CalBike In the News 2022
Articles, editorials, news features, and podcasts
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Assembly Bill 1909 makes four changes to laws affecting bicyclists, as well as drivers and pedestrians who share California roads. Advocates say the bill will make biking safer.
In the quest to electrify the transportation sector, some state and city leaders see the future arriving not on four wheels, but on two.
Recorded at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, with Not My Job guest Ralph Macchio and panelists Alzo Slade, Emmy Blotnick and Adam Felber.
While hot summer days are sure to return next year, jaywalking tickets like the one Hamilton received are likely to become much less common due to a new law passed this year.
Advocates of the bill decriminalizing jaywalking argued that it will end instances of racial profiling
A new law signed on Friday will allow Californians to legally jaywalk without being ticketed.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has until midnight Friday to determine the fate of the more than 550 bills on his desk — or risk turning into a pumpkin.
Sometimes, all it takes is a gentle nudge for people to pause what they are accustomed to doing and replace it with something more “sustainable,” i.e., something lighter on the environment.
Ebikes have quietly been turning a corner this year. Options have climbed, and awareness and acceptance have expanded. Purchase incentives are coming into play, supporting social and economic equity. And a shift in riders continues, from early adopters, to vast numbers of every-day people seeking more practical, healthier, convenient and environmentally friendly transportation.
On Friday, September 16th, Assembly Bill 1909 by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. AB 1909 addresses a number of California bicycle laws to improve safety and save lives. The bill is part of the state’s climate package to help secure California’s world-class leadership on climate action.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
Repeat DUI driver busted in fatal Newport Beach hit-and-run, and stoned distracted driver charged in killing of KC father of ten
The driver who killed 44-year old Costa Mesa resident Randon Cintron as he rode his bike on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach was arrested shortly after the crash.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
Op-Ed: Veto A.B. 371. California Needs Shared Bikes and Scooters to Combat the Climate Crisis
Throughout the pandemic, California’s shared bike and scooter programs have served as a lifeline for residents to safely travel to work, school, and appointments. It’s disappointing that California state lawmakers have recently passed a draconian bill with the potential to destroy these necessary programs.
The bill, which is awaiting the governor’s signature, rewards lower-income households that choose public transportation.
Tucked inside California’s wide-ranging suite of new policies to address climate change is a $1,000 tax credit for people who live without a car. Yes, the state is paying people to not drive.
After eight months, California’s legislative session came to a close on Sept. 1 with a final flurry of frantic activity. Lawmakers rushed to pass hundreds of remaining bills before the clock struck midnight on Aug. 31. For a select few measures, with urgency clauses that allow them to take effect immediately upon the governor’s signature, the votes stretched into the wee hours the next day.
This time around, California might begin to reform its ineffective and unfair jaywalking laws, as Assemblymember Phil Ting’s A.B. 2147 has passed the legislature and is on its way to Governor Newsom.
CalBike is asking people to call their Senators and urge them to vote yes on A.B. 1713.
California and the rest of the United States are playing catch up with an electrified mode of transit that is firmly cemented in Asia and Europe: the e-bike.
There is no single way to advocate for more bikeable communities, and bike advocacy has evolved over the years. Recently, we noticed a set of new advocates jumping in to push for things like closing JFK Drive in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and closing streets in Los Angeles’s Griffith Park. So CalBike decided to talk to some of them about what motivated them to step up, how their approaches are different from some of the more established bike coalitions, and how newer and more seasoned advocates work together.
AUGUST 10, 2022
Legislative Threat Looming for Bike-Share Operations in Santa Barbara and Across California
Santa Barbara’s burgeoning electric bike-share operations could hit a serious pothole if the state legislature passes a bill — Assembly Bill 371 — that would require private bike-share companies to obtain insurance that would cover the cost of injuries and deaths caused by negligent riders. Statewide bicycle lobbyists with CalBike argue the additional costs could put “most, if not all shared micromobility systems out of business.”
There’s widespread agreement that bicyclists should treat stop signs as yield signs. The governor has rejected that proposal in the past.
There’s not much that Democrats and Republicans agree on in this era of extreme political polarization. But almost everyone who ride bicycles agrees that it makes no sense for them to completely stop at every stop sign.
Bikes have understandably and justifiably been a key transportation “alternative” for individuals in low-income communities to access jobs, resources, and public transit.
In 2017, a CalBike-commissioned poll showed that Californians across the state and across all major political and demographic groups support building Complete Streets—roads with safe sidewalks, visible crosswalks, and protected bike lanes—that are safe places for everyone and not strictly thoroughfares for driving. That was the impetus for the project.
JULY 20, 2022
A breakup letter with 6th Street Viaduct, CalBike ED moves to People For Bikes, and CA ebike rebates fail to launch
Michael Schneider, founder of the transformational transportation Political Action Committee Streets For All, is the latest to accuse Caltrans and LADOT failing to protect bike riders on the new $588 million 6th Street Viaduct.
Last year, the California legislature set aside $10 million to create a program that would provide incentives for e-bike purchases. Program details were mostly left up to the Air Resources Board, but a few requirements were included in the bill. For example, it set a launch-by date of July 1, 2022 – which has passed without any announcement from CARB.
JULY 18, 2022
Racial Justice & Pedestrian Safety Fuel Jaywalking Debate, While CA Has New Bill To Decriminalize Low Risk Jaywalking
For nearly a century, jaywalking has been illegal in most states and localities. But several recent reports have shown that police in some areas disproportionately ticket people of color. And critics say citing people for crossing at the wrong place just gives them another reason to drive instead of walk.
For nearly a century, jaywalking has been illegal in most states and localities. But several recent reports have shown that police in some areas disproportionately ticket people of color. And critics say citing people for crossing at the wrong place just gives them another reason to drive instead of walk.
America, in case you haven’t heard, is in the midst of an e-bike boom. The Light Electric Vehicle Association reports in a recent study that the U.S. imported about 790,000 electric bicycles in 2021–a 70% increase over the year prior. For comparison, the U.S. imported 652,000 electric cars in 2021, making that year the second in a row where e-bike imports surpassed EV imports. And the trend doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon: Deloitte projects that 130 million e-bikes will be sold worldwide between 2020 and 2023.
The California legislature is currently on its summer break, and when lawmakers return in early August they will have a month to clear out all the unfinished business of this two-year session, which will end officially on August 31.
In the name of safety, A.B. 371 would require burdensome and outsized insurance coverage for bike- and scooter-share companies – far beyond what is currently required for motor vehicles. This is supposedly to help people who may be injured by people using the devices recover damages, but it is not at all the same thing as improving safety.
A newly revised pitch to make bike, e-bike and e-scooter shares buy insurance in case their customers hit pedestrians or otherwise hurt bystanders has both raised alarms in the bikeshare world and potentially started a rift.
Three bills from Senator Scott Wiener were passed by the Assembly Natural Resources committee yesterday, as the California legislature begins the final months of its session.
The 2022 worldwide Ride of Silence will, for the 20th year in a row, honor people killed or injured while riding a bike on public roadways. The silent group rides are both a remembrance of lost loved ones and a call for drivers and policymakers to do more to keep cycling safe.
MAY 14, 2022
Elections 2022: 4 vie for new 69th Assembly District seat to represent Long Beach, Carson
Four Democrats are vying to represent the newly redrawn 69th Assembly District during the June 7 statewide primary — and essentially become the successor to longtime Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell.
Scott Lappe, loving son, brother, nephew, cousin and grandson, passed away peacefully on April 9, 2022.
Co-host of the podcast The Weekly Spoke, Elizabeth Bowersox talks about the groups trip to the Cal Bike Summit in Oakland, CA.
APRIL 27, 2022
Portantino’s Bill to Improve Pedestrian & Cyclist Safety Passes Senate Transportation Committee
SBill 932, a measure introduced by State Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – Pasadena) to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety, passed the Senate Transportation Committee today.
CalBike helped win a $10 million grant for an electric bike purchase incentive program, to be administered by the California Air Resources Board starting in July of 2022.
As the California Bicycle Summit 2022 kicks off for the first time in-person since 2019 in Oakland this week, one of the big topics of discussion is likely to be Governor Newsom’s $11-billion gas rebate proposal, which would give car owners $400 each for up to two registered vehicles.
MARCH 28, 2022
Young siblings victims of traffic violence in Sylmar crash, LA traffic violence spikes, and modest bike gains in Beverly Hills
Sadly, traffic violence continues to climb on Los Angeles streets. The latest news comes as a young brother and sister were run down as they shared a bike in LA’s Sylmar neighborhood.
A fissure has developed between advocacy groups for safe transportation over California Assembly Bill 371 Shared Mobility Devices: Insurance and Tracking (A.B. 371).
As a preview of the upcoming California Bicycle Summit, CalBike recently offered “Advocacy Success Stories,” a sort of mini-summit session.
Assemblymember Laura Friedman, Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, has introduced a “bicycle omnibus bill.” Is this the first time the legislature has seen “bicycle” and “omnibus” in the same phrase?
FEBRUARY 9, 2022
New Portantino Legislation Would Force Better Transportation Planning in California Cities
Earlier this week, Senator Anthony Portantino (D-San Gabriel Valley) introduced legislation that would require cities to begin planning to create safe streets and passageways for bicyclists and pedestrians if they aren’t already doing so.
If backers obtain the required signatures, L.A. City voters will have their say this November on a ballot measure mandating implementation of the city’s Mobility Plan.
A new effort to get Washington state legislators to adopt a “transportation bill of rights” is prompting conversation about what might be possible if more American cities stopped treating universal access to sustainable mobility as a far-off goal, and started treating it as something all their residents are entitled to today.
The steep rise in biking and walking during the pandemic added urgency to a long-standing problem—long lead times and high costs make it challenging to build the infrastructure we need now. CalBike, California’s statewide bicycle coalition, advanced a solution: a guide to quick-build design principles.
