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| December 8, 2004WINTERFEST 2004 a BLAST, NOW WHAT's NEXT?Our annual Winterfest celebration this Sunday was a fantastic party with amazing performances by Circo Zero, jazzy tunes from the St. Julien Experience, an impressive collection of art by over 65 Bay Area artists, creative costuming, hundreds of members attending, and of course, free beer and food. A million thanks to over 150 volunteers who helped make the evening happen, to our more than 100 donors & co-sponsor Planet Bike for filling the auction tables with great gear, and to YOU for coming and filling the rooms for our best attendance ever! If you are a lucky Winterfest Auction Winner, please remember to pick up your auction items and artwork at the SFBC office by December 15th if you couldn't take them with you on Sunday. Watch for great deals on leftover items and a photo gallery of the event to relive the fun coming to the website soon! NOW WHAT's NEXT? December is anything but slow at SFBC HQ. Here's a sampling of what's going on:
COMMUNITY RALLIES for POTRERO TRAFFIC CALMINGThe choice was clear at last week's community meeting on Potrero Ave. traffic calming. Nearly every speaker in the 50-person crowd spoke passionately in favor of sticking with the original, community-based plan for Potrero, which will add bike lanes in each direction, remove 2 traffic lanes, and add a middle turn lane and pedestrian refuge islands. This plan would put the freeway-like street on a "road diet," just like we successfully won on Valencia Street in 1999. The only problem is that Muni is now resisting the community consensus, trying to force through a weaker plan that places the northbound bike lane smack-dab between a traffic lane and a bus lane! This unsavory plan also retains more car traffic lanes, so there would be 5 car lanes on this one-way street instead of 4 lanes, as most neighbors prefer. TAKE ACTION - We need you help in moving the original, good plan forward! Please take a few minutes this week to email the Director of the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA), Michael Burns, at michael_burns@ci.sf.ca.us , with the following messages: (1) Support the original, community-based plan for Potrero traffic calming; (2) We agree that Muni improvements *should* happen on Potrero, when they're ready, but they should not disrupt the current plans for pedestrian and bicycle safety in the original, community-based plan; (3) Please implement the proposal as soon as possible. (Also, please cc the following Supervisors on your message: tom_ammiano@ci.sf.ca.us, Sophie_Maxwell@ci.sf.ca.us, Chris.Daly@sfgov.org.) Thanks for your help! SUPPORT GEARY/O'FARRELL BUS/BIKE/PED IMPROVEMENTSOver the past few months, the SFBC has been working with its partner groups Transportation for a Livable City and Rescue Muni in support of cost-effective transit improvements on the Geary/O'Farrell corridor. This project is the first step towards a city-wide Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network and will reduce bus travel times, increase schedule reliability, and improve passenger safety and comfort for over 50,000 daily riders of the 38-Geary bus. In the Inner Geary corridor (from Market to Van Ness), the project also involves adding a widened curb travel/parking lane that provides more space for bicycles to travel safely, the removal of an auto traffic lane on both Geary & O'Farrell to help slow down speeding traffic, and pedestrian safety improvements like bus bulb-outs. After several months of delay, the Transportation Authority (composed of the Board of Supervisors) will decide at its hearing next Tuesday, December 14th (at 11am, in Room 250 of City Hall) whether to approve the necessary funding for these cost-effective improvements. ***Please attend next Tuesday's hearing and speak in support of the project, particularly if you're a neighbor in the area or if you're a regular rider of the 38-Geary bus. If you can't attend, please contact the Board of Supervisors in support: E-mail the Supervisors at board.of.supervisors@sfgov.org or send a fax to 554-5163. Or, even better, call each of the following Supervisors directly: Tom Ammiano (554-5144); Chris Daly (554-7970); Bevan Dufty (554-6968); Matt Gonzalez (554-7630); Sophie Maxwell (554-7670); Aaron Peskin (554-7450); Gerardo Sandoval (554-6975). For more info on this project, see http://www.livablecity.org/campaigns/Geary. html SPEAK UP for BIKES on the BAY BRIDGE!Governor Schwarzenegger's administration is expected to announce a plan this week about how to proceed with the replacement Bay Bridge East Span, which is slated to include a new bicycle/ pedestrian pathway between Oakland and Yerba Buena Island. As you probably know, there has been a concerted effort to cut the cost of this massive project that has gone well over budget, and it is anyone's guess how the plan will be altered, if at all. For more information, download the SFBC's Oct/Nov edition of the TUBE TIMES, which features a cover story filled with details about this important regional issue: http://www.sfbike.org/?tubetimes TAKE ACTION! Thanks to everyone who sent in a fax blast to Gov. Schwarzenegger's office from our website last week. We're now asking people to CALL his office directly, and ask that they preserve the bike/ped/maintainace path from the old plan in the soon-to-be-announced new Bay Bridge plan: 916-445-2841 It's best to call during business hours, M-F, between 9am and 5pm. GIVE the GIFT of SFBC MEMBERSHIPGive your biking friends a gift that supports urban cycling year round! The SFBC's gift membership package is sure to please your loved ones and help make the streets they ride on safer. Every recipient gets a letter acknowledging your gift, a one-year subscription to the Tube Times, discounts at dozens of bike shops, our fabulous biking map, valuable biking tidbits, reflectors, stickers, and more! And for a limited time, we're throwing in a red LED BLINKY LIGHT with every gift membership, so your lucky friend can shine, be safe and seen. You're also welcome to add other goodies like a SFBC T-Shirt or one of our biking books to the gift membership package. More members means more power to advance our bike agenda and build the bike network. Our success is due to our membership base of more than 4,500 bicyclists and bicycle supporters. Give a gift membership today and keep the wheels of progress rolling! Simply fill out this handy, secure online form for each gift you'd like to give: http://www.sfbike.org/?gift Be sure to place your order before December 20th to guarantee receipt before the 25th. And don't hesitate to contact Michael Calfee, Membership Director, at 415/431-BIKE x21 with any questions! WHAT is the SFBC BOARD, and HOW CAN I ELECT THEM?The SFBC Board of Directors election is in progress, and we need your input! But first, why are we making a big fuss about this? Well, the SFBC Board does a lot of important work, from guiding our Electoral Endorsements process to long-term strategic planning, and bringing new resources into our movement for better biking. Each year, the SFBC members vote for individuals to serve a two-year term on the Board. There are seven seats on the Board of Directors open for election this year. You can read candidate statements & find out more about this process on the SFBC website: http://www.sfbike.org/?board_election Members who were current as of 11/24/04 are eligible to vote in this important decision that shapes the leadership of the Bike Coalition. You should have received an email last week with a personalized login link - and you'll receive a reminder if you have not yet voted. Members without email should have received a paper ballot along with their Dec/Jan Tube Times. If you didn't receive the email or the paper ballot, please contact Chris Hayashida Knight at chris@sfbike.org to receive a special login ID. For more information, or to login and vote, go to http://www.sfbike.org/board_election - Voting ends at 5pm SHARP, Wed Dec 15th. SFBC SEEKS NEW OFFICE SPACEWe've outgrown our home and are looking for a new office space along with Transportation for a Livable City and the SF Housing Action Coalition. Do you have space available, or know someone who does? Here's what we're looking for:
Contact Chris Hayashida Knight, Operations Manager, at chris@sfbike.org if you can help our search for a new SFBC HQ. MORE DISCOUNTs for SFBC MEMBERS!Why pay retail? As you probably already know, current SFBC members enjoy discounts in bike shops all over town, just by flashing their membership card. Check out the current list here: http://www.sfbike.org/?discounts We're now proud to let you know about two great new discounts for SFBC members!
EVOMO is a little unknown, grassroots company started mountain biker and artist Bryan Thombs, who's has created comfortable, quality casual clothing with the most amazing and unique bike images to wear everyday. Currently Evomo has great graphic tees for the whole family including a brand new design for infants and toddlers, the Jr Racer Tee. And SFBC members can save 10% off all purchases through the Evomo website; just enter the "SFBIKE10" discount code when prompted during checkout.
VELONEWS: Every issue is packed with training tips, gear reviews and full race coverage from local, national and international events. Get all the action from the grand tours and follow the world's finest athletic cyclists. SFBC Members save 67% off the usual cover price! Just visit http://www.velonews.com/sfbc CHAIN of EVENTSCheck out our online calendar of events at http://www.sfbike.org/?chain Add your bike event to our calendar by emailing calendar@sfbike.org. (Events not sponsored by the SFBC are marked with an *) You're reading the SFBC Weekly Biker BulletinGet 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!
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