Blast from the past - bicycles in the news in 1938

"Small boys and girls should not be allowed to ride their bicycles on the sidewalk" was the opinion of one San Jose mother in a January 11, 1938 San Jose Evening News article (on page 19 of 24). Although the number of children who ride or walk to school has decreased since this 1938 editorial was written, bicycle safety for children is a growing concern given the congestion that has increased around our schools.

"It makes me angry every time I read one of the police warnings that bicycle riders who use the sidewalks will be prosecuted. It is very dangerous to force these youngsters to ride in the streets, particularly in rainy weather. I would allow boys and girls up to a certain age - say 15 - to ride their bicycles on the sidewalk, setting aside a certain portion of the sidewalk for that purpose. I am sure the danger to the pedestrians on the sidewalk would not be as great as to the youngsters on the street."

Local Bicycle History Facts:

In 1940 San Jose's population was 68,000 while San Francisco's was 635,000. Today population figures have changed drastically. San Jose's population is just over 1,000,000, while San Francisco's is just over 800,000.

San Jose's first velodrome was built in 1892 at the corner of Race Street and Park Avenue.

The Burbank Velodrome which closed in 1941 was located on the current site of Lincoln High School in the Burbank / Rose Garden Neighborhood of San Jose.

Bicycle racing was so popular (pdf) that it was one
of the events in the first modern Olympics in 1896.