This month's Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association (HVNA) meeting will incorporate a number of resources for neighborhood residents who ride bikes—be it for commuting, fun or sport. The goal of the presentation is to encourage biking, while also educating residents about safety practices.
In attendance at the meeting will be representatives from two bike retailers: Electric Bicycle Superstore and Public Bikes (which has a Hayes Valley shop). San Francisco Police Department and SF SAFE representatives will be on hand to discuss best practices for biking safely and keeping your bike secure when locked up. Robin Levitt, a neighborhood resident active with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, will also be speaking.
"HVNA tries to make each neighborhood meeting helpful to our neighbors in Hayes Valley," HVNA vice president Gail Baugh told us. "As Hayes Valley continues to become more densely populated, with new developments being built on and near the freeway parcels, it's important for neighbors to know that HVNA supports alternatives to car storage (parking) and sharing the streets with pedestrians and cyclists. City streets are not [a] domain for cars only."
Hayes Valley contains numerous intersections that have been hazardous to cyclists in the past. According to a map released earlier this year by Vision Zero, Octavia between Fell and Market streets sees a large number of bicycle collisions each year. Severe injuries have also occurred at Octavia & Page and Octavia & Market. Earlier this year, a cyclist was severely injured after colliding with a car on Gough Street.
Theft is also an issue. A map of where in the city one's bicycle is most likely to get stolen, created by Seismograph, shows a large number of bike thefts having taken place in the neighborhood since 2013.
Biking won't be the only item on the agenda at tomorrow's HVNA meeting. District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell will be speaking about a piece of legislation he's pushing to fund San Francisco Recreation and Parks more permanently. This would include Patricia's Green, and could affect the future of the drought-laden park.
This month's HVNA meeting will take place at 7pm on Thursday, July 23rd at the Hayes Valley Playground Clubhouse, located at Buchanan and Hayes streets.
Looking ahead, mark your calendars for a public safety hearing about car break-ins, to be held at the Korean American Cultural Center on Monday, August 3rd at 7pm. On Saturday, August 8th, a community health fair will be held from 10am-2pm at the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center.
