SFBC

One of several ways I drove down my productivity when I worked at Transportation Alternatives in NYC (think SFBC with a livable streets angle) was to click through the websites of the hand-made bicycle manufacturers who participate in the annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show competition, ogling the master craftmanship displayed there.  No bicycle maker appealed more to my sensibilities and my lust for a unique bike than Vanilla Bicycles, based out of Portland, Oregon (warning: bike porn, NSFW, if you need to do any more work today).

Oregon lawmakers have been engaged in a heated debate about enacting an "Idaho Stop" law, which would codify what most cyclists already do: treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs.  The issue has come up before in Sacramento, but has never been so close to adoption.

As we reported last week, several city agencies have begun to look at ways to improve Market Street when it is repaved, including an inter-agency process spearheaded by DPW and the Planning Department.  Yet, we've still heard nothing from Mayor Gavin Newsom that suggests he'll make the transformation of San Francisco's most significant street an urgent priority. 

Just about everyone who visits San Francisco's grand Market Street is awed by its hustle and bustle, the myriad modes of transportation, and some of the beautiful architecture the city hosts. But just about everyone also agrees that Market Street has a much bigger potential as a people space that accommodates its users in more efficient and human terms. Parts of the street are in disrepair; whole blocks contain more boarded up facades than functioning businesses.

The MTA is considering a number of scenarios for moving the Bicycle Plan forward when the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is finalized and the bike injunction lifted.  One being discussed is a rare joint meeting of the Planning Commission and MTA Board with an appearance by Mayor Gavin Newsom to certify and adopt the EIR along with the Bicycle Plan. 

How hard is it to fix the most important street in San Francisco, one that is vital to transit, that is the spine of the bicycle network, and that could be the crowning jewel of the city, a Champs d'Elysee or a newly pedestrianized Broadway?  Without Mayor Gavin Newsom spearheading the process, it doesn't bode well.

The SFBC and the Department of Public Health (DPH) recently announced a bicycle rack design competition as part of a $100,000 community-based planning grant from Caltrans for the Treasure Island redevelopment plan.

Kirkham Street is one of the Big 56 bike lane projects that hasn't raised many eyebrows. Unlike the looming battle over 2nd Street or 5th Street, the Kirkham lane will be on a relatively quiet residential street that runs east-west from Ocean Beach to 6th Avenue, where it will connect with the remainder of bicycle Route 40.  

Sustainable school transportation officials and advocates have celebrated the installation of the first new bike racks in the San Francisco Unified School District in many years.