Public Transit Peace Terrorists, Or How I Manage on MUNI.

photo courtesy of Mondayne

  Calling attention to yourself is not new to terrorism.  Leaked videos and intercepted communications are par for the jihadist course. Regimes and governments use this information to their advantage; and to deter or prevent civil unrest. In the case of groups like Anonymous and No Justice, No BART, they are no more than iterations of the lack of values of certain groups of passive-aggressive individuals. Free speech doesn't come at the cost of shutting down a region's busiest transit corridor during rush hour.

Double Deuce: SFBike.org Caught Flexing Again

  Last time I checked, there is no 3-foot passing law between bicyclists and vehicles currently on the books in either San Francisco or The State of California. But the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has made it there duty to foresee the future and provide us with a seemingly inane safety video on their website entitled Riding Predictably where they show us the law:

                   

                                              video courtesy of SFBike.org

  Even Celeste LeCompte from today's SFGate.com has been getting her ledes from SFBike.org  "Ride safely. Even though you're riding slowly, don't forgo the helmet, stop at traffic signals and ride predictably." Her great article about the Slow Bike Movement is where it IS.

  So anyway, after being pleasantly surprised at finding a quirky and informative safety video on their website (I always ask them for safety literature when I see them on the street, but they never seem to have any), I was shocked to hear @ 2:56 the declaration that the 3-foot law is "The law." (People without brakes on their bicycles:  Please watch 2:11) SB910 passed the senate this spring, but as of the date of this posting it has not become law.

Bikes On MUNI: Myths Debunked

    The SFMTA is considering a pilot program where non-folding bicycles would be allowed on all MUNI Metro trains during off-peak hours. There has been misleading information put out there by certain people/groups about why this plan would work. I would like to debunk a few myths perpetuated by the bicycle elitists here in San Francisco.

Myth #1:  via SFBikeCoalition - "Only 2 of 20 US cities with light rail service currently do not allow bikes on any routes, including San Francisco's Muni."  photo courtesy of Flickr

Phoenix's LRV's are designed with open floor-plans to accommodate bicycles, MUNI's are NOT!

• The only reason we're one of two light-rail systems in the country to not provide bicycle access aboard light-rail trains is because these systems were designed before a time when 3-car trains seemed necessary.  If the MUNI Metro system had been designed more recently all the stations would accommodate 3-car trains.

• and, from a Streetsblog article about folding bikes being allowed on MUNI, "Front racks installed on Muni buses have allowed them to carry bicycles for a number of years, but the Breda light-rail vehicles currently used by Muni are poorly designed for the task.

Myth #2: "BART, Caltrain, and most urban transit systems allow bikes at all times"

BART, or DC's Metro, are designed for bike use, MUNI LRV's are much less spacious.

• Folded or full-size bikes aside, comparing the capacity of a light-rail system, with that of a regional rail system or urban subway system (each running 6-10-car trains, compared to 2-3-car trains on light rail systems) is purely disingenuous and downright misleading.

Myth #3:  "The MUNI trains can handle bikes easily during off-peak hours" 

• MTA spokesperson Paul Rose, who actually favors a study to see if these practices would be feasible, admitted in an SF Chronicle article, "[T]he idea is being studied but could prove problematic, given that the trains are often crowded before and after the morning and evening commutes.
  

    In closing, even those who wish that bikes on MUNI could be feasible, reluctantly admit that this is just not an option.  As an avid commuter bicyclist in San Francisco I would love to throw my bike on the J-Church from Balboa and hop off at Dolores Park and continue my commute from there, but this is just not a practical approach when you consider the Breda trains' limitations.

    Instead of fighting for a lost cause (which would involve replacing every LRV with trains designed with open floor-plans) let's encourage MUNI to study 3-car trains during peak periods. We could also lobby them to consider operating streetcars during rush-hour periods on the N-Judah and M-Ocean View lines, which we be dedicated solely for bicyclists and their bikes.

    There are alternate solutions to this problem other than taking an 'all-or-nothing' approach or abusing factual data to solidify your own political ideologies.  Take away the bike, and now you're just a Jehovas Witness with butt callouses.