On May 3, 2021, at 1:00 pm Pacific time, CalBike will join our cosponsors of the Freedom to Walk Act (AB 1238, Ting) and leading experts on pedestrian safety to host a national panel discussion on decriminalizing jaywalking.
The discussion will be held on Zoom and all are welcome to attend. The event is free but preregistration is required.
CalBike is committed to reforming traffic laws to reduce inequities and racially biased policing. Eliminating laws against jaywalking is an essential step toward this goal. By co-sponsoring the Freedom to Walk Act, we hope to decriminalize jaywalking in California. But this movement should be national, so we created a webinar to connect people working on this issue from across the country.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Charles Brown of Equitable Cities and John Yi from Los Angeles Walks, a co-sponsor of AB 1238. The panelists are Angie Schmitt, Author of “Right of Way,” Caro Jauregui from California Walks (also a co-sponsor of AB 1238), Patrick Hope, a delegate in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Michael Kelley from Bike Walk Kansas City. Jared Sanchez from CalBike will introduce the session. Additional hosts are 3MPH Planning + Consulting and Arrested Mobility.
We look forward to this opportunity to build a national movement to decriminalize jaywalking. We hope you will join us.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Jaywalking-Webinar-flyer-cropped.jpg6051572Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-04-27 17:59:592021-04-27 18:00:28CalBike to Host National Panel on Decriminalizing Jaywalking
Assembly Transportation Committee Supports Freedom to Walk Act
First Step to Decriminalize Jaywalking in California
Sacramento – The California Assembly Transportation Committee voted 12-2 to support AB 1238, the Freedom to Walk Act. This measure will eliminate jaywalking laws, making it legal for pedestrians to make mid-block crossings and cross against traffic lights.
The Freedom to Walk Act, sponsored by Assemblymember Phil Ting, is a necessary step to right historic injustices. Jaywalking citations are disproportionately issued to Black Californians, and policing these infractions provides an opportunity for biased and pretextual policing. Decriminalizing jaywalking will remove an unjust burden from low-income Californians, who can least afford to pay the fines. Low-income residents are also more likely to live in neighborhoods that lack infrastructure for people who walk, making jaywalking unavoidable.
‘’We applaud the Assembly Transportation Committee for advancing this important bill,” said Jared Sanchez, CalBike Senior Policy Advocate. “Their strong support is a sign that California is ready to leave these regressive and oppressive laws in the dustbin of history, where they belong.”
“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.
“The decriminalization of “jaywalking” is the first step in ensuring a culture of belonging on our streets for all road users. We will continue to work towards ending the current dangerous car culture across the state that is accepted as the norm and prioritizes drivers, “ 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. To date, more than 85 groups and individuals have signed on to a letter supporting AB 1238. Supporters include the Ella Baker Center, Courage California, Disability Rights California, and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. Elected leaders supporting the measure include Berkeley City Councilmember Rigel Robinson, Albany Mayor Ge’Nell Gary, and Albany Vice Mayor, Preston Jordan.
After COVID sidetracked much of California’s legislative agenda (and all of CalBike’s bills) in 2020, this year is off to a busy start. CalBike 2021 legislation includes three bills we are sponsoring that will be crucial in creating a more equitable, bicycling-friendly California. Your team in Sacramento is actively working on four additional bills and keeping an eye on another 16 pieces of legislation.
CalBike’s sponsored bills
In 2020, we laid out a plan for reducing the role of police in traffic enforcement. Every pretext for a police stop is an opportunity for police to target, harass, and attack Black and brown Californians.
It will take more than a change in traffic laws to change a culture of brutality toward BIPOC people from law enforcement. However, we think that two bills we’re sponsoring that legalize commonsense behaviors help reduce opportunities for pretextual policing.
Authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting, this bill will repeal jaywalking laws. It makes legal the common practice of safely crossing a street mid-block or crossing against the light if there’s no traffic present.
Decriminalizing walking across the street is a step toward correcting years of neglected infrastructure. Many residents of underserved neighborhoods have no choice but to “jaywalk” on streets without adequate sidewalks, crosswalks, or traffic controls. In addition, jaywalking is inequitably enforced, with Black Californians more than four times as likely to be stopped as their white counterparts.
The Freedom to Walk Act will take off the books a “crime” that harms no one and often reflects commonsense choices by pedestrians in a car-centric world.
In 1982, Idaho made it legal for people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields. Many states have since followed suit, including Oregon, Washington, and Delaware. A study from Delaware found that, after the bike-stop-as-yield became law, crashes involving bikes and cars at intersections decreased by 23%. This bill will bring California in line with our West Coast neighbors and improve bike safety.
If AB 122 becomes law, it will be legal for people on bikes to do what most of us already do: slow down at a stop sign, proceed if the way is clear, or stop and yield to pedestrians or other traffic. Legalizing the bicycle safety stop also counters racial disparities by removing one more pretext for potentially lethal police traffic stops.
The Assembly approved the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill on April 22, by a vote of 53-11. We’ll need your help to get it through the California Senate. In the meantime, sign the petition to show your support for the Bicycle Safety Stop Law.
CalBike’s E-Bike Affordability Program
Our third sponsored bill is part of a campaign that CalBike has been working on for several years. We know that e-bikes are very effective at replacing car trips, and we know we need to drastically reduce driving to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. In 2019, we passed SB 400, which added e-bikes to the Clean Cars 4 All program. This year, we’re looking for greatly expanded funding to make e-bikes affordable to more Californians.
The E-Bike Affordability Bill creates a program to give purchase incentives for e-bikes, much like the electric car program run by the state. However, the bill doesn’t set the amount of funding. In addition to passing AB 117, we will advocate for initial funding of $10 million for e-bikes in the budget process.
The E-Bike Affordability Bill unanimously passed the Assembly Transportation Committee and will soon be ready for a floor vote. We need lots of support to make this vital program a reality. Sign the petition to demand that California subsidize e-bikes as it does electric cars.
Other priority legislation
CalBike is supporting or opposing several additional bills. We are working to ensure that the needs of people who rely on active transportation are heard in Sacramento.
Improving transportation planning
AB 1147: Transportation Plan Improvements (Friedman)
AB 1147 will require regional transportation agencies to ensure that their transportation plans meet California’s goals to reduce the miles people travel in their cars. It calls for a grant program to build the safe biking infrastructure to achieve a “15-minute city.” That’s a place where every typical destination can be reached by most people with a 15-minute bike ride. CalBike is working with the author to ensure that the grant program incentivizes city leaders to build truly effective networks, even when they impact car traffic or parking.
Opposing a threat to bike and scooter sharing
AB-371: Death to Shared Mobility Bill (Jones-Sawyer)
AB 371 rehashes an onerous insurance requirement that CalBike managed to kill in the legislature last year. It would require scooter and bike-share systems to carry insurance not just to cover their legitimate liability for product defects and malfunctions (which they already do) but to cover any injury to someone using their systems, no matter what the cause. The cost of this would drive micromobility systems out of California. Plus, there’s no carve-out for municipal systems, like the one operated by LA’s Metro or nonprofit bike libraries. We support a provision in the bill to make devices accessible to vision-impaired people for reporting purposes, but the rest of this measure is toxic. CalBike is working hard to defeat it.
This measure will allow six California cities to establish pilot programs to enforce speed limits with cameras. The cities on the list are Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco in northern California; Los Angeles and two other cities to be determined in Southern California. The bill imposes strict limits on programs to protect privacy and limit fines (including add-on fees) to $125. Automated enforcement of speed limits has proven to reduce crashes dramatically. Because of the limitations included in this bill, CalBike may make an exception to our typical refusal to support enforcement as a traffic safety strategy.
Lowering speed limits for safety
AB 43: Makes It Easier to Lower Speed Limits (Friedman, Ting, Chiu, and Quirk)
AB 43 reforms the infamous 85th percentile rule. This rule requires agencies to set speed limits at the nearest 5-mph increment to the speed of the 15th fastest driver out of 100. In effect, this rewards drivers for speeding. The bill will broaden exceptions to the rule and allow for speed limits as low as 20 mph and 15 mph. Lower speeds are crucial for neighborhood Slow Streets.
CalBike 2021 legislation watch list
The bills we are watching include measures to do away with parking minimums in buildings near transit, setbacks to keep oil drilling away from homes and schools, school zone speed cameras, and more. Our Legislative Watch page has the full rundown, including the latest status of all this year’s bills.
CalBike couldn’t do the work we do in Sacramento to stand up for active transportation and people who ride bikes without the support of our many members. Please consider joining or renewing your membership today.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/California_State_Capitol_in_Sacramento.jpg10001500Kevin Claxtonhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngKevin Claxton2021-04-23 17:46:592021-04-27 18:03:10Roundup of CalBike 2021 Legislation
Earth Day Victory for Bicycling CalBike’s Bicycle Safety Stop Bill Passes Assembly
Today, the California Assembly took a historic step by voting 53 to 11 in favor of the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill (AB 122, Boerner Horvath, Friedman, Ting). Most Democrats and two Republicans supported the bill. 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.
“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.”
“Bicycling is good for California in so many ways: it improves our health, our economy, and our environment. We’re grateful to our thousands of members who agree with that and contacted their assembly members to ask them to remove this nonsensical obstacle to safe and reasonable biking,” said Dave Snyder, Executive Director of CalBike.
The Bicycle Safety Stop Bill doesn’t change existing right-of-way laws. Instead, AB 122 reforms the rules of the road to conform to safe and logical bike riding. It will improve predictability at intersections and mutual respect among road users.
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. CalBike has created a video to explain how the bicycle safety stop works.
After unsuccessful attempts at passing this legislation in the past, CalBike pursued the issue this year in an environment of growing support for reducing the police role in traffic enforcement. Unnecessary laws that are difficult to follow pose a risk of traffic stops with tragic endings for people riding bikes, especially Black and Latinx people.
CalBike’s E-Bike Affordability Bill (AB 117) had its first victory on Monday when the Assembly Transportation Committee voted unanimously in support of this essential program. Committee Chair Laura Friedman and Member Buffy Wicks asked to be included as co-authors.
Dave Snyder, Vista City Councillor Corinna Contreras, and a number of representatives of environmental groups and individuals spoke in support of the bill during the hearing. Brian Simmons testified eloquently about how his e-bike was essential to his mental and physical healing after losing a leg in military service. Nobody spoke in opposition.
The bill is part of CalBike’s $10M E-Bike Affordability Program. Introduced by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, AB 117 establishes an e-bike purchase incentive program which through grants and vouchers will help make e-bikes affordable and accessible to thousands of Californians. Prior to approval, CalBike coordinated amendments among stakeholders to specify the goals of the program. Amendments also removed any reference to funding the program. For the promise of AB 117 to become real, legislators must separately include the $10 million in the state budget.
“The budget process will be key,” said Dave Snyder, CalBike’s Executive Director. “This will be meaningless without a healthy amount of funding.” The $10 million CalBike hopes to win in the 2022 budget is slated to cover the first several years of the program. Snyder hopes that e-bike purchase incentives will be so popular and successful that the state will soon allocate $10 million annually for e-bike purchase incentives.
Funding is the key to removing barriers to e-bike adoption
E-bikes are not only greener than electric cars; they also help people lead more active, healthier lives. And the electricity to power an e-bike costs less than $0.01 per mile.
The biggest barrier to e-bike adoption has been the price. Simple e-bikes of good quality cost more than $1,500, and many of the most useful bikes can cost more than $4,000, well out of the price range for low-income Californians. CalBike’s goal for the program is to connect 10,000 Californians with affordable e-bikes.
The next big test for AB 117 will be the vote on the floor. Many of you emailed your representatives on the Transportation Committee to build support for e-bike purchase incentives. We’ll put out a similar call when the bill comes up for a vote on the Assembly Floor.
But the bigger test for the program will be the budget process. “It’s one thing for legislators to say they support the program in theory,” said Snyder. “It’s more important for them to support it in the budget.”
On Monday, CalBike brings on board a campaign manager to help us win the budget fight. Your support will be critical. Please sign our petition, and include your address, so we know which district you live in to coordinate our advocacy. And please share the petition in your networks.
We can’t avoid the worst effects of climate change unless we transition our transportation sector to cleaner vehicles—quickly. E-bikes are one of the best ways to replace car trips with clean, green transportation. Your support will help us pass and fund this important e-bike affordability program.
Californians need to drive less to mitigate the climate crisis, but we don’t always have convenient public transit options. E-bikes replaces car trips to school, work, and on errands. In fact, studies have shown that e-bikes are one of the best ways to liberate people from the burden of car travel. That’s why CalBike is campaigning hard for our $10 million e-bike affordability program.
When we asked for e-bike stories, many of you told us that your e-bikes have replaced car trips and, sometimes, allowed you to go car-free. Here are a few of those stories.
Matt Hill, San Francisco
I got my first e-bike almost four years ago, and it completely changed my life. I live in San Francisco with two kids, and I stopped driving completely. I never look for parking anymore, which is an amazing mental health benefit. The whole family spends much more time outside, which is great, and I get more exercise.
After about a year with the e-bike, I sold my car, which reduced our transportation costs significantly (maintenance, insurance, gas, parking, etc.). I almost never use a car anymore, except for road trips. I probably ride 25 miles per week.
This past year, I upgraded to an electric bakfiets, because our kids are getting bigger, and we got a dog. With the bigger e-cargo bike, I can haul tons of stuff. We do beach days by bike — carrying boogie boards, wetsuits, picnic supplies, the dog, chairs, etc. We also go crabbing on the municipal pier by bike. There’s pretty much nothing we can’t do in San Francisco by e-bike that we could do by car. It’s truly amazing.
Phil Hong, Torrance
My e-bike has made biking a dependable and desirable way to get around my neighborhood.
Walking doesn’t make sense in my suburban neighborhood because everything is at least 15-20 minutes away by foot. Manual biking was always an option but arriving sweaty at my destination was never appealing. My e-bike has given me the option to bike to meetings, the mailbox, grocery stores, hardware stores, and the local parks.
Wherever I go on my e-bike I arrive fresh and energized. Parking is easy because I just need to locate the nearest bike rack, railing, or pole. Whenever I can bike, the car stays at home. I play tennis at least twice per week, go to the grocery store twice per week, and visit my post office mailbox twice per week. I am averaging 25 miles per week on my e-bike.
My e-bike can travel 30 miles before needing to recharge and a full recharge costs less than $0.10. Compare that to $5-10 in my gas car for fuel and maintenance, and it’s easy to see how e-bikes can revolutionize life for many but especially lower-income families. My e-bike has made going places much more enjoyable and it has made the car a much less important part of my life.
Lisa Reinker, San Carlos
I love my e-bike! I ride it to work every day as well as running errands. It’s so much more versatile than a car, and I never have to worry about finding or paying for parking. In traffic, I’m often faster than the Teslas and it’s so much more relaxing than being behind the steering wheel.
I make sure to drive my car once weekly to keep the tires ok, but other than that, my e-bike has pretty much replaced my car.
E Lebel, Menlo Park
In about a year, my e-bike has traveled over 1500 miles, replacing about 15% of my annual car mileage. In a post-pandemic world where I will have more places to go around town, I suspect this number will increase.
Riding the bike is usually at worst the same time as driving and most times faster than driving if going anywhere in Menlo Park or Palo Alto.
Erik Hovland, Glendale
I recently purchased a used e-bike on a lark. Turns out that the majority of my biking and the majority of my under 5 mile trips are now made by e-bike. It has had a transformative effect on short commutes and work commutes. The major benefit is the certainty that if I take my e-bike to work, I will be there in about 30 minutes and I will be home in about 30 minutes. This vastly improves my daily life.
I now regularly use my e-bike to take short trips. My trips to the hardware store and the grocery store are almost exclusively by e-bike at this point.
Phoebe Ford, San Francisco
I moved to San Francisco in 2015, worked very long hours at a start-up, and spent a big part of my paycheck on rent for a tiny studio in the Mission. I started bike commuting then, a pretty flat ride into Soma. In 2016 I moved in with my husband, which meant moving up a hill. I immediately felt trapped — I dreaded going down for any reason because I’d have to bike or walk back up. My e-bike, purchased about 1 month after moving, transformed my relationship to that apartment and SF city biking overall.
On my ‘classic’ bike, I found excuses not to ride. A late night at the office? Uber. Rainy? BART. Groceries? Walking over to the corner store. With my e-bike, I ride more, I ride farther, and I carry more cargo. I’ve put over 2000 miles on my e-bike every year since I’ve owned it, mostly commuting, but also every other local trip — to the movies, to the grocery store, to yoga, even to Lowes. I rode it until the day I went into labor with my first child. After my son was born, my husband and I added an e-cargo bike so we could take him out with us. We chose a front bucket bike to fit an infant car seat, to keep him protected, and us on the move in the months before he could sit in a child bike seat.
I still don’t own a car. I read recently that the average car payment is $572/month and I honestly cannot imagine fitting that into our household budget — not with pre-school kids in childcare. And I wouldn’t want to– we’d miss out on all the fun we have because our daily trips are outdoors on a bike.
Mark Maxwell, Ventura
I love, love, love my e-bike! It has replaced my car for all my day-to-day activities, including my daily commute, shopping trips and recreation for the last three years. It’s is so much fun to ride. There is a certain thrill in the acceleration of an electric motor! I love my bike’s throttle.
I also feel safer on my electric bike, because I am able to choose routes that are the safest, often on side streets, or along bike paths, routes I wouldn’t have taken on my regular pedal bike as I would want to keep my route short and flat to conserve my own energy (and knees), and to save time. I used to ride my regular bike down the east end of Main St. in Ventura, an obnoxious six-lane commercial stretch full of freeway ramps, left and right turn pockets, a Target center and fast food stores. Just not a nice place to ride a bike. Now I ride my e-bike up and out of my way on mostly residential Loma Vista St., which is wide, has excellent bike lanes and is lightly travelled. I would never have gone up Loma Vista on my pedal bike.
When I do drive a car lately, I am reminded of all the many instances of frustration, anxiety, and road rages big and small which don’t really present themselves while I am riding my bike. Driving can be a drag, especially during daily commutes and running errands in commercial areas. On my bike, I’m just zipping along past all that stuff. I get in my car once a week, if that. I can’t tell you the last time I filled my gas tank.
Do you have a story about how e-bikes replace car trips in your life? Or perhaps you’d love to own an e-bike but the price is too steep without help from a plan like CalBike’s E-Bike Affordability Program? Tweet your e-bike story @CalBike or share it with us on Facebook using the hashtag #ebikestories.
Do you believe everyone deserves to be able to purchase an e-bike? Support CalBike’s campaign to create a $10 million e-bike afforadbility program. Sign our petition.
MIT Press has just published an important new book of scholarly research on bicycle trends: Cycling for Sustainable Cities. The book covers topics ranging from safe bicycle infrastructure to social justice considerations for bicycle planning to cycling in a variety of cities and countries around the globe. It is an essential volume, filled with actionable data, that will instantly become essential for bike planners and advocates.
An essential and accessible reference for bicycle advocates
While the chapters are surveys of scholarly research, the writing style is accessible and the information is easy to digest. The contributors include bicycle advocates and bike program managers, as well as academics. CalBike’s Executive Director, Dave Snyder, is one of the authors of the chapter about cycling advocacy on three continents (North America, Europe, and Australia).
Whatever bicycle transportation topic you want to nerd out about, you’ll probably find it here. The chapter on bicycle parking is a welcome reference on a vital but too often overlooked topic. The bikeshare chapter includes valuable insights about what leads bikesharing systems to success or failure.
The chapter on e-bikes covers a subject that is at the top of mind at CalBike. The e-bike research showed that, given the chance to try out e-bikes, people start to use bikes for more and longer trips. But, not surprisingly, surveys find that e-bike riders trend older and wealthier. CalBike’s e-bike affordability program is a great way to bridge that gap and get more people on e-bikes.
“It’s rare that a scholarly book of data and research can serve as an essential reference in the age of global internet searches, but this is that book,” said Snyder. “It’s like a guidebook for bicycle advocacy and planning.”
Cycling for Sustainable Cities is an enlightening read as well as an excellent reference book. It’s a must-read for bicycle advocates.
Join a webinar for a deep dive into Cycling for Sustainable Cities
The first webinar on the book takes place on March 31. Anyone can register.
What: Zoom webinar hosted by the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Authority (MPO)
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email from Eventbrite with information about joining the webinar. You’ll get a Zoom link and password, both specific to you, which you will need to access the webinar on March 31.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/party-slider.jpg2961030Laura McCamyhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngLaura McCamy2021-03-30 15:56:552021-03-30 17:40:31Book Review: Cycling for Sustainable Cities
One of the main things that people use their cars for is running errands. Most of those trips are short enough to take by bike. When you add an electric boost, the remaining barriers melt away. When CalBike asked you to share e-bike stories to support our campaign for a $10 million e-bike affordability program, many of you told us how much you love running errands on an e-bike. Here are a few of those stories.
Eli Akira Kaufman, Los Angeles
In December, we welcomed a new member to our family [pictured in the featured image] and determined to expose our baby to the joy, health benefits, self-reliance, and sustainability of bicycling invested in an e-cargo bike. Of all the baby gear we’ve gotten, our e-bike is hands down the most essential to our health and happiness as a growing family.
We use our e-bike daily to get outside exercise, run errands around the neighborhood (especially trading baby items with our local https://buynothingproject.org/ group), and to stay connected with the people and places we love. We are replacing an average of 20 dreadful car miles with glorious bike miles per week and Gia is only eight weeks old!
Meghan Sahli-Wells (& Karim Sahli), Culver City
My husband and I bought e-bikes and consequently got rid of our car (we still have a minivan for work and camping). I had long been a bike commuter, but my husband had not. Our e-bikes have allowed us to go further, faster & have replaced all but a very small number of trips. We’ve been working from home, so our trips are mostly short ones to the grocery store, hardware store, doctor, etc. We’re saving money on insurance and gas, while boosting our health & the health of the planet.
It’s been transformational!
Sasha Kinney, Sacramento
I LOVE my e-bike. I use it in place of my car. Grocery trips, friends’ houses, bike rides for the hell of it all happen on my e-bike. I love the speed of it (20 mph), that I can coast, pedal or not pedal, and carry lots of stuff (I have a front basket, back rack, and a trailer if I need it). I am always recommending that family members and friends buy an e-bike for commuting.
I also use my e-bike for Mercy Pedalers, a non-profit that delivers goods to people experiencing homelessness. (photo attached). And I use it to go to the grocery store, which is a couple of miles from my house. I ride my bike about 10 miles a week.
Peter Spirer, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles
My e-bike arrived in October. Since then I’ve ridden over 350 miles. I travel for light groceries food pickups and errands around town. I’ve cut the use of my car down to only a few days a week. One of the benefits of having an e-bike is that I’ve spent a third of what I used to on gas. I like to bike before but could not go down the hill and come up easily which the e-bike has made easy. I’ve replaced many of my trips with my e-bike. More people should be traveling by e-bike.
Maureen Persico, San Francisco
My car was destroyed by an uninsured driver. Decided to take a risk and put insurance money toward a top e-bike. I live in a city with lots of hills so I needed a dependable bike with a strong motor. My spouse agreed if I promised we’d buy a car later. Well, we’ve never looked back.
Been car-free for 10 years now. I get more exercise, and while people my age slowly gain weight I’ve been able to maintain my weight and health thanks to using a bicycle as my main method of transportation.
Buying my e-bike was a major step on a life transformation. I created a program with a non-profit where I packed and delivered by e-bike donated art supplies to schools and museums throughout San Francisco. I connected with bicycle and car-free activists on Twitter and we advocate and politically support bicycle infrastructure in the City.
I co-created People Protected (@PeopleProtected), which calls bicycle infrastructure advocates together to stand on the painted bike lane line to protect bicyclists from car traffic. It’s an idea that has spread to eight countries. I was honored by the San Francisco Bike Coalition and The New Wheel bike shop for this work. I’ve created #We Are Fragile art installations which I place on Slow Streets. All this because I bought an e-bike and ditched my car.
Do you have a story about running errands on an e-bike? Or riding on steep terrain, riding with age, or another tale of happy e-biking that you’d like to share? Tweet your e-bike story @CalBike or share it with us on Facebook using the hashtag #ebikestories.
Do you believe everyone deserves to be able to purchase an e-bike? Support CalBike’s campaign to create a $10 million e-bike afforadbility program. Sign our petition.
CalBike Announces New Legislation to Eliminate Jaywalking Tickets in California
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:
Legalizing crossings, when safe, outside of a marked or unmarked crosswalk or against a traffic light;
Stopping the undue financial burden of jaywalking tickets on low-income people, whose fines can range to hundreds of dollars, if not more, because of added fees tacked on by the court, county, city, and others;
Preventing police from using jaywalking as a pretext to stop Black Californians; and
Ending the criminalization of people in disadvantaged communities that lack adequate pedestrian infrastructure.
“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.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/jaywalking-scaled.jpeg14552560Jared Sanchezhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngJared Sanchez2021-03-25 13:03:432021-03-30 16:09:59CalBike Announces New Legislation to Eliminate Jaywalking Tickets in California
On March 22, 2021, the Assembly Transportation Committee approved the Safety Stop Bill (AB 122, Boerner-Horvath). The CalBike-sponsored legislation will make it legal for bikes to treat stop signs as yields. If the Safety Stop Bill wins the support of the entire legislature, bicyclists can proceed without stopping if there is no other traffic in the intersection and it’s safe to proceed.
At the hearing, Assemblymembers Laura Friedman and Buffy Wicks signed on as co-sponsors. CalBike Executive Director Dave Snyder was among those who spoke in support. The bill passed out of committee by a vote of 10-4.
The Safety Stop is safer: a similar law in Delaware led to a 23% reduction in bicycle crashes at intersections.
Safety stop wins wide support, narrow opposition
The list of supporters of the Safety Stop Bill is a who’s who of bicycle advocacy and active transit organizations from across California. The bill got statewide support from groups like the Safe Routes Partnership, PolicyLink, Transform, and California Walks, among others. National bicycle champions People for Bikes also signed on in support, as did the Berkeley City Council.
The only group that signed on to oppose the Safety Stop Bill is the California Association of Highway Patrolmen. Apparently, the CHP wants to protect its right to cite less than 200 bicyclists a year for this safe and commonsense behavior. Two AAA clubs opposed the bill unless the committee made specific revisions. The committee did not make AAA’s suggested revisions, though it did make modifications to the bill’s language. The committee also added a sunset date of 2028. The safety stop will no longer be legal at that time unless the legislature takes action to make it permanent.
What’s next for the Safety Stop Bill
The next stop for the Safety Stop Bill is the full Assembly. Your calls and emails to your assembly members will help ensure that the safety stop wins the votes it needs to move on to the Senate. We’ll let you know when it’s time to step up for the Safety Stop Bill.
https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Palo-Alto-Bicycle-Boulevard-WEBSITE-2-1290x600-1.jpg6001290Kevin Claxtonhttps://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.pngKevin Claxton2021-03-23 15:48:562021-03-24 15:29:40Safety Stop Wins Support of Transportation Committee