Hello From New BikeSD Director John Anderson

Hi, my name is John Anderson and I’m happy to be writing to you today to introduce myself as the new Interim Executive Director of Bike San Diego (BikeSD).  I’ve been a board member of BikeSD for a couple of years and am now stepping into the Executive Director role previously held by Sam Ollinger.  Sam has led BikeSD since it was formed five years ago (and even before then, when it was first born as a website).  Her efforts with BikeSD have clearly moved the conversation about bicycling and biking infrastructure in San Diego and I thank her for all the work and passion she has given to BikeSD.  Thanks to work done in the past, there is progress on new bike lanes around town, increased attention to better policies and more funding for bike projects from elected officials and civic employees, and there is momentum toward better on-the-ground infrastructure.  However, much of this progress is slow, start and stop, or at risk of being walked back.  It takes consistent attention and pressure to ensure that projects move forward and the ideas (many of them good or even great) come to fruition and don’t remain on paper alone.

That is the role that BikeSD plays.  We are present at public meetings, meeting with city staff and decision makers, and engaging with local media to push projects forward, question delays, and highlight examples of peer cities executing on transformational projects.  If Chicago can add “108 miles of new protected bike lanes” San Diego can as well and we should expect no less than benchmarking to world leading cities.  Along with other local organizations like Circulate San Diego, the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and many others Bike San Diego is working everyday to push forward on making this a great place to live and biking is a big part of that.

Many of you reading this have been supporters of BikeSD for a long time – thank you!  Whether you are a member that attends every event, an occasional speaker at public hearings, or a person that simply enjoys biking around town and enjoying our beautiful city you are the real power of this organization.  Every additional voice amplifies the ability of BikeSD to push forward on our mission to “establish San Diego as a world-class bicycling city and create a more livable urban community by promoting everyday riding and advocating for bicycling infrastructure”.

We will also be celebrating the organization’s 5th anniversary on Tuesday, December 5, from 6 to 9 PM at North Park Beer Company and I hope you will join us for an evening of celebration and community.  We will have a short program at 7 PM to thank Sam for her many years of dedicated service as well as sharing thoughts from the board for the coming year.  Please RSVP here and share with others.

If you’re not already a BikeSD member I hope you will join us.  If you are already a member thank you, thank you, thank you.

I look forward to helping BikeSD continue the good work it has been doing, and to increase the size of our member base. I’ll be reaching out soon to all of our members and you can always reach out to us (whether a member, supporter, critic, or observer) at talk@bikesd.org.  You can reach me directly at director@bikesd.org.

Building a better place for biking matters to me for a wide variety of reasons.  I care about biking in San Diego to:

  • Improve our air quality and general environmental health
  • Improve our civic budgets by embracing low-cost, high-return transportation options
  • Increase personal economic options by giving San Diegans fun, safe, reliable biking choices wherever they live in the city
  • Promoting better overall personal health by embracing healthy, active transportation
  • Reduce road injuries and fatalities
  • Enjoy a quieter, more peaceful, more beautiful urban environment
  • Have fun with friends and family in our great city
  • So many more reasons

Whatever reasons you have for supporting biking in San Diego I hope that you will join BikeSD and help to make this a better place to live.  A better place for biking means better health outcomes for our children,  cleaner air, more and better economic options at the personal and governmental levels, and so much more. In short, it means a better quality of life for all San Diegans.  That’s a goal and a future worth working hard for.

Thank you and bike happy,

John Anderson

director@bikesd.org