San Francisco is known for a lot of things; The Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Alcatraz, fresh sourdough bread, free love and its uniquely diverse population. The city by the bay is also known for its activism, so it’s really no surprise that a faction of San Francisco cyclists are demanding that the city install bike racks and they want them N-O-W.
This faction of cyclists, known as the
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, has one single mission: promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation.
Out of frustration regarding the process of having a bike rack installed in San Francisco remaining a confusing and frustrating process, sometimes taking up to 12 months and sometimes cancelled at the last minute, the coalition created an open letter to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
To support their demand of installing 2,000 bike racks this year, their asking San Francisco cyclists to demand a rack for any location a cyclist would benefit. They intend to flood the agency’s in box with these submissions from their more than 10, 000 members. These members are not only cyclists, they’re also business owners and managers, home owners and renters who want proper bike parking wanting a solution to the city-wide issue.
The lack of bike parking is compounded by unprotected city bike lanes and a dearth of bike-friendly policies. The coalition argues that not installing bike racks in favour of someone looking to get out of their car is unacceptable and unrealistic.
If we are all looking towards a healthier, more sustainable future then it makes total sense to stop focusing as the automobile as the primary source of urban mobility and start promoting the bicycle as for everyday transportation.
