In 2017, we worked to welcome more San Francisco families and school staff to the fun and freedom of biking, thanks to your support. And we already have big plans for getting even more folks rolling in 2018.
At open streets events and Shared Schoolyards from the Outer Richmond to the Bayview in 2017, we presented a year-long series of children and family events, including Biking With Babies, Freedom From Training Wheels, Test Ride a Family Bike and on-road rides for families. We saw over 990 children and their parents attend these events and the learn-to-ride rodeos we organize in cooperation with Presidio YBike, Safe Routes to School and MTC Spare the Air Youth program.
We’re striving to make it possible for families from all backgrounds to bike in the city. We’ve distributed over 250 bikes to low-income families through our Bike It Forward events in 2017 alone. We also deepened our partnerships with agencies such as SF Recreation & Parks Department to host learn-to-ride events where families can build skills and confidence on their way to biking for transportation. This partnership led to the first family learn-to-ride event at Joe di Maggio Playground in Chinatown last April, attended by over 150 families. We also kicked off our campaign to extend Healthy Saturdays — opening a stretch of JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park exclusively to people walking, biking and recreating — from six months to the whole year.
The highlight of our 2017 Youth & Family Biking program was the ninth annual Bike & Roll to School Week in April. This year, a whopping 93 schools signed up for the celebration and over 3,000 students biked or scooted to school in every district throughout San Francisco. We have already started planning for 2018 so we can celebrate 10 years of biking and rolling to school as part of our Safe Routes to School partnership.
As we wrap up 2017, your SF Bicycle Coalition continues pushing for more and better bike lanes on the routes that you and your family use every day. Please join us in working toward a healthy future for biking families and children, as we advocate for open car-free spaces and as we teach parents and a new generation of riders the skills they need to bike in our beautiful city.
We love to see families biking around our city, whether it’s in the parks, across neighborhoods or on the way to school. Make a special donation today to keep Youth & Family programs rolling for the next generation of people who bike.
