Across the city this morning, kids and their parents hopped on bikes to get to school, many of them breaking out of a car commute routine that's no fun for either party.

At Sunset Elementary School, one of dozens of schools in San Francisco to participate in Bike to School Day today, and one of just five to receive a Safe Routes to School grant, many of the children seemed eager to make it more than a one-time event.

"As I biked, I only thought of the good things that have happened to me," said Audrey, Sunset's Student Council President. "Let's just say I felt everything that I wouldn't feel when I'm stuck in the car."

That line elicited laughter from her classmates and teachers alike, but Dylan Riley, a fourth grade teacher who helped coordinate the program and takes his kids to school by bike regularly, said the Safe Routes to School program and Bike to School Day are helping kids to take bicycling more seriously.

"People are embracing this -- they're realizing cars aren't the only way to get around," said Riley. "By exposing kids to this, they take it seriously."

Over 120 kids -- at least a full third of the school -- biked to Sunset Elementary today, doubling the number that participated in Bike to School Day last year. Sunset's principal Sophie Lee said the Safe Routes to School grant allowed the school to teach all fourth graders about bicycling safety, which helped turn out even more kids this year than last.

"It just really helped the kids to be excited about riding," said Lee.

Fourth graders get three lessons on bicycling safety, including a final hour-long lesson on their bike with YBike program staff and Riley. For some students, that hour is spent learning the basics of riding, while more advanced riders get training on how to deal with more complex situations on the road.

Supervisor Carmen Chu and SFBC's Jason Serafino-Agar.

"But I came out here, went to Golden Gate Park on one of the days that the roads were closed, and learned to bike a bit, but I just need to do some more practice before I'm ready to go on the road with the cars."

That didn't stop her from arriving at Sunset Elementary this morning by bike. Instead of riding alone, Chu rode a tandem bike with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Safe Routes to School Coordinator Jason Serafino-Agar.

"I'm not road-ready today, so today we rode in tandem," said Chu. "I was in the back, and it was quite fun." Chu sported a stylish fuzzy white helmet while they biked along with a group of students starting at 28th Avenue and Lawton.

Fourth grade teacher Dylan Riley arrives at Sunset Elementary today.

"Last year was just more of a first annual event riding to school, and this year it's about more than riding to school, it's our community, it's about helping the environment, and it's about getting kids to exercise and save on pollution," said Lee.

Students who rode their bike to school assemble before the schoolday starts at Sunset Elementary.

Trying new tricks.

Bikes overwhelm Sunset Elementary this morning.

New bicycle racks at Balboa High. Flickr photo: Christopher Pepper

Nik Kaestner, Director of Sustainability for SFUSD, explained that the district now adds bike racks whenever it upgrades schools as part of a renovation bond program. "2002-2003 Prop. A bonds are being used to renovate our buildings in response to a lawsuit. The main focus is ADA accessibility and fire/life safety," said Kaestner. "There's some money put aside for greening schoolyards on elementary school campuses, and then there's also some money usually left over. At some point the decision was made that one thing every school would get is bike racks."

That's where the Balboa High racks came from, but there are also two other major sources of funding for new racks. The city has also committed to giving SFUSD 30 bike racks, but for now the city doesn't have enough racks on hand to give them to schools and still be ready when the injunction is lifted, said Kaestner. "They want all their racks ready to go as soon as the injunction is lifted." Those racks should be ready by early 2010 once the city appropriates additional money for purchasing racks. Funds for racks at eight more schools were obtained through a grant secured by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

For now, the bike rack installations are pretty modest: each new installation includes two racks with room for 16 bikes total. Kaestner said the school district would like to expand that once the current funds are used up. "Right now, our focus is on schools that request them, then the next focus will be to hit the schools that didn't necessarily request them, then the third focus will be, let's get more than just two sets of bike racks" per school.

SFUSD will also be launching a Safe Routes to School program in October, as part of its broader push to encourage bicycling and walking to school.

Elsewhere in San Francisco, new bike racks can be spotted at some newly renovated libraries, including still-under-wraps racks at the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Branch Library in the Castro. Let us know in the comments section below if you've spotted other injunction-exempt racks or bike infrastructure going up around the city.

These racks at the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Branch Library are locked down and under wraps, but only until renovation on the library is completed. Photo: Michael Rhodes

All morning I've been asking myself (and some others) why kids riding bicycles to school is a pressworthy event. Don't kids always ride bikes to school or have we become so car-dependent that even this sancrosanct part of being young and carefree is a thing of the past?  Unfortunately, the latter is the case, as no school in San Francisco sees even 5 percent of walking and bicycling trips to school.

Today's inaugural Bike to School Day is the start of a shift for the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to promote cycling as a healthy and environmentally sound way to get to school.

"The school district has recently started promoting biking to school as a way to commute efficiently, however they haven't done an actual event to promote biking to school before this," said SFBC Program Manager Marc Caswell.  "Today is the day we're actually going to reward students that want to ride to school."

Nik Kaestner, Director of Sustainability for the SFUSD, said the district is now focusing on expanding bicycling through its Safe Routes to Schools educational efforts.

"The more that this becomes commonplace, the more we change culture, the more people will come around," he said. "I think that’s the goal around the district. If you're just throwing facts at them, I don't think that makes a difference. I think it needs to be cool."

Kaestner relayed an anecdote from this morning at Roosevelt Middle School, where a kid came up to him after seeing the bagels and juice that kids who cycled enjoyed and said he needed to ride next year. "It's nice to see the kids that are biking are being rewarded for doing it and other kids are taking notice."

When asked why the walking and bicycling numbers are so low in San Francisco, Kaestner suggested that many parents fear for their child's safety on the street.  "There's a general fear of what might happen to their kid if they walk or bike. They think putting them in steel boxes is safer."

Ironically, one of the biggest dangers to kids near schools is parents in cars. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, parents dropping off their children in cars are responsible for half the car-kid injuries reported around schools.

Organizers of Bike to School Day hoped to draw at least 500 students at the 22 schools that participated and if the action at Monroe Elementary School in the Excelsior was any indication, they will reach their target.  At final count, there were over sixty kid's bicycles and scooters, which represents more than 10 percent of the students at Monroe.

Monroe parent Birgit Cory and her two sons. Photo: Matthew Roth

For kindergartner Yoloxy Escobar, the experience was new, though her mother, Sara Torres, said she would continue to ride. "She loves it," said Torres. "This was a success today."

Mario Malagon, a special education teacher at Monroe, saidthey rarely get more than four or five students riding to school regularly and asserted that events like today were important to change that low number. "I'm very happy and satisfied.  We're going to try to get the kids excited about the bicycle movement, because it is extremely important.

Pointing to the railing where the bicycles were leaning as part of bicycle valet at Monroe for the day, Malagon highlighted one of many obstacles for increasing riding: lack of a safe place to lock the bicycles. "Right now one of the parents wants to get this access here for the students to park their bikes in the future," he said.

Leah Shahum of the SFBC said that only eight schools had added bicycle racks this year and the SFBC had to raise the funds from a foundation on the East Coast to pay for them. Monroe was not one of the schools to get racks and is not on the list for new racks. In reference to the SFUSD, Shahum said, "They're being skiddish about finding funds while the injunction is in place."

She said the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) had paid for bike racks elsewhere and suggested that the agency could be approached by the SFUSD.

When asked if the SFUSD would consider reaching out to BAAQMD, Kaestner said, "We're working with the BAAQMD in other ways, so that makes sense. We'll consider everything."

Another concern often cited by school principals as a rationale for not adding bicycle racks is fear of lawsuits.  Shahum said that liability issues are a red herring, that schools are no more liable if a child gets hurt on the way to school riding a bicycle than they are riding in a car.

Kaestner agreed with that logic and said, "We just passed a board resolution to dispel those issues and put the board's weight behind increasing bicycling."

Students brush up their bicycling skills at Francisco Middle School.

Francisco Middle School, one of eight schools to receive a new rack, played host to the event.  Francisco students in the Presidio Community YMCA’s after-school bike program, a partnership with the Municipal Transportation Agency and San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, treated guests to a demonstration of safe bicycling and intersection negotiation. 

“We’re all about action here,” said Principal Judith Giampaoli.  

6th-grader Juan Carlos Ramirez said the new racks meant he could now bike to school and not have to worry about his bike getting “messed up.”  Ramirez likes biking to school because it’s “healthy, I get good exercise, and it’s also fun.” 

“There’s no pollution,” added his bike club friend Abdul Moimm, “and you don’t have to worry about things like traffic.”  Both students built the bikes they ride, with a little help from instructors in the Presidio Community YMCA’s after-school bike shop class.

The new racks were funded by a $7,500 grant from the Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation, which was secured by the SFBC.  Though the number of schools receiving a new bike rack represents just a fraction of the total number of schools in the district, SFUSD officials say the new racks are a key component of a new district policy to promote healthy lifestyles by encouraging more students and faculty to bike to school. 

“We’re thrilled the SFUSD will foster the future health of students and teach smart, sustainable transportation,” Shahum said.

Ana Validzic of the Department of Public Health stressed that bicycling to school is good for students’ health, a critical need when 66 percent of all San Francisco students do not meet recommended daily levels of physical activity.  DPH secured a two-year, $500,000 Safe Routes to School grant that is scheduled to begin this September.  

“The purpose of this grant is to promote walking and biking to and from school as well as improve traffic safety around the schools,” she said.  The grant will deliver educational presentations, fun activities, and traffic enforcement at 15 schools within the SFUSD.

Flickr Photos: Marc Caswell, SFBC