Last week, along a popular San Francisco bike route, a group of protestors took to their bikes to advocate for new laws, such as the Idaho Stop, that make it easier to bike in the city.
"Hundreds of cyclists rode through The Wiggle [July 29] in protest of a San Francisco police captain's calls for a crackdown on bikers coasting through stop signs," reports Kevin Montgomery. "But instead of breaking the law, protesters wanted to show the city just how bad traffic would be if every bicycle approached intersections just as a car does."
"Riders arrived at every stop sign in a single file, coming to a complete stop and filing through the intersection only once they were given the right-of-way. The law-abiding act of civil disobedience snarled traffic almost immediately," adds Montgomery.
The riders undertook the protest to raise the idea of legalizing the "Idaho Stop," which, legal in a few places around the country, allows bikers to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs. The protest also called attention to remarks made by SFPD Park Station Captain John Sanford, who recently ordered his officers to step-up enforcement of biking scofflaws.
FULL STORY: This Is What Happened When Bicyclists Obeyed Traffic Laws Along The Wiggle Yesterday
As San Francisco Debates Idaho Stop, Gov. Brown Gives All Cyclists a Break
Regardless of how San Francisco's proposed Bike Yield Law fares, all California cyclists who are ticketed for not stopping at stop signs may have the option to pay a reduced fine if they opt to attend bike school thanks to a new law signed Sept. 21.
D.C. Could Legalize ‘Idaho Stop,’ Ban Right Turns on Red
Proposed legislation would allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and eliminate right turns on red in an effort to reduce cyclist and pedestrian fatalities.
Starting Today: The Idaho Stop Is Legal in Washington State
A law passed in March allowing people on bikes to treat stop signs as yield signs when conditions permit takes effect today in Washington State.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.
Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.
Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service