"I am proud that San Francisco continues to be a leader in promoting bicycling as a healthy and an environmentally sustainable transportation alternative," said Mayor Gavin Newsom in a prepared statement.
The SFMTA has monitored the number of cyclists versus drivers on Bike to Work Day for the past two years. On this year's Bike to Work Day on May 13, bikes accounted for 75 percent of the total vehicles headed eastbound on Market Street, whereas last year it was 66 percent.
"Thanks to the new separated bike lanes on Market Street, people are riding their bikes to work and to shop downtown in record numbers," said Renee Rivera, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
Last November, the Superior Court modified a 2006 injunction on the city's Bike Plan, an official plan to make San Francisco more bike-friendly, allowing for a limited number of bike lane projects and other improvements.
Since then, the SFMTA has completed nine new bike lane projects, installed 1,600 shared roadway markings, installed 402 sidewalk bike racks and five on-street "bike corrals" and created a green bikeway on Market Street fully separated from vehicle traffic, according to the SFMTA.
On July 1, the agency's bike program staff found that bicycles made up about 61 percent of all eastbound traffic, compared to 54 percent at the same time last year.
"Everyday bicycling is what our Bike Program staff are striving to improve," said Nathaniel Ford, SFMTA executive director.
