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
The way Sunnyvale land is developed over the next 20 years is riding on the city's Land Use and Transportation Element, which is currently being eyed for an overhaul. The city's planning division recently held three workshops to gather input on how to upgrade the land use and transportation portion of the city's General Plan, which essentially lays out the guidelines for how land is zoned and developed. The city last updated the plan in 1997. For the first time, the city is exploring the idea of sustainability in the plan. Sunnyvale is updating it's Land Use and Transportation Plan. If you're a resident and have ideas for how to improve biking and walking in Sunnyvale, please contact:
City Staff Contact for the Land Use and Transportation Element
Gerri Caruso, Principal Planner (408) 730-7591 gcaruso@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us
Chase is giving away $5 million to various charities and needs you to help pick which ones. Please click on the button below to vote for BABC and then get friends and others on Facebook to do the same. With enough votes you can help BABC win funds to make bicycling in the Bay Area safer and more convenient. Vote by December 11th.
San José, California – San José ranks first in the nation for providing bicycle education to children, according to a recent survey of the 50 largest U.S.cities.The Alliance for Biking and Walking reported in their “Bicycling & Walking in the U.S. – 2010 Benchmarking Report” that one in eight San José youth receive bike safety education.
The City’s Street Smarts School Safety Education Program, run by San José’s Transportation Department, reaches more than 23,000 elementary and middle school students annually with bicycle and pedestrian safety assemblies, helmet events and bike “roadeos.”
“San José is striving to become a world-class bicycling community where bicycling is safe, convenient and commonplace, and the more we can encourage people to use their bikes for transportation, the more we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and congestion,” explained Hans Larsen, the City’s Transportation Director.“Teaching kids bike safety and the proper way to wear a helmet builds a foundation of safety for our community as we head in this direction,” stated Larsen.
Bicycling Magazine, in its May, 2008 issue, ranked San José one of the three most-improved cities for bicycling.San José’s bicycling rate tripled in the last two years, from 0.4% of commute trips in 2006, to 1.2% in 2008, according to the U.S. Census American Community Survey.This survey also found that San José has the second highest bicycling rate among the ten largest U.S. cities.In a survey of the 50 largest cities, San José ranks in the top 10 nationally for bicycle advocacy.
“San José is making great strides to become one of the best bicycling cities in the country,” according to Corinne Winter, Executive Director of Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.“A great example: San José is the first city to receive a platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Workplace award from the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition,” stated Winter.
Future plans to support bicycling in San José include completing 20 bikeway projects and installing 300 bike racks in 2010, and San José, together with the Valley Transportation Agency (VTA), will launch the Bay Area’s first public Bike Share System, also in 2010.This year, a pilot public bike share program will allow bikes to be checked out at San José Diridon Transit Station and downtown locations.
“I’ve seen the City make great progress in creating a bike-friendly community. San José’s new Bike Plan 2020 sets some great goals, including completion of a 500-mile bikeway network,” stated Jim Bell, Chair of San José’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.“Every year I've personally seen the bike network expanding - new trails, roadway bike lanes & signage - making it safer and more convenient for myself, my family and visitors to get to around by bike.”
The recently adopted Bike Plan sets goals to: Complete a 500-mile bikeway network; add 5,000 bike parking spaces; reduce the bike collision rate by 50 percent; achieve a mode shift such that 5 percent of all trips are by bike; and achieve a designation from the League of American Bicyclists as a gold-level Bike Friendly Community (San José is currently a bronze-level Bike Friendly Community).
Larsen encourages residents to do something good for their heart this coming Valentine’s Day by riding their bikes, “Take your kids, take your sweetheart, bring the whole family, or enjoy a ride in solitude along San José’s 50 miles of trails and over 200 miles of on-street bikeways.Bicycling just 30 minutes at an easy pace burns 300 calories and is an easy and fun way to stay healthy.And for those looking to reduce their carbon footprint, keep in mind that 40 percent of errands are generally within two miles of home – a perfect distance for bicycling.”
For information about how kids and adults can be bike smart, visit the City of San José Street Smarts Program website at:www.GetStreetSmarts.org.
Upcoming Bicycling Events to be held in San José
Third Annual San Jose Cycling Classic, a week of bicycling events and activities that will include rides, races, and Bike to Work Day activities from May 14-20, 2010.
2010 Amgen Tour of California professional bike race, the city’s fifth consecutive year to host a stage, which will be held on May 19, 2010.
2010 Lance Armstrong Foundation LiveStrong Challenge, San José’s third consecutive year to host the event, which will be held on July 10-11, 2010.
It's a good bet that few drivers crossing the Bay Bridge pay attention to where it touches down in Oakland - a smear of maintenance yards and parking, stray buildings and scrub. But with the new eastern span of the bridge scheduled to open in 2013, government planners are floating the idea of a much different role for the 1.5-mile-long strip: a park that would celebrate the bridge and the region, with attractions scaled to the immense cranes of the nearby Port of Oakland. There's no design and no budget - yet. The public process is only now getting under way. Read more...
Imagine an El Camino Real with roomier sidewalks, narrower traffic lanes and more space for bicyclists, pedestrians and buses. A new report on the future of state Highway 82 from Daly City to San Jose sees just that vision for the pivotal 42-mile stretch, which is known as The Alameda in San Jose. But because of challenges posed by crammed corridors, funding shortages and differences among cities, it will likely take years for travelers to notice any upgrades. The state Department of Transportation, the counties of San Mateo and Santa Clara and planning consultants released the 119-page report in mid-February as part of the Grand Boulevard Initiative. Read more...
If you spend much time pedaling the streets of any city in North America, you’re probably pretty passionate about it. You know what it’s like to be part of a small and all-too-often embattled minority – and you probably also believe the world would be a better place if a lot more people got out of their cars and joined you on bikes. These simple feelings have given rise to an increasingly sophisticated bike advocacy movement that has grown across the US and Canada over the last four decades. Cycling, once seen as only suitable for children and oddly attired athletes, is now becoming a mainstream form of transportation in cities from San Francisco to New York, from Montreal to Vancouver, BC. Read more...
Baenisch, 43, grew up on Long Island, N.Y., where she noted the "square footage of shopping malls greatly exceeds the area provided for bike lanes and paths." The Fairfax resident has a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from Cornell University. Kim Baenisch has been the executive director for the Marin County Bicycle Coalition since March 2005. The organization has been working to improve the county's roads and paths for walkers and bikers since it was formed in 1998. Read more...
If he gets his way, Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition Executive Director Chuck McMinn will help create the Vine Trail to increase public safety, interconnect with existing public transportation thereby increasing ridership, and provide "regional connectivity to the nine Bay Area counties," he said. If it happens, the Vine Trail would become one of three trail projects circling the San Francisco Bay. It likely will take a decade, but a Napa-based group is already working toward creating a hike/bike trail from the Vallejo Ferry Terminal to Calistoga.Read more...
On March 23rd 2010 the CA State Senate Transportation and Housing Committee will vote on SB 1061, whether to allow funding for the west-span Bay Bridge bicycle-pedestrian-maintenance pathway. You can help by sending a letter your legislator to support SB 1061.Read more...
Watch this video for more information on the need for bicycle/pedestrian access across the bay and how you can help.
THE SMART board made the right decision this week when it rejected the Marin civil grand jury's recommendation to scrap the bicycle and pedestrian path along the rail line to save money. Read More.
According to a new report by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst says that building bike lanes and pedestrian projects, and bike boulevards, creates more job per million dollars spent than road repairs and road resurfacing.
The study, “Estimating the Employment Impacts of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure,” which examines the costs of engineering, construction, and materials costs for different types of projects in the city of Baltimore, concludes that, for a given amount of spending, bike lanes create about twice as many jobs as road construction. The difference lies in the varying labor intensity and the ratio of engineering costs to construction expenses across project types. Footway repairs and bike lane signing are labor intensive, meaning that a greater share of the total cost goes to pay people than in material heavy road projects. “Each $1 million spent creating on-street bike lanes directly creates 7.9 jobs and creates a total of 14.4 jobs when we include the indirect and induced effects,” the author, Heidi Garrett-Peltier, writes, “The two categories of road repairs have the lowest employment effects, with 3-4 direct jobs and approximately 7 total jobs created for each $1 million.”
Listen to a radio interview featuring Bike to Work Day in the Bay Area on "Our California: Eat, Drink, and Explore" on Krush 92.5 FM, by dynamic host and former Bay Area personality, Randy White.
The podcasts are available on iTunes and Stitcher.
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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...
The way Sunnyvale land is developed over the next 20 years is riding on the city's Land Use and Transportation Element, which is currently being eyed for an overhaul. The city's planning division recently held three workshops to gather input on how to upgrade the land use and transportation portion of the city's General Plan, which essentially lays out the guidelines for how land is zoned and developed. The city last updated the plan in 1997. For the first time, the city is exploring the idea of sustainability in the plan. Sunnyvale is updating it's Land Use and Transportation Plan. If you're a resident and have ideas for how to improve biking and walking in Sunnyvale, please contact:
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Bid on items at the Sonoma County Bike Coalitions 
San José, California
It's a good bet that few drivers crossing the Bay Bridge pay attention to where it touches down in Oakland - a smear of maintenance yards and parking, stray buildings and scrub. But with the new eastern span of the bridge scheduled to open in 2013, government planners are floating the idea of a much different role for the 1.5-mile-long strip: a park that would celebrate the bridge and the region, with attractions scaled to the immense cranes of the nearby Port of Oakland. There's no design and no budget - yet. The public process is only now getting under way. 
Imagine an El Camino Real with roomier sidewalks, narrower traffic lanes and more space for bicyclists, pedestrians and buses. A new report on the future of state Highway 82 from Daly City to San Jose sees just that vision for the pivotal 42-mile stretch, which is known as The Alameda in San Jose. But because of challenges posed by crammed corridors, funding shortages and differences among cities, it will likely take years for travelers to notice any upgrades. The state Department of Transportation, the counties of San Mateo and Santa Clara and planning consultants released the 119-page report in mid-February as part of the Grand Boulevard Initiative. 
If you spend much time pedaling the streets of any city in North America, you’re probably pretty passionate about it. You know what it’s like to be part of a small and all-too-often embattled minority – and you probably also believe the world would be a better place if a lot more people got out of their cars and joined you on bikes. These simple feelings have given rise to an increasingly sophisticated bike advocacy movement that has grown across the US and Canada over the last four decades. Cycling, once seen as only suitable for children and oddly attired athletes, is now becoming a mainstream form of transportation in cities from San Francisco to New York, from Montreal to Vancouver, BC. 
Baenisch, 43, grew up on Long Island, N.Y., where she noted the "square footage of shopping malls greatly exceeds the area provided for bike lanes and paths." The Fairfax resident has a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from Cornell University. 
If he gets his way, Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition Executive Director Chuck McMinn will help create the Vine Trail to increase public safety, interconnect with existing public transportation thereby increasing ridership, and provide "regional connectivity to the nine Bay Area counties," he said. If it happens, the Vine Trail would become one of three trail projects circling the San Francisco Bay.
