February 28, 2005

STATE BIKING BILL BUILDING MOMENTUM

The California Bicycle Coalition (CBC) is gearing up for a major campaign to save a key source of bike funds from being reduced. The Bike Transportation Account is a competitive program of $7.2 million a year, which is granted to cities and counties to make bike safety improvements. This program was established in the mid-70s with funds from the Highway Users Tax Account.

The SFBC strongly supports a new bill (SB 523), being introduced by State Senator Tom Torlakson, because it would insure that these funds remain available for better biking, rather than being reduced to $5 million a year starting in July 2006. San Francisco has won BTA funds in the past two years to add bike lanes in the near future on Alemany Blvd., 14th St., Fulton St., San Jose Ave. and to replace car parking spaces in front of the Main Public Library with bike parking.

Please send a brief note to State Senator Carole Migden to encourage her to support the bill: Via fax, 415-557-1252. And, for good measure, we'd love to generate some Thank You letters to Senator Torlakson at fax, 916-445-2527.

SFBC IS MOVING OFFICES AND WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

Yep, it is official! The SFBC grand office move is happening on Friday, March 11th and Saturday, March 12th! We are packing up our beloved old office and moving down the block to 995 Market Street @ 6th. Volunteers are needed to make this pedal power move a success and are gracious to any time you can give. There will be something to do for everyone. For more info, on our move contact Chris Hayashida Knight at 415-431-BIKE x10 or chris@sfbike.org

POTRERO PASSES 1ST LEGISLATIVE HURDLE

The community-developed proposal for bike lanes and other traffic calming on Potrero Ave. passed the Dept. of Parking & Traffic public hearing last Friday. Thanks to the nearly dozen SFBC members who came out in support. Our goal is to get this proposal passed and implemented before Bike to Work Day on May 19th! The next step in the process is a tentative hearing at the Board of the Municipal Transportation Agency on March 15th. Stay tuned for more details. And if you want to be added to the SFBC's special Potrero email list, contact leah@sfbike.org

BETTER BIKING ON HARRISON ST. IN MISSION

Check out the new bicycle and pedestrian improvements along Harrison Street between 13th/Division St. and 14th St. For bicyclists, a short gap in the southbound bicycle lane was filled in, and an "all-red" (where all traffic signals show red at the same time) was added to help cyclists clear the large intersection of Harrison and 13th/Division Streets. For pedestrians, a crosswalk was added to the south side of the intersection of 14th and Harrison Streets along with a painted pedestrian island. The island sets aside space for pedestrians to stand in the street and allows pedestrians to cross one direction of traffic at a time.

Thanks to the Dept. of Parking & Traffic for their work on this project, which was addressed as part of the "Spot Improvement" program. If you know of other potential bicycle-related signage, striping, signal, etc. improvements of a similar scale, please send a note describing the idea to leah@sfbike.org

PANHANDLE XING GUARD PROGRAM TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED- BUT INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS IMMINENT

The popular crossing guard program run by SFBC and Walk SF volunteers at the intersection of the Panhandle Pathway & Masonic Ave. is being put on hold for 3-4 weeks to allow the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) to analyze the effects of planned improvements to the safety and functioning of the intersection.

Responding to public requests through the Bike Plan Update process, the DPT plans within the next two weeks to re-stripe the crosswalk with bolder "ladder-style" stripes and an advanced stop line, remove 3 parking spaces on Fell St. to improve visibility, and add an "advance signal phase" to allow pedestrians and cyclists to establish themselves in the intersection before left turning cars get a green light. The DPT will be conducting interviews with path users to assess the effectiveness of the improvements. We expect that the crossing guard program will begin again around the end of March. In the meantime, use caution crossing this busy intersection, and if you have any feedback for the City about the improvements, you can e-mail mike.sallaberry@sfgov.org with a cc to josh@sfbike.org For more information about our xing guard program, see http://www.sfbike.org/xing_guards

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS FOR BIKE TO WORK DAY--MAY 19TH

Bike to Work Day 2005 preparation is in full swing, and this year's event is looking better than ever! We need volunteers for 20 Energizer Stations all across the city. And this year, one area of expanded outreach is to non-English speakers. We need your help translating materials for Energizer Stations and would like oral translators at Energizer Stations during BTWD. Do you speak or write Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese or Tagalog?

We made BTWD volunteer a snap this year. All interested volunteers for ALL aspects of Bike To Work Day, go to our website www.sfbike.org/btwd_vol to sign up!

ASSAULTS ON CYCLISTS REPORTED IN WESTERN ADDITION

We've received reports of cyclists being assaulted near the corner of Fillmore and McAllister by youths carrying lead pipes during the past few weeks. Use caution when biking through this area after dark, and immediately report any violence to the SFPD by calling 911 (for emergencies) or 553-0123 for non-emergencies.

SUPPORT THE UC SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVE

We want to help support a student-generated initiative underway to reduce single occupancy vehicle use by 25% and fleet fossil fuel consumption by 50% by the year 2015 across the UC system. The "UC Move" is being considered as potential policy by the University of California Office of the President(UCOP) and the UC Regents. This statewide initiative will have local impacts, as UC policies impact local transportation planning decisions at UCSF, Hastings, and UC Berkeley. To support this initiative, please take a minute to send an E-Card to President Dynes and Chair Blumenthal by clicking the link below And then the gray button on the right of the resulting page http://sustainabilitycoalition.org/main/

SFBC MEMBERS OFFERED SPECIAL DEAL IN RIDE ACROSS OREGON

The Sustainable Energy in Motion 2005 Tour -- a fundraising tour through Oregon to increase awareness of Organic farming, sustainable lifestyles, and native communities - is offering a discount to SFBC members & support to the Coalition. If you would like to sign up for one of these rides, the SFBC will receive a $100 bonus, and you get a $25 discount if you mention that you are an SFBC member. Find out more at http:// www.portlandpeace.org If interested, send an e-mail to program@sfbike.org when you sign up, so we can track these donations.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Check 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 *)

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