At a news conference outside the city hall, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s famous hair was tucked away under a baseball cap and City Attorney Dennis Herrera sported shorts as city officials joined bike advocates Thursday morning to celebrate Bike to Work Day. Compared to last year , this bike to work day saw 33 percent increase in the number of cyclists who came to “;energizing stations” where San Francisco Bicycle Coalition volunteers handed out snacks and reusable tote bags.

Renee Rivera, the coalition’s executive director, said this morning “There's just nothing like riding on a clearly defined, safe space for bikes on Market Street. If we have seen a 53 percent increase over these past few years with relatively few improvements, imagine what we're going to see with all the new bike lane projects going in over the next year, We're really seeing in the whole city a new spirit of excitement, experimentation and innovation, we're not the only advocates in town anymore, and that really gives us something to celebrate”.

It may be noted that new projects on the city’s bike network began again in recent months after a four year injunction was partially lifted in November. The Planning Commission of the city did approve the environmental report in June; however its adequacy was challenged by the opposition groups. City Attorney Herrera said this morning “Just imagine how great it's going to be when the injunction is finally lifted, There's going to be nothing that stops the effort in making San Francisco not just the most bike friendly city in the United States, but in the entire world”. A new separated and green painted bike lane was installed over the weekend between Eighth and Gough Streets, which was one of the big changes, was on Market Street.