Guest Post from CalBike: Support the Complete Streets Bill

Posted on by California Bicycle Coalition

California’s local bicycle coalitions, like your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, are changing the conversation about local streets and roads, and celebrating many important victories, like the recent implementation of San Francisco’s quick-build process.

But when it comes to making progress with state highways — like 19th Avenue or Sloat Boulevard — local agencies’ hands are tied, and there’s not much groups like the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition can do. Our state transportation agency, Caltrans, is in control, and we can’t move forward. That’s why we need you to help us push forward Senate Bill 127, the Complete Streets Bill. 

This bill, authored by San Francisco’s own Senator Scott Wiener and sponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition, will require Caltrans to add bike lanes and other safety improvements to state-owned surface streets (like Sloat Boulevard and 19th Avenue) every time they repave or repair the street! This is the most economical time to add bike lanes or safe crossings — when they are already digging up the street.

Caltrans has long prioritized moving cars quickly. But, if this campaign succeeds, they’ll have to prioritize safe bicycling and walking too.

Please let lawmakers know you care about Complete Streets by signing on to the California Bicycle Coalition’s action alert. Thank you for letting lawmakers know that you care about this critical bill.

Who Should We Endorse for This November? Weigh in Now.

Posted on by Janice Li

For this November’s elections, your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is considering endorsements in three races: District Attorney, District 5 Supervisor, and Mayor.

One month ago, we shared questionnaires with all of the candidates to learn how they plan to address some of the biggest transportation challenges and opportunities in San Francisco. We also held our first ever candidate forum for the District 5 race. Read the questionnaires and watch the video of the candidate forum here.

Now, it’s time for our members to weigh in. This is a critical step in our endorsements process; after member polling closes on Friday, August 16 at 11:59 pm PST, our 15-person member-elected board will use this member feedback to finalize the SF Bicycle Coalition’s slate of endorsements at the end of August.

For Members Only: Weigh in on Our Endorsements

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has weighed in on local races for nearly 20 years. Just as we work tirelessly to hold our elected officials accountable every day, we have also driven our 10,000-plus members to elect leaders who will prioritize bike-friendly policies and support the changes we need.

Every candidate for District 5 Supervisor and District Attorney completed a questionnaire, which shows that street safety and transportation are top issues in this November election. Given District 5 is one of the city’s more bike-friendly districts, we are pleased that all four candidates ride a bike, but candidates differ on their support for bike share and policies like congestion pricing. Conversely, all four District Attorney candidates answered in the affirmative for our Yes/No questions, which includes support for car-free space in Golden Gate Park to classifying Uber and Lyft drivers are employees rather than contractors.

Take a moment and read 11 completed questionnaires here and participate in our member polling by Friday, August 16.

Not a member but want to weigh in? Join or renew here.

Now Hiring: 2019 Fall Interns

Posted on by Chris Bannister

Applications are now open for our 2019 Fall Internships! Our interns are a talented and motivated group of people who are looking to advance our work promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation. We accept both student and practical experience internships and request that interns make a minimum commitment of 10 -20 hours per week for the fall semester.

 

This season, we’re hiring for seven different positions:

Bicycle Advocacy Intern: Put on your advocate hat! Join our advocacy team to support our various street campaigns both inside City Hall and out on the streets.

Bike it Forwards Intern: Want to provide affordable transportation to those in need? Learn more on how you can be a part of this amazing bike giveaway program.

Development: Can you fundraise and fun-raise? Help us keep the wheels of advocacy spinning with our Development team!

Event Planning Intern: Make your list and check it twice; join us in managing logistics for the best biking events in the city.

Graphic Design Intern: Photoshop? InDesign? Illustrator? Flaunt your design skills with highly visible portfolio pieces to support our work.

Marketing and Communications Intern: Learn the ins and outs of public relations while gaining experience in creating an online and digital presence. 

Volunteer Coordination Intern: We rely on over 1,000 volunteers each year to push our work forward. Put your people management skills to work in collaborating with these amazing folks.

In addition to spicing up your resume with practical experience, interns get other great benefits, like a one-year free membership to the SF Bicycle Coalition, ongoing professional development opportunities, discounts on store swag, first dibs on exciting events and opportunities, and more! Still not convinced? See what past interns have had to say about their experiences here and here.

We’re accepting applications now and will review them on a rolling basis. Deadline to apply is September 6. 

If you’re not able to commit to a full internship, but still want to help us out — don’t worry! We’d love to have you join us at one of our many volunteer opportunities.

We’re Changing How Protected Bike Lanes Get Built

Posted on by Charles Deffarges

Two weeks ago, SF Bicycle Coalition members joined people from the SoMa community to provide input on a plan to build protected bike lanes on a segment of Seventh Street, from Townsend to 16th Street. And before we’ve even reached the end of the month, this brand new protected bike lane has gone in the ground thanks to the City’s recently-approved quick-build process.

Realizing a protected bike lane from concept to construction usually takes years. City planners have historically shepherded a project through several public open houses, a public engineering hearing, and an SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board meeting at City Hall before construction. This same process has been used for all street safety projects — whether they were for one block or one mile of city streets.

City planners often feel pressured to seek project perfection before moving through this process. In this pursuit of impossible perfection, we lose urgency and projects get delayed or watered down. And in those moments, people die. Now, we’re changing the script, and Seventh Street is the first success story.

Coming out of our latest public push, we worked with the SFMTA to develop a streamlined approvals process for urgently needed protected bike lanes. The result was a new quick-build process, which promises faster delivery times for new protected bike lanes.

This new process — put to the test for the first time with protected bike lanes on Seventh Street — allows the City to act with the sort of urgency we need to achieve Vision Zero. Join our campaign to stay in the loop about each of these future quick-build projects.

Hayes Valley Wins Car-Free Space

Posted on by Kristen Leckie

Last Tuesday, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) Board of Directors voted to permanently keep cars off of the north end of Patricia’s Green. This project will dedicate what were formerly fast-moving vehicle lanes into a gathering place for people living in and visiting Hayes Valley.

Since the Central Freeway was torn down in the early 90’s, Hayes Valley has changed to accommodate the large influx of fast-moving street traffic, making it unsafe for people walking and biking. With the approval of the Octavia Open Street Project, the SFMTA took a big step forward toward making Hayes Valley streets calm and comfortable for people again.

This project has been led and championed by neighbors since 2015, including the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, because of its positive impacts for those walking and biking. “Since being established 20 years ago, Patricia’s Green has become the heart of the Hayes Valley neighborhood — it’s where you meet neighbors, walk your dog, play with your kids, or just hang out with friends,” said District 5 Supervisor Vallie Brown. “These commonsense enhancements will improve the livability of the neighborhood — with less honking, less congestion, and more protected walking and bicycling space.”

The SFMTA board directors were so encouraged by the support for this project that they urged the SFMTA to think bigger and explore not only extending the car-free space to Fell Street, but also bringing car-free spaces to even more neighborhoods around the city.

Director Amanda Eaken urged the SFMTA to think at a larger scale, stating “I want to see more proposals for pedestrianization city-wide.” Director Cristina Rubke echoed that ask, saying, “I would really support us taking it further and treating it as phase one as other directors have mentioned and looking at closing down more streets to cars.”

This is a big win, but our work doesn’t end here. The Octavia Open Street Project is only one of many long-awaited safety projects in Hayes Valley focused on addressing traffic impacts in the neighborhood. We support the extension of the street closure to Fell Street and are pushing forward other projects, like traffic calming on Page Street.

In order to get there, we’re going to need your help. Sign up to stay connected on this project and others in Hayes Valley.

Breaking Down Barriers to Bike Share

Posted on by Janice Li

Bike share first launched in San Francisco in 2013, and since then, your SF Bicycle Coalition has consistently advocated for affordable and accessible systems so that all San Franciscans can experience the fun and convenience of biking.

Last week, the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) announced that they issued a new permit to Bay Wheels (formerly Ford GoBike) to expand their system and extended the existing permit for JUMP Bikes. This decision ensures that there will be more e-bikes available and more bike share options at your disposal. 

Regardless of which company or companies operate bike share in San Francisco, our demands remain consistent: Bike share in San Francisco must be affordable and accessible for everyone across our city.

Today, San Franciscans have so many options for getting around without a private vehicle. On top of biking, walking, and taking public transportation, thousands of people now use transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft to take an estimated 170,000 vehicle trips a day. San Francisco also has two scooter share companies and two bike share companies offering even more options for getting from point A to point B.

While having a variety of mobility options seems like a good thing on its surface, the reality is that most of these options present major barriers to entry. Many of them are far more expensive than a Muni fare. Most are only accessible to fluent English speakers, and nearly all of them require some combination of having a smartphone, a mobile app, or a preexisting account with a TNC service.

When it comes to bike share, we must break down the barriers to entry so the system can be truly successful.

As the SFMTA moves to meet its goal of 11,000 bikes citywide, we challenge any company that operates bike share in San Francisco to commit to the following:

  • Provide and actively promote a robust program for low-income users that is easy to sign up for and has cash payment and monthly payment options;
  • Perform outreach in all communities across the city and provide information in languages other than English;
  • Provide full access to bicycles without requiring users to have a smartphone, a mobile app or a pre-existing account with another service; and
  • Distribute bikes and stations in diverse communities across the city, expanding service areas to include communities that have faced historic disinvestment in transportation.

If you support our challenge, become a member today and join our advocacy efforts to ensure bike share in San Francisco is both affordable and accessible for all.

The New Faces of Bike Ed

Posted on by Eliana Marcus-Tyler

Our Bicycle Education program is growing, so we’ve brought on new bike ed instructors to bring the joy of bicycling to more people in San Francisco. Nancy, José and Nora truly represent our values of transportation justice, sustainability, people power, and joy. Join our free classes to meet these new members of our team!

Nancy Hernandez
(she/her/hers pronouns)
English-Spanish bilingual
Bikes make me feel confident, strong, and free — and I want everybody to experience the feeling that comes with getting somewhere with the power of their own legs. Bikes can be a vehicle for social change and a way to tackle health, environmental, and economic disparities in lower-income communities of color. It took almost getting doored for me to realize I had the right to take the lane. I keep that feeling of empowerment by reminding myself that streets are for everybody.

José Vargas
(he/him/his pronouns)
English-Spanish bilingual
I first learned to bike in Nicaragua when I was 6, but one day I forgot how to brake and split open my forehead. They say you never forget how to ride a bike, but I did. I had to relearn when I moved to SF the following year. I find biking exhilarating, liberating and environmentally friendly. It also allows me to sleep in later, since biking is the most predictable way to get to work. I would advise someone new to biking to ease into it and be patient. Biking can be intimidating at first, but the pay-off is enormous.

Nora Dye
(she/her/hers pronouns)
English-Spanish bilingual
Feeling at home on a bicycle is an incredibly liberating experience, but there are many things that pose barriers to biking: your experience growing up, lack of access to financial and practical resources, lack of representation in the biking community, and fear of the unknown. I aim to reduce these barriers, in part through the California Field School, which takes young people on bike tours exploring social and environmental justice. Last May, we biked over 300 miles with Life Academy, an Oakland Public High School.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the summer issue of our quarterly Tube Times magazine, one of many perks of membership at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Not a member? Join today.

Valet Bicycle Parking Coming to Chase Center in September

Posted on by Jo-Anne Burgess

On Friday, September 6, 2019, the Chase Center will open its doors to three long-time San Francisco legends: Metallica, the San Francisco Symphony, and San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s Valet Bicycle Parking!

For the past five years, we have been working with the Chase Center and the Golden State Warriors to ensure that the Chase Center will have state-of-the-art secure bicycle parking available for up to 300 bikes at all of its 200+ annual concerts, basketball games and events. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition staff will work all events, from two hours before each event begins to one hour after it ends. The entrance to the bicycle valet room will be on 16th St. near the corner of 3rd St. and will include two tiers of parking for all types of bicycles, including space for cargo bikes — so bring your family with you!

In 2018, we parked 11,760 bicycles at events including Giants games, Presidio Picnic, and American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) performances. Once the Chase Center opens, we’ll be parking over 20,000 bikes annually, but we need your help! Apply to join our valet bicycle staff.

Did you know we’ve been providing bicycle valet at events in San Francisco for over 25 years? Here’s a sampling of other events where we provide Valet Bicycle Parking:

  • SF Giants home games
  • Presidio Picnic
  • A.C.T. preview performances
  • Dreamforce
  • Google NEXT
  • SF Parks and Rec Eggstravaganza
  • SF Parks and Rec Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
  • Flower Piano
  • Dutch King’s Day

Do you know of other events in San Francisco that should have valet bicycle parking? Email joanne@sfbike.org so we can reach out to event organizers and make bike parking safe for everyone who attends.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the summer issue of our quarterly Tube Times magazine, one of many perks of membership at the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Not a member? Join today.

VIDEO: Get to Know Your District 5 Supervisor Candidates

Posted on by Janice Li

On Monday, over one hundred attendees packed into the Park Branch Library community room to hear from the four people who are running for District 5 Supervisor: Vallie Brown, Ryan Lam, Dean Preston and Nomvula O’Meara.

After each candidate gave their introductory remarks, moderator Margaret McCarthy guided the four candidates through a lengthy Q&A about a variety of transportation topics affecting District 5 and the city as a whole, including Vision Zero, bike share, Muni, congestion and more.

We were encouraged to see such overwhelming interest in this candidate forum, and we look forward to continuing to engage our members in our endorsements process. Questionnaires have already been shared with all candidates for District 5 Supervisor, District Attorney and Mayor, and we will share their responses on our website in August. Our members will have a chance to weigh in via an online poll. Our board of directors will consider member input and share the organization’s full slate of endorsements by early September.

For those of you who weren’t able to attend Monday’s event, we recorded the candidate forum in full for your viewing and listening here:

Thank you again for your interest, and if you want to make sure you receive regular updates as our endorsements process continues, sign up for emails today.

I Want Bike the Vote Updates

New Protected Bike Lanes Coming to Folsom

Posted on by Charles Deffarges

We’ve been pushing hard to see protected bike lanes on Folsom and Howard, all the way from Second Street to the waterfront. Last month, we got one big step closer to that vision, as a robust protected bike lane project on Folsom broke ground.

Approved in 2015, the Folsom Transbay Project promises to transform Folsom Street from Second Street to the Embarcadero. The need for transportation improvements along this eastern segment of Folsom has never been greater. With massive development underway and a brand new transportation hub a block away, people need safe routes to bike in this growing neighborhood. This streetscape project will provide exactly that, as well as new, wider sidewalks and public spaces.

Instead of fast-moving, one-way streets, this section of Folsom Street will have calmer, two-way traffic with protected bike lanes on either side, street trees and wider sidewalks.

Construction on this project began last month and is expected to last less than a year. We’ll be working with the project team to mitigate negative impacts to biking and walking during construction.

As we continue to push our City to build better bicycle infrastructure faster, continued member engagement and activism will be critical to our success. Join us today.