Bicycling

More San Francisco parents are discovering that cargo bikes are the new family minivan. But while it's increasingly common in SF to spot a parent pedaling their helmeted offspring around, cargo bikes and motorized bikes remain off the radar of most families looking for better ways to get around the city.

What if you could dramatically increase the usefulness of a bike-share system without adding any bicycles or docks? Researchers at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business have come up with a model that they say could help even the most successful bike-share systems in the world get more bang for the buck.

Several supervisors say they'd like to see city-funded bike education classes distibuted more equally among their districts, and to attract more participants to reduce the per-person cost of the program.

The SFMTA plans to install three more bicycle counters with digital displays on busy biking streets. They will be placed "at visible locations on high volume bicycle corridors," though the exact spots haven't been finalized, according to a city planning document. "Potential locations include Market Street, Valencia Street, and the Embarcadero."

Contrary to initial reports, the SFPD says Charles Vinson, 66, ran a red light on his bike when he was hit and killed by a driver at 14th and Folsom Streets on March 2.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times wrote a mostly thoughtful editorial against Senate Bill 192, Carol Liu's proposed mandatory helmet law for bicyclists. In the Times' opinion, there isn't enough evidence to show that helmets make bicycle riders safer to justify changing the law.

Today the SFMTA announced details about the first package of safety upgrades coming to Polk Street in the next few months. They include signals at four intersections that will give southbound bike traffic a separate phase from drivers turning right, making Polk the second street in SF to get the configuration.

Looks like some tickets are in order.

SF voters may get more money than anticipated for better transit and safer streets from the passage of Proposition B, a measure crafted by Supervisor Scott Wiener to increase the share of general funds for transportation based on population growth.