October 11, 2012
Is it Good Policy to Ditch Helmet Laws?
In the United States riding without a helmet is often viewed to be as dangerous and irresponsible as smoking. Needless to say, the stigma against it is significant. Helmets are seen as life-saving devices, the cycling version of seat belts. To ride without one is to take your life in to your own hands.
October 5, 2012
Walk to School Day 2012 Success!
State and city leaders walked with students to school to celebrate SF’s status as the first California city to adopt safer school zones citywide.
“This year, San Francisco became the state’s first city to create 15-mile-per-hour speed limits citywide, at 181 schools.
September 28, 2012
San Francisco Has Done it Again
San Francisco has been deemed America’s Best City 2012 by businessweek.com. San Francisco’s fellow top 5 cities- Portland, Washington D.C., Seattle and Boston were all ranked based on:
- Leisure Attributes (the number of restaurants, bars, libraries, museums, professional sports teams, and park acres by population)
- Educational Attributes (public school performance, the number of colleges, and rate of graduate-degree holders)
- Economic Factors (income and unemployment)
- Crime
- Air Quality
- Major professional league and minor league teams, as well as U.S.-based
September 26, 2012
Walk SF Has a New Director- Shaana A. Rahman!
Shaana has been appointed to Walk SF’s Board of Directors. This wonderful organization works to make San Francisco a “more livable, walkable city and reclaiming our streets as shared public space for everyone to enjoy.”
Walk SF has been working since 1998 to make San Francisco the most walkable city in the United States and they have made some great strides (pun definitely intended), including:
• Making San Francisco the first big city in the state with citywide 15-mph school zones, making streets safer around 181 schools!
September 25, 2012
Walk Score Your Neighborhood
If you’ve never heard of walk score then you need to go to their website right now and check it out. It is a great tool when familiarizing yourself with potential new apartments or homes, especially if you are moving into an unfamiliar city or neighborhood.
September 24, 2012
Unidentified Man Killed near Potrero by Drunk Driver
Streetsblog has reported a crash near a vehicle ramp southbound Potrero Avenue to Bayshore Boulevard over Cesar Chavez Street in which a drunk driver killed a pedestrian. The junction of Cesar Chavez and Highway 101 is known as “the hairball” for its dangerous intersections, and the particular danger for pedestrains and cyclists who venture into the mix.
September 22, 2012
Walking Safely- Chicago Style
Chicago is leading the way in pedestrian safety in the United States by pledging to eliminate all pedestrian fatalities by 2022.
Now, that’s not a phrase you would expect to hear. Chicago is a car-centric, midwest, urban center. Currently about 50 pedestrians are killed annually on Chicago streets.
September 21, 2012
Going Dutch
As someone who spent time in the Netherlands I can honestly say that the Dutch have figured out how to safely integrate cycling into their city streets. The Dutch are known for their bike riding habits, indeed while I was there I was told that there are 3.2 bikes for every person living in the country.
September 19, 2012
Masonic’s Makeover
Masonic Avenue is being considered for a Boulevard Makeover. The San Francisco street has been in the news recently as the site of two high-profile fatality accidents in the past two years. And the rest of the numbers clearly support the argument that a change is needed.