Too many families drive to school, in part, because our city lacks a connected network of protected bike lanes.
The City can help more children and families bike to school by creating that network as well as funding an e-bike incentive program to make e-bikes more accessible and affordable.
Read more about the data and solutions in the piece, and let me know if you have comments / suggestions or want to get more involved in advocacy!
by lukerb
3 Comments
*The… wheels on the bus go round and round… round and round…*
I used to live in SF. It is not an easy place for children to bike to school. As many people are well aware, SF is notoriously hilly. Elementary school children are also notoriously bad at hill climbing. Many of them rides single-speed bikes, many do not know how to operate gears even if they have them, etc. This is less true for middle school and high school kids. E-bikes could help with this as well but they’re generally only available in adult sizes, and thus also only really useful for high-school kids.
I live in Oregon now, and I *do* ride to school with my 7-year-old daughter, but she has a *tough* time with a section that is about 11% grade for 180m (~200 yards) and we have to stop part way every time. And this is from a family where there’s a parent who’s an avid cyclist, comfortable riding on the road, capable of getting up the hill myself, and willing to ride with her in the morning.
This about covers it. Also creating more centralized schools means further distances.
https://preview.redd.it/9f9o4u4ed8pd1.jpeg?width=595&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc4d7049a9c6635510a2713c4ef428cfb143b969