December
2001

Nine bike projects are recommended



Striping bikelanes at the Garden Street interchange with Highway 101, shown here, is one part of the City of Santa Barbara's $350,000 package of bicyclist improvements. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Nine out of 14 bicycle projects submitted for possible funding have been recommended to the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Board of Directors by their staff. The presentation to the Board took place on November 15. This may or may not be what the Board will approve on December 13 for funding, but it's likely a good indication.
• The original 14 proposed projects were described in the September issue of Quick Release. The nine recommended projects and funding, worth a total of $4.1 million, are the following:
• Santa Maria Valley Railroad Bikeway, Santa Maria ... $736,000
• Santa Maria Levee Bikeway, Santa Maria ... $300,000
• Airport Bikeway Connection, Santa Maria ... $116,000
• Riverbend Park Bikeway, Lompoc ... $713,000
• San Jose Creek Bikeway study, Goleta ... $200,000
• Citywide Bicycling Improvements, Santa Barbara ... $350,000
• Shoreline Drive Park Expansion, Santa Barbara ... $320,000
• Mission Street Bikeway at 101, Santa Barbara ... $1,061,000
• Carpinteria Bluffs Bikepath, Carpinteria ... $310,000
• The five bicycle projects not recommended are: Refugio/Roblar bikelanes, Santa Maria River Levee trail to Guadalupe, Orcutt Creek bikepath, Cathedral Oaks bikepath, and Battles Road bikepath landscaping. They represent $3.3 million in funding. If you feel strongly that they should also be funded, contact members of the SBCAG Board right away (see September's Quick Release).

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Changes coming to Foothill Road



Looking west on Foothill Road, the narrow 11-foot lanes and scant shoulders often plunge into drainage ditches, some of which are five feet deep and stone lined. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• If you've biked in the South Coast on Foothill Road west of Mission Canyon Road, you know that it's one of the busiest and narrowest roads around. There's a chance, however, that Caltrans will make life safer for us all.
• Thanks to Bicycle Coalition member Ray Smith who lives in the area, we were alerted to a meeting on November 8 between Caltrans and the Mission Canyon Association. Ralph Fertig, Coalition VP, was also able to attend. Due to high accident rates, Caltrans has up to $2.5 million in safety improvement funds for the 0.7-mile section of Foothill between Mission Canyon Road and Alamar Avenue.
• The road currently has two 11-foot lanes with drainage ditches on one or both sides. Caltrans proposes to widen it to two 12-foot lanes, replace the ditches with buried storm drains, and apply decomposed granite on two new 5-foot shoulders.
• The question that arose is whether the shoulders could be paved and marked as bikelanes. Most residents favored paving because they either want to bike or walk there, or because cyclists hold them up when they drive on the roadway. Other residents, however, say that while they don't mind paved shoulders, they sometimes use the space for parking when they have company. They would fight against any BIKE LANE designation.
• Caltrans project manager Robert Miller said that their limit of $2.5 million might be enough to pave the shoulders. Where the money goes will be determined by an upcoming EIR Environmental Impact Report.
• This is an early stage of the project, so we're pleased that Caltrans is seeking input from the community. Construction is a few years off, and there will be chances for public comment along the way. Stay tuned.

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Community Indicators slights bicycling

• Community Indicators was recently published by UCSB. The report provides "how we're doing" data on the County's South Coast social, environmental and economic trends.
• On page 31 of Indicators, there's a statement: "Buses are the most popular means of environmentally friendly transportation on the South Coast." This statement is unwarranted because there is no data to support it. We have counts on commuting to work, but that's only 20%-25% of all trips. What we're missing is a "mobility study" that tells us about all trips and how they're made. Other areas like Boulder, Colorado, have been measuring travel for years. Until we count everything, we can't say what's most popular.
• Although some consider bicycling to be a "canary in the coal mine" indicator of community health, it's only mentioned once in Indicators. That's under commuting to work, where bicycling is grouped with walking. The graph that illustrates commute to work trends comes from Traffic Solutions data from 1993 to 2000. Although the actual counts show growth in bicycling to work (about 15% per decade), when grouped with walk-to-work data, there's an overall loss. Maybe we need more awareness?
• A PDF version of Community Indicators is available for viewing.

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SB Bicycle Club is back

• On October 6, the Santa Barbara Bicycle Club emerged from dormancy into new life. The revived club hopes to host three 2002 events: the Gibraltar Hill Climb, Santa Barbara Century, and a Downtown Criterium. New club board members are Mike Hecker, Seth Waterfall, David Court, Rene Lene, and Kate Downs.
• Looking ahead, Hecker says, "a main objective is to portray our club as being responsible users of the roads that we share with motorists, to use proper riding etiquette while representing our club, sponsors, and the sport of cycling."

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SB City’s brochure

• The City of Santa Barbara needs your help. They're working on a simple safety handout that deals with basic driver, bicyclist and pedestrian safety. It's being produced by the Public Works and Police Departments. Thanks to the City's Dru van Hengel, we obtained a PDF Acrobat version of a draft and put it up on our web site: www.sbbike.org/safety.pdf.
• Please take a look and send your comments to van Hengel at 564-5544 or at dvanhengel@ci.santa-barbara.ca.us. She needs them by the end of the year. This should make life safer for us all.

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Great book for this Century
by Ralph Fertig

• Thanks to Jamey Wagner at USCB for alerting our email list to a presentation there by Alan AtKisson, author of the book Believing Cassandra. The book is a joy because of AtKisson's incisive and clear writing style. Paul Hawken, founder of Smith & Hawken, says, "Alan AtKisson is the freshest and wisest voice to emerge from the sustainability movement in many years."
• AtKisson describes our problems of overpopulation, pollution, and resource depletion. He then maps out an optimistic plan to save us all. He outlines five characteristics that sustainable changes (like bicycling) must have to succeed:
• Appear advantageous
• Be simple to understand
• Allow trials before adoption
• Give visible improvements to people or nature
• Be easy to incorporate into existing lifestyles.
• Read this excellent book to better understand how we can promote bicycling — and save our world!

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Great web site!

• "You have a wonderful bike site. Well organized, lots of information and great use of color. Super job, keep up the good work."
• — Mike Stewart, Moorpark, California

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SB City approves video cameras

• The Santa Barbara City Council approved a $1.1 million contract to install and run video cameras that will control traffic on outer State Street. Reportedly, the cameras are made by Iteris, the same manufacturer of the Goleta cameras that have been successfully detecting bicyclists for years.
• We can only applaud the City in finally moving ahead with technology that can replace in-ground cables that too often fail to detect bicyclists.

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Bikepath preserved

• The Bikeway Plan for the City of Santa Barbara includes a eight-block section on Quarantina Street between Canon Perdido and Mason Streets. For years however, the block next to Ortega Park has been occupied by the City's temporary skateboard recreation area.
• When the wonderful new "Skaters Point" park opened by the beach last year, some wanted the old facility retained. Thankfully for bicyclists, this didn't happen, and the old wooden ramps were removed, giving the street back to us bicyclists.
• Recently a new alarm was sounded when the Parks and Recreation Department announced that the street would be closed and grass planted. Rest assured, said Mobility Coordinator Dru van Hengel, "the bike path will be preserved as part of the project." That's a relief since the route is a convenient way to bike across town.

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Ortega Street bike/ped bridge opens



The new bike/ped bridge at Ortega Street in Santa Barbara spans not only Highway 101, but also the Union Pacific railroad line. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• For over two years since they lost their access to Downtown Santa Barbara when a truck sliced through their bridge's supporting beam, pedestrians and bicyclists on the City's Westside have watched the slow bridge reconstruction while they had to walk or bike blocks out of their way.
• Now, the brand new bridge at Ortega Street and Highway 101 is finished. It provides a wider, well-lighted means of travel. In order to comply to ADA requirements, the ramps are long, providing accessibility for the physically handicapped, an easier climb for cyclists, and a neat ride for skateboarders.
• Try it out when you have a chance. And give thanks to Caltrans and the City of Santa Barbara for a well-done job!

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Bicycle Bob is a “Local Hero”

• The November 21 issue of the Santa Barbara Independent was devoted to Local Heros in our community. We're pleased to see that bicyclist Bob Zaratzian was selected this year for his contributions of bikes, accessories and services to schools and charitable organizations.
• Zaratzian is owner of two Bicycle Bob shops. He opened the Santa Barbara shop in 1981, and the Goleta store in 1988. Concerning his support for bicycling, he says, "I don't do it for the recognition. I contribute because I want to support whatever that particular group is doing."
• Our sincere congratulations to "Bicycle Bob" for making bicycling the great experience that we know it to be.

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Holiday gifts for bicyclists

• We've got some great ideas for you! For those bicyclists on your gift list, why not give them a membership in the Bicycle Coalition? Membership starts at $12 a year, it's tax deductible because we're a nonprofit, and they will get Quick Release for a year.
• Want something else, how about our big red and white Bike Flag? They're like the ones along State Street during Bike Week. They're only $33. A PDF order form is at: www.sbbike.org/art-home/flag.pdf.
• Want another suggestion? Consider our video "Decide to Ride," one woman's story about learning to bike commute to work. It's less than a flag— only $18 including shipping and tax. Learn about it at: www.sbbike.org/video/video.html
• One more thought if you're a worker who has a United Way plan. This is not a holiday gift, but it's a real benefit to all your bicycling friends. Just designate the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition as the recipient of your charity donations. Just do it!

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Cathedral Oaks redesigned for cyclists



A series of flexible paddles now guides traffic on Cathedral Oaks Road in Goleta. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• In a letter to Public Works Director Phillip Demery on September 9, the Bicycle Coalition described a dangerous situation for bicyclists on Cathedral Oaks Road in Goleta, and requested that safety improvements be made. In response, Demery organized a meeting to consider alternate roadway designs, and action immediately followed. Our thanks to Demery, Scott McGolpin, Wilson Hubbell, and other Public Works staff who contributed.
• The situation was described in the October Quick Release. The problem arose when motorists ignored pavement lane markings and stranded cyclists with fast-moving traffic on both sides. The solution, shown in the photograph, was a series of flexible "paddle" markers that now demarcate the lane changes from two lanes to one. The white paddles have reflectors on them, making them highly visible day and night. As far as we know, the solution is totally effective.

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Bikes Belong

• In just a few years, the Bikes Belong Coalition has given away over $400,000 to help leverage $200 million in federal TEA-21 funds for bicycling projects all over the US. Bikes Belong is sponsored by the American bicycle industry. Their mission is simply to put more people on bicycles more often.
• Note that five bicycle coalitions in California have obtained funding from the Bikes Belong grant program. It's time for us to identify a project within Santa Barbara County that is reaching for TEA-21 (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century) funding, and that could use outreach or matching funds to obtain it. Check out their web site www.bikesbelong.org for information.

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New signs on 101

• Goleta cyclist Galen Miller contacted Caltrans about the lack of warning signs for bicyclists on 101 near Tajiguas and the Gaviota tunnel. Caltrans' Pat Mickelson responded in October, saying that the Office of Traffic Operations had approved SHARE THE ROAD signs to be installed on southbound Highway 101 prior to the Arroyo Quemada bridge, and on northbound 101 before the Gaviota tunnel. It will be a few months to make and install them, but they're coming.

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Just stretch it

• "A longer muscle is a stronger muscle," Lance Armstrong said in a December article on stretching in Men's Fitness. Armstrong revealed that he stretched an hour a day before his latest Tour de France victory, claiming it made him a more powerful cyclist. The article goes on to describe advantages of stretching:
• More elastic muscles recover from exercise faster
• Stretching lengthens muscles, giving strength through a broader range of motion
• A longer muscle has more room to grow.