Celebrate Bike-to-Work Week during May 17-21. As part of the week-long festivities, Bike-to-Work Day is Tuesday, May 18. This year's event will feature a drawing for great prizes for everyone who pledges to bike to work.
Energizer stations will be set up all over the Bay Area on Bike-to-Work Day on May 18 (see page 4 for listings).
You can register by contacting RIDES for Bay Area Commuters at (800) 755-POOL or register online at http://www.rides.org. Statewide prizes include Southwest Airline Tickets to anywhere in the US and a Samba Tandem Bicycle. Oakland participants at the free pancake breakfast not only receive free valet parking, but are eligible to win two 1st class Amtrak round-trip tickets on the Coast Starlight to Seattle, a new Scorpion bike, and a B.O.B. Cozmopolitan Trailer. Take a peek at http://www.celebratingoakland.org/earthmonth/btw or just show up on a bike at Oakland City Hall on May 18.
Don't forget that BTW Week will culminate on Saturday, May 22 with Open Garden Tours sponsored by the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA). Contact Liz Meyer at 510-526-2788. The EBBC will lead a sedate bicycle tour of Oakland Gardens between 10:30-2 from the Lakeside Garden on Bellevue.
On Monday April 12, the State Assembly Transportation Committee approvedAssembly Bill 1475 by a 12-5 vote. This measure would target as much as $20 million a year in Federal transportation funding toward community-oriented bicycle, pedestrian and traffic calming safety projects around school facilities statewide.
Next up is the Assembly Appropriations Committee sometime in the next 3-5 weeks. You can help advance this important legislation by encouraging organizations in your area to endorse AB1475. Some likely targets to write or fax include:
Your state assemblymember to express your support of the bill, especially if he or she is on the appropriations committee
Your county board of supervisors or city council
Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs and other social and civic organizations or which you might be a member
Any local public health, neighborhood, injury prevention or children's organization
For background information and resources regarding AB1475, including a fact sheet, the text of the bill, a sample endorsement letter and more, see http://www.baypeds.org/saferoutes.html.
Chris Morfas,
California Bicycle Coalition
The Bay Area's Caltrans District 4 once had a Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator and even produced a useful map of Bike Routes in 1984. Despite massive increases in funding from state and federal sources, nonmotorized transportation in the Bay Area receives little personal support from the agency that should be responsible for setting a an example in the region. With the exception of the San Diego Caltrans District, Californians must look for examples elsewhere, such as Florida which employs coordinators in each of their DOT district offices.
Starting with the City of Lafayette, where Yehuda Sherman successfully lobbied councilmembers, the EBBC has sought to secure support to establish an Office of the Bicycle Pedestrian Coordinator in Caltrans District 4. Most recently the City of Pittsburg heard from a diverse group of utility bicyclists led by Bruce Ohlson and club riders from the Delta Pedlars and Valley Spokesmen before they endorsed the resolution. Members of the Delta Pedlars also pushed the resolution through in Brentwood. John Ruzek will further seek the support of the full Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.
The Alameda County Congestion Management Agency (CMA) also helped further bicyclists' appeal to establish the Coordinator position. At the EBBC's request, Dennis Fay, CMA Director, placed the resolution language on the April 6 agenda of the Alameda County Transportation Advisory Committee (ACTAC). The committee represents Transportation and Public Works officials from throughout the County.
The ACTAC turned out to be a very receptive audience for our proposal. Many members noted problems getting Caltrans to consider bike/pedestrian needs in their projects. Before Oakland committee member Shanna O'Hare motioned to adopt the resolution, she remarked on the multitude of bicycle/pedestrian design options she learned about at the ProBike Conference last year. Others noted that such an office previously existed in most Caltrans Districts.
We also note that Scott Mace with the MidPeninsula Bicycle Coalition succeeded in getting the resolution passed in the City of San Mateo. San Francisco advocates are also busy.
The grassroots campaign to gain support for the resolution will culminate before the media on May 18, during Bike to Work Day. We hope to add a few state legislators to our support list by that date.
A copy of the resolution and supporting text appeared in the February issue of rideOn. Submit a copy for approval to your own city councilmember, county supervisor, or state legislator.
-Robert Raburn
ALAMEDA COUNTY PARADE PERMITS Although the EBBC successfully defended bicyclists' rights in the Cherry City case last year (charges dismissed in Dec), we had to again retain attorney John Forsyth and conduct last minute negotiations with Supervisor Gail Steele to protect riders from interference during the 30th annual Mt Hamilton Challenge on April 24. Prior to the event, ride chairman Don Worn provided written route notification to Caltrans, the CHP, and both Santa Clara and Alameda County officials. Sponsored by Pedalera and CABO, 106 tour participants encountered no interference from the Alameda Sheriffs Department despite requests that the organizers secure a parade permit. We are grateful to Supervisor Steele for her intervention and wish to support her efforts to revise the ordinance.
10,000th BIKE PARKED DURING EARTH DAY Free Valet Bike Parking was again offered at the Berkeley (April 17) and Concord (April 25) events. One of the Concord riders received our 10,000th Bike Parking Receipt since the initial batch was printed in 1992. In Berkeley EBBC volunteers provided security for 124 bicyclists. At the Concord Pavilion we parked 116 bikes in the space typically occupied by five cars. Special thanks go to the following volunteers: Dave Campbell, Bob Berry, Joe Carroll, Pat Raburn and Robert, Leo DuBose, Craig Hagelin and his bike savvy 13-year-old son, Todd Hagelin.
NOMINEE FOR OAKLAND'S BEST NEIGHBOR On a recent Sunday, Wayne and Maria Massolo went for a ride up Old Tunnel Rd. and found that right before Broadway Terrace there is a water fountain for bicyclists. They stopped, drank some water, and chatted with the woman in whose property the fountain is located. She told them that she had decided to put the fountain in because so many people pedal past her home and by the time they get there they are thirsty.
HAYWARD "Share the Road" signs began appearing recently. EBBC Librarian Michelle DeRobertis notes that they also can be found in Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Menlo Park, and Santa Cruz. None of these jurisdictions have sought to get their unique designs officially approved by the California Traffic Control Devices Committee for widespread adoption. She requests that readers send her images of the various designs at mmd.igc.org. We will publish the images in a later issue of rideOn and let you select the best.
PLEASANT HILL At the Quarterly Caltrans BAC Meeting on April 13, EBBC members proposed removing the recent prohibition to bicycle travel on North Main St. Caltrans insists that a higher railing is necessary to permit bicyclists on the recently completed elevated roadway. Their scheduled installation of the higher railing is not set for completion until 2001. Advocates insist that a temporary "construction-type" fence can be erected immediately and the prohibition removed. A landmark case by the EBBC in Walnut Creek over a decade ago found that such non-freeway prohibitions are unenforceable in a court of law.
MILPITAS 237/880 INTERCHANGE Bicycle linkages between Alameda and Santa Clara counties have suffered further deterioration. Caltrans and Milpitas have recently restricted bicycle and pedestrian access over I-880 between Calaveras and Route 237. The Route 237 Final EIR (1990) specifies that an interim bikeway be completed prior to construction on Route 237. After ignoring this document, Caltrans and Milpitas have asked for bicyclists to accept an added 2.5-mile detour to the incomplete Tasman Road. After reviewing the case with advocates from around the Bay, the EBBC sent a letter to Caltrans protesting the closure.
CONCORD will seek funding for the Iron Horse Trail Gap Closure: Mayhew to Monument Project. It would construct a trail between Hookston Road and Mayhew Way and install a traffic signal and improvements at Hookston and Bancroft roads. Support for the $836,000 project is needed from the MTC, CCTA, EBRPD and private development mitigations.
EBMUD THREAT TO IRON HORSE TRAIL Raburn met with Contra Costa County Supervisors (DeSaulnier and Gerber) on April 5 to promote the idea that EBMUD pipeline construction not disrupt bicycle transportation. The EBBC and EBRPD urge that any trail detours be incorporated in the existing right-of-way. The public comment period on the Draft EIR has been extended until May 15 (See: March rideOn).
DELTA DE ANZA TRAIL offers a crucial transportation link between Bay Point, Pittsburg, Antioch and Oakley. A summer 1998 user survey by the EBRPD revealed that 64% of the trail users were either traveling to work, school, shops, or BART. Over half of the on-site trail respondents reported using the facility nearly every day. An overwhelming number of nearby residents also view the facility as an asset - over 80% of the mailed responses reported a positive opinion about the trail. For a copy of the study contact Kathleen Keilch, (510) 544-2381 or kkleich@ebparks.org.
LINDA SKATES was returned to Patton State Hospital following a Contra Costa Superior court hearing on March 18 to consider her conditional release. In 1993 she was found not guilty by reason of insanity after she mowed down seven Oaktown Wheelmen, killing Vladimir Quinn and maiming Dory Selinger. She claimed to hear voices tell her to "get the demons."
SAN PABLO Efforts by Go Bike! and the EBBC to allow bicyclists to turn from westbound San Pablo Dam Road onto Amador met resistance from the San Pablo Safety Committee. Users of the route are urged to write a letter of support (don't rant) to:
Adele Ho, P.E.
Public Works Division Manager,
City of San Pablo,
One Alvarado Square,
San Pablo, CA 94805.
Residents should contact their councilmembers. For more information contact Michael Jackson (925) 335-1278.
OAKLAND'S Planning Commission will consider the Draft Oakland Bicycle Master Plan at 6:30pm on May 19 at the City Hall. For information contact Colin Burgett (510) 238-6167.
Marking the first time that a bicycling organization has ever been included, the League of American Bicyclists has been voted as a member of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD). The League joins 18 other organizations that make up this Committee, including the American Automobile Association (AAA), the National Safety Council, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
The NCUTCD is an independent organization that drafts the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices used nationwide. The Manual is published in the Federal Register and adopted by the Department of Transportation as the mandatory national standard for road signage, markings, and traffic devices on all roads, streets, and highways across the United States.
"This is a significant achievement for the League, for bicycling, and for everyone who cares about promoting cycling in this country," said Jody Newman, Executive Director of the League. "It is vital that our roads and traffic patterns be set up to maximize safe and enjoyable cycling, and to promote sharing of the road by cyclists and motorists. Our acceptance into the NCUTCD marks our continued progress in making America more bicycle friendly."
The NCUTCD convenes twice a year, with the next meeting schedule for June 1999 in Orlando, Florida. In addition to the full Committee, League representatives will serve on the NCUTCD's Bicycle Technical Committee.