March
2002

Bikepath along railroad reconsidered



Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way east of the new City of Goleta. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Since the 1970s, a bikepath alongside the Southern Pacific Railroad (now the Union Pacific) has been on planning maps. First it appeared in the Goleta area, and later was extended east to the Ventura County line. South Coast bicycling advocate and Coalition member Bob Burgess has long championed the concept. However, there's a big gap between ideas and implementation, especially when dealing with expensive projects and railroad liability issues.
• The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has been instrumental for years in recycling abandoned railways into 1100 multi-use paths throughout the United States. A nearby example is the splendid Ojai Valley Trail between Ojai and Ventura. In the last few years, the RTC's attention has shifted toward paths next to active railroads. The RTC is currently engaging a law firm in the Bay Area to work on a possible statewide agreement with the Union Pacific.
• Amanda Eaken, at the RTC has been in touch with Bicycle Coalition people Chuck Anderson, Wilson Hubbell, and Erika Lindemann. What would help her efforts, Eaken said, are letters expressing support for our South Coast railroad bikepath. Erika offered to collect them, so here's the deal:
• Email Lindemann at elindemann@sbcag.org and tell her why you want a railroad bikepath, which part you would use, and what kind of trips you would make on it. We'll take it from there.

More people visiting our web site

• On February 21, 1999, a counter was put onto the Bicycle Coalition's web site. It counts the number of individual visitors to our home page. Because there's a seasonal fluctuation in interest, a year-to-year comparison provides the best view of what's happening. In the first year period, we had 4022 visitors. But the second year, that increased to 5935½a 48% increase. Those numbers indicate the number of people looking at our home page. More important might be figures of access of all pages on our site: those show an increase of 220% in overall site activity from 2000 to 2001.
• Our site is recognized as one of the best bike advocacy sites in the country. The venerable chainguard.org resource has links to 72 similar bike sites in the US, but commends only ten for having "much general information or online newsletters." That includes our www.sbbike.org site!

Bike Week 2002

• Since 1994, Bike to Work Day has been our major annual event. And in 1999, it expanded to "Bike Week" with added events like Bike to School Day. The Bike Week Committee is small and dedicated, but we need your help in these areas:
• Volunteer to help one of the eight sites on Bike to Work Day
• We need parents and teachers to help manage Bike to School Days at schools
• Help find sponsors for food and raffle prizes for participating bicyclists
• Tell us of other bike events occurring in Bike Week, so we can promote them too.
• Overall activities are being coordinated by Erika Lindemann (contact her at 961-8919 or elindemann@sbcag.org). To promote your product or service to thousands of local bicyclists, there's a brochure describing marketing opportunities at: www.sbbike.org/BW2K/help-bike/pdf. Other details, including Bike to Work site coordinators, can be found at our web site at www.sbbike.org/BW2K/bw.html.

Bernstein out of hospital after crash



Robert Bernstein, looking much too happy for a guy in physical therapy. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Past president of the Bicycle Coalition Robert Bernstein was involved in a serious automobile accident on February 6 while biking home from work in Goleta. Thankfully, he was wearing a helmet at the time and appears to have sustained no head injuries. He broke several bones, however, and recovery from that will take a while. The prognosis appears favorable for full recovery.
• After a week in the hospital, Bernstein was transferred to the Santa Barbara Rehabilitation Institute, where he is being cared for as this goes to press.
• He was hit about 5:35 PM by a north-bound automobile while bicycling across Storke Road after heading west out of Bollay Drive. For those unfamiliar with Storke Road, Bollay is located south of Marketplace Drive and north of Phelps Road. There is no traffic signal at the Bollay/Storke intersection.
• It could have been any of us there. Be careful, bike with awareness.

Bike rack contest

• If the bike racks you have to cope with are miserable and you think you know what a great rack would look like, this is your chance. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's Industrial Technology Department is having a contest with prizes like a mountain bike, a BOB trailer, bike helmets, and other goodies. Entries are due in San Luis Obispo March 4th, so you have to think fast. For details (there are not many and you do not need detailed drawings), go to www.calpoly.edu/~it/bikerack, or phone Deby Anderson at 756-6680. Winners will have their designs actually built by IT students and evaluated by bicyclists on campus. Wouldn't that make you feel just great?

Adopt a bikepath?

• In early February, Bicycle Coalition president Wilson Hubbell received a request from Caltrans project manager Robert Miller who wondered whether any local bike club would be interested in adopting a bikepath. Specifically, the upcoming Ortega Hill bikepath between Summerland and Montecito. "What's the chance," Miller wrote, "of getting a local bike club to adopt the bike path for minor sweeping/litter removal? I would think once a month would be desired."
• So this half-mile path is open to offers from any community-minded group or club that wishes to help our bicycling. Interested? Contact Hubbell at hubbell@co.santa-barbara.ca.us or by phone 568-3046.

GVCC donates to kids’ helmet program



GVCC president Hildy Hoffman gives a check to SBCMS president Dr. Myron Liebhaber. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• On February 12, president Hildy Hoffman and other members of the Goleta Valley Cycling Club donated $1200 to help provide bike helmets for kids who cannot afford them. The check presentation was made at a meeting of the Santa Barbara County Medical Society's Public Health Committee.
• The Committee is working with the County's Public Health Department to supply volunteer physicians who visit elementary and middle schools. They educate children on bicycle safety and provide free helmets to those in need. The donation from the GVCC was warmly received by the Committee.
• Last summer, the Medical Society surveyed schools in Santa Barbara County and determined that at least 1500 helmets are needed. An example of appreciation appeared in the Santa Barbara News-Press on February 8 from principal D'Anne Brownell at Fillmore Elementary School in Lompoc. She wrote, "This past week the Santa Barbara County Medical Society sent us 100 helmets, and the students have been thrilled to receive them. We have an additional need for more helmets, and Connie Stinson is continuing her efforts to get those to us. Thank you to all who have been contributing to this worthy cause."
• The Medical Society will need additional volunteers in the next month or so to help pass out the helmets and adjust them for the kids. We'll let you know how you can help. To learn more about the Medical Society, go to www.sbmed.org. For info on the Goleta Valley Cycling Club, look at www.goletabike.org.

Listen to your President

• Not of the US, but president Wilson Hubbell of our Bicycle Coalition. Starting in the April issue of Quick Release, Wilson will have a column sharing his wisdom and thoughts about bicycling issues. Watch for it!

Dennis Thompson sets sustainable pace
by Erika Lindemann

• If you live in Santa Barbara and are interested in sustainability, you are likely familiar with the progressive, environmentally sound architectural work of Dennis Thompson. Dennis is a friend of my family so I have long been familiar with his gentle, warm nature and his enthusiasm for the sustainability movement. But when his name was brought up as a person to be profiled in Quick Release as an interesting cyclist in our community, I was intrigued.
• Dennis has used alternative transportation for most of his life, but once he began living in Santa Barbara, it didn't seem feasible to ride his bike to work. He often had to carry large designs or other items that were too heavy or awkward to bring by bike. But around 1992, Dennis often saw another architect regularly riding his bike to work, and he thought, "I can do this." Dennis has crafted a clever solution that allows him to ride his bike 2-3 days a week. He can leave his car parked at work overnight on the days he rides his bike and then can leave his bike in his office on the days he needs to drive. This way, he always has both modes at his office. "I pick the vehicle that is most appropriate for the trip I need to take. When I need to go to the County building from my downtown office, I ride my bike, because I have front door parking and it is actually faster to ride. When I need to go to Montecito to meet with a client and bring along designs, I drive. My daily routine takes a little bit of planning, but it works out nicely."
• Dennis feels that an important reason for riding his bike to work and for having bought his Honda Insight, a small hybrid vehicle, is to set an example for other Santa Barbara residents, similar to what a colleague did for him over 10 years ago. In order to promote sustainability we must make the right personal choices. Dennis not only promotes sustainable design as a career, but also makes personal choices that allow him to ride his bike when possible and drive an efficient vehicle when necessary.

Better Quick Release

• We're growing and proud of the growth. Quick Release is now six pages long in order to accommodate an increase in news about bicycling. This is the first increase in size since we went from two pages to four with the October 1992 issue. Quality, of course, has been improving all along.
• Ralph Fertig, newsletter editor since time immemorial (124 issues ago), proposed in January to the Bicycle Coalition Board a number of Quick Release improvements that include more news and paid ads. Too often he was finding that topics were excluded for lack of room and those that did get in had to be ruthlessly edited down from their ideal size. Accepting advertising from those wishing to better reach our countywide bicycling community will help pay for the extra space. The next few issues will reflect those and other changes in content, so keep watching. This shows how the interest in bicycling is growing, and the Bicycle Coalition is reaching out to accomplish more for us all.

Cars cost lots

• Few people realize how much they could save by replacing a car with a bike. In California, the average car driven the average distance costs $8,376 a year. According to consultants Runzheimer International, that's for fuel, oil, tires, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, financing, taxes, and licensing. Think of what your household could do with saving $8,376 a year: great vacations, better meals, entertainment, nicer home, savings, clothes, and bicycles.

Paths get resurfaced



County workers stripe a dashed line on the newly recoated Atascadero Creek bikepath. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• If you bike along the Atascadero Creek or Maria Ygnacio Bikepaths near Goleta, you have experienced their smooth new sealing coat. The treatment has been applied to the entire older section of the Atascadero path, and that portion of the Maria Ygancio path south of Highway 101½including the nice new bridge over the creek.
• As for the northern portion of Maria Ygancio, it will be widened to eight feet (and ten feet on the steep uphill section) and repaved. The County is still gathering funding for that project, so it will be a while. But thanks to the County for keeping us riding with pleasure on the rest of the bikepaths.

Lake Cachuma plan to be revamped



Lake Cachuma was created by building a dam in the 1950s across the Santa Ynez River. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• In anticipation of the 2003 expiration of a management agreement between Santa Barbara County and the US Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau is holding public scoping meetings. Their intent is to obtain guidance on future land, resource, and recreation management for the 9250 acres under Federal ownership.
• Current public access is limited to the County's 375-acre recreation area on the south side of the lake. Because the lake provides water for much of the County, the primary consideration of the new management plan is protecting water quality. A secondary one is to preserve natural resources and archeological sites around the lake. Lastly is the opportunity to provide recreational facilities. That's where we can make a difference if we want bike paths and trails. What about a round-the-lake trail, or campground access from Solvang without using Highway 154?
• This is not the last opportunity to speak out, but it will be good to appear at the table from the beginning. There are three meetings:
• Solvang ½ March 12, 7:00 PM at the Veterans Memorial Building, 1745 Mission Drive.
• Goleta ½ March 13, 7:00 PM at the Goleta Community Center, 5679 Hollister Avenue.
• Santa Maria ½ March 14, 7:00 PM at the Betteravia Government Center, 511 East Lakeside.

Bike commute contest

• In 1999, the Bicycle Coalition held a contest for the best essays on the topic "Why I Love to Bike Commute." There was a fine response of 23 entries, now posted on our web site in the "Commute" section.
• This year, we will be repeating the contest. Details and prizes are still being determined, but they will be announced next month. While waiting, think about what makes your bike commute special and meaningful.

Bike mentions flatten

• Since 1992, the number of significant mentions of bicycling in South Coast newspapers increased annually until 2000. Then it stopped growing. It couldn't accelerate that fast forever, so maybe it has simply reached a saturation point in the media.
• The year 2001 still had 316 bicycling mentions in articles and 62 in letters to the editor. Nearly a third of those letters were written by Bicycle Coalition members. Our thanks to those members who took the time to speak out for what's important to us: Mary Byrd, Chris Chatto, Lorien Davy, Andy Erickson, Ralph Fertig, Mike Hecker, Grant House, Wilson Hubbell, Drew Hunter, Eva Inbar, Don Lubach, Don McDermott, Alex Pujo, Jamey Wagner, and Ken Yamamoto.

Quick Release expands distribution

• From nearly the beginning, Quick Release has been mailed to the Santa Barbara County Supervisors and Santa Barbara City Council members. In an effort to extend our reach to additional elected officials, it was decided at our general February meeting to mail Quick Release issues to all city councilmembers, including those in the new City of Goleta. We welcome the 34 new people and invite comments from them at any time.

New Caltrans District 5 Director

• Caltrans announced the appointment of Gregg Albright as Director of its five-county District 5. The District includes Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Santa Barbara, and Monterey Counties.
• Albright has more than 20 years transportation experience on the Central Coast area. A graduate of California Polytechnic State University, he's a registered landscape architect.
• Santa Barbara City Planning Commissioner Grant House responded favorably to the announcement. "Albright...has been responsible for overseeing the aesthetics of Caltrans� projects for several years. He has shown himself to be responsive and helpful during the development of Highway 101 Guidelines for the City and County. He is also something of a mediator in that his calm manner and can-do attitude brokered an understanding of the value of community input about the effects of major transportation development in and through our neighborhoods."
• The Santa Cruz Sentinel quotes Albright: "I know that there is an expectation that transportation solutions will respect community values, promote environmental stewardship, and contribute to a sustainable economy. I am committed to working...with communities to find those relevant solutions."
• House reflects those same sentiments in observing, "As we expand our advocacy for livable communities, I believe we will have a partner at the top of Caltrans District 5 who shares many of our goals and who can be helpful in achieving them. It will take the initiative of groups like the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition and the Coalition for Sustainable Transportation to ensure that this is how it turns out."
• It certainly sounds like a turn for the better. Perhaps we can start out right by inviting Albright to one of our meetings, or maybe a separate session.

Where’s the bikelane?



Bikelanes are missing now, but the City promises to stripe them in soon. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• In the fall 2000, bikelanes were painted on Carrillo Street in Santa Barbara on the City side of the Mesa. Bicycle Coalition VP Ralph Fertig biked up the hill in early February only to discover that they were gone. A new seal coat had been applied to the road, center stripes and an edge-of-pavement fog line had been painted. But no bikelanes. So he emailed the City asking why.
• Answers came back immediately from Derek Rapp and Dru van Hengel. Supervising Transportation Engineer Rapp explained, "the bikelanes should have been re-striped as a part of the slurry seal project. As I understand it the project has been put on hold due to low temperatures affecting the quality of the pavement resurfacing."
• Mobility Coordinator van Hengel added more details. "The contractors will be back in April to finish the project. In the meantime, the striping crew was issued a work order by the project engineer earlier this week to restripe the bike lanes from Chino to Miramonte. I'm not certain about the currently existing fog lines, but the bike lane should be replaced as it was before the job in a couple of weeks time, and then it will be redone when the job resumes in April."

Touring cyclist show

• The slide presentation on February 8 by world touring cyclist Steven Williams successfully attracted 300 people to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Cori Crawford, the Museum's communications coordinator thanks Bicycle Coalition members who attended, "especially those five folks who rode their bikes to the show," she added.
• The Museum considered the topic successful and they plan to bring Williams back. Further, if you have other cyclists to suggest, contact Kathy Conti at kconti@sbnature2.org.

Coalition takes position on Gaviota Coast



This little-known bikepath connects El Capitan Ranch with El Capitan State Beach. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The National Park Service's feasibility study of protecting the Gaviota Coast for future generations started in January 2000 and is continuing. The NPS is considering five alternatives for the coast study area that runs from Point Sal in the north to Goleta in the south. The five scenarios are:
• Do nothing
• Encourage County and State conservation
• Create a National Seashore
• Create a National Preserve
• Create a National Reserve.
• These all involve complex issues of ownership, preservation, and public access. In the last three situations, the federal government would purchase land for a future seashore, preserve, or reserve only from willing sellers.
• Our concern as bicyclists is to have sustainable bike access to the exceptionally beautiful, nearly unspoiled area. On February 6, the Bicycle Coalition mailed a letter to the NPS:
• "We strongly believe that the National Park Service should proceed with plans to protect the Gaviota Coast from unnecessary development and create a system of trails, both paved and unpaved, in order to promote healthy public recreation and access to resources.
• We particularly wish to encourage the development of the California Coastal Trail, one of America's 50 state Millennium Trails. Within the Gaviota Coast, the Coastal Trail basically coincides with the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, one of only 16 National Millennium Trails.
• Out of the five alternative approaches to increased land protection identified in the Gaviota Coast Feasibility Study, we believe that those which offer the richest opportunities for sustainable, low-impact access for bicyclists, pedestrians and equestrians will be best."
• If you wish to express your own personal thoughts on preserving our coast, send your comments to the NPS before March 8th:
• Gaviota Coast Feasibility Study Team
  Planning and Partnerships
  National Park Service
  1111 Jackson Street, Suite 700
  Oakland, CA 94607

Lompoc club adopts Highway 135



Rick Lloyd, Lompoc Valley Bicycle Club's vice president, stands by their new sign. Photo by Kim Lloyd.

• Congratulations to the Lompoc Valley Bicycle Club for taking on the task of cleaning Highway 135 between Highway 1 and Harris Grade Road north of Lompoc. The project was started by former club president Tim O'Hara, and the actual cleaning began last September.
• Club vice president Rick Lloyd tells us that Caltrans made the sign with lettering, and the club had to apply its logo. We'll all have to bike along that stretch of highway, now, to enjoy the good job they're doing.

February meeting topics

• Wonder what was discussed at our February 2002 general meeting? Here's a very brief agenda report:
• Coalition will write congratulatory letter to City of Goleta council
• Our by-laws will be modified to better address our policies
• Executive director position was discussed
• Safe Routes to School is producing a booklet for schools
• League of American Bicyclists' BikeEd instructor program will occur here in May
• Coalition will write to Lois Capps about possible loss of Amtrak service
• Steven Williams will present his bike touring show February 8th
• Ralph Fertig proposed a number of Coalition improvements for 2002
• South Coast rails-with-trails project will be pursued
• Coalition will write to National Park Service about Gaviota Coast trails.

UCSB bicycling improves½usually



Bike Shop manager Tracy Strobel holds a new helmet with campus bike advocate Craig Collins. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Most projects for improving bicycling conditions at the University of California at Santa Barbara are hard-won and underfinanced.
• Recent successes occurred, however, when Jamey Wagner, the UCSB Transportation Alternatives coordinator, got the Associated Students Bike Shop and Student Health Service to sell bike helmets to students at cost. Bike Shop manager Tracy Strobel says they're selling nicely, and she has to order more.
• Wagner also persuaded the University Children's Center to offer the same helmets to their 180 kids. Seventeen children ordered them. Diane Jones at the Center is behind the effort. A bicyclist herself, she says that after "experiencing first hand crashes with helmets, it scares me to death to see the children riding on the back of parents' bikes without helmets."
• All's not so promising in the UCSB campus that hosts 14,000 bicyclists a day. The Chancellor's Special Advisory Committee on Parking just issued a report on their parking shortage. They proposed measures to reduce parking demand, one of which is to charge bicycle permit fees that would pay for bike facilities. "Is it a bad idea? Of course. Will it work? Not a chance," said Erik Mills at Davidson Library.
• The report suggests encouraging people to use alternatives to the car, but noted that it would have a negative impact on parking because "this could reduce the revenue stream from parking permit fees." Chuck Anderson observes that "Parking Services, the campus agency charged with fixing the parking problem, gets its operating budget from parking fees. The last thing they want is a decrease in the number of cars parked on campus." You can read the report and make comments at: bap.ucsb.edu/capital.development/csacop/csacop.htm.

Tax break for bike commuting

• If you commute to work by bike, if your employer participates in the "Transportation Fringe Benefit" plan, and if HR 1265 passes in Congress, you will get a tax benefit of $65 a month. The House bill HR 1265, called the "Bicycle Commuter Act," has the backing of 33 co-sponsors. It simply adds bicycling to other responsible means of commuting½carpool and public transit½that already receive the tax break. The bill is currently in committee.
• Those 33 co-sponsors do not include our Representative Lois Capps. Consider contacting Capps and ask her to become a co-sponsor for this bill that will help encourage bicycle commuting:
• Representative Lois Capps
  23rd Congressional District
  1118 Longworth House Building
  Washington, DC 20515
  phone 202-225-3601