The Bicyclist has No Shorts

Urbanities has previously noted the unctuous, overweening self-regard of Bay Area bicycle activists, so we were vastly amused at the howls of outrage that greeted the Preliminary Injunction issued by Superior Court Judge James Warren that enjoined the City from implementing the Bike Plan until an environmental review is conducted.

Apparently, bicycle activists consider themselves above the law. They feel that it is so self evident that bicycles are an unmitigated good and cars an umitigated evil that the City should not be subject to the laws that require they take into account the effect that making traffic-related changes (we hesitate to call them improvements) for bicyclists at the expense of automobiles will have. Bicycle activists have accomplished this by getting themselves appointed to positions within city government where they can literally rubber stamp every bicycle-friendly proposal into existence without due process.

Kudos to Rob Anderson, the Coalition for Adequate Review and 99 Percent for exposing the FUBU (for us, by us) way that activists in San Francisco get laws passed to favor their pet agendas.

Comments

[Jamison]

And don't forget that little stunt by the bicycle activists to close one particular part of Golden Gate Park to cars all weekend long over improving bike and pedestrian safety all week long (this is a project the city has been working on with the Bike Coaltion for some time, though the Bike Coalation does not acknowledge it's existence on their site) by narrowing JFK to traffic, creating dedicated bike lines, removing over 200 parking spaces, adding zebra crossings and fixing many of the curbs.

Since that project wasn't to start until this summer, I wonder if it's been left in legal limbo, yet they almost certainly brought on this anti-bike backlash with their anti-car hostility.

All of this leaves real cyclists like myself to suffer unsafe or shared bike lanes (hey drivers, remember giving cyclists their own lanes means not having to get stuck behind them!) because of the actions of bike activists who claim to be working on our behalf. I think it's time I join the Marin County Bike Coalition, where safety seems to be higher priority than sticking it to car owners and pedestrians.

[Rob Anderson]

Yes, the SF Bicycle Coalition is more anti-car than they are pro-bike. They are probably going to lose in court in September, when the case is heard, and the judge will probably order the city to do an EIR on the 400+ page Bicycle Plan. Then the people of the city will finally get a chance to learn what the city and the SFBC want to do to their streets---take away traffic lanes and street parking, among other things.

[Patrick]

A quick perusal of the San Francisco Bicycle Coaliton's SFbike email list sfbike@lists.riseup.net will show this all came about because SFBC activists took control of the process from the City's Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC), which was rendered useless by the appointment of two dysfunctional members by Matt Gonzalez according to one account. Those in the SFBC who suggested that an EIR might be needed for the Bike Plan under CEQA were ignored. Err in haste, regret in leisure the saying goes; unfortunately, I think the City's bicylists will be regretting this one for some time to come...

[Jamison]

Most of the plan information (with specifics about lanes and parking) are available on the city website. The best way to navigate it though is to use the Bike Coaltions site to find the right links.

I looked at the city proposals for Townsend which would have taken that barren stretch between Caltrain at Fourth all the way to Seventh and would have repaved the street and established a pedestian sidewalk (right now taking a trip to the new Room & Board showroom means three blocks of walking in the street) which is a good idea without even getting to the bike lanes.