It’s crucial we show up to demand the strongest possible Biking and Rolling Plan
Next Tuesday, January 21, the Biking and Rolling Plan is going to the SFMTA Board of Directors for the last time as an informational item, before the Board votes on the approval of the Plan in February. At this meeting, the staff will be sharing the Community Action Plans from the five community partner organizations and how they will facilitate implementation of the Biking and Rolling Plan.
It is essential that we show up in force to this meeting to demonstrate the importance of an ambitious Biking and Rolling Plan. The Plan sets the city’s course for the next twenty years of improvements for biking and rolling and will determine if and how San Francisco will hit its climate and Vision Zero goals. To make sure the plan doesn’t just sit on a shelf, it must have strong momentum in its first few years, with impactful projects that guide the Plan’s “northstar network” to success.
While the current draft plan creates real progress — particularly regarding policies and programs — it does not yet represent the ambition necessary to empower the 80% of SF residents who want to bike and roll to be able to do so. We are demanding that the SFMTA Board direct staff to include four adjustments to the plan as part of its first five years:
- Establish calmed Slow School Zones around all elementary schools in SF, demonstrating the agency’s ability to meaningfully prioritize safe biking and rolling while protecting children;
- Establish a base grid of people-prioritized crosstown routes, at least 3 each in the north-south and east-west directions, fully separated in all areas that are not already Slow Streets;
- A clear definition of “community readiness” that includes considerations of real and perceived safety, equity, repair of past harms, and thriving, bike-friendly commercial districts — but cannot be an excuse to prioritize convenience for driving over safety or to preserve parking; and
- The Northstar Network must be explicitly treated as the floor of progress, not the ceiling.
SFMTA staff have been working hard over the past three years to develop this plan, conducting unprecedented outreach across the city and deeply engaging and rebuilding trust with Equity Priority Communities through partnerships with community-based organizations. We know that staff wants to see these changes — but in the absence of clear direction and leadership from the city’s decision-makers and elected leaders, they don’t feel empowered to present a plan as ambitious as we all know the city needs.
At this moment, we must demand that the SFMTA Board, Supervisors, and our new Mayor vocally back ambitious improvements to our transportation systems, making biking and rolling viable, convenient, and safe options for everyone. As we plan for the next 20 years — when transit funding is precarious, tens of thousands of new homes will be built, and our climate emergency will only deepen — the urgency of this evolution is immense.
Join us at noon for a lunch-time action in front of City Hall then head inside with us to give public comment in person to the SFMTA Board of Directors. Now is your chance to determine the future of biking and rolling in San Francisco.
Can’t make the meeting on Tuesdsay? Make sure to sign our SF CYCLES petition!