CalBike
  • About
  • Advocacy
    • 2025 Legislative Watch
    • Keep Bike Highways Moving
    • Support the Quick-Build Pilot
    • Sign-On Letters
  • Resources
    • News
    • Report: Incomplete Streets
    • Bicycle Summit Virtual Sessions
    • California Bicycle Laws
    • E-Bike Resources
    • Map & Routes
    • Quick-Build Bikeway Design Guide
  • Support
    • Become a Member
    • Business Member
    • Shop
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • About
  • Advocacy
    • Legislative Watch
    • Invest/Divest
    • Sign-On Letters
    • Report: Incomplete Streets
    • Bike the Vote
  • Resources
    • News
    • California Bicycle Laws
    • E-Bike Resources
    • Map & Routes
    • Quick-Build Bikeway Design Guide
  • Support
    • Become a CalBike Member
    • Business Member
    • Shop

CalBike calls for expanded shared micro mobility to prevent CoViD spread

March 20, 2020/by Kevin Claxton

For Immediate Release [pdf here]

March 19, 2020

 

Contact: Forest Barnes, forest@calbike.org, 415-484-3143

Dave Snyder, dave@calbike.org, 916-251-9433

 

California Bicycle Coalition Calls for Free Rides
on Shared Bikes and Scooters for Essential Travel

 

While Californians heed the extraordinary orders to maintain social distance, those who still have to travel risk spreading the virus if they normally rely on public transit and don’t have an alternative. Shared bikes and scooters can provide safe mobility in this time of crisis. Governments and bike- and scooter-share companies should do everything they can to encourage this healthy mode of travel.

 

CalBike is calling for shared mobility providers to maintain their fleets and to make them free for new users who normally rely on transit and who need to travel for essential activities. CalBike commends the Breeze Bike Share system in Santa Monica for waiving all fees and the gruv system in Oakland and San Jose for providing a $10 coupon and free rides for first responders, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and grocery store employees.

 

Bike use has boomed in cities around the world as people protect themselves and others from the coronavirus through social distancing. Some cities, like New York and Bogota, are building emergency protected bikeways to encourage the increase in bike use, and Copenhagen encourages people to switch from transit to bikes if possible.

 

This crisis shows the importance of shared micromobility and why cities should have more control over the systems, even if it means subsidizing the systems to support their operations when they are not profitable. They are as essential as public transit and provide redundancy to make our transportation system more resilient in the event of an emergency.

 

“There are many co-benefits of biking in addition to helping you avoid transit crowds.  Sharing bikes and scooters after hand sanitizer and/or gloves affords protection. In addition, exercise is crucial for physical and mental health. Sunlight boosts the immune system, and the UV in sunlight kills the CoVid virus. Drink lots of water and enjoy community while staying six feet away from anyone,” says Dr. David Pepper, a physician and public health educator based in Berkeley, California.

 

“It’s great to see so many sectors of society come together to accomplish this critical goal of slowing the pandemic. I’m proud of Californians, our political leaders, and those companies and their employees who are working to keep their fleets in service,” said Dave Snyder, Executive Director of the California Bicycle Coalition. “We’d love to see more, and urge mobility companies to continue to provide shared bikes and scooters for essential travel, including discounts and free service to new customers, especially people providing essential services.”

 

Every transit passenger who is able to switch to a bike or scooter makes it easier for other transit passengers to maintain social distance when they take the bus or train, Snyder said, adding that regardless of ridership declines on public transit, “public transit remains essential and should continue to operate at full strength to provide the necessary capacity to allow passengers to maintain social distance.”

 

###

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/breeze-bike-share.jpg 522 789 Kevin Claxton https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Kevin Claxton2020-03-20 13:14:152020-03-20 13:19:12CalBike calls for expanded shared micro mobility to prevent CoViD spread

CalBike Statement on Club and Group Rides

March 19, 2020/by Kevin Claxton

As any responsible organization should, CalBike completely supports the official order to maintain strict social distance in every occasion until health authorities lift the recommendation. It’s imperative to halt the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Solo bike riding for exercise or for essential travel is not prohibited by any official order, provided that you maintain social distance. As we noted earlier this week, we strongly encourage everyone to get on a bike and use it for essential travel and for exercise and recreation. Now more than ever, biking provides exercise that is good for your physical and mental health. Being out in the sun boosts your immune system and your mood. CalBike encourages bike riding with two important conditions.

First, CalBike recommends that organized group rides and club rides are cancelled.

Among friends and riding buddies it’s difficult to maintain social distance. This advice may change if health authorities relax the social distancing order, or if we develop specific guidelines for social distance bike rides. Social distance requirements do not apply to people with whom you’re isolating, so go for that family ride! The roads are particularly safe right now.

Second, CalBike recommends extra caution.

An injury requiring hospitalization will put unnecessary pressure on an already overtaxed health system. Now is not the time for testing your limits on your bike, but for more casual and safe rides. While less afflicted countries are encouraging cycling to give people an alternative to public transit, Italy and Spain have banned recreational bicycling because of the potential for injuries and the stress that can place on the health care system. We don’t want that to happen here so be careful.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/solo-rider-1.jpg 1538 1584 Kevin Claxton https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Kevin Claxton2020-03-19 16:20:262020-03-24 16:08:30CalBike Statement on Club and Group Rides

Is Bicycling Safe During a Pandemic?

March 17, 2020/by Kevin Claxton

Support your physical and mental health during a pandemic: go for a bike ride!

It’s an upsetting and disorienting moment we are living in. Riding a bicycle can help, giving us opportunities for exercise, fresh air, and social interaction from afar.

Social distancing measures are key to slowing the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and keeping our healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed. But some of us still need to get to work, and all of us have essential errands to run—to the grocery store, or to drop off food for a sick friend, for instance. Bicycling offers a safe and healthy way to get where we need to go, as well as a way to get exercise and fresh air. According to a spokesperson for San Francisco Mayor London Breed, quoted in SFGate, it’s fine to ride your bike for exercise, as long as you maintain a distance of at least six feet from anyone you aren’t already self-quaratining with.

Enjoy the open air, get your heart pumping, and do your part to keep the social distance

Bicycling allows you to abide by social distancing measures while also getting outside, having fun, getting exercise, and having social interactions, all of which are good for mental health and immunity. 

When you ride a bike, you can easily stay six feet away from pedestrians and other cyclists. You get fresh air and stimulation, and have social interactions as you pass people on the street or wave to fellow bicyclists. Biking gives you the exercise you need to keep your immune system humming, and the peace of mind that you are not contributing to the spread of the virus. 

For those of us who may be taking a financial hit during this slow-down, bicycling is also the most affordable transportation mode.

And while it’s an anxious and challenging time, with event cancellations, closed schools, people working from home, and shelter-in-place directives, a silver lining is that there is less car traffic on the streets, making it more fun to bike. 

Keep on riding, Governor. The joy of a simple bike ride will help to keep us all sane in these crazy times. Stay positive, and stay negative! https://t.co/r2MCQnhBfO

— California Bicycle Coalition (@CalBike) March 16, 2020

Bicycling in the time of coronavirus

Here are a few tips to keep extra safe from coronavirus while moving about your city on a bike:

  • Smile and say hello! Social interaction boosts immunity. 
  • Carry sanitizer and sanitizing wipes to sanitize your hands, your handlebars, and your lock (after it contacts a bike rack), especially if you use a shared bike.
  • Mindfulness practice while bicycling can help with getting better at avoiding touching our faces—a challenging task that requires heightened awareness.
  • Wear gloves—fingered bicycling gloves work fine!—when you’re out in public.
  • Steer clear of people, keeping six feet of distance from them as you pass.
  • When you get home, wash your hands, and throw your gloves in the laundry

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CTCSkaterBlog_1.jpg 512 1024 Kevin Claxton https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Kevin Claxton2020-03-17 15:10:232020-03-17 16:03:33Is Bicycling Safe During a Pandemic?

Transportation Tax Measure Could Fully Fund a Connected Bay Area Bikeway Network

March 17, 2020/by Jared Sanchez

In Sacramento, legislators are currently debating a 1-cent Bay Area sales tax that could raise up to $100 billion for transportation. The bill could contain enough funding to close the funding gap and finally build the infrastructure we need to create a bicycle-friendly Bay Area. However, it’s not certain that our legislators will formulate a bill that includes enough funding to do it.

The bill must be approved by the legislature, then approved by voters in November. While the chances of this proposal making it to the November ballot are hard to predict in today’s volatile environment, CalBike worked with our local partners to identify what it will cost to complete a connected bike network throughout all Bay Area cities and towns. That information will make it possible for voters to say ‘yes’ to a bike-friendly Bay Area, if and when a Bay Area transportation tax measure makes it to the ballot.

Bay Area Bicycle Advocates Did the Math

The math is complicated, but the bottom line is that existing funding sources for building connected bikeways in the Bay Area leave an $8.6 billion funding gap. Bay Area bike advocacy organizations have been fighting for these networks for decades. This sales tax offers the best opportunity in a long time to remove financial obstacles to better biking. 

With full funding, Bay Area cities could build the protected bike lanes, bicycle paths, bike access on bridges across the bay, and bridges or tunnels to cross other barriers that bicyclists need to get safely to their destinations. Imagine Bay Area cities with quiet, traffic-calmed greenways, that connect every important destination without a single gap. That is what is at stake in this measure. 

Will the Transportation Tax Measure Provide $8.6 Billion for Bikes?

Early drafts of the proposed sales tax measure do not set aside anywhere close to enough money for safe bicycle connections. That’s why CalBike sent a letter to the California State Bay Area Caucus to request that SB 278 provide sufficient funding for bicycling. The Caucus is composed of the 27 members representing Bay Area districts in the state legislature. Our letter urged them to fully fund biking and walking infrastructure in this transportation tax proposal. 

This measure, SB 278, is our best chance to give Bay Area residents the ability to safely and conveniently move around the region without a car.

We need complete, connected, and low-stress bike networks to truly combat traffic congestion, reduce climate-destroying greenhouse gases, and fix unsafe streets. Active transportation trips emit zero carbon, promote health, reduce traffic injuries and deaths, and support the local economy. Critically, our letter to the legislators calls for building the bikeway network right away, in the next ten years, because active transportation is the most cost-effective transportation investment. Providing safe biking and walking links to transit makes the larger investments in buses and rail systems more accessible and functional for local communities. 

Bay Area residents should insist that their taxes support the most cost-efficient, equitable, climate-friendly, and safe transportation option: the bicycle. CalBike is closely following this bill in Sacramento. We will watch for new developments and continue to advocate to ensure that active transportation is appropriately funded before this sales tax measure goes to the voters in November.

CalBike Advocacy for the Bay Area Bike Network

CalBike is closely following this bill in Sacramento. We will watch for new developments and continue to advocate. We will ensure that active transportation is appropriately funded when this transportation tax measure goes to the voters. We’ll need your help to convince the State Senate members who are drafting this bill to include $8.6 billion for bikes in the first ten years of the measure. Stay tuned for your chance to get involved.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Complete-Streets-with-traffic.jpg 683 1024 Jared Sanchez https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Jared Sanchez2020-03-17 15:04:562020-03-17 15:18:40Transportation Tax Measure Could Fully Fund a Connected Bay Area Bikeway Network

CalBike Supporters Bike the Vote to Primary Victories

March 6, 2020/by Jared Sanchez
Read more
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/i-voted-sticker-lot-1550340-scaled-e1583538108252.jpg 608 1996 Jared Sanchez https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Jared Sanchez2020-03-06 15:49:192020-09-15 16:04:19CalBike Supporters Bike the Vote to Primary Victories

California Needs Edge Lane Roads

March 2, 2020/by Kevin Claxton

CalBike is working to provide an important new tool to traffic engineers. It will give people who on bikes safe space to ride on narrow roads. The tool is a road design called ‘edge lane roads’ and we need your help to identify places where they should be installed. 

What is an edge lane road?

“Edge lanes” create lanes that work just like bike lanes on streets that are too narrow to allow standard bike lanes. Also known as advisory bike lanes, this design is the last significant design innovation that is lacking from the U.S. traffic engineer’s typical toolbox. CalBike is committed to giving engineers this new tool.

On an edge lane road, wide bike lanes are striped on either side of the road – the edge lanes. In the center, there is a space for cars with no center line. This car lane is often wider than a normal lane but not wide enough for two cars to pass. When cars meet head-on, they negotiate the space by moving into the bike lane temporarily. The arrangement requires motorists to be flexible about the space and negotiate with each other, while giving bike riders a secure lane of their own at the edge.

Californian Michael Williams is one of the leading proponents of edge lane roads in the United States. He saw their potential while studying bicycle infrastructure in the Netherlands. “It’s a way to reallocate roadway width more efficiently and more safely for vulnerable road users,” he said in a recent conversation with CalBike.

edge lane roads“Edge lane roads have existed for more than 50 years in other countries around the world,” Williams noted. The Netherlands alone has over 800 km installed. In the US, he knows of about 30 edge lane projects. The largest number are in Minneapolis, which has seven or eight edge lane roads. “They tried them out. They love them,” he said of Minneapolis. “They’re rolling them out all over the place.” 

While Williams first saw the potential of edge lanes to create space for bikes on rural roads, they work just as well on urban streets. “An edge lane road format would be a great way to design a bicycle boulevard,” he said. “That’s really the operation you want on a bike boulevard.” He noted that Minneapolis has successfully used the edge lane treatment on urban, high-volume streets.

Why don’t we have edge lanes here?

If you’re thinking that edge lanes might be fine for the Netherlands but they would never work here, you’re not alone. “I’m all across the country advocating for edge lane roads,” Williams said. People’s first reaction is that edge lanes will create problems. “Then, when communities put them in, everybody does fine with them,” he said. 

edge lane road in OttawaWe need edge lane roads in California. It’s the last important tool to add to the planner’s toolbox for safe streets. The stripes on edge lanes show all road users what is expected of them. They give people on bikes a space to ride and a line that they can expect motorists to avoid.

Where there’s room to install protected bike lanes, that is the preferred treatment on many streets. But where there isn’t room, city planners have poor choices: reject any bike facility at all, put in “sharrows” that have proven ineffective, or stripe narrow door zone bike lanes, which put bicyclists in severe danger of injury or death from a suddenly opening car door. 

“A lot of times the reason for edge lane roads to be used is because people don’t want to get rid of parking,” Williams said. Thus, an edge lane treatment could help overcome neighborhood resistance to bike lanes by preserving parking and two-way vehicular travel, while adding safe space for bikes.

The edge lane road treatment is not included in any guideline that local planners in California are authorized to use. Neither the California Highway Design Manual or the more progressive guidelines from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) includes this tool.  CalBike is working to change that. You can help.

Where would you like to see edge lanes?

None of the edge lane roads in North America are in California. We would like to bring this sensible road design to our urban and rural streets. Right now, we have a great opportunity to test edge lane roads in California.

California goes through a state highway safety plan process every four years. The process opens an opportunity for pilot projects to test new design ideas. As part of this process, communities can run pilot edge lane road projects.

Is there a street or road in your community that would be perfect for an edge lane road treatment? Go to Williams’ website to learn more about edge lane roads and contact him with your project.

Somerset Advisory Bike Lane from Mathieu Fleury on Vimeo.

 

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Somerset-ABL-16-scaled.jpg 1714 2560 Kevin Claxton https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Kevin Claxton2020-03-02 11:53:182020-03-02 11:59:30California Needs Edge Lane Roads

CalBike Members Get 30% Off Micromobility America 2020

February 20, 2020/by Kevin Claxton

Micromobility America logoMicromobility America returns to Richmond, CA, for the largest-ever gathering of people specifically focused on new modes of urban mobility.

Important note: The 2020 Micromobility America conference has been rescheduled from April 22-23 to July 16-17, due to coronavirus concerns.

Speakers include Lime president Joe Kraus, Curbed editor Alissa Walker, Strava data leader Cathy Tanimura, and many more. View the full agenda here. 

CalBike is a media partner and, for a limited time, our followers can take an extra 30% off tickets by registering using this link. Come join us for two days of expos, meet-ups, new vehicle demos, presentations, and panels. The 30% offer ends May 1. 

Micromobility America

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/amsterdam_poster-01-2.png 4997 3544 Kevin Claxton https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Kevin Claxton2020-02-20 15:07:032020-03-17 15:23:40CalBike Members Get 30% Off Micromobility America 2020

CalBike Endorsement: Vote for DeniAntionette Mazingo for Assembly District 42 on March 3rd!

February 14, 2020/by Jared Sanchez

The incumbent in Assembly District 42 is no friend to bicycling. He reliably voted against bills to improve bike safety, including our popular Complete Streets bill last year. He deserves to be defeated. DeniAntionette Mazingo gave excellent responses to our questionnaire and holds great promise for AD 42.

Vote DeniAntionette Mazingo Assembly District 42

Assembly District 42 straddles the gateway between the Inland Empire and the California desert, stretching from Yucaipa and Hemet in the west to the Twentynine Palms region and western Coachella Valley in the east. This part of the state, with its sprawling suburbs and major freeways, poses extra challenges for active transportation given its overwhelming automobile dependence. That is why we are further impressed by Mazingo and her transportation platform, which centers mobility options that can help meet our state’s environmental sustainability, public health, and social equity goals. Mazingo is clearly making it priority to serve all residents of her district, including low-income populations that are often marginalized, especially in suburban areas. In her questionnaire responses, she said she supports “policies to help lower-income communities including increasing transit options and availability, encouraging coherent, holistic planning of affordable housing, schools, and recreational facilities accessible to transit, and reducing people’s reliance on personal vehicles.” That is the type of change we can get behind for AD 42, which is why we are endorsing DeniAntionette Mazingo.

The rest of her questionnaire responses are equally as impressive for their breadth and depth of knowledge. For these reasons, we are excited to see DeniAntionette Mazingo emerge as a prominent candidate in the Assembly District 42 race. We look forward to seeing her provide the leadership needed to work toward safer and more sustainable transportation alternatives for all California residents.

CalBike is pleased to endorse DeniAntionette Mazingo for District 42 Assembly Member. Please visit her website to find out how you can pitch in and vote for DeniAntionette Mazingo on March 3, 2020. 

Click here to see DeniAntionette Mazingo’s full questionnaire responses.

View all of CalBike’s endorsements and Bike the Vote on March 3, 2020.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/deni-closeup-1.jpg 552 475 Jared Sanchez https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Jared Sanchez2020-02-14 12:53:432020-02-14 14:29:40CalBike Endorsement: Vote for DeniAntionette Mazingo for Assembly District 42 on March 3rd!

New State Law Leads to $90M for San Diego Bike Projects  

February 11, 2020/by Jared Sanchez

Advocates for San Diego bike projects used to find themselves stymied by the conflicting values of a regional agency that was controlled by votes representing suburban residents. Those residents, more likely to be affluent and white, had more voting power per capita. Residents of the more populous cities that had less voting power were likely to be less affluent communities of color. In 2017, advocates refused to accept that unequal power structure and mobilized to change the way the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) voted on projects. With the support of Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher and CalBike’s help, they changed state law to make SANDAG more democratic, giving more weight to votes representing more people. 

The new voting process was used most recently to pass a $90 million bond that will provide funding to finish several bike projects in the San Diego region. The unweighted vote on the bond was a tie. With a second vote under the new weighted vote process, the bond measure passed the SANDAG board, 62-38. 

“Advocates for improvements in active transportation often have an uphill battle. One of the problems is an entrenched power structure that amplifies the voice of richer, whiter communities while shutting out communities of color and poorer residents,” said Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate. That’s why passing AB 805 was a priority for CalBike.

The new weighted voting structure at SANDAG, which went into effect in 2018, has been used several times. This is the story of how a law passed in Sacramento can be an important tool for advocates fighting for transportation equity in their community in San Diego.

Before AB 805: Suburban Communities Blocked San Diego Bike Projects 

SANDAG is a regional decision-making agency for the San Diego area. Its board includes representatives from 18 cities and the county of San Diego. The problem with the board’s structure has been that San Diego (population 1.42 million) had the same voting power as smaller cities such as Del Mar (population 4,363 ). 

This unequal distribution of power allowed small cities, which were more suburban, to dictate planning decisions. What this often meant is that SANDAG’s urban planning choices were car-centric. San Diego was not able to pursue transit, biking, and walking projects that would benefit its denser population and residents who are less well-off than many in surrounding communities.

Randy Torres-Van Vleck, Senior Program Manager, Transportation & Planning at the City Heights Community Development Corporation (City Heights CDC), realized that residents couldn’t win the projects they needed under the SANDAG structure. “Because of the way the board voting power was structured at SANDAG, it made it very difficult for environmental justice communities and the largest cities in the region to exert self-determination,” he said. “Suburban cities could vote to widen a freeway in our city. It took away residents’ ability to protect their own health.”  

So Torres-Van Vleck’s organization decided to do something about it.

City Heights CDC Fights for Transportation Equity

The city of East San Diego became part of San Diego 100 years ago. It is now the City Heights neighborhood. “Because it was its own city, it has distinctive neighborhoods within it,” said Vianney Ruvalcaba, Transportation Planning Coordinator for the City Heights CDC. The neighborhood has become a safe haven for immigrants and refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, Somalia, and Latin America. Residents speak 35 languages and 200 dialects. The diversity makes City Heights a beautiful place, according to Ruvalcaba. She added, “Unfortunately, it’s also been a victim of environmental racist policies that prioritize suburban development and freeways.”

San Diego bike projects

City Heights CDC was formed to fight environmental racism. “One of the reasons why we exist is because Caltrans planned a freeway through the middle of the area in the 1970s,” Ruvalcaba said. The CDC fought hard to underground a section of the freeway to keep it from cutting the community in two, as freeway developments did in neighborhoods of color in many other California cities. The organization hired planners and organizers and put environmental lawyers on their board. “We were forced to become experts around these issues,” she said. “As a result, we became leaders in transportation justice.”

While the neighborhood didn’t get everything it wanted, it won significant mitigations, including a new bike path. There is even a documentary film about their victory.

This put the City Heights CDC in a good position to identify the environmental justice issues in the SANDAG voting structure. Torres-Van Vleck watched the board vote to widen freeways in communities that were already suffering from the highest levels of pollution. He called this “doubling down on the wrongs of the past.”

So City Heights CDC began to float the idea of a bill that would change the power structure at SANDAG.

All About AB 805

The bill that would pass in 2017 as AB 805 changed the weighted voting structure of the SANDAG board. Members can call for a second, weighted vote after a board vote, if three representatives on the board agree to it. The weighted system created under AB 805 allocates votes to the cities on the board based on population. In the new process, the votes of more populous San Diego carry more weight than votes from smaller cities. The results of the weighted vote supersede the original vote.

Relative voting power before AB 805

SANDAG voting power per capita before AB 805.

It wasn’t a slam dunk that the legislature would pass this measure. Torres-Van Vleck noted that factors such as a scandal at SANDAG in 2017 helped convince stakeholders that change was needed. Local Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez introduced the bill and championed it in the legislature. 

While City Heights CDC and partners lobbied hard for AB 805 from San Diego, CalBike worked to get the bill signed into law in Sacramento.

CalBike Partnered with Local Advocates to Help Pass Vital Legislation in Sacramento

CalBike’s policy advocates partnered with City Heights CDC organizers to push AB 805 in Sacramento. “Regional power structures often serve to reinforce control by those that already have power and marginalize low-income communities of color,” said Sanchez. “AB 805 was important because it gave us the chance to change the balance of power and give voice to under-served communities.”

City Heights CDC lobbied city members of SANDAG for support. “Every city in San Diego County weighed in on AB 805,” Torres-Van Vleck said. “We were going around the region talking about democracy and power.” 

For City Heights CDC, it was also important to have good partners in Sacramento. Sanchez and CalBike Policy Director Linda Khamoushian kept their local partners in the loop. They served as the lead advocates for the bill at the capital. “CalBike has been a great watchdog for us in Sacramento,” Torres-Van Vleck said. “Their support for AB 805 was important.”

AB 805 Has a Big Impact on San Diego Bike Projects

AB 805 became law and went into effect in 2018. Torres-Van Vleck feels that the impact of this power shift has been huge. “It was the most transformative policy that I’ve ever seen implemented in my 10 years of doing this work,” he said. “It changed San Diego for the better.” 

Since 2018, the new weighted vote structure has been used four or five times. “It has been used for votes that allow for transportation justice and better represent the voices of the community,” said Torres-Van Vleck. “That’s good for bikes, it’s good for transit, it’s good for housing.”

Families benefit from San Diego bike projects

The success of AB 805 has even won over some people who were opposed to it at first. Before Stephan Vance retired in 2018, he worked at SANDAG for 36 years, most of that in the agency’s active transportation program (he was also a long-time board member of CalBike). He didn’t like what he saw as a heavy-handed approach in the bill. “The culture at SANDAG was that everything operated on consensus,” he said. The agency tried to make all parties happy and avoid split votes. “The downside of that is that stuff gets watered down because you make a lot of compromises.”

“Now that I’m on the outside and advocating for some of the things these small cities are challenging, I like the weighted vote,” Vance said. “Otherwise, they would be preventing very reasonable things from happening.” He sees the new voting structure as a crucial tool for achieving big changes in California’s transportation systems. Not only is that necessary to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets set by the state, but it is also the only way to unclog roadways. 

“We have to change to accommodate growth and to save our climate. We can’t let backward-looking people dictate transportation policy anymore,” Vance said. “Democracy is served [by AB 805]. No longer can representatives of a minority of the region’s population dictate policy.”

A change in voting rules for a planning board might seem far removed from the on-the-ground fights of local advocates. The story of AB 805 illustrates that state legislation can have a big impact on local streets.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Orange_Dannny_Vi.jpg 1357 2048 Jared Sanchez https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Jared Sanchez2020-02-11 17:07:012020-02-11 17:15:08New State Law Leads to $90M for San Diego Bike Projects  

CalBike 2020 Agenda

December 6, 2019/by Kevin Claxton

At CalBike, we have spent the weeks since the end of the 2019 legislative session plotting our direction for 2020. Soon, we’ll begin to implement the CalBike 2020 agenda by meeting with stakeholders, planning campaigns, and finding legislators to author bills to create the policies necessary to achieve our strategic plan.

We will announce our 2020 agenda in person at an event in Sacramento on December 10. Our priorities for the coming year reflect our continued focus on making California communities more safe, livable, bikeable, and equitable. With help from CalBike members and supporters, we believe 2020 will be a year of big steps toward a truly bike-friendly California.

CalBike 2020 Initiatives

CalBike will pursue campaigns in 2020 to make the streets safer, get more people on e-bikes, and change the manuals that tell planners how to make space for bikes on California streets. We’re pursuing initiatives that are proven to make our communities safer and healthier. Here’s our plan for 2020.

Complete Streets

The governor’s veto of SB 127, the Complete Streets Bill, last year included the statement that he fully supports improving facilities to increase walking, biking, and public transit use. Newsom claimed he would hold Caltrans “accountable to deliver more alternatives to driving.” CalBike will make sure he follows through on that promise. In 2020, we’re hopeful that the new leadership at Caltrans will implement the goals of SB 127, and we plan to hold the department accountable for the safety of people who walk, bike, and take transit.

E-Bike Incentives

Nearly half a billion dollars of subsidies help Californians buy electric cars. This subsidy has brought the electric and plug-in hybrid cars registered in California to about 1% of the total California electric and hybrid fleet. Meanwhile, folks who can’t afford an electric car even with the subsidy, and everybody else who would love to have an electric bike to carry their kids to school or navigate a hilly commute get zero support. Many people who would happily get around on e-bikes are forced to rely on cars instead. CalBike proposes a $50 million pilot program to help more Californians buy electric bikes for transportation.

Design Manual Reform

Despite our success in allowing local jurisdictions to use alternatives to the official state Highway Design Manual, and the department’s promotion of flexibility, the manual itself still recommends very old-fashioned, car-oriented standards. The design manual encourages bike lanes to be placed in the door zone. At the same time, it discourages narrowing car lanes to accommodate wider bike lanes. We will work with Caltrans on an overdue update to this manual. Along with necessary changes to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), this effort should help local planners and engineers design streets that prioritize safety instead of fast car traffic.

Driver’s Manual Improvements

The Department of Motor Vehicles’ official manual for motor vehicle operators does a terrible job of telling motorists to expect bike riders in the traffic lane. It even tells drivers that it’s OK to park in a bike lane! It doesn’t suggest that drivers use the “Dutch Reach” to open their doors. The “Dutch Reach” is a practice of using your right hand to open your door requiring you to twist your body so that you’re more able to see a bike rider approaching. We will work with the DMV to change the manual to teach car drivers to share the road with bicyclists more safely.

Vehicle Code Improvements

CalBike updated the Vehicle Code five years ago to require motorists to give three feet of clearance when passing someone on a bicycle. However, the Vehicle Code still includes some outdated information about biking. A CalBike priority in 2020 is to amend the Vehicle Code to bring it up to date. This will include clarification that someone on a bike is not required to ride as far to the right as practicable if the traffic lane is not wide enough to share. 

Change the Conversation on the Climate Crisis

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector fast enough, we must quickly reduce the number of car miles driven by Californians. Yet, too many people still advocate for spending billions of dollars to build new infrastructure that will only result in increased car traffic. In coalition with diverse organizations, CalBike hopes to illustrate how these auto-oriented projects hurt our communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color already suffering from disinvestment.  Car-centric projects hurt the planet, increasing greenhouse gas emissions when it’s imperative that we do the opposite. As a leader in the movement for safer streets and more biking, walking, and public transit, CalBike will continue to connect the dots for our decisionmakers between how humans move around and how we protect the future for all living things.

More 2020 Priorities 

In addition to leading on the issues above, CalBike and our allies will work together on several other issues, not to mention additional challenges and opportunities that we can’t predict.

  • Automated Speed Enforcement
  • Changing how speed limits are set to make it easier to lower speed limits
  • Encouraging more housing, especially affordable housing, in walkable, bikeable neighborhoods
  • Improving bike parking requirements statewide
  • Student transit passes
  • Statewide goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled

We know that this is an ambitious agenda, but we also know that every item on it is important. Together, they add up to a better biking in California. With your help, we can get there.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Relax.jpg 628 1200 Kevin Claxton https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Kevin Claxton2019-12-06 16:07:332019-12-11 14:05:01CalBike 2020 Agenda
Page 2 of 8‹1234›»

Latest News

  • CTC Backs Doomed Highway ProjectJuly 3, 2025 - 5:53 pm
  • CalBike Insider Header
    CalBike Insider: Following Up on the Complete Streets BillJune 26, 2025 - 3:00 pm
  • California Cities with the Best and Worst Bike NetworksJune 24, 2025 - 4:23 pm
Follow a manual added link

Get Email Updates

Follow a manual added link

Join Calbike

  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to X
  • Link to LinkedIn
  • Link to Mail
  • Link to Instagram
About Us

Board
Careers
Contact Us
Financials & Governance
Local Partners
Privacy Policy
Staff
State & National Allies
Volunteer

Advocacy

California Bicycle Summit
E-Bike
Legislative Watch
Past and Present Projects
Report: Incomplete Streets
Sign On Letters

Resources

Maps & Routes
Crash Help and Legal Resources
Quick-Build Bikeway Design Guide
Report: Complete Streets
All Resources

Support

Ways to give
Become a Member
Donor Advised Funds
Donate a Car
Business Member

News

Blog
CalBike in the News
Press Releases

© California Bicycle Coalition 2025

1017 L Street #288
Sacramento, CA 95814
© California Bicycle Coalition 2025

Scroll to top