April
2004

Coalition pursues Santa Ynez Trail



Looking west from the Alisal Road bridge in Solvang shows the quiet river and opportunities along the edges or banks for the Santa Ynez River Trail. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The ranchers and property owners along the Santa Ynez River don't want people on bicycles near their land, and up to now, they've been the only ones to voice an opinion on a proposed Santa Ynez River Trail. We're changing that.
• At our March 2nd Bicycle Coalition meeting, Santa Barbara County planner Stephen Peterson updated us on the proposed trail that would run between Buellton and Highway 154, with a possible extension to Cachuma Lake. The trail is one of many, existing and proposed, in the Santa Ynez Valley Community Plan. The Community Plan is still under development, and there are upcoming opportunities this spring to ensure that trails continue to be included, in spite of opposition.
• Currently, the Santa Ynez Valley has off-road biking in Los Padres National Forest, and on-road cycling on the numerous connecting rural roads. The Santa Ynez River Trail would offer new commute opportunities by connecting the cities of Buellton and Solvang. East of Solvang, it would have several spur trails or paths to residential areas south of Highway 246, and the highly-desirable connection to Cachuma Lake will provide access to camping and recreation.
• The entire Santa Ynez Valley will benefit from a Buellton-to-Cachuma trail because recreational hikers, bicyclists and equestrians will be attracted from all over California and beyond. Similar trails have seen boosts in their local economies from those who come just for the trails, and from those who choose to add an extra day to their stay. Local hotels and restaurants always profit from hungry and exhilarated people.
• The Bicycle Coalition has followed the lead of Corey Evans at Dr. J's Bicycle Shop in Buellton, by creating a petition that will be available at Earth Day, the Firestone Mountain Bike Weekend, and South Coast bike shops. Most important will be your attending the Community Plan workshop that will take place in late April. A map of trails is online at: www.sbbike.org/docs/SYV-trails.pdf

Coalition asks MTD for more bicycle support



Fast to deploy the 3-bike bus racks shown here, the San Luis Obispo Regional Transportation Authority has replaced 2-bike ones. Photo courtesy San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition.

• After researching what other bus agencies around the country do to accommodate bicyclists on their buses, Bicycle Coalition president Ralph Fertig spoke before the MTD Board of Directors on March 2nd. The article "How to get more bikes on MTD buses," published in last month's Quick Release, was distributed.
• Timing could not have been better. Steve Holm, MTD acting materials manager said that 2-bike Sportworks racks had been ordered for 26 new buses to be delivered by summer. The Sportworks 2-bike racks are currently on all 40-foot MTD buses. However, starting last December, Sportworks started delivering a new 3-bike version. So the MTD immediately ordered one of the new racks to test on its buses. If the 3-bike racks don't obstruct the drivers' views, they will probably be ordered instead.
• While the possibility of bikes inside the buses is subject to insurance constraints, an increase of bike-carrying capacity by 50% would be a major improvement. We thank the MTD for their timely action, and look forward to an increase in multi-modal transportation in their area of coverage.

Bicycle Education is a new focus for us

Word from our Board, by Erika Lindemann

• For many of us reading this newsletter, the concepts of vehicular cycling are already familiar. But for the general public, there is a great deal of misinformation about how and where to ride a bicycle. We have all seen the bicyclist riding on the sidewalk or against traffic, with no helmet or light. We think, "What are they doing?"
• In reality, many of these riders believe they are riding safely. Don't they understand that their position and speed make them invisible to others, endangering themselves, other bicyclists and pedestrians? The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, along with many other public and private entities, such as COAST, the City of Santa Barbara and SBCAG Traffic Solutions, are working to reduce bicycle-related collisions through bicycle education campaigns.
• The League of American Bicyclists heads a campaign to educate bicyclists and motorists about the safest ways to "drive your bicycle." In 2002 and 2003, the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition was able to pay for over 15 Santa Barbara residents to become League Cycling Instructors (LCIs), thanks to a Safe Routes to School grant. These instructors agreed to donate time to teach bicycle education to others in our community.
• Participating instructors have already taught children through bike rodeos, instructed adults at several Bike Commute classes during Bike Week 2003, and trained over 75 City of Santa Barbara employees with a 2 hour "Basic Street Skills" course enabling them to use the City's new fleet of town bicycles. Participating instructors have also taught 3 complete "Road I" coursesãa full day of bicycle instruction, including 2-3 hours of on-road instruction. LCIs are now gearing up to instruct children at elementary schools in Santa Barbara and Goleta and will again offer commute classes as part of Bike Week 2004. Contact me to find out how you can become involved: 961-8919 or elindemann@sbcag.org.

March Coalition meeting topics

• Our March 2nd Bicycle Coalition meeting attracted 14 people who discussed many issues facing us, including these:
• Wilson Hubbell described the upcoming April 1st dedication of the Obern Trail.
• Rob Dayton described success of the City of Santa Barbara's bike loaner program for employees, progress on the Pershing Park bikepath, inclusion of a bike shop in new Cottage Hospital plans, and funding of Mission/101 undercrossing improvements.
• Stephen Peterson from County Planning described proposed bike facilities in the Santa Ynez Valley, spurring action from the Coalition.
• A proposal from the Goleta Valley Cycling Club to share in work and profits on their People Powered Ride was discussed. Because of concern of not having enough people to help, we declined a commitment, but will encourage volunteer help.
• Bicycle Coalition ownership of a BikeEd program was discussed, and it was agreed that we should champion it.
• Wilson Hubbell reported that it's looking favorable for keeping the Rincon Hill Road bridge open to bicyclists. Seismic gates will probably be installed. The Coalition will write in favor of keeping it accessible.
• Ralph Fertig described bicycling features for UCSB's San Clemente housing along El Colegio. He will speak at the public workshop on March 11th.
• Unmet farmworker transportation needs were discussed. The Bicycle Coalition will write to the SBCAG Board in favor of their safety in biking to work.
• The need for bike parking at Santa Barbara Saturday Farmers' Market was discussed. We decided that the Farmers' Market group should provide bike parking, not us.
• Ralph Fertig described our agreement to attend SB City College's Project HOPE, offering information on bicycling to school and biking during their spring break.
• Nancy Mulholland reported on our partnering with Looking Good Santa Barbara for a bike recycling and student education program. More considerations and meetings are coming.
• Ralph Fertig said that he would attend the MTD meeting that evening to ask for accommodation of bicyclists beyond the two on the bus bike racks.
• Our April evening meeting will return to Madam Lu Chinese Restaurant.

Bike routes changing in UCSB’s plans



UCSB's transportation consultant Ian Lockwood wants a more distributed campus circulation plan. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• UCSB is making long-range plans for housing and transportation. They intend to house 2900-4000 additional students, staff, and faculty within the next 20 years. Housing will be on campus land, and people on bike, foot, bus and car will have to be redirected.
• Recent UCSB planning efforts on March 16-18th involved housing and transportation consultants. Coalition president Ralph Fertig met with Ian Lockwood, a senior transportation engineer from consultants Glatting Jackson in Florida. Lockwood is admirably car-free, getting around by foot and bike.
• Plans call for increased circulation between Isla Vista and USCB campus. Instead of concentrating cars on El Colegio and bikes on the Pardall Corridor, both would be distributed over more shared roads and paths. Lockwood wants to use a whole toolbox of traffic calming techniques to slow motorists on roads where bicyclists will be present. Such a new roadway could have:
• brick road surface
• continuous concrete bikelanes
• storm drains set into the curb
• overarching trees
• conspicuous, raised crosswalks and bikepath crossings.
• Lockwood envisions greater integration of UCSB's practice of putting bicyclists on paths and IV's practice of putting them on streets, so the transition from one to another will be less abrupt. Success of these changes depends on facility design, how many people use which facility at what speeds, and user awareness.
• The latest housing/transportation ideas will probably be presented to the Isla Vista PAC/GPAC committee in May, and discussed in public then and afterwards.

Mayor talks bicycling

• On March 4, Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum talked about bicycling success in our city. She was speaking at the International Symposium of Bicycle Friendly Communities in Washington DC where she joined 24 other mayors and staff for the symposium.
• Following a welcome from Washington Mayor Tony Williams and former Bogata, Columbia Mayor Enrique Penalosa, Mayor Blum spoke of what the City has done:
• Hired a mobility coordinator
• Sponsored Bike to Work/School Days
• Put police officers on bikes
• Sponsored a Santa Barbara Car Free program for tourists
• Supported bike transportation in the Air Pollution Control District clean air plan
• Crafted neighborhood transportation plans
• Designed safe routes to schools.
• We have posted Mayor Blum's speech online at: www.sbbike.org/docs/Blum.pdf.
• That's not all. What's coming here on June 3 is the Mayors' Ride for the National Bicycle Greenway (NBG) movement. The movement is pursuing a nationwide network of interconnected bike roads and pathways. Relay teams of NBG cyclists will move across America to collect support from the leaders, eventually converging on Chicago on July 30 for the Third Annual NBG Bike Fest. Details about the NBG are at: www.NationalBicycleGreenway.com.

SB City projects—finished, under construction, and forthcoming

• The City of Santa Barbara has been busy. One recently completed project, shown above, is on Calle Puerto Vallarta next to the DoubleTree hotel. This is the major connection between the Beachway path and Eastside residences. Our thanks to City Transportation workers Rob Dayton and Dru van Hengel for striping bikelanes on that section, and replacing in-road sensors.

• Currently under construction and scheduled for completion in May are Shoreline Drive changes. This project has been coming for years. It consists of a new bikepath between Leadbetter Beach and Shoreline Park, a wider sidewalk, and a two-lane roadway with a bikelane on the uphill side. There are some concerns about no bikelane on the downhill side of the road, but it will likely be all right.

• Even longer in planning, funding has finally come through for the Mission Street undercrossing of Highway 101. It received recent federal Transportation Enhancement dollars to complete funding of the project that will increase bicyclist and pedestrian safety along that busy, but important bikeway link.

Bike Week’s coming May 15-23

• A week of exciting bike activities is heading our way. Mark your calendars with these main event dates:
• Bike Week Kick-Off, May 14
• Children's Festival, May 15
• Bike to School Day, May 18
• Bike to Work Day, May 19.
• New this year, the Kick-Off evening event will feature actor and world cyclist Willie Weir (check out www.willieweir.com), dinner, and awards. Art this year by Loren Allen, shown at right, will appear on T-shirts and posters, which will be for sale. Goleta will have numerous morning stations for Bike to Work Day around the area instead of one noon location this year. Tune up your bikes & get ready to crank!

Coalition supports biking farmworkers

• A group of Mexican Mixtec farmworkers, representing the 8000 Mixtecs working in the Santa Maria Valley fields, spoke to the SBCAG Board on February 19 and asked for help getting to and from work.
• What the workers were asking for was bus or van service, but we know that many of them bike to the fields, and could use safer conditions. So Bicycle Coalition president Ralph Fertig sent SBCAG Board members letters suggesting how they could improve biking conditions. A similar letter was sent to the Santa Maria Times, where it was published on March 10th.
• We wrote, "Many low income wage-earners would continue to bicycle to work even if buses or vans were available because bicycling is likely to be cheaper, more direct, and often faster than a bus or van. We believe that bicycling to work is a good idea for many reasons, regardless of income, and there is a need to make conditions safer for those who want to—or must—bike to work."
• We recommended paved roadway shoulders that would separate from traffic not only farm workers, but also disabled motorists, farm machinery operators, and law enforcement officials. No response so far, but every bicycling idea out there helps us all.

UCSB Triathlon group adds cycling

• What happens when you add cycling to a biathlon of swimming and running? You get a highly successful triathlon! That's what the UCSB Triathlon Team discovered on March 7th.
• UCSB Team members Matt Hirschey and J. Ritterbeck organized the event and found out that instead of 25-30 participants typical of their former "Splash n' Dash," they had nearly 200 for a full triathlon. And instead of raising a few hundred dollars, they raised a couple of thousand for their team.
• The new money allowed them to buy bike racks for the transition area. And with funds from future events, they will be able, through their "Start Tri-ing Program," to help students who may not have the equipment and money to participate in triathlons.
• Team president Ritterbeck says, "We are looking forward to hosting the event again next year and growing it into one of the top early season races in the region."

Cycling Center show

• Joshua Patlak, after visiting the Community Cycling Center in Portland, showed his PowerPoint presentation to us last October. See what a bike center can look like (you need Microsoft's PowerPoint to view it):
  www.sbbike.org/docs/CCC-Portland.ppt

Corridor study must include bicycling



People read display information and talk with consultants at the Goleta public meeting of the 101 In Motion process. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Is bicycling a means of reducing traffic congestion within the South Coast? We believe so and therefore request that facilities and programs for people who bicycle now—and those who will bicycle if given better conditions to do so—should be an outcome component of the 101 In Motion process.
• 101 In Motion (formerly "101 Implementation Plan" ) is a long-term action plan to reduce traffic congestion within a 5-mile wide swath along the 27-mile corridor between Winchester Canyon and the Ventura County line. It's not about one road, it's about the impact of congestion on nearly every South Coast highway, road and street.
• There were three public meetings between March 9th-16th. If the two South Coast ones are any indication of public sentiment in general, people favored two actions above 13 others:
• Expand transportation choices like bus, bike, rail
• Reduce travel demand.
• The consultant team stressed that "no one solution will solve the problem. The 101 In Motion action plan will be made up of a package of solutions." Widening the freeway will not provide a long-term solution.
• The Bicycle Coalition's Ralph Fertig spoke of two important components that he felt should be included:
• A South Coast "rail with trail" bikepath along the Union Pacific Railroad.
• Safe bike access and secure parking at all rail stations of any future commuter rail service.
• The process over the next year consists of crafting many "alternative packages" and winnowing them down to one final list of long and short-term measures. There will be other opportunities to express your opinions on the options. To track this important process, go to www.101inmotion.com and follow future issues of Quick Release.

Matt and bicycling—a comfortable fit, by Ralph Fertig



Matt Dobberteen bike commutes to work nattily dressed, with his helmet on his head. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• "It was rust colored and had training wheels," remembers Matt Dobberteen of his first bicycle back in Norman, Oklahoma. He also recalls his first tumble from it, but that didn't deter him from biking everywhere as he grew up. That includes getting his trombone to and from school strapped to his 10-speed bike.
• Temporarily lured away from bicycles by the automobile in high school, Matt returned to them when he moved to Santa Barbara for environmental and law studies at UCSB. After graduation, he worked for the Isla Vista Park Board, the County Parks Department, and then Santa Barbara County Planning. He credits his nurturing there to Dan Gira, Alissa Hummer, and John Patton.
• Today, Matt is Alternative Transportation Coordinator for Santa Barbara County's Public Works Department, a position he moved into last August. There, he shares work with Wilson Hubbell—Matt concentrates on bus systems and the 101 In Motion process, while Wilson works on bicycling and safe routes to school issues. But that doesn't keep Matt from biking to work most days, sportily dressed one might add, in tie and jacket as he pedals along.
• The Santa Barbara area is fine for bicycling, Matt observes; however increasing motorized traffic is a concern. Matt feels that cars are appropriate for many trips, but inappropriate for others where walking, bicycling and taking a bus are better choices. He is especially impressed with the successes that SBCAG's Traffic Solutions continues to make in promoting alternatives to driving.
• In Matt's opinion, two current and upcoming processes are ones that we should be involved with: the 101 In Motion study that will determine the best ways to decrease South Coast traffic congestion over coming decades; and reauthorization of the countywide Measure D, the half-cent transportation sales tax that is up for renewal in 2009. They both can help bicycling.
• Matt envisions our future where smart economic development is possible, and people will have—and use—appropriate transportation to get around. Thanks, Matt, we're delighted to have you on board.

Delayed partnering with GVCC

• At the Bicycle Coalition Board meeting, and then at our general meeting March 2nd, we discussed Goleta Valley Cycling Club's offer to share work and profits from their People Powered Ride. There were reservations, not because of the Club or its members, but because of a concern that Bicycle Coalition members might not volunteer in sufficient numbers to meet GVCC expectations.
• Bicycle Coalition members' feelings were mixed, and it was finally decided that Bicycle Coalition individuals will be encouraged to help out before and during the ride, and we'll see how it goes from there.

Active members

• Please thank and support the following Bicycle Coalition business members:
• Hazard's Cyclesport, Santa Barbara
• Lightning Cycle Dynamics, Lompoc
• We welcome new members Harry Nelson and Jamie Goldstein. And we certainly thank those who renewed their memberships: Browning Allen, Rob Dayton, Eric Schwartz, David, Karen & Zachary Wheeler, Lynn Pearl, Curtis Ridling, Jean Thomson and David Ramsthaler.

Coalition supports City College students



Bicycle Coalition Board member Jim Marshall chats with a student. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• On March 17th, the Bicycle Coalition joined other local organizations in a Safe Spring Break Fair. It was organized by the Santa Barbara City College's Project HOPE (Helping Others through Peer Education), a group of student volunteers who educate other students on healthier lifestyle choices.
• Our booth, located on a grassy knoll overlooking the Pacific Ocean, was staffed by Jim Marshall and Ralph Fertig. Our mission was two fold: tell students about bike rides that they could download from our web site or that they could create for themselves from County Bike Maps; and tell them about commuting to school by bike instead of car. Many students came by saying that they already biked to classes (including one who biked in from Solvang that morning in two hours). Others took County bike maps, Santa Barbara Car Free maps and information, and a flyer that listed Bicycle Coalition web site addresses with useful bicycling information.
• To learn more about Project HOPE, contact student coordinator Linsay Sawzak by phone at 965-0581 x3435, or by email at HOPE@sbcc.net.