Board of Supervisors

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today gave preliminary approval to what advocates call the strongest bicycle access legislation in the country. The ordinance [PDF], which would require downtown building managers to provide secure indoor bicycle parking for employees either on-site or nearby, is expected to receive final approval from the board next week and be signed into law 30 days after that.

Mayor Ed Lee stood behind the merits of the SFMTA's SFPark program at a Board of Supervisors meeting today when questioned about the recent backlash against parking meter expansions in the Dogpatch and Potrero Hill neighborhoods. Those proposals have been put on hold while the SFMTA conducts more outreach to neighbors and merchants.

District 5's newest representative is Christina Olague, the car-free president of the SF Planning Commission and noted progressive activist. Advocates say she holds promise as a champion of livable streets and sustainable transportation on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Commercial buildings in downtown San Francisco could be required to provide indoor bicycle parking accommodations under a proposal introduced at last week's Board of Supervisors meeting.

In the strongest showing of political support ever for bicycling in San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee, ten of the eleven members of the Board of Supervisors, and a range of city officials pedaled to City Hall with advocates and thousands of commuters on the 17th Annual Bike to Work Day. Commuters pedaling along the city's most important route, Market Street, were greeted with new green paint and protected bike lanes thanks to SFMTA crews who have been racing to fill in the gaps.

The SF Board of Supervisors Rules Committee approved the nomination of transit advocate Joél Ramos to the SFMTA Board of Directors today without deliberation, and his final confirmation is expected by the full board on Tuesday.

Supervisor David Chiu, a key player in the city's sustainable transportation movement who gets around on his electric bicycle, was reelected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this afternoon on an 8-3 vote.  The 40-year-old District 3 supervisor called on his colleagues to "move beyond the past oppositional politics of personality" and build consensus to tackle some of the city's most pressing problems.

During a dramatic eight-hour Board of Supervisors meeting last night, seven supervisors, including President David Chiu, Bevan Dufty, Eric Mar and Sophie Maxwell, lined up late in the session to support City Administrator Ed Lee for interim mayor. It prompted an angry outburst from outgoing Supervisor Chris Daly, who declared that it would be "the biggest fumble in the history of progressive politics in San Francisco."