Community, Advocacy and Labor

Guadalajara, Mexico was host this month to the 2nd annual Congress of Cyclists in Mexico, a national gathering of bicyclist activists from around the country. I was invited to give a speech, which I somehow managed to do in Spanish (thanks to my media naranja for translating and coaching me!), detailing the history of cycling and Critical Mass in particular. I loved being at the Congress, meeting people from all over Mexico, a few old and new friends from the U.S., and one remarkable woman from Quito, Ecuador.

San Francisco and New York were blessed with gorgeous weather Friday, which made for glorious PARK(ing) days in both cities.

Tomorrow's (PARK)ing Day festivities in San Francisco are likely to be much grander than in years past, with dozens of locations mapped out across the city as spots where metered parking spaces will be transformed into temporary public parks, and other uses, for people, instead of automobiles. Temporary parks are also being planned in locations all over the Bay Area.

San Francisco bicyclists face daily hostility on the streets from motorists, but a Streetsblog reader's account of her frightening commute home this week is one that especially stands out, and could potentially amount to hate crime and vehicular assault charges if the assailants are caught. It also serves as a stark reminder about what we should do when we're on our bikes and confronted by hostile, threatening drivers:

While San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Ed Reiskin has quietly pushed behind-the-scenes to accelerate Pavement to Parks plazas, the recently announced Market Street trial changes, and other visible projects that reclaim street space for green space and people, some advocates are concerned with how well his agency is coordinating around an arcane, but important process: DPW's five-year repaving plan.

Though much of the media reaction to Mayor Gavin Newsom's Better Market Street Project is narrowly focusing on the traffic impacts of mandatory right-turns at two intersections on Market, the trial project will attempt to do much more to improve the public realm and public perception of San Francisco's most iconic street.

The San Francisco Great Streets Project is hosting an evening of music, drinks, food, and livable streets discussion tomorrow evening at the Mission District home of architect David Baker. The Art - Streets - Life event will include the grand opening of an Andrew Schoultz mural, and the unveiling of a new Great Streets Project presentation.

Despite a blanket of fog, the last Sunday Streets of 2009 was, from all accounts, a smashing success, one of the most popular so far, with thousands of people enjoying four activity-filled hours of pristine car-free space through Golden Gate Park and the Great Highway.