What is the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition?
- A brief history
- Pro Bike/Pro Walk conference in Santa Barbara.
- Free copy of our newsletter
- Our email list and Facebook presence
- How you can help
- How Members benefit
- Our Coalition's By Laws
- Our policies
- How to contact us
- Join our Bicycle Coalition
Hundreds of people stop by our Earth Day booth each
year in Santa Barbara, here at Santa Barbara City College. Visitors pick up
maps, literature, and lots of free advice. A free bike checkup keeps volunteer
mechanics busy all day.
Photo by Ralph Fertig.
The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, founded in 1991, is a countywide bicycling advocacy organization. It consists of dedicated volunteers who maintain contact with City, County and regional transportation professionals, elected officials, educators, bike clubs, employee transportation coordinators, bike shops, bike manufacturers, and other advocacy groups. Here are some projects and programs that we have helped implement:
- Repaving Canon Perdido Street between Milpas and Garden Streets, striping wide bikelanes and narrow car lanes.
- Joined with Santa Barbara's community bike program Bici Centro to reach underserved bicyclists.
- Widening North Jameson Lane in Montecito between Olive Mill and Ortega Hill, striping bikelanes.
- Increasing safety for cyclists with a separate bikepath between Summerland and Montecito.
- Narrow the traffic lanes and stripe in bikelanes on outer State Street, from Highway 154 to De la Vina Street.
- Crafted a bike safety video "Decide to Ride."
- Bike racks on all large MTD buses for all routes.
- Maria Ygnacio bikeway access links to Hollister Avenue.
- Bike storage lockers for Santa Maria and Lompoc.
- Widen Alamo Pintado Road between Ballard and Los Olivos, and stripe in bikelanes.
- Shoreline Drive narrowed to two lanes, parking removed, bikelanes striped, new bikepath created.
- Bikeway signs along 80 miles of streets and paths throughout the South Coast.
- Widen shoulders on Highway 246 between Buellton and Solvang.
- Regular Street Skills classes to improve bicyclist confidence.
- Via Real widening, bikelanes striped between Carpinteria and Summerland.
Santa Barbara County has much going for it. Benign climate, flat roads, mountain trails, a bikeway network, spectacular views, and environmentally-aware officials. Most valuable, however, is the population of educated, active individuals who live here not for money, but because they love the area and choose to commit energy to preserve it and enhance our quality of life. With your help, we can move together toward a better future for all people who bicycle.
Pro Bike/Pro Walk conference in Santa Barbara
In September 1998, we brought the Bicycle Federation of America's Pro Bike/Pro Walk conference in Santa Barbara. Over 500 participants came from all over North America. We've archived that part of our website here.
Every month since November 1991, we have published a newsletter called Quick Release. If you would like a free, sample issue of Quick Release mailed to you, send us the form on this page.
Our email list and Facebook presence
The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition has its own email subscription
list. Anybody can join and then send and receive posted messages about efforts
to improve bicycling in Santa Barbara County. Just keep messages concise
and relevant. It's easy to join the list, simply send an email message to:
sbbike-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Don't put anything in the subject or message
areas of your email. We look forward to meeting you on the Internet.
If you wish to review past postings to our list, go to lists.riseup.net/www/arc/sbbike.
Our Facebook presence was added in 2009. You can view messages and become our
friend at www.facebook.com/sbbicycle.
The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition needs your help to move
forward with projects that will increase bicycling awareness, promote education,
reduce accidents, and in general make it easier and more fun for us all to
bicycle.
Since we started in 1991, we have had a lean,
but effective operation that has come from the generosity of the Coalition's
Board of Directors, Goleta Valley Cycling Club, Traffic Solutions and our
individual members. We are very grateful for all their help, but with more
support, we'll be able to increase our effectiveness with projects such as:
- Help CycleMAYnia and other events reach more people
- Support Bici Centro activities
- Promote safer biking to local schools
- Write and talk to elected officials about better bicycling conditions
- Maintain this website and Facebook on the Internet
- Protect bicyclists legal rights to roads
- Provide bike-friendly ideas for local restaurants and hotels
- Promote Santa Barbara County as a bicycling destination
- Promote bicycling to visitors as part of the "Santa Barbara Car Free" program
- Provide transportation planners and consultants advice on bicyclist safety
- Participate in Earth Day and other regional events
- Send Quick Release newsletter to elected officials, bike businesses, and large employers.
If you join the Bicycle Coalition, you'll get us to speak out to planners and officials on your behalf. We'll make certain that you have our newsletter Quick Release mailed to you each month during your membership period. And, just because you're a member of the Coalition, you'll receive discounts at the following bike shops and Momentum magazine:
- Bicycle Bob's, 250 Storke Road #A, Goleta & 15 Hitchcock Way, Santa Barbara. 10% off regular price on parts and accessories. 5% off on bikes.
- Bicycle Connection, 223 W. Ocean Avenue, Lompoc. Tune-up special $29.95 (regular $39.95). Sales tax discount on all accessories.
- Main Street Cycles, 311 East Main Street, Santa Maria. 10% off everything but bicycles.
- Hazard's Cyclesport, 735 Chapala St, Santa Barbara. 10% off all accessories, parts and clothing.
- Lighthouse Bicyles, Santa Ynez. 10% off custom bicycle frames. Phone 688-6385.
- Mad Mike's Bikes, 1108 East Clark Avenue #G, Santa Maria. 20% off parts and accessories.
- Pedal Power Bicycles, 1740 Broadway, Santa Maria. 10% off accessories.
- VeloPro Cyclery, 633 State Street, Santa Barbara and 5887 Hollister Avenue, Goleta. 10% off regular price on parts and accessories.
- WheelHouse, 528 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara. 10% off labor.
- Momentum Magazine. You'll get a $5 discount off the annual $20 subscription price, plus our Bicycle Coalition will also receive a $5 gift. Just go online here.
To get your discount, take your copy of Quick Release with your name and the word "MEMBER" on the address label. If you receive your newsletter in PDF format, tell the clerk that you are a member; if there is a question, phone 962-1479. To join us, click on the link below, print out and complete the application, and mail it to us. Or join us online. Remember, you'll be helping assure us all a place for bicycling in our community for years to come.
You can fill out a PDF form, print it and mail it to us
with your check HERE.
Or use our online form at the Bici Centro site where you can pay with your
credit card HERE.