San Francisco Ponders: Could Bike Lanes Cause Pollution?

Blame Rob Anderson. At a time when most other cities are encouraging biking as green transport, the 65-year-old local gadfly has stymied cycling-support efforts here by arguing that urban bicycle boosting could actually be bad for the environment. That's put the brakes on everything from new bike lanes to bike racks while the city works on an environmental-impact report.

Cars always will vastly outnumber bikes, he reasons, so allotting more street space to cyclists could cause more traffic jams, more idling and more pollution. Mr. Anderson says the city has been blinded by political correctness. It's an "attempt by the anti-car fanatics to screw up our traffic on behalf of the bicycle fantasy," he wrote in his blog this month.

Unveiled in 2004, the 527-page [bike plan] was filled with maps, traffic analyses and a list of roughly 240 locations where the city hoped to make cycling easier. The plan called for more bike lanes, better bike parking and a boost in cycling to 10% of the city's total trips by 2010.

The plan irked Mr. Anderson. Having not owned a car in 20 years, he says he has had several near misses with bikers roaring through crosswalks and red lights, and sees bicycles as dangerous and impractical for car-centric American cities. Mr. Anderson was also bugged by what he describes as the holier-than-thou attitude typified by Critical Mass, a monthly gathering of bikers who coast through the city, snarling traffic for hours. "The behavior of the bike people on city streets is always annoying," he says. "This 'Get out of my way, I'm not burning fossil fuels.' "

Environmentalism, and liberalism in general, is often about adherents feeling better about themselves, the consequences be damned.

Anderson's blog at http://district5diary.blogspot.com/ is funny. Below is an excerpt of the Aug 19 2008 entry.

The oppressed women of San Francisco

San Francisco Women’s Political Committee (SFWPC) November 2008 General Election Candidate Questionnaire

Directions: Please complete all sections of this questionnaire, include attachments if necessary, and return it by August 20th at 5:00 p.m. to Frances Hsieh, SFWPC Endorsements Chair, at f.hsieh@yahoo.com.

Candidate Name: Rob Anderson Telephone: Office Sought: District 5 Supervisor Political ID #: Am I supposed to have a number? Campaign Manager's Name: Telephone: Campaign Address: Email: rmajora@comcast.net Website: http://district5diary.blogspot.com/

PART I A. ELECTION AND ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN

1. Q. How will you promote the election and advancement of women in local, state and federal elections? Describe specific examples. A. Are you implying that women in SF are an oppressed group? I don't believe it, and I have no intention of doing anything to promote women just because they are women.

2. Q. How will you support the appointment of women to the City’s commissions and boards? A. I won't support anyone just because she's a woman, or black, or gay, etc. For me politics in SF is about policy, not identity.

4. Q. What have you done in the past to promote the election and advancement of women in local, state and federal elections, and/or the appointment of women to the City’s commissions and boards? A. Nothing

1. Q. What are two or three of the major issues that need to be addressed to make San Francisco’s communities safer and more livable? A. We need to begin to deal with what I call the Punks with Guns issue by aggressively confronting the toxic rap/hip-hop culture many young black and Hispanic men grow up with that encourages misogyny, homophobia, and violence.

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