Glasgow, Scotland has public streets closed to cars and free pedestrian access;San Francisco closes public streets and says "REGISTRATION REQUIRED" PAY $75 in violation of their own ISCOTT city rules, for the 100th Bay to Breakers celebration . SF has crossed the line, for a City dependent on Tourism as its #1 income.

In the days immediately before the race on Sunday,15 May 2011, public radio station KQED has a radio show with the B2B race manager, Sam Singer, representing both the sponsor, Zazzle, and the L.A.-based race mgmt company, AEG, who says the SFPD will turn away anyone without a $75 race bib on the day of the race trying to walk on car-closed public streets race course,,, and that the North (Golden Gate Park) Panhandle Association has volunteers also on the start line street 'pens'!! area and race course to ,along with the Police, ask anyone without a $75 bib to leave the highly fenced, public property, street course!!  This is a direct violation of the spirit of the race for decades and San Francisco's own ISCOTT rule/law allowing public access to all car-closed public streets!!


I paid the full fee for years in the 1970s and 1980s and even volunteered ,for free one year, to work the race start when the old locally owned Examiner and accepting of rich and poor,balanced attitude company ran the race, instead of the arch-conservative creeps who own it now.  Where is the new Mayor , Mr. Lee?  Where is the S.F. Board of Supervisors?!  How could all the 70% of SF who rent or lease , the 'have not' non-owners of houses and apt.buildings, let this happen in a City famous for Tolerance of Gays,,, Chinese,,, Italians,,, all nationalities, cultures, and religions??  Look at all the rude scary discrimination on the official Bay2Breakers website !!


The race has been limited, officially, to "55,000 paid entrants", instead of allowing for decades lots of people to walk the course and welcome them, before the race, to do so. Yes, i heard that the SFPD relented, at the last minute!!, this morning in turning away anyone without a $75 bib,which would have been a direct violation of City law. And  something like 110,000 people celebrated Spring and the City of San Francisco together, in peace and respect and commonality.
  
But many of us were warned away and scared away,threatened!!, by the heavy handed mgmt of the ultra-conservative AEG , who has no place running/owning such a public gathering event(listen to the public radio archives on KQED),,, and the neighborhood associations like the Panhandle Assoc. made up probably of home owners, the 'haves' in this terrible American economy, with homes they knowingly bought on the race course and leave on race day,they say, instead of staying to protect their lawn from someone peeing in their yard along the same official 12k race course!!  How discriminatory, irresponsible, and unfriendly.  


I was ready to walk last ,in the rain and lightning even, peacefully and respectfully, to Celebrate San Francisco and Spring,,, but that drive at 4am, PAY to park at 5am, walk to start at 6am for pre-race party, and watch the fun cooperative friendly crowd with usually only a few bad actors run jog and walk across the City.  I even tried to pay the FULL $75 last week and was told the 'race course was full'. How rude and illegal!!


San Francisco has too long a history of pandering to the rich and super-rich , the 'haves' who could afford to pay $75/gallon of gasoline and not bat an eye. Alamo Square has been closed to tour buses stopping for decades,,, because the local owners of expensive houses/ apt.buildings around a famous tourist attraction by the 7 most famous Victorian houses in the City consider it 'their own PRIVATE front yard'.   And Bay st.-Marina blvd.-Doyle drive on the N. edge of the City in front of the Marina neighborhood mansions has been closed for too long to tour buses when the #1 business of SF is tourism.


The City of San Francisco has stumbled. Let us all hope it regains its tolerance, reasonable acceptance, and warm welcoming Spirit of old.