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The annual Bicycle Count Report indicates that the number of people riding bicycles in the city has increased 7 percent since last year and has increased 71 percent since 2006.
"These counts back up what is apparent on our streets every day -- that San Franciscans love bicycling, and that bicycling has never been more popular," San Francisco Bicycle Coalition executive director Leah Shahum said Tuesday.
According to the 2011 report, 75,000 people ride bikes each day in the city, with trips concentrated in the Financial District -- especially along Market Street -- to and from the Mission, and along the Wiggle, a route that snakes between Golden Gate Park and Hayes Valley while avoiding the hilliest streets.
Not only are more people on bikes, but the share of trips made by bicycle is also on the rise. In 2000, 2 percent of all trips in the city were made by bicycle. The recent count indicates that number has risen 75 percent to 3.5 percent of all trips.
This pales in comparison to the share of bike commute trips made elsewhere in California and the U.S. According to numbers from 2010, in Davis, 22 percent of all trips are made by bike, and bike trips in Boulder, Colo., account for 10 percent of all trips. In that regard, San Francisco is not even in the top ten.
"The SFMTA is committed to growing bicycle ridership and improving the safety of bicycling in San Francisco," SFMTA Director Ed Reiskin said today. "The annual count provides a critical analysis of how we are doing."
To be able to compare its count data with other cities nationwide conducting bicycle counts, San Francisco tweaked its methodology to better align with national bicycle counting standards.
In previous years, the city conducted bicycle counts in August. This year was the first year the city also counted cyclists in September, when schools are back in session and summer vacations are over.
The peak period tallies from this year -- which examined a two-hour window -- counted a sample of 10,139 cyclists in September, compared to 8,314 cyclists in August, a nearly 22 percent increase.
The report also provided insight into bicyclist behavior across the city by measuring the percentage of the city's bicyclists who were observed riding on the sidewalk or riding the wrong way.
Across the city, 94 percent of cyclists were observed to be following the law. For two new count locations on Lincoln Boulevard, a high-speed arterial street with no bicycle facilities, more than 50 percent of riders were observed pedaling on the sidewalk or against traffic.
"Collecting data on the rate of these behaviors identifies places in the bicycle network where facilities may be inadequate or have unsafe conditions," the report reads.
© The Bay Citizen, 2012
Howard Epstein
Bikes ridden by people 16 and over should pay a licensing fee and display the license on the bike. Parking meters should be attached to all bike racks in meter areas. Bike riders should pay the same parking fees as automobiles. The City should install sidewalk cameras similar to red light cameras and mail tickets with $400 fines for the anarchist on two wheels who ride on the sidewalk.
b s
That's completely ridiculous. Cars cause much more wear-and-tear on roads than bikes. Cars are a major source of air pollution/smog. Last year about 33,000 people were killed in car accidents. It makes no sense for bikes and cars to be regulated in the same manner.
Stitch_94133
Howard! Really? You're in favor of a new tax?
Whatever would Grover say about that?
Howard Epstein
I'm making an exception for the anarchists on two wheels do to their bad attitude, total disregard for the laws and general obnoxiousness. They don't deserve a free pass.
Grover will forgive me.
Cheryl Meril
You sound like you're describing bankers and politicians. Why don't you redirect your anger to be more productive towards the real problems in society?
Cheryl Meril
The reason the city doesn't heavily oversee or fine bicyclists is because it wants to encourage less traffic with a growing population. You sound jealous of bicyclists having no consideration many low income 20's somethings paying off their student loans have no other choice. If you don't like a bike city, why don't you move to a superb where you can be happy instead of taking it out on innocent people on bicycles?
Rob Anderson
Talking about percentages exaggerates the significance of the increases in cycling, since the numbers themselves aren't very impressive in the context of city traffic.
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/rbikes/documents/2011BicycleCountReportsml.pdf
But even the percentages are unimpressive. We learn on page 21 of the report that the percentage of bike commuters has grown from 2.1% in 2002 to 3.5% in 2010, a not-very-impressive gain of 1.4% in nine years, which works out to .16% a year.
The City Hall and Bicycle Coalition fantasy of 20% by 2020 is just that. Even the attempt to achieve that goal will create gridlock on city streets.
Amber Kerr
As the number of cyclists in SF increases, it becomes ever more important that they follow the rules of the road - and yet, based on my own experience, nothing could be further from the truth.
I cycle through downtown SF several days a week. Each time I am appalled to see my fellow cyclists brazenly speeding through red lights, dodging pedestrians in crosswalks, and riding on the sidewalk even when there is a bike lane. The behavior of cyclists in SF is so anarchical that cars and pedestrians shy away from me, assuming (no doubt from experience) that a cyclist might do anything at any time. I am embarrassed to be one of them!
The Bay Area has some great organizations that advocate for cyclists' rights, but I think it is time for a stronger focus on cyclists' responsibilities. The behavior I see daily on the streets of SF endangers not only cyclists, but everyone who shares the road with them.
Robert Montgomery
Ever been over on the wiggle. Holy cow! What a bunch of lawless hooligans on bicycles.
SF needs to absolutely crack down on the bicycles if only to get them to follow the basic laws. I think it's great that people want to get out and ride. I think it's completely lame that they get away with traffic violation after violation on every block they ride.
Max Goldstein
A 71% increase in ridership in 6 years is insignificant?
I saw more bikes today than I had in several weeks and it was beautiful and exciting. Many of us dedicated cyclists have been to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Portland, Davis or other bike capitals. We've seen this great bike culture and how it can transform cities into calmer, friendlier, and healthier places. We want that for San Francisco and it seems like a great fit for a city with mild weather, dense population, and an environmentalist streak. We see bikes as the future, they make a lot more sense for a dense city, think of how much more parking there would be if 50% of people commuted by bike.
Something non-cyclists don't understand about riding a bike is that it's completely different than driving a car and should merit its own set of laws and or separate bike lanes. Cyclists have a much better field of vision at intersections and can hear a lot more than cars. In Idaho they've allowed cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs for over 25 years, here's a great video about the issue http://urbanvelo.org/bicycle-rolling-stop-animation-idaho-stop-law/
The video explains that biking is a much more viable and fun form of transportation when you aren't losing all your momentum every block for a stop sign. Us bike riders have to generate our own power to get through the city and don't have a tank of imported oil to push us forward every time we stop.
Creating laws that make sense for biking in a city would be a great step forward and could help curtail some of the more outrageous bike behavior. If laws make sense its a lot easier for everyone to follow them in the same way. The city is doing a great job changing its infrastructure to make it safer for biking but obviously there is a lot more work to be done. Copenhagen has been making itself bike friendly for over 50 years and we've got a lot of catching up to do.
jon winston
@Howard Epstein- As a Republican I would think you would be in favor of stopping all subsidies to drivers then too. @Max Goldstein- Looks like they are adopting the Idaho law in Paris http://bit.ly/ywxBlS
Skip Demuth
We enjoy riding in the south central coast area. You can read about it here
Www.skipdemuth.com
Wendy Beck
I'd like to join the ranks of the bikers and the more lanes that physically separate bikers from drivers, the better.
That said, I'd like to see enforcement of laws against biking on sidewalks and blowing past lights, stop signs, etc. Between bikes and skateboards zooming by on sidewalks, I sometimes feel safer in the road!
Robert Montgomery
Technically, you're supposed to be in the road. Like, as in you're breaking the law if you're not.
Amber Kerr
@Max: I certainly agree with you that coming to a full stop at every stop sign is an unnecessary drag for cyclists. (I usually slow down, look both ways, and prepare to stop if necessary.)
But this is a far cry from speeding through red lights and dodging pedestrians on the sidewalk - behaviors I see daily on the streets of San Francisco! Even if, in practical terms, bikes don't need to follow exactly the same rules as cars, the rules still have to be clear and enforced. Many cyclists in SF seem to follow no rules whatsoever.