San Francisco Electric Bicycle Meetup Group

“Ghosts of Transit Past bicycle tour with Shaping San Francisco”

Join us for the Group Kick Off Bicycle Tour - Shaping San Francisco, in collaboration with the SFBC and The New Wheel. We are excited to offer a Transit History bicycle tour that will take you on a journey through the city’s rich transportation heritage.

Stage 1: Mission and Valencia—Streetcars, Rail Rights-of-Way, and Bike Advocacy

Meetup Start at: Old Valencia Car Barn - Today’s Present Location of Duncan Street, Tiffany & Valencia Street
Introduce the route with Valencia Street’s Irish carmen, early streetcar operations, and the later emergence of Valencia bike-lane advocacy.
Juri Commons between Guerrero and San Jose: Connect the corridor’s rail legacy to the visible remains and reused spaces along the former right-of-way.
· Mini-Stop: Rosamunde Sausage on the railroad right-of-way.
BART Plaza Mural at 24th Street: Use the mural as a visual anchor for discussing neighborhood identity, transit access, and the Mission’s layered transportation history.
· Mini-Stop: The New Wheel on Valencia.
Transition: From the Mission, the route moves north toward Market Street, shifting from neighborhood rail traces to citywide streetcar, bike, and advocacy networks.

Stage 2: Market and Duboce—Streetcar Heritage, Bikeways, and Advocacy
Market Street Railway Mural: Discuss “Roar of the Four,” historic streetcars, and Market Street’s role as a transportation spine.
Duboce Bikeway Mural: Highlight how bicycle infrastructure became part of the city’s transportation story alongside rail and streetcar systems.
Hub Neighborhood at Valencia and Market: Frame the intersection as a transfer point where streetcar history, bicycle advocacy, and urban redevelopment overlap.
· Mini-Stop: San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
Transition: The route then turns toward Hayes Valley, where the story shifts from transit corridors to freeway removal and public-space transformation.

Stage 3: Hayes Valley and Civic Center & Freeway Revolt and Reclaimed Public Space
Octavia and Hayes / Patricia’s Green: Explain the freeway on/off-ramp removal, the Freeway Revolt, and how transportation decisions reshaped the neighborhood fabric.
· Mini-Stop: Mention the Moving SF exhibition at City Hall while riding along Grove Street.
Transition: Approaching downtown, the route connects older rail systems to today’s regional funding debates and major transit hubs.

Stage 4: Downtown and Union Square—Regional
Transit, Cable Cars, and North–South Renewal
Powell Street Turnaround: Discuss the convergence of BART, Muni, and cable cars, including the November ballot measure to fund Muni and BART.
Union Square T Station: Close with the first Muni streetcar B-line that went out Geary, the east–west transformation created by the Bay Bridge and automotive traffic and tries to rejuvenate a north–south axis through the T-line to Chinatown.

This tour is a wonderful opportunity for bicyclists and history lovers to come together in discovering more about San Francisco’s transit history, from its streetcar and rail legacies to the transportation choices shaping the city today.