SAN FRANCISCO: THE SCARIEST BIKER GANG OF ALL

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Not everyone is on the fringe. "The bicycle is one solution, but what we need is a broader conversation about long-term answers to the traffic problem," says Joe Carroll of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Like many cities, San Francisco is a transportation nightmare regardless of whether Critical Mass is stalling traffic. On a recent midday trip along Market Street, it took half an hour to drive four blocks. But you can't blame city hall for that, says Steve Heminger of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional planning agency. Around the country, about 70% of all workers get to the job driving alone in a car. In San Francisco, it's only 38%. Heminger points out that San Francisco lost two freeways in the 1989 earthquake and has a rusting public-transit system. But as it becomes more obvious that mass transit is the way to relieve pollution and traffic, the Federal and state governments often respond with a collective "Drop dead!" Heminger says the best hope is to raise money through local increases in the gas tax or other levies. Honk if you're on board.

Here's a better plan: San Francisco loves to congratulate itself on how progressive it is, so how about if Mayor Brown brokers a deal to address one of the great transit insanities of the universe? It costs $1 round trip to drive into San Francisco and back on the Bay Bridge but $4 and up to take Bay Area Rapid Transit. Beginning next week, every car that crosses the bridge with a lone driver should be charged $4; with two people in the car, $3; with three people, $2; and with four people, $1. With less traffic, a bridge lane for bikes could be opened, and with the extra tolls, public transit could be replenished. Critical thinking as opposed to critical mass. But don't call here for details. This is an idea, not an organization.