WHEN A BRIDGE CELEBRATION GOES BAD

What follows are excerpts from the Inside Opinion blog by Press Democrat editorial writers Paul Gullixson and Jim Sweeney. The blog can be found on WatchSonomaCounty.com.

What I remember most about what happened on May 24, 1987 was the animosity toward bikes -- and bike owners. It was palpable.

At first, the crowd at "Bridgewalk '87" was footloose, slapping high-fives celebrating something that hadn't occurred in 50 years -- pedestrian access to all lanes of the Golden Gate Bridge. I remember one person was on a unicycle. A few were on stilts.

But as the mass of humanity from the south converged with the mass from the north, the mood changed and a darkness set in. It soon became clear that no matter how many times one yelled "keep moving," there was no going forward and there was no going back.

My plan was to ride across the bridge and back quickly before heading back down to the South Bay for a friend's wedding. I had parked along Lincoln Boulevard in the Presidio and ridden my 10-speed out to the span.

But within minutes, I was just short of the south tower locked shoulder to shoulder in a crowd that was growing anxious and surly. And as people were pressed into handlebars and pedals they directed their anger, not at the people who had the insane idea of letting everyone on the bridge at the same time, but at bicycles.

"Why did they allow bikes?" I remember someone shouting. Another cursed at us for not locking them up before coming on the span.

As time dragged on and people pressed in to suffocating levels, it got worse. Those with strollers got similar treatment. At one point, a man near the western rail lifted up a bike -- one with wide handlbars -- and dropped it over the side. To this day I don't know if it was one of his kids' bikes and he was lowering it onto a catwalk or whether he tossed it out of anger. Either way the crowd cheered.

A few booed, however. Someone shouted for everyone to remain calm.

A cyclist near me was visibly shaken. She and I managed to push our bikes together and shield them between us. I told her things would turn out all right, although I wasn't so sure.

As I recall, we were locked in that mess for more than an hour. All I remember is that when the wall of people finally inched backward, freedom never smelled so good. To this day, I don't make that turn toward the toll plaza without reliving that moment.

I also sometimes think about that day whenever there's some systemic failure of some kind. It's often easy to draw comparisons. It's human nature that when near-chaos ensues -- as with our current state budget crisis -- most of the anger isn't directed at those who bungle the planning and set everyone else up to fail. The anger is often directed at the person next to you, your neighbor -- the person with the bicycle.

What's remarkable about that day, however, is that it did not turn into a disaster. Nobody died. In the end, patience prevailed, and a calamity was avoided.

What follows are excerpts from the Inside Opinion blog by Press Democrat editorial writers Paul Gullixson and Jim Sweeney. The blog can be found on WatchSonomaCounty.com.

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The Golden Gate Bridge, which turns 75 today, serves as a reminder of what can be achieved when wise people armed with a good idea persevere. Given what happened at the last major anniversary celebration, it also serves as a reminder of what people can endure when pushed to the brink.

That crowd may have flattened a bridge. But it also raised my appreciation for people a little.

And, yes, I made it back in time for the wedding, barely.

-- Paul Gullixson

OK, I admit it. I'm one of the people hauling groceries to my car in plastic and, occasionally, paper bags. I don't feel especially guilty about it, either. The bags get plenty of use once the groceries get home. The sturdy paper ones are a great receptacle for kitty litter when I clean the cat box (though I'm still not sure how I ended up that chore when my wife and son promised to do all the work if I we got a cat, which somehow turned into two cats).

Some of the plastic bags go back and forth to work and school, carrying gym clothes and lunches, before getting packaged together and placed in the recycling container. The rest of them become waste basket liners. I suspect that's pretty typical.

So what happens if the city and/or county move forward with their plans to ban plastic grocery bags? I still need to clean the litter box, so I guess Safeway and G and G get a few dimes on top of the grocery bill. A few less lunches might be good for what's left of my physique, but I expect I'll still be carrying a sandwich to work. And my son's gym clothes may look and smell like they can walk but .

..

And about those waste baskets. It took less than one summer of composting food scraps to convince me that wet garbage - and, hey, most everything else already is recyclable - has got to be bagged or everyone near it will gag. Of course, even if a ban is adopted, stores will be free to sell plastic bags to line garbage cans. It's just those convenient, reusable (free) ones that groceries come home in that seem to be a concern. Hmmm.

-- Jim Sweeney

You've heard by now about the "hogwash" mailer that supporters of Supervisor Efren Carrillo sent out last week attacking Ernie Carpenter, one of his opponents in the June 5 election. It wasn't the only negative piece that's gone out in recent days.

An independent expenditure committee calling itself the Coalition for a Better Sonoma County has issued a hit piece on Santa Rosa City Councilman John Sawyer featuring an image of Pinocchio. The title: "Politician John Sawyer will say anything to get elected."

The mailer contends Sawyer talks about how he wants to support the business community. But it notes that he voted to raise business and community development fees in the summer of 2008. The group contends that Sawyer is "bad for business."

What it doesn't mention is that the fee increases were unanimously approved by all of the council members, including Susan Gorin, one of Sawyer's opponents in the race for 1st District supervisor. It also doesn't mention that the fees were part of a long-standing plan to ensure the planning department was charging developers fees that reflected the true cost of the service. The City Council had set a goal back in 2004, before Sawyer was on the board, to ensure the department was less dependent on the general fund and was getting the revenue it needed from fees.

The mailer is funded by the Service Employees International Union 1021, the Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers and Rick Theis, a former Santa Rosa planning commissioner.

Seen other hit pieces or mailers that you think are dubious? Email them to letters@pressdemocrat.com.

-- Paul Gullixson