“Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry, when I take you out in the surrey, when I take you out in the surrey with the fringe on top.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss1CXo8QMi8
Not many people can say they’ve ridden a surrey through Golden Gate Park with the mayor of San Francisco, but I now can. You can go ahead and cross that off my bucket list.
Park visitors yearning to ride through our city parks in equal style now have a new option in ParkWide Bike Rentals, which officially rolled out in our parks on October 11.
ParkWide is a new park amenity that allows visitors the opportunity to rent a bike (or surrey) at one city park and ride to others where they can easily and conveniently drop it off. By the end of the year, ParkWide will have rental stations at Justin Herman Plaza, Union Square, Marina Green and two locations in Golden Gate Park—behind the Bandshell and along Tea Garden Drive in the Music Concourse area.
This new partnership is a win all the way around. ParkWide not only makes it easier for residents and visitors to get out, bike and see our world-class park system, but our agreement with ParkWide Bike Rentals will bring in more than $1 million to support department operations over the next five years.
I want to thank all of the folks who’ve supported this effort and worked to make it possible, including Mayor Ed Lee; the Board of Supervisors, including District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar; the Recreation and Park Commission; the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, led by director Leah Shahum; and ParkWide Bike Rentals, including owners Jeanne and Luis Orellana, Darryll White and Jeff Sears
In particular, I’d like to acknowledge Rec and Park’s Partnerships and Resource Development team, which has been doing a tremendous job over the past two years of not only identifying opportunities that creatively support the Department in times of need but doing it thoughtfully and strategically so that we are providing the type of enhanced park experience people are looking for.
Of course, all of this falls in line with the city’s goal of making our communities and places like Golden Gate Park and the Academy of Sciences more bike-friendly and easier to visit for parents, families and residents.
One of the biggest proponents of our city’s biking initiatives has been Mayor Lee, who has a couple of exciting new bike-related projects on the horizon—a dedicated bike lane along JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park, and a citywide bike share program that will roll out next spring.
Get out and bike!
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