February
2001

New Fairview bridge opens in Goleta



While all pedestrians use the sidewalk shown at the right, we're unsure how many bicyclists use it—or either of the two bikelanes—or avoid the busy bridge altogether out of fear. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The replacement bridge of Fairview Avenue over Highway 101 in Goleta is complete, to the relief of local businesses that suffered during construction. The bridge has, as Caltrans designed and built it, 8-foot bikelanes in both directions and a 5-foot sidewalk on the western side.
• During the design process and after construction began, suggestions for design modifications were made by Robert Bernstein, Rob Dayton, Eva Inbar, Wilson Hubbell and others. The intent was to increase safety for north-bound bicyclists who contend with two freeway entrance ramps. By contrast, the south-bound bikelane has no freeway entrance ramps. A "design exception request" was sent to Caltrans, suggesting that the bikelanes be narrowed and the sidewalk widened and made into a multipurpose path. These changes were subsequently rejected by Caltrans.
• What Caltrans did do was construct a connecting pedestrian shortcut to Calle Real and, addressing a separate concern, they agreed to restripe the north-bound bikelane to conform to their standards at intersections.
• At its January meeting, the Bicycle Coalition voted to advocate a retrofit to put in the multipurpose sidewalk. Stay tuned.

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Ellwood bridge funded

• The largest bicycle/pedestrian project in County history was guaranteed financing in a January vote by County Supervisors. After years of gathering funds from multiple sources, there is finally enough money for the new 650-foot bridge over Highway 101 and the railroad west of Glen Annie Road.
• Supervisor Gail Marshall, taking a strong personal interest in residents' safety, has pursued funds for construction that will probably begin in 2002. Although all funding is now secured, the County continues to apply for federal and state grants so that some "local money" now earmarked for the project might be released for other local projects.
• The project can now move into design and land acquisition phases for the bridge.

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Bike news slows after 8-year increase

• Since 1992, the number of significant mentions of bicycling in South Coast newspapers increased annually until 2000, when it leveled off. "For year after year, I was pleased to see an increase," commented Ralph Fertig, who keeps binders full of bicycle-related articles and letters to the editor that are published in the County's South Coast.
• "What's significant in 2000," noted Fertig, "is that the newspapers published a record number of articles—326 of them—that contained bike mentions. Where we fell short last year was in letters to the editor. It was within our control to have yet another year of increase. All we needed was 7 more published letters to surpass the 1999 total. It was within our grasp, and we fumbled."
• Our congratulations, nonetheless, to all Bicycle Coalition members who had their bicycle letters or editorial pieces published. Our president Robert Bernstein had four published, vice president Ralph Fertig had three, and Safe Routes to School advocate Eva Inbar had two. Others had one published: Douglas Allard, Chuck Anderson, Alan Bergquist, Mary Byrd, Dan Henry, Ann Lawler, Alex Pujo, Curtis Ridling, Dru van Hengel, Jamey Wagner, Dan Wesolowski and Ken Yamamoto. Our apologies if we missed any others who wrote.
• Now, about 2001—start thinking what you can do to keep bicycling in the public's consciousness. The more that people think bicycling, the better off we'll be. Let's regain our momentum this year!

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Free clean air calendar



Drawing by Ken Farris, age 7.

• Hurry to get your free "Kids Care for Clean Air" calendar for 2001. The County's Air Pollution Control District and Traffic Solutions teamed up to sponsor a countywide drawing contest for kids.
• The result is a fun calendar for 2001 that features 13 pictures drawn by kid ages 5-12. Drawings show kids getting around in non-polluting ways, including of course bicycling. The grand prize winner, Rebecca Vandervort of Goleta, won a bicycle contributed by VeloPro Cyclery, a savings bond donated by Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, and her drawing on the calendar cover.
• There are still some copies left. Get yours from Traffic Solutions 963-7283 or APCD 961-8800.

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New IV bikelanes



New bike lanes on both sides of Embarcadero del Norte calm traffic and encourage more orderly bicycling. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Santa Barbara County's Wilson Hubbell announced the recent completion of bicyclist improvements in Isla Vista. The two main commercial streets—Embarcadero del Mar and Embarcadero del Norte—have been repaved and bike lanes striped on both sides. This improvement not only makes it safer for the many bicyclists in Isla Vista, but encourages more people to make shopping, dining and other trips by bike.

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New Caltrans director can really bike

• Caltrans' director Jeff Morales, appointed just last year, is bringing a fresh vision to the old department of highways. Declaring that the era of building new highways is over, he is concentrating on improving the efficiency of existing facilities while embracing all modes of transportation.
• Morales' actions speak strongly. For example, he makes his staff use different modes to travel to meetings: vanpool, Amtrak, and—would you believe?—bicycle. The most recent bike trip consisted of a 40-mile ride in the cold and fog on November 15, from Sacramento to Stockton. California Bicycle Coalition executive director Chris Morfas joined the group of 15 riders on the trip and reports that Morales, riding an old Nishiki hybrid bike, not only managed well, but often led the way. Morfas recalls with delight that loop detectors failed cyclists at an intersection, leaving them stuck until Caltrans' chief deputy director biked across a right-turn lane to push a pedestrian button.
• Morfas ponders our future by observing, "This new spirit has not yet trickled down to all of the Caltrans district offices, much less the regional agencies. Still, for the first time ever, Caltrans has at its head a competent, bicycle-friendly director who commands the respect of his staff and the governor."

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Obesity and fitness

• The U.S. Surgeon General cites a 5% annual increase in obesity rates among US adults as an indication of our public health crisis. We actually eat 400 fewer daily calories than our grandfathers, but only 15% Americans today have any regular physical activity. A recent survey of US cities by Men's Fitness magazine, however, did determine that 8 of the 20 most fit cities are in California. See what cities are fit and which to avoid at www.mensfitness.com/cities.

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SB County lauded

• The conversion of in-pavement loop detectors to pole-mounted video systems by Santa Barbara County at all signalized intersections was the subject of an article in the December 2000 issue of Iteris In Focus newsletter. Iteris is the manufacturer of Vantage video cameras and analysis software that is being installed in our County.
• Iteris notes that their systems are manufactured and tested for sensing of motorists. However, they're pleased to see that progressive users like Santa Barbara County, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo have been able to successfully implement video-based bicyclist detection using Iteris algorithms. Of course they have a vested interest in the success of their systems, but so do we.

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Atascadero path closed for construction



Bright orange signs alert bikepath users to construction dangers and a detour on week days. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The very popular Atascadero Creek Bikepath between UCSB and Santa Barbara has a workday detour during new sewer pipe installation. The contractors had no choice but to close the path when all their machines are operating. However, they have carefully signed a bike detour through neighboring streets and, according to reports from bicyclists, the workers have been very courteous to them. The path remains open evenings and weekends.
• A concern is the crushing of path edges and scarring of the surface by the heavy construction machinery. We have been assured by County alternative transportation coordinator Wilson Hubbell that the contractors will repair their damage when done and install a new asphalt overlay. In the end, we may have not only a better bikepath, but also a model for accommodating bicyclists during construction elsewhere.

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Bike Week 2001

• Bike Week is moving ahead under the coordination of Jonathan Humfrey. And he's being helped by Albert Einstein, whose photo will be featured on the poster, ads, and other Bike Week material. Mark your calendars for the main Bike Week events:
• May 19, Saturday, Santa Barbara Bike Expo
• May 22, Tuesday, Bike to School Day
• May 23, Wednesday, Bike to Work Day
• If you want to have a booth or event at the Bike Expo, contact Dru van Hengel at 564-5544. If you want to help at one of the eight Bike to Work Day events (Vandenberg AFB is included this year), contact Humfrey at 962-9812. If you have ideas for other events that could take place during Bike Week, we need them. Maybe you have slides of a bike trip, or know of some bike-related activity that can be included in our list of events. Or want to lead a bike ride (maybe to promote your club) or encourage people to bike to some museum or other place, please bring it up. We hope to have the list of Bike Week events finalized by the end of February, so bring your ideas to the table.
• Bike Week meetings are coming more frequently now, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. (See Bike Event listing for time and place.) Please join us to share your thoughts.

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Velodrome revival

• Invited in 1992 to help plan active recreational projects for the newly-acquired Santa Barbara Shores County Park, the local cycling community turned out in large numbers to put a "Sport Track" that hosted a cycling velodrome and inline skating track on the plans. In the years since, everything went on hold during a toxic waste cleanup on the former oil processing property.
• Just recently, following wetter winters, it was determined that protected wetlands were located throughout the Park. This reduced the usable area to nearly nothing and led the County Supervisors to scrap the existing plan and arrange for a newer, much smaller one.
• Several months ago, local bicyclist Mike Hecker revived the moribund velodrome plans when Santa Barbara Shores prospects were dimming. He activated a group to help examine alternate sites, consider facility management, and examine funding sources. If you have ideas on any of these, contact Hecker at 966-1807 and ask to be put on the velodrome email list.

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Santa Barbara “green bike” program is funded

• With money from the City of Santa Barbara's Downtown Parking Fund, a "green bike" program has started. "Green" refers to environmental benefits rather than bike color.
• The general idea, according to Councilman Dan Secord, is to flood the City with free bikes, so that visitors, employees, and shoppers will bike more. Details are being developed, but according to mobility coordinator Dru van Hengel, there might be automated bike racks where people pay a deposit, take a bike, ride to another special rack near their destination, then leave the bike and get their deposit back.
• The idea is not new. In the mid-1990s, a number of cities around the world initiated free bike programs. Lori Risque at Traffic Solutions researched community bike programs in 1997. According to Risque, many different approaches were tried. She commented that the program seemed to fail in large cities or small ones near large ones because too many bikes disappeared. Smaller communities were more successful.
• If you have thoughts, phone van Hengel at 546-5544 or email her at: dvanhengel@ci.santa-barbara.ca.us.

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Street paving and striping



Bicycling State Street lanes on a quiet morning. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The City of Santa Barbara has recently repaved many streets, giving us silky biking conditions. Even better, they've seized the opportunity to modify the width of some traffic and bike lanes. A striking example is three blocks of Downtown State Street where outside bike lanes were increased to 5 feet and the bike slots between the right-turn and through lanes were increased to 4 feet. The extra space came from the traffic lanes, slowing the motorists while giving more room for us. Thank you, Santa Barbara.

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What’s the Thunderhead Alliance?

• One of the groups that the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition has joined is the Thunderhead Alliance. It's an American association of 36 state and local bicycle advocacy groups, named after the Thunderhead Ranch in Wyoming where bicycle advocacy leaders gathered in 1996 and 1997. Eight of the 36 member groups are in California.
• The Thunderhead Alliance helps US bike advocacy groups more efficiently meet their challenges in three ways:
• Sharing information, techniques and resources.
• Creating a common voice for state and local bike groups to work on national issues and participate in coalitions with national groups.
• Assisting new groups.
• Except for Gary Wissman's participation in their 1998 retreat, we haven't been actively involved with them, which is unfortunate because they are all dealing with the same issues that we are. If anybody would like to be a liaison to them, speak up. At least browse their site www.thunderheadalliance.org.