Golden Gate Park installing Bay Wheels bicycle stations
In a long-anticipated move, Golden Gate Park has introduced bike-share stations for the first time ahead of this weekend’s Outside Lands music festival.
Bay Wheels installed eight stations serving ebikes and classic bikes along prominent routes between the Conservatory of Flowers and Ocean Beach on Monday. These new stations are along John F. Kennedy Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, as well as at popular spots like Spreckels Lake, Stow Lake and Bowling Green Drive.
An additional four stations are expected to be added in the coming weeks.
Bike-sharing programs have been restricted within Golden Gate Park to mitigate competition with on-site rental companies. Bay Wheels riders who ended their rides inside the park would have incurred fines for leaving the bikes there.
The new initiative is the result of a collaborative effort among the mayor’s office, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and Lyft, which operates the bike-sharing program.
“This is a perfectly timed addition for Outside Lands weekend as it will provide festival goers with more options to navigate the park,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement.
Outside Lands is scheduled to take place in the park from Friday to Sunday. The festival’s headliners include veteran rockers Foo Fighters, Pulitzer
“For the first time, visitors can hop on a bike at multiple points in the park and seek out all of its treasures.” Phil Ginsburg, general manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar and the electronic music duo Odesza.
Organizers anticipate more than 75,000 attendees each day.
Public transportation is strongly advised for traveling to the west end of the park, with options including the N-Judah Muni Metro, several bus lines and BART, which offers connections to Muni services. There’s also shuttle service from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, which is located near BART, Muni and Caltrain stops.
Bay Wheels will have a temporary station near the festival entrance at the intersection of John F. Kennedy Drive and Transverse Drive, with valets available from noon to 11 p.m. each day of the festival.
After the festival, the bike-share stations will provide access to destinations like the de Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences and the Conservatory of Flowers, since city supervisors last year decided to keep John F. Kennedy Drive car-free.
“One of the magical things about Golden Gate Park is the sheer amount of history, nature, recreation, art, science and music tucked into every corner of its 1,000-plus acres,” Phil Ginsburg, the general manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, said in a news release. “For the first time, visitors can hop on a bike at multiple points in the park and seek out all of its treasures.”
Bay Wheels expanded service to the Sunset District in May.