April
2010

Ed France is our Executive Director
by Ralph Fertig



Ed France naturally with bikes. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Since our founding in 1991, the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition has come a long way. We created officers and a board of directors. We became a non-profit organization. We asked bicyclists and businesses to pay for memberships, and mailed monthly newsletters. We started email messaging, followed by a website.
• Two years ago, Bici Centro opened. It provided a highly-visible complement to our work, so we formed a partnership, and will soon be merging operations. The latest step came about at our Board of Directors meeting on February 23rd—we appointed Ed France as Executive Director. This is a serious action, but one that we know is both timely and right.
• Ed writes, "To have the opportunity to act as the lead staff for an organization with the history of effectiveness as the Bicycle Coalition is a privilege, and not one that I take lightly."
• "As Executive Director, I am responsible to ensure the best work comes from our paid staff and that we make the best, most fulfilling use of the energies of our volunteers. It is up to all of us, however, to set the tone and direction of the organization. I thank you for this opportunity to serve you and all bicyclists in Santa Barbara County. We can't make collective change unless we all act together!"
• Feel free to contact Ed any time at 617-3255 or edfrance@gmail.com.

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Our “Decide to Ride” video is now online

• Thanks to our Bicycle Coalition member Don Lubach, our "Decide to Ride" video is now online at Google Video.
• Our 22-minute video was produced in 1999 with money from the Air Pollution Control District, the Phillip Babcock Memorial Fund, and the Bicycle Coalition. The video work was managed by David Cowan under direction of a Bicycle Coalition committee.
• It features a story about a local bicyclist who decides to commute to work. It shows her visiting our booth at Earth Day, joining others at Bike to Work Day, learning what to buy at a bike shop, and getting on-road safety instruction.
• In between her excursions are comments from Bicycle Coalition members, Santa Barbara Middle School children, business people, bike police, and government staff. There is a lot of information packed into the video and since it's all filmed in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, the footage should be familiar.
• Watch it at http://video.google.com.

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A whole month of bike events are coming

• Get ready, make room, mark up your calendar because CycleMAYnia is coming our way next month! Join us for a CycleChic Fashion Show, Bike Bazaar, Traffic Solutions' Bike Challenge, Bike to Work Days, Bike to School Day, Tweed Ride, Bike Jewelry Making, Bike Films, Bike Art, camping bike tours, and lots more. Learn more at the continually updated calendar for CycleMAYnia here.

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Grab your bike and go with Google Maps

• Check out http://maps.google.com/biking and see how Google's new bike trip service will route you for a trip. According to Google, this was the most requested addition to Google Maps, and they chose the National Bike Summit in early March to announce their new service to the world.
• Admittedly still in beta, the service seems to find good routes for bicycling, suggesting bike trails, lanes, and quiet streets while avoiding hilly terrain (although it suggests Refugio Road as a route between Solvang and Goleta). You're invited, however, to report problems and better routes to Google.

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“A Frugal Cyclist’s Guide to the Universe”



Willie Weir with his Rodriguez touring bike.

• Willie Weir, adventure cyclist extraordinaire, will be coming to the Santa Barbara area to give two presentations entitled "A Frugal Cyclist's Guide to the Universe: An Evening With Willie Weir." Both presentations are open to the public for a small donation and offer great opportunities to hear stories of Willie's worldwide adventures on his bike:
• Tuesday, April 20, Embarcadero Hall, 935 Embarcadero del Norte, Isla Vista, 7:00 PM
• Thursday, April 22, Santa Barbara Library, Faulkner Gallery, 40 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, 7:00 PM.
• People may call Willie cheap, frugal, a tightwad, or an initiator of kindness, but he knows how to get the most bang for his buck when it comes to traveling the world. You'll hear about the world's cheapest engagement ring, protesting an insanely over-priced fish dinner, knocking on doors for free lodging, and eating the way to free ice cream.
• At these Santa Barbara events, Willie will share vivid tales from his latest book, Travels with Willie—stories that will have you chuckling and wanting to ditch your school or job and hit the road instead.
• Willie's appearance will benefit our Bicycle Coalition and UCSB's Associated Students BIKES committee. Willie will be signing copies of his new book afterwards. So come for an evening of inspiration and stories from this intrepid world traveler.

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“The end of favoring motorized transportation”

• The US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced a major revision in federal policy. It was informally expressed on his blog (http://fastlane.dot.gov) and subsequently articulated as a Federal Highway Administration policy.
• LaHood blogged on March 15th, "Today, I want to announce a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized."
• He continued, "We are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities." The federal government then articulated key recommendations for Caltrans and other state DOTs:
• Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes
• Ensure convenient access for people of all ages and abilities
• Go beyond minimum design standards
• Collect data on walking and biking trips
• Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling
• Improve nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects.
• LaHood concluded, "Bike projects are relatively fast and inexpensive to build and are environmentally sustainable; they reduce travel costs, dramatically improve safety and public health, and reconnect citizens with their communities."
• So how might this new US policy effect us? Caltrans' Bicycle Program Manager Ken Mcguire emailed a clarification to Caltrans colleagues, "The Policy Statement is an expression of DOT leadership's commitment to walking and bicycling, but it does not create any new requirements for transportation agencies. I want to make sure you were aware of the Policy Statement, and ask you to share this with your State and Metropolitan Planning Organization partners."
• So nothing is binding at this time, however it represents a major policy recognition of the desirability of bicycling and walking.

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UCSB and WheelHouse win bicycle-friendly awards



Jamey Wagner, TAP Program Manager at UCSB, with his campus steed. Photo by George Foulsham.

• Two local businesses—UC Santa Barbara and WheelHouse—have been designated as "Bicycle Friendly Businesses" by the League of American Bicyclists. The award ceremony took place in Washington DC on March 9th as part of the National Bike Summit.
• The League makes awards in four levels (bronze, silver, gold, platinum) to communities, states and businesses. The City of Santa Barbara has previously been recognized as a silver level Bicycle Friendly Community. Now UCSB is joining them with gold level, and WheelHouse with bronze.
• UCSB and Wheelhouse now join 132 other designated businesses, including two other educational institutions and 36 other retail bike shops.
• According to James Wagner, program manager for Transportation Alternatives at UCSB, 49% of UCSB's students commute by bicycle, as well as 9% of the faculty and staff. UCSB has seven miles of bikepaths, over 10,000 spaces in bicycle racks, 40 bike lockers, six bicycle roundabouts, and free showers for bicycle commuters.

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Wet Willy Sez
by Wilson Hubbell

• Dear Wet Willy: I've noticed several cyclists riding at night with hyper-reflective vests like police officers and emergency response workers wear. My local bike shops don't carry anything like that. Any ideas where these things are available without becoming a policeman or fireman? — Steve
• Dear Steve: Wet Willy knows what you mean because he is one of those riders with a hyper-reflective cycling vest, but it seems like the only place to find police/fire department reflectivity is from the companies that make reflective clothing for governmental agencies. Their stuff must meet American National Standards Institute (ANSI) reflectivity specifications.
• There may be any number of safety wear vendors that can provide high quality reflective vests suitable for cyclists, but the company Wet Willy has some experience with is Alert Shirt (http://alertshirt.com). They carry reflective vests (like mine) and reflective windbreakers, hats, etc. and will sell stuff individually on-line.

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Coalition cheers bicyclists at 40th Earth Day

• When our nascent Bicycle Coalition first participated in Santa Barbara's Earth Day in 1992, Earth Day was already over two decades old. This April we will return to the annual festival for our nineteenth time.
• Earth Day has expanded to two days this year, Saturday and Sunday, April 17th and 18th. It will return to fill two blocks of Alameda Park, however our bicycling center has moved to the north-center of the park at the intersection of Santa Barbara and Micheltorena Streets. We will again be offering free bike valet parking, free bicycle check-ups, and information about our programs like the Bici Centro shop, education classes, and ongoing efforts to obtain better and safer bicycling conditions for us good people. The map shows where bicyclists will alight.
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• If you bike to Earth Day, stop by the Santa Barbara Car Free booth to enter a raffle for Amtrak ride to Seattle for two, Pacific Surfliner tickets, Axxess cards, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum passes, and a bike or kayak tour by Pedal and Paddle of Santa Barbara.
• If you're unsure what route to take to Alameda Park, try using the new Google Map service for bikes (see separate article). Just go to http://maps.google.com/biking, enter your home address, and a destination of 190 E Micheltorena Street, then select "Get Directions."
• In addition, there will be three group rides to Earth Day on both Saturday and Sunday. They start at:
• Carpinteria Bikexpress, 10:30 AM Linden and Carpinteria.
• Goleta/IV Bikexpress, 10:00 AM Seville and Embarcadero del Mar.
• Mesa Bikelocal, 11:20 AM Cliff and Meigs.
• To find out where you can hook up with the rides along the way, go here. And to learn more about Earth Day activities in general, go to www.cecsb.org.
• We hope to see you at the Park, stop by and chat bicycling any time.

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Bici Centro activities

• 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
• Tuesday, volunteers only, 4:00-6:30 PM
• Tuesday, "Learn Your Bike" classes, 7:00-9:00 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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Bike education is making an impact


Education Coordinator Christine Bourgeois, left, helps table at Santa Barbara's Kids Expo on March 20th. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Our bicyclist education program, under coordination of Christine Bourgeois, is growing.
• About 200 families came by the Kids Expo at La Cumbre Plaza in Santa Barbara, learning about our various classes and programs.
• The "Learn Your Bike" is an 8-week series of classes, starting April 6th, each one of which concerns a bicycle component. On April 9th, the first Mechanics Modules begins with sessions on various topics. Details and registration are at www.bicicentro.org.
• At schools, the Junior Cyclers (grade 1-3) programs are at Cold Spring, Hope and Washington. Super Cyclers (grade 4-6) are at Cold Spring and Monte Vista. And Pedal Power (grade 6-9) are at Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley Junior Highs.
• Summer programs are coming this June and July. There are sessions for safe riding in town, and mountain biking. You can contact Christine at 899-3728 or cbarreb@gmail.com.

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Bicyclist phone use may be curtailed

• California Senator Joe Simitian has introduced SB 1475 that will double fines for motorists and extend them to bicyclists for hand-held cell phone use and texting. If passed, California will be the first state to include bicyclists in any distracted driver legislation. The California Bicycle Coalition is working with Simitian, expecting that bicyclist fines will be appropriately smaller.

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UCSB “webcast” considers parking alternatives



Annual cost of supporting various transportation modes at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

• On March 9th, UC Santa Barbara offered a free webcast to university and other interested people. Titled "Measuring the Real Cost of Parking and Alternative Transportation Options," it was conducted by Patrick Siegman, a principal at Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates.
• The program stepped participants through a process of calculating not only the cost of parking automobiles, but of other modes of travel to universities, businesses or other organizations. Examples of results were offered for Occidental College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
• The graph here shows the annual net cost of supporting various commute modes for faculty and staff at Cal Poly. (The parking structure cost is actually the average of two structures that individually cost $1360 or $1750 per vehicle space.) The striking result underscores the huge cost of providing parking, the moderate cost of providing bus or vanpools, and the low cost of accommodating those who carpool, bike or walk.
• Institutions that wish to make their campuses "greener" or environmentally sustainable face significant challenges. Knowing what the various modes cost, however, can provide data from which responsible decisions can be made.
• You can read more about the webcast here.

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Coalition asks for bulb-out safety

• The Santa Barbara City Council chamber was jammed on March 23rd as people came to speak about "bulb-out" curb extensions. Although the project involved in the appeal to City Council is a small mixed-use development on Milpas Street at De la Guerra, the inclusion of a curb extension at the corner raised hackles for many.
• The four and a half hour meeting had 33 public speakers, including Bicycle Coalition members Eva Inbar, Alex Pujo, Greg Janeé, Dennis Thompson, Courtney Dietz, and Ralph Fertig who spoke favorably about what are essentially pedestrian safety measures. Fertig said that bicyclist safety could be increased there by reducing the curb extension from eight feet to six, and painting shared lane arrows "sharrows" on Milpas' right-hand lane.
• The result was a Council vote 4-to-3 in favor of the curb extensions, with the City's Rob Dayton saying that the final extension size would be less than eight feet.

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Bike tour at UCSB examines facilities



Marc Fisher, right, and others stop to consider new bikepath locations at UCSB. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• A bike ride on March 5th with Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Design Marc Fisher, university staff, and AS BIKES members examined problem areas and sought solutions. They looked at bikepath cracks, tree roots, missing striping, sharp turns, thorny plants, lighting needs, deteriorated pavement, edge drop-off, intruding weeds, and pedestrian crosswalk markings. Funding and timetables for work were determined.

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March Coalition meeting topics

• Our March 2nd monthly Bicycle Coalition meeting was held in Downtown Santa Barbara, with 17 participants talking about these:
• It was announced that Ed France is our new Executive Director.
• Jessica Grant talked about challenges from the ABR on the proposed Jake Boysel Bikepath.
• Ralph Fertig described Team TIBCO's inspirational talk with Aliso School kids in Carpinteria.
• Wilson Hubbell described the upcoming Bike Bazaar and Tweed Rides that he's organizing for CycleMAYnia.
• Ed France and Lori La Riva talked about other possible CycleMAYnia events.
• Michael Chiacos talked about CEC's Earth Day this April 17-18th.
• The Plan Santa Barbara open house will release a draft EIR on March 18th.
• Santa Barbara's response to a complaint about parking in a bikelane on Shoreline Drive was immediate.

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SB city reports housing density is best



Visitors to the Plan Santa Barbara open house on March 18th examine city maps. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The Plan Santa Barbara's Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was released on March 18th. The document compared impacts of continuing existing policies on housing and growth to "lower growth" and "additional housing" scenarios. The result, surprising to many, is that the additional housing, located along main transportation corridors in the city, has the least impact on traffic congestion and energy use, and helps the jobs-housing balance; the community character, however, would change. You can read the DEIR at www.youPlanSB.org and submit comments before May 17th.

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We thank our active members

• Please thank and support these Bicycle Coalition business members:
• Bicycle Bob's, Santa Barbara
• Nett and 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
• WheelHouse, Santa Barbara
• Santa Barbara Bikes To-Go, Santa Barbara
• Tailwinds Bicycle Club, Santa Maria
• We welcome new members Timothy Burgess and R.W. Ziegler. And appreciate those who renewed their memberships: Alexander and Nancy Trieger, Michael Brown, David and Teresa Bothman, Bob Burgess, Cynthia Boche, Eva Inbar, Chris King, Kevin Contreras, Kate Mead and Martin Conoley.

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Cycling teams train in Santa Barbara county



Some members of the women's TIBCO Cycling team met the media on February 21st in Carpinteria. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• At least three professional cycling teams have been zipping around our county roads in February and March. Team TIBCO rode the South Coast out of Carpinteria, while the new Canadian Team SpiderTech and the Gary Fisher Midwest Road Team have been staying in Solvang, and riding around the Santa Ynez Valley. It's the third year for Midwest Road to train here. They commented, "The riding has been great. But we knew that before getting here." We knew that too.

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We ask approval of Boysel bikepath

• Santa Barbara's Architectural Board of Review expressed concerns about the western end of the proposed Jake Boysel 1750-foot path along Calle Real. We sent them a letter on March 4th agreeing, but expressing hope for future improvements. We wrote:
• "Even before the death of young Jake Boysel in September 2006, we had concerns about bicyclists' safety along the busy Calle Real corridor in western Santa Barbara. The city has worked on several recent improvements there with a new traffic signal, new sidewalks, and forthcoming, a new multipurpose path that will help people travel more safely on foot and bicycle.
• The proposed path plan calls for the western end to be located just east of the St Vincent's bridge. This is not ideal and we certainly hope that in upcoming years, easements will be obtained to continue the path all the way to Old Mill Road.
• At this time, however, the proposal is the most feasible solution, and certainly offers residents on foot and bike with more and safer alternatives than currently exist. While there may be some minor adjustments possible, the basic design offers the most practical solution today."
• On March 8th, the ABR gave preliminary approval to the project.

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