Government Organizations

Katherine Roberts was biking home to the Haight from a Passover Seder in the Dogpatch at 11:30 on April 11. It was raining heavily. She got to Church and Duboce and slowed to let an outbound N-Judah pass. When she started to pedal again, the wheel of her folding bike slipped and got caught by a steel plate that wasn't flush with the pavement. She crashed and smashed her head.

The board of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) gave final approval yesterday for a plan to install parking protected bike lanes on the eastbound side of 13th Street in SoMa. "This fills an important gap in our bike network," said Charles Deffarges, community organizer for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC), during the board meeting's public comments period. "The existing stretch of 13th Street has three lanes of fast traffic and is dangerous."

The San Francisco Transit Riders (SFTR) has hired its first Executive Director, Rachel Hyden. “We did a thorough search...and interviewed many good people,” said Thea Selby, SFTR chair, in the official announcement made last week. "Hiring Executive Director Hyden means that we have the capacity to reach out to more diverse riders around the city and be a better rider-based grassroots advocate for world-class transit in San Francisco.”

Tomorrow is Nicole Ferrara's last day at the helm of Walk San Francisco, where she's been since 2013. During her tenure, the group has fought hard for better and safer walking in the city of San Francisco. Ferrara and other advocates with Walk SF have been an ever-present force behind getting boarding islands for the L-Taraval, and adding turning restrictions and other safety measures on Market.

Today marks the end of a week-long closure of Octavia, from Linden to Hayes along Patricia's Green. It was part of an SFMTA sponsored "open streets" event and open house to get feedback on the future of how streets are used in Hayes Valley.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC), for the first time ever, is opposing a bike lane.

Representatives from San Francisco's Planning Department, the Municipal Transportation Agency, and Public Works were on hand last night at John Muir Elementary School to hear more public comment on the Lower Haight Public Realm Plan, a project that promises, among other things, better bike and pedestrian amenities for the neighborhood.

Yesterday afternoon, thousands of people strolled, biked, skate boarded, and just generally had a good time on Valencia Street in the Mission, during the first Sunday Streets of 2017. After a long, wet winter, everyone seemed in especially good spirits on such a warm day. That said, there were serious overtones to the festivities and advocates of all stripes were out, pushing for some truly worthwhile causes. For example, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, its booth manned by volunteers Paul Valdez and Clay Woolam, was out building membership and making new connections.

Recently, District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy committed to protected bike lanes in his district from Octavia to Duboce on Market, as part of the Upper Market Street Safety project. But despite Sheehy's support, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) leadership delayed a key hearing and, according to a report in the SF Examiner, the protected bike lanes were "quietly removed from the approvals process altogether."