2015 California Bicycle Summit
The 2015 California Bicycle Summit: Equity in Motion, held October 25-28 in San Diego brought together more than 250 people who care about bicycling, and gave them an opportunity to learn, reflect, and forge connections with one another. They participated in 37 workshops, nine plenary speeches, three bike rides, and three great parties. You can find presentations from most of the workshops by following the links indicated in the full program.
“I took away a renewed commitment to work on equity in our city, I was inspired by many of the efforts going on all over the state, and I felt like there is a community of people who care about the same things I do and that resources are out there to help me address problems,” said Blair Miller, a volunteer bicycle advocate from Pasadena.
The diverse group of participants included bicycle advocates, planners, bicycle industry representatives, elected officials, and activists for racial, gender, and economic equity. Activists from around the state—and around the world!—shared their successes and challenges in promoting equity and community building through bicycling; planners and policymakers shared exciting changes afoot in the private and public sectors; and all of us participated in challenging discussions on how the bicycle advocacy movement can better include and benefit California’s diverse communities.
“The conference was replete with sessions on what to do and how to do” many kinds of bike advocacy and “the focus on equity was uncomfortable but extremely correct. We are talking about resolving many decades of institutional racism and white and class power and privilege to make things just. I’m glad we recognized that as a whole group. It will take time and effort,” said another participant.
The summit was inspiring and informative, raising as many questions as it answered. Several commenters noted that the theme of equity wasn’t reflected in the expensive location that kept too many people away—despite the 73 scholarships provided by CalBike and its sponsors. Participants were variously energized by the theme, annoyed by it, or felt it could have gone further. The sessions were widely loved.
SCHEDULE
Sunday, October 25 12:00-6:00. Lunch plenary, followed by workshops. 6:00-9:00. Opening Reception at Silo at Makers’ Quarter. No-host bar.
Monday, October 26 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Breakfast plenary, workshops, lunch keynote address, more workshops. 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. VIP event, drinks and snacks included.
Tuesday, October 27 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Networking breakfast, workshops, lunch keynote, more workshops. 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Party with the Bike Coalition of San Diego County
Wednesday, October 28 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon Bicycle and Walking Tours of San Diego
PROGRAM
The summit’s program included 40 sessions on the topics of bicycling and equity and the intersection of the two, plus several key plenaries, including speeches from the Director of the California Department of Transportation, the Director of the Equity Initiative of the League of American Bicyclists. Summit attendees will learn about topics in any of the following tracks:
- Open Streets — get the best advice on how to create or improve an Open Streets event in your community, sponsored by CicLAvia.
- Building Better Bikeways — latest and best practice in (re-)designing our streets and paths to create networks of low-stress bikeways connecting our destinations, sponsored by Alta Planning + Design.
- Movement Building — learn from the best among California’s bicycle advocates how to strengthen your voice for more bicycle-friendly communities.
- Prosperity — biking is good business, and good for the economy.
- Education — best practices in educating drivers and bicyclists about safe sharing of the roads.
- Enforcement — what role does enforcement play in promoting more safe bicycling?
- Communications — using new and traditional media to reach all Californians effectively.
The issue of equity — bicycling’s intersection with class, race and gender, including such topics as gentrification, multicultural outreach, women in leadership, and making bike share equitable — was integrated in every track.
SPONSORS:
Sponsors helped make the event a success by enabling scholarships that made the event more inclusive. Thanks!
