Mayor Lee made no friends among cyclists who have agitated for rolling "Idaho stops" at clear intersections when he promised to veto the likely passage of legislation that would make enforcement of full stops by cyclists SFPD's lowest priority. “I’m not willing to trade away safety for convenience," he was quoted as saying.
But the Board of Supervisors could still override a veto in a vote tomorrow, as the Chronicle picks up the story.
The SFPD crackdown on cyclists along the Wiggle bike route, which sparked the debate in the first place, has also resumed in past weeks. "The only thing the renewed crackdown is going to achieve is potentially swaying the final votes needed to over-ride Mayor Lee's threatened veto on the Bike Yield Law," predicted Morgan Fitzgibbons who formed the cyclist advocacy group the Wigg Party. Since then, Hoodline reports that the community activist has fled San Francisco for Ohio.
Spokesperson Chris Cassidy says that the ordinance is the most popular campaign in the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's 40-year history. While Supervisors Avalos, Wiener, Breed, Eric Mar, Campos, and Kim have lent their support, Cohen, Yee, and Tang are expected "no" votes, leaving Aaron Peskin and Mark Farrell the undecideds.
Peskin, who joined the board last week, doesn't consider the measure to be a top priority. “I’m focused on writing a resolution to extend rent control,” he said. “That’s what I’m thinking about.”
Previously: Crackdown On Wiggle Cyclists Resumes