Participation Highest Ever for Bay Area's Bike to Work Day
OAKLAND, CA — Optimal temperatures, fitness, the camaraderie of fellow cyclists and a desire to reduce the region’s carbon footprint brought out the highest ever number of cyclists – 204,000 – for the San Francisco Bay Area’s 15 th Bike to Work Day on May 14, 2009. Event organizers estimated that, compared to last year, participation was up by 36 percent regionally.
Organized by the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition with major sponsorship from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Kaiser Permanente, Bike to Work Day is part of National Bike Month. Hundreds of energizer stations stocked with snacks and beverages were set up along bike commute routes in all nine Bay Area counties. Reusable canvas bags loaded with swag and bicycle information were distributed to cyclists as they paused for a quick drink or took a break to socialize with fellow cycling commuters.
While it is difficult to calculate exact numbers, volunteers at key energizer station locations counted cyclists as they came by, with an unknown number of additional riders who didn’t pass an energizer station. At last year’s Bike to Work Day, event organizers estimated there were 150,000 participants, compared to the estimated 204,000 this year. Increases in participation rates, compared to 2008 figures, were provided by Andrew Casteel, executive director of the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition:
Alameda County – 45%
Contra Costa County – 43%
Marin County – 6%
San Francisco County – 15-20%
San Mateo County – 13%
Santa Clara County – 54%
Sonoma County – 8%
Napa/Solano counties – 38%
Santa Clara County had the highest percentage increase in participation, a whopping 54 percent. Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, an MTC commissioner representing Santa Clara County, frequently rides his bicycle to work, a three-mile trip. As he pedaled around San Jose on Bike to Work Day, he stopped at several energizer stations.
“As an MTC commissioner, I’m really proud of the fact that MTC is taking on this challenge of global warming and putting more money and resources into bicycle programs, so people can leave their cars at home, get on their bikes and at the same time help the environment,” said Yeager. Catch Yeager during his Bike to Work Day commute in footage shot May 14.
Bikes outnumbered cars by more than two to one on Market Street in San Francisco during morning commute hours, with 66 percent bikes and 31 percent cars, said Casteel (the remaining 3 percent consisted of transit vehicles and taxis). “There was an 80 percent increase in the number of bikes compared to a week before Bike to Work Day on Market Street,” he added.
On the steps of City Hall, bike activists unveiled a new report on the state of bicycling in San Francisco, making a strong pitch for an upcoming city decision to double the number of bike lanes. They set the stage for the press conference by arranging convoys in which supervisors were escorted on bike rides to City Hall – routes for the convoys radiated out from the city center like spokes on a bicycle wheel.
“We showed city leaders and supervisors the thrills and challenges of biking on San Francisco streets,” said Teri Gardiner, communications director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
“It’s the biggest and most ambitious project ever put forward for bicycling here in San Francisco,” said Leah Shahum, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, referring to the plan to double the city’s bike routes. “There’s been a lot of political support and a lot of public support for it so we’re looking forward to seeing a huge increase in bicycling this year. We know that it’s a case of, ‘If you build it, they will come.’”
“We’ve seen huge booms in the number of people cycling, and we’re looking forward to a very bright future for cycling in San Francisco,” said Nick Carr, bicycle outreach safety coordinator for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. “San Franciscans use their bikes for all kinds of purposes. Six percent of all trips in San Francisco are by bike – 128,000 bike trips daily – it’s really an encouraging sign.”
Extending the fun to more than 24 hours, The Good Hotel hosted a pre-party the night before Bike to Work Day and various county bike coalitions celebrated with after-parties following.
Susan Heinrich, MTC bicycle planner, attended the Bike-In Film Festival sponsored by The Good Hotel. “It was a “bike-in,” like in “drive-in,” she said. “This hotel is ‘good’ to the environment; they provide free bikes, helmets and locks, and transit and bike maps for their guests, so I think that’s why they had the party. A guy was making hors d’oeuvres for everybody on a portable grill on his bicycle and there were people doing bike tricks.” Short films made by people using their iPhones or personal film devices were screened, with topics as diverse as a guy shaving his head to various personal bicycle trips.
Karin Betts, MTC public information officer and bike enthusiast, attended the after-party sponsored by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition in Oakland. She said it was very much a “county fair” atmosphere, with hay bales, bicycle carousels set up for adults and small children, a band, and a bike rodeo featuring a “gimmick” bike that no one could make move and cyclists performing bike tricks.
Team Bike Challenge, a contest that encourages bicycle commuters to recruit their colleagues and friends to ride their bikes as many days as possible throughout May, continues as part of National Bike Month. Winning teams in each county will be announced in early June, along with the overall winning team. Stay tuned to standings at btwd.bayareabikes.org/tbc_standings.
“In the end, it’s how many people are out smiling on their bikes, and it looks like a lot today,” Leah Shahum said during the Bike to Work Day festivities.
MTC is the regional transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.