The Bay Area Bicycle Coalition (BABC) promotes safe and enjoyable bicycling for everyday transportation and recreation throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.  To learn how BABC is working to improve bicycling in your community visit our Current Priorities.

BABC Awarded $15,000 SF Foundation Grant for iBikeChallenge Program

The BABC was awarded $15,000 to create the iBikeChallenge web and iPhone application to promote bicycling trips throughout the Bay Area. The iBikeChallenge is an online competition that encourages users to bike for everyday transportation by tracking the total benefits to their budget, their health and the environment. The iPhone application will track users trips which will generate data that will be used by transportation planners to improve the network of bicycle facilities. The goals of the program are to increase the number of bicycle and trips throughout the region, improve bicycle planning by providing more accurate information about cyclists route choices and measure the impact of increased bicycle travel on the environment and public health.  Check back for updates on the progress of the application which we will be launching in May.


 

New direction for Market Street (The Examiner)

In a rare example of harmony in San Francisco, merchants, transit advocates and pedestrians have all expressed some degree of support for the much-ballyhooed experiment to restrict cars on Market Street that started last month. The current situation, which took effect Sept. 29 with the backing of Mayor Gavin Newsom, forces private automobiles traveling eastbound on Market Street to make right turns at Sixth and Eighth streets off the thoroughfare. Read more...

 

Cars, bikes can coexist in vibrant cities (SF Chronicle)

The American neighborhood since World War II has been built on the back of the automobile. In some parts of the country, it's impossible even to run out for a gallon of milk without a car. The growing threat of climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions means we can't continue building like it's 1949. But the ubiquity of cars in our lives and our urban environments makes it unlikely that the automobile will disappear any time soon. Read more...

 

Driver Reaction to Market Street Diversions Surprisingly Upbeat (Streetsblog)

Although there are still some kinks that need to be ironed out on Market Street to make the six-week trial diversion of personal automobiles more efficient, the sky did not fall and reaction to the changes was fairly positive, even from drivers in personal vehicles. One consistent complaint was the relatively small signs affixed to street posts, which several drivers claimed they didn't see. Read more...

 

 

 

Make it Easy for Walk to School Day Participants to Join the Safe Routes to School "Dear Congress" Campaign

Three weeks ago, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership called on parents, children, school officials, and community leaders to write "Dear Congress" letters to demonstrate the importance of the Safe Routes to School program.  We're now extending the campaign deadline until Friday, October 23.
 
So far, we have received over 150 meaningful and powerful letters from around the country.  A few examples include: whole classes of students in Milwaukee, WI and Las Cruces, NM showing through words and pictures why they love to walk and bicycle to school; several city leaders in Tonganoxie, KS describing the numerous SRTS infrastructure needs remaining in their community; and parents and grandparents in Santa Cruz County, CA explaining why it's important that children be able to safely walk and bicycle to school.  We are grateful to each and every individual that has taken the time to participate in the "Dear Congress" campaign. Read more...

BABC Early Advocates to Build Benicia-Martinez Bridge Bicycle Path

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The 2.2 mile bike path on the southbound George Miller Jr Bridge opened August 29th 2009. It is part of a $50,000,000 seismic retrofit and now makes the 290 mile Bay Trail that much closer to ringing the Bay. The path is a 12-foot-wide bidirectional lane separated from vehicular traffic by a concrete barrier, open 24 hours a day.

Founder of the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition, Alex Zuckermann was influential in ensuring the addition of this bicycle and pedestrian path.

 

Bridge Opening: Ina Gerhard, Caltrans Dist 4 Bicycle Coordinator; Bijan Sartipi, Caltrains Dist 4 Director; Robert Raburn, EBBC Director; Andrew Casteel, BABC Director; Dave Campbell, EBBC Board Chair

During a meeting in Oakland in 1988, Caltrans came before The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) to obtain a permit to build the new span. Alex gave an excellent speech asking BCDC to make installation of a bike path on the new bridge a condition of granting the permit. BCDC agreed and made the path a condition of putting up the span.

The pedestrian/bicycle path will close a gap in the San Francisco Bay Trail while also linking the San Francisco Bay Trail with the Bay Area Ridge Trail that encircles the bays at the ridgeline (the two trails share an alignment along the bridge). This lane also links the Carquinez Strait Scenic Loop Trail, which is a 50-mile trail that crosses both the Benicia-Martinez Bridge and the Al Zampa span of the Carquinez Bridge. The eventual goal is to encircle San Francisco and San Pablo bays with 500 miles of uninterrupted biking and hiking trails. Read more...

Help Restore STP/CMAQ Funding for Bicycles

 

 

When MTC adopted the 2009 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) this spring, we applauded them for taking climate change seriously and recognizing the importance . Not only did they set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets, but for the first time ever, included $400 million in funding for a five-year Transportation Climate Action Campaign with $100 million worth of funding for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) and Safe Routes to Transit (SRTT) programs.
 
Now, MTC is backpedaling on their commitment to climate. Instead of funding the Transportation Climate Action Campaign in the first five years of the life of the RTP, they’re proposing to shift funding to freeway priorities and fund the Climate Campaign at just 17% of the level promised, threatening millions of dollars of bicycle funding through the SRTS and SRTT programs!
 
Join BABC and our partner TransForm in telling the MTC Commissioners to make good on their word and fully fund the Transportation Climate Action Campaign.
 
Take action here.

Graphic Designer Position for Bike to Work Day

Thank you all for the overwhelming response. We are no longer accepting applications.

Advocates Say MTC Proposal Short-Changes Regional Bike Network - Streetsblog SF

Bicycle advocates are upset that the first draft of a spending plan to come out of the Metropolitan Transportation Agency’s (MTC) 25-year Change in Motion regional transportation blueprint falls far short on proposed funding for the regional bicycle network. They say the MTC is failing to demonstrate a commitment to bicycles...read more

 

 

Six Secrets to Social Network Success

  1. Have one source for all your content
    It would take an army of people to maintain every possible social networking presence.  Choose one source for creating and storing each type of content you have:
    1. Stories and News - on your main web page
    2. Images - In a Flickr account
    3. Video - On YouTube
       
  2. RSS is a Really Simple Solutiona
    Actually it's Really Simple Syndication (RSS).  When you post something on your web page, you need it to migrate to all your social network sites automatically.  If you have an RSS enabled Content Management system, it is easy to automate this task so you only have to write your content once.
     
  3. Let your Members make content for you
    It's expensive and time consuming to create good digital content.  At the same time, digital cameras are ubiquitous.  Make sure your members have an easy way to share their pictures and video of your events on your site by setting up groups on Flickr and Youtube. 
     
  4. Frequent Updates are Refreshing
    New updates are what draw in your members to visit your page again and again.  It doesn't have to be an involved article or complex multimedia piece, but share something at least once a day.  It seems like a lot, but there's a lot of content you can share from the web.  Each small post is an invitation to bring someone back to your web page where they could sign up to become a member or make a donation.  If you collect and share your local bicycling news effectively, your users will come to trust you as their source for bike info and visit more often.  Here's a hierarchy of items to share:
    1. Reminders about your Events
    2. Updates on your campaigns
    3. New content (images, video, etc.) on your site
    4. Bicycling news from your area (Set up a Google News Search to watch for items)
    5. State and National Bicycle News
    6. Articles on biking tips and tricks
       
  5. Monetize - No Money.  No Movement.
    Make sure your web presence works for you.  Your content should promote all the great work you're doing with the goal of bringing in the revenue to allow you to keep doing it.  Make sure that you monetize all your web presences by providing easy and prominent links to:
    1. Membership
    2. Merchandise
    3. Donations
       
  6. Track your web following
    Measuring the size of your web following helps you demonstrate the size and strength of your organization.  Analyzing what content get the most attention on your site also helps you identify your most effective online outreach tools and focus your efforts there.  Here are some stats you should track:
    1. Hits for each of your pages
    2. Fans of your Facebook page
    3. Visits to your Facebook page
    4. Supporters for your Facebook cause
    5. Twitter Followers
    6. Twitter @mentions
    7. Twitter searches for your event names
      (Example: "Bike to Work Day", "Car Free Friday")
    8. Views of your YouTube Videos
    9. Comments on your images, videos and stories.
    10. TweetStats (when do you post)


 

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