Thank you for creating the great bike lanes on Market Street. They might well have saved my life while allowing me to ditch my car and avoid feeling being part of the herd on Muni.
This is one of the best-run, most highly-effective organizations out there. Fantastic, relevant outreach and communications; great, fun events; wonderful staff; and, best of all, outcomes: they bring about changes that result in safer and healthier streets and community for everyone. I have been a volunteer a part-time staffer, and member of SFBC, and I can't recommend them enough.
what isn't great about the San Francisco Bike Coalition? They are super star bike advocates in the community, and shining examples for other bike organizations around the globe! not only do they try and get everyone on a bike, they make their volunteers feel like family. i've been a volunteer for almost 3 years now, and i wouldn't change a thing. the volunteer nights every 2nd and 4th wednesday is fun, interactive, and allows you to be a part of the bigger picture. and being apart of that inspires you to get more people involved. i love getting my friends to join the cause.
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has had a huge impact on life in San Francisco - and not just for cyclists. The Coalition has helped the city (and, working with other bike advocacy groups in the area) the larger Bay Area region develop a coherent plan for bicycles. In some neighborhoods - like mine, along Valencia Street - new bike lanes have been a core part of traffic calming that has revitalized the for residents, merchants, and pedestrians, as well as cyclists. I've been a member for a few years - I joined not long after I moved to San Francisco. I found out about the Bike Coalition when there was a street fair in my neighborhood and the Bike Coalition provided free, secure valet parking for bicycles. I began to see SFBC stickers on bikes everywhere. Mostly, I am just a dues-paying member who enjoys a 10% SFBC membership discount at my local bike shop, but recently I've started volunteering as a "Lane Steward." The Lane Stewards work with the Department of Public Works to identify road hazards in bike lanes and along bike routes. Thanks to an excellent relationship between the Bike Coalition staff and the city government, the hazards we identify are almost always fixed very quickly. I'm very proud of the difference we've made - I often bore my friends by pointing out the repaired potholes that I had a hand in. One final aspect of the bike coalition that has impressed me: the SFBC's advocacy of bicycles is based in a lot of careful research. That is to say, the Coalition is very careful to base its positions on claims and observations that have a wide legitimacy, and I think this is a big part of its success. Like any city, San Francisco has a wide range of stakeholders when it comes to urban traffic issues, and the bike coalition has an extraordinary record in getting people on board for a better city.
I've found a profound sense of community three times in my life: first at my high school seminary; and next in the early years of AIDS activism. Today the community that rocks for me is the SF Bicycle Coalition. SFBC creates a vastly more liveable city by welcoming long-time residents and newbies alike in a common cause. Enthusiasm, dedication, openness to others, and street smarts makes SFBC a community-building force like few others. This is an organization that makes you WANT to do more, and it creates an environment in which everyone fits. The numbers speak: nearly 10,000 members make the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition their community of choice.
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is one of the most influential non profit organizations in our city. They are a growing and powerful group that maintains their grass roots style of advocacy to get results. In this era of rising fuel costs and environmental awareness, the SFBC is making a difference today. Of all the ways I can contribute to creating a more sustainable environment for myself, my neighbors and my children, I feel like the SFBC is one of the most effective and well directed uses of my resources. They have a truly committed staff and are actively pursuing many important programs to better our community by promoting the bicycle for everyday use. If you’ve ever ridden on a bike lane, or enjoyed the Car Free Saturdays in Golden Gate Park, then you too have benefited from the work of the SFBC. They share my vision of creating a cleaner, safer and more humane environment for us to all enjoy. The bicycle is just the tool available to help us get there today. One of my proudest accomplishments has been to serve on the board of this great organization and I urge anyone who is even thinking about getting on two wheels to learn for themselves what the SFBC is doing for the community.
I've been a member for more than 12 years. There are three big reasons I continue to both support and be part of the SFBC: 1) It's more than a non-profit. There are many organizations that I donate money to, but the SFBC is a group that I BELONG to. It's a community of people (almost 10,000 strong) that want to make SF a better city to live in and take an active role in making this happen. 2) It's fun. From volunteer nights to Winterfest to, believe it or not, our board meetings, the SFBC events are a lot of fun. Our members have a lot of enthusiasm for what we do. 3) We get results. I can see the effects of my involvement in the SFBC every time I bike down the Howard Street bike lanes, meet with City Supervisors and see a 5 year old learning to bike in Golden Gate Park.
