The Winner of Our September Bike Raffle Is…

Posted on by Anna Gore

Curious who won our September raffle for a new bike? Well wait no more. New SF Bicycle Coalition member Nathan Hurst won that gorgeous ride, but the story doesn’t end there. As an avid cyclist with a generous spirit, Nathan decided to donate the bike (as well as two used bikes he has) to someone who needs it through our Bike it Forwards program!

Nathan may be a new member, but he’s not new to bicycling. Before moving to San Francisco he took an epic journey by bike all the way across Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo. These days you’ll find him hosting multi-day trips in Napa and Sonoma as a bicycle tour guide. We sat down with Nathan to find out more about him and his love of bicycling:

SF Bicycle Coalition: When did you first start biking in San Francisco?

Nathan: I moved to San Francisco six years ago and immediately started commuting by bike. Since then, I’ve also started road, mountain and gravel biking.

What’s your favorite aspect of bicycling in San Francisco?

My favorite aspect of biking in San Francisco is the access to stunning places to ride. Not many cities have spots like Golden Gate Park, the Presidio or Twin Peaks, let alone all three. Even better, if you’re a little more ambitious, Hawk Hill and everything north in Marin is spectacular, and you can get to them straight from your door. And then there’s the fire roads, dedicated singletrack, bike camping and the thousands of people who are out there with you.

What prompted you to become a member of the SF Bicycle Coalition?

I’ve been meaning to join for a long time. I think bicycling is extremely important, no matter how you do it. I also think it’s important for us to come together to advocate for ourselves because we remain a vulnerable and underrepresented population.

What inspired you to donate both the bike you won in our September Member Drive and two of your own bikes to our Bike it Forwards program?

Bikes get old, and people move on. There was still a lot of life left in my old bikes, but I didn’t use them anymore, and I wanted them to get used. Same sort of deal with the prize bike. I will be riding bikes no matter what, but I imagine there is someone out there who could use and ride that bike, who otherwise would not be riding at all.

New members like Nathan power our work in many ways, from providing funding for programs like our Bike it Forwards program to elevating our voice when we speak out in City Hall. Sign up here to start your membership rolling today!

Letter to Mayor Lee: We Demand Immediate Action

Posted on by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Above, a family biking Sloat Boulevard, where a person died walking this week.

 

On Sloat Boulevard and 36th Avenue this week, San Francisco saw the 11th person to die while walking this year. This is unacceptable and urgent City leadership is needed.

Below is the letter we sent, along with Walk SF, to Mayor Ed Lee and City leaders holding a range of office. Sign onto our letter today and help move San Francisco towards a future where traffic deaths are eliminated.

*****

Dear Mayor Lee,

On Oct. 31, the 11th pedestrian was killed in San Francisco this year. While the City has made much progress since adopting Vision Zero in 2014 –– including through your August 2016 Executive Directive –– too many lives continue to be lost on streets that we know are dangerous amid unacceptable delays.

The latest person killed was walking at 36th Avenue on Sloat Boulevard, a multilane, high-speed street known to be dangerous. For years, the community, the City, and the State have been planning improvements to Sloat. But as on many other dangerous streets in San Francisco, improvements have not come quickly enough, and a man has just paid the ultimate price as a result.

He is not the only one. While the City has delayed the Outer Mission Muni Forward Project for over two years, Qiu Liang was killed crossing Mission at Ney. Plans for improvements to Alemany Boulevard have been discussed for years, but nothing was done in time to save the life of Moises Chavez, who was killed riding his bike on this dangerous corridor at the intersection with Silver Avenue. David Grinberg, a 90-year-old who loved walking in the Panhandle, was recently killed at Baker on Fell Street –– a high-injury corridor set for improvements. Tragically, the list goes on.

Project after project on high-injury corridors have been delayed, and too many lives have been lost during this negligent inaction. Those delays result from the failure of agencies under the management of the Mayor to collaborate with one another. The people of San Francisco urgently need City leadership to progress San Francisco towards our Vision Zero goals, including:

  1. We call on the Mayor’s office to deliver comprehensive safety improvements at the site of every single fatality from traffic violence in San Francisco this year; and
  2. The power of the Mayor’s Office should be deployed to settle disputes between City agencies and insist on progress to end delays for safety improvement projects, including but not limited to the 11th Street Improvement Project, the Embarcadero Enhancement Project, the Folsom-Howard Streetscape Project, the Townsend Corridor Improvement Project and the Upper Market Street Safety Project.

In addition to moving forward the above transformative capital projects, we call for proactive, near-term fixes on a series of high-injury corridors across our city in the next 12 months. The safety of walking and biking can and must be improved at Sixth Street, 11th Street, the Embarcadero, Fell and Oak streets, Folsom and Howard streets, Townsend Street, and Upper Market Street.

On behalf of our members, further delays by City agencies are not acceptable. Together, Walk San Francisco and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition are asking you to demonstrate leadership in fixing the broken system that is allowing vital safety improvements to flounder year after year.

We demand immediate action before more lives are lost.

Sincerely,

Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director
Walk San Francisco

Brian Wiedenmeier, Executive Director
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

*****

Sign onto our letter today today to see City progress past unexcusable delays and deliver the safe streets that all San Franciscans deserve.

Real Progress at the Hairball

Posted on by Charles Deffarges

I’m excited to share ways that our comprehensive approach to improving conditions at the Hairball is bearing fruit. Our work has led to some real improvements that will be taking effect in the coming weeks and months.

In recent months, your SF Bicycle Coalition has led the discussion around the Hairball and potential solutions to the persistent problems that exist there. City leaders, advocates and our members have all played a part in moving this conversation forward towards real change.

In our conversations with City agencies about solutions for the Hairball, we have consistently pushed for comprehensive solutions to the issue of homeless encampments blocking the bike lane. The status quo of sweeping the people living in the Hairball from one end to the other was neither effective nor ethical, and the conditions were deteriorating for everyone living there or passing through.

Now, several key improvements and services are coming to the Hairball following our calls for action. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (DHSH) is focusing renewed resources towards the encampments at the Hairball and their residents. Starting in October, DHSH has placed dozens of people experiencing homelessness at the Hairball into transitional housing and they’ve allocated space to house the remaining people over the next couple of weeks. This is huge progress towards improving the lives of those living at the Hairball and the conditions for people riding through.

New bike lanes on the Jerrold entrance to the Hairball were also recently approved and will begin construction in the coming months. Together these coordinated efforts mark great movement towards making the Hairball a better place to bike.

None of these improvements would have been possible without our members’ voices. Join the SF Bicycle Coalition as a member today to support our continued work at the Hairball and across San Francisco.

Think Globally. Volunteer Locally.

Posted on by Kelsey Roeder

Let’s face it: 2017 hasn’t been the best year on record. If you’re like me, the weight of the flurry of challenges that are being faced is still hanging in the air. So I’m writing to give you some good news: you can do something, right now, that will have a positive impact on yourself and your community. Sign up to volunteer at Winterfest!

What volunteering means for us:

Our work, quite truly, wouldn’t be possible without the help of our volunteers. Generous donations of time and energy are what make our advocacy wheels go ‘round. At Winterfest, volunteers are integral to every aspect of the event, from pouring delicious drinks to making sure each and every guest feels welcome.

Winterfest is our largest party of the year and our best opportunity to meet as many members as possible. In addition, it’s our largest fundraiser of the year, providing us with funds to further our mission of improving the conditions for you and everyone biking in our city.

What volunteering means for you:

Signing up to volunteer is a simple, powerful and effective way to plug in and make a difference. As superstar SF Bicycle Coalition member and Winterfest volunteer Jane Natoli says, the most important thing to do is to just show up. In my experience, the act of giving time and dedication to something meaningful to you not only brightens your day, but connects you to like-minded people in your community. And what better way to start this holiday season than by supporting San Francisco’s biggest and best bicycle party!

Volunteering at Winterfest will create more opportunities to spread our advocacy, share our education work and reach a wider audience of people who bike. Whatever your volunteer fancy, from setup to breakdown, and everything in between, we have a role for you. Claim your spot today!

Winterfest is Sunday, Dec. 3 and we need your help to make it happen. Sign up to volunteer today.

South Side Survey Ride

Posted on by Charles Deffarges

While some of the most headline-grabbing projects are in downtown neighborhoods, your SF Bicycle Coalition is constantly engaged in projects in every corner of San Francisco. The higher number of people riding in our urban core does not mean that safety improvements should be overlooked elsewhere in the city. People ride all over San Francisco, and many streets in our outer neighborhoods still need a lot of work to be safe for people riding.

To bring more attention to our advocacy work in southern neighborhoods, we’re excited to host an upcoming survey ride to take a closer look at bike routes in the Excelsior, Balboa Park and Mission Terraces neighborhoods. We will cast a critical eye towards potential solutions for some of the challenging hotspots connecting major neighborhoods, schools and transit centers. We’re also looking for member feedback to inform our recommendations and work in the area.

Join us on our South Side Survey Ride to ride and take a closer look at the following locations:

  1. Ocean Avenue: This high-injury corridor, which crosses Interstate 280, is an important connector between the Excelsior and both BART and City College of San Francisco (CCSF).
  2. Phelan Avenue: This street runs through the CCSF campus, connecting Sunnyside to Ocean Avenue. With high volumes of traffic, this street is not a welcoming place for students trying to get to class.
  3. Cayuga Avenue: A calmer, neighborhood street that many people use as an alternative to Alemany in the bicycle network.
  4. Alemany Boulevard: Another high-injury corridor, Alemany is the main north south bike route in the area. Alemany and Silver was also the site of a recent bicycle fatality.

The ride will meet on Sunday Nov. 5 at 12:00 pm at the intersection of Mission and Ocean. RSVP below.

Super Sneak Peek of the Winterfest Bike Auction

Posted on by Susan Gallentine

Each year, members snag amazing deals on new bikes in the Winterfest bike auction. Can’t wait until Winterfest on Sunday, Dec. 3 to see all the amazing bikes in the bike auction? We can’t either, so take a look below for three of the many, many bikes that’ll be featured in the auction. Want to snag one of these beauties? Be sure to purchase your tickets to Winterfest today so you can get in on the bidding! (Pssst! Early bird discounts expire soon, so buy your ticket to Winterfest today and save.)

Trek Crossrip Comp
Value: $1,180               Opening Bid: $475

From Trek: If you’re searching for one bike to do it all, look no further than than Trek’s CrossRip Comp. This machine is ready for the road, gravel, commutes and even some cyclocross racing. Its light aluminum frame teams up with a carbon fork, making it fast and fun to ride. Shimano gives you a 24-speed drivetrain with three-ring cranks up front that are perfect for the steepest hills. And since you have rack and fender mounts as well, you have some gear-hauling and foul-weather capacity. Disc brakes give you all-conditions stopping too, so go ahead, commute all winter long and tour the sloppiest dirt roads. The tires are Bontrager Hard-Cases, so flats are pretty much a thing of the past as well.
Thank you to Avenue Cyclery for donating this bike.

 

Xtracycle Cargo Node
Value: $1,800               Opening Bid: $725

From Xtracycle: The Cargo Node has the power to transform your life because it can haul you — and your stuff. With a cargo bike, you can truly drive less. Xtracycle designed the Cargo Node to carry all your stuff but also fold up — in 10 seconds — so that you can take it in an elevator, store it in your apartment or throw it in the back of a taxi.
Thank you to Xtracycle for donating this bike.

Salsa Vaya Claris
Value: $1,099               Opening Bid: $450

From Salsa: The Vaya is fun with a load and without. It’s fun on the road and on mixed terrain. It’s fun to ride leisurely and to hammer. It is one of the most versatile bikes on the marketplace right now. If you want a bike that is capable of loaded touring, but also doesn’t feel like you’re dragging an anchor around when you’re not on tour, then the Vaya is for you.
Thank you to Roaring Mouse Cycles for donating this bike.

If you’re picturing yourself riding off into the night on one of these gorgeous bikes, now is the time to purchase your ticket to Winterfest.

Thank you to all of the wonderful bike shops and manufacturers who make the bike auction a reality by donating.

Job Opening: We’re Hiring a Community Organizer

Posted on by San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is seeking a seasoned, effective organizer to work on expanding bicycling and bicycle infrastructure in San Francisco. If you are passionate about bicycling, this is your chance to help improve the lives of San Franciscans.

Hours: Full time. Hours may be flexible. Position will entail some work on weeknights and weekends in order to attend community meetings and events.

About the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

Through day-to-day advocacy, education and working partnerships with government and community agencies, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is dedicated to creating safe streets and more livable communities for all San Franciscans by promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation.

Our active membership of over 10,000 represents San Franciscans of all ages and backgrounds from all neighborhoods who are working towards safe, green and efficient 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. Our members donate over 10,000 volunteer hours a year.

Job Components

You will work with all parts of the organization, including staff and members, to develop and win support for key bicycling infrastructure improvements. This work will entail working closely with community groups, businesses and elected officials to develop grassroots and grasstops support for new and improved bike infrastructure. You will also be responsible for helping create and support member-led campaigns. You should be comfortable with street-level organizing as well as grasstops outreach.

Responsibilities may include, but will not be limited to:

  • Campaign strategy and outreach for campaigns to build more, better bike infrastructure throughout the city;
  • Organizing on-street and other forms of grassroots outreach;
  • Developing and supporting member-led campaigns;
  • Working with City agencies and elected officials to advance campaigns;
  • Creating new relationships and deepening existing relationships with community partners;
  • Regular communications both in person and in writing, which will include engaging and communicating with members about our work at all steps in the campaign process;
  • Representing the organization at public meetings;
  • Supporting the organization’s political endorsements process for candidates and ballot measures; and
  • Hiring and managing a team of diverse interns.

Desired qualifications include:

  • A deep commitment to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s mission;
  • Written and/or conversational fluency in Spanish, Cantonese or Tagalog;
  • Two years of experience as an organizer;
  • Strong interpersonal and relational skills;
  • An ability to take initiative and lead advocacy efforts within the organization;
  • A demonstrated track record of successful project planning, project management, base-building and strategy implementation;
  • An ability to work individually and as part of a team;
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a wide variety of audiences;
  • A strong record of online organizing;
  • Experience sourcing and managing a diverse cohort of interns and volunteers; and
  • The desire and ability to implement systems that will allow your work to scale quickly and significantly to maximize your impact.

Salary and Benefits

The annual salary for this exempt position is lower-$40Ks or higher, depending upon relevancy of experience. Full-time benefits include medical, vision and dental insurance.

How to Apply

Write a compelling cover letter and resume, and submit them by clicking “Apply for Position” below. Be sure to mention where you saw the opening advertised. People of color and women are strongly encouraged to apply. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is an equal opportunity employer.

Applications will be reviewed starting on Monday, November 20, 2017 and considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled. The ideal candidate would start employment in mid-January 2018.

UPDATE: We are no longer accepting applications for the community organizer position. If you have questions, please contact janice@sfbike.org.

Protect People Biking 17th & Church

Posted on by Julia Raskin

Have you ever had difficulty navigating the historic rails on 17th Street between Church and Sanchez? You’re not alone, which is why the City went through a public planning process over the last year to explore safety improvements there.

The final design for a protected bike lane is now ready for approval before the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board. Will you write a letter in support of the new design for 17th Street?

Write a Letter

When it comes to biking in San Francisco, historic rails are a signature of the city that can be a tricky obstacle. On 17th Street between Church and Sanchez streets, several rail lines come together to form a complicated stretch that is difficult to navigate for people biking between the Mission and the Castro.

The City collected data that shows what we all know: this location has a long history of crashes. Now the SFMTA is ready to approve protected bike lanes on both sides of 17th Street to allow room for people on bikes to safely avoid the tracks between Church and Sanchez.  

In June, our members and other local residents packed the room to see the final proposals for improving this notoriously difficult stretch of 17th Street, and everyone was especially excited about the option for protected bike lanes. Now the plan is going up for approval to the SFMTA Board on Nov. 7, and we want to make sure the City hears this support from the community.

If you bike here regularly and want a better way to navigate the rails, write a letter today in support of protected bike lanes on 17th Street.

Time to Fix Valencia

Posted on by Julia Raskin

The experience of biking Valencia has changed dramatically since 1999, when bike lanes were first striped there. Those bike lanes, however, haven’t kept up with changing times.

How many of us can even remember biking Valencia without weaving around Ubers, Lyfts and delivery vehicles illegally parked in the bike lanes? Valencia’s bike lanes are overdue for improvements that change how everyone navigates this important corridor. And now protected bike lanes may be on the horizon for Valencia, thanks to the strong support of Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, but we need every person in support to band together and speak up. Will you join us?

It’s Time

In 1994 we celebrated the approval of bike lanes on Valencia — the first major thoroughfare to add bike lanes in the city. At the time, this was a major win for the bicycling community in San Francisco. Dave Snyder, then the SF Bicycle Coalition Executive Director, predicted in the Tube Times that we were “in this for the long haul; and fortunately, making streets safer for bicycle traffic will make them safer for everyone.” Dave was right. Over 20 years later we are ready to take the next step towards transforming Valencia Street into the optimal north-south bike route that San Francisco deserves.

Winning bike lanes on Valencia was not only groundbreaking; it was a monumental task led by SF Bicycle Coalition Membership Director Mary Brown. Her organizing overcame the objections of the San Francisco Traffic and Parking Director, who declared that bike lanes would only be striped on Valencia “over my dead body.” It took five years after they were approved, but in 1999, those lanes were striped.

SF Bicycle Coalition staffer Mary Brown, in the green jacket, watches as the bike lanes she organized for are striped on Valencia in 1999.

The paint that constituted such a substantial victory in the ‘90s is no longer sufficient, however. The proliferation of Uber, Lyft and delivery companies has transformed Valencia into an obstacle course. It’s past time to add protected bike lanes so that this important north-south corridor offers a world-class biking experience.

The chance to see protected bike lanes on Valencia lies before us, including near-term improvements as soon as next year. Join our people-powered movement to advocate for protected bike lanes on the entire length of Valencia street.

Catching Up With Partners at Chinese Newcomers Service Center

Posted on by Miles Stepto

Chinese Newcomers Service Center and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition have partnered for multiple events including a Bike It Forward event (participants pictured above) last fall, and most recently to perform outreach about Bike Share for All, making bike share available to San Franciscans of limited means. This November we’ll host another bike build with Chinese Newcomers Service Center where we look forward to getting another 30 Chinatown residents on bicycles.

I recently met with Wilson Hoang and Alan Tse of Chinese Newcomers Service Center to discuss biking in Chinatown and what role bicycles play in the commute of Chinatown residents.

SF Bicycle Coalition: How did you become involved with Chinese Newcomers Service Center?

Wilson Hoang: I started volunteering at Chinese Newcomers Service Center first before I started working here. I volunteered with the VITA/TCE program because every year the Chinese Newcomers Service Center runs the tax program during weekends to help people do their taxes for free. I started volunteering with the tax program.

What originally inspired you to invite SF Bicycle Coalition for the Bike It Forward event?

As you can see, the parking in Chinatown is horrendous. I believe that if we start getting our community to start riding bikes and getting feasible transportation in this area, it could help reduce a lot of the cars. If you reduce the cars in this area, it also brings in people who are tourists who want to park, but they can’t, so that also helps the economy. The main things is that there are way too many cars. That’s a danger and a hazard. If you bring bikes in this location, bike lanes are the next step. Bike lanes reduce car traffic by a lot and promote the overall safety in this neighborhood. So that would definitely be one of the major reasons why we want to promote more bike riding in this neighborhood.

What do you see as the importance of biking in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood?

Especially with the construction going on right now, there’s no room for cars. We should definitely just add more bike lanes. I know that’s hard. I know you guys have to fight for each and every bike lane throughout San Francisco. This neighborhood is just the densest and probably needs it.

Why do CNSC’s patrons want bicycles from the Bike It Forward event?

Our patrons are usually immigrants from China. This is our main demographic that we serve. In China they’re not going to be driving cars. In China, cars are a luxury, so 90 percent of the time our demographics and our low-income immigrants were probably using bikes as their main mode of transportation. When they immigrated here they couldn’t bring bikes or they couldn’t afford to get their own here. They just want a bike because that’s what they are used to. They ride bikes to work, to home and to the grocery store. That’s their daily life.

Curious about the Community Bicycle Build program? Sign up today to volunteer at one of our upcoming events and help us place more bikes with people eager to ride but otherwise lacking access to bikes.