Supervisor John Avalos proposed a bike yield law during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting that would allow cyclists to roll through stop signs if there are no pedestrians or other vehicles present — but only if the police cooperate.
“Today colleagues, I’m introducing… the bike yield ordinance,” Avalos said. “This has been in the work for a few months, but it’s an idea that has been around for many, many years, especially as we’ve seen a huge increase in cycling in San Francisco.”
Though the ordinance has the support of six supervisors, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and groups like the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, which calls it a “common sense” safety measure, it is opposed by Police Chief Greg Suhr, who says violators will still be cited for rolling through stop signs.
“Stop signs are pretty simple. They say stop,” he said at the University of San Francisco on Tuesday. “They don’t say yield, they don’t say slow down.”
Avalos was unimpressed by the chief’s reaction.
“I was really disappointed to see that the Chief of Police has come out…against this legislation,” he said. “I really feel that if we were to be really clear about what is the highest priority for law enforcement on enforcing traffic on our streets, we are actually helping them to do their job better and to protect all of us by moving them onto higher risk violations.”
Jeremy Pollack, a legislative aide to Supervisor Avalos, said the ordinance does not necessarily require the police chief’s approval.
“The city attorney has told us that the Board has authority to set enforcement priority for the police department,” he said. “Of course how that gets implemented has a lot of discretion from the chief….We’ve been in communication with some of the command staff and incorporated some feedback. It’s going to be an ongoing communication.”
Avalos also needs the support of more supervisors if he’s going to win the nine-vote supermajority needed to overcome any veto from Mayor Ed Lee, who has not said whether he’ll support the law. At least one supervisor, Norman Yee, said he’ll oppose the measure, leaving three undecided votes for Avalos to pick up, according to KQED.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to at least hold our six, and if we need eight to override the mayor’s veto, [we’ll get them],” Pollack said.
Pedestrian and cyclist groups strongly support the proposal. The Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee unanimously passed a resolution supporting the ordinance last week, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has been lobbying the mayor to ensure his support.
“It’s a long overdue safety measure,” said Noah Budnick, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s executive director. “It clarifies for people riding bikes that they must yield to pedestrians and others with the right of way. It sends clear direction to the police department about prioritizing traffic enforcement against the most deadly violations, like speeding.”
Budnick added that for a city committed to “Vision Zero” — the goal of having zero traffic deaths by 2024 — the measure provides direction and a means to prioritize enforcement of “high risk violations.”
“For a police department that has adopted Vision Zero, this is really important guidance,” Budnick said.
“When we focus on these higher risk violations, we are doing the work to empower us to maximize our Vision Zero effort,” said Avalos. “When we’re focused on the greatest violations, the greatest risks, we know we are using our resources in the most effective way.”
Is the pedestrian committee that stupid? I would say so. This proposal does not add anything that protects pedestrians already. Current state laws clearly state cyclists have to yield to pedestrians. Cheers to Chief Suhr.
Only in San Francisco…a complete failure in logic. A law proposing the breaking of another law as a “safety measure” and in hopes that the law would help the SFPD do their job better?? The only clear direction this will be sending to the police department is how arrogant and entitled the SF Bicycle Coalition has become and that police enforcement of other bicycle violations will be increased. How about reviving the requirement to register bicycles in SF? How about a bicycling license or tax? This will become the biggest pissing match of the City. What about a law requiring bicyclist to yield to vehicles making a right turn in front of them rather than expecting drivers to see them in the vehicle’s blind spot? That would be in everyone’s best interests in terms of safety. Driver’s would be more focused on pedestrians in the walkways and not diverting their attention to cyclists racing to beat the car making the right turn. I have a term for Avalos’ logic…Rectumlinear Thinking. Had to have come right out of the ass.