Posts Tagged ‘sfbc’
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Sunday Streets 2010 kicked off yesterday – it’s maturing as an event, so now it seems more organic and “natural,” similar to something like Critical Masswhich just sort of happens without a whole bunch of organization. Of course, shutting down the Embarcadero northbound involves a lot of people and organization ‘n stuff, but you didn’t see volunteers and the SFPD all over the place yesterday the way you did at Sunday Streets in the past.
Here’s what it looked like.
These people from Ing Er Land were busking away like champs at the Northern Terminus of SS in Fisherperson’s Wharf. For a little while, they appeared to be the main attraction, but it was hard to tell if they were an official part of the festivities. Walking on a rubber ball with your sister Sporty Spice on your back:
But let’s start at the beginning of the day, when the combination of Sunday Streets and St. Patrick’s Day festivities totally pwned our pathetic, slow-on-the-uptake MUNI bus service, once again. MUNI Denial, stage four, Acceptance:
But now we’re back on the Embarc, where shutterbugs can always get a friendly tow:
And where kids can ride a carousel contraption…
…powered by cyclists:
And here’s local reactionary and sensational writer Matt Smith at the helm:
TCHO Chocolate gave out free samples to the throngs:
Cheers for this tyke who made the best of his defective parasitic bike:
And it wouldn’t be a Sunday Streets without seeing RollerSoccer’s Kizzle and ZachDaddy putting on a display:
and seeing the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s Dan Tan-Nguyen ’s 7-seat bike rolling along:
The next SS will be in Golden Gate Park and the Great Highway near Ocean Beach – it’ll be on April 11 and in conjunction with 1000 Cities, 1000 Lives.
See you there!
Tags: 1000 Cities, 1000 Lives, 11, 14, 14th, 2010, april, bicycle coalition, buskers, chocolate, department, dept., Embarcadero, ferry building, fishermans, march, Muni, police, rollersoccer, San Francisco, sfbc, sfgov, SFPD, streets, sunday, sunday streets, TCHO, volunteers, wharf
Posted in bikes, events | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Here’s the scene on freshly-paved Scott Street this afternoon. The greening of the “bike box” red light waiting area on Scott Street near Oak at the terminus of the famous Wiggle Bike Route has begun. At long last, it has begun.
For now, anyway. The partial lifting of the Bicycle Plan injunction isn’t a 100% thing, but the City is moving ahead anyway.
Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Ross Mirkarimi, MTA chief Nat Ford, and Mayor Gavin Newsom all got in on the fun. Click to expand:
As Our Mayor’s extended paint roller got closer to the throng of reporters Supervisor Dufty was all, ”Watch out media, Gavin’s coming your way!” And here’s the reaction – a that’s-right-laugh-it-up-funnyboy smirk and then a quick departure:
Gavin’s ill humor wasn’t helped later on when Emmy Award-winning CBS5 political editor Hank Plante started asking about Geo Fanelli wanting his recent $500 donation back. Akit’s suggestion about suing in small claims court is interesting, non? I mean, you can’t give everybody their money back, right? (After your campaign buys a copy of PhotoShop, you don’t get much change back from a $500 banknote.) However, Geo has a pretty sympathetic case to make. Mmmm.
Anyway, in all the excitement, Bevan started painted bike helmets green, making mementos to allow us to remember this Special Day. (Bro was on today with all his Ammiano-like bons mots.)
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition leader Leah Shahum and Nat Ford were all smiles today:
Supervisor Mirkarimi looked dashing on his Trek Ride+ electric-assist bike. It’s just like Board President David Chiu’s. Said one wag, “Ross, you have the right equipment.” The loud reply, from someone famous: “That’s what she said!”
All in all, it was quite a celebration.
But this isn’t all for today. San Francisco’s first protected bike lane is now on Market Street, as of this AM.
Tags: 30, alamo square, alamo square neighborhood association, bevan dufty, bicycle, bicycle coalition, bike, bikes, cancelled, ceremony, chief, cyclist, cyclists, EaPA, East of Panhandle Area, fell, gavin newsom, green, green paint, india, injunction, Judge, lane, leah shahum, Mayor, media, mta, Muni, nat ford, NOPA, oak, paint, path, photo op, photo opportunity, plan, postponed, protected, ross mirkarimi, route, San Francisco, scott, scott street, sfbc, SFMTA, street, transit, wiggle
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Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Well, we’re still waiting for the green paint to go down, but we got plenty of white paint on San Francisco city streets yesterday. It all has to do with the partial lifting of the Bicycle Plan injunction.
Anyway, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (ask them about Winterfest on December 6th) had an after-party near Duboce Park last night, and when they finished up, some of them decided to test out the new bike lanes in a racous after-hours ride.
As here, on Scott Street. See the new Wiggle Bike Route icon? That’s fresh paint. Click to expand:
Here’s Leah Shahum and Andy Thornley in the vanguard:
And here’s the caboose – a seven-person bike piloted by Director Dan Nguyen-Tan
On Scott crossing Oak:
And onto the dark Panhandle Bike Path for a Victory Lap around the park:
Tags: 30, alamo square, alamo square neighborhood association, bicycle, bicycle coalition, bikes, cancelled, cyclists, Dan, Dan Nguyen-Tan, EaPA, East of Panhandle Area, fell, gavin newsom, green, india, Mayor, media, Nguyen, Nguyen-Tan, NOPA, oak, paint, path, photo op, photo opportunity, postponed, route, San Francisco, san francisco bicycle coalition, sfbc, street, tan, wiggle, winterfest
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Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Read here to see the way it was supposed to be this AM at the Scott Street part of The Wiggle bike path. See? We were all set for green paint on our streets. (And it’s about time, after all that beige.)
But Our Mayor couldn’t make it, so the Greening of Scott Street will get pushed back a bit, a few days, anyway. But you’ll know when the greening occurs – you’ll see a photo somewhere of Gavin physically painting the “bike box” green or mixing blue and yellow paint together, something like that.
The scene this morning in the East of Panhandle Area (EaPA). All dressed up, but nowhere to green. Click to expand:
Oh well.
And the members of the MSM who showed up to see one of the first manifestations of the partial lifting of the bicycle plan injunction? Well they wasted their time, as at least a few of them appeared to be unaware of the details of the postponement.
The Alamo Square Neighborhood Association and Bike NOPA were there, anyway.
Oh well.
Tags: 30, alamo square, alamo square neighborhood association, bicycle, bicycle coalition, bikes, cancelled, cyclists, EaPA, East of Panhandle Area, fell, gavin newsom, green, india, Mayor, media, NOPA, oak, paint, path, photo op, photo opportunity, postponed, route, San Francisco, sfbc, street, wiggle
Posted in bikes | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Who knows how many fatwas were issued last week against New York Times reporter Scott James - no matter. But now it seems that the cops of the SFPD are getting picky about how cars handle the now-famous intersection of Steiner and Duboce, start of The Wiggle bike route.
This aging Land Cruiser (with tiny 15-inch wheels – a 1993 model?) will never die, but it will get its fair share of tickets on the Streets of San Francisco, for both parking and, as here, yesterday night, moving violations. Oh well.
Click to expand
Will this controversy result in a safer Wiggle?
Only Time Will Tell.
Tags: 2009, backlash, bay area, blog, critical mass, department, dept., duboce, halloween, intersection, land cruiser, new york times, November, nyt, police, route 30, San Francisco, san francisco bicycle coalition, scott james, SF, sfbc, SFPD, steiner, street, toyota, webster, wiggle, Writer
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Friday, November 6th, 2009
Scott James has a tiger by the tail with “San Francisco’s Cyclists Facing Backlash for Flouting Rules of the Road.” You see, he doesn’t just talk about cyclists blowing stop signs at speed, he goes and documents it, all judgmental like. Then he posts it on the YouTube for tout le monde to see. That’s going to rub some peoples’ fur the wrong way.
Not sure if anything has changed in San Francisco lately as far as a “backlash” is concerned. If there were some big new enforcement action these days, we would have heard of it by now. Oh well. One new thing Scott mentions is a Critical Mass website that recently popped up, but those kinds of things have popped up before only to earn derision from the “leaderless” corkers on the street. Oh well.
The SFPD will tolerate “California stops” from car drivers if they’re done “correctly” (you know, slowly enough under the circumstances) and they don’t seem to mind cyclists doing the equivalent, which in this town means blowing through a red light or a stop without losing any speed at all. All bets are off if there’s an enforcement action going on. In that case, the cops will want you to stop and put a foot down before proceeding.
The Scott Street part of San Francisco’s Route 30 Wiggle – the route so nice they paved it twice.
Anyway, writer Scotty has people looking out for him:
“Just try to talk about obeying traffic laws, and suddenly the loveliest ecofriendly riders are instantly transformed into venom-spewing bike bullies. I was warned several times not to write about this or risk being publicly vilified as an enemy of the bike world.”
I’d say yes, let’s count down how long it takes for the writer to be “publicly vilified as an enemy of the bike world” due to today’s article. It’s probably happening already.
Oh well.
Tags: 2009, backlash, bay area, blog, critical mass, department, dept., duboce, halloween, new york times, nyt, police, route 30, San Francisco, san francisco bicycle coalition, scott james, SF, sfbc, SFPD, steiner, street, wiggle, Writer
Posted in bikes | 3 Comments »
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
Here’s the thing – the lazy bike thieves of San Francisco almost never go after things that are secured with U-locks. Why? Because the hunting is too easy for stuff that’s not properly U-locked. As here, where a UCSF student has locked his (probably a he, based upon seat height) beautiful Trek aluminum mountain bike to three foot pole. This would work in Flatland, but not in San Francisco.
People, when will you learn?
Click to expand
Tags: bicycle, bike, cyclist, flatland, green festival, irving, lock, parnassus, San Francisco, san francisco bicycle coalition, schwinn, sfbc, stolen, theft, u-lock, ucsf, z axis
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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
Now these Rubbermaid Roughneck storage boxes (“Protect Your Stuff!”) looked empty as this fellow pedalled up Market Street outbound (or uptown, if you prefer), but what if they were full of something? Something like water or ice or something.
That would be quite a load. Which part of this contraption would break first under the strain?
Click to expand:
But what if something lighter were in there? In that case, this trailer looks like it would get the job done. And you’d have fewer hassles from the Man that is DPT/SFMTA when you park to unload.
Now, this bike trailer, possibly owned or operated by the San Francisco Bicycle Coaltion (SFBC), is similar – it has a claimed capacity of 500 pounds.
As parking ticket fees continue to climb, maybe trailer-equipped delivery bikes can make a comeback?
Tags: 18 gallons, 68.1, bicycle, bicycle coalition, bike, cyclist, DPT, liters, litres, load, market, parking, roughneck, rubbermaid, San Francisco, sfbc, street, tickets, trailer
Posted in bikes | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
The second Sunday Streets at Ocean Beach in 2009 went off without a hitch over Labor Day weekend. There was a bigger fog situation and a smaller crowd this go around, but that was to be expected.
The Yelpers loved it, anyway.
District 6 supervisorial candidate Rafael Mandelman was spotted on his bike in Golden Gate Park, and of course, Zackdaddy was there with his “football” at the skating area near Fulton and 6th Avenue:
So let’s give kudos to Mayor Gavin Newsom for enabling Sunday Streets in San Francisco. Read all about it, below.
See you next year!
”MAYOR NEWSOM ANNOUNCES SUNDAY STREETS BECOMES PERMANENT PROGRAM”
“San Francisco, CA—Days before the final 2009 Sunday Streets event on
September 6, Mayor Gavin Newsom today announced the continuation of this
popular event as a permanent program in San Francisco.
“This Sunday’s event is the finale for 2009, but Sunday Streets will be
back in 2010 with more routes, longer hours, more San Francisco
neighborhoods and more programs at each event,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom.
“We have created a new tradition in San Francisco that will improve our
quality of life for years to come.”
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), co-sponsor of
Sunday Streets 2009, will be the lead agency for the Sunday Streets program
starting in 2010. The San Francisco Mayor’s Office will continue to provide
leadership support for the program, and Livable City, a sustainable
transportation advocacy non-profit, will continue as the fiscal sponsor.
“The SFMTA has been proud to join with our City partners and Livable City
to promote healthy family outdoor activities this summer. Working together
on programs like Sunday Streets, we can increase the use of sustainable
transportation to protect the environment and to ensure the City’s
sustainability for future generations,” said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., SFMTA
Executive Director/CEO.
Sunday Streets creates safe, fun car-free space on City streets that give
San Francisco residents and visitors an opportunity to get out and get
active. Temporarily closing some streets to automobile traffic opens them
to people for walking, cycling, skating and playing. Sunday Streets events
create a stronger sense of community in every neighborhood they touch and
throughout the City.
San Francisco’s program began in 2008 with two inaugural events. This year
Sunday Streets featured six events along four different routes throughout
the City: April 26 from Fisherman’s Wharf to AT&T Park along The
Embarcadero; May 10 from AT&T Park to the Bayview neighborhood along the
Bay Trail; two events in the heart of the Mission District on June 7 and
July 19 (the latter coincided with the SF Symphony’s free concert in
Dolores Park); and the last two near the ocean, with a route through Golden
Gate Park and along the Upper Great Highway on August 9 and September 6.
Sunday Streets Main Event Area: Lincoln Way at the Great Highway
- Free bike rentals provided by Bay City Bike Rentals and Tours
- Sports Basement ‘Lube Fairies’- free basic bike maintenance and information
- Sunday Streets main information table and media check-in
- Sunday Streets Sponsor booths
- Community Based Organization information tables
- Food vending from local Sunset Merchants
- California Academy of Sciences “Penguins to Penguins” activity center
- Solar Telescope Viewing, 11am-1pm, presented by Morrison Planetarium
(note: this event is dependent upon weather, clouds or fog cancels)
- Historic displays from “Playland-Not-at-the-Beach” museum
- Cyclecide pedal powered amusement rides made out of recycled bikes
- Kid’s Activities- see list
- Fitness Activities- see list
Kid’s Activities: Main Event Area (Lincoln/ Great Highway) and Great Highway at Sloat
Presented by the YMCA of San Francisco, and Stonestown Family YMCA
- Heroix 4 Kids
- It’s Yoga Kids!
- Hula Hoops, obstacle course, and kid’s games
- “Penguins to Penguins” activities, presented by the CA Academy of Sciences and SF Zoo
- Zoomobile and “Leaping Lemur” game, penguin crafts, SF Zoo- Great Highway at Sloat
Fitness: “Athletes Burn Rubber”
Human tire pull with live music by the Brothers Comatose
Presented by Bianchi Fitness
- 11a.m. & 12:30 p.m. Rock and Pull
- 11:30a.m. & 1 p.m. Rock and Juke
Pets: MLK/South Drive near corner of Lincoln Way and MLK/South
Presented by Happy Hounds Massage
- Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) adoption information
- Grateful Dogs Rescue adoption and pet service information
Roller Skating: JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park, near 6th Ave
Presented by RollerSoccer International Federation
- RollerSoccer Demonstrations and games all day
- Free skating lessons all day
Dance: 2 locations: Lincoln at Great Highway and JFK Drive at 10th Ave in Golden Gate Park
Presented by Cheryl Burke Dance, Boomercize (Great Hwy) and Lindy in the Park (GG Park)
- 10:00-10:30 Learn to Waltz with Cheryl Burke Dance at Lincoln and Great Highway
- 10:45-11:15: Rhumba with Cheryl Burke Dance
- 11:30-1:30 pm: Dance workout with Boomercize
- 1:30-2:00 pm: Brazilian Samba with Cheryl Burke Dance
- 11:00-12:30 pm, free swing dance lessons with Lindy in the Park
- 12:30-2:00 pm, Swing Dance in the Park following lessons
Yoga and Martial Arts:
MLK Drive near Lincoln in GG Park
- Yoga Presented by Sunset Beacon Center
Live Music:
Presented by Riptide (Taraval), Rock the Bike and Young Performers International (GG Park)
Rivera Seawall, Taraval Street Fair, Golden Gate Park/MLK
- Golden Gate Park- MLK, Pedal Powered stage by Rock the Bike
- Young Performers International band: “Where’s My Toothbrush”
- Rivera seawa;;, Bluegrass Jam with the Barbary Ghosts
- Taraval Street Fair- main stage acts 12:00-6:00 pm
Taraval Street Fair: Taraval Street between 46th and 47th Avenues
Presented by the Riptide
- Live music on the main stage, 12:00 to 6:00 pm
- The Shi Tones (members of the Mermen)
- All of A Sudden
- Burning Embers
- Arts and craft by local Sunset artists and merchants
Bike: Taraval and Upper Great Highway
Presented by the Presidio Community YMCA Bike Program and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
- 150 free bike rentals by
- Bike & Roll (Taraval)
- Bay City Bike Rentals and Tours (Lincoln and Great Highway)
- Bike & Roll’s ‘fun cycle, a bicycle built for seven!
- Sports Basement “Lube Fairies” (Lincoln and Great Highway)
- Youth Bike Rodeo by Presidio Community YMCA (Taraval)
- SFBC’s Freedom From Training Wheels (Taraval)
- Adult Bike Education hands on lessons (at Free Bike Rental Stations)
- Electric Bike Demonstrations (Lincoln and Taraval)
Cross-park traffic, use:
- Chain of Lakes Dr., 41st Ave. in the Sunset or 43rd Ave. in the Richmond
- Crossover Drive, 19th Ave. in the Sunset or 25th Ave. and Park Presidio in the Richmond
- Stanyan St. east of Golden Gate Park
For more traffic and transit information, go to: www.sfmta.com
The intersection of Great Highway at Lincoln will not be open to vehicle traffic on Sept. 6 from 10 am – 2 pm.
Tags: 2008, 2009, 6, 6th, aikido, august, bicycle coalition, bicycles, bikes, carmen chu, cars, commission, cyclists, debra Walker, elect, fog, foggy, fulton, golden gate park, great highway, lincoln, mta, Muni, n judah, northern, ocean beach, outer, pacific, richmond, San Francisco, september, SF, sfbc, skateboards, sports basement, sunday streets, sunset, Supervisor, sur, surfers, tow, traffic, trolley, waterfront
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Friday, September 4th, 2009
Let’s try the sidewalk first. Downsides include the illegality and the possible hassle for pedestrians.
All right, now let’s get onto the street. This is not recommended, particularly going outbound to the west, which is mostly uphill. It’s legal, but pretty scary.
By this time, my lungs were aching for air. Pedaling furiously in 27th gear:
Conclusion: Take the sidewalk. Walk your ride if necessary.
Or go around Russian Hill.
Or go over Russian Hill.
Those are your four choices.
But the city, the city is working on things. Check out the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s take on things right here.
Anyway, four choices. Choose wisely.
NB: Don’t touch anything in the tunnel, as everything is covered in soot.
Tags: bicycle cioalition, bikes, broadway, broadway tunnel, cycling, cyclists, DPT, legal, north beach, pedestrian, riders, russian hill, San Francisco, sfbc, sfdpt, SFMTA, sidewalks, street, tunnel, widen, yelp
Posted in bikes | 1 Comment »
