Candidate Facts

Name: James Fang Campaign Website: fang4bart.com

Candidate Questionnaire

Last month, all official candidates for the BART Board of Directors were contacted and given the opportunity to answer our Candidate Questionnaire. Any candidate responses edited for length and clarity have been marked as such.

1. Do you ride a bicycle in the city?

No

2. If yes, for what purpose(s) and how often? How do you most commonly commute to work?

I ride a bike primarily on the weekend for recreation and some light shopping. Most often commuting to work, I take public transportation. My wife and I carpool from our home on San Jacinto Way in St. Francis Wood to Glen Park BART station. We park there. She then takes BART to downtown Oakland and I take BART to downtown San Francisco.

3. The City has established a goal to at least double the number of bike trips in the next 4 years. Do you support this goal?

Yes

If yes, what would you do as Supervisor to help the city realize it?

As BART also strives to double its bicycle ridership to 8%, I support adding a new bike station at Civic Center, dedicating a Priority Bicycle Area in the new fleet of cars, expanding San Francisco’s bike share program to the East Bay with pods at BART stations, adding secure bike parking at all BART stations, continuing BART participation in Bike to Work Days and running a BART educational campaign to register and u-lock bicycles.

4. This Fall, voters will have the chance to support the Transportation and Road Safety Bond. This bond supports $500 million of work to improve the city’s transit systems and make our roadways safer for all users, with a focus on improved bikeways and pedestrian safety. Will you publicly support and actively campaign for this measure?

[No answer]

5. Also this Fall, voters will be presented with a ballot measure called Policy Regarding Transportation Priorities Declaration of Policy or “Transportation Balance”, which aims to weaken San Francisco’s long-time Transit-First policy, and send more of our City’s scarce resources to further subsidize parking to the detriment of other, well-established priorities, including transit and the safety of people walking and biking. Will you support Transit-First and Vision Zero by publicly and actively opposing the Policy Regarding Transportation Priorities Declaration?

[No answer]

6. District 8 includes Balboa Park, Embarcadero and Montgomery Stations, which are all on critical bike networks but lack safe and comfortable connections by bike. As a BART Board member, would you support improvements on streets identified as key bike routes to BART stations, even if in some cases may include removal of existing on-street parking or traffic lanes?

Yes

7. More specifically, do you support each of the following projects?

• Second Street, with a protected bikeway, removal of turn pockets and minor parking removal  Yes
• Market Street, with increased private vehicle restrictions to prioritize the biking, walking and transit experience on San Francisco’s busiest bikeway  Yes
• Embarcadero, with the current planning process to design a protected bikeway to build upon our world-class waterfront  Yes

8. Many Bay Area residents depend on being able to bring their bikes on transit, which gives more options for where you live, work, shop and more. Over the next four years, BART will be designing, testing and finalizing the new car designs. This gives a unique opportunity to improve bicycle access on BART. Do you support the following improvements?

• Bicycle racks on all new BART cars  Yes
• Increasing or maintaining current space allocated for bikes on BART (currently two spaces per car)  Yes

9. As the region’s population grows and in particular, San Francisco faces many challenges of how to move people around the city. With our city’s Transit First policy in mind, what do you consider to be the greatest transportation problem facing the City and what solutions do you propose?

a.    All-night bus network to serve businesses and workers after BART shuts down
b.    BART contributed $10 million to MUNI in last four years, will keep increasing BART payments to MUNI
c.    BART capacity improvements
d.    Pedestrian and bicycle safety
e.    Improved service along the Geary corridor
f.    BART’s bicycle capital program will raise $6.2 million to increase and secure bicycle parking at 18 stations
g.    Work with the cycling community to further integrate Asian American participation in sustainable and cycling efforts

10. Have you championed or strongly supported any other initiatives that are in line with the SF Bicycle Coalition’s mission of promoting bicycling for everyday transportation?

a.   Through entire career have helped make BART most bike-friendly transit system in U.S.
b.  Supported all expansions to BART’s bicycle policy – now bikes on all trains at all stations during all times
c.  Bike racks on new fleet beginning delivery 2015
d.  World-class bike parking, 36 stations have 1,134 bike lockers, 4 have full bike stations
e.  Focus areas: improve bicycle circulation at stations, increase bicycle access beyond BART, more bicycle support programs along with policies and facilities