July
1999

Robert Bernstein is new Coalition president



President Robert Bernstein. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition elections for officers and members of the board of directors were held during our regular meeting on June 3rd. The outcome resulted in a new president, our Coalition's fourth president, Robert Bernstein.
• Congratulations to Bernstein, we know that he will capably continue the previous leadership shown by outgoing president Gary Wissman.
• We're very pleased to welcome three new individuals to our board of directors: Charles Coffey, Pierre Delong, and Dru van Hengel All elected officers and board members will be gathering for a meeting on June 29th to consider Coalition direction and issues.
• New Coalition Officers and Directors
• President Robert Bernstein Vice President Ralph Fertig
  Treasurer Gary Wissman
  Secretary Sandra Wintermoss
  Director Charles Coffey
  Director Pierre Delong
  Director Wilson Hubbell
  Director Ann Lawler
  Director Dru van Hengel.

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Dan Henry Bike Route

• If any bicyclist within Santa Barbara County deserves to be commemorated, it's Solvang resident Dan Henry.For most of his 86 years, Henry has been bicycling and promoting its benefits So it was especially fitting that the County Board of Supervisors designated the new bikelane system in Santa Ynez Valley on Alamo Pintado Road and Grand Avenue as the "Dan Henry Bike Route."
• A County resolution, signed by all Supervisors, was presented to Henry on June 1st It notes that Henry is "renowned within the international bicycling community for his numerous inventions, including front and rear suspension systems for bicycles, the Dan Henry Route Marking System, and the 'sling' saddle."
• Bike Route signs, modeled after the green South Coast ones, will be installed later this month, says Wilson Hubbell. Watch for them.

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Fairview crossing design

• On June 21, Caltrans began construction of a replacement overcrossing of Highway 101 at Fairview Avenue in Goleta Coalition president Robert Bernstein stopped to talk to the head engineer about bike detours during construction.
• What he discovered, however, was much more important: the final design hardly accommodates bicyclists and when it does, it places them in challenging situations. For example, heading north on Fairview, there is a bikelane to the right of two lanes of on-ramp traffic. When the traffic light is red, the bicyclist must stop, and when it's green, there are typically two lanes of motorists flowing right.
• In considering alternatives, Bernstein conceived a two-way bike lane on the west side of the bridge At the north end, it could perhaps enter Calle Real directly, and at the south end, pass through the golf course before entering Hollister Avenue It would avoid north-bound on-ramp turns because the entry is elsewhere. His suggestion has met with favorable comment on our online forum.
• There are doubtlessly problems with land ownership at both ends and entry into Calle Real and Hollister Avenue Time is short because construction is under way, but maybe a better design is possible.

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Bridge closure endangers Westside residents



No entrance The Ortega Street bicycle/pedestrian bridge entry ramp is closed for a year. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• On May 22, when a construction contractor transporting a excavator machine—a large backhoe—on Highway 101 cut off the bottom of the Ortega Street bike/pedestrian overcrossing, he laughed at the slice through the I-beam. Caltrans found no humor in the damage and tore down the unstable structure that night.
• At the time, nobody seemed to care about the Westside Santa Barbara residents who use the bridge daily to travel by bike or foot between their homes and Downtown work, shopping, school, and recreation.
• A sign tells people to use the Carrillo undercrossing instead. But it's three blocks away and the nearest sidewalk was reduced to a two-foot sliver in order to widen the roadway few years back.
• Caltrans and the City of Santa Barbara have since emphasized the importance of the bridge. Plans for a replacement, it turns out, have actually been under consideration since 1990.
• The new span will be expanded to 12 feet wide to better accommodate all users, but finalizing the design will take a few months, and construction won't be finished until summer 2000 at the earliest.
• Caltrans, however, has put the project on a faster track and will soon hold a public meeting to consider aesthetics of its new design.

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Intelligent Transportation System--how to benefit

• Although transportation engineers usually think of ITS—intelligent transportation systems—as computerized highway information and control measures, we have the opportunity to update that definition Transportation planning agencies in the five-county region between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara are now inviting us to think "outside the box" to solve traffic problems.
• ITS consists of "applying advanced technologies to improve the efficiency and safety of surface transportation systems." Certainly, filling roads with bicycles instead of cars will increase roadway efficiency by a factor of twelve, but how do we use technology to attain that remarkable efficiency?
• Mary Byrd, working with the "Take a Vacation from your Car" program aimed at tourists, envisions interactive kiosks around town to help visitors and residents alike find viable alternatives to the car. What else can we suggest? If you have ideas, contact any of the following to discuss them:
• Mary Byrd at the APCD, 961-8913 or ByrdM@sbcapcdorg
  Ralph Fertig with the Bicycle Coalition, 962-1479 or rhfertig@sbnet
  Mike Powers at SBCAG, 568-2546.

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Mastroianni finishes ride



In front of the Boston City Hall, Joseph Mastroianni, at left, exchanges greetings with Boston's Secretary of Environmental Affairs. Photo by Carmen Higgins.

• On June 4, Bicycle Coalition member Joseph Mastroianni pedaled up to the Boston City Hall to complete his 3800-mile cross-country trip on an electric bicycle. Launched on April 10 from Santa Barbara, Mastroianni made the two-month trip accompanied by a motor home that carried three of his children and a bike mechanic.
• Upon completion, Mastroianni took time to visit with family and friends, go to see Star Wars' Phantom Menace, and rest. On the return trip home to Carpinteria, he stopped frequently to thank those who offered support during his ride. Now back, he is still "debriefing and sorting out the information pulsing in my brain." For photos and comments, look at his web site www.etaa.net.

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County places ads to promote alternatives

• On June 15th, the County Supervisors authorized $40,000 in order to fund two years of advertisements that promote transportation alternatives—ride sharing, use of buses, bicycling, and the Clean Air Express.
• The ads have already begun in local newspapers, in phone directory "yellow pages," and on signs. Jeff Knowles, assistant traffic engineer who is managing the program, says that the use of alternatives will be monitored in order to see whether that amount of advertising makes a measurable difference.
• Unfortunately for SBCAG's Traffic Solutions program that pursues parallel goals, their annual funding was cut by $25,000 because of the new, separate advertising program over which they have no control. This unexpected loss of Traffic Solutions funding, however, is being reconsidered. We certainly want both programs to succeed, but hope that Traffic Solutions money will be restored.

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New members

• We welcome our new Bicycle Coalition members and express our gratitude for their support of better bicycling in our community:
• Bruce Davis
• David and Mary Lawson

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Our Quality of Life
by Hank Dittmar, STPP Campaign Director

• With the passage of the federal TEA-21 transportation funding legislation last year, localities across the country have more transportation funds and more flexibility to use those funds than ever before Americans are feeling more and more stressed—by their daily commutes, by crowded traffic on suburban shopping streets, and by speeding and cut through traffic in once calm residential neighborhoods.
• STPP's Transportation and Quality of Life reports seek to give voice to these American frustrations, by documenting the impacts that lack of transportation choice and bad design have on the day to day life of average Americans.
• Our reports have struck a chord, as evidenced by both the positive public response and by the intense negative campaign now being waged by the highway lobby. In a series of PR broadsides, the key highway construction lobby groups have been quick to call us environmental extremists out to force people to give up their cars and live in crowded apartment buildings.
• In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. We believe that many of the negative impacts of our transportation system on people's quality of life can be addressed by according transit users, bicyclists and pedestrians the same respect and attention to detail now afforded only to solo drivers.
• We think that making safe, walkable neighborhood streets and providing for fast convenient transit in crowded highway corridors will help walkers, transit users and drivers by relieving congestion on roads.
• The only reason for the highway lobbyists to be so vehement about a campaign to make it safe and attractive to walk and bike and convenient to use quality transit service is an economic one—they fear the diversion of dollars from projects to construct new and wider roads.
• In the end, the quality of life the highway building companies are protecting is their own. Let's replace LOS (level of service for cars) with QOL (quality of life) as the mantra of transportation professionals!
• This was condensed from Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) Progress, May 1999. Find out more about the STPP at www.transact.org.

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Crossing frontiers by bike
by Pierre Delong



Bicyclists waiting in Graz, Austria, during the European Vêlocity Conference attended by Bicycle Coalition Board of Directors member Pierre Delong. Photo by Pierre Delong.

• On April 17, I participated in the opening of the bicycle route connecting Slovenia to Austria. This was part of the Vélo City 11th International Bicycle Planning Conference held in Graz, Austria.
• The group boarded a restored steam-locomotive train from the Slovenian Federal Railway Company in Graz, and then crossed the border into Maribor, Slovenia. From there, we bicycled back to Graz through the countryside, passing villages along the way.
• Recently, Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia and is now an independent nation of two million people. It is located just south of Austria, in a sub-alpine region. Slovenia is well known throughout Europe for its spas and health resorts.
• Graz, which hosted the Vélo City Conference, is the second largest city in Austria. It is a lovely city rich in culture and three universities. There are a quarter million inhabitants in Graz, which has one of the highest levels (14%) of bicycle use in Austria.
• Throughout Austria, bicycles up to 21 speeds are available for rent at railway stations through a cooperation between the private Rent A Bike and the Austrian Federal Railways. You can hire a bicycle at one of the 110 railway stations with Rent A Bike depots and return the bike at any other station. This combination of train and rented bikes offers passengers an enjoyable way of exploring Austria.

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Bike to Work winners

• Prizes given by Firestone Winery were awarded to the bicycle club and employer who had the most participants in the 1999 Bike to Work events throughout our County. We're pleased to congratulate the winners:
• Goleta Valley Cycling Club
• Star Telecommunications

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Shoreline Drive changes approved by SB City



This low-traffic section of Shoreline Drive above Loma Alta is slated for lane reduction. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• By a 4-to-3 vote at their June 15 meeting, the Santa Barbara City Council approved a new design for a half-mile section of Shoreline Drive near the waterfront. The meeting was well attended with 42 speakers, equally divided among proponents and opponents of the proposal. Bicycle Coalition members Robert Bernstein, Eva Inbar, Ann Lawler, Alex Pujo, and Bob Burgess spoke in its favor.
• The section of Shoreline Drive under consideration extends from Loma Alta at City College, up hill to La Marina Drive. The plan will reduce the traffic lanes from four lanes to two, retain the bike lane on the uphill segment, remove it from the downhill segment, plant a buffering landscaped area, create a wide bikepath and sidewalk on the beach side for all non-motorized users, and increase beach parking.
• The project will cost $640,000, of which the City hopes 80% will come from local Coastal Resource Enhancement Fund (CREF) money.

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AIDS Ride sweeps through our community
by Ralph Fertig



Members of Team Santa Barbara gather for lunch at UCSB during Day 6 of the California AIDS Ride. Photo by Robert Bernstein.

• The California AIDS Riders passed through Santa Barbara County on June 10-11, carrying a message of grief, compassion, hope and joy. I was among the 2950 participants in the sixth California AIDS Ride who bicycled 560 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles within a week. We raised $111 million to support AIDS charities in California.
• The AIDS Ride was much more than a week-long bike ride. It was a celebration of life that combined an awareness of the devastating AIDS virus with the joys of companionship and bicycling.
• The opening ceremony in San Francisco and closing one in Los Angeles included the Riderless Bike that was walked slowly through the crowd to symbolize the loved one who could no longer ride, no longer chat, no longer hope, no longer dream. It was a moving symbol of our heartfelt losses and a reminder that one day our own bikes will become riderless. For each individual pedaling in the Ride, 112 people have died of AIDS in the US.
• I was one of 40 Team Santa Barbara members. Under the coordination of Bradley Dyruff, our collection of individuals became seasoned team cyclists through eight months of training rides, cajoling advice, and email communication. Our Team included Bicycle Coalition member Jeff Santana, while his wife Susan Santana volunteered as a crew member for the entire week.
• The AIDS Ride was characterized with the most supportive, kind environment that I've experienced. The 650 volunteers combined with the Riders to offer smiles, cheerful words, and helping hands at the top of every long climb, at the end of each daily ride, at all pit stops, and for every moment of our days.
• The California AIDS Ride generated kindness because bicycling invites group sharing and awareness that enclosed motor vehicles preclude. In addition, the Ride management stressed safety, admonishing all riders to constantly be aware of others and call out upcoming dangers. These verbal interactions united the group and maintained alertness. But above all, the Ride was dominated by a basic celebration of human life.
• What does this mean for bicycle advocacy? What I saw were thousands of bicyclists who hadn't biked for years turned into capable, safety-aware, considerate road cyclists. The AIDS Ride may be doing more for California bicycling than any other single effort.

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“Vacation from Car”

• We're delighted that the "Take a Vacation from Your Car" project has been funded. An immediate development is a section dealing with visiting Santa Barbara area without a car, just published in the County Destination Guide 1999/2000. It lists bike rentals and refers people to our web site! A meeting of interested partners will be held July 21, 11:30-1:00 at 12 East Carrillo Street. For details, contact Mary Byrd at 961-8913.

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Our online forum

• The Bicycle Coalition sponsors an online email forum where subscribers can post and read messages that pertain to local bicycling issues. We have recently switched hosting to cyclery.com, an online bicycle-related service that includes over 200 electronic mailing lists, 44 of which are in California. It's easy and free to be part of our group by subscribing. Just send an email message to:
• majordomo@cyclery.com
• The subject line can have anything, but in the body of the message, put these two lines:
• subscribe sbbike
  end

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Windmill Century

• This July 18, Tailwinds Bicycle Club of Santa Maria will offer its annual Windmill Century ride. Starting from Los Alamos, choose rides of 64 or 100 miles that keep mostly to country roads. Yes, you even pass real windmills. Fee includes pasta dinner, pit stops, and sag support. Phone 489-0818 for information.