I regret not joining Nick and the Bicycle Coalition at last week’s meeting regarding Market St. bike lanes. Here’s a short response to Nick’s summary of the meeting.

Pedestrian and bike traffic is a good bet for the immediate and future growth of retail businesses.

It’s that simple. Parking spaces are relatively finite commodities these days (and allotted much more than their fair share of the public landscape). Therefore, the growth in parking spaces will not keep pace with the growth of the SF’s population or the economy. In other words, the parking situation is not going to get any better.

Let’s use my neighborhood as an example: assume that car people will only put up with so many hours circling to find a parking spot. Laziness is intense, convenience is king, and people resist change. I know. Assume that people start to change their behavior after 1 hour searching per parking experience. Haven’t we nearly hit this point on weekend nights in the Mission?

In such a scenario, growing the number of customers served MUST come from non-car based customers. Mission business owners need to understand this, and fortunately, many do. As Nick mentioned, the bike lanes on Valencia have been a great asset to the local merchants. Bike and foot traffic has increased.

I delivered a similar message to the Lower 24th St. Community Association two years ago. They get it, and they’ve been making efforts to calm traffic on 24th, and create a more pedestrian friendly environment. They’re a great example of an effective and forward thinking community/merchant organization.
Land use policy in the city calls for higher residential density and more jobs. The planners don’t always get what they want, but increased density and economic activity seem like very safe bets. And I don’t mean they’re a safe bet for tomorrow, or for next year. They’re a safe bet NOW due to macro economic and policy level forces that are well beyond the control of local merchants.

Profit minded business owners will identify these macro forces and position themselves to play favorably. When it comes to attracting increasing numbers of customers, the future will increasingly skew away from cars, and toward pedestrians and bicyclists. Successful businesses have already seen the writing on the wall.

My brother Jamie married Michele. They’re very happy. I’m happy for them.

They live next door to me and I’ve been really fortunate to share in their lives. Their wedding was been a big event and a lot of fun. It included a spectacular trip to 29 Palms, and Joshua Tree National Park. The ceremony was in the park. It was special.

Here’s the “Jamie Vs. Michele” flickr photoset. There are other photos of the event available via their blog. Enjoy.