one of the big things holding back the forward progress of any improvements to SF’s cycling infrastructure for the last 3 years was a dickhead named rob anderson successfully encouraging a judge to require that a full EIR be completed before proceeding. this COCK anderson pitched a fucking fit because the city was "pandering to the special interests of cyclists." alright, resenting cyclists as a special interest group i can understand, but requiring an EIR because cycling infrastructure improvements might be environmentally DAMAGING? i couldn’t make this shit up, people. this is the stuff of ORLY legend. it could be an NBC show.

but that time has passed and SF’s been making strides in their cycling infrastructure improvements at a pace that puts us on track to be comparably bike-friendly to the most cycled cities in the WORLD. ON-STREET BIKE PARKING, THE MARKET STREET CLOSURE, BIKE TRAFFIC LIGHTS, and 47 new bike lanes (many of which are physically separated), are just the tip of the iceberg. there are still plans for more of the same and beyond. parklets and green lanes, bike parking requirements in businesses, self-serve bike repair stations — there’s a ton of shit going down around here and it all makes it a better place to ride.

however, i have a new priority i’d like to suggest. POTHOLES. yeah, yeah, the SFBC goes out and tags and reports all the potholes in the city once a month or so and that’s great. but when is there gonna be a push to DO something about em? we have TONS of bike lanes now and that’s KICKASS — i’m jazzed. but i’d way rather have the streets patched than have the two blocks of protected green lane we just got a few months back on market from larkin to VN. a bike lane increases your convenience (sometimes) and comfort level. but a pothole can kill you. there’s a block of jackson street from battery to davis that literally has a 6-inch wide split in the center-right of the eastbound lane for the whole two blocks. it looks like one of those earthquake photos. basically, if someone in the parking lane swings their door open or a dog runs out from the safeway into the street and you swerve a bit to the left? FUCKED. you’re going onto your head, and that porsche behind you sure ain’t stopping. all the king’s horses and all the king’s men.

i’m not saying i think the SFBC or SF itself is doing a bad job increasing the convenience and comfort and safety of the cycling experience. in fact, quite the opposite. i believe that SF is making strides that are unheard of. (take the on-street bike parking, for example. i don’t know anywhere in the WORLD where that exists.) but i think that now that we’ve gotten so many incredible improvements that require NEW space and NEW plans and NEW executions, it’s time to fix some of the OLD stuff.

thoughts?

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