WE’RE HIRING: MEMBER ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

Posted on by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is transforming our streets and neighborhoods into safe, just, and livable places by promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation. We’re seeking a passionate, highly motivated Member Engagement Manager with a commitment to transportation justice to lead our membership program.

The Member Engagement Manager will oversee all aspects of the SF Bicycle Coalition’s robust membership program and lead our work toward membership growth and engagement, and making our membership accessible to more people. The Member Engagement Manager will advance our community-building and list-growth strategy to the large and growing number of people biking. They will oversee the member experience, including member events, communications, benefits, and affinity groups. In recognition of the crucial role that members play in shaping and reflecting the culture of the organization, the Member Engagement Manager will take a leadership role in the positive development of organizational culture, including working to ensure that our membership serves more people in San Francisco and actively embraces our community agreements. Working within the Membership department and closely with the Development Director, but also across teams with the Advocacy, Program, Marketing Communications, and Operations teams, the Member Engagement Manager will represent our members’ interests and demonstrate a command of issues, campaigns, and experiences relevant to a broad cross-section of our membership.

Commitment to Equity and Justice

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is an equal opportunity employer and acknowledges the historic harm biking culture and unequal access to transportation have inflicted upon underserved communities — including people of color, people with disabilities, people from working-class backgrounds, women, and people with LGBTQ+ identities. We believe that these communities must be centered as leaders in the work we do; therefore, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities.

Specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Manage, support, and grow the Membership team, including but not limited to full-time Volunteer and Membership Coordinator and intern support.
  • Develop and execute membership strategy, which includes creating annual plans and budget goals focused on growth of membership base.
  • Create and execute a robust calendar of community-focused events to foster membership engagement and growth.
  • Develop goals and strategies to achieve membership acquisition and renewal targets for major events.
  • Work with Development Director to steward higher-income members to renew at higher rates, become monthly givers, and/or become major donors through thoughtful, targeted relationship-building and direct asks.
  • Work with organizational leadership to make progress toward our goal of building an organization that better serves all of San Francisco, with particular emphasis on representing low-income and historically marginalized people who bike.
  • Design, administer, and analyze tools, such as the biennial member survey, to evaluate opinion trends among members; present results and use findings to guide membership priorities.
  • Plan and support Program and Advocacy staff in conducting streetside and event outreach activities, achieving specific goals related to list-building and member acquisition.
  • Oversee Monthly Giving program, including setting goals and strategies to grow the program while supervising monthly giver accounts.
  • Work with the Operations team to innovate member engagement and retention strategies, and improve the member experience.
  • Innovate and oversee all other miscellaneous outreach initiatives, including bike shop outreach, aligning with strategic goals and objectives for membership growth and advocacy campaigns, delegating responsibility for execution as needed. 
  • Work with the Board of Directors’ Membership and Fundraising Committee to grow and engage membership.

Strong candidates will possess the following key qualifications:

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.

  • A deep commitment to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s mission;
  • Previous management and leadership experience, including five years of progressively increasing responsibility;
  • Interest in and passion for transportation equity, justice, and antiracism;
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
  • Experience with Salesforce or other CRM;
  • Event-planning experience;
  • Budgeting and forecasting experience;
  • Successful design and execution of multi-channel campaigns using direct marketing, digital engagement, online solicitations, and related marketing vehicles;
  • Exceptional writing skills for a diversity of media and audiences;
  • Successful project planning and strategy implementation;
  • Strong organizational, multi-tasking, and time-management skills;
  • Volunteer experience and/or community involvement; and
  • Fluency in languages other than English, specifically Spanish, Cantonese, or Tagalog.

Reports to: Director of Development

Direct Reports: Volunteer and Membership Coordinator

Salary and Benefits: The annual salary for this exempt position is between $70,000 and $80,000, depending upon depth of experience. Full-time benefits include excellent medical, vision, and dental insurance with no employee contribution, as well as 10 days paid sick leave, 12 paid holidays and 3 weeks PTO (starting) annually, every other Friday off, 401k plan with match, commuter benefits, and flexible work arrangement policies.

Hours: Full-time. Flexibility to work nights and weekends; this position may require approximately three to seven nights per month and one to three weekend days monthly.

About the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition 

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition works to transform San Francisco’s streets and neighborhoods into safe, just, and livable places by promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation. Our work is guided by our core values of Transportation Justice, Sustainability, People Power, and Joy. The organization’s culture reflects its grassroots origins and professional advocacy in equal measures. Our active membership represents San Franciscans of all ages and backgrounds from all neighborhoods who are working towards safe, sustainable, and more affordable ways to move around our city. The SF Bicycle Coalition is the largest city-based bicycle advocacy group in the nation and one of the largest member-driven groups in San Francisco.

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

  1. What makes you excited to work at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition?
  2. How would you go about leveraging a range of small, medium, and large-scale events to both cultivate community and grow our membership?  
  3. Identify one SF Bicycle Coalition program that you think has high potential for increasing membership acquisition and retention. How would you create plans and collaborate with staff to leverage that potential?

APPLY HERE

Got an E-Bike? Here’s how to avoid a battery fire

Posted on by Cecilia Vega-Mayer

If you live in San Francisco, you’ve seen the masses of electric bikes cruising comfortably down bike lanes and on Slow Streets, and powering with ease up the city’s many hills. E-bikes have gained popularity in the last few years not just in San Francisco and the U.S., but around the world, and are projected to stick around as a popular mode of transportation. San Francisco even has plans to increase e-bike use among gig workers. 

With this continued growth in popularity comes improved technology, but if you’re familiar with the rise of e-bikes, you’re probably also familiar with the safety challenges e-bike manufacturers have faced, particularly with their lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are the most common type of battery for e-bikes because they are rechargeable and hold a lot of power for their size. If a battery overheats, however, it has the potential to cause a destructive fire, as seen in 200 cases in New York City this year alone. 

Whether you already have an e-bike, are planning to get one soon, or plan to gift one to someone else for the holidays, be sure to follow these tips to keep you, your family, and your e-bike safe. 

  • Don’t go off-brand: Buy your e-bike and any extra batteries, cords, or power adaptors from a manufacturer certified by a qualified testing laboratory, and always follow the manufacturer’s charging and storage instructions. 
  • Give your e-bike the attention it deserves: don’t leave it unattended while charging or charge it overnight. 
  • Store and charge intentionally: Keep all batteries and devices stored out of direct sunlight and at room temperature. Don’t charge it near your couch or bed. 
  • When in doubt, unplug: If you notice anything unusual while charging (battery overheats, emits an odor, liquid, or sound, leaks, or changes in shape or color) immediately stop charging. If your battery was dropped or in a crash, get a new one. 
  • Always be prepared: Make sure your fire extinguisher has been recently serviced and is easily accessible in your home, and call 911 immediately if your battery reacts in an alarming way. Be sure to not block your path in and out of the building with an e-bike.

With these e-bike battery best practices, you’ll surely enjoy your e-bike for every mile of it’s battery range! Curious about other biking best practices? Check out our on-line and in-person classes!

Our streets are getting slower and greener. What’s next?

Posted on by Claire Amable

What a historical month for people-centered streets and green transportation! On Election day, San Franciscans voted yes on renewing the half-cent sales tax for transportation and to make JFK Promenade permanent. Continuing that momentum, last Tuesday the Board of Supervisors approved a three-year pilot to keep Great Highway car-free on the weekends while the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors unanimously made Slow Streets a permanent part of our city by adopting elements of the People’s Slow Streets plan. 

On December 6, the SFMTA Board of Directors made Slow Streets a permanent program, adopted 16 existing corridors into the program committed to a complete network by the end of quarter one in 2023, and gave staff the authority to use diverters without the approval of the board. Additionally, the board set ambitious targets of 15 mph average speed and vehicle volume less than 1000 per day. This adoption of first in class metrics represents a transformative program that prioritizes streets for people.

It was a great discussion and a great first step in the right direction towards a safer and more sustainable San Francisco. Beyond a network for bikes, Slow Streets are a catalyst for community building. Director Cajina said it best, “In the Excelsior and Outer Mission, they can create safe spaces for neighborhoods that have a lot of seniors and youth to be able to walk their streets safely and get us to our Vision Zero goals.”

 In neighborhoods that don’t have Slow Streets like the Tenderloin, our partners from St.Anthony’s shared how “the daily street closure of the 100 block of Golden Gate during free meal service has revealed to us how a thoughtful adjustment to traffic volume can create safer and more connected neighborhoods.” That is why we are excited to work with SFMTA to create a community centered citywide network because we believe equity-priority communities deserve the opportunity to benefit from Slow Streets.

Additionally, December 6 was a historic win for the Great Highway. The Board of Supervisors approved a three-year pilot of the Great Highway closures, and most importantly, preserved the existing start time of 12pm on Fridays. This pilot project will allow the agencies to determine the long-term future of the Great Highway and work out solutions for traffic diversion. We hope to see it turn into a world class ocean-front park.

From Prop L to JFK, Slow Streets and Great Highway, each of these represent tremendous strides towards a greener, people-first, San Francisco. We’ve got more work to do, and we can’t do it without you. Donate to our year end campaign to help us create a connected, equitable network of car-free and car-lite spaces.

Donate today!

New shared space on Middle Drive

Posted on by Rachel Clyde

There is a new shared space in Golden Gate Park. The SFMTA and Recreation and Parks Department just updated Middle Drive at the entrance to the Polo Field to create a protected promenade space for people biking, walking, and rolling alongside the lane of one-way vehicle traffic. There are soft-hit posts separating the car lane and the pedestrian/bike lane as well as signs, new crosswalks, and concrete barriers.

Since the Mayor’s COVID-19 Emergency Order, Middle Drive has been fully closed to cars between the intersection with Overlook Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. This stretch of road includes the entrance to the Polo Fields. During the past few years, many people have used Middle Drive as a safe, car-free path through Golden Gate Park. Middle Drive is also a crucial part of the car-free Beach-to-Bay connection that the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution on in October 2021. In order to maintain this crucial space, SFMTA and Rec and Parks Department created this dedicated biking and walking space and protected it from the one-lane of vehicle traffic.

The new soft-hit posts, signs, road striping, crosswalks, and concrete barriers provide a distinct separation between the cars and the promenade. On the Northern side of the road – the one closest to the Polo Fields – there is no parking at any time. While biking on Middle Drive, remember to yield to pedestrians.

The SFMTA and Rec and Parks Department will assess the impact of these changes over the next few months and can make adjustments as needed to make sure the car-free portion of Middle Drive is protected.

The support of our members helped us preserve the permanent car-free JFK Promenade. Help us do more in 2023 by donating at sfbike.org/give2022.

Get ready to make Slow Streets permanent

Posted on by Claire Amable

After months of rescheduling, the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is finally deciding the future of Slow Streets next Tuesday, December 6th at 1pm.

At this hearing the SFMTA Board of Directors will be voting on two things; making Slow Streets a permanent program and incorporating existing corridors into the permanent program based on 20 mile per hour speeds, 1,500 vehicle count, and connectivity to the bicycle network. 

Here are the list of streets,

We are proud members of the People’s Slow Streets, a coalition of city-wide organizations, community based organizations, and key stakeholders that have met weekly since August to create the People’s Slow Streets proposal. Outlined in the proposal are key recommendations to a successful Slow Streets program. Those recommendations are, 

  • Build on Success: Approve existing Slow Streets and install metrics and materials that improve safety. 
  • Expand with Equity: Improve onboarding, invest in Equity Priority Communities, and initiate pilot projects.
  • Connect the Network: Connect Slow Streets across the city to create a seamless citywide network.

We are so excited to see Slow Streets become a permanent part of our city. They have been instrumental during the pandemic and we’ve seen them have such great success in certain neighborhoods. The SFMTA proposal on the table is a great first step towards permanency but it still falls short on equity. The list of corridors recommended for inclusion leaves out equity priority communities, there is no process for new Slow Streets, the proposed metrics are still quite high and disqualifies certain neighborhoods whose streets are not deemed residential. We believe Slow Streets can only be successful if equity is at the center of the program, not an afterthought. 

It’s no coincidence that our low-income, predominantly Black, Indigenous, communities of color overlay with neighborhoods that have most streets on the high-injury network. Slow Streets is one tool in our tool box we can use to really slow down streets in these neighborhoods and allow communities to reclaim that space for something more people centered where anyone 8 to 80 can feel safe on them. From the Tenderloin to the Bayview to Excelsior, every neighborhood deserves the opportunity to benefit from an amazing program like Slow Streets if they want them. 

Your SF Bicycle Coalition needs you to turn out to public comment next Tuesday or write a letter in support of the permanent Slow Streets program, and for the SFMTA to adopt the People’s Slow Streets proposal to ensure the program centers equity and will serve all of San Francisco. 

Public comment: In person (first priority), or call-in at 415.655.0001, Access Code: 2498 110 6321
Meeting begins at 1pm, and the Slow Streets item will be heard around 3pm.

Write a letter today!

Board of Directors Elections: 2023

Posted on by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is proud to have a very active and professional all-volunteer Board of Directors as stewards of our organization and work.

Directors are elected by members to serve a two-year term, and in January, members will be voting to elect eight directors for the board. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition members may nominate themselves or another member as a candidate for the Board of Directors. Interested candidates should review the following:

Here’s the schedule for the 2023 San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Board elections:

Fall/winter 2022: Board promotes the election amongst members and encourages members to declare their interest.

January 2, 2023: Deadline for interested candidates to submit the online candidate questionnaire and submit resume to boardnomination@sfbike.org.

January 3-13, 2023: Current Board Directors review candidate questionnaires and interview candidates.

January 13, 2022: Membership eligibility deadline: January 13, 2023 at 11:59 pm PST. You must be a member by this date to vote or run in the election.

January 13, 2022: Candidates must officially declare their intent to run by submitting the following to boardnomination@sfbike.org before this deadline:

  • Candidate photo
  • 150-word statement

Week of January 16, 2023: Staff meets with candidates to review the election process. 

January 19, 2023: Candidates may deliver a 2-minute speech during the Annual Member Meeting. Candidates will also have the opportunity to connect with members in-person. Speeches will be recorded for later viewing.

January 23, 2023: Voting starts. Members will have a chance to vote online throughout the election period. Candidates’ 150-word statements are published in the SF Bicycle Coalition newsletter.

February 1, 2023: Voting ends at 9:59 pm PST.

February 2-3, 2023: Election results are communicated to each candidate.

Week of February 6, 2023: Election results are announced in the SF Bicycle Coalition newsletter.

February 11, 2023: Board of Directors participate in an all-day retreat.

February 21, 2023: Board of Directors meeting is held. 

Questions? Email boardnomination@sfbike.org.

Big Successes for Biking from 2022 Midterms

Posted on by Rachel Clyde

We are very excited about the results from the 2022 Midterm Elections and what this means for bicycling, transportation, and the future of our city. Thank you to everyone who voted in favor of these measures, who volunteered their time to canvass or phone bank, and everyone who talked to their friends and neighbors. We couldn’t have achieved these victories without your support!

Proposition J, the ballot measure that protects the JFK Promenade, won with over 142,800 people voting yes; that is 61.97% of voters. The opposing measure that would have removed the promenade, Proposition I, had over 150,700 people vote no, 64.11% of voters. By a landslide, voters have demonstrated that they love the car-free promenade and that they want to take bold moves for climate change and the safety of our residents.

Ultimately, these results mean that the car-free status of the JFK Promenade is secured for the future. This vote upholds the decision from the Board of Supervisors last Spring to permanently keep the 1.5 mile stretch of road a place for people walking, rolling, and riding bikes. Additionally, the Great Highway will continue to be a car-free promenade for people Saturday and Sunday for the foreseeable future.

Proposition L also passed with over 165,600 votes in favor of renewing the half cent sales tax that funds our transportation. Prop L needed ⅔ or 66.67% of the vote and it has 71.07%! For the next 30 years, the City will have federal funding to improve our roads, public transportation, and safety. This means we can build new protected bike lanes, improve pedestrian safety, and get closer to Vision Zero. Proposition L will also continue to fund our Safe Routes to Schools program to make biking more accessible for youth and families in San Francisco

Proposition N passed with 74.31% of people voting in favor of it. This means management of the parking garage under the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park will be handed over to the Recreation and Parks Department. Now, we can look forward to changes to the garage, including lowering hourly rates to make it more accessible for people with disabilities, seniors, and more.

This was an exciting year and we can’t wait to see all the improvements coming in the year ahead. We look forward to seeing more quick-builds, more protected bike lanes, more bicycle education classes, street resurfacing and signal improvements, funding for paratransit and more.

Thank you to everyone who voted for a safer, more accessible and greener city. This is just the start of work to increase car-free and car-lite spaces in SF, and to increase access and safety for people biking.

Help us do even more in 2023 with a tax-deductible donation today.

DONATE TODAY

Proposition N and why it matters for Golden Gate Park

Posted on by Rachel Clyde

Proposition N is one of the lesser known measures on the ballot this year. You probably haven’t seen campaign posters for it or even heard of it. So why did our Board endorse it?

Proposition N plays an important role in meeting our goal to make Golden Gate Park safer and more accessible. It would pass authority of the parking garage that is located below the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park from the Concourse Authority to the Recreation and Parks Department. It’s that simple! 

The 800-spot parking garage has been underutilized for years and the rates are currently too expensive for most people who need to drive to visit the park. Right now it costs $5.25 per hour Monday-Friday and $6.25 per hour Saturday-Sunday. 

The Concourse Authority, a small board of stakeholders, was created in 1998 by ballot measure to oversee the construction and operation of the parking garage underneath Golden Gate Park. Construction was completed in 2006 and since the early 2000s, the Concourse Authority no longer holds regular meetings. If Prop N passes, the Authority will be dissolved and their management responsibilities will be taken over by Recreation and Parks.

One of the main arguments brought up against the car-free JFK Promenade was that it removed a lot of free parking spaces people relied on to visit the park, especially lower income families, seniors, people with disabilities, or those who live far away. By passing responsibility of the garage to Recreation and Parks, we can more easily reduce the parking rates and make improvements to the garage, such as creating subsidized parking or adding secure bike lockers. 

Recreation and Parks has already begun facilitating positive change to improve accessibility in the park. They extended the free drop off period in the garage to 15 minutes so that people can drop off passengers at the elevators that take you directly inside the museums. The SFMTA also  added a new lot of ADA parking spaces behind the Concourse. RPD and SFMTA are additionally making improvements to roads throughout the park so people can easily access the remaining 6,300 free parking spots in Golden Gate Park. The addition of Proposition N to these already implemented projects would make a big difference in the Departments’ work to improve access and safety. 

Voting Yes on N brings us one step closer to a safer and more accessible Golden Gate Park while preserving the car-free JFK Promenade. 

Join us in voting Yes on N!  

Check out our endorsements

Why SF Needs Prop L

Posted on by Christopher White

In an election year with a whopping 14 local ballot measures competing for your attention, it’s easy to lose sight of the importance of any one of them. But the sleeper blockbuster proposition of the bunch is Prop L. Its passage or failure will affect every single person who lives, works, or visits San Francisco. We all need to move around the city — and every form of transportation or mobility in San Francisco would benefit if it passes.

Prop L extends the existing half-cent sales tax that has funded SF’s interconnected transportation systems for 30 years, without increasing that tax at all. SF voters have already approved this action twice before, in 1989 and again in 2003. More importantly than the extension, Prop L reallocates the tax funding to more effectively fit our current needs. The existing spending plan for the tax was developed back in 2003 — before bike share, before most bike lanes in the city, and long before the pandemic. Heck, before smartphones even existed! Our contemporary needs are different from what they were 20 years ago, and our transportation spending must reflect those changes.

Those reprioritized investments will be apparent across transportation modes. For people biking, Prop L will make funding available for:

  • More protected bike lanes, through funding for quick build projects, and safe infrastructure like traffic calming measures (and the maintenance of that infrastructure)
  • Programs that encourage and empower people to bike, such as bicycle education classes and Safe Routes to School for youth and families
  • Street resurfacing and signal improvements that keep everyone safer

For people who use transit, Prop L will:

  • Provide more funds for maintenance and pandemic recovery for all agencies serving SF 
  • Create seed funding for major projects, like Better Market Street improvements
  • Unlock the door for billions in federal dollars for our transit agencies — necessary funding that will become unavailable without Prop L’s passage.

The proposition also improves equity in the city. Prop L will:

  • Extend funding for Paratransit, which has been tapped out as expenses have skyrocketed with a growing senior population.
  • Set aside money for community-focused transportation planning, particularly in Equity Priority Communities — neighborhoods that have experienced historical disinvestment.

Because it’s a tax measure, Prop L requires two-thirds of voters in favor to pass. And if it doesn’t pass, the tax won’t go away — its current form remains in effect for another 10 years. We’ll just be stuck paying a tax with an outdated expenditure plan that no longer meets our needs.

So now, with our ballots sitting in our mailboxes or on our desks, we must be sure to vote Yes on Prop L — but that’s not enough. Without major marquee races in SF to inspire people to vote, we may be facing lower turnout than in recent November elections. After so many votes already this year, election fatigue is real. But, if you care about our transportation systems — and how could you not? — the stakes couldn’t be higher. So, we call on you to text 10 of your SF family and friends using this template and make sure that they fill out their ballot and that we pass Prop L in November.

“Hey, friend. I’ve been doing ballot research and wanted to spread the word about voting Yes on Prop L on November 8. It renews a sales tax in SF that for thirty years has provided critical money to ensure that Muni, BART, bike safety, paratransit, and more have the funding to improve and expand. If you want to learn more, head to sfbike.org/propl. Thank you for voting!”

Our Board’s November Endorsements

Posted on by SF Bicycle Coalition Board

Board of Supervisors

District 2: Catherine Stefani 

Supervisor Stefani has been a strong supporter of bicycle safety upgrades in our parks and has been a critical vote in both making JFK car-free and supporting Proposition J. There is still a lot of work to be done in District 2 and we look forward to seeing her passion in making parks safer for bikes to translate to making our streets safer for all users. 

District 4: Gordon Mar 

This race in District 4 is about the future of our city, as much as this district. We endorsed Gordon Mar as an opportunity to elect a pro-biking Supervisor in 2018, and we do so now for the same reason. He was a co-sponsor of car-free JFK. He is supportive of the Great Highway as another promenade and has introduced legislation to study it. Additionally, he bikes regularly to City Hall and his child learned to ride at an SF Bicycle Coalition event. The Board recognizes the importance of ensuring that the west side of San Francisco is represented by someone who will balance all needs of our Sunset residents.

District 6: #1 Honey Mahogany; #2 Matt Dorsey

Honey Mahogany, through her work with former District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney, has already started a record of strong leadership championing bike and pedestrian safety projects through SoMa, Tenderloin and beyond, including the largest expansion of protected bike lanes in SF history. We believe she is the best choice for the supervisor to continue this life-saving work. Honey Mahogany’s broad list of individual and organizational endorsements show that she is a coalition builder who we hope will build the support we need to make streets safer across the diverse communities of District 6. She has also committed to holding transportation network companies accountable to making our streets safer. As a supporter of Slow Streets and Vision Zero we believe Honey Mahogany is the best choice for District 6.

District 6 has an ongoing tradition of electing bike-friendly supervisors, and in this race we believe both front runners will focus on street safety as key parts of their platforms. Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s questionnaire answers and our conversations with him give us confidence that he recognizes the bicycle as an important method of transportation in District 6, as well as the larger challenges of being able to safely travel throughout the district via public transportation, bicycle, and all the new “micro-mobility” solutions. Based upon our current work with his office, we know he is a strong voice for improving the safety of our streets, and we endorse him as our second choice.

District 8: Rafael Mandelman

We once again endorse Rafael Mandelman. He has been a leader in rejuvenating transit and in creating the Shared Spaces program, and he was a co-sponsor for the creation of JFK Promenade. His questionnaire responses also reflect a detailed and nuanced understanding of bicycle infrastructure needs in his District. At the same time, we are disappointed with the lack of progress on bicycle safety in District 8 since Supervisor Mandelman’s election. Key corridors such as Valencia Street, 17th Street, and Upper Market have seen little to no improvement under Supervisor Mandelman’s tenure. (Valencia Street was split between D8 and D9 until the redistricting changes earlier this year; it’s now entirely in D9.) We look forward to seeing Supervisor Mandelman push more assertively for better bike infrastructure to be built in the near term, even if a vocal minority is in opposition – both in his work as supervisor and as the current chair of the SFCTA Board.

District 10: No Endorsement

Supervisor Walton has been a champion for transforming green space in District 10. He has supported projects like the Evans Street bike lane and the Hairball improvements. We recognize that to accomplish our mission of working to ensure transportation justice throughout this City, the D10 supervisor is an important partner, particularly as we look forward to connecting the amazing new green spaces such as Heron’s Head and India Basin Shoreline Park.

In this election, we have strong differences with Supervisor Walton on major issues affecting the future of our City, such as his opposition to the JFK Promenade and the Great Walkway. Proposition I, which prohibits car-free spaces from ever being established in GGP and on the Great Highway, and forces the City to maintain car travel from Sloat to Skyline, is fiscally unsound and undoubtedly will eventually affect funding directly relevant to D10. Walton’s support for Prop I is simply too great to overcome for us to endorse him.

District Attorney: No Endorsement

While the District Attorney may not seem to have a clear role in bicycling advocacy work, they can have a powerful impact on issues like obtaining justice for victims of traffic violence, and ensuring that BIPOC members of our community are protected from the harassment of pretext stops. While we were impressed by some answers in the candidate questionnaires, there is no candidate who is such a clear transportation champion that we would make an endorsement in this race.

BART Board: Janice Li

We are proud to endorse Janice, as we have previously. She has continued to be a long-needed voice at BART for people who bike, and she has also been a leader on issues such as helping launch BART’s low income pass program and supporting the building of housing on BART land. We are proud to endorse her again and work with her in shaping a better BART that better serves all communities.

State Assembly 

District 17: Matt Haney

District 19: Phil Ting

We endorsed Matt Haney for District 17 and Phil Ting for District 19 in the primary election on June 7, 2022. These endorsements carry forward to the general election. 

Propositions

Your Board of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition voted earlier this summer regarding City propositions so that we could take positions in the official voter guide. The Board endorses:

No on San Francisco Proposition I

This is an egregious attempt by a small group to overturn the decision creating JFK Promenade that went through a lengthy public outreach and legislative process with input from multiple stakeholders. While maintaining JFK and protecting the Great Walkway are more than enough to vote no, Prop I would also require the City to undo over a decade of environmental planning and build a large sea wall to maintain the Great Highway from Sloat to Skyline for cars, at a huge financial and environmental cost.

Yes on San Francisco Proposition J

Maintain a safe JFK Promenade, while continuing to improve access to this part of Golden Gate Park. Proposition J would reaffirm the Golden Gate Park Access and Safety Plan to preserve the well-loved and well-used car-free space that was made permanent earlier this year.

Yes on San Francisco Proposition L

This is a reauthorization of a previously voter-approved ½ cent transportation tax. Our city desperately needs this money to improve street safety, MUNI service, fight global warming, and secure state and federal matching funds. The previous transportation tax has funded many projects we have advocated for, such as protected bike lanes on Folsom, Valencia, and Masonic Streets, as well as the quick-build program. Prop L would allow such projects to continue to be funded, and includes $114 million earmarked specifically for making streets safer for people biking and walking.

Yes on San Francisco Proposition N

The parking garage in Golden Gate Park is currently under-utilized, expensive to use, and has the potential to be a solution in the discussion of increasing access to JFK Promenade. This would give the City more power to control its financing and fee structure by making it a publicly owned asset.