With the end of daylight savings time, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) began teaming up to distribute 2,400 front white and rear red blinking lights.
Published: December, 2010
With the end of daylight savings time, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) began teaming up to distribute 2,400 front white and rear red blinking lights. The groups have been taking to the streets during evening commutes at selected locations, and will continue until daylight savings starts again in the spring. The aim of the event is to provide lights to people biking without them, so that they will be more visible to everyone on the road, and to remind everyone to light up when biking at night.
“The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is proud to be a partner in helping promote safe night riding by distributing free bike lights to those who can’t afford or don’t have access to them,” said Renée Rivera, acting executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, an 11,000-member nonprofit that promotes bicycling for everyday transportation. “Bicycle lights are a key item for safe night riding and we want everyone to use them, especially during the winter months when it gets dark earlier.”
Bicycle ridership has surged by more than 53 percent in the last few years, and current bike lane improvements are making the city even more welcoming for new riders. More than 30 miles of bike lanes are being added to streets all across San Francisco and are creating connections that make our city an easier and safer to place to live, shop and do business.
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition aims to make bicycling safer by making riders aware of their legal rights and responsibilities. Bicycle Coalition staff and dozens of volunteers along with SFMTA and SFPD staff will be handing out bike safety tips and reminding riders that California law requires a front white light and rear red reflector or red light when bicycling in the dark.
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition hosts numerous educational events throughout the year, including dozens of free Urban Cycling Workshops (www.sfbike.org/edu). The “Light up the Night” safety campaign is made possible through funding from the SFMTA and volunteer efforts by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
