Another Critical Mass for San Francisco?
According to SFist, the bike people are launching another version of Critical Mass this Friday. It will snarl traffic on the first Friday of the month, joining the regular Critical Mass that snarls traffic on the last Friday of the month. The bike people will now be snarling traffic twice a month instead of once a month. They're calling the new version the San Francisco Bike Party. It starts 8:00 o'clock Friday night at AT&T Park and ends up at the Civic Center.
Like Critical Mass, the Bike Party is organized anonymously, so it has no permit, and no one is responsible. The organizers encourage participants to stay in the right lane and stop at red lights: "We need to show drivers and fellow riders how to share the road by stopping at red lights. It Gives More Time to Party! While stopping at a light, say hello to your neighbors, make a friend, and dance on the street! There is no reason to be in such a rush when it just means more time to party."
What could go wrong with that?
Labels: Critical Mass
posted by Rob Anderson @ 3:02 PM
26 comments
26 Comments:
It should take laps around your block!
Thanks, Rob, for pointing out that this thing is just another Critical Mass-type event. Who cares if they stop for red lights? They are still claiming the right to use public streets as a location to socialize and hang out. Meanwhile, hardworking Americans who just want to get home or get to their dinner reservation will just have to wait, while these partiers have a good time at our expense. Cops won't do anything, because they Bike Coalition has them under their thumb.
It's City Hall---both the mayor and the board of supervisors---that the Bicycle Coaltion has "under their thumb," since that interest group is getting everything it wants, including lucrative city contracts. Until recently, the SFBC listed Critical Mass on its online calendar.
The city cops on overtime---$10,000 a month!---now accompany Critical Mass after the violence several years ago. It was a political decision supported by Mayor Newsom, who placates the bike people, though they've always had contempt for him. But he was probably right in his political calculation; by giving them everything they want, he at least kept the Bicycle Coalition from opposing him for re-election in 2007.
So the politicians get SFBC support, the cops get some overtime, and the bike people get to show us again how adorable they are.
The losers: everyone else who uses city streets, and city taxpayers, who will pay for the inevitable police presence at the Bike Party, to protect the public from the bike people and protect the bike people from being attacked by irate motorists.
Those people are losers - critical mass or no.
This starts at 8pm. It won't have snarl up traffic for "hard working" folks. They'll all be home watching American Idol by then.
Right. If they were cool and thus worth your consideration, they would be joining you groovy folks Friday night.
Yes, I got your contempt for working people. No one will be on the streets when you jerks are "partying," because they will all be home watching TV. And of course all participants will stop at stop signs and stay in the right lane.
Your comparison was to critical mass and that it will snarl up traffic. It will not since this is much later and after rush hour.
And the participants will do whatever it is they want to do, just like people who drive. Surely you don't believe that all drivers drive the speed limit and fully stop at all stops signs as well. You are chasing your own tail. Once again, to bitch just for the sake of bitching.
Every day I see bicyclists blow through stop signs, and even red traffic lights, without even slowing down. I have seen cars do that maybe twice in my whole life.
Yes, some drivers don't always stop completely, 100%, at stop signs. They may slow down to 1 mph and all-but-stop. Technically illegal, but not particularly dangerous. I'd be overjoyed if all of the cyclists would do the same.
You folks that can't see any difference between a car that rolls through a stop sign at 1 mph or less, and a cyclist who blows through at 20 mph, need to have your heads examined.
Don't worry, John Boehner is on the case to start the war on the bicycle.
Every day I see bicyclists blow through stop signs, and even red traffic lights, without even slowing down. I have seen cars do that maybe twice in my whole life
- Liar
This sounds like something cooked up by that yo-yo Sawser who started the "SF Party Party". He wants to get a bunch of cyclists to converge at Civic Center and then coerce them: "Hey now let's all ride over the nearby hip new Buck Tavern [neglecting to mention he's a partner] and buy a few beverages!"
And the cyclist will be dumb enough to fall for such a transparent ploy.
Anon @ 11:03, if this is true, please take a day a photograph/tape this happening. Just you saying it on a blog for anti-bike zealots does nothing but make you an asshole - to quote the great Rob Anderson.
Howard Dean gave a great talk today.
His discussion exactly parallels what we have here - grumpy old (or old at heart) people like Rob Anderson and Kim Kubik and Doug Shoemaker - who can't stand the fact that "Their City" (capitalized of course) is changing underneath them. They use the Examiner as best they can and leverage older grumpier officials like Gascon who are, like them, the last vestiges of what is going away.
Those young white people will grow up to be older white people but they will not grow up to be Kim Kubik. And there will be fewer and fewer Doug Shoemakers coming along.
Last gasp Rob, last gasp.
Dean's speech was about national politics, and this blog focuses on local politics and issues. Trying to link me with the Tea Party also misses the mark, since I'm a Democrat and a big Obama supporter, unlike our local left, which was disappointed when it learned that Obama is not a Bay Guardian-type progressive.
I argue that in reality the city's radical left is the local equivalent to the Tea Party, since it's an extreme minority even here in San Francisco.
The problem SF progressives have is that their positions on the issues are not popular with a majority of city voters---legalizing prostitution, public power, dumping JROTC from city schools, opposition to the Sit-Lie ordinance, their tolerance for graffiti/tagging and Critical Mass---all make it hard for city progs to win citywide office. That's why city progs couldn't find a plausible candidate to oppose Mayor Newsom in 2007.
That's also why city progs are so upset about not being able to appoint one of theirs as an interim mayor: they know that that was their only chance to get a progressive mayor in SF.
Oh lookee... another parklet!
Times are changing
I argue that in reality the city's radical left is the local equivalent to the Tea Party, since it's an extreme minority
--> How did an "extreme minority" get control of the Board of Supervisors?
Surely you'll blame district elections - but note that Matt Gonzales came *that* close to beating Newsom.
Yes, of course only district elections allow the election of Chris Daly and Ross Mirkarimi, to name a few obvious examples. Neither of these uber-progs could win a citywide election, which is why neither of them challenged Newsom in 2007.
Matt Gonzalez's 2003 campaign was the high-water mark for city progs and is unlikely to ever be reached again. Gonzalez himself has created more political baggage for himself than he had in 2003---allowing a graffiti "artist" to deface the walls of his office in City Hall, for example---and will never be a serious citywide candidate again.
It is as if bicyclists think they can just get together and ride around!
Don't go outside at 8pm tonight, you might see a bike!!!
The bike party just woke up my sleeping baby by blasting music on a residential street at 9:45pm. Why is that a beneficial thing for the San Francisco community?
9:45 PM, in San Francisco, and there is noise? No way!
I missed the news on Friday, did the world end??
I guess we are all still here. Shoot, stupid bike nuts didn't bring the end times as predicted. Maybe the next bike centered event...
Critical Mass is what slows Muni, right?
This happens on a daily basis, critical mass is once a month. Which is worse?
That's an interesting link, I don't ever hear you complain about cars blocking Muni. Hm.
Post a Comment
<< Home