The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition book ended our day with two ribbon cutting ceremonies to celebrate the new bike lanes on North Point Street. The first was early morning with the City’s Municipal Transportation Agency, Johanna Partin from the Mayor’s office and Judson True from David Chiu’s office the second ribbon cutting in the evening with a large group of our members.

The first of two ribbon cutting ceremonies with (from left to right) Bond Yee (SFMTA); Renée Rivera (SF Bicycle Coalition and Judson True (Supervisor David Chiu's office), Johanna Partin (Mayor Newsom's Office)

The North Point bike lanes are the city’s first mile of completed bike lane of more than 30 miles that will be added to city streets. This bike lane, from Van Ness to the Embarcadero, is a key connection for people bicycling to and from the Embarcadero and the Golden Gate Bridge. This bike lane is part of a new wave of bicycling improvements that make streets safer and friendlier and propel San Francisco to become one of America’s most bicycle-friendly cities.

It was a true group effort to cut the ribbon on North Point.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is thrilled to see the City’s dedication in getting North Point bike lane striped so quickly and are urging the city to keep up this pace of improving streets for so many people. This is the first time in San Francisco’s history that this many bike lane projects are approved and funded and we are urging the City to commit to striping 15 of these projects by December.

Businesses along North Point are also welcoming the positive impacts of these safety improvements and more people bicycling. “The new North Point bike lane travels right in front of our store and will help attract more bicycling customers. This new bike lane will hopefully encourage more people to ride their bikes to work or home, which is better for the environment,” says Jenny Paulus, Assistant Manager of the Patagonia store on North Point and Hyde streets.

The victory and celebration ride along the full mile of bike lane.

Bicycle ridership has surged by more than 53% in the last few years and surveys show that one in two San Franciscans would ride if streets had bike lanes and were more inviting for bicycling. Official City counts show bicycling activity increases, on average, by 50% after a bike lane is added, including these noteworthy increases where bike lanes have been added in the past: Howard St. (300% increase); Valencia St. (144%); Arguello (67%).

We are eager to celebrate even more bike lanes that will be added to streets all across the city creating connections and making San Francisco an easier and safer to place to live, shop, and do business!