San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Statement

Statement from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
 
 By now you have probably seen the media frenzy around incidents at last  
 Friday's Critical Mass ride.
 
 First, we want to make sure that all members understand that the SFBC does  
 not organize nor manage Critical Mass rides. We never have, we never will.  
 This is a leaderless ride that the SFBC has no control over. 
 We condemn any sort of violence on the ride — whether by bicyclists or  
 motorists. Of course, we condemn violence on our streets anytime,  anywhere. 
 It seems that there are two sides to what happened Friday night, which is  
 now coming to light in the media. It sounds like there's blame to be shared by   both sides. 
 
 Our goal now is to make sure that people  understand that the SFBC is working 
 day in and day out to promote safe, joyful  bicycling in our city. Our 
 message is and always has been that we all need to  Coexist, to behave civilly and  respectfully, and to share the road. 
 
 We urge our city leaders not to let one night's ugly actions slow down the  
 work we're all doing to make San Francisco a great bicycling city. 
 Help us out by spreading the word that the SFBC does not organize Critical  
 Mass and that we condemn any violence on our streets, whether biking or  
 driving. Let folks know about the good work the SFBC is responsible for — more  bike  lanes, better bike parking, more bike access on transit, more people   choosing to bike for a cleaner, healthier San Francisco. 
 You can let folks know that just yesterday, our volunteers handed out  
 hundreds of _safety  flyers_  to 
 bicyclists — Give Respect, Get Respect — at the corner of Market  & Van Ness 
 Ave. We're gearing up now for lots more outreach on _Bike to Work Day_  — May 17th! 
 
 And we're organizing community members to speak in support of the _Healthy 
 Saturdays_ (http://www.sfbike.org/?ggp)  trial of car-free space in Golden Gate  Park on Saturdays just like Sundays.
 
 Thank you for helping us educate people that the SFBC is not Critical Mass,  
 but is responsible for a lot of the transportation, safety, and open space  
 improvements they're seeing around town. Let's ride responsibly and proudly.
 
 Thank you for your support, 
 Leah Shahum
 SFBC Executive Director

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