but sustainable enough for cities to be able to maintain their programs. The bill would also make violations civil rather than criminal, protecting working families from insurance increases and other mounting penalties that would mean the difference between getting by and destitution.

We know red-light cameras save lives. According to the SFMTA, San Francisco has seen a 66% drop in injury collisions caused by running red lights since cameras were introduced. But the program only works when citations are actually issued. Currently, that’s not happening as effectively as it could.

This is why we need Governor Newsom to sign SB720.

The equity provisions in SB 720 align with San Francisco values. Like the speed camera legislation Governor Newsom signed in 2023, the bill includes hardship reductions for low-income drivers. Traffic safety shouldn’t become another way to penalize people for their economic circumstances. It also includes privacy provisions, requiring the photographs be only of the license plate rather than the faces of car occupants and explicitly bans facial recognition technology; it also requires the data not be shared with state or federal agencies unless via court order.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has learned over our 54 years of work that lasting change requires multiple approaches: infrastructure, education, policy reform, and equitable and effective enforcement. SB 720 provides the enforcement tool that San Francisco needs, and keeps everyone, no matter their chosen mode, safer. What we need now is the political will to pass it.

Governor Newsom should sign SB 720 before October 13 and help San Francisco continue leading on transportation innovation that actually protects people. Email the Governor and ask him to sign SB 720 and fix our red light camera program. 

Email Governor Newsom

Near-term improvements coming to the Hairball

Posted on by Shariff Wynn

For several years San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority (SFMTA) has continued to make pedestrian and biking improvements to the Hairball, a cluster of streets that touch Bayshore Blvd, Cesar Chavez, and Potrero Avenue. The Hairball Intersection Improvements project brings low-cost safety improvements for people who walk and bike in this area and is a step in the right direction.

This phase of the project project includes the following improvements and is planned to be finished by the end of 2025:

  • Intersection Improvements at Bayshore Blvd and Jerrold Ave
  • A two way bikeway on Bayshore Blvd separated by barriers.
  • Pedestrian refuge island upgrade and pedestrian signal lights on Bayshore Blvd and Jerrold Ave
  • A road diet modifying Cesar Chavez under the highway 101 
  • Speed cushion on Bayshore Blvd north of Marin Street

Though SFMTA has made improvements to the Hairball before now, and we’ve seen positive results from those incremental updates, we still have a long way to go for this complex intersection to truly be safe. We support SFMTA’S effort in this current round of improvements while still urging them to go further. For far too long has the Hairball remained on our City’s High-Injury Network, 12% of streets that account for 68% severe and fatal collisions. One of our biggest concerns is the absence of protected bike infrastructure along Bayshore, between Oakdale and Jerrold. The inconsistent infrastructure along this segment of Bayshore creates confusion for people who bike, and pushes them into speeding traffic or on the sidewalk. 

We need your help advocating for better bike infrastructure in the Hairball. Sign up below to receive campaign updates on this project as it kicks off this year!

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Learning To Ride with Chester Hartsough

Posted on by Cecilia Vega-Mayer

One of the most crucial things we do as an organization is teach people to ride a bike safely and confidently in the city – our Bicycle Education program teaches over a thousand people a year. We can’t do that work without our League Certified Instructors (LCIs), who are all certified by the League of American Bicyclists after passing a rigorous test. Every class is taught by an LCI, and they’re an integral part of how we show our students that biking and rolling is a convenient, safe, and joyful way to move around our city.

Many of our LCI’s are deeply rooted in San Francisco and the Bay Area through work or their families, and their students often benefit from the knowledge and experiences they have to share during class and on the bikes. One of our longest-running instructors, Chester Hartsough, was born and raised in San Francisco, and we talked to him about what this work means to him.

How did you come to biking?

I was born in San Francisco and spent my childhood here, and as a teenager moved to rural Nevada County. Riding around on dirt roads with friends is where I really learned to ride a bike, but it wasn’t until I was at school at UC Davis where I began to see bicycle riding as a means of transportation.

It’s also where I started to understand the transportation injustices inherent in our society. I was stopped many times for minor infractions, including once on suspicion of having stolen a bicycle. I became more determined to make biking a major means of getting around the world with an understanding that people of color have a right to occupy these spaces.

What do you like about your LCI work?

I love witnessing people finding joy in learning to ride a bike for the first time no matter what the age; that pride and immediate self-confidence boost they have is contagious, and I love getting to share that feeling with them. And in the long run, I know I’m helping create everyday solutions to our climate crisis, one student at a time.

What’s an experience of teaching that has stuck with you?

I recently had an eighty year old student in my class who was determined, persistent, and resilient. The day started out rough for her. During class she struggled a bit and had one small fall but got right back up and on her bike. By the end of the class she was riding around as well as any of the other students who were young enough to be her great-grandchildren! It was inspiring to see – it’s truly never too late to learn!

We’re grateful to Chester for his years of experience and his enthusiasm for this work! If you’re ready to get on a bike, take a look at our upcoming classes and webinars.

See all our classes here

The Street Safety Act recommits San Francisco to ending traffic violence 

Posted on by Claire Amable

Last week, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the San Francisco Street Safety Act, which revives the city’s commitment to action and accountability in our approach to traffic safety. 

Crafted by District 7 Supervisor Mynra Melgar, the Street Safety Act recommits the City to Vision Zero and includes targeted actions for City agencies to design and enforce streets to keep everyone safe. District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter, District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder, and District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman all cosponsored the resolution.

The Street Safety Act recommits our city to ending severe and fatal crashes, gets agencies to collaborate and work more efficiently, and focuses on bringing the most effective solutions to scale. There are deadlines, dashboards, and some serious red tape-cutting.

Speeding still remains to be the leading cause of traffic fatalities and severe injuries on our streets. We must double down on implementing the successes of the last 10 years, like quick-builds and traffic calming, and get agencies to collaborate and work more efficiently to bring the most effective solutions to scale. 

The Act creates accountability with deadlines and transparency with dashboards, and focuses on cutting bureaucracy and implementing guardrails that minimize political interference on projects that will save lives. We’re excited to see a renewed commitment towards making San Francisco streets a safe place for children, families and seniors. 

We’re grateful to Supervisor Melgar’s leadership in authoring this crucial resolution, and for our friends at WalkSF for their tireless advocacy in support of the Street Safety Act – and the work is only just beginning. The Street Safety Act will only work as intended if our elected officials begin legislating and holding agencies accountable to putting words into action.

Sign up here to stay involved in this campaign, so we can keep the pressure up and deliver real change for our streets.

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