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What Is The Coexist Campaign?
The Coexist Campaign is a citywide effort to encourage greater respect between bicyclists and motorists, hopefully resulting in safer roads for all users.

Why Is This An Issue?
With more traffic congestion on city streets and more people turning to bicycling as a transportation alternative, we need to make sure all road users understand safe and proper road behavior -- particularly how motorists and bicyclists should legally and safely share the road.

How Do You Expect A Campaign Like This To Change People's Behavior?
We expect to start a dialogue between motorists and bicyclists about their interactions on the streets. Too often, we stereotype a group of road users based just on one or two isolated experiences. This campaign will remind us that the vast majority of people -- whether driving or riding bikes -- want to do the right thing, to share the road, and to just get along. By starting a public dialogue about co-existing on the streets, we hope more people will show a little more patience and a little more civility on the road.

Who Is Behind This Campaign?
The San Francisco Department of Parking & Traffic and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition are working together to educate motorists and cyclists about proper coexistence on our crowded streets. Both organizations are promoting safer, more livable streets for all road users.

What Does The Campaign Consist Of?Motorists Use the Oncoming Traffic Lane to Cautiously Pass Bikes
Coexist campaign material will be distributed throughout the city, including: Muni bus posters, transit shelter ads, and several hundred permanent signs communicating the California Vehicle Code section that states that bicycles are allowed use of the full lane (CVC 21202). Many drivers do not realize that cyclists are permitted to "take the lane" when necessary to avoid conditions that make it unsafe to continue along the curb.

What Is The Message?
Increased competition for space on the streets can sometimes make moving around San Francisco a less-than-pleasant, even intimidating experience.

With an increasing number of people using bicycles for transportation in San Francisco (1 in 25 adults, according to David Binder Research Poll, 1998), there is an increased need to accommodate bicyclists and motorists on shared streets.

 

Current Campaigns, Fall 2007

In late summer, 2007, the MTA Bicycle Program began an intensive outreach program consisting of two bicycle safety campaigns, with two more to follow in Spring, 2008. The first campaign intended to inform both cyclists and drivers of large vehicles of ways to safely share street space, and the second campaign appeared in the weeks before the daylight savings time change to remind cyclists to install and use headlights and rear lights on their bicycles to improve visibility and safety. These campaign images appeared on MUNI buses and billboards. The bicycle light campaign also included a bicycle light giveaway. Cyclists without lights were asked whether they would like to receive headlights and/or rear lights, and if they agreed, lights were installed on their bicycles.


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bike light night campaign

 

 

Please Don't Squeeze (cyclists when passing) & Ride Outside (the door zone): By making more safe space for bicyclists -- specifically by leaving at least three feet of space when passing bikes in a car, and by checking side mirrors for bikes before opening our car doors -- we're helping everyone, because more people on bikes means more available parking spaces for those who need them, more room on the buses, less traffic congestion, and improved air quality. We all win when more people choose to bike, so we all need to do our part to make the streets safer for people biking.

Bicyclists are often perceived as perpetual law breakers, but most bicyclists obey the law, just like most car drivers obey the law. But there are problem people within both groups, of course, who don't obey the law. But for the most part, people out there biking and driving are doing it safely and respectfully and they deserve safe conditions and respect in return. It's time to drop stereotypes and focus on being civil and respectful for everyone's sake.

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