Editors: This letter from our Executive Director was originally published in Issue 166 of our quarterly Tube Times magazine, one of many perks of membership in the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Not a member? Join today.
One year ago, your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition adopted an ambitious five-year strategic plan to guide our work and achieve our mission of transforming San Francisco’s streets and neighborhoods into safe, just and livable places by promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation.
Our plan continues to resonate strongly with me, not just for its ambitious and urgently needed goals and objectives, but also for the values that ground them: transportation justice, sustainability, people power and joy.
Many organizations adopt plans. Often they sit on a shelf gathering dust once approved. I’m proud to report that our plan is different. Our staff and board of directors consult our strategic plan regularly — in many cases weekly — to evaluate our progress toward achieving the goals and objectives we set for ourselves.
The result is that we are making measurable progress after one year. From winning miles of new protected bike lanes across San Francisco to counting the number of bicycles we’ve parked through our Valet Bicycle Parking Program, we’re tracking the impressive advocacy and programs that your membership and donations directly support. See the numbers at sfbike.org/progress.
You’ll read in detail in this issue of the Tube Times just what our collective impact looks like on San Francisco’s streets. Among many victories we’re sharing with you, I’m excited about affordable and accessible bike share, the next step in realizing the dream of a path for people on the Western Span of the Bay Bridge, and protected bike lanes on Howard and Townsend streets.
If you want to see even more changes to our streets, help sustain our momentum in the year ahead by making a donation to the SF Bicycle Coalition Education Fund. It’s easy to do; just go online to sfbike.org/donate. Your support of the SF Bicycle Coalition is what makes our success possible.