November
2007

Measure D—one more chance

• Following the defeat of the three-quarter-cent transportation tax renewal in 2006, a new proposal has been under development. This time, it will be a half-cent tax and will have two separate expenditure plans—one for North County, another for South County—that will reflect the different regional expectations and needs.
• The two plans are being crafted by two committees. Our Bicycle Coalition is a member of the South County committee, with Wilson Hubbell as our representative, and Ralph Fertig as alternate. Although some changes are likely, the plans shown above are current as of late October.
• It is expected that the 30-year plan will bring in $1.05 billion in 2010 dollars. Each year's revenue will be split evenly between the two county halves, meaning that each will receive about $17.5 million annually to be apportioned as shown.
• The North County plan is simpler and more is going to new roadways. The North's "Local Alternative" portion is a minimum required, and it's to be spent on bicycle, pedestrian, bus, and rail travel, plus education and traffic calming.
• The South County has an array of dedicated funding categories, including one for bicyclist/pedestrian projects. That program would be funded through a grant process where submitted proposals would be considered for funding.

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UCSB police report new signs increase student safety



New signs telling bicyclists to walk across El Colegio Road at Stadium Road are increasing safety there, the campus police report. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• University policeman Mark Signa reports that new signs advising students to walk bikes at several locations on campus are successful. Speaking to the Associated Students BIKES committee on October 23rd, he noted a greatly-increased compliance among the thousands of bicycling students. They are especially helpful in the campus center where heavy pedestrian traffic is endangered by agile, quiet and unexpected bicyclists.
• The new signs were funded with student fees administered by the BIKES committee. They prominently state that a $120 fine will be imposed on violators who are cited.
• While the $120 fine is stiff, students have one opportunity each school year to eliminate it by attending a one-hour, $35 bicycling safety class conducted by the campus police. Signa notes that at the class beginning, students are resentful, but at the end they are understanding.

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Wet Willy Sez
Wilson Hubbell

• Dear Wet Willy: I've been told by a local law enforcement officer that all flashing LED lights on bicycles are illegal, that I need a red reflector in the rear instead. The flashing lights seem so much safer, can they be illegal? Will I be cited by the cops? — Fine with no fines
• Dear Fine: Wet Willy checked the California Vehicle Code and found that the officer is not quite correct regarding red flashing LEDs. While it is true that a flashing red LED cannot be used instead of a red reflector on a bicycle, nothing in the CVC prohibits a flashing red LED from being used in addition to a red reflector on a bicycle. Wet Willy's bike is equipped with both a red reflector and a red LED—and he knows he's cool with the law.
• Dear Wet Willy: Could you say something about parents who take their small children to bikepaths? This seems to be a growing problem, and today my wife and I were nearly taken down by what appeared to be a 3 year old and a 5 year old wandering aimlessly back and forth across the Obern Trail. It could have been a disaster for us and the kids had we not been hyper-careful, and the parents just seemed oblivious. — Loves kids but...
• Dear But: It is good to see parents out recreating with their kids and teaching them how to ride, but putting small children with tiny bikes on a busy bikepath is not a good idea. It's sort of like teaching your teenager to drive by putting them on Hwy 154 over San Marcos Pass.
• Wet Willy grew up near a church where the parking lot was usually empty and there was nothing or nobody to run into, so that is where he learned to ride. The local elementary school also had large areas of parking/open space and many kids learned to ride there on weekends. It all happened long ago, but church parking lots and elementary schools are still available. Parents should let their kids practice in places like that for awhile. The bikepath will be there for them when they're older and ready.

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Board selects Bike week 2008 theme

• Our Board of Directors enthusiastically agreed that for 2008, our Bike Week theme will be Bicycling as Transportation. Last May, we emphasized bike touring. In addition to several presentations about bike touring here and abroad, we led an overnight trip to El Capitan State Beach. We're now collecting ideas for 2008 events and presentations about utility bike trips, so if you have thoughts, let us know.
• We're delighted to announce that world traveller, entertainer, and overall lovable guy Willie Weir will be returning for another presentation at our Bike Week Celebration dinner and fun evening. This year, it's on Saturday, May 17th, returning to the Chase Palm Park Center overlooking Santa Barbara's beach, wharf and bikepath.
• Willie reports that he and his wife Kat Marriner are off to pedal for three months through Columbia and Venezuela in February. "We'll return with many a story to tell," he promises. Mark your 2008 calendars!

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Coalition sends 101 letter to Caltrans

• Our ongoing concern about cyclist safety on the section of Highway 101 east of Carpinteria has led our Bicycle Coalition to send a letter to Aythem Al-Saleh at Caltrans. Al-Saleh is the project manager for the $151 million highway widening project that includes a several-mile section where cyclists ride on the freeway shoulder.
• We asked Al-Saleh to consult with us and the Channel Islands Bicycle Club in Ventura about means of increasing our safety there. Caltrans sent a team of planners to consider alternatives in early October; they are considering a separate bikepath on the mountain side of the highway. Stay tuned.

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Santa Barbara named again “Bicycle-Friendly”

• First awarded the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle-Friendly Community in 2003, the City of Santa Barbara has renewed its "silver" status in 2005 and for a third time, earlier this year.
• The city joins 69 others across the US in achieving recognition. In California alone, there are 13 other recognized communities: Davis, Folsom, Mountain View, Palo Alto, The Presidio of San Francisco, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, South Lake Tahoe, Sunnyvale, Santa Clarita, and Santa Cruz.
• Cities are assessed by the League in five areas: education, engineering, law enforcement, marketing, and effectiveness evaluation. We have to thank Santa Barbara's Dru van Hengel for submitting the application for this recognition, and for working to make the city a better place to bicycle.
• "It is important to recognize good communities as they begin to build bicycle friendliness into their network," league Executive Director Andy Clarke said. More information about the program can be found at www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org. Who in our county will be recognized next?

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Summerland improvements begin



Addressing Summerland residents is County Public Works Director Scott McGolpin. Supervisor Salud Carbajal is on the left and Deputy Director for Planning Derek Johnson is on the right. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• A groundbreaking ceremony with Supervisor Salud Carbajal and others took place in Summerland on October 25th. It marked the beginning of phase I of Ortega Hill Road improvements that include new bikelanes along with sidewalks, landscaping, curbs, parking, and drainage. Bicycle Coalition president Ralph Fertig spoke to the crowd about the thousands of cyclists who use that section of roadway, the only realistic connection between Carpinteria and the South Coast.
• The $300,000 project is the first of three phases that will continue improvements east from Evans Road in early 2008. Be careful biking through the construction zone and expect delays during this initial phase that will last through the end of the year.

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Traffic Solutions’ RideShare Week makes us all winners

• Congratulate Susan Broderick who won a new bicycle for participating in Traffic Solutions' Rideshare Week contest that took place October 15-19th. She was among the 574 smart participants who biked, walked, carshared, or used any alternative for trips other than driving alone.
• It was reported that the contest reduced trips by 2,052, and saved 54,071 miles of automobile travel. That translates into participants' personal savings of $28,225 on gasoline, and a community savings of 24.6 tons of CO2 that would otherwise be in our air, contributing to climate change. You can read more about it online at www.trafficsolutions.info/rideshare.htm.

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Bike Class Nov 15-17



Participants learn how to look back and travel in a straight line. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Another one of our Introduction to Bicycle Street Skills classes will take place over two days in November. There will be a 3-hour evening classroom session on November 15th, followed by five hours on the 17th of bike maintenance, bike handling skills, and a ride with traffic. Details and online registration are available at www.sbbike.org/CycleSmart/apply.html.

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Light yourself up

• We're about to lose Daylight Savings Time, which means darkness earlier in the afternoon, and visibility challenges for bicyclists. The section of the California Vehicle Code that deals with legal requirements for cyclists was just updated by Assembly Bill 478 that now allows white or yellow shoe or ankle reflectors to be used instead of those on bike pedals—but they still have to be visible from 200 feet. In addition, you must have:
• A white-light lamp on the bike or rider that illuminates the roadway and is visible from 300 feet ahead and from the sides.
• A red reflector on the bicycle rear that's visible from 500 feet back when illuminated by a motor vehicle's high-beam lights.
• White or yellow reflector in the front, and a white or red reflector in the rear of the bicycle center, usually in the wheel spokes. Reflectorized bike tires can serve instead.

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South Coast schools have Walk and Bike to School events



Mountain View students sign in, indicating whether they walked, biked or used another non-car mode to school. Photo by Greg Janée.

• October 3rd was nominally "International Walk to School Day," however the 22 participating schools in Santa Barbara's South Coast were totally receptive to all modes that encourage healthy travel for their students.
• The 22 participating schools nearly doubled the 13 from last year, according to COAST's Eva Inbar. Although participation data are still coming in, Bicycle Coalition member Greg Janée gave the following report about Goleta's Mountain View Elementary School where his children attend. Out of 373 total students, participation was 226 kids, a turnout of 61%. This is how they traveled to school:
• Walk: 150
• Bike: 36
• Bus: 28
• Scooter: 12.
• Kids were asked if their teachers had talked to them about the event beforehand. Out of 17 teachers, 10 reportedly did. Participation by class ranged from 1/3 of the class to a high of 2/3, with the average being half. There was no correlation between teachers talking about the event and class turnout; anecdotally, all kids seemed well aware of the event from the posters and from hearing about it from friends. Presumably the educational aspect of the event was enhanced by those teachers who participated.
• This was the pre-event publicity:
• Article in the school newsletter
• Colorful posters placed several places around campus, both where parents drive in and where kids congregate
• Note to teachers reminding them of the event and providing talking points to go over with their students.
• Students lined up on the event day for these:
• Survey
• Receive a snack bar, a fruit wrap, and pencil
• Instant raffle—roll dice to win a prize.
• Planned follow-up actions:
• Article in the school newsletter
• Distribution of walking and biking maps.

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Bike bills signed by Schwarzenegger

• Four bills in the California legislature this year that effect bicyclists were recently signed into law by our governor.
• AB 57 — Safe Routes to School
• On October 14th, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the California Safe Routes to School (SR2S) bill that extends funding indefinitely for construction of bicycle and pedestrian safety, and traffic calming projects near schools for grades K-12. It uses money from the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program.
• Immediately available through a competitive grant process are $52 million over a two year cycle. Applications from cities and counties are due November 16th. Applications can be for projects such as sidewalks, pathways, bike lanes, traffic calming, or for non-infrastructure activities such as education.
• AB 321 — School Zone Safety
• On October 10th, our governor signed AB 321 that was sponsored by Pedro Nava. Local agencies will now be able to extend school zones at qualifying schools up to 1000 feet each way and drop the speed limit in the core zone to 15 MPH. The City of Goleta is planning to implement it immediately, making it safer for kids to get to school on foot and bike.
• AB 1581 — Traffic Actuated Signals
• On October 8th, Governor Schwarzenegger signed this bill that will eventually improve signal detection of bicyclists at intersections. It requires jurisdictions to install only detection devices that are sensitive to bicycles and motorcycles. However, it first requires Caltrans to establish uniform standards and guidelines to be followed.
• AB 478 — Bicycle safety
• On September 26, our governor signed into law this amendment to the Vehicle Code. It expands bicycle lighting requirements to sidewalks (only where biking is legal) and bikeways. And it allows shoe and ankle reflectors instead of only pedal ones.

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Amgen Tour of California update



In 2007, we hosted a "Safetyville" for kids before the start of the Santa Barbara stage of the Tour. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The week-long Amgen Tour of California will return to us next February. The Time Trial will be in Solvang on Friday the 22nd. And on the 23rd, Stage 6 will begin in Santa Barbara.
• Our Bicycle Coalition is teaming with the City of Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau to again organize events around the Stage 6 start. The local effort is being coordinated by Barney Berglund.
• In February 2007, the committee organized a pre-race party, a children's race, and a "Safetyville" area for kids around the Santa Barbara stage. This time, we're actively pursuing a better and more attractive event. Great news is that Cottage Hospital has agreed to host its Family Fitness Fair on the park adjacent to the start on Cabrillo Boulevard. We want adults and kids to come down and associate health with cycling. If you can volunteer to help in any way, or have event ideas, contact Barney at barney_berglund@hotmail.com.

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October Coalition meeting topics

• Our October 2nd monthly Bicycle Coalition noontime meeting attracted 14 people to discuss these topics:
• Ralph Fertig described efforts to help bicycling residents at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission learn about safety, including a distribution of free helmets.
• Dru van Hengel announced that Santa Barbara was again awarded the "Silver Level" recognition as a Bicycle-Friendly Community.
• Ralph Fertig asked for input over a possible bicycle-sharing program that might be developed for the South Coast, or possibly just Santa Barbara.
• Possible restrictions or prohibition of bikers on South Coast trails was discussed. Our Board of Directors will consider crafting a policy.
• Lisa Murawski described chances to win prizes during Traffic Solution's upcoming Rideshare Week.
• Ralph Fertig and Wilson Hubbell described Caltrans' reactions to our concerns about bicyclist safety on Highway 101 east of Carpinteria. They're taking us seriously.
• Ed France reported on Bici Centro's ongoing workshops at Casa de la Raza, and their need for volunteers, tools, and mechanics. Volunteer workshops are being held periodically.
• Participation of children on bicycles as part of the October 3rd Walk to School Day was described.

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We thank our active members

• Please thank and support the following Bicycle Coalition business members:
• Bicycle Bob's, Santa Barbara
• Nett & Champion Insurance Services, Santa Barbara
• The Bike Barn, Santa Maria
• Café de Velo, Santa Barbara
• Open Air Bicycles, Santa Barbara
• Pedal Power Bicycles, Santa Maria
• Santa Barbara Electric Bicycle Company, Santa Barbara
• Chris King Precision Components, Portland OR
• Run Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara
• In addition, we welcome new member Sridhar Subramanian. We further thank those who renewed their memberships: James Elliott, John Cinatl, Mark McClure, Bill Pollock, Diane Burns, Carol Tokar, and Jean Anderson.

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Cycling health benefits

• "I have consistently emphasized that cycling health benefits FAR OUTWEIGH the traffic safety risks of cycling, and that for every hour of cycling, one adds MORE than an hour to one's healthy expected lifetime."
  — John Pucher, Professor, Urban Planning and Policy Development Program, Rutgers University

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Local MS ride attracts hundreds



MS riders take off from Leadbetter Beach in Santa Barbara on a crisp and clear Sunday morning. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• The annual Start to Finish MS Bike Tour expanded last year from a one-day event to a two-day one. The new rides go from Camarillo to Santa Barbara and back the next day. Last year the participation was down from prior years, but this year it increased to 780 riders. Even better, the charity ride brought in a record $700,000 to fund multiple sclerosis research and treatment.

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Correction

• Last month's article about the new UCSB bikeracks incorrectly attributed the source of funding for the project. The racks themselves were purchased with $53,000 Caltrans Bicycle Transportation Account grant obtained by James Wagner, Transportation Alternative Program coordinator at the University, through Matt Dobberteen at the County Public Works Department. The students, via their AS BIKES Committee, paid for the bike parking lot expansion, repaving and slurry seal on the lot and adjacent bikepath. We thank Wagner for his clarification.

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