San Francisco Bicycle Advisory Committee

Minutes of the Meeting on April 26, 2007

Members Present:

• Andy Bindman, District 1
• Richard Tilles, District 2
• Hitesh Soneji , District 6
• Bert  Hill, Chair, District 7
• Jerry Ervin, District 8
• Rufus Davis, District 10
• Casey Allen, District 11

Introduction

• Meeting was called to order at 6:45 pm.
• Chairman Hill introduced Marc Brandt, who has been nominated to fill Frank Chan’s position in District 3.

• Hill moved the Agenda immediately to Item 9 – Critical Mass.

Critical Mass

• Commander Steven Tacchini of the SFPD’s Field Operations Bureau discussed the Police Department’s policy regarding Critical Mass.  He said that the Police are present to prevent accidents and incidents that are threatening to persons and property. They intend to put out many more officers for tomorrow’s (i.e. Friday, April 27) ride because of the publicized incident during the March ride.  He suggested that persons dial 911 if they see an incident.
• Richard Tilles said that he found the SFPD’s prior policy where officers took a more proactive position by stopping traffic at the front of the bicycle queue to be much more satisfying for bicyclists and limited incidents.  He asked if the City could return to the previous policy.
• Officer Tacchini said that it would be difficult to return to the prior system because it required too much staffing. 
• Tilles asked how many officers currently are assigned to the ride and how many used to be assigned.  Tacchini said that 20 officers are currently assigned and that he did not know how many were assigned in the past because it was before his time.  Tilles asked if he could find out because his sense was that there were no more than 20 on the proactive rides.
• Casey Allen said that the old system was better because officers were assigned along the route and could respond better to problems.  Now they are in the rear of the queue and often show up too late to do any good.
• Hitesh Soneji agreed that it is helpful if the officers are positioned better.
• Andy Bindman said that bicyclist’s frustration with the progress of bicycle improvements may have led to some of the more extreme incidents.
• Tilles asked if the SFPD could get back to the Committee on how many officers were previously assigned and Officer Tacchini said he would try to get that information.
• The issue was then open to public comment.  The overall consensus was that Critical Mass was a positive experience but that it used to be better before the “crackdown” ten years ago.  Don Wallenberg said that CM is a cultural treasure for the City and another indication of how special San Francisco is.
• Rachel Kraai of the SFBC reiterated that the Bike Coalition does not organize Critical Mass and urged everyone to ensure the tomorrow’s ride was a safe one.

Public Comment

• ___ spoke about the program to make Masonic more bicycle-friendly and suggested that those interested attend a “walkabout on April 28^th at 10:30 AM.

Committee Reports

• Hill reported on a bike tour of District 7 with Supervisor Elsbernd last Saturday (April 19^th).  Supervisor is leading the effort to improve roadway quality.
• Rufus Davis has been checking the quality of bicycling on 3^rd Street since opening of the ‘T’ line.  So far he has seen very little bicycling.
• Bindman discussed development of an RFP for an MTA bicycling “report card”.

MTA Bicycle Program Report

• This was delivered by Nick Carr who also handed out a written report.
• He discussed efforts for May 17^th’s Bike to Work Day and that with 25 energizer stations, San Francisco could have the largest BTW day in the US.
• He talked about a pilot program for bike education in middle schools.  The initial program would have 4 schools which would then be expanded as funds permitted.
• He discussed the aforementioned report card.  Bindman said that one of the major issues is tabulating the number of bike trips. Tilles said that he had some experience in these tabulations and Hill suggested that Tilles be the BAC’s representative on the technical committee for the study.
• Allen asked if pavement conditions would be monitored and Carr said that he did not know and that DPW has been more involved with that aspect than the MTA.
• Carr talked about the EIR study and in response to a question from Davis said that Wilbur Smith Associates was the consultant and that there was a kickoff meeting for the study on April 19.
• Davis asked if MTA keeps track of who gets bike helmets.  Carr said they don’t keep track but that many more were given out this year because of joint campaigns with the SFBC/AAA and Plastic Surgeons.
• Davis also suggested that Bike to Work Day have a theme.  Carr said that he thought this was a good idea but that SF cannot work independently since BTW day is a regionally-funded event.
• Allen suggested that representatives try to ride in with their supervisors.

SFBC Report

• Leah Shahum delivered the report.
• She said that the BAC should take the lead in public meetings for the EIR study.  Hill said he would check into this but he said that the Planning Department was the responsible agency for the EIR.
• She talked about the success and compromise for “Healthy Saturdays” in Golden Gate Park and said that it is not a trial but does need environmental review.  She said all signatories agreed that they would not go after any basic changes in the plan for at least 5 years.  She suggested that persons attend a May 10^th meeting of the Planning Board that will be discussing changes in environmental review.
• Shahum spoke about the Good Roads Campaign which is organized by the SFBC, AA and SPUR.  DPW has committed $1.5 million to repair the 10 worst bike routes.

Further Committee Reports

• Hill spoke about press conferences and increased enforcement regarding riding bicycles on sidewalks.
• Jerry Ervin said that the new city number 311 should replace the bike hotline.

• Rufus Davis suggested and Hill agreed that the police should be invited back to the May meeting to discuss their impressions of the April Critical Mass.
• The meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM.