January
1994

Bicycle Coalition looks at 1994 progress and challenges

• The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, a two-year old organization, enters 1994 looking back at progress and forward to upcoming challenges.
• Looking back. Early this year, we will finally see the results of the Proposition 116 funding that was obtained by both the county and the city of Santa Barbara. For the county, it includes bicycle lockers in Santa Maria and Goleta; and resurfacing, bridge repair, and lighting along the Atascadero bike path in Goleta. For Santa Barbara city, it means improving the Mission Street underpass at 101, new crosstown bike lanes on Canon Perdido Street, bike lockers at two downtown locations, and many miscellaneous improvements.
• Santa Barbara city will finally put in striped bicycle lanes on Shoreline Drive with funding from the state Bicycle Lane Account.
• We saw three TEA (Transportation Enhancement Activities, part of federal ISTEA legislation) bicycling proposals sent last November to Sacramento for probable approval early this year. They are bikepaths in Santa Maria, Lompoc (over the Santa Ynez River), and El Capitan Ranch (west of Goleta).
• Ongoing. The County's Measure D highway improvements are moving ahead in various stages, and will continue for years. Nothing is finalized, but we are watching bicycling components for projects on Highway 1 south of Lompoc; the widening of Highway 101 through Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria; and several Highway 101 interchanges at Storke Road, Los Carneros Road, Fairview Avenue, Highway 154, La Cumbre Road, and Milpas Street.
• Upcoming. New for this year is the Alternative Transportation study being financed with Measure D funds. It may have a profound effect upon thinking toward transportation within the county for years to come.
• Two new state initiatives will probably be on 1994 ballots. One, the California Parks and Wildlife Initiative now has enough signatures to put it to a June vote. If approved, it will provide about $18 million for bicycle trails, land acquisition, and other projects within our county. The second initiative calls for a 4% state sales tax on gasoline that would provide ongoing transportation funding that includes $9-12 million a year for bicycle projects.
• Overall, it's an exhilarating agenda, and reflects the recent resurgence of bicycling as a viable means of transportation.

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Caltrans bicycle program started

• Our regional Caltrans office in San Luis Obispo has created a new position of Assistant Bicycle Coordinator and appointed Scott Eades to fill it. This is a half-time position and Eades' time is actually split between bicycling issues and rideshare programs. Nevertheless, it indicates a very encouraging shift in attention to bicycling within the four-county district (San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties).
• Eades came down from his office at district headquarters to attend our Bicycle Coalition meeting last December 1st. He outlined a study that they were initiating, and asked for the Coalition's help. Major components of the study, to be completed by this summer, include:
• Caltrans' policies toward bicycle facilities
• Caltrans' relationship with local bicycle interests
• An inventory of existing district facilities
• Future facility funding sources
• Facility maintenance
• Policy toward new routes and facilities
• An action plan for the future.
• In addition, Caltrans will be working on a bicycling map of the district that will show where bicyclists are allowed on state highways and possible alternatives where they are not.
• We certainly are looking forward to a close working relationship with Eades in the future. Anybody, however, can contact him directly at 805-549-3055 with questions, concerns, and requests about state route bicycling facilities, or write to:
• Scott Eades, Assistant Bicycle Coordinator
  Caltrans
  PO Box 8114
  San Luis Obispo, CA 93403
• Next time he comes here, we told him to bring his bike, so we could show him our local conditions first hand.

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South Coast Highway 101 alternative transportation study moves ahead

• The Board of Supervisors has hired the consulting firm of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade, and Douglas to conduct an alternative transportation study of Highway 101. The $267,000 study will take about six months. It will attempt to determine the feasibility of transportation modes other than single-occupant cars along Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and Carpinteria.
• We believe that bicycling is the most cost-effective, least polluting, quietest, and healthiest mode of transportation available. The next six months during the study will be a period to repeatedly make public this belief, and back it up with statistics from other communities.
• Parsons Brinckerhoff is one of the world's largest transportation firms, with 78 offices and 3350 employees worldwide. They plan to conduct a new origin-destination study of travel on 101, and then come up with at least three alternative plans using various modes and policies. The aim is to shift current 101 corridor users of single-occupant vehicles into other modes so that widening of the highway is unnecessary.
• The group Grassroots 101, a local organization that sprang up last spring in response to the proposed highway widening, has been instrumental along with supervisor Naomi Schwartz in calling for the transportation study.
• The Bicycle Coalition is planning to contact David Levisohn, the study project manager, to explain our view and offer our services.

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Who receives Quick Release?

• As you may know, the Bicycle Coalition has no actual membership, although we informally talk about "members." In the future that may change, but we have been able to hold monthly meetings, sustain two active committees, and publish this newsletter for over two years because of personal donations and paid advertisements placed by Traffic Solutions.
• The Coalition was started in 1991 by county employees who bicycled and were interested in applying for Proposition 116 funding. Since then it has expanded to include all the bicycle stores in the county, seven bicycle clubs, employer transportation coordinators, elected officials, and individuals who care about our bicycling environment and want to do something about it. With this issue of Quick Release, our circulation stands at 350.

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Bicyclists get discounts

• Lotusland, the Montecito garden owned by the late Polish opera singer Ganna Walska, offers bicyclists a discounted entry fee of $5. Reservations are required to visit the famous collection of succulents on her vast estate. Phone 969-9990. The gardens are closed now, but will reopen in February.

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New bike lockers are available this month

• Lockers designed to hold ten bicycles are going to be installed at two downtown Santa Barbara locations this month, according to project manager Jay Hillje.
• The lockers are a venture into a new era of accommodation of bicyclists needs. Funded mostly with the state Proposition 116 money, they will provide a higher level of security than visible, outdoor racks currently do. It is hoped that the lockers will attract commuters to use good bicycles that they are reluctant to leave in public . (In 1992, about 400 bicycles were reported as stolen within the city.) Not only can bicyclists leave their heavy locks at home, but they can keep panniers, meters, lights, and other accessories on their bikes.
• Each locker unit will hold two bicycles, one entering from each end. Three units will be installed at Parking Lot 3, next to the downtown MTD bus depot, and two units will go into Lot 2, across Canon Perdido Street from Nordstroms. (It will be interesting to watch what happens, if anything, to the 5-10 bicycles that are locked daily—presumably by employees—to the iron railing outside Nordstroms, while the bike racks tucked in a hidden corner at the Parking Lot 2 go virtually unused.)
• The original locker designs were rejected by the city Landmarks Commission in October because they failed to meet visual standards. Ten automobiles or pickups taking up a lot more space look better, perhaps? Anyway, the revised lockers will have a Moorish motif designed locally by Day One.
• The lockers will be rented at a very nominal fee on a contract basis. The reason for the rental is to control use of the locker key, and to keep people from using them for storage of goods other than bicycles. And frankly, to keep people from living in them. If you are interested, contact:
• Jay Hillje at 564-5393.
• We're certainly hoping that the demand is immediate for all ten spaces. Don't delay if you could use a locker.
• Finally, there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony after they're installed, probably in late January. We hope that lots of bicyclists will be able to jam what could be a great publicity event for the bicycling public.

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New state advocacy group is formed

• On December 3, a group of 30 or so individuals founded the California Bicycle Coalition, or "CalBike" for short. Its formation was spurred by Tom Higgins, an aide to Senator Lucy Killea (San Diego) who has been active in promoting bicycle transportation.
• Its mission statement declares, "The California Bicycle Coalition advocates increased bicycle use, access, safety, and education. The organization promotes bicycle use as an everyday means of transportation and recreation."
• The public meeting was the third one organized by Higgins. It attracted about equal numbers of paid transportation professionals and volunteer advocates. This created a problem in determining times for future meetings since the professionals wanted weekday meetings, and the volunteers favored weekend times.
• It was determined that CalBike would become a 501(C)(4) nonprofit corporation in order to lobby Sacramento for bicycle legislation. Three committees were established, for organization, public outreach, and government legislation.
• The newly-elected Chair is Adam Englund, a lawyer and activist from Los Angeles. Ralph Fertig represented the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, and is on the public outreach committee.
• Just what CalBike's relationship will be to CABO (California Association of Bicycling Organizations), to all the regional advocacy groups like ours, and to local bicycle clubs, is unclear at this time. It appears that structurally, CABO mainly represents the interests of bike clubs, while CalBike is seeking support directly from individuals.
• The next meeting is on Friday, January 28, in Los Angeles. If you wish to join ($25 per year) or attend the next meeting, write to:
• California Bicycle Coalition
  PO Box 162848
  Sacramento, CA 95816
• An excellent resource that they mailed to attendees is a list of 120 key advocacy individuals within California, with addresses plus phone, fax, and e-mail numbers. It's the last three that will enable the dispersed group to effectively communicate.

Proposition 116 deadline

• The city of Santa Barbara has been finalizing its plans for minor repairs using Prop 116 funds. Individuals have been preparing suggestions for improvements such as fixing pot holes, replacing dangerous drain grates, striping or re-striping bike lanes, installing bike detection loops in the pavement, smoothing railroad crossings, or removing other bicyclist hazards.
• The Bicycle Coalition Planning Committee has been working on suggestions, but we know that individuals are also. Everything should be delivered by mid January to:
• Douglas Pike
  Public Works Department
  630 Garden Street
  Santa Barbara, CA 93101
• Direct any questions to Pike at 564-5370.

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Upcoming 1994 conferences

• In addition to the three 1994 conferences described in the December Quick Release, another has come to our attention:
• Putting Our Communities Back on their Feet. February 3-4, San Francisco, California. Sponsored by the Local Government Commission and over 85 other organizations, including the Bicycle Federation of America. This is a community planning conference that includes bicycling, but goes beyond to examine the other components of a livable community. (The five photos illustrating the conference brochure show urban situations with pedestrians, bicyclists, buses—and no cars.) For information, phone 916-448-1198 or write:
• Local Government Commission
  909 12th Street, #205
  Sacramento, CA 95814
• Very briefly, the three others are: Partnerships for Greenways and Trails in California. March 18-20, Pacific Grove, phone 916-653-8615. LAW National Rally '94. July 7-10, San Diego, phone 410-539-3399. Pro Bike Conference. September 6-10, Portland, phone 202-463-6622.

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ETCs now receive Quick Release

• Through an arrangement with the local Traffic Solutions office, we have nearly doubled the circulation of Quick Release by sending it to 153 Employer Transportation Coordinators (ETCs). These are the designated South Coast individuals who are responsible for encouraging alternative transportation, including bicycling. The businesses all have 50 or more employees.
• We welcome them to our efforts to encourage bicycling for commuting, recreation, fitness, and utility. We hope that they—and others, for that matter—will post Quick Release or otherwise make relevant material available to interested employees. An internal newsletter might be ideal. Note that we have not copyrighted Quick Release, so no permission is needed to reproduce it; we only ask that the Bicycle Coalition be cited as the source if material is extracted.

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New buses mean healthier bicycling

• In mid December, the Board of Supervisors approved funding for new local buses that will make bicycling more pleasant. Instead of the polluting diesel exhausts that we breathe when bicycling in traffic now, the new generation of buses will run on a combination of clean-burning natural gas and electricity.
• The new program, expected to be completed by mid-1994, will convert five buses in the Santa Barbara area, three in Vandenberg Air Force Base, and one in Lompoc.
• Currently, some all-electric shuttles and buses run in the Santa Barbara area, but they have power/weight limitations. The new "hybrid propulsion" system uses compressed natural gas to recharge the batteries as the buses run, extending their range and capacity. And certainly, if you've been stuck behind a diesel bus, you know that this is a change for the better.

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Class on sustainable communities begins

• An Adult Education class called "Designing Sustainable Communities" will start on January 19, and run for eight weeks in Santa Barbara.
• The class offers practical environmental information that we can use in our homes and businesses. Although we know that bicycling is, next to walking, the most environmentally responsible and sustainable mode of transportation, it is not mentioned in the course outline. Items to be covered include:
• Landscape for energy and water efficiency
• Solar energy applications in the 1990s
• Building materials for sustainability and health
• Water efficiency
• Community and regional planning.
• The Wednesday night sessions run from 7:00-9:00 pm at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. They are cosponsored by the Museum and the American Institute of Architects.
• Leading experts from the community will present slides and information about each topic. Questions and discussions will be held. Robert Wilkinson is the coordinator. There is no charge for the class, and registration is made at the first meeting.