What would it really take to meet the city’s ambitious cycling goal — and do leaders have the political will to get there?

the cycle track / separated/protected bike lane on JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park, SF. photo by SFbike.

The latest SFMTA traffic survey, released in February, showed that bikes represent about 3.5 percent of vehicle trips, a 71 percent increase in five years. While the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) lauded that gain as “impressive,” it would mean a 571 percent increase in the next seven years to meet the 2020 goal.

sfbayguardian, 20.05.12.

and re: the last paragraph of the article:

I’m proud to be a fan of Chicago.
(and also be to from the Bay Area, even if SF has got a sort of vague goal.) 

Sena Putra, 47, of Oakland was crossing 13th Street at 12:55 p.m. on Thursday when a tanker heading north on Folsom Street turned right onto 13th and hit him, police said. Putra died at the scene.

Putra was walking back from lunch to his job as an accountant for UCSF’s Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital when he was struck, said his supervisor, Diane Schlueter.

Police told her that Putra had been in the crosswalk on a green light.

“He was crossing on the right side,” Schlueter said. “I just don’t know why the driver didn’t see him.”

Putra emigrated from Indonesia almost 10 years ago and became a U.S. citizen April 17, Schlueter said. After getting the news of his death, Schlueter opened his briefcase and found his completed voter registration forms.

“He was really, really excited and looking forward to voting for the first time as an American citizen,” she said.

sfgate, 18.05.12.

The City just announced that 15-mph school speed limits are now up around 181 schools, making this the first big city in the state to take comprehensive citywide action for safer streets. Read more at WalkSF.org, in the San Francisco Chronicle and on Streetsblog.

This has been a major campaign for Walk SF because this about redefining what — and who — our streets are for. They should be safe and pleasant for everyone.

Let people know about the new speed limits to make them more effective — and check for them at schools near you. If they’re missing, let SFMTA know. Walk SF has also worked with SFPD, which is going out to each school to ticket speeders. If you see speeders near a school, call your local police station and report it.

walkSF, 14.05.12.

“The children of San Francisco are our most precious resource, and we need to make sure that they feel safe traveling to and from school,” said Mayor Edwin M. Lee. “To help ensure this, I have asked city departments to prioritize actions, such as the new 15 miles per hour school speed limit zones that will have a direct and immediate effect on making our streets safer and more livable for all pedestrians.”

way to go, mayor. :]

On Second Friday, normally you’d Bike Party then get ready for bed. This Friday, get ready to reverse that as it’s a Bike Party PAJAMA PARTY!

Whether it’s footie pajamas, Snuggies, lingerie or whatever you feel is appropriate for bedtime, break it out and get ready to hit the Port of Oakland with us and celebrate TWO AMAZING YEARS of Bike Party!

The route has already been established, so we don’t need any test riders — giving you more time to work on your costume! This month we’ll start at Lake Merritt BART Station (7:30 gather/8:00 roll out), enjoy the always Bike Party-friendly Port of Oakland and wrap up with a Bike Party PARTY at the Parkway Lounge, complete with New Belgium drink specials. Ding ding!

EBBP.

gonna remind my mom to go tonight! :)