Bike revolution is over in SF---and nationwide

USA Today

From USA Today:

...After rising for several years, the percentage of commuters turning to bikes declined for the third year straight, U.S. Census Bureau figures show.

Nationally, the percentage of people who say they use a bike to get to work fell by 3.2 percent from 2016 to 2017, to an average of 836,569 commuters, according to the bureau's latest American Community Survey, which regularly asks a group of Americans about their habits. That's down from a high of 904,463 in 2014, when it peaked after four straight years of increases.

In some cities, the decline was far more drastic. In Tampa, Florida, and Cleveland, cycling to work dropped by at least 50 percent, although in some cities, cycling to work was up just as dramatically...

Rob's comment:

There has been other evidence recently that the bike revolution has peaked in SF as I pointed out a few months ago (SF's bike revolution is over). Apparently it's a national phenomenon.

The bike movement here peaked with the $26 million Masonic Avenue bike project fiasco (Masonic Avenue bike lanes: Gaudy monument to wishful thinking).

But the fantasy that people will give up their wicked motor vehicles and turn en mass to bicycles will no doubt live on as what Paul Krugman calls a zombie idea: "America’s political landscape is infested with many zombie ideas — beliefs about policy that have been repeatedly refuted with evidence and analysis but refuse to die."

That is, San Francisco will continue to take away traffic lanes and street parking to create bike lanes, making traffic here a lot worse than it has to be in pursuit of what has always been essentially a fantasy.

See also The Percent of Americans Using Ride Hailing Services is Going Up…Fast.

City and County of San Francisco: Some numbers

Howard Epstein's comment to this SF Examiner story:

This comparison of spending by combined cities and counties originally appeared in the Nov. 2018 SFGOP Newsletter.

San Francisco’s budget grows and grows every year. The budget passed by the mayor and the supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco for 2018-2019 is $11.1 BILLION. That’s a 9.3% increase over the previous budget. Over the last 12 months, the Bay Area CPI increased 4.3%. The estimated 2017 population, the latest available, is 884,363 This means that San Francisco will spend about $12,500 per resident this budget year. 

When asked why the budget is so high, The City officials always say it’s because we are a combined city and county, have an international airport and a seaport. 

But San Francisco isn’t the only combined city and county in the USA. Below are a few examples of other US combined cities and counties for comparison. You be the judge.

Philadelphia, PA is also a combined city and county with an international airport and a seaport. Their 2018 budget is $4.7 billion. Philly’s population in 2017 was 1,580,863. They will spend about $1000.00 per resident.

Indianapolis/Marion County, IN is another combined city and county with an international airport and a seaport. Their budget is $1.1 billion. Their 2017 population is 863,002. They will spend about $130.00 per resident this year.

Nashville/Davidson, TN is yet another combined city and county with an international airport and a river port. Their budget is $2.23 billion. Their population as of 2017 is 684,410. Their spending per resident is about $3260.

Kansas City/Wyandotte County, KS yet another combined city and county with an international airport and a river port. Their proposed 2019 budget is $359 million. Their 2017 population is 165,288. They will spend an estimated $2170 per resident.

Rob's comment:

As of 2017 San Francisco also had 40,247 employees.

Monte Wolverton

Mother Jones

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