October
2000

Board looks toward future at Retreat



Bicycle Coalition Board Retreat participants shown here, front row from left are Ann Lawler, Gary Wissman, and CD Coffey; in center is Sandra Wintermoss; rear, Steve Dewart (professional facilitator), Jonathan Humfrey (Bike Week coordinator) and Robert Bernstein. Not in the shot is Ralph Fertig who took the photo.

• On Saturday, September 16, the Bicycle Coalition held its first retreat. The purpose was to engage the Board of Directors in a broad process to envision future directions that we might take.
• The participants agreed that the process was handled expertly by professional facilitator Steve Dewart who volunteered his time. There was a consensus that we have a robust Bicycle Coalition moving into the new millennium. Several tasks are being undertaken over the next month before the Bicycle Coalition Board's meeting on October 24th.
• There were four proposed areas of discussion, but only two were covered in any depth: the Coalition's scope and its structure. Questions about funding follow resolution of the other areas. The following were considered:
• SCOPE
• Scope raises questions of who we're reaching within our Charter, and might we reach beyond it? A list was compiled of what we are doing, to varying degrees, within our Charter:
• Geography (reaching our entire County)
• Reaching recreational road and track cyclists, mountain bikers, youth bicyclists, Hispanic bicyclists, and college students who bike
• Outreach to bicycle clubs and BMX groups
• Road design issues
• Outreach to tourism and other professional areas
• Multimodal transportation
• Protest activities.
• The question of expanding the Bicycle Coalition's scope beyond its Charter, either with its current name or another, produced a list of potential areas:
• Broad transportation issues
• Pedestrians and bus issues
• Land use planning
• Jobs/housing balance
• Connecting with environmental, health, architecture, and child safety groups.
• The participants were divided on whether we should stay where we are now and concentrate on bicycling, or expand our scope to some or all of the second group of activities. The final consensus was that the retreat participants would recommend:
• Keep the Bicycle Coalition as it is
• Expand our Charter to include building & maintaining bike facilities, plus helping create & work with other bike advocacy groups
• Help craft a separate group for those who wish a broader mission.
• STRUCTURE
  
• Do we want a paid executive director? Office space? Paid staff? A different structure for the Board of Directors? These questions were asked, possibilities weighed, and decisions made to gather information from other bicycle coalitions.
• A job description for an Executive Director was constructed, along with a list of drawbacks. Most prominent among concerns was supporting the position with money and time.
• As for the Board of Directors structure, it was noted that members of the current Board are the most active day-to-day contributors. Other possibilities are an honorary board, or a board of high-profile individuals who can expand our community connections. If the board is expanded, care must be taken in selecting those individuals.
• FUNDING
• The important question of a reasonable budget and fund-raising were not discussed. However, former Environmental Defense Center chief counsel Marc Chytilo suggested many fund-raising ideas at the Board meeting last January.
• Overall, everybody agreed that the retreat was a worthwhile activity that produced valuable discussions and future directions.

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Bicycle Coalition wins school grant

• Our "Kids on Bikes" Committee is off to a great start with an award of $25,000 from California's Active Community Environments project. It was the full amount that the Committee applied for.
• The money will be used to develop plans to reduce or prevent motorist-related injuries to students walking or biking to 30 South Coast elementary schools. Interested in helping? Contact Ann Lawler at 964-3836.

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New bike maps

• The ever-popular Santa Barbara County Bike Map has just gone through its fourth printing. It's produced by the Traffic Solutions office with help from Caltrans, the Bicycle Coalition and local bicyclists. This printing of 60,000 copies will meet the demand of nearly 2000 a month for a while.
• This new edition has no major changes, but it includes minor updates to streets and bike routes within the County. Our thanks to Traffic Solutions for this major contribution to regional bicycling.

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Westside SB bikepath in jeopardy



This view looks southeast from Montecito Street. On the right is the City College path, in the center the wetland, and on the far left, the Carriage Museum and adjacent parade float area. The proposed path was to pass between the wetland and float area. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• After years of planning, petitions, letters, designs and a slow aggregation of funds from multiple sources, it is possible that the Westside bikepath that passes through Santa Barbara's Pershing Park will be abandoned. The reason: wetlands.
• A letter from the City's Public Works Director David Johnson dated August 25 to those interested in the path suggested that the project be dropped. On September 14, however, the City's Planning Commission met and decided to explore a number of alternatives, and postponed any recommendation on the project.
• The original plan calls for a path adjacent to what has been determined to be environmentally-sensitive wetlands. The State Coastal Act and the Local Coastal Plan generally prohibit nearby development. Alternative possibilities include using part of an unpaved Santa Barbara City College path, or obtaining part of a section of paved land that is now rented by Old Spanish Days for storing parade floats. If the City College path is used, it could be connected with a prefabricated bridge over the wetlands.
• If the project is stopped, nothing would be built. This includes an on-demand traffic signal at Shoreline Drive, a crossing through the Shoreline center divider, and a connecting path to the Beachway south of Los Baúos del Mar pool.
• There is still time to make a difference. You can write or email the City Council expressing your concern about the Westside/Los Baúos del Mar Bikeway. Urge them to find a way to help Westside residents access the Harbor, Beach, and nearby jobs. Write to:
• The Santa Barbara City Council
  PO Box 1990
  Santa Barbara, CA 93102-1990

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Bike and win Oct 2-6

• Traffic Solutions is giving away dozens of prizes donated by local businesses to Rideshare Week raffle winners. You qualify to enter if you bike (or walk, carpool, bus, telecommute) at least one day during Rideshare Week, October 2-6. Prizes include hotel stays, restaurant meals, club memberships, and lots more.
• You need to fill out (and return by October 9) a Traffic Solutions pledge card that you can get from most employers, or just phone CD Coffey at 568-3293 for one. How often do you win awards for biking? This is your chance!

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Bills and Governor Davis

• It's getting near the deadline for Governor Gray Davis to sign or veto important bike-related bills on his desk. These bills squeaked through both the Assembly and Senate at the last moment:
• SB 1629 will mandate bikelanes or shoulders where reasonable
• SB 1772 will increase funding in the Bicycle Account
• SB 1809 will increase funding for Transportation Enhancements.
• A separate bill, an Internet bicycle registration bill SB 1997, caught many bicyclists by surprise until the governor vetoed it because of its vague language.

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“California's mayor without a car”



Suza Francina, Mayor of Ojai. Photo by Paul del Signore.

• During a recent trip to Eugene, Oregon, Suza Francina's host proudly introduced her as "the California Mayor without a car," as if being car-free were the ultimate status symbol.
• Suza, born in the Netherlands, has made her home in Ojai for years. When she isn't performing mayoral duties, she writes and teaches yoga. Her web site www.suzafrancina.com houses her inspirational writing about car-free living, yoga, and life.
• A founder of the Ojai Valley Bicycle Coalition, Suza was elected to the Ojai City Council in 1996. She became Mayor in November 1999 when the title automatically rotated to her as a Council member. She decided this summer, however, not to run for office again this November for another four-year term.
• "Don't run for office unless you're independently wealthy," she advises. The pay is a token. Unfortunately, this self-selects who can be on the City Council, and many smart, qualified people cannot afford to help their community.
• When asked what her most important achievement while on the City Council is, Suza replies without hesitation, "The Ojai Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan." Once free from the City Council, she intends to be active in making sure that its provisions are carried out.
• Right now, about half of the motorized traffic in Ojai arises from parents who are chauffeuring children to school and other activities all day long. If the children could gain the freedom of transporting themselves by bike or foot, traffic congestion will be greatly relieved.
• Suza is an inspirational person who lives as she believes. Her example offers lessons to us all.

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Bike commute winners

• Last spring, the Bicycle Coalition conducted a contest for the best essay on the topic "Why I love to bike commute." Here is another entry to the contest:
• Why I love to bike commute by Nancy Eckert
• My bike commuting days began in 1971 with a daily journey to Mrs. Ewing's first grade class on my one speed Schwinn. Feeling the chill and the dampness of the morning on my face was something that I looked forward to. I arrived invigorated and ready for school. That 8-minute trek through Stow Park every morning set the stage for a life long love of cycling.
• Changing the direction of my commute in 1977, heading up Stow Canyon Road through the huge agricultural water gutters brought me the same pleasures and freedom. Hopping on my 2-wheeler gave me a sense of individuality that being driven or taking the bus could not have accomplished.
• As a youngster, I claimed my independence on that two-wheeled machine. At the time I couldn't describe the value, but I knew that I loved to ride my bike. Looking back, the daily commute to school helped me grow up knowing that I could depend on myself. I rode back then because it felt good, and it was fun. Today, those two reasons are paramount in why I still love to commute by bike: It feels good, and it's fun!
• As an adult, bike commuting helps me feel human! By being gentler on the environment and saving money, I feel more human, and less like a typical consumer. Waving at passers by, smiling at the small critters, and noticing the sights and sounds of the great Pacific, helps me stay in touch with my humanity. The darkening of my skin and tensing of my muscles keeps me in touch with my body. I arrive at work with a clear mind, and a sense of healthfulness, ready to start my workday. Being a teacher, I also feel that bike commuting is an important example to set for children. Nothing has ever prepared me for my day in quite the same way as bicycling does.
• I love to bike commute. I arrive at my destination feeling refreshed, alive and fully human. Something positive happens inside of me when I ride my bicycle, something that I keep coming back to.

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Dan Burden returns to Santa Barbara



Dan Burden, a consultant who can make life livable. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• It's always a pleasure to have Dan Burden visit. This time, he came to consult for the City of Santa Barbara. It coincided with the September 14 meeting of the Transportation and Circulation Committee, so Burden gave a presentation about making urban areas more bikable, walkable, and livable. He prefaced his presentation by saying that Santa Barbara was one of his top ten favorite livable cities in the US.
• In an open question period after his presentation, Matt Dobberteen from the County asked whether UCSB-bound, freeway-speed traffic on Highway 217 could be reasonable slowed before a proposed roundabout to Ekwill Street. Burden said that there are many techniquesæsuch as appropriate landscapingæthat will prepare motorists for the roundabout. When asked by the Bicycle Coalition's Ralph Fertig what he thought of bicyclist safety in the new Milpas/101 roundabout, Burden said that he could see improvements, but didn't go into details.
• Burden spent his time working with Dru van Hengel, mobility coordinator for Santa Barbara. "A wonderful experience," she said later.

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Why exercise?

• "Exercise is empowering and energizing, and it increases your sense of control over the situation. You're never too sick or too old to get started exercising."
• æ Bess Marcus, PhD, Brown University

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Olympic bicycling

• Two billion people are watching the Sydney Olympic Games, and they include lots of bicycling. Mountain biking, road cycling, triathlons, and track racing are all Olympic events. The win of Marty Nothstein of Trexlertown, PA in the track sprint was widely publicized with a photo of him carrying his young son around the track in triumph. It was especially vindicating since Nothstein missed a gold medal in Atlanta by a centimeter.
• Mountain biking didn't include US winners, but the riders faced special dangers. The challenging course included a steep rock-studded descent. Riders, however, also had to contend with attacks from angry magpies and confrontations with poisonous black snakes.
• The road races are still upcoming as this goes to press, so we're waiting to see whether the US's Lance Armstrong can overcome his recently-cracked vertebra to win again for all of us.