CARB’s decision to absorb the remaining funding from the E-Bike Incentive Project into Clean Cars 4 All is a telling political moment—one that mistakes “cleaner cars” for genuine progress. It’s easier to imagine replacing every gas car with an electric one than to imagine a California where people can move freely without cars at all. But the latter is what true climate leadership requires. The E-Bike Incentive Project wasn’t flawless, but it represented a rare, tangible step toward that future: a policy backed by funding that helped Californians drive less, not just differently. Reversing it is a step backward for the state and a disservice to the people who believed in it.
Requiring a car trade-in shifts the focus from helping people get around to helping them replace a vehicle. That’s the quiet but crucial difference between mobility and motors, between freedom and another form of dependency. Households across California were ready to drop a car, saving thousands every year on insurance, maintenance, and gas – money that could instead go to rent, childcare, or education. A project meant to deliver on climate goals, traffic reduction, and helping families balance checkbooks all at once.
The state is taking the wrong lessons from the turbulence of the EBIP roll out; the overwhelming demand makes clear this is a popular program that people want. Tens of thousands of Californians lined up for each round of the e-bike incentives, waiting hours online for a chance at a modest voucher. Their wants and needs are clear and simple – a new, affordable, economical way to get to work, to school, to the grocery store without being locked into the cost and burden of car ownership.
Ending that opportunity now ignores that clear demand and walks back hard-won progress toward a more livable, affordable, and sustainable California.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/carbebip.jpg30005394Andrew Wrighthttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngAndrew Wright2025-10-29 13:55:242025-10-29 13:55:25Response to CARB on Ending the E-Bike Incentive Project
The Week Without Driving seeks to highlight that nearly a third of Californians can’t rely on driving for their personal mobility. This year, the South Bay Transit Summit in Torrance also exposed how overlapping systems of infrastructure, regulation, and enforcement leave even willing bike riders few real choices. In the South Bay, this coercion isn’t theoretical.
LA County’s South Bay offers a case study in how dependence becomes design. A refinery explosion in nearby El Segundo averting catastrophe only by luck of the wind made it an apt week to reconsider life beyond fossil fuels. Yet the region’s streets, laws, and enforcement practices make that reflection nearly impossible. Here, driving isn’t merely convenient; it’s compulsory.
The gap between what’s possible and what exists is a frequent source of frustration for locals like Grace Peng at South Bay Forward, “Torrance/Carson is the third-largest job center in LA County. El Segundo/LAX is No. 4. Providing car-free access to these jobs is not just business-friendly; it’s also the minimum requirement for responsible regional sustainability and economic vitality.”
A Region That Criminalizes Alternatives
The South Bay’s coastal streets could be an ideal place for short trips by bike or on foot: most residents live within three miles of work, school, or errands. Instead, high-speed arterials, wide intersections, and sidewalk bike riding bans make those short distances feel like hostile terrain.
Local governments have responded to the rise of e-bikes not as an opportunity to improve safety or expand access, but as a crisis to be contained. Torrance has considered banning e-bikes from sidewalks where no dedicated bike infrastructure exists — forcing riders into 45 mph traffic lanes (alongside the other South Bay refinery that blew up ten years ago: https://www.csb.gov/exxonmobil-torrance-refinery-explosion-/).
The penalty in Manhattan Beach is far more extreme. Riders report receiving municipal citations rather than standard traffic tickets, meaning the city — not the state — sets the terms. Contesting one of these citations requires a $1,500 deposit up front, returned only if the appeal succeeds. One rider who tried to challenge his ticket described paying nearly $900 in total after multiple hearings and days lost to court appearances.
“I received my ticket on Redondo Ave and 19th Street at 8:15 a.m. during peak school drop-off time,” said Mark Polak. “I had blown through the stop sign without significantly slowing, but did not interfere with anyone’s right-of-way. The policeman said he was going after bikes and cars equally — but the bicycle fine is $500, while the State of California fine for running a stop sign in a motor vehicle is $238.”
Polak added that Manhattan Beach once offered an educational diversion program for bicycle infractions. That’s gone now. “He said I might be able to negotiate the fine down with the city finance office, but when I called, they thought I was crazy. I paid the fine.”
“Now that I’ve had one ticket, I’m worried about getting another with an enhanced fine for something I do every day,” he said, noting the lack of signal sensors that detect bicycles and the absence of safe crossings on Redondo Avenue — ironically a designated bike route. “Sometimes I even run the red light very early in the morning because the sensor doesn’t register bikes.”
Another rider, Kyle Richardson, was cited while taking his two children to AdventurePlex in Manhattan Beach on an electric cargo bike.
“For years I’ve taken my kids to daycare, school, and the beach on our electric cargo bike,” Richardson said. “On the morning of August 20, 2025, I was taking my two kids to AdventurePlex — one of the more affordable childcare facilities in the South Bay. When we arrived at N Redondo Ave, the road was busy with cars. I did a rolling stop to keep momentum with our 400-pound bike and checked that no cars were coming. Still, two officers pulled me over and wrote me a $500 ticket.”
He added, “I lead a bike bus in North Torrance at Carr Elementary. The Torrance Police Department supports and has attended our bike bus. The Manhattan Beach City Council, mayor, and Police Department should do more to support families in their communities to ride their bikes to school rather than punish them with excessive fines.”
Meanwhile, cars routinely roll through stop signs, block bike lanes, and speed down residential corridors with little consequence.
Predictable poor results
Infrastructure that privileges speed over safety, ordinances that ban bikes from the only safe spaces to ride, and a ticketing regime that fines bicyclists hundreds of dollars for common-sense behavior all converge to send a single message: don’t bother trying. Even as residents look for ways to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, especially in a region defined by refineries and freeways, the system keeps them cornered, forced back into cars by design.
If the South Bay offers a preview of what happens when local policy drifts away from statewide mobility goals, it’s a warning worth heeding. The conditions that make driving mandatory here are not accidents of geography or culture; they are the predictable results of rules, enforcement priorities, and infrastructure decisions that have made any other way of getting around feel impossible.
It’s hard to miss the irony. In a week marked by yet another refinery explosion, South Bay residents were reminded that the region’s dependence on oil doesn’t just pollute the air — it dictates how people move. The smoke clears, the streets reopen, and the cycle continues: fossil fuel production and fossil fuel consumption reinforcing each other, one ticket and one traffic lane at a time.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/SouthBay.jpg30005394Andrew Wrighthttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngAndrew Wright2025-10-16 10:51:292025-10-16 10:51:32How South Bay Cities Enforce Car Dependence by Design
Contact: Kevin Claxton, Advancement Director, CalBike, (909) 274-0137, kevin@calbike.org
SACRAMENTO, California, Oct 14, 2025 – The California Mobility Fund, a 501(c)3 and sibling organization of the California Bicycle Coalition, has convened the California Independent Electric Mobility Council, a first-of-its-kind statewide working group. The mission of the council is to bring order and vision to the fast-changing landscape of e-bikes and other small electric mobility devices, so that they can be safely and fairly integrated into California’s networks of streets, bikeways, and shared-use paths.
The California Mobility Fund focuses on educational and research-oriented work to advance bicycling and safe streets. Paired with the advocacy efforts of 501(c)4, the California Bicycle Coalition, the two organizations are known collectively as CalBike.
Concerns about unregulated e-mobility devices sold in California, such as e-bikes and e-motos, have led to a hodgepodge of local and state legislation, but the state lacks a unifying voice to bring the full range of concerns to the table and offer actionable solutions. Concerns about “e-bikes” traveling faster than the 28-mph top speed allowed under California law are understandable. But regulations that broadly limit e-bikes may negatively affect those using legal e-bikes and other devices for shorter commute distances and climate-friendly transportation.
“We need a better way to approach e-mobility regulation,” said CalBike Executive Director Kendra Ramsey. “The first step is to bring all the stakeholders together. That’s the purpose of the California Independent Electric Mobility Council.”
The Independent Electric Mobility Council represents a diverse group of transportation, safety, and public health experts. Over the next nine months, the Council will work to develop updated guidance, policy recommendations, and educational resources to address this complex mix of electric mobility devices.
In conjunction with the Council, CalBike will implement a statewide communications campaign to dispel misconceptions, share safety practices, and educate road users and California decision-makers alike.
Members of the Council include representatives from the California Emergency Nurses Association, the Motorcycle Industry Council, the Mineta Transportation Institute, Ecology Action, PeopleForBikes, the City of Santa Cruz, the California DMV and Department of Public Health, Alta Planning + Design, Lyft Urban Solutions, the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Streets Are For Everyone, and VoltVerified. The program is funded by a contribution from Honda.
CalBike responds to a changing e-bike landscape
CalBike has long taken the lead in helping Californians adopt sustainable, low-cost, active transportation. Our work was key to securing funding for the statewide e-bike incentive program for low-income Californians that has given out hundreds of vouchers in its first year.
But in recent years, we’ve also seen new vehicles enter the bike lane — small electric mopeds, e-dirt bikes, e-unicycles, electric scooters and skateboards, and electric autonomous delivery bots, just to name a few. Numerous communities across California have passed measures to restrict and regulate who can ride which devices and where they can ride them.
This piecemeal effort opens the door for local police to target youth of color, and writing tickets on the bike path doesn’t address the bigger issues of education for all road users and the need for safe spaces to ride and recreate. All too often, regular folks riding bikes pay the price, with their access to safe off-street trails and paths restricted.
With the creation of the California Independent Electric Mobility Council, CalBike seeks to remedy this and provide models for e-mobility regulation that can be used across California.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Mobile.jpg30005394Andrew Wrighthttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngAndrew Wright2025-10-15 10:49:182025-10-15 10:49:18CalBike Launches Statewide Working Group to Study E-Bikes and Electric Mobility Devices
On September 9, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation canceled grants for bike lanes, safer intersections, and pedestrian facilities with a stunning rationale: they were “hostile to motor vehicles.” In San Diego, a safety project was rescinded because it “appears to reduce lane capacity and a road diet that is hostile to motor vehicles.” In Alabama, converting a lane into a bikeway was deemed “counter to DOT’s priority of preserving or increasing roadway capacity for motor vehicles.” In Boston, a redesign of Mattapan Square was rejected for daring to change the “current auto-centric configuration” because it might “impede vehicle capacity and speed.”
This is not a misunderstanding. It is a declaration: the federal government is explicitly draining funding from active transportation in favor of cars.
If Safety Is “Hostile,” What Side Is DOT On?
Let’s be clear: Cars aren’t the enemy. But traffic violence is. And when the nation’s transportation agency labels safety improvements “hostile,” it is taking the side of pollution, congestion, and preventable deaths over common sense.
If your definition of quality of life is simply more car travel, you’ve missed the point. More cars mean more pollution, more danger, and more preventable deaths. Real quality of life comes from streets where people can move safely, breathe clean air, and choose how they get around.
Safe Streets Are Not a Partisan Luxury
This isn’t about left or right. Florida, Texas, and Alabama — hardly bastions of anti-car politics — are expanding bike paths and trail networks. Families everywhere want the same thing: streets where children can walk to school, seniors can cross safely, and anyone can ride a bike without risking their life.
To label that “hostile” is an insult to communities across the political spectrum working to make daily life safer and healthier.
CalBike Will Not Be Deterred
At CalBike, we don’t need Washington to tell us what freedom looks like. You don’t either. We know what real freedom looks like: the freedom to walk to school, ride to work, or roll to the store without fear. The freedom to breathe clean air and live in neighborhoods built for people, not traffic. The freedom to choose how we move.
The Department of Transportation may cling to an auto-centric past, but we are building the future together. So let Washington call it “hostile.” We call it progress. We call it life-saving. And we call on our friends, our allies, and every Californian who dreams of safe, vibrant streets: stay in this fight with us, because the road ahead belongs to all of us.
This post is sponsored by Bike Legal: At Bike Legal, we advocate for protected bike lanes that separate cyclists from motor vehicle traffic. Yet even the best infrastructure cannot remove every danger. We encourage riders to protect themselves by always wearing a helmet and using lights even during the day to increase visibility. Safer streets come from both strong infrastructure and personal responsibility working together. To learn more about how Bike Legal advocates for all bicyclists, check out our blog on bicycle safety, what to do after a crash, and cyclists’ rights on the road.
So you’ve spotted a shiny new bike lane on your commute, or maybe your city just opened a “Class IV separated bikeway” (that’s planner-speak for one with real protection). Fantastic! But then come the signs. Some are obvious, some feel like they were designed by a traffic engineer after their third cup of coffee. Let’s decode them together so you know exactly where you – and your bike or e-bike – belong.
The MUTCD makes it clear: bike signs aren’t optional decoration. They’re standardized, retroreflective, and placed with intent. Their job is to:
Define spaces for bicycles and tell motorists when to stay out.
Warn about hazards that could toss you over your handlebars.
Guide you through routes, intersections, and crossings.
Help separate users; walkers, e-bikers, skateboarders
Common Signs and What They Mean
Bike Lane (R81(CA)) – This is the core bikeway sign. It marks where a bike lane begins, continues, or ends. You’ll usually see it at every arterial street or at half-mile intervals on long stretches. It regulates both bicycle and car behavior (Page 1369)
Bicycles May Use Full Lane (R4-11) – This sign makes it clear that bicycles have the legal right to use the entire lane. It’s particularly important on streets without usable shoulders or for e-bike riders moving at traffic speed (Page 1370)
Begin Right Turn Lane, Yield to Bikes (R4-4) – Found where right-turning cars must cross a bike lane. It tells drivers to yield and watch for bicycles in the lane (Page 1369)
STOP and YIELD Signs (R1-1, R1-2) – On shared-use paths, these signs apply to bicyclists at roadway crossings. If you see a STOP sign facing your direction, you’re expected to obey it (Page 1368).
No Motor Vehicles (R5-3 / R44A(CA)) – Typically posted at entrances to bike paths. Some paths also have signage to exclude “motorized bicycles,” which apply to e-bikes, depending on local policy (Page 1370).
Bicycle Warning (W11-1) and Bicycle/Pedestrian Warning (W11-15) – Yellow diamonds that warn of bicycle crossings or shared crossings with pedestrians. They’re often placed before intersections or shared-use path crossings to alert car drivers (Page 1372).
Surface Condition Warnings (W8-10, etc.) – Signs like “BUMP,” “DIP,” or “PAVEMENT ENDS.” They’re meant for bicyclists, warning about conditions that can cause a loss of control (Page 1372).
Bike Route Guide (D11-1, M1-8) – Green directional signs that confirm you’re on a designated bike route. They sometimes include mileage to destinations and function like breadcrumbs across the network (Pages 1373–1374).
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E-Bikes and Signage
Speed limits: Some trails and paths set maximum speeds, often around 15 mph, regardless of whether you’re riding a traditional bike or an e-bike.
No Motorized Bicycles: Signs with this wording may exclude certain e-bikes, particularly Class 3 models (up to 28 mph). Always check posted signs before entering a path (see Page 1370).
Final Thought: Read the Signs, Ride with Confidence
New bikeways can be confusing for riders and drivers. But once you know the signage, you’ve got the inside scoop. Think of these signs as a secret code: crack it, and you’ll always know where you belong.
And hey, the next time you roll past a “Bicycles May Use Full Lane” sign, don’t just pedal nervously on the edge. Sit tall. You’ve got the right to be there. The sign says so.
One last story: remember the old “Share the Road” plaques? They were meant to remind drivers to watch for bikes, but many motorists read them as instructions for bicyclists to get out of the way. The confusion was so common that agencies retired the sign in favor of clearer language. It’s a good reminder that signs evolve, just like our streets. When the message is muddled, engineers sharpen it; when drivers or riders get it wrong, the code gets rewritten.
So read the signs, ride with confidence, and know this: the language of bikeways is still being refined—and you’re part of helping everyone learn how to speak it.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ARW_0749-rotated.jpg57603840Andrew Wrighthttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngAndrew Wright2025-10-01 14:27:082025-10-01 14:27:37What to Expect When You Are Expecting a Bikeway
