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California Falls Behind on Complete Streets

July 18, 2023/by Jared Sanchez

In Smart Growth America’s list of The Best Complete Streets Policies for 2023, only one California city made the top 10 (Sacramento, at number 10). California was bested by cities in Maryland, Missouri, Texas, Arizona, Illinois, Florida, and Louisiana. Most of those aren’t states you think of when you think about forward-thinking active transportation policies.

Kudos to El Paso, Joplin, New Orleans, and Riverside (Missouri, not California), among others, for developing policies that help create safe spaces on the street for all transportation modes. But we have to ask: Why is California falling so far behind?

What are Complete Streets?

Complete Streets are streets where people can walk, bike, and take public transportation safely and comfortably, as well as drive a car. They include features such as protected bike lanes, bulb-outs to shorten crosswalks, signal timing that doesn’t penalize walking, narrow lanes to slow vehicular traffic, and bus-only lanes to help transit move people quickly.

Smart Growth America outlines 10 elements Complete Streets policies need to be successful, including prioritizing underserved communities, having commitment and vision, and creating a plan for implementation. In choosing the best Complete Streets policies for 2023, it scored each jurisdiction on the 10 elements and ranked them in order of their total score.

California cities

The report evaluated the Complete Streets policies of three California cities (Sacramento, Fresno, and San Jose) and two agencies (Caltrans and the Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission). Sacramento scored 78 out of 100, placing it in the top 10. Fresno was close behind, with a score of 77. The MTC got 67, Caltrans 61, and San Jose just 39. Other California cities weren’t included, we assume, because they don’t have Complete Streets policies. (San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley would be included in the MTC policy).

In 2019, CalBike supported a bill to require Caltrans to include Complete Streets elements in every repaving project, where feasible, since the cheapest time to add these improvements is during paving. The measure passed the legislature, but Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed it, citing the fact that Caltrans had its own Complete Streets policy.

Unfortunately, Caltrans didn’t follow its stated policies around Complete Streets. Since that time, the agency has upgraded its policies and added Complete Streets elements to some projects. Still, local advocates often have to fight for every mile of bike lane and every protected intersection in projects to repave state-controlled roadways that double as local streets.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that California doesn’t have comprehensive Complete Streets policies, since so many of our communities have been built (or rebuilt) to be car-centric. But, during a July that saw the hottest day ever recorded on Earth and a heat wave baking many parts of our state, perhaps it’s time to take Complete Streets more seriously.

CalBike is working on a project to assess Caltrans’ progress in implementing its Complete Streets policies. Look for more information and a way you can help soon.

Webinar from Smart Growth America

Active Transportation Slate in Senate

July 10, 2023/by Brian Smith

For Immediate Release: 7/7/23

Contact: Jared Sanchez, policy director, (714) 262-0921, Jared@CalBike.org

CalBike’s “Active Transportation Slate” faces Senate Committee, Tues 7/11

Sacramento – On July 11, 2023, the California Senate Transportation Committee will consider a slate of active transportation bills supported by the California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike).

“Taken together, these five bills will improve safety and access for every person who bikes, walks, or takes public transportation in California,” explained Jared Sanchez, policy director at CalBike. “The more California supports active transportation, the closer we get to meeting our ambitious climate goals.”

Cal Bike’s Active Transportation Slate consists of these five bills:

Bicycle Safety Stop (AB 73, Boerner): The Safety Stop, already legal in several other states, allows people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields when the right of way is clear, which has proven the safest rule for clearing intersections of bicyclists, where most of the deadly accidents happen.

Daylighting to Save Lives (AB 413, Lee): This bill prohibits stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle within 20 feet of any unmarked or marked crosswalk to increase visibility and reduce potentially lethal collisions.

Climate-First Transportation Planning (AB 7, Friedman) This bill requires state transportation agencies to incorporate the principles of the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) and the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the project selection and implementation process.

Safe Sidewalk Riding (AB 825, Bryan): Part of CalBike’s Biking Is Not a Crime slate, this measure allows bicycle riding on a sidewalk adjacent to a street that does not include a Class I, Class II, or Class IV bikeway. It protects pedestrians by requiring people on bikes to share the space responsibly and imposing a 10 mph speed limit on bikes.

Free Transit for Youth Pilot (AB 610, Holden): The concept of giving free transit passes to young people is gaining momentum and it’s a great way to give young people low-carbon mobility, support our transit agencies, and help young people build the habit of taking transit. A similar measure passed the legislature in 2022 but was vetoed by the governor.

Budget Deal Restores ATP Funding

July 5, 2023/by Jared Sanchez

California’s Active Transportation Program (ATP) provides dedicated funding for biking and walking improvements across the state. CalBike championed the creation of the ATP and has continued to advocate for additional funding. We applaud the legislature and the governor for restoring planned funding to the ATP in the 2023-24 state budget. With the budget deal, the ATP will continue to operate with its historic billion dollar one-time expansion and provide critical infrastructure, as we saw in the final list of Cycle 6 projects.

ATP budget in flux

In 2022, with a historic budget surplus, we asked for $2 billion for bikes in the state budget. We didn’t get the full $2 billion, but we got $1.1 billion allocated to the ATP, more than tripling previous annual funding. But, as this year’s budget deficit began to come into focus, Governor Gavin Newsom’s initial budget clawed back $500 million from the ATP. The governor promised to find $300 million of that from other sources, but that still left the program $200 million short.

The final budget deal restored full funding. The California Transportation Commission (CTC), which oversees the ATP and scores projects submitted for funding on a scale of 1 to 100. It approved an additional 134 projects in June, on top of projects previously approved. As Streetsblog reported, the additional funding allowed the CTC to fund projects that scored 92 and above in Cycle 5; an extra $1 billion allowed the commission to extend funding to those with scores of 89 and above in Cycle 6.

Funding for the ATP has increased but not enough to meet demand as California communities scramble to add safe biking and walking infrastructure to streets designed to move cars at deadly speeds. Even with extra one-time funds, many worthy projects don’t make the cut. That means bike lanes and pedestrian improvements delayed or scrapped. This is why CalBike is advocating for $10 billion for bikes, or half of California’s transportation dollars to reverse the historic deficit in building active transportation infrastructure.

How does the ATP work?

If you’re wondering what Cycle 5 and Cycle 6 mean, the explanation requires a deep dive into planning timelines. Let’s start with a history of the ATP.

Created by the state legislature in 2013 to consolidate the efforts of several disparate funding sources, the ATP serves as a central hub for bike and pedestrian projects. The State Senate bill that created the ATP specifically calls for the program to “increase the proportion of trips accomplished by biking and walking” and “increase safety and mobility for nonmotorized users.”Since its inception, the ATP has funded over 800 active transportation projects across the state, benefiting both urban and rural areas. Half of the funded projects have been Safe Routes to Schools.

SB 1 (Beall, 2017), also known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, significantly augmented ATP’s funding, directing an extra $100 million a year to the ATP and doubling its funding.

Although the funding comes in annually, the CTC accepts applications for another cycle of ATP grants every two years. Cycle 5 was in 2021 and Cycle 6 was this year. Just to make the math more confusing, the grants are distributed over five years, since it can take time to complete the projects.

In 2021, the ATP approved grants for 49 projects in Cycle 5, barely 10% of the applications received. Funded projects included:

$30 million for Connecting Canoga Park – beautifully detailed with maps and renderings here.
$10 million for Safe Routes to School in Koreatown, Los Angeles – with extensive detail on crosswalk and safety features here.
$1440 for the Pollock Pines Pony Express Trail Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements – outlined here.

$10 billion for bikes

The one-time boost in ATP funding allowed CTC to greenlight three times as many projects in Cycle 6 as in Cycle 5 (15 Bay Area projects, plus rural grants, and the 134 projects approved in June, for a total of more than 150). That still left many excellent biking and walking infrastructure projects without state funding.

The ATP isn’t the only funding source for active transportation infrastructure. Local and regional monies pay for projects as well. And there are billions more in the state transportation budget that should shift. With the threat of climate crisis looming ever larger, we need to create space for low- and no-carbon transportation fast, and that requires much more support at the state level.

CalBike is asking our elected officials to spend less on building climate-killing freeways and more on Complete Streets and people-centered transportation infrastructure. Look for our new Complete Streets Campaign, coming later this year. And, of course, we’ll continue to push for $10 billion for bikes.

Active Transportation Slate Comes Before Senate Committee

June 28, 2023/by Jared Sanchez

Arrested Mobility Report Supports Decriminalizing Biking and Walking

June 21, 2023/by Jared Sanchez

Equitable Cities, led by renowned scholar Charles Brown, recently released a report about transportation-related policies and practices across the country that limit mobility, opportunity, and access for Black Americans and other people of color. Arrested Mobility finds that these policies deliver profound obstacles to equitable access to our public roadways, reflecting structural racism and White supremacy in policy, planning, design and infrastructure, and law enforcement.

It’s worth taking a closer look because this critical research points toward the need for change in traffic enforcement and CalBike’s Biking Is Not a Crime campaign.

Discriminatory laws aren’t just relics of the past

Arrested Mobility examines laws governing walking, biking, and e-scooter use. It surveys policies in all 50 states, plus the two largest cities in each state, as well as selected counties. The researchers find that these laws serve as a legal mechanism for racist, discriminatory, and predatory police enforcement.

Laws that enable biased policing aren’t just found in outdated regulations enacted decades ago. As e-scooters have increased their mode share, new mobility laws have been added to the books and often carry considerable ambiguity, as well as evidence of racist enforcement. Many of the laws regulating e-scooter equipment and behavior are similar to those regulating biking: It’s almost impossible to ensure equitable enforcement, and there’s inconclusive evidence that these policies improve safety outcomes.

California advocacy reflects national trends

This national study reinforces what we’ve found and have been fighting against here in California. In fact, the study’s number one recommendation is to repeal laws, decriminalize violations, and promote alternative enforcement for policies that have minimal impact on safety and that are enforced in a racially discriminatory manner. We did this with the leadership of Assemblymember Phil Ting by passing the Freedom to Walk Act in 2022, to significantly decriminalize “jaywalking.”

The study’s additional policy recommendations also address ongoing policy advocacy we’re doing in the California legislature. Building more active transportation infrastructure is our top goal for the state, not only to make our streets safer from traffic violence but also to reduce unwanted encounters with police. Encouraging the legislature to devote more resources to Complete Streets in the state budget will make people walking and biking safer both from traffic violence and police violence.

CalBike’s campaigns to make our streets safe for all Californians

Placing limits on pretextual stops was the goal of the Freedom to Walk Act, and we’re pushing for an expanded effort this year with the Stop Pretextual Policing Bill, authored by Senator Steven Bradford, which will decriminalize many low-level bicycle violations. The bill will also allow communities to remove traffic enforcement from the purview of armed police officers, reducing the risk of injury and death during a police-initiated traffic stop.

The Arrested Mobility study found that 32 states have laws strictly prohibiting sidewalk riding. Sidewalk riding ranked higher for states and counties than for city governments — an interesting outcome considering that cities are more likely to construct and maintain sidewalks than state and county governments. Sidewalk riding is another offense often selectively enforced against Black and Latino Californians, as uncovered in a bombshell LA Times investigation.

CalBike is sponsoring the Sidewalk Riding Bill, led by Assemblymember Issac Bryan, to address this issue, and so far our lawmakers agree. Riding on the sidewalk isn’t ideal, but for many streets, riding on the sidewalk is the only safe option. More than half of the country’s most dangerous roads for pedestrians are in predominantly Black or Latino neighborhoods, and police have used sidewalk riding bans to target people of color, often in communities without safe biking infrastructure.

Growing movement challenges discriminatory traffic laws

Arrested Mobility will be an invaluable resource for policy advocates such as ourselves and the growing movement across the country to change discriminatory mobility policies at all governmental levels. Many of the laws documented by the researchers are still on the books. While they’re intended to serve a pragmatic purpose, in practice they unfairly target Black people and other people of color.

This study shows the urgent need for additional research into how these policies are enforced in specific state, county, and local contexts, as well as their potential to be enforced inequitably. It certainly inspires us at CalBike to keep researching specific laws that can be reformed so that all Californians can move safely.

Legislative Update: Mostly Positive Results for Active Transportation Bills at Midpoint

June 5, 2023/by Jared Sanchez

June 2 was the deadline for all bills to move from their house of origin or get nixed. While two of CalBike’s top-priority bills didn’t survive, many more excellent measures are moving forward. Here’s where we stand.

Bills moving forward

By June 2, all Assembly bills needed to pass a floor vote and move to the Senate, and Senate bills needed to move to the Assembly. Happily, most of the bills CalBike supports this year made the cut.

Stop Pretextual Policing

(SB 50, Bradford): Another Biking Is not a Crime measure, this bill prohibits police officers from stopping or detaining a bike rider for a low-level infraction, such as riding on the sidewalk or riding without lights, to deter pretextual stops and searches. While its companion bill, AB 93, didn’t pass the Assembly, we’re encouraged by the support.

Bicycle Safety Stop

(AB 73, Boerner): It’s not a question of whether this bill, which allows people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields when the right of way is clear, will pass the legislature since it passed each of the last two years. The challenge will be convincing Governor Newsom not to veto it — again.

Regional Prioritization for Clean Transportation

(AB 6, Friedman): This vital bill, a version of which passed the legislature only to be vetoed by the governor in 2022, requires regional transportation agencies to prioritize and fund transportation projects that significantly contribute toward regional and state climate goals, divesting from projects that contribute to GHG emissions and investing in transportation alternatives.

Daylighting to Save Lives

(AB 413, Lee): This bill prohibits stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle within 20 feet of any unmarked or marked crosswalk to reduce lethal collisions.

Climate-First Transportation Planning

(AB 7, Friedman) This bill keeps getting better as it’s amended. As it stands, it requires state transportation agencies to incorporate the principles of the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure and the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the project selection and implementation process.

Safe Sidewalk Riding

(AB 825, Bryan): Part of our Biking Is Not a Crime slate, this measure allows bicycle riding on a sidewalk adjacent to a street that does not include a Class I, Class II, or Class IV bikeway. It protects pedestrians by requiring people on bikes to share the space responsibly and imposing a 10 mph speed limit on bikes. Despite some opposition, it’s moving forward.

Decriminalize Transit Fare Evasion

(AB 819, Bryan): We’d like public transit to be free for everyone. Until then, this bill to decriminalize fare evasion by removing it as a misdemeanor classification is an excellent step in the right direction.

No More Warrants for Infractions

(AB 1266, Kalra): When someone doesn’t show up in court because of a traffic infraction, including bicyclists and pedestrians who get tickets, the judge can issue a bench warrant. If that person is later stopped (perhaps due to pretextual policing because of the color of their skin), they will have a warrant for their arrest and could be taken to jail. This measure eliminates the use of bench warrants for minor traffic infractions, thereby eliminating a pipeline that has often kept people struggling to get by stuck in a cycle of jail time and poverty.

Make Caltrans Freeway Data Public

(SB 695, Gonzalez): One of those wonky bills that could make a big difference, this will help advocates like CalBike uncover harmful freeway expansion projects whose funds could be better spent on active transportation.

Deadly Oversized Cars

(AB 251, Ward): This bill creates a task force to study the relationship between vehicle weight and injuries to pedestrians and cyclists and to study the costs and benefits of imposing a passenger vehicle weight fee. Heavier cars with taller grills are implicated in rising traffic fatalities, especially among vulnerable road users, so this is a timely measure.

These active transportation bills also moved forward:

AB 361 (Ward): Cars Blocking Bike Lanes
AB 761 (Friedman): Public Transit Transformation Task Force
SB 712 (Portantino): Tenancy & Micromobility

Signs of progress

Two bills that didn’t make it last year are moving forward, an encouraging sign.

Free Transit for Youth Pilot (AB 610, Holden): The governor vetoed this last year, citing budget concerns. The budget remains concerning, but the concept of giving free transit passes to young people is gaining momentum, so we hope this pilot gets the governor’s signature.

Automated Speed Enforcement Pilot (AB 645, Friedman): Enforcing speed limits with traffic cameras, which is common in other countries and some US states, has been a tough sell in California. A version of this bill died in committee the past two years. We’re thrilled to see it move to the Senate, though its passage is not assured.

The ones that didn’t make it

Unfortunately, two of CalBike’s high-priority bills died in the Assembly. We hope they’ll come back next year.

Equity-First Transportation Funding (AB 1525, Bonta) Our top-priority bill, this measure would have directed 60% of transportation funding to disadvantaged communities. It would have been a significant step toward correcting the racism built into our transportation infrastructure and improving streets in often-neglected low-income neighborhoods. The movement to right historical wrongs by removing freeways and other measures is growing, including at the federal level, so we hope to see another measure like this in the future.

Stop Baseless Searches (AB 93, Bryan): CalBike fought hard for this bill prohibiting police officers from requesting consent to conduct a search if the officer does not suspect criminal activity. Thank you to everyone who emailed their assemblymember.

These bills also failed:

California Bike Smart Safety Handbook (AB 1188, Boerner): It was expected to cost $4.1 million, apparently too much for the legislature to move it forward in this budget deficit year.

Highway Pilot Projects to Reduce Emissions (AB 981, Friedman): We’re not sure why the legislature doesn’t want Caltrans to take all opportunities to reduce the carbon emissions of freeway projects. Sigh.

Bills change as they pass through the legislature and get amended, for better and worse. We keep tabs on all the active transportation measures. Check our Legislative Watch page for the latest on all the bills on CalBike’s radar this year, and watch your inbox for opportunities to join our campaigns to pass essential active transportation legislation.

Bicycle Safety Stop FAQs

June 5, 2023/by Kevin Claxton

The Bicycle Safety Stop Bill will make it legal for people on bikes to do what they already do: slow at stop signs, stop if necessary, and proceed with care if the way is clear. It’s a commonsense bike riding maneuver that’s legal in several other states. Yet the governor has vetoed it twice, citing safety concerns. So we wanted to break down common misconceptions about the bicycle safety stop to respond to those concerns.

What is the bicycle safety stop?

The bicycle safety stop allows bicycles to treat stop signs as yields. When a bike rider comes to a stop sign, they must slow down and assess whether they have the right of way and whether it is safe to proceed. If the intersection is clear, the person on a bike may proceed. However, bikes still have to yield to pedestrians and other traffic that entered the intersection first.

Is the safety stop the same as the Idaho stop?

Yes and no. The original safety stop law, passed in Idaho in 1982, allows people on bikes to ride through red lights after coming to a full stop, in addition to treating stop signs as yields. So the bicycle safety stop, as proposed in California, resembles half of the Idaho stop law. California would not allow bike riders to treat red lights as stop signs.

Is the safety stop the same as the Delaware yield?

California’s safety stop law would be the same as the Delaware yield, which allows people on bikes to yield at stop signs.

Is the bicycle safety stop legal in California?

No. Assemblymember Tasha Boerner authored a bill to legalize the bicycle safety stop in 2021 and 2022. Both bills passed the Assembly and Senate and were vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The governor cited safety concerns in his veto messages.

In 2023, Boerner is running AB 73 in another attempt to make stop-as-yield legal for adults on bikes in California. As of this writing, it has passed the Assembly and is moving through committees in the Senate soon. Look for opportunities to raise your voice to support AB 73 in the coming months.

Is the bicycle safety stop safe?

In the six years after Delaware legalized stop-as-yield for bikes, the state police have reported that bike-involved crashes went down, most notably at intersections. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a fact sheet in 2022, citing the safety of stop-as-yield laws. There is no evidence that the laws have made bicycling less safe anywhere they have been adopted.

Why does CalBike support the bicycle safety stop?

CalBike has long supported legalizing the bicycle safety stop.

Treating stop signs as yields makes sense for bike riders because it conserves momentum.
At bike riding speeds and with full visibility (bikes don’t have blind spots), it’s safe for bikes to yield at stop signs when the intersection is clear of other traffic.
Bike riders are safer when car drivers know what to expect. The safety stop is a common and commonsense behavior that is likely to reduce crashes.
Most bike riders never get a ticket, despite commonly treating stop signs as yields. However, we know that Black and Latino bike riders in California are targeted by police disproportionately and are more likely to be cited for minor infractions with no impact on public safety, such as rolling through a stop sign. Legalizing the safety stop will reduce the number of traffic stops for people on bikes that can sometimes become deadly police encounters.

What are the benefits of the bicycle safety stop?

The bicycle safety stop gives people in cars better information about what to expect from people on bikes, particularly at intersections. It has been shown to reduce or have no effect on crashes involving bikes. And it will make Black and Latino bike riders safer from pretextual police stops.

The safety stop allows bike riders to conserve momentum and maintain the flow of traffic, making riding more intuitive and fun. And that’s good for the climate and for neighborhood safety because the more people that bike, the safer it is to ride.

Where is the bicycle safety stop legal?

At the moment, some version of the bicycle safety stop is legal in these states:

Idaho
Washington
Oregon
Utah
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Arkansas
Delaware
District of Columbia
Minnesota (as of 8/1/2023)

Legislation is currently being considered in Virginia, New York, and Texas, and there is interest in other states and in Canada as well.

What’s the federal position on the bicycle safety stop?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Transportation, issued a fact sheet in 2022 citing the safety and benefits of stop-as-yield laws.

Is it dangerous for bikes to treat stop signs as yields?

Legalizing the safety stop is an important step to recognizing that riding a bike is different from operating a motor vehicle and creating bike-specific regulations that make it easier for bike riders to operate legally and safely on California roadways.

The safety stop won’t cause bike riders to suddenly start blowing through stop signs or riding more dangerously. They will do what they currently do: slow down at stop signs, stop when necessary, and ride cautiously through the intersection if the way is clear. The only difference will be that this common, safe way to ride will be legal.

Why did the governor veto the bicycle safety stop before, and why won’t he veto it again?\

In the governor’s veto message, he stated he was concerned that the change in law may decrease rather than increase safety, specifically for children. Ignoring years of data from other states that have successfully implemented the law, he instead focused on faulty state traffic data that effectively blamed people on bikes for increasing collisions. This time around, more states have adopted these laws, and more data is available. In addition, this year’s bill only applies to adults, so we’re hopeful the governor will take a more reasonable position.

People on bikes already do crazy things. Won’t the safety stop make them even more dangerous?

A small minority of bike riders, like a minority of car drivers, make poor choices, disregard the safety of others, and fail to share the road considerately. If you drive a motor vehicle around people biking, you may notice the few who ride unpredictably and not the many who share the road safely and considerately.

So, no, people on bikes don’t generally do crazy things. If a bike rider blows through a stop sign and gets hit by a car, the person on the bike will fare much worse in the collision than the person in the car, so the bicyclist, a vulnerable road user, has a strong incentive to be cautious.

Unfortunately, our streets and roads were designed for people in cars. Bike riders do their best to find safe ways to get where they need to go, often without safe or adequate infrastructure. That can lead to confusion and challenges in sharing the road.

People on bikes aren’t the only ones who treat stop signs as yields on California roads. Our state is famous for the California rolling stop, where a car driver slows but doesn’t stop at a stop sign. Perhaps you do this yourself.

If someone in a 2-ton vehicle with limited visibility can safely roll through a stop sign, someone on a human-powered, low-speed, 30-pound bicycle (or even a slightly heavier and faster e-bike) with a tall vantage point and high visibility can certainly do the same.
Everyone will be safer if we make the bicycle safety stop legal. If you support the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill, sign our petition and stay tuned for chances to tell the decision-makers in Sacramento that California should legalize stop-as-yield for people on bikes.

Act Now to Stop Baseless Searches of People on Bikes

May 25, 2023/by Jared Sanchez

The Stop Baseless Searches Bill (AB 93, Bryan) prevents police from asking for “consent” to search someone during a traffic stop when they have no probable cause to conduct a search.

These unwarranted searches are more likely to target Black and Latino Californians and more likely to target people on bikes, so this measure is critical to creating safe streets for all Californians.

“Consent” can’t be freely given in the context of the power imbalance and a history of police harassment of people of color. CHP has already adopted this guideline to make policing more equitable. AB 93 will expand the policy to local law enforcement.

AB 93, the Stop Baseless Searches Bill is in trouble.

AB 93 doesn’t have enough votes to pass the Assembly. It’s being held open right now while supporters try to gather more votes. Please email your assemblymember today and tell them to Vote YES on AB 93.

CalBike Response to May Revise

May 16, 2023/by Kevin Claxton

For Immediate Release: May 16, 2023

Contact: Jared Sanchez, Policy Director, (714) 262-0921, jared@calbike.org

Governor’s May 2023 Budget Revise Continues Cuts to Active Transportation

Sacramento, CA – Governor Gavin Newsom’s “May Revise” of the state’s July 2023-June 2024 budget fails to provide the funding needed to support biking, walking, and public transit. The governor claims to include $1.4 billion for active transportation projects. However, the budget maintains a major reduction to the Active Transportation Program and falls severely short of what’s needed to stem the emission-driven global climate crisis.

The governor’s May budget is a missed opportunity to allocate the funding California needs to build an equitable transportation system and achieve our state’s climate goals. California needs to move quickly to make biking easier — and Newsom’s proposed budget just isn’t enough to build the needed bike infrastructure to significantly reduce automobile vehicle miles traveled and the associated greenhouse gas emissions. Walkable, bikeable communities offer the biggest return on investment among transportation solutions to the climate crisis. The budget’s $9 billion agenda for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) is a misguided effort to curb climate change that will ultimately fall short. We must think beyond increasing motor vehicle traffic and expanding the freeway system to support it, and instead build a low-carbon future based around walkable, bikeable communities.

What is missing in the budget?

E-Bike funding

The California Bicycle Coalition has been tracking interest in the new Electric Bicycle Incentive Project, administered by the California Air Resources Board. The governor’s budget doesn’t include funding to continue this popular and vital electric vehicle incentive.

CalBike has received interest from more than 17,000 Californians who want to participate in EBIP. Based on the $7.5 million currently available through the program after administration, education, and outreach costs, the pilot will offer between 3,000 and 7,000 vouchers. Because the program only has a fraction of the funding it needs to meet the demand, CalBike expects funds to be exhausted very quickly, leaving many low-income Californians without resources to get the transportation they need.

In a letter signed by a coalition of environmental groups, CalBike has requested $50 million for e-bike incentives in the next budget.

“The California Electric Bicycle Incentive Project offers a huge bang for the buck being spent to reduce the state’s climate pollution. Expanding this program will provide more equitable access to clean transportation and help the state meet our climate goals. It’s a win-win,” said Jared Sanchez, Policy Director, CalBike.

Complete Streets funding

California should invest much more in active transportation projects that build complete bikeway networks — no more bike lanes to nowhere or bikeways made unsafe by impassable intersections. This should include funding for a program that rewards cities whose leaders quickly install protected networks that create true active transportation grids. It’s particularly crucial that these bike networks connect bike infrastructure to local destinations, including offices, schools, and shopping areas.

Investments in disadvantaged communities

In our racialized economy, Black and brown Californians are disproportionately affected by inflation and need better, more affordable mobility options. In addition, many communities of color suffer from decades of disinvestment and should be prioritized for new active transportation investments. As inflation hits Californians hard, safe biking is a lifeline to millions of Californians who can’t afford to fill their gas tanks without sacrificing other priorities, like healthy food and secure housing.

What happens next?

The legislature will now revise the governor’s proposal and negotiate with him on a final budget for approval by June 15. There are many fantastic bills in the legislature this year that will make our streets safer. The budget needs to include enough active transportation funding to pay for these excellent pilot projects and meet the demand of ongoing programs across the state.

CalBike’s Invest/Divest campaign

At CalBike, we believe California should devote a minimum of 50% of its transportation budget to support active transportation: biking, walking, public transit, and Complete Streets infrastructure. The CalBike Invest/Divest campaign aims to shift California’s transportation spending from our current traffic-inducing, climate-killing system to sustainable mobility options, equitable treatment of all road users regardless of race, and a transportation future where it is easier and safer for more people to get around by biking, walking, or using public transportation.

E-Bike Work Group Report Back: April 26, 2023

May 12, 2023/by Laura McCamy

On April 26, 2023, CARB held another well-attended work group meeting to gather feedback on the details of its Electric Bicycle Incentive Project. One of the major takeaways is that the statewide program launch is pushed back yet again: Most Californians won’t be able to apply for a voucher until at least the third quarter of 2023.

Here’s what else we learned at the meeting. We’ve included the video and presentation below, in case you want to learn more.

New details about program implementation

As it has throughout the process, CARB has taken feedback from prior work groups and revised the program based on stakeholder input. For example, recipients can now use part of their incentives to purchase safety gear. The only gear listed was helmets, and CARB specifically excluded lights, reflective gear, and racks. The program requires eligible bikes to come with lights (most e-bikes have built-in lights), so that makes sense. However, based on feedback, we’re hopeful that cargo racks will also be an allowed expense. CalBike would like to see locks included, since a secure lock for an e-bike can be costly.

Participants will have 30 days to purchase a bike and redeem their vouchers and may ask for a one-time extension if they need more time. CalBike is advocating for extending that 30-day window, since researching and buying an e-bike is often a lengthy process.

Vouchers will be limited to one per person, but there is no household limit. Participants will be required to own the bike for at least one year.

Here are some of the other details we learned.

What do we know about the e-bike incentive application process?

We still don’t have all the details about the application process. CARB promises that a guide will be available online ahead of program launch so people interested in participating will have time to prepare.

CARB did share an outline of the application process as they envision it currently. Applicants would submit proof of income and residency, choose the bike they want to buy, take a 90-minute online bike safety and environmental class, then find out if they qualify for a voucher.

CalBike strongly objects to the process as currently outlined, and we have sent a letter to CARB detailing our recommendations. Our concerns include:

It will be hard to choose a bike without confirmation of the voucher amount because the person won’t know how much money they will need to come up with to complete the purchase.
While CalBike supports e-bike safety education and is excited for the resource being developed as part of this program, we feel that education should be a resource, and that any requirement of a lengthy class may serve as a barrier to many trying to access the incentives. We particularly object to requiring participants to sit through any content that isn’t directly related to safe operation and storage of an e-bike.
Requiring two extra steps before applications are vetted will further disadvantage applicants with the least time and/or access to a computer.
Because many Californians are more comfortable in a language other than English and those languages are diverse, an education component will inevitably exclude many potential participants. For comparison, the US Census is conducted in 12 languages in California.

We plan to meet with CARB to discuss these issues, and we’re hopeful that advocacy and lessons from the soft launch will lead to a better application process.

June soft launch

The first phase of the program will be a soft launch in June. With a budget of $300,000, the soft launch will provide 20-40 incentives to applicants in each of four communities that have been historically underserved by CARB programs:

Barrio Logan, San Diego
Fresno
Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco
California Native Tribal Governments

The soft launch will allow CARB and the administrator to test systems and get feedback on what works and doesn’t work before opening the program statewide.

When will the statewide program launch?

We don’t know exactly when California’s incentives will become available. However, we have heard that the soft launch is expected to take at least two months. Expect a full launch sometime in the fall, after CARB and the administrator have worked out glitches in the application process.

We realize this program has taken an excruciatingly long time to come online. Another reality check: Demand may far exceed the number of incentives available. If you’d like help to purchase an e-bike, check out this list of local programs.

Is anyone already in line to receive an e-bike voucher?

Several people who spoke at the April meeting shared that they had submitted an application for an e-bike voucher last year and wanted to know if they were in line for an incentive. CARB clarified that no one is in line for a voucher yet. Everyone will need to apply once the window opens, later this year.

We don’t know if there will be another work group before the soft launch in June or before the statewide program launch. If you sign up for our email list, we’ll let you know about future meetings and any other information on the status of the program and the application process.

CARB Presentation