By Steven T. Jones

For pro-bicycle activists, Bike to Work Day on May 15 is like a glimpse into a utopian future, one in which pedaling commuters outnumber those in cars.

"If you stand on Market Street during the morning commute, you see waves of bicylists ride past you. It's like Critical Mass all morning," said John Hart, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's program director. "It's a vision of leaving your car at home, a vision of a street full of bikes, that's a big part of this."

That vision will get a boost this year when the city adopts an ambitious update to the San Francisco Bike Plan, calling for up to 20 new bike projects, even as the budget axe is poised to fall hard on the program. Yet for right now, for at least one day, bikes will rule the road.

"It's a way to get people to try it and to support those who already bike commute," Hart said. "If you bicycle, it'll improve your health, and if more people do it, it'll reduce air pollution, corporate profits, and dependence on foreign oil."

Also pushing bike use this year has been a series of workshops designed to gather input for the first update to the city's 1997 Bike Plan. While the original plan was a general statement of goals, the update will include specific projects that could be in place starting as soon as next summer.

"Promotional campaigns are great," said Mary Brown, the SFBC's bicycle network director, "but we do need to get safe places on the streets for people to ride."

One study by the city's Department of Parking and Traffic found that the number of people bicycling increased by 50 percent when bike lanes were added. The study also showed that when dangerous Valencia Street was striped with bike lanes a few years ago, bike use on that street increased by 144 percent.

Certain segments of the population can be especially enticed by bike lanes to abandon their cars. Pollster David Binder surveyed random women in 2002 and found that 80 percent don't feel safe sharing lanes with cars and that 63 percent would consider riding a bike if there were bike lanes in their neighborhoods.

Brown said that in the past, it's sometimes taken years of work and activism to create a single bike lane, such as the one on Polk Street. "And now we're getting 20 projects all in one year," she said. "By [Bike to Work Day] next year, it will hugely boost the number of bikes on the streets."

The city's bike program director, Peter Tannen, said consultants are currently incorporating the workshop input into a plan that should be presented for approval to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors by the end of the year.

"The goal is 20 projects, but we're currently prioritizing projects to see which ones rank the highest," Tannen said, adding that projects will likely be bundled together as they are placed in the pipeline for outside transportation funding.

But there is a budget-related reason to temper hopes of major improvements in the bike system by next year. Two of the four staffers that work in the city's bike program are on the budget chopping block based on when they were hired. The positions will remain on the books but could stay unfilled if the city's hiring freeze continues.

"If the bike program is cut in half, it's going to be harder to get things done," Tannen said. "It adds more uncertainty."

Bike to Work Day, Thurs/15, features "energizer stations" around town with free coffee, treats, and encouragement 7:30-9:30 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. A list of energizer station locations and other information can be found at www.sfbike.org. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition sponsors a Bike away from Work party with live music and drink specials 6-9 p.m., 26 Mix, 3024 Mission, S.F. $5, free for SFBC members. (415) 826-7378.

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