SF Bike Plan Update

Today on the Board of supervisors agenda was the review of the Bike Plans Environmental Impact Review. Today's meeting wasn't to discuss if the Bike Plan is good or bad for San Francisco, it was to discuss whether the EIR was adequate in it's review. The meeting was held and it was decided that the EIR was through and adequate. Now that the study has been approved it's time for the City Attorney to head over to the judge overseeing the case and have him lift the injunction.

Read up on the bike plan here and here.

Stay safe!

Muni Collision on Market Street Cause for Concern?

The Muni shuttles millions of San Francisco residents everyday. These passengers rely on Muni to get the from point A to B in a safe, efficient manner. Recently though Muni has had two accidents that left passengers injured and has created pressure on Muni to reevaluate its measures to keeps passengers safe.

Mayor Gavin Newsom insists that the Muni is safe, "It is safe to ride Muni," Newsom maintained, but he acknowledged, "It has been a very frustrating few weeks."

Many news outlets have covered these Muni accidents, the first on July 18th injured 42 people when a lightrail operator blacked out causing a collision is the West Portal Station, the second occurred on August 3rd and according to eyewitnesses the Operator was distractedly engaging in conversation with a passenger. Good coverage can be found at SFappeal and KTUV.

So should people be concerned about riding Muni? Read the above links articles and ponder the question. Get back to us with your opinions!

Doyle Drive Danger

Confusing signage is leading cyclists to take the wrong path down Doyle Drive. ChronicleWatch highlights the hazard here.

Get a taste of bike sharing this Sunday

Bike Sharing is a relatively new transportation solution. The idea has been around for a while now, the most recent inception is Paris's Velib sharing program.

Today SFGate tackled the idea of San Francisco implementing a Bike Share Program. In January the Mayors Office announced a bike sharing plan for San Francisco. The idea has drawn criticism from many that the program is starting too small, San Francisco doesn't have the proper bicycle infrastructure to handle a bike share program and a complaint that the bike share program would be funded by Clear Channel.

That being said this Sunday at car -free Golden Gate Park, a mini bike share program, BIXI, will be letting people give bike sharing a shot.

Read more about the plan here.

Matt Gramly on KRON 4

Tonight Matt Gramly is going to be on KRON 4 discussing the controversial helmet law in El Cerrito, CA.

In El Cerrito, the ordinance was never posted, never published and no one knew of its existence until the police dept. went on an "enforcement campaign" and started ticketing bicyclists left and right. One of them decided to fight. Rahman Gramly took his case, took it to trial and received a not guilty verdict. It was not a big case but the principle was important to our client.

Watch him discuss tonight on the KRON 4 six o'clock news.

Cheers!

Transit Cuts

Transit seemed like it might be getting a fair shake via state stimulus funds. Turns out many transit agencies across the country are cutting funding and raising fares.
Streetsblog reports that Illinois is facing the loss of $1 billion of stimulus funds devoted to transit projects and planning as a stop loss measure due to increasing budget woes. Even though transit ridership has increased over 9% in the last five years highway development and improvement projects are given a green light. Meanwhile AC Transit is cutting service by %15, Muni is facing a loss of $61 million over the next tow years and the state as a whole cut transit funding by $536 million.

We'll see what happens. Let's hop on bikes and hope for the best!

Bicycle Helmet Laws in El Cerrito, CA

Matthew Gramly, a partner at Rahman Gramly LLP recently fought and won a case concerning El Cerrito bicycle helmet laws. Check out the press release below.
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April 8, 2009

Press Release

Bet You Did Not Know that El Cerrito has a Helmet Law for ALL Bicyclists?

On the morning of November 5, 2008 Michael Schaller, a Berkeley resident, boarded BART with his bicycle and rode to the El Cerrito station. As he had done each day for the past year, Mr. Schaller, exited the train in El Cerrito with his bike to cycle the short distance to his office. As he rode his bicycle (in a striped bicycle lane) an El Cerrito motorcycle police officer stepped in front of him and asked, “Where is your helmet?” Mr. Schaller, who was aware that the California Vehicle Code only requires that helmets be worn by cyclists who are under 18 years old, was surprised at being stopped. As it happens, the El Cerrito Police Department was in the middle of a two-day “enforcement campaign” in the area of the BART station, the sole purpose of which was to cite bicyclists not wearing helmets.

Mr. Schaller was issued a citation for violating El Cerrito Municipal Ordinance Section 11.64.100 (c), which reads, “It is unlawful to ride a bicycle as an operator or passenger without wearing a safety helmet.” The citation carried a fine of $127. Mr. Schaller, who prior to receiving his citation had been unaware of the helmet-related ordinance, chose to fight this citation and hired the San Francisco law firm of Rahman Gramly LLP to represent him.

Matthew Gramly, a partner with the firm of Rahman Gramly LLP, represented Mr. Schaller at the March 24, 2009 hearing in the Superior Court of Contra Costa County. Mr. Gramly argued that the City failed to post any notice about their helmet law, as required by El Cerrito’s Municipal Code Section 1.10.010, the citation should be dismissed. Mr. Gramly also argued that as the California Vehicle Code is at odds with the City’s helmet law, the California law should pre-empt the local ordinance.

The police officer who issued the citation testified that despite many years as an officer, he could not recall ever having issued another citation under El Cerrito’s helmet law.

After taking the matter under submission, on March 26, 2009, the Court determined that Mr. Schaller was not guilty and the citation was dismissed. Mr. Schaller and his attorneys were pleased with the result, however, Mr. Gramly noted “My partner and I represent many cyclists and as a result of the often devastating injuries we see, we encourage all of our clients to wear protective gear, including helmets. The issue for Mr. Schaller was one of fundamental fairness.”

Be warned. El Cerrito has a helmet law and they are enforcing it.