The Best Volunteer Event of the Year is Back: Bike to Wherever Day

Posted on by Chris Bannister

It’s time to get excited: Bike to Wherever Day is almost here! Join us on Friday, May 21 as we promote the joy of biking throughout the day and celebrate this nearly three-decade long tradition.

Help us make May 21 the best biking day of the year by signing up for one of our morning or evening stations. Signups close Thursday, May 12, so don’t wait — sign up today!

In order to ensure the safety of everyone involved in this year’s event, we’ll be taking some precautionary measures at all of our Energizer Stations including: reduced capacity of  volunteers and giveaway items, face mask requirements, and contactless forms.

Here are all the great ways you can help make this event a success:

 

Join us on the big day

 

Energizer Stations*: Over 80 member-volunteers help out at Energizer Stations citywide on Bike to Wherever Day, celebrating folks as they bike. View our 15 Energizer Station locations and sign up today. Training is required for all Energizer Station volunteers, so be sure to sign up for a training, too!

Get Energized

Photographer: Do you have professional or professional-level photography experience? Use the power of your lens to help capture the magic of Bike to Wherever Day. If you’re interested, please sign up and include a link to your online portfolio in the comments.

Bike-Arazzi

Errand-Runner*: Love biking around the city? Want to be on call to make last-minute supply drop-offs and deliveries? We’ll provide the trailer; you provide the pedal power! Must have own bike and be comfortable hauling a trailer with supplies. 

Go Go Power Bike

End-of-Day Unpacker: At the end of an amazing day, bring your fresh energy and help us unload at our office.

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

For more information about Bike to Work Day, check out our event page.

*You must be a current member of the SF Bicycle Coalition to volunteer in this role. Not a member? Join today!

New Slow Streets Approved, But Some Left Behind

Posted on by Janice Li

Our SF Bicycle Coalition community organizer Claire Amable, speaking at a rally to push for Slow Streets in the Tenderloin.

On April 3, in the early afternoon, a 78-year-old man was walking in the South of Market (SoMa) in the crosswalk at Folsom and Third streets when he was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver.

Less than one block away, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) had long been considering a loop of Slow Streets in a “senior village,” a quiet set of smaller, Tagalog (Filipinx) named streets connecting senior affordable housing to a community garden and a health center.

Map of newly-approved Slow Streets in SoMa (Source: SFMTA)

Once again, change was too slow, and once again, the price we paid was too high.

On April 6, the SFMTA Board was set to vote to approve these Slow Streets. But, for a moment, the SFMTA was poised to delay this project even further. We are relieved that the board unanimously decided to approve and implement SoMa’s first Slow Street. But the City denied approval of the whole package of nine Slow Streets that hundreds of our members wrote in to support, instead moving forward with only five in total.

Originally, the SFMTA Board had planned on approving all nine new Slow Streets. But as a shock to us and many who were tuned in, SFMTA staff announced during the meeting that they were directing their board to delay any action due to last-minute concerns that had arisen. We found this change of plan unacceptable, especially in light of Saturday’s fatal pedestrian crash. 

The discussion around these Slow Streets in SoMa had been going on since the program launched a year ago. In July 2020 we penned a letter alongside several SoMa-based organizations that represent different communities of color and immigrant communities in the neighborhood. The letter called on SFMTA to expand Slow Streets to SoMa due to the lack of accessible open space, residents living in cramped living conditions and dire need for people to safely social distance when moving along crowded corridors. 

Our community organizer, Claire Amable, directed these frustrations to the SFMTA when she gave public comment at the board meeting. “It shouldn’t have taken this long if equity was at the center of these conversations,” said Claire, who was born and raised in the Tenderloin and a longtime SoMa resident. “The loss of life is the cost of your delay and no one should have died.”

For these reasons, we are grateful that the SFMTA Board, led by Vice Chair Amanda Eaken, rejected the staff’s sudden and irresponsible direction. But this isn’t good enough, and your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is ready to fight for those additional four Slow Streets and for this program to be made permanent with high-quality designs that put people first on our streets.

We need you for this fight. We need to show up and hold the City accountable. We need to shape this program to make sure it’s the success we know it can be. We need the City to allocate resources to see this vision through. If you’re ready to join this fight, sign up for updates today so you’ll be the first to get invited to the committee meetings that we’ll be hosting in the coming weeks.

Our Fight Continues

SF Families are Rolling Back to School

Posted on by Christopher White

After over a year of remote learning, students at SF public schools will begin a staggered return to the classroom on April 12, beginning with select elementary schools. (Here’s the full timeline.) If you’re an SF family returning to the classroom, you might feel relief mixed with anxiety about what could be a tumultuous transition. 

Transportation is likely among those concerns: parents and administrators alike recognize that families who may have used public transportation or carpooling in the before-times may be tempted to revert to the family car. You may be thinking, “How do I get my student to school safely, while avoiding frustrating, dangerous traffic snarls outside the building?”

Your SF Bicycle Coalition, along with other members of the SF Safe Routes to School Partnership, is here to help. Biking, walking, or otherwise rolling to school together as a family can start off this transition right, and our annual Bike & Roll Week is the perfect opportunity to try it. This week-long annual celebration of students traveling by their own power, originally scheduled for April, is now taking place May 10-14 to give schools a few weeks to adjust to new protocols. We’ll have fun activities and prizes at every age level, K-12 — whether you’re a teacher or a parent/caregiver, check out how to participate!

You can incorporate these activities for getting to school from Day 1. Biking, walking, and otherwise rolling are great ways to transition to a new routine — children and parents/caregivers start the day with fresh air and physical activity, which have been shown to have a big impact on student success and mood stability. While other families sit stuck in their cars in long, frustrating dropoff lines, you can spend invaluable time outdoors with your child, talking and preparing them mentally and emotionally for this transition. And each car trip replaced by walking, biking, or rolling eliminates air-clogging fumes from idling cars.

If you’re planning on biking, here are some return-to-school tips:

  • Scope out your route to make sure you and your child will both be — and feel — safe. Consider incorporating the city’s many Slow Streets or other car-free or car-light paths into your journey!
  • If you’re riding on streets with cars, children under 13 years old should ride on the sidewalk while parents ride next to them in the street or bike lane.
  • Talk to your child about safety before starting out: wear their helmet correctly, stop at all intersections until the parent/caregiver gives the okay, and keep an eye out at all driveways for vehicles pulling out or in.
  • Consider getting other families in on the action by starting a bike train or a walking school bus.
  • For more tips and community, consider joining our city-wide Families Who Bike group on Nextdoor.

Congratulations for getting through this past year of remote learning. We know it’s been challenging for most families, especially those with less access to support and resources. We hope that, as you make your way back to school, you can have some fun and get yourself mentally and physically prepared.

 

Meet our newest community organizer, Malcolm

Posted on by Janice Li

We’re thrilled to welcome Malcolm Jaramillo as your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s newest community organizer.

Malcolm was born and raised in the Portola District and became interested in safe streets and bike advocacy when his father, an everyday bike commuter, was hit by a driver while riding. Growing our advocacy team means that we have Malcolm as our dedicated community organizer for San Francisco’s eastern and southeastern neighborhoods, including the Mission, Potrero, Dogpatch, the Portola, Excelsior, Bayview and beyond.

Get to know Malcolm and don’t hesitate to reach out and say hello at mjaramillo@sfbike.org.

1) Tell us about yourself and your passion for transportation justice.

I am in my last semester at San Francisco State University, finishing my undergraduate degree in urban planning. I was raised using all forms of transportation from riding Muni to my bike to driving a car. I’ve seen how different neighborhoods are better for biking and are easier to navigate without a vehicle. I also understand the challenges and barriers many San Fanciscans face when taking public transportation. This is ultimately what fuels my passion for transportation justice, and I can’t wait to be a part of the fight to make the city safer for people on bikes, folks who ride the bus, and all of those who want equitable and abundant mobility. 

2) Your organizing area will cover southeastern neighborhoods like the Bayview, Dogpatch, Excelsior and most importantly, the neighborhood where you were born and raised: The Portola. What do you love about being born and raised in San Francisco?

I love my foggy skies and my rainy days, hopping on the 9-San Bruno bus to go downtown, taking BART to the East Bay, the view from a hill top, and the sound of people going about their day. Above all what I cherish most is being part of this crazy organism that is Frisco. I can walk through these streets being myself and no one will notice, and I find comfort in the anonymity, in the smallness of my individual existence in this place. I’m lucky enough to be a third generation San Franciscan, and there’s a lot of history in this town that lives on through my elders. I’m proud to carry that legacy with me. 

3) You’ve been an intern since last fall. What have you enjoyed the most thus far, and what are you most exciting to dig into as our newest community organizer?

I love that everyone here has so much drive. Being in the world of bicycle advocacy can be hard work but the team here has that fire to keep at it with all they got. And from my time here I can say that is true for all the staff at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. I’m really excited to add to that flame and start doing work in the southeast part of the city, because there is the potential for better bike infrastructure and more equitable, sustainable mobility options. I can’t wait to do outreach on my home turf and work on impactful campaigns that connect these communities together. 

4) Beyond the bike, what do you like doing?

I have recently become obsessed with roller skating, so I’ve been spending most of my free time in parks and tennis courts practicing to get better. On other days I’m walking around the city taking photos with a disposable camera while walking my dog Roxie.

New Slow Streets Ready to Be Approved

Posted on by Janice Li

The Slow Streets program is growing — nine new corridors are ready to be approved and turned into Slow Streets. The SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board will look to approve these streets on April 6, and we need to make sure they hear how important Slow Streets have been to you and many other San Franciscans. Can we count on you to write in for nine new Slow Streets?

I WANT MORE SLOW STREETS

From Page Street to Golden Gate Park, your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition continues to advocate for more people-first spaces where biking and walking is the best way to travel.

After a few months of outreach, the SFMTA is now ready to bring more Slow Streets to neighborhoods like the South of Market, Sunnyside, and the Bayview so that families and residents can benefit from this program. Since the start of the Slow Streets program, we have advocated that they be equitably distributed across the city, and we are excited to finally see additions in these neighborhoods.

Early evaluation has shown that when a corridor becomes a Slow Street, vehicle traffic decreases by 50% or more while the number of people biking increases by 65% on weekdays and an incredible 80% on weekends.

That’s why we need your help in making sure the SFMTA Board votes yes for more Slow Streets on April 6. We recommend the following talking points:

  1. Slow Streets has transformed so many streets into welcoming community spaces for people to feel welcome biking and walking. I support this expansion and believe that geographic equity is important for the program’s success.
  2. I support Slow Streets corridors becoming permanent and urge the SFMTA to use higher quality design to make sure these spaces prioritize people over cars.

In your email, we encourage you to talk about how you use Slow Streets and how they’ve transformed your neighborhoods. Your personal story matters, and we want to make sure our decision makers know the positive impact this program has had. Write your letter today, and let’s make sure to turn out and have our voices heard to win change that matters on our streets.

Let’s talk about race and car-free JFK

Posted on by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

At the March 23 San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) Board meeting, made up of our eleven Board of Supervisors, two supervisors critiqued the closure of JFK Drive to cars and its harmful impacts to Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) living in the southeast of San Francisco.

Supervisors Walton and Safai’s comments are not unfounded. Due to harmful redevelopment practices in the 1970s and “redlining,” many BIPOC families have been displaced to some of the most geographically distant neighborhoods like the Excelsior, Bayview-Hunters Point, and beyond. And while there have been successes at increasing Muni service, like the successful efforts to bring back the 15-Third Muni line led by Black community leaders in the Bayview, Muni service to connect these neighborhoods to destinations like Golden Gate Park lacks reliability and convenience.

Access to car-free JFK Drive must be equitable — and we believe it can be.

As your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, keeping JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park permanently closed to cars and open to people is imperative. The pandemic has shown us just how important the car-free space is for people to experience the joy of fresh air and community, whether on JFK, the Great Highway, or John F. Shelley Drive.

As we fight to preserve car-free space on JFK Drive, we have a unique opportunity to make the park more accessible to BIPOC folks. Over the summer, the City will be conducting a public outreach process to determine the future of car-free space on JFK Drive — and we’re pushing to ensure that this process actively includes BIPOC communities, districts further from the park like D10 and D11, and people with disabilities. We believe that reforming the mismanaged Music Concourse Garage, improving Muni service to the park with the 44 and 29 Muni lines, and making the existing shuttle more frequent and reliable are important first steps.

The future of San Francisco must include safe, equitable, and joyous places like car-free JFK Drive and we’re committed to doing the work to make this happen.

Sign our petition to the SFCTA board to ensure that the City creates an accessible and equitable car-free JFK for years to come.

You can also share your experiences on car-free JFK using #KeepItSlow on Instagram and Twitter.

The Tenderloin becomes a 20 mph zone

Posted on by Claire Amable

For the first time ever, a San Francisco neighborhood has implemented a neighborhood-wide speed limit! On March 16, in an effort to advance street safety in the Tenderloin, the SF Municipal Transportation (SFMTA) Board unanimously approved a 20 mph pilot that turns the entire neighborhood into a 20 mph zone in addition to a No Turn on Red pilot that restricts vehicles from making turns at 54 intersections. Your SF Bicycle Coalition called in with our partners on the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Task Force to express our strong support for the pilots.

We know the Tenderloin is a diverse, residential neighborhood home to many children, families, seniors and people with disabilities. For decades, the community has asked for lowered speed limits around schools and senior centers as well as infrastructure improvements like raised crosswalks to lessen speeds.

I was born and raised in the Tenderloin and now serve as the downtown community organizer for the SF Bicycle Coalition. I know all too well what it’s like to grow up in a neighborhood where there are no nearby parks and you can’t play in the street because cars are moving way too fast. For the most part, that’s still the case today for children growing up in the Tenderloin.

During the hearing I shared, “Today, I think about my five year old niece who walks all over the Tenderloin with her grandmother.I think about how she’s never going to be able to learn how to ride a bike on her neighborhood streets like other children across the city because the current street conditions don’t allow her to do that safely.” 

As every street in the Tenderloin remains on the High-Injury Network, the approval of these pilots is a great start to improving traffic safety in the community and envisioning what our streets, neighborhoods, and city can look like in the future. 

Now is the time to make bold, innovative changes to the way we see street safety in our neighborhoods. We know that education and compliance plays a large role in these pilots being successful — and this is where our work to develop community alternatives to traffic enforcement (TLCAP) comes in. 

Over 300 20 mph and No Turn on Red signs are going to be installed in the neighborhood next month, and we will work with the SFMTA and our Tenderloin community partners to ensure an equitable compliance plan is created using the feedback we heard from our TLCAP campaign outreach.

With all of these street safety projects happening in the Tenderloin, our community alternatives for traffic safety campaign is increasingly important. To stay in-touch with all of the work we’re doing in the neighborhood, sign up for campaign updates below.

I want TLCAP updates now!

Long-term plans for the Great Highway and District 4

Posted on by Kristen Leckie

After last summer’s mobility survey, the SF County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) has been hard at work to take resident feedback to reimagine the way you move in District 4. Now, the SFCTA and Supervisor Gordon Mar are ready to report back on their potential solutions to increase walking, biking, and transit use in the Outer Sunset and Parkside neighborhoods. Will you join the virtual open house on March 27 to let them know your thoughts?

I’m in!

At the open house, the SFCTA will provide several long-term options for the Great Highway. We’ve seen what an amazing community space it’s become in the last year and this is your chance to show your support for maintaining the space. Additionally, they’ll present a proposal for a family neighborway network in District 4 which would create a safe, comfortable network of low-traffic streets for those walking and biking. This network is crucial as we continue to reimagine the ways we move around our city in the years beyond the pandemic.

Alongside the Great Highway and family neighborway network, the SFCTA will also present potential improvements to key business corridors, a community shuttle, safety improvements for Lincoln Way, improvements to public transit, and more.

If you’re a resident of District 4 and take Muni, bike, walk, drive, or roll, we need you at the virtual open house on Saturday, March 27. Will you show up and help us reimagine the way we move in the District? Register here to attend.

A New Approach to Speeding Can Save Lives

Posted on by Janice Li

The mayors of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Jose all agree: Speeding kills, and it’s time we had the tools and programs to address this problem systemically.

Your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is proud to support Assemblymember David Chiu’s Assembly Bill 550 (AB 550), which seeks to develop, authorize, and implement speed safety systems. These systems will create alternatives to traditional speed enforcement —  enforcement that we know isn’t effective and has had disparate impact on communities of color.

On March 16, we joined Assemblymember Chiu, Mayor London Breed, Supervisor Aaron Peskin, and BART Board Director Lateefah Simon to announce this bill, which also has the support of the mayors of Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Jose. Jenny Yu and Gina LaBlanc, two Bay Area residents who have had their lives tragically impacted by speeding drivers, both spoke as members of Bay Area Families for Safe Streets, a group made up of traffic crash survivors and loved ones of people who have been killed or injured in traffic crashes.

“We need AB 550 to save lives,” said Jenny Yu, whose mother was struck by a speeding driver at Park Presidio and Anza streets in the Richmond District in 2011. Jenny’s mother has never been the same since and she requires around-the-clock care from her family. “Daily, we try to hold on,” Jenny said through tears. “Speed detection systems are a powerful tool we deserve to have here in California to prevent so many deaths and so much suffering.”

This bill will first create a stakeholder working group to create program guidelines of what these speed safety systems will look like, ensuring that equity concerns are met. It is imperative that we create a program that is not administered by police and does not lead to criminal citations, because any speed safety system must be focused on behavior change and compliance with speed limits. Once the program guidelines are developed, the bill then further authorizes the implementation of these systems.

At the end of the day, this bill is all about saving lives. “These deaths are completely, utterly preventable,” says Assemblymember David Chiu.

Now, the real campaign begins to make sure this bill passes through the state legislature and we know it’s going to take people power across California to win. Join our campaign today to receive updates and be involved today.

I Support AB 550

Why We Want To #KeepItSlow with Slow Streets

Posted on by Janice Li

Photo: Robin Kutner

On April 21, we will be celebrating the one year anniversary of our city’s Slow Streets program and your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition wants to #KeepItSlow.

Now, we’re launching our campaign to make Slow Streets a permanent program and to ensure corridors throughout the city stay how they are today, as places that put people first. Most importantly, we need you to be part of our campaign.

Join Our #KeepItSlow Campaign

Over the next few months, we are seeking your input to make sure the Slow Streets program remains a success for many years and decades to come. The program looks to expand next month to over 40 corridors in total, and we want to make sure Slow Streets connect neighborhoods across San Francisco with high-quality designs that make these spaces safe and welcome for people to enjoy.

The first step is to feature your stories so that our City’s decision makers know how successful this program has been. We want to hear how amazing Slow Streets have been for you, your family, and your neighborhoods. Tag @sfbike on Twitter or Instagram and use the hashtag #KeepItSlow to let us know which Slow Street you want to be made permanent and what you love about it. Over the coming weeks, we will collect all of your stories and continue celebrating our newly-transformed streets.

With your stories in hand, we will be holding workshops with our members to brainstorm how we can design for permanence beyond just the barricades and sandbags. Are you like Jessica and Anthony, Slow Streets champions and stewards of Page Street? If you have ideas of how we can make Slow Streets a permanent part of our street network, make sure to join our #KeepItSlow campaign today to make sure you get an invite to these workshops next month.