Police will be able to seize any bikes or bicycle parts from individuals who have five or more bikes displayed on public property, according to legislation that will be considered Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Jeff Sheehy proposed the chop shop ban to target San Francisco’s ongoing bicycle theft problem. The bicycle theft problem is concentrated in the...
A dramatically expanding bike share company that is set to place some 31 proposed bicycle-dock stations on the streets of the Mission District this year and next year will be steering clear of one: 24th Street. There, the neighborhood group representing the Calle 24 Cultural District – a stretch of 24th Street that is recognized by the city and state...
Bikeshare is getting big. And the newest player – Social Bicycles – is bringing their electric JUMP bikes to the mix. They have already started appearing around the city. Already Bay Area Bike Share (now Ford GoBike) has announced it will soon be expanding dramatically, and you might also remember the slight stir caused by the Chinese bike sharing company...
A significant cluster of Bay Area Bike Share’s new planned stations are in the Mission District, and installation is expected to begin later this month. The expansion will grow the bike sharing program from 700 to 7,000 bicycles around the region. Around 35 bike sharing stations are in the works in the Mission, according to an image released by the bike share group. Participants...
Advocates for infrastructure that better separates cyclists from drivers took to Valencia Street Thursday evening, forming a human barrier between bike and auto lanes from 16th and 17th streets. Dozens of cyclists offered high-fives and smiles as they passed through the corridor of roughly 20 yellow-shirted bike lane activists. Most drivers kept silent as they drove by, but a few voiced their dismay. “Find...
Listen Local is Mission Local’s biweekly radio program. We broadcast live online at BFF.fm every other Thursday morning from 9:30 to 10:00. If you were too busy pedaling to tune in to our broadcast this week, here’s your chance to revisit. We talked with Chris Cassidy of the Bicycle Coalition about cycling resources for newbies and cycling reminders for old...
The intersection of 16th Street and South Van Ness Avenue has stories to tell. Just call the number on one of the signs affixed to the utility poles there and listen. One of the voices you will hear belongs to Julie Mitchell, whose son Dylan was killed at the intersection while riding his bike. Another is that of Paula Tejeda,...
We talked to Paul Olszewski, 64, owner and general manger of Valencia Cyclery in the Mission since June 1, 1985, about his business and it didn’t take long for the topic of the internet’s impact to come up. ML: Why the bicycle business? PO: I’ve always enjoyed bikes – ever since I got one when I was a teenager and...
Athletes, messengers, and even some professional cyclists will come pouring into the Mission District this Saturday for the fourth annual Mission Crit, a 40-minute fixed-gear bike race. The crit (short for “criterion”) sends riders around and around a triangular course from 16th to 17th streets along Treat Avenue and Harrison Street, no small feat at the speeds these cyclists reach....
Cyclists who have had their bikes stolen might be familiar with a video of a San Francisco Police Department bike theft specialist luring a bike thief with a GPS-tracked bait bike. Well, if Mission Bicycle Company has its way, that kind of tech will be standard in bicycles of the future. The Valencia Street boutique bike shop has launched a...
The Bike Kitchen, a nonprofit bike repair space that allows anyone to come in and use tools, get mechanics’ advice, and dig through used parts for low fees, sent an email to its members over the holidays announcing big plans for 2017 and a goal of raising $10,000 in donations. It started with some break-ins at the kitchen’s space on Florida Street...
The SFMTA is building a protected, curbside bike lane on Valencia Street between Duncan and Cesar Chavez streets that will be separated from car traffic by parked vehicles. This is San Francisco’s first bikeway to be both elevated and parking-protected. The new lane, scheduled for completion in November, will be six feet wide with a 5-foot buffer next to the...
A somewhat blustery and slightly overcast day didn’t deter hundreds of pedestrians and cyclists from strolling or cruising along Valencia Street on Sunday. Live music in the streets and clouds of bubbles are hard to resist. But the civic engagement groups were particularly noticeable at this particular iteration of Sunday Streets as well, with both local political hopefuls and a plethora of...
A San Francisco Police Department officer on a motorcycle was hit and injured by a driver while stopped at a traffic light at 16th and Sanchez streets on Wednesday. The collision occurred around 3:15 p.m. when the officer, whose name was not released, was rear-ended a black Chrysler while stopped in the west-bound lane of 16th Street. The 30-year-old man driving...
After being vandalized last week, the brand-new Valencia Street bike counter is back to counting cyclists in the northbound bike lane on Valencia Street between 17th and 18th streets, just in time for Bike to Work Day. In the early afternoon, more than 1,500 cyclists had already passed the counter (give or take a few skateboarders, who also trigger the sensor). ...
