March
2009

Bicycling is scorching topic in media
by Ralph Fertig

• A flurry of published articles and subsequent online comments has recently occurred. Many concern the bicyclist safety improvements at Santa Barbara’s State/De la Vina intersection, but others are opinions about bicyclists on our streets. Many individuals have expressed views, but four groups stand out: COAST and our Bicycle Coalition continue to advocate for safer walking and bicycling; Cars Are Basic and (the ironically misnamed) Santa Barbara Safe Streets favor priority for motorists.
• As a measure of public reaction, Gina Perry’s Daily Sound column on February 12th resulted in 79 posted online comments. Six supported her view, 61 opposed, and 12 were neutral or off-topic. Here is a sampling of recently published pieces:
• January 25, News-Press opinion/editorial by Scott Wentz complains about anti-car Luddites’ failure to increase bicycling.
• January 29, Daily Sound column by Cheri Rae, derides the City’s efforts to improve the State/De la Vina intersection, saying because it’s been that way for years, it should be remain unchanged.
• February 1, News-Press opinion/editorial by Michael Self, describes the State/De la Vina safety improvements as “experimental meddling.”
• February 1, News-Press opinion/editorial by David Madajian, rebuts Scott Wentz’ claim that driving cars is more efficient than bicycling.
• February 5, Daily Sound letter by Ralph Fertig, cites inaccuracies in Cheri Rae’s January article.
• February 11, Daily Sound article by Eric Lindberg sensibly reports on the City Council meeting.
• February 12, Montecito Journal letter by Scott Wentz incorrectly claims that the North Jameson Road shoulders and Ortega Hill bikepath cost $12 million, and had no benefits.
• February 12, Independent editorial by Nick Welsh describes how the routine street improvement at State/De la Vina was overshadowed by politics.
• February 12, News-Press editorial derides spending money on the State/De la Vina “boondoggle.”
• February 12, Daily Sound column by Gina Perry says it’s dangerous for bicyclists to be on her streets, we should stay out of her way and ride elsewhere.
• For the past six decades, the US has been subject to social engineering that promoted automobile use to the detriment of active transportation. People have bought cars, moved to suburbs, paid for highways, and built lifestyles around their autos. We are now reaping the cost with environmental degradation, obesity, and reliance on imported oil. There is always disruption when entrenched behavior is challenged, but we remain undaunted.

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• What Gina Perry wrote on January 12th:
  “According to their website, the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition advocates ‘a community where bicycles and other non-motor vehicle options are the norms for healthy transportation and recreation.’”
• What is actually on our website:
  “In order to have a community where bicycles and other non-motor vehicle options are the norms for healthy transportation and recreation, a ‘tipping point’ is needed.”
• Quoting a sentence fragment in order to deliberately change its meaning is clearly unethical.

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Bicycle portal welcomes all to Bici Centro
by Ed France



Ilana and Mark in front of their bike-part Bici Centro entrance door. Photo by Ed France.

• The Bici Centro Bicycle Repair and Education Center got a face-lift last month. Through a partnership with two Northern California artists, the group has recycled over 230 wheels and a few hundred pounds of other bike scrap. The material isn’t smeltered down but instead welded into large installations and sculptures. As a thank you for sending our scrap their way, Marin county artists Mark Grieve and Ilana Spector constructed functional art for our front entry off Montecito Street. This “bike arch” incorporates worn-out rims, forks, cogs, spokes, brake levers, cranks and two lighting fixtures to bring into life the “bicycle portal” patrons cross when entering the center. Thank you Mark and Ilana.

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Santa Barbara City expands video detection for bicyclists

• Santa Barbara has won a state Bicycle Transportation Account grant of $461,260 for installing bicyclist video detection cameras at 28 intersections. A local match of $75,300 is coming from the city’s streets capital budget. These 28 intersections are on streets with bikelanes and bike routes as identified in the City’s Bicycle Master Plan.
• Few things in urban bicycling are more aggravating that not being detected by in-street loops, and having the choice of waiting for a motor vehicle to come along to trip the sensor for us, or by going through a red light. We might be waiting—and waiting—an inch from the detection zone, and never know it. Or we’re just too light or nonmetallic to ever be detected. It’s demeaning.
• In 1995, Santa Barbara County started replacing in-street loops with video cameras. In 2002, the City of Santa Barbara followed by converting their in-street detectors with video cameras on outer State Street.
• We certainly welcome this long-awaited improvement. The city’s Dru van Hengel says that half will be installed this spring, and the rest this fall.

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UCSB bike parking overflow addressed



Even on rainy days like this, bicycles overflow the Campbell Hall bike area onto nearby sidewalks. Plans call for increasing capacity by 250 bikes. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• Since the new academic year began last fall at UCSB, a flush of new bicyclists has tested several bike parking area on campus. It’s common to have all bike rack slots filled, leading students who are rushing to class to park their bicycles nearby rather than riding to another building in the hope of finding available rack space.
• Campus Facilities Management is working with the Associated Students BIKES committee to come up with solutions. AS BIKES is funded with a student-voted assessment of $.75 per student quarter to improve bicycling on campus. Last fall, they identified 15 bike system improvements, several dealing with overcrowding of bike racks. Last month, they voted to fund two of the most pressing parking situations:
• Campbell Hall. Currently there is room for 450 bikes. The new plans include a five-foot dismount space next to the bikepath, swapping to Peak racks that allow greater density (for over 700 bikes), and cutting new access paths through the juniper hedge on the south.
• Music North. Parking will expand west of the building, replace existing racks with Peak racks, and install permeable pavers to reduce run-off. Additional parking between Music and the UCEN is being considered.
• In conjunction with bike parking expansion, they are working to tag what appear to be abandoned bikes and, after a waiting period, confiscate them. Overall, the BIKES committee—with Nathan Pfaff as director, Scott Bull as AS advisor, and Ralph Fertig as Bicycle Coalition liaison—is barely keeping up with demand of about 13,000 bikes on campus on school days. Read about the BIKES committee at www.as.ucsb.edu/bikes.

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Wet Willy Sez
by Wilson Hubbell

• Dear Wet Willy: This is sort of a long question, but could you write up something about checking the inside of the bike tire when replacing a tube or repairing a flat? I stopped to help a cyclist with a flat on Modoc Road after his CO2 cartridge failed. I loaned him my pump and he inflated the tire and went on his way, but a short time later I found him on the side of the road again because the thorn that caused the first flat was still in the tire to cause another one. — Just Trying To Be Helpful
• Dear Helpful: First, thanks for stopping to help a fellow cyclist in need. Although the rider you encountered had the means to fix a flat (too bad about the CO2 cartridge…) I’m amazed at how many bikies travel without a spare tube, patch kit and pump or CO2 cartridge. You need all of these items because it is not unheard of to get two flats (or more) on one ride. Wet Willy knows this from experience…
• Thorns, staples, broken glass and other sharp objects can get into a tire and remain undetected from the outside of the tire. This means you can get a flat over and over from the same sharp object until you find it and remove it. Whenever you fix a flat, run your fingers along the entire inside of the tire. If there is a sharp object in there, you’ll feel it on the inside of the tire even if you can’t see it on the outside. You can then either push the sharp object back out of the tire with whatever is available or pull it through the tire with tweezers or needle nose pliers.

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Holy hell cycling

• At the end of the first cold and wet stage of the Amgen Tour of California, Lance Armstrong sent a Twitter message, “Holy hell. That was terrible.”
• As this goes to print, the third rainy stage just took place, and Levi Leipheimer kept the yellow jersey. We’re stoked that the weather forecast for the time trial in Solvang is sunshine. So we’re thinking that the thousands who come here and millions watching it on TV will realize that our county is a superb place for cycling. Perhaps Lance will Twitter “Holy heaven. That was wonderful.”

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Coalition co-sponsors video contest

• Our Bicycle Coalition is cooperating with others to sponsor a “Green Shorts” video contest. Organized by the Community Environmental Council, Santa Barbara Channels, Bici Centro and others, the contest will award winning submissions with a laptop computer and other prizes.
• The contest theme is “Life After Oil,” the same theme as the April 19th Earth Day Festival in Santa Barbara. The videos must be two minutes or shorter. They should offer compelling and pragmatic solutions to energy independence, sustainability and a green future for all inhabitants of out planet.
• Winners will have their videos shown on Channel 17 television, and screened at Earth Day in Alameda Park.
• Deadline for submission is April 1st. Residents in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties are invited to submit entries. After that, until April 9th, the public will be invited to vote for their favorites. Read all the details here. Good luck!

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March 12th meeting on UCSB’s 2025 plan

• The University of California Santa Barbara has released several modified sections of the draft Environmental Impact Report for its Long-Range Development Plan. The modified sections include a 164-page one on Transportation. You can download it from www.UCSBVision2025.com. There will be a public meeting to describe the Plan at:
• March 12, 7:00 PM
  Santa Catalina (formerly Francisco Torres)
  Linda Vista Room
  6850 El Colegio Road, Isla Vista.
• Of special interest to bicyclists is the planned 10% reduction in single-occupant vehicles to and from campus. Measures to achieve it include bicycling facilities. A 500-unit campus housing project on Ocean Road will encourage biking, although it includes removing two bike tunnels from Isla Vista.

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Bike skills classes reap beneficial results



Here participants at one of our Street Skills classes prepare to go on a bike ride. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• All over the US, Licensed Cycling Instructors (LCIs) teach 10-hour classes based on the League of American Bicyclists “Traffic Skills 101” courses. Organizations use their own names for the course, we call our version “Street Skills for Cyclists” and offer it every other month for $30 a person. Learn about it at here.
• While feedback from our participants has been favorable, a detailed survey of 125 people in Columbia, Missouri, who took what they call “Confident City Cycling” in 2008 resulted in these positive statistics:
• 100% are glad they took time for the course.
• 75% are riding their bikes more often.
• 97% feel safer when they bicycle now.
• 73% say their physical fitness has improved.
• 24% of car trips were replaced by bicycling.
• 73% are buying more from local bike shops.
• The Columbia education coordinator Robert Johnson reports that their typical student is a 40-year old female who was not very physically fit before the course. He feels that replacing car trips by bicycle trips is the greatest accomplishment of their program. They charge $20 for their three-session course, and hope to enroll 300 people this year. You can read about what they are doing at www.pednet.org.
• Closer to home, the San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition reports that its similar “Bike Confidence Program” reached 553 students with 21 sessions last year. The course is free, but donations are accepted. Their website is www.slobikelane.org.
• Our local program continues to attract a considerably smaller number of students. Perhaps we could borrow others’ ideas?

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February Coalition meeting topics

• Our February 3rd monthly Bicycle Coalition meeting was held at noon in Downtown Santa Barbara, with 24 participants talking about these topics:
• Tom Figg described SB County government’s view of costs resulting from UCSB’s proposed development.
• Fertig described views expressed about UCSB’s plans at the Isla Vista PAC/GPAC meeting.
• The rising effectiveness of online posted comments versus those of printed media were considered.
• Dru van Hengel described proposed State/De la Vina improvements that will go to the SB City Council February 10th.
• Activities surrounding the Amgen Tour of California in Solvang and benefits from attracting cyclists here were described.
• Eva Inbar talked about the possible mis-location of a proposed bike/ped/car bridge in western Goleta over Highway 101.
• Ed France talked about upcoming Bici Centro classes at La Cumbre Junior High in April.
• Wilson Hubbell gave a check to Ralph Fertig to purchase a replacement for his stolen bike, thanks to Goleta Valley Cycling Club and Bicycle Coalition member contributions.
• Ralph Fertig showed photos of his recent trip to Turkey, the poor bicycling conditions there, and resulting low ridership.
• Ralph Fertig described the Foothill Road drainage project, and how it will include some new shoulders.
• Our participation in Santa Barbara’s Earth Day was discussed.
• Lori La Riva described the “Green Shorts” video contest that is being creating for Earth Day.

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Foothill Road will get 1200 feet of new shoulders



Looking west on Foothill, the deep stony ditch that’s inches from the roadway is a danger to everybody. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• It’s been eight years since we first learned about Caltrans’ plans to improve a section of Foothill Road (Highway 192) between Mission Canyon Road and Alamar Road. Back in November 2001, the 0.7-mile project was described to the Mission Canyon Association. It would widen the two lanes to 12 feet each, replace drainage ditches with buried storm drains, and add unpaved shoulders. Caltrans said it was funded because of high accident rates there.
• In 2002 we wrote to Caltrans, asking for paved shoulders in the project. They would, we said, provide “safer conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists, a place for USPS mail trucks to enter for delivery, safer conditions for disabled vehicles, space for motorists when emergency vehicles approach, greater sight distances for motorists exiting driveways, and no blocking of motorists by slow-moving bicyclists in the travel lanes.”
• In July 2004, Caltrans had a public meeting for their proposed design. The road would have four-foot unpaved shoulders. Ralph Fertig objected in a second follow-up letter, citing Caltrans Deputy Directive DD-64 that says that Caltrans must consider the needs of non-motorized travelers in all projects. We suggested an earth-colored paving material for the shoulder. It would provide a safe place for bicyclists, slow motorists because of their perceived narrow space, and retain the rural character of the community there.
• In January 2009, we learned that the project would start in March. The final design includes a section of 0.2-miles in the middle of the project with paved shoulders. It’s a Caltrans highway, and they will install “No parking” signs there after the County requests them. Caltrans’ Pat Mickelson determined that the necessary County paperwork is forthcoming.
• No, it’s not the best solution for our safety, but it’s better than what we have today. Perhaps in another decade or two, the missing shoulder gaps will be installed.

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Stop signs becoming yield for bikes?

• Since 1982, Idaho has had a “stop as yield” law where bicyclists can treat stop signs as yield signs. It was passed after being proposed by law enforcement officials. According to the Idaho Transportation Department, there has been no increase in injuries or fatalities as a result.
• Oregon and Montana are considering it. For California, Robert Shanteau reports that our state’s Bicycle Advisory Committee recently considered, but essentially opposed it. Shanteau personally feels that stop signs are overused—two-way stops should be yields, and many four-way stops should become roundabouts.

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Council punts on State/De la Vina
by Ralph Fertig



This Google Earth photo shows the intersection of State Street (top) and angled De la Vina with the uncontrolled right turn between them.

• During a four-hour session on February 10th, the Santa Barbara City Council listened to 28 people who asked for safer conditions for bicycling and walking at the State/De la Vina Streets intersection. Twenty speakers opposed the project, and four were fairly neutral.
• The result, after a staff presentation, Council questions, opinions, and a few trial motions and discussion, was unanimous acceptance of a motion to send the project back to staff, then return it to Council for reconsideration. Councilmember Helene Schenider suggested, in addition to removing the free right turn from State onto De la Vina, having a new bikepath for bicyclists turning onto De la Vina.
• Councilmember Das Williams suggested that the proposed regular traffic signal could be modified with a green arrow for motorists turning onto De la Vina. That arrow would turn red when sensors detected a pedestrian wishing to cross. The result would be much like today’s free-flowing right hand turn, but motorists would be slowed by the sharper turn angle.
• Councilmember Grant House picked up on the suggestion that a “refuge island” be installed in De la Vina to make using the proposed crosswalk at Samarkand Drive safer for pedestrians.
• For those bicyclists continuing east on State, it would still be better because right-turning motorists would be slower, and a bike slot would be installed between the through and right turn lanes. Those bicyclists would still have to weave through the right-turning motorists as they do now.
• We certainly thank all the members of our Bicycle Coalition who took the time with me to attend and address the Council: Wilson Hubbell, Thomas Matthias, Courtney Dietz, Keith Coffman-Gray, Chris Orr, Pierre Delong, Michael Chiacos, Eva Inbar, Ed France, and Alex Pujo.
• Right now re-design is in the hands of Transportation staff. We’ll be watching and anticipating its return to the City Council.

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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
• Run Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara
• Hazard’s Cyclesport, Santa Barbara
• Dr J’s Bicycle Shop, Solvang
• Big Bang PR, Santa Barbara
• Santa Barbara Bikes-To-Go, Santa Barbara
• We welcome our new members Taryn & Joe O’Flaherty, Marcia & Otto Engelmann, and Jeff Grunigen.
• Plus we appreciate those who renewed their memberships: Drew Hunter, Teresa & David Bothman, Katherine Cowell, Harry & Audrey Nelson, Robert Rainwater, Brigitta van der Raay, Paul Herning, Dorothy Littlejohn, Doris Phinney and Owen Patmor.

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Electric bike shop opens in Santa Barbara



Here’s the shop front window featuring an EcoBike. Photo by Ralph Fertig.

• A new bike and scooter shop has opened in Santa Barbara. All machines are electric and deliver up to 25 miles per charge. The shop is ElectriCruise, located at 631 North Milpas Street. The EcoBikes can be pedaled or not as conditions require. The eGO scooters are only for riding. Check them out when you’ve time.

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Coalition pursues Linden/Casitas safety

• On January 22, Caltrans and the City of Carpinteria held a joint public hearing on the upcoming Linden/Casitas Pass project.
• Bicycle Coalition president Ralph Fertig represented us there, making public comments and talking with government staff. In a follow-up email to Caltrans the next day, he emphasized these points:
• The proposed bike tunnel under Via Real should be lighted and gently slope down and up so users can see the far end.
• The proposed bikepath next to Via Real is not recommended by Caltrans’ design manual standards.
• The end of the bikepath at Linden Avenue, if constructed, should either be onto the pedestrian crossing or some distance north.
• A curb ramp at the bikepath end, if designed, should have a planted area between path lanes to slow approaching bicyclists.
• Your comments can still be submitted to Caltrans by March 23, Send them to:
• Caltrans District 5
  Attention: Matt Fowler
  50 Higuera Street
  San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
• You can read the project’s environmental report here. The $100 million project, however, might be jeopardized because Carpinteria City Council just asked Caltrans to reconsider the project's environmental impacts.