Coexisting in San Francisco Eileen C. Ross City & County of San Francisco Traffic Engineering

Bicycle Program Staff with Mayor and DPT Director

SF Bicycle Network (2002)* Bike Lane 34 mi Bicycle Path 29 mi Bicycle Route (signed) 88 mi Wide Curb lane (signed) 54 mi Total 205 mi *NOTE: This is the approximate number of miles of City streets with bicycle facilities and not the actual number of miles of bicycle facilities...i.e., it is not 34 miles of bike lanes, but 34 miles of City streets with bicycle lanes (whether a two-way street with bike lanes in each direction or a one-way street with a bike lane in one direction).

To increase awareness of the Door Zone §persuading drivers to leave enough room when passing bikes §persuading bicyclists to leave enough space when pedalling by parked cars. Coexist Media Campaign Goal

Coexist Media Funding and Timing §TEA-21 funds §Transit posters, bumper stickers §Signs §Sharrow

“Although most people (80%) indicated it would be good for society if more people rode bikes to work and school, 32% of the study group indicated that they actually get angry when bicyclists block their lane or slow them down.” Weiss, Phoenix Children’s Hospital 2001 study

Coexist Media - Phase I elements §Watch for Bikes side mirror decal §Traffic Safety, It’s a Two Way Street

Motorist Knowledge Gaps and Negative Attitudes “…motorists need to be able to predict the movements, speed, and reactions of a bicyclist.”

Coexist Campaign Phase 2 §Why share the road §Inform a concerned & confused public §Provide real street skills info §Timing to coincide with BAUFL signs, sharrow study

Primary and Secondary Project Goals §Increase awareness of “door zone” to prevent injuries §Encourage bicycle use §Promote mutual respect between cyclists and motorists

Encourage bicycle use and promote mutual respect - §Get more people on bikes §Mutual respect §-->increased awareness §-->increased safety

Role of the Bicycle Community §Strong grassroots organization §Lots of creative energy §Public Image challenge

Reality check §Funding constraints §Working together §Goals are aligned

Compromise & Creativity §How to achieve goals simultaneously? §Can safety be sexy?

Rewards of Sharing the Road

Coexisting in San Francisco

Feedback §Mostly positive §Measures of success §Lessons learned

Conclusion §Engage advocates to generate lots of ideas §Make boundaries clear from the start §Communicate often bicycle.sfgov.org sfbike.org 585-BIKE

BIKE Resources on motorist education:

Upcoming work