On May 3, 2021, at 1:00 pm Pacific time, CalBike will join our cosponsors of the Freedom to Walk Act (AB 1238, Ting) and leading experts on pedestrian safety to host a national panel discussion on decriminalizing jaywalking.
The discussion will be held on Zoom and all are welcome to attend. The event is free but preregistration is required.
CalBike is committed to reforming traffic laws to reduce inequities and racially biased policing. Eliminating laws against jaywalking is an essential step toward this goal. By co-sponsoring the Freedom to Walk Act, we hope to decriminalize jaywalking in California. But this movement should be national, so we created a webinar to connect people working on this issue from across the country.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Charles Brown of Equitable Cities and John Yi from Los Angeles Walks, a co-sponsor of AB 1238. The panelists are Angie Schmitt, Author of “Right of Way,” Caro Jauregui from California Walks (also a co-sponsor of AB 1238), Patrick Hope, a delegate in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Michael Kelley from Bike Walk Kansas City. Jared Sanchez from CalBike will introduce the session. Additional hosts are 3MPH Planning + Consulting and Arrested Mobility.
We look forward to this opportunity to build a national movement to decriminalize jaywalking. We hope you will join us.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Jaywalking-Webinar-flyer-cropped.jpg6051572Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-04-27 17:59:592021-04-27 18:00:28CalBike to Host National Panel on Decriminalizing Jaywalking
Assembly Transportation Committee Supports Freedom to Walk Act
First Step to Decriminalize Jaywalking in California
Sacramento – The California Assembly Transportation Committee voted 12-2 to support AB 1238, the Freedom to Walk Act. This measure will eliminate jaywalking laws, making it legal for pedestrians to make mid-block crossings and cross against traffic lights.
The Freedom to Walk Act, sponsored by Assemblymember Phil Ting, is a necessary step to right historic injustices. Jaywalking citations are disproportionately issued to Black Californians, and policing these infractions provides an opportunity for biased and pretextual policing. Decriminalizing jaywalking will remove an unjust burden from low-income Californians, who can least afford to pay the fines. Low-income residents are also more likely to live in neighborhoods that lack infrastructure for people who walk, making jaywalking unavoidable.
‘’We applaud the Assembly Transportation Committee for advancing this important bill,” said Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate. “Their strong support is a sign that California is ready to leave these regressive and oppressive laws in the dustbin of history, where they belong.”
“The incredible rate at which pedestrians are dying from crashes should compel us to understand why fellow Californians navigate as such, not criminalize them. This is just the first of many steps in our fight to provide all those who walk and roll with a little more dignity. We look forward to the work ahead,” shared John Yi, Executive Director of Los Angeles Walks.
“The decriminalization of “jaywalking” is the first step in ensuring a culture of belonging on our streets for all road users. We will continue to work towards ending the current dangerous car culture across the state that is accepted as the norm and prioritizes drivers, “ said Caro Jauregui, Co-Executive Director of California Walks.
CalBike, California Walks, and Los Angeles Walks are sponsoring the Freedom to Walk Act, which has strong support from a broad base of community organizations. To date, more than 85 groups and individuals have signed on to a letter supporting AB 1238. Supporters include the Ella Baker Center, Courage California, Disability Rights California, and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. Elected leaders supporting the measure include Berkeley City Councilmember Rigel Robinson, Albany Mayor Ge’Nell Gary, and Albany Vice Mayor, Preston Jordan.
After COVID sidetracked much of California’s legislative agenda (and all of CalBike’s bills) in 2020, this year is off to a busy start. CalBike 2021 legislation includes three bills we are sponsoring that will be crucial in creating a more equitable, bicycling-friendly California. Your team in Sacramento is actively working on four additional bills and keeping an eye on another 16 pieces of legislation.
CalBike’s sponsored bills
In 2020, we laid out a plan for reducing the role of police in traffic enforcement. Every pretext for a police stop is an opportunity for police to target, harass, and attack Black and brown Californians.
It will take more than a change in traffic laws to change a culture of brutality toward BIPOC people from law enforcement. However, we think that two bills we’re sponsoring that legalize commonsense behaviors help reduce opportunities for pretextual policing.
Authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting, this bill will repeal jaywalking laws. It makes legal the common practice of safely crossing a street mid-block or crossing against the light if there’s no traffic present.
Decriminalizing walking across the street is a step toward correcting years of neglected infrastructure. Many residents of underserved neighborhoods have no choice but to “jaywalk” on streets without adequate sidewalks, crosswalks, or traffic controls. In addition, jaywalking is inequitably enforced, with Black Californians more than four times as likely to be stopped as their white counterparts.
The Freedom to Walk Act will take off the books a “crime” that harms no one and often reflects commonsense choices by pedestrians in a car-centric world.
In 1982, Idaho made it legal for people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields. Many states have since followed suit, including Oregon, Washington, and Delaware. A study from Delaware found that, after the bike-stop-as-yield became law, crashes involving bikes and cars at intersections decreased by 23%. This bill will bring California in line with our West Coast neighbors and improve bike safety.
If AB 122 becomes law, it will be legal for people on bikes to do what most of us already do: slow down at a stop sign, proceed if the way is clear, or stop and yield to pedestrians or other traffic. Legalizing the bicycle safety stop also counters racial disparities by removing one more pretext for potentially lethal police traffic stops.
The Assembly approved the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill on April 22, by a vote of 53-11. We’ll need your help to get it through the California Senate. In the meantime, sign the petition to show your support for the Bicycle Safety Stop Law.
CalBike’s E-Bike Affordability Program
Our third sponsored bill is part of a campaign that CalBike has been working on for several years. We know that e-bikes are very effective at replacing car trips, and we know we need to drastically reduce driving to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. In 2019, we passed SB 400, which added e-bikes to the Clean Cars 4 All program. This year, we’re looking for greatly expanded funding to make e-bikes affordable to more Californians.
The E-Bike Affordability Bill creates a program to give purchase incentives for e-bikes, much like the electric car program run by the state. However, the bill doesn’t set the amount of funding. In addition to passing AB 117, we will advocate for initial funding of $10 million for e-bikes in the budget process.
The E-Bike Affordability Bill unanimously passed the Assembly Transportation Committee and will soon be ready for a floor vote. We need lots of support to make this vital program a reality. Sign the petition to demand that California subsidize e-bikes as it does electric cars.
Other priority legislation
CalBike is supporting or opposing several additional bills. We are working to ensure that the needs of people who rely on active transportation are heard in Sacramento.
Improving transportation planning
AB 1147: Transportation Plan Improvements (Friedman)
AB 1147 will require regional transportation agencies to ensure that their transportation plans meet California’s goals to reduce the miles people travel in their cars. It calls for a grant program to build the safe biking infrastructure to achieve a “15-minute city.” That’s a place where every typical destination can be reached by most people with a 15-minute bike ride. CalBike is working with the author to ensure that the grant program incentivizes city leaders to build truly effective networks, even when they impact car traffic or parking.
Opposing a threat to bike and scooter sharing
AB-371: Death to Shared Mobility Bill (Jones-Sawyer)
AB 371 rehashes an onerous insurance requirement that CalBike managed to kill in the legislature last year. It would require scooter and bike-share systems to carry insurance not just to cover their legitimate liability for product defects and malfunctions (which they already do) but to cover any injury to someone using their systems, no matter what the cause. The cost of this would drive micromobility systems out of California. Plus, there’s no carve-out for municipal systems, like the one operated by LA’s Metro or nonprofit bike libraries. We support a provision in the bill to make devices accessible to vision-impaired people for reporting purposes, but the rest of this measure is toxic. CalBike is working hard to defeat it.
This measure will allow six California cities to establish pilot programs to enforce speed limits with cameras. The cities on the list are Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco in northern California; Los Angeles and two other cities to be determined in Southern California. The bill imposes strict limits on programs to protect privacy and limit fines (including add-on fees) to $125. Automated enforcement of speed limits has proven to reduce crashes dramatically. Because of the limitations included in this bill, CalBike may make an exception to our typical refusal to support enforcement as a traffic safety strategy.
Lowering speed limits for safety
AB 43: Makes It Easier to Lower Speed Limits (Friedman, Ting, Chiu, and Quirk)
AB 43 reforms the infamous 85th percentile rule. This rule requires agencies to set speed limits at the nearest 5-mph increment to the speed of the 15th fastest driver out of 100. In effect, this rewards drivers for speeding. The bill will broaden exceptions to the rule and allow for speed limits as low as 20 mph and 15 mph. Lower speeds are crucial for neighborhood Slow Streets.
CalBike 2021 legislation watch list
The bills we are watching include measures to do away with parking minimums in buildings near transit, setbacks to keep oil drilling away from homes and schools, school zone speed cameras, and more. Our Legislative Watch page has the full rundown, including the latest status of all this year’s bills.
CalBike couldn’t do the work we do in Sacramento to stand up for active transportation and people who ride bikes without the support of our many members. Please consider joining or renewing your membership today.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/California_State_Capitol_in_Sacramento.jpg10001500Kevin Claxtonhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngKevin Claxton2021-04-23 17:46:592021-04-27 18:03:10Roundup of CalBike 2021 Legislation
Earth Day Victory for Bicycling CalBike’s Bicycle Safety Stop Bill Passes Assembly
Today, the California Assembly took a historic step by voting 53 to 11 in favor of the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill (AB 122, Boerner Horvath, Friedman, Ting). Most Democrats and two Republicans supported the bill. The bill will replace the requirement that people on bikes stop at stop signs with a requirement to yield and slow and stop if necessary for safety, including to yield the right of way to pedestrians. More than 75 organizations across the state signed a letter in support of the bill.
“To cut down on car emissions, promote healthy living, and improve equity, we need neighborhoods that encourage safe bicycle riding,” said Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, the bill’s original author. “We know from the example of other states that when riders are allowed to yield at stop signs, they choose safer streets and will spend less time in dangerous intersections. It’s time for California to live up to its values and start encouraging — not penalizing — smart riding in our state.”
“Bicycling is good for California in so many ways: it improves our health, our economy, and our environment. We’re grateful to our thousands of members who agree with that and contacted their assembly members to ask them to remove this nonsensical obstacle to safe and reasonable biking,” said Dave Snyder, Executive Director of CalBike.
The Bicycle Safety Stop Bill doesn’t change existing right-of-way laws. Instead, AB 122 reforms the rules of the road to conform to safe and logical bike riding. It will improve predictability at intersections and mutual respect among road users.
If AB 122 becomes law, California will join the list of states that have implemented the safety stop: Idaho, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Delaware, Arkansas, Utah, and North Dakota. None of those states has reported any safety problems with the new rule. A recent study in Delaware found that collisions involving bicycles at intersections decreased by 23% since the safety stop became legal. CalBike has created a video to explain how the bicycle safety stop works.
After unsuccessful attempts at passing this legislation in the past, CalBike pursued the issue this year in an environment of growing support for reducing the police role in traffic enforcement. Unnecessary laws that are difficult to follow pose a risk of traffic stops with tragic endings for people riding bikes, especially Black and Latinx people.
CalBike’s E-Bike Affordability Bill (AB 117) had its first victory on Monday when the Assembly Transportation Committee voted unanimously in support of this essential program. Committee Chair Laura Friedman and Member Buffy Wicks asked to be included as co-authors.
Dave Snyder, Vista City Councillor Corinna Contreras, and a number of representatives of environmental groups and individuals spoke in support of the bill during the hearing. Brian Simmons testified eloquently about how his e-bike was essential to his mental and physical healing after losing a leg in military service. Nobody spoke in opposition.
The bill is part of CalBike’s $10M E-Bike Affordability Program. Introduced by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, AB 117 establishes an e-bike purchase incentive program which through grants and vouchers will help make e-bikes affordable and accessible to thousands of Californians. Prior to approval, CalBike coordinated amendments among stakeholders to specify the goals of the program. Amendments also removed any reference to funding the program. For the promise of AB 117 to become real, legislators must separately include the $10 million in the state budget.
“The budget process will be key,” said Dave Snyder, CalBike’s Executive Director. “This will be meaningless without a healthy amount of funding.” The $10 million CalBike hopes to win in the 2022 budget is slated to cover the first several years of the program. Snyder hopes that e-bike purchase incentives will be so popular and successful that the state will soon allocate $10 million annually for e-bike purchase incentives.
Funding is the key to removing barriers to e-bike adoption
E-bikes are not only greener than electric cars; they also help people lead more active, healthier lives. And the electricity to power an e-bike costs less than $0.01 per mile.
The biggest barrier to e-bike adoption has been the price. Simple e-bikes of good quality cost more than $1,500, and many of the most useful bikes can cost more than $4,000, well out of the price range for low-income Californians. CalBike’s goal for the program is to connect 10,000 Californians with affordable e-bikes.
The next big test for AB 117 will be the vote on the floor. Many of you emailed your representatives on the Transportation Committee to build support for e-bike purchase incentives. We’ll put out a similar call when the bill comes up for a vote on the Assembly Floor.
But the bigger test for the program will be the budget process. “It’s one thing for legislators to say they support the program in theory,” said Snyder. “It’s more important for them to support it in the budget.”
On Monday, CalBike brings on board a campaign manager to help us win the budget fight. Your support will be critical. Please sign our petition, and include your address, so we know which district you live in to coordinate our advocacy. And please share the petition in your networks.
We can’t avoid the worst effects of climate change unless we transition our transportation sector to cleaner vehicles—quickly. E-bikes are one of the best ways to replace car trips with clean, green transportation. Your support will help us pass and fund this important e-bike affordability program.
Californians need to drive less to mitigate the climate crisis, but we don’t always have convenient public transit options. E-bikes replaces car trips to school, work, and on errands. In fact, studies have shown that e-bikes are one of the best ways to liberate people from the burden of car travel. That’s why CalBike is campaigning hard for our $10 million e-bike affordability program.
When we asked for e-bike stories, many of you told us that your e-bikes have replaced car trips and, sometimes, allowed you to go car-free. Here are a few of those stories.
Matt Hill, San Francisco
I got my first e-bike almost four years ago, and it completely changed my life. I live in San Francisco with two kids, and I stopped driving completely. I never look for parking anymore, which is an amazing mental health benefit. The whole family spends much more time outside, which is great, and I get more exercise.
After about a year with the e-bike, I sold my car, which reduced our transportation costs significantly (maintenance, insurance, gas, parking, etc.). I almost never use a car anymore, except for road trips. I probably ride 25 miles per week.
This past year, I upgraded to an electric bakfiets, because our kids are getting bigger, and we got a dog. With the bigger e-cargo bike, I can haul tons of stuff. We do beach days by bike — carrying boogie boards, wetsuits, picnic supplies, the dog, chairs, etc. We also go crabbing on the municipal pier by bike. There’s pretty much nothing we can’t do in San Francisco by e-bike that we could do by car. It’s truly amazing.
Phil Hong, Torrance
My e-bike has made biking a dependable and desirable way to get around my neighborhood.
Walking doesn’t make sense in my suburban neighborhood because everything is at least 15-20 minutes away by foot. Manual biking was always an option but arriving sweaty at my destination was never appealing. My e-bike has given me the option to bike to meetings, the mailbox, grocery stores, hardware stores, and the local parks.
Wherever I go on my e-bike I arrive fresh and energized. Parking is easy because I just need to locate the nearest bike rack, railing, or pole. Whenever I can bike, the car stays at home. I play tennis at least twice per week, go to the grocery store twice per week, and visit my post office mailbox twice per week. I am averaging 25 miles per week on my e-bike.
My e-bike can travel 30 miles before needing to recharge and a full recharge costs less than $0.10. Compare that to $5-10 in my gas car for fuel and maintenance, and it’s easy to see how e-bikes can revolutionize life for many but especially lower-income families. My e-bike has made going places much more enjoyable and it has made the car a much less important part of my life.
Lisa Reinker, San Carlos
I love my e-bike! I ride it to work every day as well as running errands. It’s so much more versatile than a car, and I never have to worry about finding or paying for parking. In traffic, I’m often faster than the Teslas and it’s so much more relaxing than being behind the steering wheel.
I make sure to drive my car once weekly to keep the tires ok, but other than that, my e-bike has pretty much replaced my car.
E Lebel, Menlo Park
In about a year, my e-bike has traveled over 1500 miles, replacing about 15% of my annual car mileage. In a post-pandemic world where I will have more places to go around town, I suspect this number will increase.
Riding the bike is usually at worst the same time as driving and most times faster than driving if going anywhere in Menlo Park or Palo Alto.
Erik Hovland, Glendale
I recently purchased a used e-bike on a lark. Turns out that the majority of my biking and the majority of my under 5 mile trips are now made by e-bike. It has had a transformative effect on short commutes and work commutes. The major benefit is the certainty that if I take my e-bike to work, I will be there in about 30 minutes and I will be home in about 30 minutes. This vastly improves my daily life.
I now regularly use my e-bike to take short trips. My trips to the hardware store and the grocery store are almost exclusively by e-bike at this point.
Phoebe Ford, San Francisco
I moved to San Francisco in 2015, worked very long hours at a start-up, and spent a big part of my paycheck on rent for a tiny studio in the Mission. I started bike commuting then, a pretty flat ride into Soma. In 2016 I moved in with my husband, which meant moving up a hill. I immediately felt trapped — I dreaded going down for any reason because I’d have to bike or walk back up. My e-bike, purchased about 1 month after moving, transformed my relationship to that apartment and SF city biking overall.
On my ‘classic’ bike, I found excuses not to ride. A late night at the office? Uber. Rainy? BART. Groceries? Walking over to the corner store. With my e-bike, I ride more, I ride farther, and I carry more cargo. I’ve put over 2000 miles on my e-bike every year since I’ve owned it, mostly commuting, but also every other local trip — to the movies, to the grocery store, to yoga, even to Lowes. I rode it until the day I went into labor with my first child. After my son was born, my husband and I added an e-cargo bike so we could take him out with us. We chose a front bucket bike to fit an infant car seat, to keep him protected, and us on the move in the months before he could sit in a child bike seat.
I still don’t own a car. I read recently that the average car payment is $572/month and I honestly cannot imagine fitting that into our household budget — not with pre-school kids in childcare. And I wouldn’t want to– we’d miss out on all the fun we have because our daily trips are outdoors on a bike.
Mark Maxwell, Ventura
I love, love, love my e-bike! It has replaced my car for all my day-to-day activities, including my daily commute, shopping trips and recreation for the last three years. It’s is so much fun to ride. There is a certain thrill in the acceleration of an electric motor! I love my bike’s throttle.
I also feel safer on my electric bike, because I am able to choose routes that are the safest, often on side streets, or along bike paths, routes I wouldn’t have taken on my regular pedal bike as I would want to keep my route short and flat to conserve my own energy (and knees), and to save time. I used to ride my regular bike down the east end of Main St. in Ventura, an obnoxious six-lane commercial stretch full of freeway ramps, left and right turn pockets, a Target center and fast food stores. Just not a nice place to ride a bike. Now I ride my e-bike up and out of my way on mostly residential Loma Vista St., which is wide, has excellent bike lanes and is lightly travelled. I would never have gone up Loma Vista on my pedal bike.
When I do drive a car lately, I am reminded of all the many instances of frustration, anxiety, and road rages big and small which don’t really present themselves while I am riding my bike. Driving can be a drag, especially during daily commutes and running errands in commercial areas. On my bike, I’m just zipping along past all that stuff. I get in my car once a week, if that. I can’t tell you the last time I filled my gas tank.
Do you have a story about how e-bikes replace car trips in your life? Or perhaps you’d love to own an e-bike but the price is too steep without help from a plan like CalBike’s E-Bike Affordability Program? Tweet your e-bike story @CalBike or share it with us on Facebook using the hashtag #ebikestories.
Do you believe everyone deserves to be able to purchase an e-bike? Support CalBike’s campaign to create a $10 million e-bike afforadbility program. Sign our petition.
