Event: Love Your Lanes

Date: TODAY, August 23, 2012

Time: 5:30-8:00 p.m.

Place: Meet in front of 833 Market Street, SF Bicycle Coalition’s HQ

Description: Join members and staff of the SF Bicycle Coalition on a bike ride and happy hour to celebrate the new bike lanes that have made biking in the entire city so much better in the last few years. It is time to toast SFBC’s 12,000 members and staff who have made 22 miles of new bike lanes possible! Meet in front of the SF Bicycle Coalition office at 5:30pm for a group bike ride to The Page Bar (298 Divisadero), to toast the new lanes from 6pm – 8pm.

RSVP: www.sfbike.org/mingle (appreciated, but not mandatory)

Source:  http://www.sfbike.org/?chain

Studies show that Young Americans are leaving their parents and grandparents in the dust… while riding bikes, taking public transportation and even walking. Less than 1/2 of eligible teens 19 or younger have driver’s licenses, down from approximately 2/3 ten years ago, annual vehicle miles driven by Americans ages 16 to 34 have dropped 23% from 2001 to 2009 and biking and walking as alternative forms of transportation have increased by 24% and 16%, respectively, among the same age group. In addition, in 2009 and 2010 — for the first time since World War II — American car ownership rates declined.

This trend can be attributed to many cultural and economic factors.  Perhaps, most obvious is that the country is in a major recession. Young people are having trouble finding jobs and paying rent. Few can afford to buy and maintain a car (approximately $9,000 per year with all payments, maintenance, parking and other fees). These young people are flocking to cities where they can find jobs and get around without the hassle and expense of a car. However, this is only a contributing factor. The shift from cars to other means of transportation, especially cycling, is most stark among wealthier Americans and those least affected by the recession, so it seems unlikely that if/when the economy turns around the younger generation will begin buying cars en masse.

What could be causing the cultural shift away from driving? One explanation is the steadily rising price of gas. Generation Y is driving at a time of $4/$5 gallons of gas. They can barely remember the $1 prices of their childhood, or the $.10 gallons of their parents youth. High gas prices are the norm and it doesn’t look like that will change soon. So, with high gas prices here to stay, younger generations will inevitably be driving less and less.

Some people, like Jeremy Bowman at Daily Finance, also give credit for the shifting trend to social media. Taking public transportation is becoming more and more convenient and accessible, especially since mobile apps tell you when the next bus is coming, help you find the best route and provide ample entertaiment during the ride. Smartphones allow buses and trains to become mobile offices and entertainment stations. In an ever-more work-obssessed culture, that extra 30min to answer emails while riding the bus, instead of being stuck behind the wheel in bumper-to-bumper traffic, is the preferable option.

The role of the environment is also playing a role. Generation Y has grown up with bigger and more frequent natural disasters than any generation before them. The affects of global warming are literally happening in front of their eyes. The increasing evidence that fossil fuels and carbon emissions have a negative effect on the environment and the role of cars in this cycle has had an affect on consumer choices.

The ‘obesity problem’ in the U.S. may also have an affect. Americans are perceived by the rest of the world to be overweight (see also, In Bruges and Paris, je t’aime, to list a few), and studies have shown that this perception has adequate basis. Young Americans are trying to climb out from under this legacy and one way could be through lessening automobile dependence.

Portland is one of the cities where the decline in car ownership is most drastic.Giving up a car in Portland is feasible because of its high population density, the convenient location of services and stores, and its extensive public transportation network, car sharing services and bike paths.

Living car free is not so easy elsewhere, even in San Francisco and the East Bay, but especially in the mid-West and in smaller towns and cities where a car is absolutely necessary to get to the food market. A car-free lifestyle won’t be possible in many areas until city planner’s objectives drastically change. Hopefully this alternative-transportation-minded younger generation will make it happen.

Sources:

http://streetsblog.net/2012/07/27/matching-national-trend-portland-maine-sees-decline-in-car-ownership/#more-286409

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/04/19/cars-young-americans-drive-less-fewer-licenses/

http://www.pressherald.com/news/portland-at-forefront-of-decline-in-car-ownership.html

Anaheim launched California’s first bike-sharing program on Saturday joining Denver, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., Chicago, Miami, Boulder, Madison, New York City and Portland as one of the major U.S. cities to implement the program. Bike-sharing is a very simple concept. Cities and/or private companies provide kiosks with bikes that can be “checked out” with a credit or membership card. The membership card costs a relatively small amount (in Anaheim it’s $75.00 for a year).  The goal is to promote short trips by commuters  so the first 30 or 60 minutes is usually free. The bike can be “returned” to any kiosk in town.

There are many advantages to implementing bike sharing programs in major cities. Bicycle-sharing overcomes common riding deterrents like theft and difficulty finding secure storage.  In addition, bicycle-sharing programs promote investment in bicycle infrastructure,  it creates construction and maintenance jobs, it provides low-cost alternative transportation between transit points and major destinations, it provides cycling opportunities for people who don’t usually cycle, and it can be a publicity boon for cities.

Anaheim’s pilot program will consist of 100 bikes at 10 kiosks near metro stations and major commuter centers. Depending on how the program performs it may be extended to other California cities including San Francisco and the Bay Area.

A bike-sharing program in San Francisco could be a perfect fit in many areas of the city. Bike kiosks around the new 1.5 miles of separated bikeway in Golden Gate Park could be useful to both commuters and tourists. Bike kiosks in the Castro district, along Market Street and Pier 39 (especially if biking infrastructure is improved during the Market Street improvement project) and even along the Treasure Island route when it is complete, could all improve the transportation situation in San Francisco.

Over the next year, cycling advocates will be keeping a close eye on the situation in Anaheim as it could have major repercussions for the rest of California. In the meantime San Franciscans should begin to consider what a bike-sharing program could do for the city.

Here are some additional bike-sharing stats from Bikes Belong:

Source:

http://www.kcet.org/updaily/socal_focus/transportation/anaheim-to-launch-bicycle-sharing-program-in-may.html

http://www.bikesbelong.org/resources/stats-and-research/research/bike-sharing-in-the-united-states/

If you missed the last workshop, don’t worry! There is another workshop on Monday June 25th!

Urban Bicycling Workshop: Intro to Safe Biking

6/25/12
6:30-7:30pm
PUBLIC Bikes (123 South Park Street)

The SF Bicycle Coalition will be hosting a one-hour workshop on safe bicycling for everyone. Learn about types of bikes, the rules of the road, and how to manage everyday riding while performing tasks including grocery shopping. All skill levels welcome and no bike necessary.

RSVP at http://www.sfbike.org/?edu-intro

Urban Bicycling Workshop: Intro to Safe Biking TONIGHT!

7-8pm
Richmond Rec Center (251 18th Ave.)

The SF Bicycle Coalition will be hosting a one-hour workshop on safe bicycling for everyone. Learn about types of bikes, the rules of the road, and how to manage everyday riding while performing tasks including grocery shopping. All skill levels welcome and no bike necessary.

RSVP at http://www.sfbike.org/?edu-intro

The 1% of trips taken by bike in the U.S. save the American people $4.6 billion each year.

Here are some useful numbers to know:

1. According to Forbes, the average annual cost of operating a bike is $308. The average cost of operating a vehicle is $8,220.

2. According to the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, bike path and trail projects create more jobs that highway projects.

3. The more paths there are, the more people will use them (it seems intuitive, but it’s an important point when trying to win legislative support and funding for more bike and pedestrian paths).

4. Transportation is overtaking housing as the single largest household expenditure

5. If American drivers replaced 1 four-mile car trip with a bike trip per week for one year it would save the U.S. 2 billion gallons of gas. If we assume that gas is $4 /gallon (a fairly low estimate), that would total a savings of $7.3 billion a year.

It seems that supporting cycling infrastructure would:

1. Help with Health Care costs (a hot button issue at the moment) by promoting better health

2. Reduce dependence on foreign oil (something nearly all Americans can agree is a good idea)

3. Reduce the deficit by promoting federal investments that generate the maximum economic activity

Really, what is not to love about cycling?

Source: SF Streetsblog

BART is setting a goal in its new bike plan to double the rate of passengers who bike, currently at 4%, within 10 years. Their updated bike plan includes:

• Expansion of secure parking facilities 
• Reduction of ‘blackout periods’
• Reevaluation of the bike ban on escalators

For those unfamiliar with it, Assembly Bill 819 is the important new bill that would give California cities a significant boost towards advancing bikeway designs and renovations. Introduced in February 2011, the bill aims to “amend Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to bikeways.” The bill’s opening statement is as follows:

[…]

This bill would include a class IV bikeway among the bikeways subject to the above provisions and would define a class IV bikeway to include a segregated bike lane which provides exclusive use of bicycles on streets, as specified.” ^[1]