Our Initiatives

Current CalBike Campaigns and Projects

The Freedom to Walk Act

The Freedom to Walk Act will repeal jaywalking laws in California. It will legalize safe, commonsense street crossing, when traffic permits, whether or not a pedestrian is within a marked/unmarked crosswalk or the walk cycle of a traffic signal. It will remove a pretext for over-policing that has disproportionately hurt Black and Latinx Californians. It will eliminate burdensome and inequitable fines. It will restore dignity and convenience to people using our public roadways to visit friends, catch the bus, walk to work, and enjoy their community.

$10M E-Bike Affordability Program

On an e-bike, hills are flattened, distances shortened, and strenuous trips are made easy. Getting e-bikes into the hands of more people can dramatically increase bicycling, as people who wouldn’t normally bike are able to forego their cars. California offers financial incentives to people who buy electric cars; it should provide the same for people who buy e-bikes. CalBike is sponsoring AB 117, the E-Bike Affordability Bill, plus a $10 million allocation in the budget process, to provide purchase incentives to help Californians buy e-bikes.

Legalize the Bicycle Safety Stop

The Bicycle Safety Stop, sometimes called the Idaho stop, legalizes commonsense bicycling behavior. People on bikes slow as they approach stop signs and look both ways. If there is traffic, they stop; if not, they roll safely through the intersection. This is safe and smart bike riding; legalizing this move will make the road safer for all users. It will also reduce opportunities for police harassment of BIPOC Californians. CalBike is sponsoring AB 122, the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill, to make our streets safer and more equitable.

Passing Bike-Friendly Legislation in Sacramento

Every year, legislators introduce nearly 3,000 bills to change state law. The California Bicycle Coalition monitors each one of those bills. We are your voice to support the good ones and oppose the bad ones. You can watch, too. We update our Legislative Watch page regularly.

Get a Free Copy of CalBike’s Quick-Build Guide

CalBike has partnered with Alta Planning + Design to create a guide for projects that can be built quickly and with minimal expense. This free guide will help California communities build the safe streets we need now. Download your free copy.

Complete Streets: Demanding Bike Lanes and Safe Crossings from Caltrans

Streets are not just for cars, but too often state DOT officials forget about everything else when they repair or repave state-owned roads. Thanks to CalBike’s relentless pressure on lawmakers and engagement with officials at every level of Caltrans, biking and walking safety are finally being considered on most projects. We have a long way to go before safety gets the priority it deserves and we need you to help us make this change.

Inside Bikerowave community bicycle shop

Supporting Nonprofit Community Bike Shops

Everyone needs a bike shop nearby. In disadvantaged neighborhoods, nonprofit community bike shops are often the first and only option for purchase, repairs, and maintenance. They offer cheaper alternatives to mobility. They create jobs and promote community. Join us to support these vital organs of our communities across California.

Boosting Bike Tourism to Lift Local Economies

Bike tourism is a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Bike campers, families with kids in tow, and people on day rides all support local businesses and foster community and cultural understanding. Thanks to a state grant, CalBike and the county governments of Tuolumne, Alpine, Calaveras, San Joaquin and Stanislaus are collaborating to identify opportunities to improve bicycling for visitors and residents alike.

Bike the Vote

Every two years, voters send 120 Assembly Members and Senators to Sacramento to make policy on behalf of 40 million Californians. The California Bicycle Coalition engages in key districts to help get bike-friendly candidates elected, and to remove opponents. We also weigh in on key ballot measures. Democracy requires informed voters; CalBike delivers the information so you can make an informed choice.

California Bicycle Summit

Every two years, CalBike brings together movers and shakers in sustainable transportation: planners, government officials, politicians, agency staff, bicycle activists. During three jam-packed days of presentations, panels, lively discussions, and fun social events, people from across California’s diverse communities come together to learn, listen, and share. The next Summit will be held in October of 2021. Explore our past summits.

Central Valley Bikeways Project - Bakersfield

Bringing Safe Bikeways to Central Valley Cities

California is investing billions in new train stations in the Central Valley but, so far, nearly nothing to make it safe to ride your bike to the stations! Thanks to a state grant, CalBike is working with Caltrans and the Kern County Council of Governments to fix this glaring oversight, improve bike share in Bakersfield, and develop a long-distance intercity bike route from Merced to Bakersfield.

Better Bikeway Design

Why are streets designed to make it safe to drive fast but dangerous to cross on foot? Why are bike lanes in the door zone? The answer: that’s what the design manual says. CalBike is a leader in pushing for progressive changes to our state’s dangerously outdated roadway design guidelines. In 2014, we legalized protected bike lanes—lanes with a physical barrier between bike and car traffic.

Bike Sharing for Everyone

Bike share can transform transportation for disadvantaged communities. It makes transit convenient by bridging that last mile. It’s affordable, safe, and healthy. But our reliance on for-profit companies for bike share means it only exists in the state’s richest communities. Public agencies should subsidize bike share like transit, providing affordable service everywhere it’s needed.

Bike for a Healthy California Specialty License Plate

If you have a car, the least you can do to support better bicycling is to show your support on your license plate by ordering a “Bicycle for a Healthy California” specialty license plate. Proceeds from plate sales will generate millions of dollars for bike advocacy in communities throughout California.

What We Did

Past CalBike campaigns and projects.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

California will never have the equitable, prosperous and inclusive communities that CalBike advocates for until we address and redress anti-Black violence. We want to actively contribute to ending systemic racism, especially in transportation policy, and most especially in bicycling advocacy. We promise to listen and learn how we can best do this work. To our community members who experience the violence of racism on a daily basis: we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you.

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California Bicycle Coalition | 1017 L Street, #288, Sacramento, CA 95814 | 916-778-0746

Made by Zac Maybury