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Supervisors, cyclists urge City to fast-track bicycle plan


Supervisors Bevan Dufty, Gerardo Sandoval, Ross Mirkarimi, Tom Ammiano,
College Board Trustee John Rizzo and BART Director Tom Radulovich
join San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Leah Shahum during a press conference Tuesday calling on the city to fast-track the San Francisco Bike Plan.
Photos by Adam Aufdencamp, special to Fog City Journal

By Luke Thomas

December 12, 2007

Bicycle advocates gathered at City Hall Tuesday to urge the city to fast-track its preparation of an Environemental Impact Review (EIR), a report necessary for the implementation of San Francisco's environmentally-friendly Bike Plan.

According to the San Francisco Bicycle Coaltion (SFBC), the city has pushed back the expected completion date of the environmental review to mid-2009, one year later than expected.

The coalition warns that because of the City's backpeddling, bicyle improvement projects will not be implemented until 2010, four years after the City's Bike Plan was initially held up by a lawsuit.

"The delay in action on the bicycle plan is unacceptable for a City that calls itself a green leader," said Leah Shahum, Executive Director of the 8,000-member strong San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. "With more than 50 percent of carbon emissions coming from vehicles, you would hope that the City would make it a higher priority to advance sustainable transportation."

"We urge the Mayor and City leaders to commit every available resource toward getting this Bike Plan back on track," Shahum said.


San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Leah Shahum

The San Francisco Bike Plan, which was approved in mid-2005 with unanimous support from Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors, was unexpectedly stopped in its tracks after an injunction order was granted in mid-2006.

Following the injunction, the City committed publicly to complete the environmental review by the end of the first quarter of 2008. But since then, that schedule has slipped by a year to mid-2009, calling into question City leaders' commitment to the importance of green transportation.

"At this rate, it is unlikely that we will see any new bike lanes or even bike parking racks in San Francisco until well into 2010," Shahum said, referring to the months it is expected to take between the completion of the environmental review and the actual implementation of projects. "We're looking at four years of total standstill on bicycle improvement projects. That would be an embarrassment for San Francisco, and we think our City leaders can do better."

An overwhelming majority of San Franciscans support bike improvements: 75 percent of voters say "City government should do more to encourage bicycling as a routine form of transportation in San Francisco," according to a poll conducted by David Binder Research in November 2007.

According to the poll, more than 100,000 people - or 16 percent of San Francisco's population - use a bicycle more than once a week.


I want to ride my bicycle

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