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CalBike 2020 Agenda

December 6, 2019/in Newsroom, The Latest /by Dave Snyder

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. He claimed he would hold the department “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 only 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, while discouraging 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 — 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, but 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, including 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.

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.

CalBike Endorsements for Los Angeles City Council District 4

November 25, 2019/in Newsroom, The Latest /by Dave Snyder

At CalBike, we work not just to improve what policy makers decide about transportation, but to improve who those very policymakers are. That’s why we are endorsing candidates for the March 3, 2020 elections. We’re starting with an important race for the Los Angeles City Council District 4.

We are proud to endorse both Sarah Kate Levy and Nithya Raman for Los Angeles City Council District 4. Our partners at Bike the Vote LA did a lot of the groundwork in analyzing the candidates and highlighting the significance of this race given the lackluster biking priorities of the incumbent. For example, the incumbent has demonstrated a conflicting record on Complete Streets in the district.

In their responses to Bike the Vote LA’s questionnaire, both Levy’s answers and Raman’s answers showed a deep commitment to bicycling. We are endorsing either candidate against the incumbent. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote getters face each other in the general election November 3, 2020.

As a resident of Los Angeles, this election is important to you even if you don’t live in District 4. Please support one of our endorsed candidates. Here are some suggestions for how you can make a difference on the LA City Council.

Atte nd a house party hosted by the owner of Pure Cycles to support Sarah Kate Levy.

Volunteer, get on her list, donate, or attend an event for Sarah Kate Levy.

Volunteer, sign up, or donate to support NIthya Raman.

Attend an event for NIthya Raman.

Reflections on the 2019 California Bicycle Summit

November 15, 2019/in Newsroom, The Latest /by Dave Snyder

The 2019 California Bicycle Summit delivered on its theme: Intersections.

CalBike held its 2019 California Bicycle Summit at the Center for Healthy Communities in Los Angeles in October 15-17. Participants in dozens of panels, workshops, plenaries, and keynotes grappled with the many ways that bicycling intersects with other key issues like housing and the climate crisis.

The connection between transportation policy and the housing and climate crises were woven through the Summit. Topics such as racial and economic inequality, discrimination towards women and marginalized gender indenties, and the colonial history of gentrification and displacement were lifted up as well. The great work of our steering committee, speakers, panelists, and activity leaders was key to bringing a diversity of viewpoints into the room.

In order to bring to light the intersections that are vital to effective bicycle advocacy, the Summit also was the most inclusive ever. The steering committee’s outreach brought in many more people on scholarships and representatives from grassroots organizations. The Summit included participants whose voices aren’t always heard in discussions about bicycle safety and infrastructure planning.

There were many moments of enlightenment and connection. Here are some of the highlights for CalBike staff members at the Summit.

Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate

One of my key takeaways from the 2019 Summit was the tremendous potential to develop new ideas and forge new connections. This was possible because of the conflicting ideas and perspectives of the diverse attendees. The great conversations and interactions that resulted have inspired me to do more work through conflict-informed collaboration. I have seen how this mode of interaction can help CalBike fulfill its mission to bring prosperity, equity, joy, and health to all Californians with the aid of the bicycle.

A great example of the fruitful clash of ideas and viewpoints happened during a panel titled The Intersection of Bicycle Advocacy and Housing Policy. This workshop was well-attended and well-received because Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 50 was such a hot policy and planning topic this last year. The panel showcased the diversity of positions on the proposal to tie housing density to transit. The panelists spoke from different backgrounds and expertise. For example, Senator Wiener’s legislative staff spoke of their ongoing collaboration with Los Angeles justice groups, members of which were also on the panel.

The discussion about the intersection of housing equity and transportation justice didn’t shy away from the real conflicts that have arisen between stakeholders the last couple years as the legislation appeared likely to pass. This panel brought key conflict-informed collaborations into a public light specifically within a bicycle advocacy framework, so our members and supporters could engage as key stakeholders themselves. This would not have been possible if we hadn’t brought together a diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints for this panel. The workshop may not have resolved years of ongoing negotiations between the varying positions on this issue, but it did offer an accessible entry point where a variety of opinions and facts came into focus at once. We hope that thought-provoking Summit conversations like these contribute to the larger, and more exclusive, policy and planning decisions being made.

Forest Barnes, CalBike Active Transportation Planner, Central Valley

This was my first time at the Summit and I was blown away by the workshops and attendees, especially the Green New Deal panel and work session afterward. I was really inspired by folks thinking about the bike and bike culture as a very real and scalable climate solution that can be put into place quickly. I was also really struck by how great it was to see folks from the Bay Area getting to learn lessons from folks in SoCal and vice versa. Everyone had amazing energy and it was super inspiring. It was really helpful for my work in the Central Valley. I also loved the session about biking as a form of community culture and the benefits it brings, the at a lunch plenary. It brought home to me how bike culture is a tool for communities to use to alleviate racist institutional caps on their mobility.

Jenn Guitart, CalBike Development Director

I was inspired by our workshop on Bicycling and the Climate Crisis, which included five themed breakout discussions where experts in the fields of housing, funding, and sustainable transportation led participants in brainstorming about local and state strategies for collaborating to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. So many great ideas in the room: Let’s build a culture of glamorizing bicycling the way we have done with cars (Beyoncé in a bike commercial!). Let’s eliminate single family zoning to get more infill housing built. Let’s reform how curb space is used. Let’s be less polite to our lawmakers, and demand more change. Let’s get funders and advocates together so that big foundations stop focusing so much on electric vehicles, and start funding bicycle and transit advocacy.

Linda Khamoushian, CalBike Policy Director

This year’s Bike Summit was full of energy and inspiration. It was a particularly sensitive time for me right after the Governor’s veto of SB 127, but sharing the disappointment with the committed and passionate participants was healing. More importantly, we had space to plan how to move forward effectively and bring the change we need in our communities for a healthier and safer environment for biking and walking in California. Meeting and sharing space with other advocates and the various professionals who lent their time and expertise to the Summit left me with hope and inspiration to carry the work forward.

Dave Snyder, CalBike Executive Director

What was most thrilling to me was the diversity of perspectives presented. As an organization, we are simultaneously a single-issue organization and an intersectional social change organization that deals with an incredibly broad range of concerns. In other words, in order to win on behalf of the issue we focus on, we can’t focus on just that issue. It’s an interesting tension to hold, and I think the Summit was a very effective expression of how we navigate that tension to make social change. There were workshops on something as bike-specific as the aesthetic details of the worlds’ most beautiful bikeways and on something as fundamental to social justice in the U.S. as the role of racism in policing, and many topics in between. We had some of the state’s most elite institutional leaders and some of the state’s most heroic grassroots leaders. I wanted the Summit to strengthen our movement by bringing these diverse perspectives together. While we still have work to do to bring the full diversity of Californians who care about the intersection of bicycling and social justice into the room, this gathering definitely succeeded in strengthening our movement.

All in all, the 2019 Summit was a space where participants could share experiences and knowledge and develop common understandings across diverse constituencies. If participants walked away feeling inspired and energized, but also challenged with new perspectives, we succeeded in what we set out to do.

Thank you to everyone who came to the 2019 Summit! We admire your commitment to the work. Thank you to The California Endowment and its staff for hosting us in their beautiful space. Thank you to the most excellent Michelle Barrionuevo-Mazzini, the event’s main coordinator, who made sure everything went smoothly. We couldn’t have done it without her. If you didn’t make it this year, we’ll hold our next Summit in fall of 2021—keep your eyes peeled for details.

All photos courtesy of Evan Dudley.

Linda Khamoushian Promoted to CalBike Policy Director

November 15, 2019/in Newsroom, Press Release, The Latest /by Dave Snyder

The California Bicycle Coalition is pleased to announce the promotion of Linda Khamoushian to the position of Policy Director. Khamoushian will lead CalBike’s statewide policy agenda in the legislature and the legislative agencies that play a role in making our communities more equitable, inclusive, and prosperous.

Khamoushian came to CalBike in October of 2016 as a Senior Policy Advocate. She has been in Sacramento for the past two years, leading CalBike’s efforts to pass laws that give all Californians the ability to live healthy and joyful lives in bikeable and walkable neighborhoods.

Khamoushian’s new position is part of CalBike’s campaign to grow the influence of our coalitions in Sacramento and across California. Our increasing political power is the key to creating access to a healthy environment for all Californians.

“Linda’s new role will enable us to exert more influence and power at the highest levels of state government in California,” says CalBike Executive Director, Dave Snyder. “She will bring CalBike’s message of transportation justice to the leaders in the legislature and the agency decision-makers who have such a profound influence on Californians’ ability to safely enjoy their neighborhoods.”

CalBike 2019 Legislative Session Wrap-Up

November 14, 2019/in Newsroom, The Latest /by Linda Khamoushian

Several victories advance CalBike’s agenda, but a veto forces us to change strategy

While Governor Newsom’s disappointing veto of the Complete Streets Bill got the most attention, CalBike advocated for much more in the 2019 legislative session. CalBike members responded to our calls to action to secure important victories for our mission of making California’s communities more bike-friendly. CalBike succeeded in getting two of its priority bills signed into law: the Bike Turn Lane Bill and the E-Bike Vouchers Bill. These and several other victories marked a fruitful 2019 legislative session for CalBike.

Despite the veto, CalBike’s Complete Streets Campaign scored a success in galvanizing a broad movement for safe streets

More than 80 organizations signed on, with a diverse leadership team that included California Walks, the American Heart Association, AARP, and Safe Routes Partnership. This powerful coalition, backed by thousands of constituents, got the bill past many obstacles in the legislature, including a falsified and inflated cost estimate presented to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. This coalition will stick together to bring unprecedented pressure on Caltrans to meet its stated mission of creating a “safe” transportation system. We will not allow Newsom’s veto to result in continued dangerous conditions for children and older adults and everyone else who chooses to walk, bike, or take transit on state-owned roads in our communities! Our Complete Streets Campaign has simply entered a new phase.

E-bikes included as a clean mobility option

CalBike sponsored SB 400 (Umberg) to make electric bicycles eligible for vouchers in the state’s Clean Cars 4 All program. The program, funded by the California Air Resources Board, provides support for low-income households in the five largest air quality management districts who wish to trade in their old polluting cars for something more affordable than a discounted electric car. E-bikes are much cheaper and have even lower emissions than an electric/hybrid vehicle.

Safer bikeway design mandated

We sponsored AB 1266 (Rivas) to require Caltrans to improve its bikeway design guidance. The Bike-Friendly Turn Lane Bill, signed by the governor on September 4, will result in official approval for designs that encourage people on bicycles to use the left portion of a right-turn lane to go straight, which is often the safest and most appropriate maneuver. This bill is a very important win for cyclists. Intersections are the most dangerous place for bicyclists, where the most injuries and fatalities occur. This law provides a new tool for improving bicycle safety at intersections.

Climate and environmental justice in the next California Transportation Plan

AB 285 (Friedman) requires Caltrans to address how the state will achieve maximum feasible emissions reductions in order to attain a statewide reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This law also obliges Caltrans to show that the five-year update to the California Transportation Plan it submits in 2020 is consistent with air quality standards. It mandates a forecast of the impacts of advanced and emerging technologies over a 20-year horizon on infrastructure, access, and transportation systems and a review of the progress made implementing past California Transportation Plans. It adds environmental justice as a subject area that the plan is required to consider for the movement of people and freight. Read the full text of the bill in its final form.

Housing and transportation agencies must coordinate

AB 185 (Grayson, Cervantes) requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to participate in joint meetings of the California Air Resources Board and the California Transportation Commission. In joint meetings of the latter two agencies (required thanks to earlier advocacy by CalBike and allies), it became apparent that transportation and air quality goals can’t be easily addressed without also addressing land use. This is an important step toward coordinating our state’s policies to reduce car traffic.

Opening up Amtrak buses to everyone, not just train passengers

Have you ever tried to book an Amtrak bus only to learn that the system won’t allow it unless you also book a train ride for a segment of your trip? For example, Amtrak won’t allow you to book a ticket on the nonstop bus from Los Angeles to Bakersfield, or from Sacramento to Redding, even though they have frequent regular service. SB 742 (Allen) fixes that by authorizing a state or local government to enter into an agreement with Amtrak to provide for the intercity transportation of passengers by motor carrier over regular routes that are open to all riders, including passengers who are not connecting to a passenger rail service.This marks a long-desired change in the rules about Amtrak buses that will make intercity public transit more widely available.

Protecting the Active Transportation Program

SB 152 (Beall) would have changed the allocation of funds from the Active Transportation Program (ATP), which provides funding for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects, including Safe Routes to School. The bill would have granted most of the money directly to regional metropolitan transportation agencies instead of through competitive grants at the state level. This would have threatened the statewide competitive program, which is a model of transparency and equity. CalBike and its partners opposed this bill and helped to defeat it in the Senate.

Zero Fatalities Task Force Tackles Dangerous Street Design, Speeding

November 6, 2019/in Newsroom, The Latest /by Dave Snyder

In 2018, Governor Brown signed AB 2363 to establish the Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force to make recommendations for eliminating traffic fatalities in California. CalBike’s Executive Director, Dave Snyder, is a member of the task force.

The bill, authored by Assembly Member Laura Friedman, originally removed the 85th percentile rule in current law about setting speed limits. The rule requires government agencies to set the speed limit at or near the 85th percentile speed of existing traffic on the street or road. In other words, before setting enforceable speed limits, a city has to measure existing speeds, and use the speed of the third fastest car out of 20 to set the speed limit. This requirement has forced cities to actually increase speed limits on many streets, resulting in higher speeds, more crashes, more killings, and more devastating injuries.

Unfortunately, the bill’s provision to rescind this requirement was opposed by California’s AAA affiliates and other motorist advocacy organizations. In the end, the bill was amended to require a task force to study the issue.

That Task Force has held three of four scheduled meetings before the Secretary of Transportation David Kim must submit a report of the Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force’s findings to the Legislature. Its members have studied existing law and debated alternatives to the 85th percentile rule, the efficacy and feasibility of enforcement including automated enforcement (speed cameras), and the potential of engineering to reduce speeds and fatalities.

A key change to existing law that CalBike has advocated in these meetings is the ability to set speeds lower than 25 mph on neighborhood greenways and other streets. These are places where we want to encourage calm, livable streets safe for walking and biking. On streets with higher speed limits, equitable and automatic enforcement can reduce crashes and save lives of people walking and biking.

Another recommendation is an expansion of the kinds of streets and areas where local agencies may reduce the speed limit below what current law allows. The most important expansion would be on streets identified as “high injury corridors,” where speeding motor vehicles demonstrably cause deaths and serious injuries. Another expansion would broaden the definition of a business district or a school zone.

When the Task Force completes its work, CalBike, California Walks, and other allies will make sure the insights and recommendations from the Task Force are distributed broadly. More local partners and community members should be engaged in the discussion so that many more voices than were included in the Task Force can amplify the most important recommendations. Together, we can empower local residents and elected officials to set speed limits where they should be to support our goals of creating safe and healthy neighborhoods, and not crossed by streets designed for people to drive through quickly.

#CABikeSummit: the View from Twitter

October 23, 2019/in Newsroom, The Latest /by Dave Snyder

On October 15-17, 300 bicycle advocates, government officials, and planners gathered for the 2019 California Bicycle Summit. Participants recorded their reactions to the workshops, plenaries, and tours on Twitter. These #CABikeSummit tweets are a good way to view a cross-section of the Summit.

Here are the top baker’s dozen of tweets and Twitter threads from the California Bicycle Summit.

#1: The most liked tweet was an appropriately angry comment by Bike East Bay’s Robert Prinz in response to the very first speaker our Board Chair Cynthia Rose introduced. Its thread included a shout out to a later speaker, Assembly Member Laura Friedman, who said, “Caltrans needs an awakening if they think that moving Amazon packages is somehow more important than moving children safely through our streets.”

Caltrans D7 director at #CAbikeSummit welcome plenary just got up & basically said “Sorry not sorry about #SB127. Freight is important, how many of you use Amazon? Gotta have that Prime!”

Fuck. All. The. Way. Off. Times. ♾

— Robert Prinz (@prinzrob) October 15, 2019

#2: Here’s John Jones III ruminating on his experience at the Summit.

Reflections on the day. Thanks @lacbc @CalBike @LosRyderzBC #realrydazbc @sahrasulaiman @StreetsblogLA #calbikesummit #cabikesummit #teamesr #unitedriders #movingforward pic.twitter.com/YdUMLVhmkj

— eastsideriders (@EASTSIDERIDERS) October 17, 2019

#3: It wouldn’t be a true California Bicycle Summit without an ear to the south, where we hear BiciActiva Radio telling us about bicycle advocacy in Colombia.

Latin American perspectives at #CABikeSummit
Lorena Romero of @BiciactivaRadio explains that the bicycle movement in Bogotá is now much more than Ciclovia. pic.twitter.com/WmlIKMqQ8T

— California Bicycle Coalition (@CalBike) October 16, 2019

#4: “If you bike, you should run for office.”

"If you bike, you should run [for office.]" says cyclist Meghan Sahli-Wells, Mayor of Culver City. #CABikeSummit @M_Sahli_Wells pic.twitter.com/ZUDRlQcJiz

— California Bicycle Coalition (@CalBike) October 15, 2019

#5: BikeLA, keeping it real.

Has @MayorOfLA's office ever backed advocates on safe streets? He wants help but offers no support. #CABikeSummit

Spring St green lanes? ❌
Transit signal priority? ❌#Fig4All? ❌#HyperionBridge? ❌
Central Ave? ❌
Playa del Rey? ❌
Trashed bike lanes? ❌#JusticeForWoon? ❌ https://t.co/BZammQRUtw

— BikeLA (@Bike_LA) October 15, 2019

#6: How bikes fit into the Green New Deal was a popular session.

Had a blast presenting on biking's role in #California's climate strategy and effective #advocacy strategies. Thanks for inviting me @CalBike!#CABikeSummit #GreenNewDeal #GND #Climate #Climatecrisis #publichealth #CAPolitics https://t.co/3Yby9woj67

— Chris Chavez (@el_chaveezy) October 16, 2019

#7: We LOVED the bike rides, especially the LA River Tour. Thanks LACBC and Alta for sharing your love of and knowledge about the river and what it can do for Angelenos.

LA River bike tour, showing access points for the gap closure project and parks on or near the river. #CaBikeSummit #bikeLA pic.twitter.com/JuXM4WEX5u

— Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (@lacbc) October 17, 2019

#8: And the walking tour, too!

Finished up a walking tour to wrap up my time at #CaBikeSummit angels flight, parklets and bike infrastructure, oh my! pic.twitter.com/DT5fK7HgOk

— Esther (@EstherRiv27) October 17, 2019

#9: Yes we do, Bryn. Yes, we do.

The sharp @TamikaButler re. govrmnt-advocate relationship– When's it time 2 stop calling in 4 favors from friends on the inside & 2 start calling ppl out? We need to turn up the heat sometimes & tell ppl's bosses (our elected officials), but listen & talk w empathy#CaBikeSummit pic.twitter.com/LF9ZcBOj23

— Bryn Lindblad (@Bryn_Lindblad) October 15, 2019

#10: Thinking big.

By Brooke Dubose of @tooledesign:

A bike lane network needs to be treated as ONE project. Not numerous projects that will fracture implementation.

Community feedback isn’t about asking for permission. It’s about figuring out how to make it work.

💪💪

@CalBike #CABikeSummit pic.twitter.com/LSEgpJ1XlU

— Have A Go ⚡️🛹🛴🚲🛵 (@HaveAGo) October 16, 2019

#11: Perhaps the most beautiful bikeways in the world.

Sam Corbett of @altaplanning shows us Auckland’s beautiful bikeways #CaBikeSummit pic.twitter.com/iTZJ0pxWqV

— California Bicycle Coalition (@CalBike) October 16, 2019

#12: The last plenary was all love as Sahra Sulaiman of StreetsblogLA facilitated a conversation among South Los Angeles bike club leaders. We all agree, they are heroes.

a thread on our #CaBikeSummit session [p.s. yes, they are truly heroes] https://t.co/UPaD6Ue5j1

— sahra (@sahrasulaiman) October 17, 2019

#13: Art Ramirez invited the summit goers to his birthday party so our Executive Director took him up on the offer, joining them for a ride from South LA to downtown taking over the streets and protected bike lanes with gorgeous bikes and joyful faces.

My first ride in the #myfig protected bike lanes is a sweet one with ⁦@LosRyderzBC⁩ ⁦@EASTSIDERIDERS⁩. Thanks for inviting us at the #cabikesummit Art Ramirez. Happy birthday! pic.twitter.com/rIbjsrJFDe

— Dave Snyder (@dave_bikes) October 19, 2019

CalBike Statement on Complete Streets Veto

October 23, 2019/in The Latest /by Linda Khamoushian

On October 12th, Governor Newsom issued a veto of CalBike’s Complete Streets for Active Living Bill, SB 127.

What happened, Governor Newsom?

To say this was a disappointment is an understatement. Thousands of emails, hundreds of phone calls, overwhelming support from the State Legislature, and the support of more than 80 organizations—all this was insufficient to warrant the Governor’s approval.

Beyond our disappointment, the response was confusing. Governor Newsom has recently doubled down on the need to address the climate crisis, and issued an Executive Order that acknowledges that 40% of our carbon emissions in California come from the transportation sector, and that to meet our state climate goals we must change our transportation funding priorities. Specifically, he declared that the state should fund transportation options that reduce emissions and improve access to biking, walking, and transit. He must know that signing the Complete Streets for Active Living Bill not only would have been in direct alignment with this sentiment, but more importantly that it was the right thing to do.

We know that every day of inaction is a day that people risk losing their lives and their loved ones to traffic violence. The Complete Streets Bill would have made it clear to Caltrans, and would have bound them by law, to take people biking and walking into consideration when repairing or re-paving our streets. It would have made it possible for people to move safely through their communities, no matter how they choose to travel.

There was tremendous support for the Complete Streets Bill – thank you.

It was a very tough fight to pass the Complete Streets Bill, and reaching the Governor’s desk with a strong proposal was a feat of its own. We couldn’t have done it without support from our co-sponsors, supporters, and thousands of CalBike members over the past three years. Thank you for your emails and phone calls, for attending in-district meetings, for sharing your stories and making a personal investment in this work, for donating to support the campaign. Your efforts pushed this bill all the way through the legislature, and let lawmakers know how much Californians care about building safe streets.

Last week, CalBike held its biennial California Bicycle Summit in Los Angeles. More than 300 participants convened for 3 days of plenaries, panel discussions, workshops, bike rides, and social events. Coming off the heels of this veto, it was incredibly healing and inspiring to come together with a group of committed advocates, planners, and elected officials—people who understand the need for Complete Streets. The Summit was full of energy and ideas for how to transform our streets. It left us with hope that together, despite this recent defeat, we can change California for the better, making our streets safer, our transportation system sustainable, and our communities healthy.

CalBike will continue to press Caltrans to build Complete Streets.

While the Complete Streets Bill was not signed into law, we are not declaring defeat. In his veto message, Governor Newsom stated that he trusts that Caltrans, which is under new leadership starting this week, will deliver alternatives to driving. We’ll believe it when we see it. Now it’s incumbent on us to be a vigilant watchdog, and to push Caltrans to implement Complete Streets on its many surface streets—something that it has been unwilling to do in the past.

Governor Vetoes Complete Streets Bill – Chooses Against Safety

October 12, 2019/in Newsroom, Press Release, The Latest /by Dave Snyder

For Immediate Release: October 12, 2019

Contact:
Linda Khamoushian, California Bicycle Coalition, 916-668-9401, linda@calbike.org
Tony Dang, California Walks, 510-464-8052, tony@calwalks.org
Jamie Morgan, American Heart Association, 916-431-2359, Jamie.Morgan@heart.org
David Azevedo, AARP, 626-616-9539, dazevedo@aarp.org
Margo Pedroso, Safe Routes Partnership, 301-292-1043, margo@saferoutespartnership.org

SB 127: Gov. Gavin Newsom VETOES “COMPLETE STREETS” BILL

SACRAMENTO, Calif.– Late this evening, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the Complete Streets for Active Living Bill (Senate Bill 127) championed by Sen. Scott Wiener.

The bill would have required the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to consider bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements when it repairs or repaves state routes that serve as local streets. This bill aimed to ensure state roads that run through local communities (e.g. 19th Avenue in San Francisco, Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, San Pablo Avenue in the East Bay, Santa Rosa Street in San Luis Obispo) are safe for people to walk, bike and use wheelchairs along those routes.

The Complete Streets for Active Living Bill had strong and widespread support. A recent poll found that 78% of California voters support a policy requiring safety improvements when improving a road. They want children to be able to safely walk or bike to school. Hundreds of schools exist within a half-mile of a California State Route and these streets remain some of the deadliest in the state.

Linda Khamoushian, Senior Policy Advocate, California Bicycle Coalition,:
“Gov. Newsom’s decision blatantly ignores the immense support for this critical policy change. People risk their lives everyday just to walk or bike along dangerous state-owned streets. Without more aggressive complete streets policies, our transportation system will continue to operate business as usual. SB 127 was a rare opportunity to create livable streets for everyone. This decision was ill-informed by the faulty cost estimates from Caltrans that were proven illogical based on actual practice, and unfortunately will only perpetuate distrust without resolution. Communities demanded better from the Governor, but now are left in the dust.”

Jamie Morgan, Government Relations Regional Lead, American Heart Association:
“Californians want safer, more livable streets that support local businesses and local jobs. They want the ability to walk and bike safely. By vetoing SB 127, Gov. Newsom missed out on the opportunity to create more livable streets for our children, our residents and our communities.”

Tony Dang, Executive Director, California Walks:
“We are appalled by Governor Newsom’s decision to derail SB 127 despite overwhelming support by the public and the Legislature. Families and children deserve to be able to walk, bike, and cross their community’s local and main streets without fear–the veto of SB127 lets Caltrans off the hook and leaves the safety of our vulnerable residents to chance.”

Margo Pedroso, Deputy Director, Safe Routes Partnership:
“The Safe Routes Partnership is so disappointed that Governor Newsom vetoed the Complete Streets for Active Living Bill into law. As SB 127 made its way through the legislative process, it became clear that legislators understood this bill would create safe routes for everyone when Caltrans repaired state highways in populated areas. This legislation was a common-sense and cost-effective way to get more kids and families walking and biking to school safely when those schools are located next to state highways.”

COMPLETE STREETS BACKGROUND

In California from 2007-2013, nearly 1.7 million people were injured in traffic incidents, including 95,758 while walking along or across the street. In those crashes, 22,117 people were killed, with pedestrians accounting for one-fifth of the total persons killed. The problem is often concentrated around Caltrans roads that go through low-income neighborhoods where more people get around via transit, biking and walking.

Caltrans often claims to make streets safer when they repair them. But in practice, they prioritize fast traffic over the communities demanding more livable streets almost every single time. The Complete Streets for Active Living Bill would have brought safety improvements necessary to stop the killing and maiming on state-owned roads.

SB 127 Co-Sponsors:

California Bicycle Coalition, California Walks, American Heart Association, AARP, Safe Routes Partnership

Supporting Organizations:

350 Bay Area Action, 350 Silicon Valley, Active SGV, American Lung Association in California , Alameda County Transportation Commission, Berkeley Climate Hub, Bicycling Monterey, Bike Bakersfield, Bike Concord, Bike East Bay, Bike San Diego, Bike Santa Cruz County, Bike SLO County, BikeVentura, California Alliance for Retired Americans, California City Transportation Initiative/NACTO, California Democratic Party, California Interfaith Power & Light, California Park and Recreation Society, California ReLeaf, CALSTART Inc., CALPIRG, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Stockton, Cedars, Center for Climate Change and Health, Central California Asthma Collaborative, City Heights Community Development Corp., City of Encinitas, City of Half Moon Bay, City of Long Beach, City of Los Angeles, City of Oakland, City of Sacramento, City and County of San Francisco, City of Santa Monica, City of San Luis Obispo, Climate Action Campaign, ClimatePlan, Climate Resolve, Coalition for Clean Air, Coalition for Sustainable Transportation-Santa Barbara, Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, Costa Mesa Alliance for Better Streets, Compton Unified School District, Cultiva La Salud, Davis Bike Club, Day One, East Bay Recreational Park District, Elders Climate Action (NorCal), Environment California, Fossil Free California, Inland Empire Biking Alliance, Investing in Place, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, La Verne Bicycle Coalition, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, Local Government Commission, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Los Angeles Walks, Lyft Inc., Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Move LA, Napa County Bicycle Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Office of Mayor London Breed – San Francisco, Orange County Bicycle Coalition, Office of the Mayor, San Francisco, Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, Planning and Conservation League, PeopleforBikes, PolicyLink, Public Advocates, Redwood Community Action Agency, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Rural Counties Representative of California, Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, San Francisco Transportation Municipal Agency, San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco Planning Department, SFBA Families for Safe Streets, Santa Monica Spoke, Save The Bay, Seamless Bay Area, Shasta Living Streets, Sierra Club California, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, Sunflower Alliance, Transform, Transportation Agency for Monterey County, Trust for Public Land, Vision Zero Network, Walk Bike Berkeley, Walk & Bike Mendocino, Walk Oakland Bike Oakland, Walk Sacramento, Walk San Francisco, and Walk Long Beach.

How to Access State Funding for Bike Share and Micromobility for Your Community

September 29, 2019/in The Latest /by Dave Snyder

Join us for a free webinar on Tuesday October 8, at 10:00 a.m.

Are you working on bringing bike-share or scooter-share to your disadvantaged or low-income community? Can your community benefit from micromobility services but hasn’t seen any investment yet? You may be eligible for funding from the $20 million Clean Mobility Options for Disadvantaged Communities program, a program of the California Air Resources Board that supports these options as well as electric car-share and electric vanpool services. The program’s administrator, CALSTART, will start accepting applications in early 2020. Funding is first-come, first-serve, and applications submitted would need to meet minimum criteria to qualify.

Join us for a free webinar presentation to learn how you can bring bike-share and micromobility to your community. The webinar will be presented by Margarita Parra, Clean Mobility Equity Project Lead for GRID Alternatives. GRID is part of the Clean Mobility Options for Disadvantaged Communities Program administrator team that also includes CALSTART, Shared Use Mobility Center, and Local Government Commission.

Click here to register for this free webinar on Tuesday, October 8 at 10:00 am.