December
2009

CycleMAYnia coming May 2010

• A large crowd of over 100 turned out on a gusty November 18th night to learn more about upcoming monthly bike events, and hear about our bike month 2010. It was announced that “Cycle MAYnia” was voted the favorite name for the May 2010 cluster of events.
• Lots of great ideas were collected. Events might qualify for mini-grants of $50-$500 from Traffic Solutions to support them. Mini-grant details are at www.trafficsolutions.info.
• If you missed the party, you can still submit ideas for events. Go to the December 3rd event at WheelHouse, 528 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, 5:00 PM.
• A new section on our website www.sbbike.org will be devoted to updates and opportunities. Exciting bike times are coming for us all in 2010.

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Coalition promotes bicycling with Independent article

• Santa Barbara residents are shifting gears. The November 12th issue of the Santa Barbara Independent published an article by our Bicycle Coalition president Ralph Fertig. It described US Census Bureau data showing an increase from 3.2% to 5.2% in Santa Barbara's bike commuting between 1990 and 2008 (as was reported in October’s Quick Release). It bolstered that data with our own counts at Santa Barbara intersections showing a 16% increase in people bicycling over the prior four year counts.
• The article then considered why people are increasingly choosing to bicycle:
• People are aware of global climate change and are choosing means of travel that pollute less.
• People are looking at their budgets and discovering that $8100 a year typically goes to getting around by car, so they are changing how they travel to save money.
• People are scared by the weight epidemic that’s effecting everybody, and they’re changing to active lifestyles like walking and biking instead of sitting in a car.
• Santa Barbara is actively leveling the playing field so that all means of travel are equally accessible to residents. For too long, the city had been building for the least efficient, most expensive, and most space-consuming means of travel, the automobile.
• The article ended, “The trends over the past two decades will likely continue, if not accelerate. The age of the automobile is not gone, but it has lost its luster and is being critically questioned by residents who are looking to our future, not our past.”

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Baron and Cecile double The Bikestand space



The Bikestand is located at 1213 State Street, back the paseo from McDonalds restaurant. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Baron Corpuz and his charming wife Cecile keep moving and building bicycle enterprises wherever they go. Just three months ago, they returned to Santa Barbara to open a diminutive The Bikestand tucked just off State Street.
• Then in October, the shop next door became available, and they snapped it up. Dubbed “The Bikestand 2.0,” it was linked with a new connecting doorway and immediately filled to the ceiling with additional bikes and accessories.
• They are continuing their shop in Santa Paula, but moving that to a new location. And if that’s not enough activity, they are hoping to open a bike repair facility in Santa Barbara soon. And possibly more for the energetic couple whose dreams are being pushed ahead at an accelerating pace. Go visit and talk bikes any time.

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Bikes+booze can cost

• We all know that driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a serious offense with serious consequences. However, few know that it’s also illegal to bike that way. The California Vehicle Code states, “it is unlawful for any person to ride a bicycle...while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug.”
• Motor skills are often the first to be impaired by alcohol and drugs, and riding a bicycle requires more balance than driving a car. If an officer determines that a person is riding unsafely due to alcohol, he or she can still be cited even if their blood alcohol level is less than the normal .08 percent threshold.
• The fine for biking under the influence is $250 plus a $120 booking fee. Any arrest goes on a person’s driving record for three years. Those under 21 years old can lose their driver’s licenses for a year. And anybody cited might end up spending a night in jail to recover.
• Arrests in Santa Barbara county are infrequent except in Isla Vista. That doesn’t mean that you cannot be cited anywhere. So be careful, be aware of what you’re doing.

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Inspiration sought!

• Santa Barbara’s Community Environmental Council is seeking stories about getting around with less impact than a typical single occupant driver. For example, how you gave up your car, how you bike more than drive, how solar charges your trips, or how an e-bike extends your range.
• Stories will become part of the CEC’s “Get Started” campaign, designed to inspire other community members to save our world one step—or pedal stroke—at a time. Send them to Michael Chiacos at mchiacos@cecmail.org.

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Future of BMX at Elings Park is in question
by Ralph Fertig



Young BMX racers at Elings Park learn bike skills and enjoy competition on the BMX track, a facility that could be lost. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Elings Park in Santa Barbara hopes to alter its recreational offerings and some nearby residents are opposing them. The outcome, including a proposed relocation of the existing BMX track, is at risk.
• On November 12th, a hearing on Elings Park Improvement Plan’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was held by a joint session of Santa Barbara’s Planning Commission and Parks & Recreation Commission. The 3.5 hour meeting drew about 200 people.
• Currently, bikers of all ages are attracted by the BMX track and mountain bike trails. The Improvement Plan proposes to leave the bike trails untouched, but move the BMX track to a new location in the 130-acre Elings Park South, about 600 feet north of Cliff Drive. The move would free up land for needed soccer fields.
• Many of the hearing speakers complained about noise and nighttime lighting from the existing facilities, and day-long “special events.” None however identified the existing BMX track as offensive.
• Nevertheless, many objected to the BMX track’s new location because of anticipated nighttime lighting, noise, and its location in a part of the park that currently has no “active recreation.”
• The BMX track uses lighting when needed during twice-weekly practice evenings 6:00-8:00 PM—potentially 36 evenings a year. Amplified speakers are used for weekend daytime races. The DEIR describes how the significant impacts of light and sound could be mitigated so their impact on nearby residential housing would become less than significant. The nearest residence is 680 feet from the proposed track, farther from housing than the existing track.
• As for introducing active recreation into Elings Park South, a 12/11/07 Memorandum of Understanding with the city of Santa Barbara, acceptable activities currently include weddings, hang gliding, biking, remote-control airplanes, hiking, horseback riding, off-leash dogs, cell phone equipment, light agriculture, picnic tables, parking, low rock walls, benches, disk golf, memorials—and other activities for which the Elings Park Foundation might also seek approval from the city.
• It seems that the BMX track falls into that last category. The proposed track site has no trees or chaparral, only seasonal grass. It would occupy 1% of the 130-acre Elings Park South land. Proposed mitigation includes landscaping within and around the track.
• Commission members praised the community park as a great asset that sits upon what used to be a city landfill. They suggested that a revised DEIR should be prepared for further consideration. Maybe keep all active recreation in the north. Study alternative arrangements in depth. Impose limits on large events. Concern was also expressed about legal issues relating to rezoning, existing agreements, and transfer of the property from the county to the city.
• My personal concern is that the existing BMX track might be replaced with new soccer fields, and won’t find a new home elsewhere, leaving local kids with one less program to learn bike skills.

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BMX hot topic at Dec 1st meeting

• Chad Cavalli from Santa Barbara BMX will speak at our monthly meeting December 1st about changes taking place at Elings Park. Please join us, noon, 1021 Anacapa Street.

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Help needed for trail assessment

• Learn about the condition of South Country trails and volunteer to help with Universal Trail Assessment Process (UTAP) field work. The City of Santa Barbara, County of Santa Barbara, and US Forest Service, the three agencies that manage the Front Country Trails, are recruiting volunteers to help with trails assessments. Phase I of the assessment began in November and will run through January. Work consists of mid-week 8-hour days on the trails, coordinated by Michelle Smith from Beneficial Designs (www.beneficialdesigns.com), and California State Parks. It consists of 10 miles of trails, including Cold Spring Trail and Romero Canyon Trail. Training will be provided in the use of trail equipment and data to be recorded. To find out more or volunteer, contact Kathy Frye at 897-1976 or email kfrye@santabarbaraca.gov. Phase II will follow next spring, after our winter rains are over.

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UCSB beats UC Davis in bike commuting

• The University of California campus at Davis, combined with the adjacent city, are considered a bicyclists’ paradise. The city’s logo is a bicycle and in the 1970s they were experimenting with bicyclist-friendly paths and lanes that became models for our state and country. The campus closed internal roadways to motor vehicles, giving bicyclists ready-made ways of travel. People on bicycles tended to dominate, and the area’s reputation grew.
• Recent data from Davis, when compared to parallel data from UCSB, shows that UC Santa Barbara has a greater proportion of people accessing the campus by bicycle. Data from a 2008 comprehensive survey of Davis shows that 40% of all campus people—students, staff and faculty—bike there. Data from Santa Barbara are not as recent, but show that overall 42% bike to our campus. (UCSB faculty and staff data are from 2006; student data are from 2002.) While we don’t know what trends are occurring at UCSB, UC Davis did a similar survey in 2007 when only 37% of people were biking to campus. We might have had a parallel increase at UCSB, we just don’t know it.
• Other than UCSB’s larger proportion of bicyclists, the most striking difference is that UCSB has 19% who walk and 6% who bus, while Davis has essentially the opposite—6% walk and 20% take the bus.
• Walking and biking are the least polluting, quietest, and most healthy modes of travel. So overall, UCSB is clearly the sustainability winner. Way to go Gauchos!

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Wet Willy Sez
by Wilson Hubbell

• Dear Wet Willy: What is the deal with painted roadway and bikelane striping and bikes slipping on the painted areas when the roads are wet? — Richard
• Dear Richard: Slippery paint on a wet roadway can be a problem for both bicyclists and motorcyclists. It doesn’t rain much in Santa Barbara County, and many of us avoid riding when it does, but sometimes wet pavement can occur just from a heavy fog.
• Caltrans, Santa Barbara County and our local cities all comply with engineering standards for roadway markings established by the Federal Highway Administration. In a nutshell, these standards specify that paint applied to a roadway must contain a certain level of “grit” or other non-skid additive so it is not slippery when wet. Ideally, this stuff should have the texture of sandpaper.
• So…, roadway paint should NOT be slippery when wet. If you find some that is, please contact the Bicycle Coalition and let us know the location. We can figure out which jurisdiction is responsible for correcting the problem and contact the right people to get it done.

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Bici Centro hours

• Our Bici Centro community bike program is expanding their services. Below are hours for various groups. Info at www.bicicentro.org or phone 617-3255.
• Monday, youth only, 3:30-6:00 PM
• Monday, “Learn Your Bike” classes, 7:00-9:00 PM
• Tuesday, volunteers only, 5:00-9:00 PM
• Wednesday, Spanish-speaking only, 4:00-7:00 PM
• Thursday, open shop 4:00-7:00 PM
• Friday, Mechanics Modules, 6:00-8:00 PM
• Saturday, open shop 1:00-7:00 PM

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Lois Capps sponsors Complete Streets Act



Representative Lois Capps from the 23rd District.

• We’re pleased that Lois Capps, our regional representative in Congress, is a sponsor of the Complete Streets Act of 2009. The act, now in committee, would require all states to accommodate all users on federally-funded transportation projects. All users means pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit users, children, older individuals, motorists, and individuals with disabilities.
• California passed its own Complete Streets measure in September 2008. Caltrans followed a month later with Deputy Directive 64-R1 that essentially requires complete streets consideration in all planning, programming, design, construction, operations, and maintenance activities on our state highways. Santa Barbara county residents then voted for Measure A in November 2008, including a similar guiding principal: “Streets should be designed and operated to enable safe access for all users.”
• So the act now in Congress won’t change too much for us, but will strengthen what we already have in the pipeline and, perhaps more importantly, make sure that the rest of the country provides for safer travel when we visit.
• The act most likely won’t pass by itself, but will be incorporated into another piece of legislature. You can read about it here.

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November Coalition meeting topics

• Our November 3rd monthly Bicycle Coalition meeting was held at noon in Downtown Santa Barbara, with 21 participants talking about these topics:
• Ralph Fertig described proposed bike connections in the Summerland Community Plan, a trail along 101 east to Padaro Lane, and a bike/ped tunnel under the freeway.
• Erik Wright described new Saturday afternoon bike workshops at WheelHouse, plus Saturday bike valet for Santa Barbara’s Farmers’ Market.
• City planner John Ledbetter updated us on Plan Santa Barbara, addressing our concern that bicycling facilities and promotion might be neglected because there is scant data from elsewhere about what to do.
• Chad Cavalli and others from Santa Barbara BMX talked about Elings Park plans to move the track to a controversial location. An upcoming Planning Commission hearing on the plan will be held on November 12th.
• People were encouraged to apply for the job of Education Coordinator for bicyclist training, working with Bici Centro, our Bicycle Coalition, and others.
• Wilson Hubbell announced that the city of Goleta would be installing a traffic signal at Fairview and Berkeley, helping those using the North Goleta Route to cross busy Fairview.
• Sarah Grant talked about the city’s sponsorship of educational “webinars” each month. Plus, she said that they were applying for funds to repair the Goleta Slough bridge.
• Ed France described new Bici Centro bike repair workshops that will take place Friday evenings, taught by Thomas Matthias.
• A Bike Month 2010 kick-off event will take place on November 18th. People are invited to submit event ideas for next May.

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Coalition asks for slough bridge repair



We’re hoping that the long, bumpy Goleta Slough bridge will be resurfaced with state funding. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Perhaps the most bone-shaking bike ride in our county is over the Goleta Slough Bridge. The city of Santa Barbara is seeking Caltrans funding to resurface it, and on November 12th, our Bicycle Coalition sent a letter to Caltrans advocating for the much needed improvement. President Ralph Fertig wrote:
• “The Goleta Slough Bridge was constructed during World War II to connect Santa Barbara’s airport with a Marine Corps Air Station located where the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) is now. Over the past 70 years, the surface planks have deteriorated. The long bridge, however, continues to be used by hardy bicyclists in spite of the distressing, jarring ride.
• The Goleta Slough Bridge is the main bicycle link between residential areas to the north and the University on the south. The two alternative routes add miles to any trip and deter bicyclists with heavy traffic and speeding motorists. Neither the current bridge nor the alternatives offer attractive trips. I have no doubt that restoring the bridge surface will result in more bike commuters.
• A restored bridge surface will serve more than students, staff and faculty commuting to UCSB. It is the most direct route between UCSB campus housing, the Santa Barbara Airport, and the Goleta Amtrak station. It will provide a good bike route for University students wishing to shop or dine in “Old Town Goleta,” just north of the Airport. And it will encourage residents in the Old Town area to bike to Goleta Beach County Park, the only beachfront recreation area within miles.
• We strongly urge you to fund this important bikeway project that is in serious need of repair.”
• We should hear in a few months whether or not Caltrans will fund the bridge repair.

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We thank our active members

• Please thank and support these Bicycle Coalition business members:
• Bicycle Bob’s, Santa Barbara
• Nett & Champion Insurance Services, Santa Barbara
• Pedal Power Bicycles, Santa Maria
• Dr J’s Bicycle Shop, Solvang
• Hazard’s Cyclesport, Santa Barbara
• Chris King Precision Components, Portland, Oregon
• Santa Barbara Pedicabs, Santa Barbara
• Santa Barbara Bike Repair, Santa Barbara
• WheelHouse, Santa Barbara
• Santa Barbara Bikes To-Go, Santa Barbara
• We welcome new members: Kalon Kelley, Javier Rivera, and Rachael Weber. Plus, we appreciate those who renewed their memberships: Dan Hammack, Carolyn Dukes, Arnie Shildhaus, Bill Pollock, Fred Perner and Patsy Bolt.

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Noozhawk features Bici Centro



Wilson Hubbell, center, works with Bici Centro visitors Alec Larson and Luke Ming . Photo by Lara Cooper, courtesy of Noozhawk.

• On November 6th, the news website Noozhawk published an excellent article by Lara Cooper about the great things going on at Bici Centro. You can read the article—and keep up with news at www.noozhawk.com. Below is some of what Cooper wrote about our program:
• “It’s dusk on a Thursday evening, but the Bici Centro workshop on East Montecito Street is alive with activity as volunteers and cyclists work together to repair bicycles before the shop closes.
• It’s probably the only location of its kind on the South Coast, as volunteers show cyclists how to repair their bikes, many used for commuting to and from jobs, and then pay only for any parts needing to be replaced—although the shop accepts donations. It’s a workshop lined with gears of all sizes, wheels, chains and just about any kind of part a cyclist might need to make a repair.
• Since it opened in 2007, many tires already have been patched, brakes repaired and chains oiled for the greater good of Santa Barbara’s bicycle commuters. At the helm of all the new programming is the organization’s director, Ed France, who is trying to come up with a system to train volunteers on the different projects.
• Volunteers are at the core of Bici Centro’s mission. As a joint project with the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, the nonprofit organization depends largely on the efforts of volunteers who help others maintain their bikes and keep a low-cost form of transportation available.
• France said the group gets many volunteers through the eight-week course, which teaches participants how to repair and maintain their bikes. France said many of them are retirees or 20-somethings who are taking classes or holding their first jobs.”

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California Bike Routes Act signed

• On October 11, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 1464, the California Bicycle Routes of National, State, or Regional Significance Act. It’s designed to encourage healthy, low cost travel for local and visiting cyclists by identifying, signing and promoting bicycle routes.
• The act will be implemented by Caltrans. They are charged with forming an advisory committee to work with local bicycle, government and tourism entities to nominate routes. Those routes can offer historic, scenic, or good training rides. They may include parts of the forthcoming 50,000-mile National Corridor Plan that is being crafted by Adventure Cycling Association and the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The bicycle route signs will be paid for by the nominating agency, although Caltrans may choose to reimburse them.

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