Promoting the Bicycle for Everyday Transportation
mainactionsrides_eventsresourcesaboutmembershipvolunteerdonatestoresearch

SFBC Biker Bulletin

July 6, 2009

"This is a momentous day for better bicycling and a better San Francisco. The City has taken a significant step forward in proving its commitment to smart, sustainable transportation choices, and we expect to see the numbers of people choosing to bicycle to increase dramatically."

-- Leah Shahum, SFBC Executive Director, Shifting Gears, San Francisco Bay Guardian, July 1, 2009

 

Table of Contents

  1. SFBC Hosts a Special Conversation with Enrique Peñalosa
  2. SFBC wins 45 Bike Lanes: You can help keep it moving
  3. Volunteer and Meet Enrique Peñalosa
  4. Go Gas-Free This Friday
  5. Mission Roads Are Open on Sunday Streets
  6. Read the latest issue of the Tube Times
  7. Bicycle Commuting Author Paul Dorn at the SFBC
  8. 3 Tips to Keep Your Bicycle Secure
  9. Listen: The SFBC on KQED's Forum
  10. Upcoming Events

Keep 45 Bike Lanes Moving Forward
Make a one time donation to the SFBC
www.sfbike.org/specialgift

SFBC Hosts a Special Conversation with Enrique Peñalosa

This Tuesday, July 7, the SFBC will be hosting a special conversation with Enrique Peñalosa, former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia and internationally-renowned innovator in the fields of transportation, housing and land use for large cities. Peñalosa will discuss how San Francisco can learn from international best practices in urban public space development. San Francisco's successful Sunday Streets program is based on the wildly popular Ciclovia program in Bogota, which opens more than 70 miles of that city's streets to healthy activities. Thanks to Mayor Peñalosa, Bogota has also become an international gold standard for Bus Rapid Transit and other major livable streets improvements.

This event is also the much-anticipated launch of the San Francisco Great Streets Project, a new campaign by the SFBC in partnership with SPUR, Project for Public Spaces and the Livable Streets Initiative to catalyze the return of our city's streets to their rightful place as the center of civic life by working with government, business, and neighborhood leaders to test, analyze and institutionalize placemaking. Read all about the SF Great Streets Project in the summer issue of the Tube Times.

Details: Sunday Streets to Great Streets with Enrique Peñalosa, Tuesday, July 7th 5:30-7:30pm, Koret Auditorium, Main Public Library in San Francisco (100 Larkin). Valet bicycle parking provided by the SFBC. FREE. Peñalosa's visit made possible by ITDP.

Watch a Streetfilms interview with Enrique Peñalosa here.


SFBC wins 45 Bike Lanes: You can help keep it moving

Ensure speedy implementation of these projects with a Special Gift to the SFBC!

After years of SFBC advocacy, on Friday June 26, the SFMTA Board unanimously voted yes on an ambitious Bike Plan and gave the green light to 45 new bike lanes on streets such as 5th, 17th, Townsend, Kirkham, Alemany, San Jose, and Portola. This is a momentous time for better bicycling in San Francisco, as these changes will dramatically improve bicycling and increase the number of people riding in San Francisco.

Making a special contribution today to the SFBC or SFBC Education Fund will help us make these new bike lanes a reality as soon as possible. Your contribution of $25, $50 or $500 will ensure the SFBC has the necessary resources to keep these projects on track and implemented swiftly. Your extra commitment today will help us shape our desired city of tomorrow.

Thank you to all of the SFBC members who have already made a contribution to this win for better biking. Read more about the Bike Plan, the approved projects and next steps to lifting the injunction


Volunteer and Meet Enrique Peñalosa

Sunday Streets to Great Streets with Enrique Peñalosa: Tue., Jul. 7 from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Koret Auditorium, SF Main Public Library (100 Larkin Street).  Planning on attending this exciting event? Can you spare a few minutes of outreach before and after the event at the SFBC's table? Volunteers must have attended an SFBC Outreach Training. To sign up, email tessa@sfbike.org.


Go Gas-Free This Friday

Starting this Friday, July 10, the SFBC will be celebrating Gas-Free Fridays a campaign to get more people to try just one car trip by bicycle one day a week. Get on your bike, grab a friend or coworker, and "fuel-up" at an SFBC Energizer Station (7:30-9:30am) with coffee and snacks to get your Friday rolling. In San Francisco, half of all driving trips are under two miles in length, a distance easily traveled by bicycle. And with rising gas prices (again!) and global warming, riding a bike is a fun and smart way to get around. See the locations for all the Gas-Free Friday Energizer Stations.

Encourage your own friends and coworkers to bike on Gas-Free Fridays:

Mission Roads Are Open on Sunday Streets

Come out and play with the SFBC and tens of thousands of people for Sunday Streets on Sunday, July 19 from 10am-2pm. Enjoy a range of activities along the route from Dolores Park to Rolph Playground along Valencia and 24th Streets in the Mission. The SFBC and Presidio YMCA Bike Program will host biking activities like Urban Cycling Workshops, Youth Biking and Freedom From Training Wheels. Stop by the orange SFBC tent on Valencia Street and pedal out on one of the Purple Pedals fleet bikes that take photos every 60 seconds. We hope to see you there enjoying the car-free fun!

Help make Sunday Streets another huge success:

  • Community Outreach Street Teams: Help do community outreach and canvassing for Sunday Streets in the Mission for an hour or two. Email to jen@sfbike.org to help.
  • Volunteer at Sunday Streets as an Intersection Monitor or Route Rabbit and help Sunday Streets run smoothly! Shifts are 9:30am-12:15pm or 11:45am-2:30pm, and all volunteers get a t-shirt and a lunch. Sign up at sundaystreetssf.com/volunteer.
  • Do SFBC Outreach under our orange tent! We particularly need BILINGUAL volunteers for this event to be able to chat with everyone in the neighborhood about biking. Can you lend a few hours for this great event? Volunteers must have attended an SFBC Outreach Training. To sign up, email tessa@sfbike.org.


Read the latest issue of the Tube Times

The Summer issue of our Tube Times newsletter is hot off the presses -- 16-pages of riveting bike articles about the much-anticipated SF Great Street Campaign, the new "Ask the Bike Buddy" column and the SFBC's Good Roads Campaign to smooth SF streets. Download the current issue here. Letters to the editor are always welcome, email tubetimes@sfbike.org.

Want to have the Tube Times delivered to your mailbox? It's one of the many benefits of SFBC membership, join today.



SFBC Bike Buddy Route Ride: Civic Center to Ocean Beach via the Sunset

The SFBC Bike Buddies take to the street this Thursday to acquaint new riders with the best commute route from the Civic Center to Ocean Beach via the Sunset. The ride will begin at City Hall and end near Ocean Beach--if an impromptu Happy Hour ensues, even better! An experienced bike commuter will lead this ride at an easy pace; new riders are encouraged. Heavy rain cancels. Email bikebuddy@sfbike.org for more information. Details: Thu., Jul. 9, 5:30pm meet at City Hall, Polk Street Steps.


3 Tips to Keep Your Bicycle Secure

As the weather warms and more people are out biking, we wanted to share tips on how to keep your bike secure

1. Remember a cable lock alone is not enough, it's too easy to cut through.

2. Lock your bicycle frame and both wheels to something immobile using a strong lock.

3. Watch this very entertaining Streetfilms video showing the best and worst of locked bicycles.

Helpful Hint: Use our freezer registration form to record your bike's serial number and other descriptive info today, including a photo. Store this information in a safe and memorable place, such as in a zip lock bag in your freezer.


Listen: The SFBC on KQED's Forum

Last Wednesday, the SFBC was invited to be on KQED's Forum to talk about the recent victory of 45 new bike lanes and the approvel of the Bike Plan. Leah Shahum, SFBC Executive Director, was joined by Judson True from the SFMTA and Rachel Gordon from the SF Chronicle. Listen to the show here.


You're reading the SFBC Weekly Biker Bulletin

Get this sent directly to your inbox by signing up here.

Join the SFBC and add your voice to thousands demanding a city-wide network of bike lanes, traffic calmed streets, better access to transit and secure bike parking. Together we can make San Francisco the most bicycle friendly city in the country!

top