potrero view

March 2010

Carless in San Francisco

By Mary Purpura

For those of us trying to make sound ecological choices, it’s ultimately necessary to take a hard look at our dependence on the automobile, and the society we’ve built as a result. The quality of the air we breathe, the health of the bay, and our fabric of life are impacted heavily by driving.  Some Southeast San Francisco residents have concluded that they can live more ecologically and economically – and have more fun - by relying on biking and walking rather than driving to get around.

Potrero Hill resident Ann Lyons has bike commuted for more than ten years, from the top of Arkansas and 20th streets to her office at Second and Folsom streets, and back up that killer hill. “I evolved from a scooter to a bike,” said Lyons. “I felt that I could ride a bike anywhere I could take a scooter, and I liked the bike a lot better.  I can go faster on a bike because I’m not required to stay in car lanes.  Parking is easier.  I never have to go to a gas station.  And I’m more connected to sidewalk life and other people instead of traffic. I think it’s the best way to get to know the City and the whole area.”

Alex Lantsberg, a Bayview resident, was car-free until his son, now two years old, was born. Now the family owns an automobile. On Saturdays, Lantsberg will often hook a trailer to his bike for his son to ride in for a shopping trip to the Alemany Farmer’s Market. “My son loves traveling in the trailer,” said Lantsberg, “but it’s just not practical” for everyday movement with a small child. “Still, bicycling is my preferred mode of transportation within the City limits.”  Lantsberg advocates bicycling for fiscal reasons. “By every economic pricing, you end up saving so much money” when you bike instead of drive. “Cars are expensive. With a bike, you don’t pay for gas or insurance or parking. All that adds up pretty fast.”

Rhonda Winter, also a Bayview resident, has been car-free for years, since she and her husband sold their Toyota truck to California’s Vehicle Buy-Back Program. Occasionally, Winter and her husband rents or borrows a car to take a long trip.  But she often relies on public transportation even for long-distance travel, and has taken Amtrak up the West Coast, to Colorado, and several times across the country. “I don’t miss the truck, and I really enjoy traveling by train. You meet very interesting people. People that tend to ride the train have time for a trip like that, and a mentality that distinguishes them from the rush-rush that seems to characterize life these days,” said Winter.

Winter also keeps her travel focus local. “We’ll go camping on Angel Island, or do things that you can take Caltrans to,” she said. “Our society’s driving-everywhere lifestyle is not sustainable, and appeals to a lazy, consumerist, hedonistic aspect of our culture. We need to be in our neighborhoods and do things locally.  Harvey Milk said, ‘If you want to change the world, start in your own neighborhood.’”  Winter walks to do local errands, and has ridden her bike around the City for years. “Biking is fun and it feels good. The way you interact with your neighborhood and your neighbors is so much more direct when you’re biking. I often pick up batteries I see littering the streets, then recycle them. It’s small, but it matters. I’m keeping toxins out of our water. When you’re biking or walking, you’re able to have a much more direct impact on your world.”

The recently departed director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment,Jared Blumenfeld, who was selected by the Obama Administration to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Southwest region, bike commutes every day from the top of Twin Peaks to his downtown office. “It’s the most fun, exhilarating, adventurous way to start a day. I fly down the hill,” said Blumenfeld.  Of the trek back uphill at the end of the day Blumenfeld said, “You don’t need to be afraid to go slow.  Sometimes joggers pass me. But it’s very cathartic to do that uphill climb at the end of the day. You really leave behind all the stress and exhaustion from your workday.”

Lantsberg has advice for bikers getting started riding in hilly neighborhoods: “Make sure your tires are adequately inflated. Ride along a bus line in the lowest gear you’ve got. When you need to stop, stop. Catch a ride the rest of the way up the hill on MUNI.”  According to Blumenfeld, every day will be easier. “If you do an uphill ride every day for three weeks, the first week will be miserable,” he said. “The second will be less miserable, and the third week you’ll feel a real sense of accomplishment. San Francisco is seven miles square.  It’s super easy getting around by bike once you start doing it. The obstacles are much more mythological than real.”  Winter suggested starting small. “Identify one trip a week that you could do without a car, and then do it.”

A number of programs and organizations are on offer in the City to help people get on their bikes. Lyons recommends the SF Bike Coalition’s free urban street skills class, www.sfbike.org/?edu, which includes classroom time as well as street riding with certified instructors, and the bike buddy program, www.sfbike.org/bikebuddy, in which experienced riders help newbies plan bike-friendly routes. Winter is a fan of the Bike Coalition’s Gas-Free Fridays, www.sfbike.org/independence, which are held in July and October, and encourage people to bike for one trip, one day each week. On each Gas-Free Friday, the coalition hosts an energizer station to “fuel up” bicyclists with coffee and snacks, and a local bike shop provides free bike maintenance.

Worker-owned Box Dog Bikes on 14th Street near Guerrero, www.boxdogbikes.com, offers bike maintenance classes and a community workbench where bicyclists can do their own repairs. The Bike Kitchen on Florida Street, www.bikekitchen.org, is an all-volunteer, cooperative bike shop where members pay a small fee or donate volunteer hours to build their own bike from spare parts.  It also offers bike repair and maintenance classes, with volunteer mechanics available to help with bike repair issues.  Last year the federal government established the bicycle commuter benefit, which entitles bicycle commuters to a $20 monthly reimbursement from their employers.

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