By Steven T. Jones
Controversial initiatives rarely pass the ideologically divided San Francisco Board of Supervisors with a unanimous vote. But last night, the board voted 11-0 to pass the new Bicycle Plan and reject appeals that its supporting environmental documents weren’t adequate.
Despite the persistent arguments by anti-bike zealot Rob Anderson that bicyclists are a fringe minority from “Progressive Land” and that bikes aren’t an important transportation option, elected officials from across the political spectrum apparently think otherwise. The supercharged rhetoric that bikes elicit from fringe characters like Anderson notwithstanding, bicycling seems to be becoming non-controversial in San Francisco.
Sure, there may be some truth to points made by activist Marc Salomon that the unanimous approval indicates a plan that could have been more progressive (separated bikeways anyone?). But the bottom line is bicyclists now enjoy more mainstream support than does Anderson’s regressive vision of streets designed mainly for cars and buses.