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Tag Archive for: Fresno

The Central Valley Passage: CalBike’s Visionary Long-Distance Bike Route

January 14, 2021/by Jared Sanchez

Imagine getting on your bike in Bakersfield and riding all the way to Merced. You follow mostly separated and low-stress routes. Along the way, you pass through large and small Central Valley cities like Wasco, Porterville, and Madera.

Maybe you visit some rose gardens in Wasco, whose farmers grow a majority of all the roses grown in the United States. Or you detour for a few miles to check out some wineries on the Madera Wine Trail. You connect with High-Speed Rail (HSR) stations in Bakersfield, Fresno, and Merced. That’s the vision of the Central Valley Passage, a long-distance bicycle route proposed by CalBike’s Central Valley Project Team.

For much of 2020, CalBike, in partnership with the Kern Council of Governments, worked to plan active transportation connections to the planned HSR stations in Bakersfield, Fresno, and Merced. The project gets funding from a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning grant.

The team’s most ambitious plan is a proposal for a long-distance bike route from Bakersfield to Merced, the Central Valley Passage. Once built, this bikeway will be an essential car-free connection in the Central Valley and an economic engine.

Central Valley Passage map

Bringing bicycle tourism to the Central Valley 

The Central Valley Passage, once all segments are complete, will include about 265 miles of connected, low-stress bikeways. The route will attract bike riders who want the fun and challenge of a multi-day ride. Bicycle tourism can bring an influx of revenue for businesses in cities and towns along the route. 

The Central Valley Passage isn’t only an asset to the cities in the valley. It is a much-needed amenity in California, where long-distance routes often involve segments along the shoulders of busy roads. A long-distance route that’s gentle enough for riders of all levels, with many places to stop along the way, will help more people experience the joy of traveling by bike. 

Since the route will connect to the High-Speed Rail stations, visitors can reach the route by train. It’s a perfect recipe for a low-carbon vacation.

Vital connections for Central Valley residents

This long-distance route has even more significant benefits for the local community. The team designed the segments to connect suburbs to urban centers, so residents can use the routes to commute to work or travel between cities.

California has a poverty rate of 13%. Kern, Fresno, and Merced counties have poverty rates of 20% or more. Access to more affordable transportation options will promote social equity, particularly in areas that are poorly served by transit.

In addition, increased bicycle mode share will improve the health of all Central Valley residents. Air quality in the San Joaquin Valley doesn’t meet EPA standards. Half the region’s toxic pollution is caused by burning fossil fuels for transportation. Low-stress bike connections will give residents more choices to get around without adding to the region’s air pollution problem. Also, the physical activity of bicycling improves the health of people who are able to ride.

This ambitious plan is just one of the proposals that CalBike’s team has created to make the Central Valley more bikeable. For more on the project, visit our Central Valley Project pages.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Central-Valley-Passage-map.jpg 1684 1190 Jared Sanchez https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Jared Sanchez2021-01-14 15:14:322021-01-14 17:35:55The Central Valley Passage: CalBike’s Visionary Long-Distance Bike Route

CalBike Launches Central Valley Community Bikeways Survey

July 27, 2020/by Laura McCamy

For Immediate Release

Contact:

  • Fresno/Merced: Jared Sanchez, jared@calbike.org |  714-262-0921
  • Bakersfield: Asha Chandy, asha@calbike.org | 661-376-0248
  • Bakersfield: Forest Barnes, forest@calbike.org |  415-484-3143

CalBike Launches Central Valley Community Bikeways Survey

Bakersfield, July 23, 2020: CalBike is excited to announce the release of a community survey to help guide our Central Valley Bikeways Project. This survey asks respondents to identify both barriers to biking and their most visited destinations in Fresno, Merced, and Bakersfield.

This survey will inform our work and add to existing community-led work to ensure that the Central Valley residents can get around safely by bicycle. We welcome feedback from all residents of Bakersfield, Fresno, or Merced. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Central Valley Bikeways Project to retool our outreach plans and rely primarily on digital strategies. This electronic survey is one of our main community engagement and outreach tools. We will be conducting additional outreach, primarily through our local partners. Additional outreach will include community focus groups and other forms of on-the-ground engagement with paid incentives to participate.

For those with access to a smartphone or computer, the survey is available online in both English and Spanish. For those without online access, we will be partnering with local community organizations to distribute printed surveys.

The survey responses will guide our project analysis. Community input will be central to our final recommendations to city, county, and state decision-makers about Central Valley bikeways.

If you’re a resident of the Bakersfield, Fresno, or Merced area we want to hear from you. Please see our project website and take our electronic survey. If you have trouble viewing the survey, please use this link.

The Central Valley Bikeways Project is a partnership between CalBike and the Kern Council of Governments. The project is funded by a grant to develop plans for a complete, low-stress bike network in central Bakersfield, central Fresno, and Merced. The project will also focus on improving walkability in Downtown Bakersfield and along planned bus rapid transit corridors.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Central-Valley-Bikeways-Project-Bakersfield.png 1002 1146 Laura McCamy https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Laura McCamy2020-07-27 15:36:542020-09-11 17:26:07CalBike Launches Central Valley Community Bikeways Survey

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