On August 20, CalBike held its latest online Summit Session: Bike Highways: Creating a Path to the Future of Bicycling. Panelists included two staffers from Assemblymember Steve Bennett’s office, Arwen Chenery and Atticus Reyes. Bennett authored the Bike Highway Bill, which CalBike is sponsoring. We also heard from Mauricio Hernandez of Alta Planning + Design, and, joining from Bogotá, Colombia, Lorena Romero of BiciActiva.

The Summit Sessions are a way to continue the discussions started at our biennial California Bicycle Summit throughout the year, and the online format allows us to bring in voices from across the U.S. and the world.

Watch the full webinar.

Bike highways are happening in California

Chenery and Reyes shared the journey of the Bike Highway Bill this year, as it got watered down from a pilot in two regions to a planning recommendation because of budget concerns. Bennett plans to introduce legislation next year to move forward with a specific bike highway in his district, spanning cities from Santa Paula to Ventura. The Santa Paula Branch Line Trail follows a railroad right-of-way, and a fully connected bike highway along the route would connect residents in lower-income communities with opportunities for education and jobs. Parts of the route are already built; Bennett hopes to get state help to close the gaps and create an intercity bike route.

Bike highways are already happening in California. Participants called out several of them:

• Vine Trail in Napa is nearly finished and stretches 47 miles from Vallejo to Calistoga.
• The SMART train in Sonoma and Marin right-of-way includes a multi-use path parallel to the train for most of the route, also known as the Great Redwood Trail.
• CV Link, a 40-mile bikeway in the Coachella Valley, is partially open.

Design principles for bike highways

Hernandez shared some design best practices for bike highways, a topic the highly engaged attendees were very interested in. He outlined principles for bike highway design:

• Providing direct routes between regional destinations
• Primarily separated and dedicated bike facilities
• Allowing for higher-speed travel
• Low-effort routes with minimal elevation changes and limited friction at intersections
• Increasing mobility by giving people fast routes between regional destinations and connecting with local bike routes 

He noted that, while the facilities are generally designed for bike riders traveling around 18 mph, bike highways can also accommodate slower users, with minimum speeds around 7.5 mph. Hernandez led attendees through more design specifics; you can view his presentation below. Even people walking are often allowed on bike highways, but they are designed to prioritize bikes and limit the number of people walking.

The slides below and the recording contain a wealth of practical and technical information Hernandez shared.

Lessons from Bogotá

Romero shared the history of Bogotá’s bike highways, called ciclorutas, the connection to the city’s famous Ciclovia, and the effect of connected, protected bikeways on biking in the city. She emphasized the importance of culture, sharing photos of existing bicycle infrastructure from 10 years ago, when BiciActiva was formed, with cars and trucks parked in them. 

Romero painted a picture of persistence, working with local governments, and persuading neighborhoods to get on board with new bike facilities. The change in the perception of bicycling is a critical component of the shift that has made Bogotá one of the cycling capitals of the world.