SF Bike had a busy 2023 supporting legislation that makes streets safer for pedestrians and people on bikes and bring San Francisco closer to its Vision Zero goals. We’re excited to share that several of these bills have passed, and here’s what you can expect to see in 2024.
Let’s start with the Omnibus Bicycle Bill (AB 1909) from 2022, which already created some important changes when it took effect two years ago. The 2024 update amends vehicle code so that people on bikes can legally proceed through intersections on the pedestrian walk signal (unless otherwise directed by a bicycle signal light). Prior to this amendment, it was only legal for bikes to cross the street with the green light for car traffic. People riding bikes now have the same 3-7 second headstart that pedestrians have, in intersections with Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs). This amendment took effect on January 1st 2024.
More recently, in October of 2023, several bills that increase bicycle and pedestrian safety took effect.
AB 413 implements “daylighting” measures statewide – these are improvements that make everyone more visible at intersections. This bill increases pedestrian and bicycle safety as it increases visibility for people walking, biking, and driving cars around crosswalks by removing visual barriers within 20 feet of intersections. Cities are required to implement measures to address the following changes under this bill:
Stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle within 20 feet of a crosswalk, marked or unmarked, and within 15 feets of a crosswalk with a curb extension will be prohibited.
Cities will be able to allow parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk that has clear signage or a painted curb.
Warnings to violators will be issued through 2024 while changes take effect.
AB 361 made important changes to enforcing parked cars in the bike lane. Under this bill, cities are authorized to install forward-facing parking control devices (read: cameras) on city-owned parking enforcement vehicles in order to better monitor and capture bicycle lane violations. Enforcement officers will be able to take still photos of bike lane parking violations until Jan 1 2030. These parking control cameras should be angled towards and solely focused on the bike lane, so that they can only capture images of parking violations, and images captured will be kept confidential under existing law.
SB 712 increased tenants rights related to personal micromobility devices, or scooters, bikes, and e-bikes. This bill prohibits landlords from preventing tenants from owning, storing and charging personal micromobility devices in the tenant’s unit if the landlord has not provided secure, long-term storage for the devices. Such storage must be free for residents’ use, located on the premises, accessible to only residents of the same housing complex, protected against precipitation, and it must have at least one standard electrical connection for each device that will be stored. Landlords can still prohibit repair or maintenance on batteries and motors within a tenant’s unit. Landlords can also still require tenants to store devices in accordance with fire codes.
We put a lot of energy towards the Automated Speed Enforcement Pilot (AB 645), and were thrilled to see the bill pass in October 2023. You can read more about this big win here, but the highlights include:
San Francisco and five other California cities are now able to pilot automated speed cameras for five years as of January 1st, 2024.
SFMTA is authorized to install 33 speed safety cameras around schools and along the High-Injury Network.
We’re excited for what 2024 has in store for bicycle and pedestrian safety. Review the rules of the road here and at our Smart City Cycling 1 class!
On January 18th, 16 Cleveland Elementary students hit a big milestone: they earned bicycles as rewards for walking to school, maintaining perfect attendance, displaying good behavior, and participating in other goals organized by the school nurse, Lily Dickson.
Nurse Lily created a point system to incentivize these behaviors and also secured bike helmets to give away through Donors Choose. To help the kids build new habits, she also organized weekly walkbuses with the SF Safe Routes to School Team for much of the fall and early winter, encouraging alternative modes of transportation.
Cleary Bikes generously donated the bicycles to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition as part of their “Reride” program. ReRide is a simple yet impactful initiative: it upcycles pre-loved Cleary bikes, placing them into the hands of children who need them, thereby nurturing a community of young cyclists. Families purchase new bikes from Cleary, and once their child outgrows that bike, it’s returned to Cleary HQ, becoming a permanent fixture in the cooperative. The family receives a rebate, offsetting the cost of the new bike.The pre-loved Cleary bike gets a thorough tune-up before being redistributed into the community. Bikes continue to be passed down from rider to rider, potentially serving over 20 families throughout their life cycle.
The San Francisco Safe Routes to School Program also provided crucial support for the event, offering bike safety training for the students who received their new bikes. This training was conducted by a certified instructor from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, highlighting the coalition’s role as a connector for programs tailored to underserved communities in the city.
Each new cyclist received a bike, a new helmet, and information about upcoming bike education classes provided by SFBike and YBike throughout the city. Our goal is to equip the community with both the tools and the knowledge needed to ride their bikes safely. This collaborative effort exemplifies the positive impact that can be achieved when organizations come together to empower young students and promote active, healthy lifestyles within our communities.
This event’s success was made possible by the collaborative efforts of the San Francisco Safe Routes to School program, Cleveland Elementary Staff, and Cleary Bikes.
We’re always looking to create more opportunities for San Francisco kids to thrive through active modes of transportation. Would you like to bring this type of activity to your school or community? Get in touch with us by emailing Adrian at acardenas@sfbike.org.
On Friday morning, January 26, over 20 SF Bicycle Coalition members mingled with delicious coffee in hand to discuss their vision for a protected bike lane on Oak Street along the Panhandle. Hosted at Flywheel Coffee Roasters, this kick-off meeting for the Oak Street Quick-Build campaign was a huge success and has us ready for more.
Just off Golden Gate Park and Slow Page, we spent an hour diving into the SFMTA’s plans for Oak Street and hearing suggestions from our members. Everyone had great ideas on how to make this project the best it could be.
Several members stressed the importance of creating safe and intuitive connections between the JFK Promenade and the Wiggle, mentioning that if the bike lane doesn’t fit those criteria, most people biking won’t use it. Others also stressed the need for robust protection at the intersections where people on bicycles will be interacting with cars and pedestrians. Everyone agreed that a dedicated eastbound lane would complement Fell Street’s westbound lane, and expand the options for people cycling crosstown.
We love hosting small meetings like this – it allows for richer conversations and bonding over shared experiences, and creates momentum for all of us, staff and membership, as we join to advocate for better streets. We look forward to the next Oak Street event soon!
The Oak Street Quick-Build is part of the city’s Vision Zero commitment to achieve zero traffic fatalities. For the past couple years, the SFMTA has been implementing quick-build projects on all of the high-injury streets in San Francisco. This portion of Oak Street is on the High-Injury Network and needs immediate attention to prevent further injuries and fatalities.
A huge benefit to this project will be alleviating congestion coming from the JFK Promenade along the Panhandle’s multi-use path. A popular route for all people walking and rolling, the path is narrow and is prone to collisions because of the wide range of user speeds. The bike lane will reduce crowding on the path and improve a crucial part of SF’s active transportation network.
In addition to the protected bike lane, the project will include pedestrian safety improvements, a removal of one vehicle travel lane to help control car speeds and signal timing changes for improved safety. The majority of this project scope falls within District 5 and Supervisor Dean Preston has been incredibly supportive of the project. Previously, he helped achieve the Fell bike lane and secured funding in 2021 for Oak St bike lane. You can read more about the project on the SFMTA’s website.
Last month on January 11 we hosted a walk audit of the Central Richmond area with Supervisor Chan, Self-Help for the Elderly and the SFMTA. A walk audit is an opportunity to survey an area on foot and discuss uses, needs and areas of improvement. The specific purpose of our event was to do outreach with Chinese seniors in the Richmond District to talk about their transportation needs to better inform the city’s Active Communities Plan.
The rain stopped just long enough for us to have a beautiful sunny Thursday afternoon as we walked around Geary Blvd with 15 seniors. We started at Self-Help for the Elderly’s Richmond location, the Jackie Chan Senior Center. We walked a few blocks east down Geary and then crossed to the other side and looped back around. We stopped periodically to discuss transit accessibility, sidewalk conditions, connections to other parts of San Francisco, intersection safety and more.
The walk audit was hosted in Cantonese and English with Supervisor Chan doing much of the translating herself. Some discussion points were the connections with Muni, difficulty crossing Geary and Slow Streets. The Geary Improvement Project came up several times as the SFMTA is slowly implementing aspects of that project. SFCTA staff also came out to discuss the ongoing District 1 Mobility Study that seeks to identify and develop “near- and long-term strategies to improve transit reliability and safety” in the district.
It was great to engage with Richmond seniors, Supervisor Chan and SFMTA staff all together to discuss how we can all collaborate to create safer streets. If we plan our city for children and seniors walking and rolling – two often marginalized and overlooked groups – then our streets will be safer for everyone.
The feedback gathered from this event will be added to the SFMTA’s outreach data for the Active Communities Plan and will be taken into consideration as they draft the network. We are expecting updates on a draft plan in just a few weeks. To stay informed about the Active Communities Plan, join our mailing list!
The staff administrators of the recent SF Bicycle Coalition board elections congratulate the winners:
Matt Biggar, Garrett Brinker, Ike Khurgel, Michael Nguyen, Ryan Patterson, Brandon Powell, Emily Steinglass, Christine P. Sun.
Members in good standing cast a total of 264 tallied online ballots. 6 abstentions were also submitted.
Details on the entire 2024 Board of Directors election process are available here. And details on this election’s round-by-round results are here. For more information about multi-winner ranked-choice voting, click here. This election was conducted using Meek’s Single Transferable Vote method.
The first board meeting with the newly elected members will be held on February 27, 2024. We look forward to working with the winners, who will serve terms of two years on our board of directors alongside the seven existing board members whose terms have not expired. And we thank you, our wonderful members, for participating in this election.
Not yet a member or need to renew?Join or renew today to support our work for better biking all year long.
The Membership and Development Associate assists the Membership and Development team with the recruitment and retention of the organization’s thousands of members and facilitates the execution of our development strategies. The position will represent the SF Bicycle Coalition as the first point of contact for inquiries from members and the broader community, playing a vital role in maintaining constituent relationships and fostering a welcoming culture. The Membership and Development Associate will help execute strategies and business processes that support membership acquisition and renewal, track member and donor data, and cultivate and retain donors at a variety of giving levels. Finally, the Membership and Development Associate will work with the Membership Engagement Manager to organize and execute flagship member events, including the signature Bike to Work/Wherever Days.
About the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition was founded in 1971 by a group of activists representing a coalition of environmental and neighborhood groups and is one of the oldest bicycle advocacy groups in the nation. For over 50 years, the SF Bicycle Coalition has furthered its mission – to transform San Francisco’s streets and neighborhoods into safe, just, and livable places by promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation – through its grassroots political organizing and broadening civic engagement. With its dual 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) structure, staff of fifteen, and $2.5 million annual budget, SF Bicycle Coalition has grown to add community-based programs to expand access to bicycles, education programs on safe biking practices, and partnerships with other transit-focused organizations.
Primary Responsibilities:
Membership and Outreach
Connect members and the broader community with our mission, vision and ways to get involved with our work.
Triage constituent services, responding to mail, phone and email inquiries.
Assist in the planning and in-person execution of member events, including Bike to Work/Wherever Days.
Staff, coordinate additional staffing for and support Outreach Stations, new member meet & greets, and other member events to increase community engagement.
Staff and support monthly volunteer nights.
Manage member services, including rentals, membership renewals and account updates.
Perform membership renewal letter processes, executing two times a month.
Manage SF Bicycle Coalition merchandise, including inventory, online and in person sales and premium processes, and shipping and handling.
Recruit and manage regular volunteers to assist in executing these processes.
Development
Maintain individual giving, workplace giving, and third-party corporate giving portals.
Assist in planning direct mail and electronic fundraising appeals; help execute those campaigns by building segmented lists.
Assist the Individual Giving Manager in planning and executing SF Bicycle Coalition fundraising events, house parties, and major donor events.
Support the SF Bicycle Coalition’s Institutional Giving Manager in managing corporate sponsorships for major events including Bike to Work Day, Golden Wheel, and Winterfest.
Maintain the SF Bicycle Coalition’s grants calendar, including deadlines for applying and reporting.
Assist the Institutional Giving Manager in expanding our Discount Partner Program; build and maintain relationships with bike-friendly businesses.
Support and represent the SF Bicycle Coalition’s participation in third-party fundraising events, including the Climate Ride and other fundraisers benefiting the organization.
Experience and Qualifications of Our Ideal Candidate. While no one person will embody every quality, our ideal candidate will bring many of the qualifications and attributes listed below:
A strong commitment to the SF Bicycle Coalition’s mission and core values of transportation justice, sustainability, people power, and joy.
Strong organizational, multi-tasking and time management skills;
Demonstrated experience executing set business processes with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail;
Experience with databases or CRM systems (experience in Salesforce a plus);
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a wide variety of audiences;
Excellent interpersonal and relational skills;
An ability to work individually and as part of a team;
Experience leading groups or individuals;
Commitment to and/or interest in the nonprofit sector;
Fluency in languages other than English a plus;
Experience successfully coordinating projects with multiple stakeholders;
Desire and ability to implement systems that will allow your work to scale quickly and significantly to be able to reach more people;
Experience creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for volunteers, members, and/or stakeholders;
Strong cultural competency and enjoyment working with diverse communities;
Willingness to travel locally and work occasional evenings and weekends.
This position requires night and weekend work; depending on season, approximately three to seven nights per month and one to three weekend days per month.
Salary and Benefits: The annual salary for this non-exempt position is $62,000-$66,000 depending on depth of experience. Full-time benefits include excellent medical, vision and dental insurance with no employee contribution, as well as a year-long four-day workweek pilot, three weeks of paid time off (increasing with tenure), ten days of sick leave, pre-tax transit benefits, a flexible work arrangement policy, and 401K with an employer match of up to 3% of an employee’s annual salary.
Hours: Full-time, non-exempt
Reports to: Member Engagement Manager
Location: Hybrid — San Francisco Bay Area. Staff and their supervisors will work together to determine the appropriate work arrangement based on the nature of the individual’s role, and in alignment with organizational policies and departmental needs and activities. Expected in-person requirement is anticipated to be 2-3 days per week. We strive to be as flexible and fair as possible while ensuring in-person accessibility when needed to interface with our volunteers, membership, community, and each other.
Commitment to Equity and Justice
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition acknowledges the harm biking culture and unequal access to transportation have inflicted upon underserved communities — especially 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.
Late last year, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin introduced an ordinance to change the city’s fire code limiting the storage, use, and charging of lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and other mobility devices.
Before we get into the details of this ordinance – if you own an e-bike or other battery-assisted mobility device like an e-scooter, this proposed ordinance may affect you, so please sign up to get notified when it’s time to take action!
The ordinance proposes to, “provide fire protection standards for the charging and storage of lithium-ion batteries used in powered mobility devices (such as electric bikes, scooters, skateboards, and hoverboards), prohibit use of damaged lithium-ion batteries in such devices, prohibit use of lithium-ion batteries assembled or reconditioned using cells removed from used batteries in such devices, and require the Fire Department to conduct an informational campaign.”
Why this matters
The SF Bicycle Coalition completely agrees with the purpose of the ordinance and the importance of increasing fire safety, and have incorporated fire safety recommendations into our e-bike education and messaging for over a year. But, as written, we believe this legislation may pose unintentional consequences for our most vulnerable community members – and we’ll need your help making that clear to the City.
Much of the ordinance is concerned with whether devices are certified for safety. Many of the powered mobility devices on our streets are UL certified, but others, especially the lowest priced ones, are not. UL, or Underwriter Laboratories, and other laboratories in the US and EU certify many products, confirming that they meet industry safety standards. Consumers and safety officials can feel confident that devices that are certified meet high safety standards, while the safety of uncertified devices is unknown. Unfortunately, since the UL-certified devices are often more expensive, many current owners of uncertified devices wouldn’t be able to afford to just buy a new one and may need to live out of compliance, which creates enforcement or harassment hazards for them with their landlords and neighbors, or they may improperly discard their device, which is also hazardous.
Our proposed amendments
Most crucially, we feel strongly that, for UL or similarly certified devices, the State’s limit of five devices per apartment is adequate (rather than the ordinance’s limit of four). And for certified devices, a minimum of 12 or even 18 inches between charging batteries would be safe, rather than the ordinance’s 3 feet. After all, the energy drawn by an electrical circuit to charge an e-bike is about 2 amps — virtually the same as a laptop.
Since the ordinance’s initial introduction, we have worked closely with other stakeholders, small businesses, and individual advocates to propose the following amendments to the ordinance:
A reduction from 3 feet to 12 inches between charging UL or similarly certified devices
A removal of limitations on the numbers of UL or similarly certified devices in Group R-2 occupancy (multi-family dwellings like apartment buildings), allowing the State limit of five devices to stand
A path for current owners of non-certified devices, such as being able to apply existing e-bike subsidies and rebates to replace their non-certified devices.
That the Department of the Environment lead the public awareness campaign with support from the Fire Department to balance safety messaging with encouragement to safely adopt these climate-friendly modes
We’re glad to see that many stakeholder suggestions have already been implemented and that changes related to points 3 and 4 are being seriously considered. We’d like to thank President Peskin, co-sponsors Supervisor Melgar and Supervisor Preston, and the SF Fire Marshall for leading such an important issue and we look forward to working together to make the ordinance as strong as it can be to prevent unintentional consequences.
Get involved!
The ordinance is going to the Land Use and Transportation Committee next week on January 29, 2024 and we need you to turn out to public comment with us. Sign up now to get details about the upcoming hearing.
It’s time for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition annual election of our all-volunteer Board of Directors. Here you will find information about the process, statements by the candidates, and links to questions you may have.
The timeline is:
Online voting begins on Jan 22, 2024 and ends Jan 31, 2024 at 9:59 pm PST.
Members will each receive an individual e-mail on Jan 22 with a code and link enabling them to vote. This code will be sent to the e-mail address on file through which the member receives communications from the SF Bicycle Coalition. Please add invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com to your contacts. If you do not see your invitation in your inbox, please check your spam folder.
Opportunities to meet and hear from candidates will be available at our Annual Member Meeting on Jan 18.
Only current SF Bicycle Coalition members as of Friday, Jan 12, 2024 at 11:59 pm PST may cast a ballot.
Results will be announced in the Biker Bulletin email and on our website.
If you have technical questions regarding voting, please contact our election administrators at boardvoting@sfbike.org.
ABOUT SF BICYCLE COALITION BOARD ELECTIONS
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors. Any SF Bicycle Coalition member can run for the board. The board is responsible for ensuring the organization’s financial health and achievement of its mission. The 15-member board is elected by the membership. There is a board election each year and terms are two years. Eight seats on the board of directors will be elected by the membership this year for the term beginning at the first board meeting following this election until the new board is seated following the 2025 board elections. A full timeline and detailed description of the process can be found here.
This will be our sixth board election using ranked-choice voting, giving members the chance to rank their votes in order of preference. Our board of directors adopted ranked-choice voting in the hope that it will encourage increased member participation in our elections and our work. For more information about multi-winner ranked-choice voting, click here.
If you are a member who is interested in learning more about board service in future years, please contact us at boardnomination@sfbike.org.
CANDIDATE STATEMENTS
All candidates completed an online questionnaire to declare their interest in running for the board. You can view all candidate questionnaire responses here.
All candidates participated in the board interview process.
MATT BIGGAR
he/him
I’m a 20-year resident of San Francisco. I have been involved with fundraising, strategic planning, and advocacy for the Bike Coalition. My teenage son and I have raised over $20,000 for the Coalition and Walk SF through Climate Rides. I work as an independent consultant supporting nonprofits, government, and collaboratives with meeting facilitation and strategy. I facilitated the planning process for the Coalition’s 2018-22 Strategic Plan and have supported Safe Routes to School partnerships. I’ve conducted multiple published studies on transportation and public space, including an analysis of how the JFK Promenade was saved. I hope to support the coalition with my knowledge of organizational strategy, finance, and partnerships and how to make cities like San Francisco thrive with active transportation. I love San Francisco, biking, and working with others. I’m committed to helping the Coalition fulfill our mission of transforming streets into safe, bikeable spaces across San Francisco.
GARRETT BRINKER
he/him
Biking, to me, transcends mere transportation. I’ve never owned a car, and so biking has enabled me to more intimately experience my community. It is how I explore both familiar and unfamiliar places in San Francisco and elsewhere, and is a powerful way to solve our most pressing issues – from climate change to more livable cities.
By day, I’m a Director of Partnerships at Via, working with transit agencies (including SFMTA) to build more convenient and equitable transportation systems. I’ve also been involved in many community volunteer roles, including: democratic political organizations, housing & transit advocacy groups, fundraising organizations, and the Alumni Board of my graduate school at Georgetown.
As a Board member, I hope to bring my experience and passion to fight for safer, more equitable streets – and to ensure that our city can become a more joyous, just, and livable place. I would be honored to have your vote!
IKE KHURGEL
they/them
Hi, I’m Ike. And I love to bike. From point A to point B, to no point whatsoever – commuting, exercise, errands, fun – I love it all. I work at a bike shop, and it’s the best job of all time. Before, I used to work in Sustainable Finance (which was less fun, but demonstrates core competencies I believe would be useful to this role, namely: strategic planning, project management, stakeholder engagement, and of course, sustainable finance). I’m running for the SFBC Board because I want to support bicycle advocacy efforts in San Francisco, my home. I’ve lived in very bike-friendly cities in the past (Amsterdam being a shining example) and want to elevate a bike-friendly community – from getting more people on bikes, to improving infrastructure. If elected, I aim to support an organizational strategy aligned with member expectations, with a particular focus on effective, pragmatic, real-world impact. Thanks for reading!
It would be an honor to serve on the board and be able to support the work of everyone in the coalition to the best of my abilities.
WILLIAM MEE
he/him
Will here! I’m a long-time member and volunteer of the SF Bike Coalition and an even longer-time cyclist: I’ve cycled for both sport and daily commuting throughout my adult life. Off a bicycle I engage further with the city: trail maintenance in the Sutro hills, serving meals at St Anthonys in the Tenderloin and fostering kittens (those both cute and with ringworm). I’m giving up work on the board of the San Francisco LGBT swim team to apply for the SF Bike Coalition board because I’m a huge beneficiary of the cycling advocacy the Coalition does and want to take my engagement to the next level. Outside “my work is bike” and being a volunteer, I’m an engineer who’s doing a part-time MBA.
MICHAEL NGUYEN
he/him
My name is Michael and I am running to offer the Coalition and its Board my passion for biking combined with nonprofit experience.
From commuting to bikepacking and competitive racing, biking has become a significant part of my identity and I am now seeking to expand this passion into forms of bicycle and pedestrian advocacy and stewardship.
I’ve volunteered with the Coalition in the past regularly in their workshop and in the office on volunteer nights. After a career transition, I am returning to the Coalition to continue volunteering and to provide strategic insights as the organization navigates this inflection point to recruit an Executive Director, define their vision, and facilitate a strong membership and fundraising strategy.
My background in nonprofit organizations, which includes finance/accounting and strategic advisory, aligns with these goals. It would be an honor to leverage these skills to contribute to the organization’s growth and success.
RYAN PATTERSON (incumbent)
he/him
One of the first things I did when I moved here in 2011 was take a Bicycle Coalition urban cycling class. It gave me the confidence to ride on Market Street and pride to join this cycling community. I’m an avid bicycle commuter and an advocate for bike safety and increased ridership. I believe education, infrastructure, and community are key to achieving these goals, and that biking can make a vital contribution to public health, the environment, and a vibrant city. In addition to serving on the Bicycle Coalition’s Board of Directors, I have served on a number of other nonprofit boards. From these experiences, and my experience as a small business owner and land use attorney, I strive to bring practical skills to the Board to help with planning and execution, especially on the Finance Committee. It would be an honor to continue serving for the next two years.
BRANDON POWELL (incumbent)
he/him
I am a lifelong cyclist, and some of my earliest memories are of riding with my father and brother. In the years since then, I have used a bicycle to commute, to compete, to exercise, to deliver pizzas, and to escape. Whether clipped in and wearing lycra or on flat pedals wearing business casual, my bicycle has been an instrument of freedom and joy.
I am currently on the SF Bike board and represent District 9 on the San Francisco Bicycle Advisory Committee. I am also a member of the Major Taylor Bay Area cycling club and have co-led our club’s annual Juneteenth community rides in Oakland.
SF Bike can transform our city through strong advocacy which demands progress—and accountability—from our government; programs which grow the number of people who use bicycles; and collaboration with organizations and individuals who share our vision.
We who live and work in San Francisco are entitled to safe streets, public spaces, and infrastructure which give priority to people and human-scaled mobility.
EMILY STEINGLASS
she/her
I’m honored to run for the SF Bike Coalition board. Biking has been a lifelong passion of mine, but after three knee surgeries, it’s taken on a deeper meaning for me, as a form of therapy for both my mind and body. I am now a proud triathlete.
I’ve shared this passion by teaching friends that it’s never too late to learn how to ride a bike. Now, I’m eager to become more involved with the SFBC.
As a Senior Business Operations Analyst for the Autodesk Education team, I advocate for students and schools ensuring the next generation has the skills to design and make a better world. In my role, I build meaningful relationships by actively listening to understand the needs and goals of others. I am also an agile problem solver who helps drive collaborative solutions.
If elected, I’ll leverage these same skills to advocate for the community, striving to create safer streets for all San Franciscans.
CHRISTINE P. SUN
she/her
Bicycling almost always puts me in a better mood. Whether it’s cycling the hills of Marin on my road bike, or riding the streets of SF with my son on our cargo bike, I feel a sense of autonomy and respect for our community and nature that I never experience in a car.
It’s that passion for bicycling that I would hope to ignite and support as a Board member for the Bicycle Coalition. I believe strongly in the mission of the Coalition, and have experienced first hand the incredible progress that it has helped achieve in making our City’s streets safer for cyclists, pedestrians, and families. And of course, there’s always more to be done. I’ve spent most of my career as an advocate for civil rights – including as the former Legal and Policy Director for the ACLU of Northern California – and would seek to contribute those skills to support the work of the Coalition.
In addition to my advocacy skills, I have also previously served on the Board (and Executive Committee) of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, and been an active volunteer for SF New Deal and my son’s SFUSD elementary school. It would be an honor to be considered for the Board. Thank you!
My journey to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition started the summer after college near the turn of the millennium, when, somewhat on a whim, I biked from New England to Vancouver, BC, to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. I thought, if I can bike over four thousand miles across the continent, surely I can bike as a way to get around a city. And that’s what I’ve done since then. When I joined SFBike in 2017, it was a sharp left turn from my previous dual careers in theater and education (ask me about it sometime!). After running our adult bicycle education program for a couple of years, I began running the Programs department, and eventually became Deputy Director in 2021.
I stepped into the role of interim executive director in October of this year with a very clear vision of the movement we are building, and must continue to build, so that more people can use biking and other person-scale mobility for everyday transportation.
I’m a big believer in coalition – and as people who bike in San Francisco, we all belong in this coalition. The more of us there are, the stronger our advocacy becomes, the safer our streets are, the more connected and people-first our city can be. When more of us can ride safely and joyfully, all of us will be engaged in changing this city for the better.
But how do we get there? San Francisco is in the midst of yet another transformation, and we are, too. Facing a volatile economy and with a reduced post-pandemic membership, we’re having to do more with less, and prioritize the essential work we do to support that vision of a more sustainable, human-scale and transit-first city.
In my role as interim executive director, I’m focusing on three things:
Demanding vision and action in San Francisco’s next bike plan. In 2024, our transportation agencies and elected officials will finalize and begin implementing the Active Communities plan – that means they need our watchful advocacy and engagement to hold them to the infrastructure improvements and crucial safety outcomes laid out in that plan.
Keep fighting for safe streets. Our origins as an advocacy organization are still a core component of what we do, and how we engage with members and people on bikes. We’re going to keep advocating for the improvements that keep everyone safe – like winning parking-protected bike lanes on 17th Street and Arguello, championing 14 ongoing Quick Build projects along our city’s High Injury Network, and campaigning for the parking-protected eastbound bikeway on Oak Street.
Getting more people on bikes and in our movement. With more robust programming partnerships than ever before, we are shifting people to active transportation every day. We’re leading the Safe Routes to School partnership, to make sure that all public school children and their families can bike, roll, walk, and take transit to school. We’re partnering with community organizations and teaching hundreds of people to ride, and to see biking as a default transportation mode, with our Bike Education and Freedom from Training Wheels programs.
Along with all the crucial work that we’re doing as an organization, I’m personally excited to engage with our membership and find out what’s most important to you, as well as energize new people who bike in San Francisco to join as new members and see their impact in our movement. SFBike is made stronger by the people who make up our coalition – there’s real power in our numbers. If you’re a member already, I hope you’ll renew your membership for another year, or give the gift of membership to friends and family who also bike! And if you’re able to, I hope you’ll consider making a tax-deductible gift before December 31, to power our work and help grow our movement in the new year.
Last month, the SF Bicycle Coalition kicked off the holiday season in partnership with St. Anthony’s for their annual Giving Thanks on the Golden Gate event. We raffled off 40+ bikes and hosted free bicycle education classes and mechanic services on the Golden Gate Greenway in the Tenderloin.
This past year, our Bike It Forward program has hosted four free bicycle repair pop ups to the Greenway to get people back on their bikes who otherwise would not have been able to afford a proper tune up. Activations like this, plus our programming at Giving Thanks on the Golden Gate, would not have been possible without the Greenway. We’re excited to bring even more programming to the Tenderloin in the future.
The Golden Gate Greenway is the block of Golden Gate Avenue between Leavenworth Street and Jones Street that is closed to vehicular traffic everyday from six in the morning to six in the afternoon. Created during the pandemic, the Greenway is used by organizations on the 100 block of Golden Gate Ave to provide important direct services and resources to those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the densest neighborhood in the city, the Greenway provides public space for residents who don’t have many other options.
“The street closure has also helped us to do some extraordinary things during an extraordinary year: things like COVID-19 pop-up testing; outdoor voter registration; distributing essential supplies like hand sanitizer and face coverings; drumming circles; a street mural; and hosting Play Streets events for children.” – The Golden Gate Greenway coalition, 2021
In 2020, we spoke vocally about the need to bring programs like Slow Streets and Car-Free spaces to neighborhoods like the Tenderloin. We know most of the streets in the Tenderloin and in equity-priority communities fall on the City’s High-Injury Network and that these communities would benefit the most from programs like Slow Streets and car-free spaces.
The Golden Gate Greenway is a vibrant community gem and resource to the Tenderloin neighborhood. Every year, the Greenway has to reapply for permits to keep the partial road closure and we need your help to turn this into a permanent space forever. By supporting the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Education Fund with a tax-deductible donation this December, you can help support these crucial partnerships and programs in the new year.
