© California Bicycle Coalition 2023
1017 L Street #288
Sacramento, CA 95814
© California Bicycle Coalition 2023
For Immediate Release: June 25, 2012
Contact:
CalBike: Jared Sanchez, jared@calbike.org | 714-262-0921
California Walks: Caro Jauregui, caro@calwalks.org | 562-320-2139
Los Angeles Walks: John Yi, john@losangeleswalks.org | 213-219-2483
SACRAMENTO – The Freedom to Walk Act, a bill to eliminate jaywalking laws in California, will be heard on Tuesday, 6/29/21 in the California Senate Transportation Committee.
AB 1238 will make it legal for pedestrians in California to cross mid-block and against traffic lights, provided they don’t interfere with traffic. The bill is authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting of San Francisco. CalBike and a coalition of more than 85 groups and individuals support the repeal of jaywalking laws.
“The incredible rate at which pedestrians are dying from crashes should compel us to understand why fellow Californians navigate as such, not criminalize them. This is just the first of many steps in our fight to provide all those who walk and roll with a little more dignity,” shared John Yi, Executive Director of Los Angeles Walks.
Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate said, “Jaywalking citations are disproportionately issued to Black Californians – they are up to 4.3 times more likely to be stopped than their White counterparts. Decriminalizing jaywalking will remove an opportunity for biased policing, and get rid of an unjust burden on low-income California residents, who can least afford to pay the fines and who are more likely to live in neighborhoods that lack infrastructure for people who walk, making jaywalking unavoidable.”
“Creating safe public spaces by changing policies that have disregarded the safety, existence, and joy of primarily low-income people of color across the state is overdue. This bill will begin to do that by ensuring that people forced to ‘jaywalk’ are not punished due to the decades of intentional poor infrastructure in their neighborhoods,” said Caro Jauregui, Co-Executive Director of California Walks.
CalBike, California Walks, Los Angeles Walks, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area are sponsoring the Freedom to Walk Act, which has strong support from a broad base of community organizations. Supporters include the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto, Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement, and Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice. Several city officials have expressed their support for decriminalizing jaywalking, including the Emeryville City Council.
AB1238 was passed by the California State Assembly with a floor vote of 58-16 on June 2, 2021.
For Immediate Release: 6/25/21
Contact:
Dave Snyder, 916-251-9433, dave@calbike.org
Jared Sanchez, 714-262-0921, jared@calbike.org
SACRAMENTO – The Bicycle Safety Stop Bill (AB 122, Boerner Horvath, Friedman, Ting) will be heard in the California Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday, June 29, 2021.
The bill will replace the requirement that people on bikes stop at stop signs with a requirement to yield and slow and stop if necessary for safety, including to yield the right of way to pedestrians. More than 75 organizations across the state signed a letter in support of the bill. The California Bicycle Coalition created a video that explains how bicycle safety stops work in the real world. The bicycle stop-as-yield is proven to increase safety for people on bikes.
“The Bicycle Safety Stop Bill doesn’t change existing right-of-way laws. Instead, AB 122 reforms the rules of the road to accommodate the safe and logical bike riding that people are already doing. It also removes a pretext for police to harass Black Californians,” said Dave Snyder, Executive Director of CalBike.
“To cut down on car emissions, promote healthy living, and improve equity, we need neighborhoods that encourage safe bicycle riding,” said Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, the bill’s original author. “We know from the example of other states that when riders are allowed to yield at stop signs, they choose safer streets and will spend less time in dangerous intersections. It’s time for California to live up to its values and start encouraging — not penalizing — smart riding in our state.”
In April, the California Assembly voted 53 to 11 in favor of the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill.
If AB 122 becomes law, California will join the list of states that have implemented the safety stop: Idaho, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Delaware, Arkansas, Utah, and North Dakota. None of those states has reported any safety problems with the new rule. A recent study in Delaware found that collisions involving bicycles at intersections decreased by 23% since the safety stop became legal.
Unnecessary laws that are difficult to follow pose a risk of traffic stops with tragic endings for people riding bikes, especially Black people.
For Immediate Release:
Dave Snyder, CalBike | dave@calbike.org | 916-251-9433
AB 43 Will Allow Reduced Speed Limits for Slower Streets
Sacramento – Citing the success of “Slow Streets” across California during the COVID lockdown, the California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) is proud to support AB 43, a bill that could help make slow streets a permanent part of California communities. Lower speeds are crucial for neighborhood Slow Streets, a concept so successful during California’s COVID lockdown that now the Los Angeles City Council would like to make it permanent.
“The bill would allow communities to set lower speed limits to keep streets safe without being hamstrung by out-of-date laws,” said Dave Snyder, executive director of CalBike. “Permanent slow streets become possible if the state legislature changes an old rule that basically lets speeding drivers set the speed limits.”
AB 43 Reforms the “85% Rule”
This Caltrans rule requires cities to set the speed limit at the speed of the car going faster than 85 out of 100 car drivers. This method sets speed limits according to the (often irresponsible) behavior of drivers, not the needs of the community. The current rule actually rewards drivers for speeding.
AB 43 has passed the California Assembly and is now headed to the Senate Transportation committee.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UPDATED: July 7, 2021
Sacramento – The California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) opposes AB 371 by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer that would impose an onerous insurance burden on shared-mobility providers and likely put them out of business across the state. A similar provision was defeated in the 2020 legislature.
The bill is now headed to the Senate Committees on Judiciary and Insurance.
Dave Snyder, executive director, CalBike:
“Shared bikes and scooters are a critical complement to public transit. We’ve only just begun to see the benefit that we’ll enjoy once we expand these systems and integrate them with transit. Unfortunately, we may never see that future if AB 371 passes. It will place unprecedented insurance requirements on bike- and scooter-share systems that would end this vital last-mile transportation option in California.
The insurance requirement will apply to nonprofit services, like bicycle libraries that lend out bikes on a short-term basis to low-income neighborhood residents, as well as public transit agencies like LA Metro, and private providers like Spin or Bird. It would put them all out of the shared micromobility business and kill this promising low-impact, low-cost transportation mode. This comes just when we need it the most and when bikeshare systems are reporting record ridership.
Update: View our OpEd produced in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and TransForm.
May 31, 2021
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sacramento – The Freedom to Walk Act, a bill to eliminate jaywalking laws in California, will be up for a vote on the Assembly floor this week. Authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting of San Francisco, AB 1238 will make it legal for pedestrians in California to make mid-block crossings and cross against traffic lights, provided they don’t interfere with traffic.
“The Freedom to Walk Act is a necessary step to right historic injustices,” said Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate. Jaywalking citations are disproportionately issued to Black Californians – they are up to 4.3 times more likely to be stopped than their white counterparts. CalBike is a leader among a coalition of more than 85 groups and individuals who support the repeal of jaywalking laws.
“Decriminalizing jaywalking will remove an opportunity for biased policing, and get rid of an unjust burden from low-income California residents, who can least afford to pay the fines and who are more likely to live in neighborhoods that lack infrastructure for people who walk, making jaywalking unavoidable,” Sanchez said.
“The incredible rate at which pedestrians are dying from crashes should compel us to understand why fellow Californians navigate as such, not criminalize them. This is just the first of many steps in our fight to provide all those who walk and roll with a little more dignity. We look forward to the work ahead,” shared John Yi, Executive Director of Los Angeles Walks.
“We must correct historical wrongs. We hope our legislators commit to creating safe public spaces by changing policies that have disregarded the safety, existence, and joy of primarily low-income people of color across the state. This bill will begin to do that by ensuring that people forced to ‘jaywalk’ are not punished due to the decades of intentional poor infrastructure in their neighborhoods,” said Caro Jauregui, Co-Executive Director of California Walks.
CalBike, California Walks, and Los Angeles Walks are sponsoring the Freedom to Walk Act, which has strong support from a broad base of community organizations. Supporters include the Greenlining Institute, NACTO, ACLU California Action, and Disability Rights California.
# # #
DATE May 10, 2021
CONTACT:
Dave Snyder, Executive Director, California Bicycle Coalition, 916-251-9433, dave@calbike.org
SACRAMENTO – A recent study found that subsidies for electric bikes are more cost-effective than electric car incentives at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from private cars. Yet very few programs to incentivize the uptake of the best climate investment exist. As lawmakers in California contemplate billions of dollars in spending to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from private cars, including $1.5 billion to subsidize electric cars, they have a chance to also support electric bikes with a bill being advanced by the Assembly.
AB 117, the E-Bike Affordability Bill (Boerner Horvath), would establish a pilot program to incentivize the purchase of electric bicycles as a means of reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT), reducing air, water, and noise pollution, and helping Californians get more exercise. To implement the program, legislators must allocate $10 million in the budget being negotiated among the capital’s leaders this month.
“If California is serious about tackling climate change, promoting e-bikes needs to be front and center,” said Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, the bill’s author. “E-bikes help us cut out shorter car trips, reduce emissions, and move closer to our ambitious climate goals. Now is the time to make e-bikes affordable for all Californians.”
“Compared to EVs, e-bikes are carbon crushers. This fact adds urgency to the effort to help communities move away from car dependence and its terrible impacts,” said Dave Snyder, Executive Director of the California Bicycle Coalition, the sponsor of the E-Bike Affordability Act. “If California’s climate investments are supposed to prioritize solutions that have additional benefits, then this is a no-brainer. Investing in biking makes people healthier and happier, improves traffic safety, and reduces traffic congestion.”
The study focused on the greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of subsidies for electric bikes, battery-electric cars, and plug-in hybrid electric cars in Oregon. It found that e-bike subsidies, like those in CalBike’s proposed $10M E-Bike Affordability Program, were the most cost-effective way to reduce GHG emissions.
Even with rebates, most Californians can’t afford electric cars. Fewer than 1% of vehicles registered in California today are all-electric. The E-Bike Affordability Program provides purchase incentives targeted at low-income residents, putting zero-emissions transportation within reach for many more Californians. Plus, e-bikes plug into a regular wall outlet and cost about $0.01 per mile to operate — no need for charging stations.
“Electric bicycles (e-bikes) have been found to offer a promising solution to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) impact of a region’s passenger transportation system….The literature shows that despite having slightly higher lifecycle emissions than conventional bicycles, privately owned e-bikes emit far less than other motorized modes.”
From The E-Bike Potential: Estimating regional e-bike impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, Published in Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, October 2020
March 25, 2021
March 25, 2021
For Immediate Release
Contact:
San Francisco: Jaywalking is arbitrarily enforced throughout California. When it is, tickets are disproportionately given to Black Californians, and sometimes these encounters with police turn life-threatening. In an effort to reform this unfair system, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) — along with CalBike, California Walks, and Los Angeles Walks — has introduced AB 1238, The Freedom To Walk Act, which would decriminalize jaywalking.
“Whether it’s someone’s life or the hundreds/thousands of dollars in fines, the cost is too much for a relatively minor infraction,” said Ting at a San Francisco press conference. “It’s time to reconsider how we use our law enforcement resources and whether our jaywalking laws really do protect pedestrians and all road users.”
The Freedom To Walk Act promotes the fair and equitable use of roadways by:
“Jaywalking laws do more than turn an ordinary and logical behavior into a crime; they also create opportunities for police to racially profile. A stop for a harmless infraction like jaywalking can turn into a potentially life-threatening police encounter, especially for Black people, who are disproportionately targeted and suffer the most severe consequences of inequitable law enforcement,” said Jared Sanchez of the California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike), co-sponsor of The Freedom To Walk Act.
“Low-income communities and communities of color are more likely to be cited for crossing unsafely due to societal racial bias and poor crosswalk conditions in their neighborhoods that emphasize drivers’ needs over other road users. Walking should not be a dangerous activity in the communities where people rely on walking for transportation,” said Caro Jauregui, Co-Executive Director of California Walks.
“It’s time we stop blaming pedestrians for trying to navigate streets that all too often prioritize cars and fast traffic. If we want neighborhoods that are community-centered, where our children and seniors can move with safety and ease, let us begin by treating those who walk or roll with some dignity,” said John Yi, Executive Director of Los Angeles Walks.
There are many examples of where a jaywalking stop has gone wrong in California. The most recent case occurred in September of 2020, when San Clemente Police killed Kurt Reinhold. In the Bay Area, Chinedu Okobi was killed more than two years ago in Millbrae by San Mateo County deputies. And in 2017, Nandi Cain Jr. was beaten by Sacramento Police. The victims in each of these cases were Black, and video captured each incident.
Jaywalking citation statistics highlight the way that this harmless behavior is used to target and victimize communities of color through pretextual policing. From 2018-2020, data compiled by the California Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) shows Black Californians are disproportionately stopped for jaywalking, up to four-and-a-half times more than their White counterparts.
Jaywalking laws were invented in the 1930s by the emerging auto industry as an attempt to shift the blame from drivers to walkers after the number of deadly car crashes skyrocketed. Over the years, street design has prioritized the needs of drivers, failing to accommodate people who aren’t in cars.
California has already begun making changes. In 2018, crossing at a traffic light after the countdown meter has begun was legalized. The Freedom to Walk Act repeals the state’s remaining jaywalking laws. Other countries, including the United Kingdom, have shown that this can be done safely. The U.K. allows pedestrians to cross mid-block, yet it has roughly half as many pedestrian deaths as the United States.
In March 2021, Virginia became the first state to decriminalize jaywalking. Last summer, the New York Attorney General recommended that the State of New York do the same. California needs to pass The Freedom to Walk Act and decriminalize jaywalking. It’s the right thing to do.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2020
Contact: Dave Snyder, California Bicycle Coalition, dave@calbike.org | 916-251-9433
The California Bicycle Coalition and Alta Planning + Design today released a Quick-Build Guide for planners, officials, and community leaders to encourage the construction of safe bikeways quickly and affordably.
The guide promotes the “quick-build” method for safety improvements. Quick-build projects use materials that can be installed quickly and at a low cost. Quick-build design allows active transportation projects to be completed in months rather than years. Because quick-build projects rely on inexpensive materials, they are a good fit for California’s COVID-strapped municipal budgets.
The 77-page Quick-Build Guide, created by Alta Planning + Design, is available for free. This resource will help planners, city staffers, and advocates understand the tools and processes that lead to successful quick-build projects.
In addition to the guide, the project includes a 4-page introductory brochure. Both are available online at calbike.org/quickbuild.
“We hope this guide will help California capitalize on the huge increase in biking and walking we’ve seen during the pandemic,” said CalBike Executive Director Dave Snyder. “Quick-build allows communities to build on that momentum to create the kinds of safe, separated spaces that people of all ages need to feel comfortable biking and walking in their neighborhoods. There’s no good reason to wait years for safer streets and plenty of reasons to act quickly.”
“Rapid implementation of bike and pedestrian networks through Quick-Build is one of Alta’s core priorities for transformative investment in transportation,” said Brett Hondorp, President of Alta Planning + Design. “This guidebook gives communities the resources to quickly, inexpensively, and equitably create safe spaces for people on our streets, turning the pandemic walking and biking boom into sustained active transportation mode shift.”
The partnership to create this guide matches Alta Planning’s design expertise and experience with CalBike’s network of planning and advocacy communities throughout California. It will give cities a tool they can use to build safe biking infrastructure when and where it’s needed.
The Quick-Build Guide was made possible by funding from the Seed Fund and the SRAM Cycling Fund.
Download the Quick-Build Guide 2020.
From the Quick-Build Guide:
“Quick-build works to meet mobility needs by helping people to choose active modes more often. Those mobility needs will vary depending on the community and may include safer crossings, slower streets, an extended bikeway network, or safer routes to transit, schools, and essential workplaces. In every case, people require a safe, connected, and comfortable network for active transportation.”
“We as transportation experts need to be thinking strategically about whether or not we need to spend three years talking about doing something important, or three weeks to just try something.”
― Warren Logan, Transportation Policy Director of Mobility and Interagency Relations at Oakland Mayor’s Office
© California Bicycle Coalition 2023
1017 L Street #288
Sacramento, CA 95814
© California Bicycle Coalition 2023