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Indybay Feature
SF Critical Mass 9th Anniversary Heads to GG Bridge
September 28, 2001 marks the 9th anniversary of San Francisco Critical Mass, the monthly community bike ride. San Fran if the birthplace of the popular, leaderless bike ride that has spread to over 200 cities worldwide. Recent discussion over this month's destination centers around the Golden Gate Bridge, which has closed its sidewalks to bikes and pedestrians ever since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York City. While autos enjoy unfettered access to the bridge crossing, Bay Area cyclists remain frustrated at the unequal access to transportation imposed by the ban.
It all started 9 years ago, when a small group of smiling bike advocates handed out flyers for a group bike ride home on the last Friday of the month. San Francisco, whose scenic streets are filled with tens of thousands of cyclists each day, was suffering from constant traffic congestion, pollution, and increasing hostility towards nonmotorized transportation.
Nine years later, the city’s bike plan still remains uncompleted, and the last Friday of every month, thousands of cyclists gather at 5:30 PM in Justin Herman Plaza at the foot of Market Street for a celebratory bike ride about the city. They are often joined by joggers, skaters, and even wheelchair users, cheered enroute by commuters, drivers, and onlookers as they wave and smile on a roadway temporarily freed from cars and pollution.
Since its inception, the ride has had its ups and downs. The largest such ride took place on July 25, 1997, when over 7000 cyclists overwhelmed downtown in a massive show of force. Mayor Willie Brown had threatened to shut the ride down, scapegoating cyclists for his own ineffective transportation policies. An unlawful mass arrest netted over 100 people, all of which had their charges dismissed. Those cyclists who pursued legal action against the city were awarded damages in small claims court. Ever since Mayor Brown lashed out at the monthly ride, routes have been unpublished, but often appear at the start of the ride.
On September 11, 2001 citizens nationwide reacted to the chilling attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and similar attacks in Washington, DC. Cities around the country immediately stepped up security measures, including San Francisco, whose Golden Gate Bridge quickly closed then reopened in case of an attack on the popular landmark. Reopened, that is, to cars only: the bridge’s bike and pedestrian paths remain closed more than 2 weeks later. To add insult to injury, all of New York City’s bridges have remained open to bike and foot traffic ever since the 9-11 attacks.
The bridge district, which makes the decisions regarding bridge access, has yet to provide any compelling reasons for the ban on equal access. Another bridge district vote this morning resulted in yet more delays to restoring access. District board members voted to open the bridge only between the hours of 7 AM and 7 PM on weekdays. The bike shuttle provided by CalTrans as an alternative to the paths runs infrequently, and causes delays for most bike commuters, who have been forced to rethink their commutes.
This brings us to the last Friday of the month: with thousands of cyclists frustrated about the closures, cycling email forums have been abuzz with talk of Critical Mass converging on the Golden Gate Bridge. Whether or not the bridge district will open its paths, in the face of this show of support for access, remains to be seen. Regardless, a community bike ride and sunset on the Pacific makes for an exciting, fun-filled evening.
Bay Area Bike Discussion Groups
=========================
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition - http://www.topica.com/lists/sfbike
San Francisco Critical Mass - http://www.topica.com/lists/sf-critical-mass
Nine years later, the city’s bike plan still remains uncompleted, and the last Friday of every month, thousands of cyclists gather at 5:30 PM in Justin Herman Plaza at the foot of Market Street for a celebratory bike ride about the city. They are often joined by joggers, skaters, and even wheelchair users, cheered enroute by commuters, drivers, and onlookers as they wave and smile on a roadway temporarily freed from cars and pollution.
Since its inception, the ride has had its ups and downs. The largest such ride took place on July 25, 1997, when over 7000 cyclists overwhelmed downtown in a massive show of force. Mayor Willie Brown had threatened to shut the ride down, scapegoating cyclists for his own ineffective transportation policies. An unlawful mass arrest netted over 100 people, all of which had their charges dismissed. Those cyclists who pursued legal action against the city were awarded damages in small claims court. Ever since Mayor Brown lashed out at the monthly ride, routes have been unpublished, but often appear at the start of the ride.
On September 11, 2001 citizens nationwide reacted to the chilling attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and similar attacks in Washington, DC. Cities around the country immediately stepped up security measures, including San Francisco, whose Golden Gate Bridge quickly closed then reopened in case of an attack on the popular landmark. Reopened, that is, to cars only: the bridge’s bike and pedestrian paths remain closed more than 2 weeks later. To add insult to injury, all of New York City’s bridges have remained open to bike and foot traffic ever since the 9-11 attacks.
The bridge district, which makes the decisions regarding bridge access, has yet to provide any compelling reasons for the ban on equal access. Another bridge district vote this morning resulted in yet more delays to restoring access. District board members voted to open the bridge only between the hours of 7 AM and 7 PM on weekdays. The bike shuttle provided by CalTrans as an alternative to the paths runs infrequently, and causes delays for most bike commuters, who have been forced to rethink their commutes.
This brings us to the last Friday of the month: with thousands of cyclists frustrated about the closures, cycling email forums have been abuzz with talk of Critical Mass converging on the Golden Gate Bridge. Whether or not the bridge district will open its paths, in the face of this show of support for access, remains to be seen. Regardless, a community bike ride and sunset on the Pacific makes for an exciting, fun-filled evening.
Bay Area Bike Discussion Groups
=========================
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition - http://www.topica.com/lists/sfbike
San Francisco Critical Mass - http://www.topica.com/lists/sf-critical-mass
For more information:
http://www.critical-mass.org/
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- The once-per-month Critical Mass rides
- Stalled cars on the bridge
- Freeway accidents at rush hour
- CalTrans construction
- Mayor Brown and his police escort, his Mayors' Conference, and his high society events
- Bikes
- Cars
- Drivers yakking on cell phones
Black background and skinny white type doesn't cut it.
Please replace this with something readable.
Do you even read the results on a screen?
When yo do, I'll comment on what's here. :)
between the terrorist attacks and closing the bridge to foot and bicycle traffic. So here it is, put simply for the ignorant, and in an easy to understand language in these parts: (Ok, this is important, so pay extra attention) There has been a real threat to the GG Bridge. Some people from another country would like to blow it up, and (though not terribly clever themselves), they have demonstrated a certain motivation and ability to do so any second of any day. Were you paying attention when people blew up the big buildings in another city? Ok. Now, automobile driver behaviour is much easier to monitor (that means "pay attention to") than biker/hiker behaviour. The people who blow things up do it when no one is "paying attention" to them. That makes it easy to blow up the Golden Gate Bridge when the fellows who like to do so, can do it as they bike or hike across the bridge. So, no biker/hiker...safer bridge.
Concerning traffic jams, maybe next time we can find out the difference in smart people's minds between an intended traffic jam, and one that can't be helped.
=v= The official story from those in charge is that it would take too long to evacuate us, and they're concerned about our safety. They may have a point about evacuating pedestrians, but bicycles routinely get across the bridge faster than cars do. If they're concerned about our safety, this would be the first time. They've dragged their heels for years over putting up a safety fence or even a railing to protect us from cars. There was a death, and they did nothing. There was a second death, and they
were finally successfully sued over it because they couldn't pretend there wasn't a problem due to the first death. Only then did they start to act, though of course they haven't gotten very far with it.
=v= The other problem with this official story is the fact that they'd previously done exactly the same thing on Y2K eve, citing concerns about terrorism. It seems to me that they just pulled the same thing and made up a new rationalization for it.
=v= Even if the official story was true, it makes more sense to put up warning signs and let us make our own choices, rather than limiting our freedoms to riding in a fossil-fuel-powered shuttle, stuck in traffic
on the bridge.
=v= It's ridiculous to ban bicyclists and pedestrians while allowing cars and trucks on the bridge. The former group would have a very hard time getting something onto the bridge that would damage the bridge or people on it, while motorists could easily stop a truckful of explosives on the bridge so that
it blocked traffic in two directions and then flee in a car or by motorcycle.
=v= Also take note that New York City did ban motorists from bridges but never stopped bicyclists and pedestrians from access.
<_Jym_>
Hey, Jack? How much explosive material could 'ol Tim have packed into a bike frame before parking it beside of Oklahoma City's McMurry Building? How many Ryder trucks are being kept off the Golden Gate Bridge? Ask your Mom about sound judgement and your counter-productive remarks regarding "ignorant." Your fowl have come home to roost, Bud.
One major point of the policy is the less that has to be monitored, whether foot, bike, or auto traffic, the better the protection. The reality is, no matter how much we all want to beat our heads against the wall about it, the traffic of priority on the Golden Gate is currently automobile traffic. That may well change in some ideal (albeit distant) future ('though it never will as long as recreationally angry kids are at the front lines of bike power) but for now, and during this crisis, the cars are the
priveledged flow. It's going to make the job of monitoring potential terrorist activity a lot harder once the bridge is back open. How could anyone but the ingorant want the best possible, least difficult protection for the bridge?
=v= The nuke-in-briefcase scenario could easily be adapted to car travel. Heck, it's simpler to drop such a device from a car than it is from a bike. Also, the threat of such a thing could be used to justify any infringement on our freedoms wherever a briefcase might be carried, which is everywhere.
=v= I mentioned before that I doubted the official story that the ban was done to protect us from terrorist attacks. The ban has been modified so that we can only bike or walk on the bridge during the day, i.e., when a terrorist attack is surely the most likely. More proof that they were lying to us.
=v= They also claim that they won't discuss anything about the "security" considerations, before and after September 11th. Soundss like an excuse to not be accountable for bad policy or for lying about their policy.
<_Jym_>