"It's mayors and city councils and county commissions that are really getting it. What they're running up against in community after community is the state departments of transportation, who are not so committed to or keen on bicycling or walking."
-- Andy Clark, National Bike Summit: Cycling advocates headed to Capitol Hill, The Washington Post, March 19, 2012.
Biker Bulletin News
- Fell and Oak Bikeways Campaign is Heating Up
- It's Bicycle Safety and Education Week
- Connecting You to San Francisco's Waterfront
- Get Rolling for Bike to School Day
- Be a Bicycle Ambassador for Your Workplace
- Loving Sloat Boulevard Bike Lanes? Let Caltrans Know
- Thanks for Taking the 2012 Member Survey
- Video: National Bike Summit 2012 - Save Cycling!
- Upcoming Events
In honor of Bicycle Safety and Education Week, we're launching our new Bicycle Rules of the Road Tip Sheet to keep you pedaling safe and legal. See the rules at sfbike.org/bikelaw
Fell and Oak Bikeways Campaign is Heating Up
Your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is in the thick of the Fell and Oak streets separated bikeways campaign! In this next week, we will once again be talking to all 70 businesses in the project area, placing hundreds of meeting notices on residents' doors in a 15 block radius, and ensuring the civic and community leaders are aware of our needs for safe biking conditions on Fell and Oak streets.
Despite our years of outreach and important testimonials about why you need safe bikeways, there is a growing local minority who are saying the current conditions are perfectly fine as they are, and waging a strong campaign against the separated bikeway proposals, putting their parking convenience in front of your safety. We know that you, and the thousands of other people who bike this route, deserve safe bikeways on this critical bicycle connector.
Here's what you can do to ensure safe, separated bikeways happen quickly on Fell and Oak streets:
- Attend the SFMTA's final community meeting on Saturday, March 31 where they will present final design proposals for these three critical blocks of Fell and Oak streets. The Open House format lets you come in for as much time as you can spend.
- Donate to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition today, to fuel our outreach machine so we can turn up the heat on this campaign and be sure that your pro-safety bike voice is loud and clear. We can't allow the City to bend to the vocal opponents who are prioritizing parking over your safety.
- Do both! Both actions are so important to the success of the Fell and Oak bikeways! We need your voice at the meetings and also your resources to help fuel our ongoing, daily efforts on this project and the other bike improvement projects you care about!
Visit
sfbike.org/fell for more information about this critical project.
Meeting information:
Date: Saturday, March 31
Time: 10am - 2pm (Open House format - drop by any time in this window)
Location: SF Day School, 350 Masonic Street at Golden Gate Avenue
Complimentary bicycle valet will be provided by the SF Bicycle Coalition.
It's Bicycle Safety and Education Week
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is pleased to be the resource for bicycle safety and education resources in San Francisco. From our free bicycle education classes to our online and print safety resources, we reach hundreds of thousands of road users, helping to make our streets safer for everyone.
In keeping with our commitment to safe streets, this year we launched a quarterly Bicycle Safety and Education Week. We're in the midst of our second one, right now! All week, we'll been highlighting information for safe, predictable and legal riding via Facebook and Twitter feeds. Plus, we'll be hosting a series of great free events to keep everyone pedaling safely and smoothly. Join us for any of our free bicycle safety workshops and classes.
How to Pick the Right Bike For Everyday Living: Whether you're buying a new bike, or want to spruce up your current one, we'll offer great tips on how you can be sure your bike will get you wherever you need to go! At this lunchtime forum, we'll discuss types of bikes, how to bike in dress clothes, how to carry groceries, how to make your bike comfortable for everyday biking, and of course, the rules of the road. All skill levels welcome, no bike necessary! No need to RSVP, just show up.
Wednesday, Mar. 20 | 12:00-1:00 PM | SF Bicycle Coalition Offices, 833 Market Street, 10th Floor (bring your bike up)
SF Police Department & SF Bicycle Coalition Bike Theft Workshop: Join the SF Police Department and SF Bicycle Coalition for a conversation and workshop on bike theft in the city -- hear from the San Francisco Police Department on what they're doing to fight bike theft and investigate and prevent it. Learn the most effective locking techniques, tips to avoid losing your two-wheeled treasure, see demonstrations of hardware and registration services and find out how to maximize your odds and help the police fight back.
Thursday, Mar. 29 | 6:30-8pm | Community Room, Mission Police Station, Valencia St at 17th Street
Urban Bicycling Workshop: Traffic Skills 101: This four-hour, in-classroom course will cover the basics on how to choose the right bike and properly fit a helmet as well as tips for the safest ways to ride in traffic. You'll also learn techniques to avoid or handle street hazards and emergency maneuvers along with the best way to lock up your bike and how to use a bike in combination with public transit and biking rights and responsibilities. Sign up at sfbike.org/edu.
Daily Tips and Advice for Safe and Legal Riding: We'll be sharing tips and laws for safe biking throughout the week. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter for links! Please follow the rules of the road so that everyone, including yourself, safe and enjoying our wonderful city.
Connecting You to San Francisco's Waterfront
The Embarcadero has unparalleled views of the San Francisco Bay and is a treasure for locals and visitors alike. The Promenade is a prime route to the Ferry Building, AT&T Park, Fisherman's Wharf and people's workplaces and homes. But if you bike there, you know that is often over-crowded. The SF Bicycle Coalition's vision is to upgrade the current on-street bike lanes on the Embarcadero into a two-way separated bikeway, giving you more space to get to work, go to the Farmer's Market or soak up the views on your bike. With America's Cup events in 2012 and 2013 there is no better time than now to come together with ideas for improving access along the waterfront, testing ideas, and moving towards a world-class bikeway and Promenade on the Embarcadero.
Visit sfbike.org/embarcadero for more information and a glimpse at a two-way bikeway concept originally produced by SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research). Also, take five minutes to let us know what you think of biking on the Embarcadero and how you would make it better through our short online survey. The SF Bicycle Coalition is working with the America's Cup Event Authority, Mayor's Office, neighborhood groups, and Supervisor David Chiu's office to bring you a better bikeway soon! Visit our Embarcadero page for more information.
Get Rolling for Bike to School Day
Bike to School Day is April 12, meaning we're just two weeks away from the biggest youth biking day of the year.
View Bike to School Day Posters: San Francisco youth from around the city created posters for Bike to School Day. Stop by Market St. Cycles at the corner of Market and Page streets from now until April 19 to see our Bike to School Day Poster Contest winning posters.
Volunteer on Bike to School Day: Want to help us make Bike to School Day a great success and get more families excited about biking? Join us for bag stuffing on April 3 and Ambassador Training April 5. We'll get you ready to help get the next generation ready to ride in a Bike Train to school, how to talk about cycling to families at school and much more. Contact Tessa@sfbike.org to RSVP for the Ambassador Training.
Another Bike to School Day: If your school is missing out on SF Bike to School Day this April 12 because of spring break, we have a solution. SF Bike to School Day can provide rider incentives/bag for events held on May 9 for National Bike to School Day (the day before Bike to Work Day). Sign up your school now or contact terin@sfbike.org for more info.
Be a Bicycle Ambassador for Your Workplace
The best way for you to help get your workplace ready for Bike to Work Day is with a free Employer Toolkit. The kit comes complete with an official Bike to Work Day poster, employer resources, a San Francisco Bike Map you can hang up in your break room, and more! Request a Employer Toolkit to be sent to you at sfbike.org/employertoolkit.
We are gearing up for the biggest and best Bike to Work Day yet on Thursday, May 10. How will you be a part of this great day for biking? There are so many ways you can get involved and ensure this day is bigger and better than ever before:
Nominate a Bike Commuter of the Year: Is there a bicycle commuter who inspires you? Here is your chance to recognize them! The Bike Commuter of the Year Award honors a resident from each Bay Area county who makes every day a "Bike to Work Day". Nominate someone you admire by April 23 at http://www.youcanbikethere.com/bcoy.
Tell your Bike to Work Day story: Did you start bicycle commuting on, or in anticipation of, a past Bike to Work Day? We'd like to hear from you: Share your Bike to Work Day story.
Have fun as a volunteer: Help deliver Bike to Work Day supplies as an early riser, Energize bike commuters at one of our 27 neighborhood Energizer Stations or celebrate at the Bike From Work Party, all critical volunteer shifts for a winning Bike to Work Day! Sign up for your favorite shift today.
Share the daytime volunteer love: Do you have a few weekday hours before Bike to Work Day? You can help distribute posters, run bike errands, stuff envelopes and prep materials, just to name a few. As a daytime volunteer, you'll be showered with bike love and help the SF Bicycle Coalition make Bike to Work Day smooth and successful. Email Tessa if you like to be a Bike to Work Day volunteer in the office Monday-Thursday.
Loving Sloat Boulevard Bike Lanes? Let Caltrans Know
Back in January we reported the good news that Caltrans (the California Department of Transportation) had carried out a road diet on Sloat Boulevard, SF Bike Route 50 and a street badly in need of calming and safety fixes (including bike lanes, crosswalks, and a lowered speed limit). We commend Caltrans for adding bike and pedestrian safety improvements to this street, though some in the area don't appreciate the changes.
What do you think? Have you experienced the calmed and re-configured Sloat Blvd on your bike, in a car, on foot? How does it work for you? You can send a message to Caltrans, as well as Supervisors Chu and Elsbernd and SFMTA boss Ed Reiskin, via our Sloat Boulevard web page -- check it out and let Caltrans know that this project is a winner for the neighborhood and the city.
Thanks for Taking the 2012 Member Survey
Hundreds of members took time out last week to take the 2012 Member Survey and share their input on the work of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and the issues that matter to them most. Thank you! We're still sifting through the detailed data and will be sure to report the results here in the Biker Bulletin. The Member Survey is conducted semi-annually, and provides the organization with the guidance from members like you. Lucky member Shanan Delp won the survey raffle prize as a thank you for taking the 2012 Member Survey, and will be riding away with a new SF Bicycle Coalition hoodie, U-lock, light set and the good feeling she helped provide the SF Bicycle Coalition invaluable member feedback. Thanks again to everyone who took the member survey!
Video: National Bike Summit 2012 - Save Cycling!
The National Bike Summit just wrapped up, and your San Francisco Bicycle Coalition was there to represent you. Executive Director Leah Shahum and Program Manager Marc Caswell gave presentations about bicycle advocacy and talked about issues impacting those of us who bike in San Francisco. Here's a video about the conference and why it was so important this year.
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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!
