I'm feeling frustrated that taking a bikeride in the late afternoon in SF Westside leaves me more stressed. And sad that we're talking about taking away rather than adding #SlowStreets.
We have @JFKPromenade and @GreatWalkway -- for now -- but that still requires me to bike through the gauntlet of angry cars in OMI, Sunset, and Forest Hill to get there.
I go out of my way to pick the least trafficked streets possible -- 8th instead of 7th, Holloway instead of east Ocean, western Ocean & Vicente instead of Sloat -- but that didn't prevent me from being punish-passed on 6th Ave for trying to bike outside of the door zone.
I hope that the raging drivers are in the minority and the voters will support #YesOnJ, #YesOnL, and #NoOnI, and send a message to our elected officials that #SlowStreets are popular.
That would counter the @SFEnvironment climate plan of reducing SF's transportation emissions from 2.5 to 1.2 million tons, primarily by getting people out of cars. sfenvironment.org/sites/default/…
Seems like a good time to help people in the PNW replace gas furnaces with heat pumps that reduce carbon pollution and provide air conditioning. /1 #electrificiationnytimes.com/2021/06/27/us/…
Meanwhile, @yoohyun_jung reports on a very sharp SF increase in AC adoption, more than 11 percentage points in 4 years. sfchronicle.com/local/article/…
We have to make sure the news characterizes this as not only a climate threat but an opportunity. /2
In 2019 our report with @ethree_inc showed that the biggest predictor of cost-effective CA building electrification was existing or planned central AC. And our data implies new AC adoption would be swamped by the climate benefits of eliminating gas. ethree.com/e3-quantifies-… /3
I also have a story like @MayUseFullLane, from Dec 30, 2011. I had a concussion from an avoidable bike crash that caused long-lasting symptoms.
Here is a 🧵.
A favorite memory of Berkeley grad school is biking in the hills for exercise, which I did several times per week. I preferred to meander the steep, winding roads, in neighborhoods I now recognize as having exclusionary zoning: and this afforded safe, scenic streets for some.
In South Berkeley my favorite rides required just 1 unsafe crossing at Alvarado and Tunnel. In 2004 I emailed @CityofBerkeley asking for a crosswalk or a light and they said they were "looking into it." 7 yr later it had still not arrived.