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| April 24, 2005COME CELEBRATE THE CITY'S NEWEST BIKE LANES SATURDAY!Wooo-hoo! We're having a Big Happy Lane-Loving Ribbon-Cutting Celebration for the newly-striped San Jose / Guerrero bike lanes, this Saturday (4/30) at 12 noon, in the little triangle on the east side of San Jose at 28th Street. Come out and join district Supervisors Ammiano and Dufty as we raise a hearty holler for these great new lanes and the hard-working neighbors and public servants who made them happen! Sadly, not everyone is loving these swell new lanes -- there are some grumbling motorists making complaints to City Hall -- so be sure to show your support. Of course, phone calls and emails to supervisors and city staff are great (send a thank-you note to Supervisors Dufty and Ammiano if you haven't already, and give those DPT folks a big smooch, too!), but you can also be a big help by distributing informational flyers to bicyclists and others in the area. Contact Andy Thornley (431-BIKE x307) and we'll get you set up for effective flyering on this important new link in the Citywide Bike Network. And we'll see you Saturday for a good old time on the brand new San Jose / Guerrero lanes! CELEBRATE BIKEABLE COMMUNITIES AT THE GOLDEN WHEEL AWARDSInspirational and tireless are words that describe this year's Golden Wheel honorees. Join us this Thursday, April 28th, from 6-9pm at the LGBT Center to recognize Gillian Gillett for her efforts to build a stronger community through on-the-ground bike advocacy and neighborhood safety, and The Bike Kitchen co-founders Jesse Basbaum, Catherine Hartzell and Josh Adler for their efforts to promote bicycling by empowering others to repair and build their own bikes. We're honored to welcome Assembly member Mark Leno as our keynote speaker. RSVP to Lisa Ruth via e-mail or at 415/431-2453 x302 or show up at the door on Thursday. Suggested minimum donation is $75. For more info, see sfbike.org/goldenwheel. 3 BIKE LANES PASS COMMITTEE, HEAD TO FINAL VOTENow that three new bike lane proposals unanimously passed the Board of Supervisors' City Operations & Neighborhood Services Committee last week (including Market Street, between 8th & Van Ness; Oakdale, between Bayshore & Selby; and Fulton St. between Baker & Octavia), they now head to the full Board of Supervisors for a final vote tomorrow, April 26th. Please send a quick note of support for all three projects. This is also a good time to ask that the next tier of Top Bike Network projects be brought to the Board for consideration as soon as possible, including Potrero (see update below), Alemany, Illinois, Townsend, and the rest of Market Street. For updates on these and other Bike Network projects, go to sfbike.org/actions. YOUR CALLS REVIVE POTRERO PROJECTAfter a sudden scare last week, it looks like the long-awaited Potrero Ave. traffic calming/bike lane project is back on track, thanks to your calls to Supervisors Ammiano and Maxwell. Both Supervisors support the project and are working to make sure it goes forward as soon as possible. At this point, we are unsure if the Potrero proposal will be debated by the Board committee on May 2nd or May 16th. We'll let you know as soon as we find out, because we will need lots of supporters at the committee hearing. (If you are interested in this project and want to be added to our special Potrero email list, please contact denise@sfbike.org). Stay tuned and thank you for your help last week! sfbike.org/potrero. BIKE TO WORK DAY VOLUNTEERS NEEDEDBike to Work Day is Thursday, May 19th! The biggest cycling event of the year is less than one month away. In order for it to be the best ever, we need your participation. Member volunteers are needed at 20 Energizer Stations all over the city. Pass out goodie bags, sign up new members and energize fellow bikers on the morning and evening commutes! Help is also needed at the fabulous Bike Away from Work Party - starting at 6pm at 111 Minna Gallery. Sign up now to volunteer for Bike to Work Day! STOP BRIDGE TOLLS ON BICYCLISTS & PEDESTRIANSWe are working with the California Bicycle Coalition at the state level to stop the bad idea of tolling cyclists and pedestrians on public bridges and roadways. This would help to prevent the proposed Golden Gate Bridge toll from becoming reality. Big thanks to Assembly Member Lois Wolk, author or Assembly Bill 748, which would prohibit bicycle and pedestrian tolls on public bridges and roadways. This important legislation is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee on May 2nd. We need your letters of support before then. Please take a minute to fax the following Assemblymembers this week, expressing your support for AB 748. (Read more about the bill here). Send letters to: Assemblymember Lois Wolk (fax) 916-319-2108 Assemblymember Jenny Oropeza (fax) 916-319-2155 Assemblymember Bob Huff (fax) 916-319-2160 RIDING WITH A BIKE BUDDY IS TWICE THE FUN!The SFBC Bike Buddy program is in full swing! Thanks to the 53 members who have signed up to mentor a bike newbie. Unfortunately, we've got 4 mentors for every newbie... That means we still need your help to reach out to every person possible to meet our goal of 100 new bike commuters on the street for Bike to Work Day, Thursday, May 19th. We all know someone who might bike sometimes, but doesn't ride to work. They might think city cycling is scary, preventing them from pedaling regularly, or they might just feel weird starting on their own. The SFBC relies on its members to dispel the myth that bike commuting is unrealistic. Folks like you know that urban cycling is getting easier and easier - and the number of people biking is growing every day. Find that person who needs a push. It may be a friend, neighbor, colleague or loved one. We only ask Bike Buddy mentors to get your newbie READY for the big day; no need to commute together because there will be plenty of folks out there (approx 50,000) to ride with them on their commute! Bike Buddies must be signed up by May 1st to be eligible for grand raffle prizes! Find a Bike Buddy today! It's members like you that give the SFBC the powerful voice for change. Your commitment to bicycling makes San Francisco better for everyone! CLARIFICATION ON DRUNK DRIVING BILL & ASSEMBLYMAN LENO'S POSITIONA few weeks ago we reported in the Biker Bulletin on a piece of state legislation addressing drunk driving, AB 4. Since then, we've had the chance to sit down with Assemblymember Mark Leno, who has always been a strong supporter of bicycling and other smart transportation issues, to learn more about why he does not support the bill. Leno told us: "I agree with the author of AB 4, Assemblyman Russ Bogh, that drunk driving is a serious issue. However, Assemblyman Bogh's reactionary response is bad public policy and does not directly address the factors that lead to chronic drunk driving. When addressing a serious illness such as alcohol addiction, I believe that there are more thoughtful ways to approach the issue." After learning more about the bill, we better understand Leno's position on it and agree that AB 4 falls short, particularly because it would no longer require that individuals convicted of multiple counts of drunk driving must go through treatment programs. In light of the tragic and preventable cyclists' deaths in Sonoma County caused by drunk drivers, we would look forward to working with Assemblymember Leno and others to better address the problem of reckless driving on California's streets. BIKETOWN CELEBRATION AND BIKE TO WORK DAY PRESS CONFERENCETake a lunch break on Friday, May 6 to enjoy a BikeTown Celebration and a press conference for the Bay Area's Bike to Work Day at Justin Herman Plaza at Market St at the Embarcadero. This free event kicks-off at noon with live music from the band Rhythm Matrix, a pedal-powered smoothie blender, give aways for those who register for Bike to Work Day, and tabling by sponsors. A short press conference at 1pm will feature the BikeTown giveaway of 50 new bicycles to Bay Area residents who submitted winning essays on why they want to use a bike to commute. BikeTown is a national collaboration between Bicycling Magazine, Shimano, and the League of American Bicyclists - they are giving away 50 bicycle in 20 markets throughout the United States. The bicycles for the Bay Area are being provided by Giant Bicycles. The press conference will also include Bike to Work Day awards from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition (BABC). Awards will be given for a Bike Commuter of the Year (one in each of the nine Bay Area counties), and a regional award for both the Best Bicycle Workplace and Most Improved Bicycle Community. Volunteers needed! Contact Jodie Medeiros if you can help. More details at bicycling.com/biketown and 511.org. FURNITURE NEEDED FOR BIKE COALITION HEADQUARTERSWe love our new office, but we're still lacking some key pieces of furniture. If you can donate any of the following, or know of a place we could get these items cheap, please email Denise Esteves, Operations Assistant, at denise@sfbike.org or call 415-431-BIKE x301. Thanks for your help!
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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