Posted on 04/27/2007 7:43:58 AM PDT by SmithL
The political influence of San Francisco's pro-bike movement has risen steadily over the past decade to the point where the chief advocate for cyclists sits on a powerful city commission and elected officials rarely tell them no.
It's a long way from the early days, when bike enthusiasts could barely get city officials to return their calls.
But a series of attention-grabbing street protests that started 15 years ago in the form of the monthly Critical Mass rides, which attract hundreds to thousands of cyclists, put bike interests in full public view. Elected officials took notice.
"We've achieved a lot. There's no doubt about it,'' said Leah Shahum, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, which boasts a membership on the plus side of 6,000, making it one of the largest advocacy groups in the city.
It was Shahum whom Mayor Gavin Newsom tapped last year to serve as a commissioner overseeing the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which is in charge of transit, traffic and parking operations in the city.
Cycling activists have successfully lobbied for more bike lanes -- even when they result in the loss of curbside parking and traffic lanes. They persuaded lawmakers to require secure bike parking in new commercial developments and fought for bike racks on buses. And despite a two-time loss at the polls, advocates pushed through a plan to ban cars along some roadways in Golden Gate Park on Saturdays.
It wasn't until one man sued last year to stop San Francisco from fully implementing its official bike plan -- the roadmap for enacting bike-friendly policies in San Francisco -- that the bike lobby hit its first major bump in the road.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Anarchy is a San Francisco Value
So the critical mass terrorist of SF are heroes? They beat people, trash cars, break every law in the book and they are some of SFs finest. What a set of values they have in that slimey city.
It appears that tempers may have cooled slightly since last month's San Francisco Critcal Mass bike ride, which launched a flurry of debate after Matier & Ross published this column.
Tempers flared on both sides, the mayor was called in, and the subsequent debate ended up having more to do with the historical tension between bicyclist and cars than the actual incident itself.
Today, Chronicle reporter Rachel Gordon took a step back and looked at the bicycle movement in San Francisco -- how strong it has become, and who continues to criticize it.
Tonight will be the first ride since the controversy erupted, and as we noted earlier this week, it will also be a test for Newsom.
| April 27 2007 at 09:34 AM
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=32&entry_id=15877
Can you design one that has pit traps for rollerbladers and folks with baby joggers and dogs?
And, I'm happy to report I proved my dad wrong. He predicted I'd be a ditch digger.
LOL!
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