Flickr photo: Aimee Ellis, 2Girls1Queen

Elaine Santore from 2 Girls, 1 Queen sent in the above photo, which Aimee Ellis took shortly after the crash.

Alex Caroll, who works nearby at Burger Joint, witnessed the crash and was among the first to call for an ambulance. The bicyclist appeared to have suffered a broken leg or ankle, as well as a possible broken shoulder or collarbone, said Caroll. The bicyclist was traveling southbound on Pierce, and the SUV was traveling eastbound on Haight when it struck him. An SFPD officer was first to arrive on the scene, followed by the fire department, according to Caroll. Officers were still speaking to the driver when Caroll left a half hour later.

Ellis reports that the injured man was missing a shoe and was taken to the hospital in a fire truck.

SFPD spokesperson Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said the bicyclist remained conscious and breathing, and was not bleeding.

We will update with more details as they're available.

Wanju Yu, a 74-year-old Cupertino resident, was struck and killed by a driver while riding his bicycle near De Anza College yesterday.

A student turning into campus from eastbound Stevens Canyon Road hit Yu at 9:15 a.m., Sgt. Rick Sung told Bay City News. He appears to have died from head and neck wounds, according to the medical examiner's office.

The driver, who stopped at the scene, was not arrested, and the collision remains under investigation.

Sgt. Sung confirmed that the crash occurred at the main entrance to De Anza College, at the intersection of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Mary Avenue.

We will update as further details become available.

Twitpic photo: bfuller9

On my ride in today, I saw a cyclist down on the sidewalk at Market & Ellis, on the westbound side of Market. … He was placed on a board by fire dept. ready for transport by ambulance (which had just arrived). Bike was beside him. Unclear what happened, or if he was indeed headed west.

MacLean reports that the cyclist appeared to be conscious and moving.

Lt. Ken Smith of the San Francisco Fire Department confirmed that both the fire department and the police department responded to the crash, which he confirmed involved a vehicle. Lt. Doug Groshong of the SFPD hit-and-run unit was not aware of the crash, and said the driver likely remained on the scene since his unit hadn't been notified about it. An SFPD public affairs officer was also not aware of the crash.

Did you see the crash or have more information about the condition of the bicyclist? Let us know in the comments section below.

Mary Yonkers, right, with a bike trail friend. Photo courtesy Barry Grossman.

That stale description of her death belies the incredible impact she had on a countless number of people during her life. Not even her closest friends had grasped the breadth of that impact. During her daily routine of running, bicycling, and walking with her beloved dog, Moe, Mary got to know so many people that no single friend of hers realized how many other friends there were.

Yonkers was headed to work last Wednesday when the crash happened shortly before 8 a.m. as a truck driver was turning right onto Holly Street from southbound Shoreway Road, Redwood City police said. Sgt. Eric Stasiak said their investigation had concluded that Yonkers tried to pass the truck on the right, while she may also have been turning right, but was struck and killed, based on eyewitness accounts. The driver later claimed he was unaware he had hit her.

Ken Stecklein, Mary's roommate for over 20 years, said the response to her death made him realize how little he really knew about her in some ways. After 25 years, Stecklein said, "you'd think you know everything about a person. I found I knew very little about her. She'd come home and tell me about all these people, but it's amazing. Now, I walk on the streets and they see Moe, and the response is unbelievable. People are crying, and they're telling me these stories about her. One lady said she was 'an angel on earth.'"

Stecklein said about 20 people have stopped by in the past week to express condolences and share stories about Mary, but the number of people who ask about her when he's out walking Moe on the streets and on the extensive trails she frequented positively dwarfs that.

"I've been walking him three times a day and half-hour walks have been turning into two and three hours because I'm constantly running into people that are just now hearing about it," said Stecklein. "I'm not sure they even knew her last name, just that she was the lady that was always out there, always had time to stop and talk, very friendly."

"I passed out flyers Wednesday. Anybody with a dog, I'd say, 'excuse me, but this lady…' Then they would start crying, they have stories to tell me. I just cannot believe the reaction I'm getting."

Mary Yonkers. Photo courtesy Barry Grossman.

There was further proof in the comments to the first two reports of the crash on Streetsblog. Comments started pouring in from neighbors she'd babysat pets for, friends from the biking and walking trails, a childhood friend, her roommate, and her sister-in-law, Cindy Yonkers.

A friend, Karen, wrote:

Her name was Mary. She rode her bike to work everyday for the last 15 years unless it was pouring down rain like it did yesterday. It's too bad it didn't rain today. What Mary did everyday when she came to work was care for people, she was one of the most naturally compassionate people I've ever known. She also loved to listen to people and their concerns, she truly cared about them ... We drove out to the intersection today and tried to make sense of it. From the looks of that intersection I can't see how she survived the last 15 years. It is my understanding that Mary feared this intersection, I can see why.

Shelley, a friend from the Foster City bike path, wrote:

I was stunned to read today that Mary is gone. I have seen Mary running and biking on the Foster City bike path for more than 10 years, most recently with her adorable dog, Moe. She always gave me a cheerful greeting and often we spent a few minutes chatting. My heart goes out to those who were close to her, her coworkers and roommate ... I am sure that my husband, my running partner and I are just a few of many bikepath "friends" who would love to pay our respects. We will miss Mary.

Another friend from the bike paths wrote, "From what we knew, Mary lived a life of kindness and compassion ... We knew her as 'mom' to an energetic toddler dog named Moe, who did not always appreciate Mary's early morning running routine. Moe lost his best friend yesterday."

Mary Yonkers. Photo courtesy Ken Stecklein.

Mary worked in San Carlos Monday through Thursday as a dental assistant, biking to work most days. On the weekend, said Stecklein, her routine involved a nearly mind-boggling feat of stamina. "She'd sleep in until six, she would take Moe for a six-mile run, she'd come back, she'd work out with the weights, hour and a half, hop on her bicycle, ride 40 miles, 20 miles each way, come back, take a shower, put her backpack on, and walk to Safeway with about 50 pounds of food coming back, and a couple of grocery bags."

"Then she'd take Moe, and they'd go for a ten-mile walk, he's getting tired by now, so she'd bring him back and she'd take off again, come back about five," said Stecklein. After dinner, she'd head back out for another walk with Moe.

Mary grew up in Cicero, IL, a suburb of Chicago. After living in San Francisco's West Portal neighborhood briefly, she moved to San Mateo, and quickly became a fixture of the trails, the sidewalks, and the neighborhood. She took care of people's pets, even donating money to an elderly woman she knew to help her feed her rescued cats. With Stecklein's help, she rescued her own dog, Moe, who had been abused. Countless people she met on the trail confided in her. When she was younger, Stecklein said they rode their bicycles to Yosemite three times. "She was a jock," he said of her with awe.

Tomorrow, friends will have a chance to come together and share stories at a Celebration of Life for Mary. Her running friends, her walking friends, her pet friends, her grocery store friends, her work friends are welcomed to gather at the Laguna Vista Clubhouse at 3324 Kimberly Way in San Mateo from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Friends can bring an appetizer to share for a potluck table. In lieu of flowers, Stecklein requests that people donate to the Peninsula Humane Society/SPCA in Mary's name.

Photo courtesy Ken Stecklein.

Photo: Garmin Sliptstream

“I’m still crooked on a bike,” Zabriskie said during his Larkspur talk, a fundraiser for the bike safety charity Yield to Life, which he founded. Yield to Life attempts to humanize cyclists in the eyes of motorists and encourage drivers to give riders space on the road. 

He joked that when crowded by cars during rides he often thinks about the use of Tazer guns, but instead insists he just gives drivers a friendly wave.  He says he still wonders whether the Salt Lake City driver was thinking of him “as life, as a living, breathing person, rather than an obstacle in her way.”  If she had waited a split second for him to pass he would not have spent months in a wheelchair nor needed to use a walker during rehabilitation.

Zabriskie also spoke about lighter issues, saying that he’s a Battlestar Galactica fan and watches it to unwind, that German cyclist Jens Voigt, racing with Team CSC, knows more about American pop culture than anyone and that Zabriskie is inspired by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1970s movie “Pumping Iron.”

Of Lance Armstrong, a former teammate from his US Postal days, Zabriskie said this year, with Armstrong’s return to racing, “He was like an uncle. He was the most relaxed I’ve seen him. He was the nicest I’ve seen and he talked to everyone.”

Zabriskie is the only American to win three stages of all three grand tour races consecutively: the Tour of Spain, Tour of Italy and Tour de France.  But says he still considers what he might have accomplished if he had not been struck.

As for the 2009 racing circuit, he described for the Larkspur crowd the lead up to a highly controversial Stage 14 in this year’s Tour de France. George Hincapie, a hugely popular American rider for Columbia-HTC, had a sufficient lead to take the yellow jersey for the stage, a first in the twilight of Hincapie’s career.  Zabriskie was among those in his Garmin team ordered to the front to pull back the break-away and with it, Hincapie.

Zabriskie said, “I saw a woman killed that day on the road, cut in half by a motorcycle. I was upset. At the end of the race I was told to go to the front and pull. I was not paying attention to George. We were not attacking his lead. I felt bad when I found out [Hincapie had lost his shot at the yellow jersey]. I cried. George had a few words for me, but we’re ok now.”

Zabriskie said that he plans to ride the Tour of California in May 2010, even though it conflicts with the Tour of Italy. His entire interview will be podcast by the event sponsors at Marincyclists.com.

Note: We've posted an update and a profile of Mary Yonkers.

The driver of a dump truck who killed a bicyclist this morning in Redwood City has been located by investigators, but claimed he was not aware he hit the woman, and has not been arrested, Bay City News quoted police as saying.

Redwood City Police said the crash happened shortly before 8 a.m. as the driver, who was not identified, was turning onto Holly Street from southbound Shoreway Road. Earlier reports had the crash on Redwood Shores Parkway. According to the BCN report, "a woman on a bicycle tried to pass the truck as it turned, but she was struck and some part of the truck rolled over her, police said."

The bicyclist was identified by the San Mateo County Coroner's office as 58-year-old Mary Yonkers of San Mateo. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

BCN quoted police as saying a truck matching the description was located by witnesses at the Allied Waste San Carlos transfer station on Shoreway Road around 9 a.m.

Monica Devincenzi, the recycling outreach and sustainability manager for the South Bayside Waste Management Authority, confirmed the driver works for one of the agency's subcontractors. She described the vehicle as a transfer truck.

"It is a tragic incident and we're sorry that it happened. We hope that the investigation results in finding out exactly what happened," she said, adding that SBWMA contractors are required to undergo driver safety training but "they are generally handled by the companies the drivers work for."

Redwood City Police did not immediately return our phone calls seeking more information.

Updated 4:29 p.m.

Note: We've posted an update and a profile of the bicyclist, Mary Yonkers.

According to KCBS radio, a bicyclist has been killed in a hit-and-run crash involving a dump truck this morning in Redwood City:

Authorities are looking for the driver of a dump truck who hit and killed a bicyclist in Redwood City this morning and then drove off. Redwood City police tell KCBS that the incident took place shortly before 8 o'clock on Shoreway Road at Redwood Shores Parkway. The truck turned right from Shoreway onto Redwood Shores, running over a female bicyclist. The bicyclist was dead by the time paramedics arrived on scene. It's unclear if the driver of the dump truck was aware that his vehicle had run over the woman. Police are interviewing a witness who believes he or she could identify both the truck and its driver.

Thanks to bicyclist Ted Goldberg at KCBS for the tip. 

Photo: Michael Kohn

The eyewitness, Jose Luis, said the woman appeared to dodge out of the way when a delivery truck abruptly opened its door, causing her to ultimately collide with another truck, the Pepsi truck shown in the pictures here. The Pepsi truck was either parked or moving slowly when the bicyclist collided with it.

"There was a loud noise when she was hit," said Jose Luis. "I thought for sure she had been killed."  He explained that the driver of the Pepsi truck called for an ambulance and stayed on the scene.

Two other bystanders immediately pulled the victim out from under the truck. She was screaming, said Jose Luis, but alive. By the time an ambulance arrived and took her away, she was alert and talking on a cell phone someone had lent her, but her legs had been covered up by the medics.

The SFPD Public Affairs office had no knowledge of the crash when Streetsblog called. The SFPD and Fire Department were looking into it, but could not provide details at 12:30 p.m. Stay tuned for more information as we receive it.

Thanks to reader Michael Kohn for the tip. He sent Streetsblog these photos of the aftermath.

Flickr photo: Richard Masoner

The woman is a local social worker who was commuting home on her bike. She wrote that the two unidentified men, who were in a silver BMW, shouted death threats and racial epithets, and tried to frighten her by swerving in and out of the bike lane. The car's license plate, and this no joke, read "BYE GIRL."

"I've been harassed many times as a bicyclist in San Francisco. Most of the times for no reason at all. However, this time they went way too far. Yelling at me once is fine. Following me in their car, driving into the bike lane, yelling racial epithets, and wishing death upon me is not fine," she wrote.

Sgt. Lyn Tomioka, an SFPD spokesperson, said the bicyclist chose not to pursue charges but that an inspector "did call both men, and they were severely warned, which is what the victim wanted." The allegations could have potentially warranted hate crime and vehicular assault charges. Tomioka said an assistant district attorney did review the case and decided against a filing.

She added: "If you could put out how important getting the license plate number is in any incident, I would appreciate it."

In a follow-up email to Streetsblog, the bicyclist, who we've chosen not to identify, explained her decision not to pursue charges:

I'm trying to be a better person in this case and hope that these two men learn from this experience. Also I date a criminal defense attorney who walked me through all the possible outcomes if I did pursue criminal charges. And personally (and as a social worker) I really believe in preventive measures and educating people rather then the "putting people in jail" approach. I guess after thinking it all through, I am satisfied with my decision and the outcome. I hope that people can learn to respect all people on the roads/streets.

From SF Citizen via Eyes on Blogs comes word of a nasty collision between a bicyclist and an SUV driver in Golden Gate Park Wednesday. The photographer who snapped these shots described the crash on his Flickr post:

The driver of this SUV (apparently not from the area), was backing up in traffic to correct an incorrect turn, and backed right into the cyclist (unidentified), who took a dive through the truck's rear window and briefly lost consciousness. When I arrived, SFFD was on the scene and working on the cyclist, who had regained consciousness and was speaking with EMTs. He was put in a neck brace, loaded onto the ambulance and sent off to SF General. Confidence was high the cyclist would recover. SFPD were also on scene taking witness statements.

Sgt. Lyn Tomioka, an SFPD spokesperson, said the driver kicked into reverse after an illegal u-turn:

This occurred on 9/16/09 at 11:33 am, on JFK west of Kezar. SUV driver was a Marin resident and the cyclist lives in SF. The driver of the SUV was making an illegal U turn and then had to back up to complete that turn. That is when the cyclist was stuck and went through the rear window. (Thank God he was wearing a helmet - which absorbed most of the impact) There was an independent witness who stayed on scene, and the cyclist was taken to SFGH for treatment. He was interviewed at SFGH, but did not recall the incident. The driver was at fault in this case.

Tomioka said the driver was not cited at the scene for unsafe backing (California Vehicle Code 22106) or speeding. See additional photos after the break.

Flickr photo:

I wanted to write you in hopes that you can help spread the word and warn bicyclists and decent people alike. I ask you to read what happened to me on Monday, September 14, 2009 and share this story and information as you and Streetsblog see fit.

On Monday, September 14, 2009 around 6pm I was on my way home from work on my bike as I am every work day. Except on this day, I not only got verbally harassed, but racially harassed by two men in a BMW. Seriously! As I was riding down Embarcadero, I heard a car honking and some guys yelling. I ignored it, not giving it much thought. A few seconds later the car pulled up next to me and the men in it started yelling at me (every other word was fucking or bitch or both) and telling me to stop at red lights. I crossed an intersection (Embarcadero and Battery) on a red light seconds before it turned green (I know but I made sure no cars and pedestrians were inconvenienced in any way and as soon as I started peddling the light turned green). The verbal assaults didn't stop there. They continued to follow me down Embarcadero driving erratically and yelling at me calling me a "fucking Asian bitch" and that "behind a bad driver is an Asian driver" and that they "wished that I died" over and over again. They swerved into the bike lane from time to time trying to scare me or cause me to fall off my bike. I yelled back but at this point I was really upset and frightened. Eventually, fearing for my safety, I got off my bike and walked up to them in the middle of the street. I was very close to punching them but realized that if I did, nothing would happen to them and I would end up in court. At one point the car passed by me so I got the car's license plate in case the car did hit me. Here's what I'm asking of you, please note this car and warn as many bicyclists as possible. The car is a dark silver BMW m3, two doors, and looked very new. The CA license plate is: BYE GIRL (I'm serious that was their license plate).

I've been harassed many times as a bicyclist in San Francisco. Most of the times for no reason at all. However, this time they went way too far. Yelling at me once is fine. Following me in their car, driving into the bike lane, yelling racial epithets, and wishing death upon me is not fine.

A spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, Sgt. Lyn Tomioka, encouraged the victim to file a police report so investigators can follow-up.

"That was a direct threat. She felt that they swerved to hit her in the bike lane. The term used was in direct comparison to her gender and her race and could easily be considered a hate crime, coupled with that threat from the vehicle," she said. "That's a situation where anyone should call for the police."

The woman told Streetsblog she was planning to meet with police today. Tomioka said it was also important she report the incident because it probably won't be the last time it happens.

"They were comfortable yelling the things they yelled. If they get away with it once, they're going to continue to do that. She had the sense, at some point, to stop and get the license plate, but there's people out there that don't think that quickly, that are intimidated by two people. My other advice would certainly be not to confront two men in a car.  I mean, she appeared to be a lone woman on a bicycle and she went to confront the two men. I think that's very dangerous."

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition also encourages bicyclists to report motorist harassment to SFPD, in some cases as vehicular assaults. Andy Thornley, the SFBC's program director, said police often discourage bicyclists from filing reports but they have every right to do it.

"By itself a report of vehicular assault isn't likely to launch a criminal investigation, you'll probably have to press charges, which means getting involved in a pretty serious way, actually confronting the person and seeing through a prosecution. I've never heard of anyone going through with it here in San Francisco," he said.

The SFBC's Marc Caswell said bicyclists could also attempt to get a license stripped by filing a complaint with the Department of Motor Vehicles, requesting the agency review the motorist's driving qualifications. He said he hasn't heard of anyone actually pursuing that route but that it would be worth experimenting with.

A woman was struck and killed by a driver this morning while walking near the intersection of Fell and Broderick Streets in San Francisco. The victim, who wore a hooded sweatshirt, fleece cutoff pants and flip flops, was a 24-year-old San Francisco resident identified as Melissa Dennison. A man came forward to police as the driver, and was questioned but not arrested, said Sgt. Lyn Tomioka, an SFPD public affairs spokesperson.

Police had not yet released details of where in the intersection the crash occurred, but Tomioka said the case would be presented to the District Attorney's office for a decision on whether to proceed with criminal charges. The driver, a 19-year-old male who commutes to the city for work, was driving a black Honda Civic westbound on Fell. "Another vehicle appears to have stopped at some point," said Tomioka. "The Honda went around that car and it appears at that point hit the victim," who was found lying partially on the sidewalk on Fell. According to a KCBS report, Dennison's body was so severely mangled police could not initially identify her age or race.

"Whether she was in the crosswalk or not, the driver needs to proceed with caution," Tomioka said.

The fatal crash happened on one of San Francisco's most hazardous streets for pedestrians and bicyclists, a four-lane, one-way throughway that is treated as a residential highway by many drivers. Fell Street is part of the city's new SFgo program, which is intended to improve traffic flow on San Francisco's streets. Upcoming changes will include overhead signs on Fell with real-time traffic information about delays.

SFBC program manager Marc Caswell thinks the changes coming to Fell Street may only make it more dangerous. "I think that SFgo's freeway signage, which encourages fast-moving traffic, fast-moving private autos, would certainly continue to endanger pedestrians," said Caswell. The fatality this morning is a strong reminder of that danger, he said, since it occurred on a block "where that signage would be, probably where drivers would be looking up at the sign."

While the full details of this morning's fatality are not yet available, the crash is a stark reminder that Fell Street and its eastbound twin, Oak Street, serve a densely populated residential area, and dangerously blend urban living and high-speed traffic. "Moving traffic smoothly and quickly through NOPA and Alamo Square sounds fine to some," said BIKE NOPA's Michael Helquist, a former president of the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association. "But when 'quickly' means speeding and results in deaths, the 'traffic management' takes on a different meaning."

Police Chief George Gascón. Photo: Michael Rhodes

San Francisco Police Chief George Gascón is considering forming a task force to deal with bicycle and pedestrian issues, and "is very much in favor" of appointing a liaison to the bicycling community, as he begins to weigh a pressing number of livable streets concerns in the city.

"I think that some of the things that I would like to see here is perhaps the development of a task force or a group of people that are bicyclists as well as people that are not, and police, and try to start looking at some of these issues and trying to come up with a balanced approach that works for San Francisco dealing with traffic concerns, dealing with pedestrian concerns, dealing with bicycles."

In a short interview with Streetsblog San Francisco last Friday, Gascón, who was recently sworn in as police chief after serving as the top cop in Mesa, Arizona, said he is committed to making sure Muni is safe for all riders (our interview was conducted shortly before word got out about the vicious stabbing of an 11-year-old rider), and is still studying a memorandum of understanding that gave the MTA a greater role in managing the traffic division.

"I think that we definitely have an obligation and are certainly committed to ensuring that our public transportation is safe. And that requires presence and that requires attention. The other part is that we have to be smart," said Gascón. "Not every line and not every time of the day is going to require the same level of public safety concerns. So we have to be intelligent enough to be able to put our resources in the right places at the right time. And yet we have to continuously send the message that we could be anywhere anytime, so it's a balancing act."

Gascón committed to going on a bike ride with Streetsblog and bicycle activists to get a first-hand look at the conditions cyclists face on a daily basis, but balked at the idea of requiring all officers to occasionally ride a bicycle so they can understand the issues more thoroughly.

Gascón's willingness to meet with us, and discuss livable streets issues, is a sharp turnaround from the policies of his predecessor, Heather Fong, who often steered clear of reporters, and ignored efforts to establish closer working relationships with transit advocates. An SFPD public affairs spokesperson, Sgt. Lyn Tomioka, promised more time with the chief in the future. We tried to cram in as many questions as we could in our allotted fifteen minutes, and consulted with a number of transit advocates beforehand.

You can hear the entire interview below, and read highlights below the break:

With Chief Gascón and Public Affairs Sgt. Lyn Tomioka. Photo: Michael Rhodes.

• On bicycling and making the city safer for bicyclists: "There is no question that it's more environmentally sound, it's actually healthier for the individuals, so there are a lot of pluses about people riding bikes. Again, I think as it is the case with pedestrians, we have to ensure that bicyclist behavior is also appropriate. I see it all the time, a bicyclist comes to a red light and then they look both ways and they basically go right through it. On the other hand, I understand the people driving cars, sometimes they have very little regard for people on bikes. Number one, because sometimes they don't see the bike, and other times because they don't care. I think we have to make sure that we do what we can through education and enforcement in order to make sure that people who are in motorized vehicles are respectful of bicyclists."
• On the SFPD's bicycle fleet: "I have looked at some of our bikes, some of them quite frankly are in dire need of replacement and we are talking about the possibility of some areas, in fact, where people are asking for foot beats, to say that maybe a bike patrol may be more effective than a foot beat, because we have a hybrid. You have more of a one to one contact, but on the other hand, you can cover a larger piece of territory."
• On cars blocking bike lanes: "There's no question that blocking a bike lane makes for a very dangerous situation, so if that is a problem that we have, those are some of the areas that we're going to have to address. It could be a combination of education internally and externally. It could be also again looking at the total environmental structure in different parts of the city. I have seen some streets where the bike lane and everything is so tightly packed that it almost forces people sometimes to move around the bike lanes and move in other areas. So I think we have to come together and try to strike reasonable approaches to all of this, but the key to a lot of this is also communication and that's why I'm very much in favor of having a liaison within the police department and the bicyclist community. And I think it's also important to start bringing some people not only from the bicyclist community, but other communities to start discussing what are the solutions that will work well for us."
• Would you support lowering speed limits to make the streets safer for pedestrians? "The problem sometimes with lowering speed limits is sometimes it has the opposite impact of what you're looking for. In my experience many times it's a combination of street engineering; certainly there are places where you have to lower speed limits. Many times pedestrian death or pedestrian injuries are also caused by poor behavior on the part of the pedestrians. Often pedestrians are jay walking, they're not observing the traffic rules, so we have to be very careful, because it's a balancing act, you need traffic to move. If you are to officially to start lowering the speed limit too much, not only do you start impacting negatively the vehicular traffic, but then basically what you do is you create a situation where people start having less regard for the law, because they know that they're going to be exceeding it. So it's a balancing act. We have to make sure that we look at pedestrian behavior and we need to look at driver behavior and then determine what are the best things we can do. Is it an engineering problem, is it a speed limit problem or a combination of all."
• Do you think our problems with traffic here have more to do with a lack of enforcement or the design of the streets? "I think this is an old city and with old cities, and it's not only in San Francisco, it occurs in other parts of the country, as well as in Europe, sometimes it's more difficult to design state of the art traffic flow patterns because of the structure of the city, but that's what makes this city also incredibly beautiful and adds so much character. So what we have to do is we have to kind of work with that. I think also sometimes it's driver behavior, and again, because we are a high density city and there's so many people that drive or come into the city during the week day, tourists, people that work here, some people drive, other people take public transportation. So you have a lot of people in very close confines and all of that I think creates opportunities for us to try to be more creative and looking for different solutions. But I think it's a combination, I think it's street design, I think it's just the way the city is and I think that many of our streets were not designed for the level of traffic that they get today."
• Do you hope to weigh the priority of traffic enforcement based on danger to communities and hazards to others over blanket enforcement? "Absolutely, I think that traffic enforcement as well as enforcement against gangs or drugs or any other issue has to be put in the context of where are the areas that create the greatest hazards to our community. And I think that traffic is a very important area and quite frankly its an area where we lose many more people than we do to other concerns. Unfortunately sometimes it doesn't generate the same level of attention as a shooting and probably for a lot of good reasons. A shooting is an intentional act that is an assault on the entire community. Arguably somebody driving ten, 15 miles over the speed limit that is on the cell phone doesn't carry the same context, even though the result at the end could be the same, somebody gets seriously injured or dead."
• On high-speed chases: "I believe that our policies are adequate; I'm not so sure that all of our training is as much as we need to have, but this is an area that we are going to evaluate as we move on. Suffice it to say that I am a strong believer that in a police pursuit the end never justifies the means, meaning catching the bad guy doesn't justify just going any other way, any way that you can in order to get it there. I think that we have to evaluate and it's really a team effort. Many times the officer driving the car develops a certain level of tunnel vision and this is where the partner officer and the supervisors need to be able to assertively say hey you know what let's back off or let's not continue this pursuit. But that's training and clear policies are very important in this area and something that we're going to be looking at."

The collision occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Randolph and Arch Streets, and authorities were still clearing the scene until noon, said MTA spokesperson Judson True. The cyclist, whose name has not been released, was taken to San Francisco General Hospital.

According to a Muni service alert, the bicyclist was "reportedly travelling southbound (downhill) on Arch Street and struck the right side of the M Ocean View LRV as it travelled inbound (westbound) on Randolph Street through the intersection." The intersection is controlled by four-way stop signs. SFPD and the MTA are investigating the collision.

Service on the M-Ocean View has been restored. We'll have more information as we get it.

Updated 12:52 p.m.

In Portland, fears of liability turned Safe Routes to School to "Safer Routes." Photo: BikePortland.org

"It’s pervasive throughout the country and we’re hearing about it more and more,” [Ping] said. The problem, according to Ping, is that many school principals and administrators feel that biking and walking to school is simply unsafe. They are concerned about being held liable for anything that happens during the trip to and/or from school.

In addition to studying the current scope of the problem, the Safe Routes National Partnership is putting together a team of legal experts who will craft a legal statement directed at school principals, outlining why improving biking and walking options will not increase their liability exposure. They hope the legal statement will also help allay the fears that lead to bike ban policies in the first place.

Though, as Ping points out, principals can't actually stop students from walking and biking, they can use their influence to discourage it. Administrators can also deny students a decent place to store their bikes during the school day. But if the issue is safety and liability, what about those high school parking lots?

Ping said one safe routes advocate he heard from countered a bike ban in their community by asking the principal whether or not he felt liable for kids who drive to school. “That’s a great way to push back on this idea.”

At 16th Street and Valencia, the first signs of streetscape improvement work. Photo: Bryan Goebel

Businesses are "basically looking at a double-whammy over the next nine to twelve months," said Daly. "The double-whammy being, obviously, the economy that's down, tough times for everybody here in San Francisco, and then looking forward to living through a construction project. So, I wanted to come here and help put this together to put the word out that Valencia Street is open for business, that you're going to find no better commercial corridor in all of San Francisco."

The enhancements on Valencia, from 15th Street to 19th Street, will include sidewalk widening, additional street trees, additional street lighting, sidewalk bulb-outs, and art elements. While business owners expressed concerns about maintaining access and parking during construction, there was broad support for the project on the whole.

With Supervisor Chris Daly and business owners looking on, the DPW's Alex Murillo vowed to keep access to businesses open, and bike lanes clear of work materials. Photo: Michael Rhodes

"Certainly any kind of disruption to the street affects us, but it's all the more reason to come out," said Deborah Cullinan, executive director of Intersection for the Arts. "At the end of this process, which is only about nine months, it's going to be even more gorgeous. There are going to be more trees, wider sidewalks, it's just going to be a better place to come to. So we hope that people continue to come out."

Supervisor Chris Daly. Photo: Michael Rhodes

Sean Quigley, who owns Paxton Gate's Curiosities for Kids, also sought to remind people to shop the Valencia corridor during construction. "They're going to do their best to not be disruptive, but we still people to come down and support the local businesses."

The DPW's Murillo vowed that he would do everything in his power to respond to concerns. "We're also going to be very, very aware during construction," said Murillo. "I want to let everyone know that we will be aware of the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists in the area. So if there are any concerns during construction, I'm your point of contact, reach out to me."

Murillo said the DPW has "a partnering session" tomorrow "where we're meeting with the contractor, myself, other city officials, police captain [Stephen] Tacchini, Pedro Tuyub, who's with the Mission Merchants Association," and Neal Patel of the SFBC.

"We've got a partnering session where we're meeting with them, strategizing just how we can try to streamline the project and address any concerns. The reason I invited them out there is because I need them to add emphasis to what I've been saying, which is, keep the bike lanes open, keep the housekeeping tight, we don't want any trash out there."

Sean Quigley, owner of Paxton Gate's Curiosities for Kids. Photo: Michael Rhodes

To minimize disruption, DPW will work on one block at a time, first on the west side of all the blocks, and then on the east side of each block. Work will also be suspended from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, so businesses will not be hit during the holiday season.

Supervisor Daly, who arrived by bicycle, said he was there "to do my part, bicycling up and down the corridor, frequenting the small business and the arts organizations, supporting the non-profits here over the next year of construction."

Bicyclists are encouraged to contact both DPW's Alex Murillo and SFBC's Neal Patel if they encounter an obstructed bike lane without proper signage during the nine months of construction. Murillo can be reached by phone at (415) 437-7009 or email at alex.m.murillo (at) sfdpw.org. Patel can be reached by phone at (415) 431-BIKE x312 or email at neal (at) sfbike.org.

Photo by Bryan Goebel.

So like Pavlov's dog, I learned how to ride evasively and defensively by being quick and assertive on the streets, and always flowing towards the emptiest places. Forty years later, I have been well-served by this approach, remaining a wreck-less rider all these years, in spite of what some motorists and even some cyclists might consider reckless riding. And no, I don't wear a helmet, and never have. I don't oppose anyone using one if they want to, but I feel perfectly safe riding through the streets, fully responsible for my own safety, and a helmet does not enhance that safety in my experience. (Obviously there is a subset of bike accidents in which one's head hits the ground or a vehicle hard, and a helmet can be very helpful in those cases. But there are many more accidents that mangle other parts of the body, often resulting from bad road design or maintenance, indifferent and hostile motorists, and yes, sometimes, unsafe cycling.)

Photo by Chris Carlsson.

* Drivers must:

- look carefully for bicyclists before opening doors next to moving traffic or before turning right.
- safely merge toward the curb or into the bike lane.
- not overtake a bicyclist just before making a right turn. Merge first, then turn.

There is a list of what bicyclists must do too, including having access to some freeways and being allowed to use left-turn lanes. Unlike the Golden Era of cycling where we could and did go anywhere, in any direction (as plenty of bike messengers and those of us who ride like them still do), the DMV admonishes that bicyclists

- must ride in the same direction as other traffic, not against it.
- must ride in a straight line as near to the right curb or edge of the roadway as practical-not on the sidewalk.
- must ride single file on a busy or narrow street.

None of this particularly corresponds to what is good for cyclists, but does conform to how motorists want cyclists to behave. It underscores how out of kilter the licensing process is with the current reality of cycling and street usage in San Francisco. Now that we're having four blocks of Valencia redesigned, with wider sidewalks to suit more pedestrians, let's hope a more thorough rethinking and redesign of city streets can follow. If we can move towards dedicated street space for bicyclists, like in Copenhagen, Montreal, New York, Berlin and other great cities, maybe we'll be able to claim that mantle too.

Until then, bicyclists, you're on your own! Your safety and survival are your responsibility, not the motorists who can't or won't see you.

Andrew Bennett on his Xtracycle with his two sons.

The unidentified girl, from Santa Rosa, turned herself in this morning to the Juvenile Justice Center after being identified as a suspect and agreeing to surrender. She was booked on one count of felony hit-and-run, said SFPD Lt. Douglas Groshong, the head of the hit-and-run unit. Because she's a minor, Groshong said he couldn't release many details but added, "we intend to prosecute this case through the district attorney's office and the juvenile courts."

In an interview this afternoon, Bennett, who suffered a broken back in the July 1st crash, said witnesses told him the driver was talking on her cell phone when the crash happened. He said his son Robby's helmet "took the brunt of the impact" -- it was cracked in half -- but he was not seriously hurt.

"As a parent myself, I sympathize with the driver's parents. I can only imagine how horrible this must be for them. And I would say I'd temper that with relief that this person is no longer on the road and a desire to both get on with the healing process for myself and my family," he said. "In addition, I would also say that it is my sincere hope that every driver who is distracted and talking on a cell phone while driving around in San Francisco thinks twice about it."

Bennett credited the work and "dedication" of SFPD Inspector James Custer, and thanked the witnesses and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Supervisor Chris Daly, and Streetsblog, for focusing attention on the case and putting pressure on the department to solve it.

In an email this afternoon, he wrote: "I am extremely grateful to each and every person reading this for your concern, kindness, desire for justice and attention. Your efforts helped solve this crime. It is my sincere hope that the manner in which everyone (especially the SFPD and the media) made this possible becomes the normal course of action in crimes against cyclists in our great city."

He went on to thank Custer, who he said "took this case to heart and pursued this outcome with a dedication that should make everyone in the city proud."

The SFBC released a statement saying it too was relieved an arrest had been made in the "tragic hit-and-run," and said it was pleased the SFPD worked with the cycling community to track down the driver, "who will now be held accountable for her dangerous actions."

With more and more people bicycling, San Francisco is actually seeing fewer collisions, showing that motorists and bicyclists are doing a better job of sharing the streets. We are pleased to see the SFPD's commitment to helping make the streets safer and saner and look forward to continuing our work with the SFPD for better enforcement and education for the protection of all San Francisco's road users.

Bennett's long road to recovery is barely beginning. He was on his way to see an orthopedic surgeon this afternoon. He suffered a fractured vertebrae, massive sprains and pulled muscles in his lower back, deep bone bruises on his leg, along with a lot of soft tissue damage.

"There is a question that will be unanswered for some time as to how heavily this will affect my ability to earn a living and support my family to the extent that I was prior to the accident," he said.

As for Robby, his young son, Bennett said he "had some pretty nasty abrasions on his elbow" from hitting the pavement, but "it was a miracle" he wasn't more seriously hurt. "I think what happened is most of the impact to the bike didn't go to the trailer part of the bike, and kind of pivoted out of the way and rebounded off the car and chucked him off."

Bennett said it was "a major traumatic event for Robby" and he continues to ask a lot of questions. He has gone back to riding his own bike but "I think he looks at them differently, especially adult bikes that he's not in control of." He said his wife immediately took Robby to get a new helmet while his father was still in the hospital so "he would know it was safe to continue riding," and he "was really into it."

For his own part, Bennett said he really misses his bicycle, and hopes he'll be able to ride again, although he's not sure when.

"That part's killing me because, you know, even if you ride a little bit around the city it makes you feel really good. I really miss the best way to move in San Francisco."

Andrew Bennett and his 4-year-old son, Robby.

San Francisco police have confirmed to Streetsblog that a 16-year-old Santa Rosa girl has been arrested in the hit-and-run crash that left a bicyclist and his young son injured on Valencia Street early last month. SFPD Lt. Douglas Groshong said he could not release any more details but believes there is strong evidence to prosecute the case. The girl was booked into juvenile hall this morning on a felony hit-and-run charge.

Andrew Bennett and his 4-year-old son Robby were thrown from their bike July 1st when a vehicle allegedly driven by the girl was traveling westbound on 18th Street and Valencia and ran a red light. Bennett said he heard from some witnesses that the girl was talking on a cell phone.

The 42-year-old suffered a broken back, deep bone bruises on his leg, and his son, whose helmet was cracked in half, received some "pretty nasty abrasions" but wasn't seriously hurt.

Streetsblog San Francisco's initial post on the crash quickly became our most-read story and readers from around the world left comments expressing outrage and wishing Bennett a speedy recovery. Other media and bloggers followed with stories, and with some political pressure from City Hall and the SFBC, the SFPD made the case a priority and issued a rare press release asking for help, the first time the SFPD has issued a press release on a crash involving a bicyclist in recent memory. 

We'll be posting a more detailed story soon.

Flickr Photo: Jym Dyer

You see, last Thursday afternoon, I was late to catch the BART train I needed to get to an appointment in Oakland, and walking was not going to get me there in time. It was rush hour, so I couldn't take the bike with me, so I locked the front wheel and frame to a parking sign with a U-lock and jumped on BART.

Problem is, on the way back, I forgot all about riding my bike and walked home to pack for a long weekend camping in Yosemite. Flash forward to Monday afternoon, 4 p.m., I needed to get to an appointment in 15 minutes, and when I got downstairs in my building, my bicycle was nowhere to be found. Forgetting my own actions from Thursday, I felt a knot double in my stomach, my face flushed; I was helpless and exposed.

My Surly Long-Haul Trucker was more than fabricated tubes of metal and rubber, it had sentimental value and a name (yes, I anthropomorphize my bike as much as any motorist does his car). I built it up piece by piece with a mechanic friend three years ago, so I literally knew it inside and out.

My mind raced with feelings of rage and confusion, so that for ten minutes I couldn't think past accusatory thoughts toward my neighbors (who I assumed had hopped the back wall to my building and scaled it again with a heavy cargo-bike over their shoulder) or the contractor my landlord had hired to renovate the retail space on the ground floor of our building (both doors out to the street were locked and my landlord said the contractor didn't have a key).

Then I remembered what happened on Thursday.

I was relieved that at least some of my bike might still be recovered, though I felt like an ass for assuming the worst of everyone around me, especially my neighbors.

I nearly ran the four blocks from my house to 24th Street and Mission, imagining any number of situations where my back wheel was gone, the handlebars and headset gone, some or all of the drivetrain gone. I had locked my Brooks saddle to the frame with a link of bicycle chain, though it could have been clipped with big enough bolt cutters.

When I got to 24th Street, I started across, then faltered, my heart in my throat. The street sign in front of the cell phone store where I left the bike was empty. Nothing on it, not even the skeleton of my bicycle, stripped of its essential parts. I nearly called out.

But, when I crossed the street and got to the sidewalk, I was stunned to see the Surly in front of me, locked to a different pole that had been obscured by a delivery truck unloading next to it.

And not just a piece of my bicycle, but every piece of my bicycle.

The back wheel ($150 retail) was still there, despite the fact that the quick release hub only had a hardware-variety hose clamp attached to it to deter theft (they can be opened with a fingernail or penny). The new Nitto Albatross bars ($90), headset and stem ($75), bar tape ($12), and bar-end gearing ($50) were untouched. The Brooks saddle and drivetrain were untouched.

Even my helmet dangled from the top tube, just as I left it. 

When I relayed the story to the mechanic at Valencia Cyclery who installed my new handlebars, he couldn't believe it. He was surprised they hadn't cut through the U-lock by then and taken everything.

I asked myself then what I'll ask you now: How is that possible? Are San Francisco thieves asleep at the handlebars? Is bicycle theft not as rampant as I suspected? Do I have the dumbest luck of anyone you know?

And please don't call me a bonehead, cause I already did, up in the headline.