For some reason, Market Street has crosswalks in the middle of blocks, complete with traffic lights. So cyclists tend to look around for peds and then blow on through, multiple times a day, you know, for decades no problem.
But these days the SFPD is trying to change things by actually enforcing California Vehicle Code CVC 21453 on bike riders just as if they were car drivers!
This boring video of three minutes of yesterday’s inbound commute here shows what it’s like – the motorcycle cop had just yelled at the cyclist you can see on the right at the red light:
(The yelling occurred at :40 or so.)
One supposes the next step in this operation will be to have the SFPD actually start handing out citations.
(Actually, cops don’t really like citing cyclists, for various reasons. One supposes that this is an enforcement action specifically directed at bike riders. This kind of thing occurs from time to time of course.)
On It Goes…
*”A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect’s actions to gather evidence of the suspect’s wrongdoing.”
This is the scene these days on inbound Market just after 6th Street in the corrupt Twitterloin.
The cops see you driving down Market, contrary to the relatively recent right turn only policy, and then you get directed to pull over so you can get cited with extreme prejudice.
Motorcycle dude was just hanging out in the middle of Market, just waiting for another offender:
Click to expand (1500 days of outdoor use have rendered my Canon 5D incapable of functioning except in the extremely hands-off “green square” mode. Pray for Mojo.)
But here it is, stationed on Sixth Street , as it’s been, ’cause there’s a new sheriff in town, or something – there’s a police crackdown going on Sixth Street, the southern extension of the world-famous crime-ridden Tenderloin.
“It’s the 2nd week now It’s not there all the time, and now it’s mobile unit 3, but all accounts say it’s made 6th street much more civil lately, even if it is just for show.”
*It’s just like with Pruis drivers at night – do I notice them because I want to, because I’m biased, because I only see what confirms my suspicions? Don’t know for sure, I s’pose. But the fact remains that most of the drivers going about the Streets of San Francisco at night without headlights on are Prius owners. This has to do with a lot of factors, and Toyota is somewhat to blame, apparently, but anyway, the point is I can’t do anymore to persuade than I’ve already done. Oh well.
Now, the SFPD made the same Tweet last month, but February’s CritMa had a forecast of lots of rain so the turnout of bike riders was low. Tomorrow should be sunny, and what with Daylight Savings Time kicking in we should have a rocking Critical Mass with plenty of attendees.
Can you make sense of this scene at San Francisco’s Justin Herman Plaza near the Embarcadero Ferry Building? (Perhaps a black-and-white, slo-mo Raging Bull-style video or this official1080p will help.)
“The fair promoters are the ones who have to take charge; this is their event. If they don’t run it properly, they will not be having it again,” said SFPD Lieutenant Nicole M. Greely, who oversees street closure issues for the police department’s Southern Station. “If this event doesn’t go well, we can’t continue to approve their permit unless it is safe for everyone involved.”
So it looks like this event will be on double secret public probation for 2009 at least.
The Up Your Alley Fair will be held on Sunday, July 26, 2009 from 11AM to 6PM. The fair is located in San Francisco’s South of Market district on Dore Alley between Folsom and Howard Streets. We expanded to the adjoining block of Folsom Street between 9th and Juniper Streets and on to Tenth St. in 2008 to give the crowds some breathing room.
