Tag Archive for: legislative agenda

CalBike’s Legislative Agenda at the Halfway Point

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On June 6, bills with any chance of becoming law this year left their house of origin. Senate bills had to pass a vote of the full Senate and move to Assembly committees for review, and vice versa. We’re happy to report that our two priority bills made it past the midway point, though one may face a tougher road in the Senate. Here’s the status of all the bills we’re supporting and following in the 2025 session.

Sponsored bills: Quick-Build and Bike Highways

Bills are often amended, watered down, or altered to meet the demands of various committee members and chairs in exchange for a yes vote. Our two sponsored bills made it through the Assembly with no changes, and we’re excited to support them through the process in the Senate.

Quick-build Caltrans pilot

Caltrans maintains many local streets, and they are often plagued with fast-moving traffic and few safety features for people biking or walking. The Quick-Build Bill (AB 891, Zbur) would increase Caltrans’ ability to use temporary measures to swiftly address known road hazards and implement Complete Streets upgrades. Local public works departments across California use quick-build methods to safely and inexpensively add protected bikeways, sidewalk bulbouts, and other safety features. The Quick-Build Bill will save money and time and bring this effective process to our state DOT.

Bike highways

The Bike Highways Bill (AB 954, Bennett) proposes a pilot project to create two regional bike highways. A bike highway can provide a connected network of safe, comfortable bikeways protected from car traffic that encourages more people to get where they need to go by bike, and we thank Assemblymember Steve Bennett for his leadership in championing this bill.

We were pleased to see the bike highway concept pass the Assembly with strong support, but it faces a tougher path in the Senate. Every bill that involves new expenditures gets extra scrutiny in a year like this, where California’s budget is squeezed. We feel our state’s transportation budget has more than enough funding to support this excellent project; this mode-shifting, visionary program is a better way to spend our transportation dollars than another freeway lane that will be clogged with standstill traffic in a matter of years. 

In addition, bike highways don’t need to be built completely from scratch; Caltrans can start with existing networks of off-road paths and on-street separated bikeways. The bike highway network would close gaps, extend the network to common destinations, and engineer safe intersection crossings. Many local and regional agencies already have many bike highways in the planning phase — this statewide pilot can jumpstart those stalled projects. The Bike Highways Pilot will take years to put on the ground; its fate shouldn’t rest on one bad budget year or our ingrained practices of freeway expansion for cars. Please email the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and voice your support for bike highways in California.

Fire service bill doesn’t move forward

CalBike rarely opposes bills, but we had to speak out against AB 612 (Rogers), which would have increased fire department authority over bikeway planning decisions. Too often, fire departments oppose new bikeways because they claim they will hinder access in case of a fire. Somehow, cars parked along the curb don’t create an obstacle for the fire department. 

We appreciated the discussions that happened around this bill. And we’re encouraged by the efforts of Mike Wilson, who helped launch an innovative program in Berkeley to leverage the fire service’s expertise in prevention to take a preventative approach to street trauma. It’s a win-win for street safety advocates and fire departments, whose EMS staff are first on the scene to aid most traffic violence victims.

Bills we’re supporting

This year is the first year of California’s two-year legislative session, which means that some bills will become two-year bills. A two-year bill is put on pause this year and revived in January 2026, with a deadline to move forward before it’s declared DOA. The two-year option can be helpful if a bill needs more time or revisions to gather the support needed to pass. One of the 10 bills CalBike is supporting this year became a two-year bill, one died in the Assembly, and the rest have passed their first house. Here’s the status.

School Streets Bill (AB 382, Berman): This much-needed measure would lower the speed limit around schools from 25 mph to 20 mph. Even a few miles per hour can make a big difference in the severity of injuries when a car hits a pedestrian, and children are particularly vulnerable. This law will give drivers more time to see children and stop; it’s an excellent way to move California closer to Vision Zero.

Red Light Camera Reform (AB 720, Ashby): Automated enforcement for car drivers running red lights is legal throughout California but problematic, which has led some municipalities to abandon red light cameras. This bill seeks to reform the way red light cameras are regulated and tickets are issued to make the system more equitable and effective.

Intelligent Speed Assist for Dangerous Drivers (AB 981, Gipson): One of CalBike’s sponsored bills last year, Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 961, would have phased in intelligent speed assist (ISA) for all new vehicles. It passed the legislature, but the governor vetoed it. AB 981, which has become a two-year bill, is currently written as a pilot in Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento, and Kern Counties. Drivers convicted of reckless driving would be required to install active ISA, much the way those convicted of drunk driving can be mandated to have ignition interlock devices that prevent them from driving drunk. Active ISA prevents a vehicle from going above the posted speed. We’re interested to see how this develops. The EU now requires ISA on all new vehicles, and we hope it will become a standard safety feature here in the near future.

Slower State Routes (AB 1014, Rogers): In 2021, CalBike helped pass AB 43, which gave California municipalities more flexibility to lower speed limits than the 85th percentile rule would have allowed. This bill extends the same option to Caltrans on state routes that aren’t freeways. Since these routes often run through neighborhoods — bringing dangerous, speeding traffic — this bill could represent a significant step toward safer streets.

License Plate Covers (AB 1085, Stefani): This bill would make manufacturing, selling, or using a cover that obscures the license plate number of a car illegal in California.

Caltrans Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (AB 1132, Schiavo): This bill would have required Caltrans to identify what makes communities resilient to climate-caused transportation disruptions. It died in the suspense file.

Remove Bikeway Roadblocks Bill (SB 71, Wiener): Senator Wiener authored a bill during the pandemic giving active transportation projects a temporary exemption from CEQA, California’s environmental review law. This bill would make the CEQA exemption permanent.

Sustainable Transportation Permitting (SB 445, Wiener): This bill speeds up the permitting and construction of sustainable transportation projects, including bikeways. It will also allow communities to fix dangerous road segments more quickly, thus reducing the heavy toll of traffic violence.

Safe Crossings Save Lives (SB 671, Cervantes): This bill seeks to make traffic signals more pedestrian-friendly. To achieve this, it includes a requirement that California inventory existing pedestrian signals on state-controlled roadways to understand the existing condition. This will help direct funding and maintenance where they are most needed.

E-bike bills

With six bills relating to e-bike regulation introduced this year, they need their own category. Unfortunately, the bill we felt had the most promise died in the Assembly. The other five all passed their first house.

The one that didn’t make it

A bill to clarify the classification of some of the vehicles illegally sold as e-bikes (SB 455, Blakespear) fell victim to the dreaded suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The measure would have reclassified “e-bikes” with higher motor-assisted speeds than the 28 mph allowed under California law. It would have created a new class of motorized bikes, low-power mopeds, and moved some of these bikes into the current moped or motorcycle categories. This would have triggered registration and licensing requirements and prohibited dealers from selling them to underage riders. There was some pushback from the DMV, which would have a slew of new vehicles to register, and the motorcycle industry, which resisted having these bikes classified as electric motorcycles. 

We think this measure had a lot of promise, and we’re grateful to Senator Catherine Blakespear for bringing stakeholders together to discuss this issue. CalBike will be convening stakeholders from a range of communities to discuss the future of e-bike regulation in the coming months, and we hope to pick up where this discussion left off.

E-bike bills moving forward

Two of the five remaining e-bike bills relate to classification issues, one places an age limit on e-bike sales, and two increase the penalties for e-bike violations. CalBike is watching these bills; we haven’t taken a position for or against them.

E-Bike Application Prohibition (AB 545, Davies): This measure prohibits the selling of applications that modify the speed capability of an electric bicycle. This bill is an extension of a bill last year (AB 1774, Dixon), which prohibited the selling of speed-enhancing devices.  

E-Bike Confiscation (AB 875, Muratsuchi): This bill would clarify that police can confiscate the illegal e-motorcycles that are often sold as e-bikes, something some local jurisdictions are already doing. While these bikes aren’t street-legal and are subject to law enforcement, we don’t think the police need another pretext to stop and harass young people of color.

Penalizing E-Bikes (AB 544, Davies): E-bikes are required to have a red rear reflector or flashing light when operated at night, just like all bikes. This bill would require e-bikes to have this reflector or light during all hours. Current law requires minors to wear helmets on bikes or face a $25 fine. This bill allows a diversion if the minor takes the DMV’s online e-bike safety class and proves they have a helmet.

Class 3 E-Bike Sales Prohibition (AB 965, Dixon): This bill prohibits the sale of a new or used Class 3 e-bike to anyone under 16. Class 3 bikes use pedal assist only, with a top speed of 28 mph, and are already subject to more limitations than Class 1 and 2 bikes, which have a top speed of 20 mph. No one under 16 is allowed to operate a Class 3 bike, and all riders must wear helmets. Given those requirements, this measure seems superfluous, but that’s a theme in the e-bike legislation this year.

The eMoto Bill (SB 586, Jones): This bill creates a new eMoto classification, which would cover some of the vehicles currently sold as e-bikes that don’t fit the classification system. The devices classified as eMotos wouldn’t be street legal; they would be allowed for off-road use only. 

Bills we’re watching 

CalBike is watching 11 bills. We haven’t taken a position on these bills, but we’re monitoring their progress through the legislature because they could have an impact on active transportation.

In addition to the six e-bike bills listed above, we’re watching:

  • State Building Standards (AB 306, Schultz/Rivas): This bill would freeze state, county, and city building codes in California for six years. It passed the Assembly and is in the Senate.
  • Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 (AB 1243, Addis): This bill would establish the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Program to be administered by the California Environmental Protection Agency to require fossil fuel polluters to pay their fair share of the damage caused by greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. It has become a two-year bill.
  • Regional Housing Needs and Transportation Plans (AB 1275, Elhawary): This bill would harmonize the regional housing needs allocation process with the regional transportation plan and sustainable community strategy processes to ensure the needs of both existing populations and projected populations are met, and to ensure local governments have plans for sufficient housing in climate-friendly locations near transit, jobs, and services. It passed the Assembly and is in the Senate.
  • San Francisco Bay Area Local Revenue Measure (SB 63, Wiener/Arreguín): This bill would authorize the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to propose a revenue measure to the voters in its jurisdiction to fund the operation, expansion, and transformation of the San Francisco Bay Area’s public transportation system, as well as other transportation improvements. It passed the Senate and is in the Assembly.
  • Study for Road and Safety Improvements (SB 78, Seyarto): This bill would require Caltrans to conduct a study to identify certain locations in the state highway system with regard to vehicle collisions, and projects that could improve road safety at each of those locations. It passed the Senate and is in the Assembly.

To stay up to date on the latest developments with all the bike-related legislation, check CalBike’s Legislative Watch page. Subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates on the most crucial bills for active transportation and periodic reassessments of the status of all the bills we’re supporting or watching.

CalBike’s 2025 Legislative Agenda

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The deadline to submit legislation in Sacramento has passed, so we have a preliminary look at CalBike’s legislative agenda. Despite new limits on the number of bills each legislator can submit, there are many bills of interest to people who care about active transportation and safer streets.

Some of the bills we expect to support (or oppose) have been filed but the specific language is still in the development stage, so we’ve put them on our watch list for now. We’ll provide updates as bill provisions become clearer.

Here are the bills CalBike is sponsoring, supporting, or monitoring at the very beginning of the legislative session.

CalBike sponsors bills for better bike infrastructure, e-bike classification

CalBike is sponsoring or co-sponsoring three bills we think will bring significant positive changes to California streets and make our shared spaces safer for vulnerable road users.

Caltrans Quick-Build Pilot (AB 891, Zbur): Quick-build allows public agencies to respond quickly to unsafe road conditions by adding paint, planter boxes, soft-hit bollards, and other inexpensive infrastructure for bicycle and pedestrian safety. This bill would establish the Quick-Build Project Pilot Program within Caltrans, allowing the agency to implement more Complete Streets on state-controlled roadways without a yearslong planning and funding process. Many local governments already use quick-build to test new bikeways and other active transportation infrastructure; this will allow the same safety interventions on the state routes that serve as local main streets or popular bike routes.

Bicycle Highways Bill (AB 954, Bennett): California has a highway system for motor vehicles, so why not an interconnected network of separated bikeways that allow for safe, fast bicycle transportation? This bill would create a pilot program at Caltrans. It’s an excellent step toward making the bike an appealing and convenient transportation option for more Californians.

Illegal E-Motorcycle Classification (SB 455, Blakespear): Much of the concern about e-bikes on California streets is actually about electric motorcycles and mopeds illegally marketed as e-bikes and often sold to underaged riders. Selling e-motorcycles as e-bikes allows sellers to circumvent California regulations about registration and licensing and puts unsuspecting buyers at risk. The language of the bill is still being written, but the author’s intent is to clarify state regulations, remove gray areas, and specify penalties for violations.

CalBike’s active transportation slate

We’re starting the session with five excellent bills in our active transportation slate. Look for more bills to be added to this slate.

School Streets Bill (AB 382, Berman): For now, this bill is a placeholder with provisions to be added. If it’s similar to Berman’s 2024 school zone safety bill, it will clarify and strengthen regulations to keep students safe from traffic violence as they walk into school. We look forward to working with our partners and the sponsor as this bill evolves.

Caltrans Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (AB 1132, Schiavo): Extreme weather events, made more frequent by climate change, impact California’s transportation systems. Highway 1 has repeatedly been shut down by slides in Northern California, as were train tracks in Southern California. Fires in Paradise and Los Angeles showed the vulnerability of our escape routes. This bill requires Caltrans to identify what makes communities resilient to climate-caused transportation disruptions. It’s an excellent first step toward making all California communities more climate resilient.

Remove Bikeway Roadblocks Bill (SB 71, Wiener): Green transportation champion Senator Scott Wiener is building on his past work to make it easier to build transit and active transportation projects. California’s CEQA environmental review law has been used to stall the building of bikeways and the adoption of bike plans. In recognition of the fact that public transit, biking, and walking have positive environmental impacts, this seeks to make a current temporary CEQA exemption permanent.

Sustainable Transportation Permitting (SB 445, Wiener): Climate disasters are accelerating; we must accelerate our responses. One of the best antidotes to climate change is providing no-carbon transportation options. To that end, this bill speeds up the permitting and construction of sustainable transportation projects. It will have the additional benefit of allowing communities to fix dangerous roadways more quickly, thus reducing the heavy toll of traffic violence.

Safe Crossings Save Lives (SB 671, Cervantes): This bill would beef up requirements for walk signals to make them more pedestrian-friendly. One of the most important provisions is a requirement for the state to inventory the status of existing pedestrian signals. This will show which intersections aren’t using the latest technology or programmed for maximum pedestrian safety; it will highlight where funding and maintenance are needed and improve safety at intersections.

Bills we’re watching 

There are a number of bills that could get added to CalBike’s support list once their provisions are clearer, and some we might oppose. In addition to the bills listed below, we are watching several bills that we don’t have all the details about. Check our Legislative Watch page for updates as we learn more.

  • State highway work zone speed safety program (AB 289, Haney): Establishes a speed enforcement system through Caltrans.
  • E-bike reflector requirement (AB 544, Davies): This bill would require e-bikes to have a rear red reflector or light visible at 500 feet at all times of day.
  • E-bike clarification (AB 545, Davies): Further clarification of the definition of an e-bike to include fully operable pedals and a motor that can’t exceed 750 watts.
  • Highway Design Manual: Increase Fire Department authority (AB 612, Rogers): This bill would give local fire departments greater say in active transportation improvements.
  • Illegal Electric Motorcycles (AB 875, Muratsuchi): The illegal e-motorcycle bill CalBike is sponsoring clarifies the regulations differentiating e-bikes from motorcycles. This bill invites police officers to confiscate e-motorcycles, which could lead to disproportionate enforcement against BIPOC Californians.
  • The Safe, Sustainable, Traffic-Reducing Transportation Bond Act of 2026 (AB 939, Schultz): This bill would put a $20 billion state bond on the 2026 ballot. The money would be divided among a range of transportation projects, including active transportation and micromobility. We’re looking forward to more details about where the funds would go.
  • Higher fines for minors not wearing helmets (AB 965, Dixon): This bill is exactly what the name says.
  • E-bike Disclosure for Parents and Minors (AB 968, Boerner): This bill would add a requirement that e-bike manufacturers and distributors include a warning about risks and responsibilities if a minor operates the bike.
  • Intelligent Speed Assistance for Dangerous Drivers (AB 981, Gipson): The governor vetoed the bill we cosponsored to add ISA to all new cars in California. This would require people convicted of reckless driving offenses to install the system in their cars.
  • Caltrans Slower Streets (AB 1014, Rogers): A bill to lower speed limits on state highways.
  • Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 (AB 1243, Addis): This bill would put a price on damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions and require emitters to pay into a superfund program administered by CalEPA.
  • Regional housing needs and transportation plans (AB 1275, Elhawary): This bill would move California toward integration of housing and transportation plans to build more housing near transit, jobs, schools, etc. 
  • San Francisco Bay Area Local Revenue Measure (SB 63, Wiener/Arreguin): This is a third try at authorizing legislation to develop a predictable operational revenue source to ensure the future of Bay Area transit providers.
  • Study for road and safety improvements (SB 78, Seyarto): A Caltrans study to identify high-collision spots and projects to improve safety at those locations.
  • Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (SB 220, Allen): Updates rules about membership on the board of directors of LA Metro.
  • EMotos (SB 586, Jones): Yet another bill targeting the proliferation of two-wheeled electric vehicles, this one creates an eMoto category of off-road vehicles.
  • Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 (SB 684, Menjivar): The senate counterpart of Assembly Bill 1243 (see above).

We will undoubtedly add, remove, and move bills on this list. CalBike’s Legislative Watch page has the most up-to-date information. Subscribe to CalBike’s newsletter for regular updates on the most crucial bills for active transportation and periodic reassessments of the status of all the bills we’re supporting or watching.

CalBike’s 2023 Legislative Agenda

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Last year was an excellent year for bike-friendly legislation in California, but 2023 is getting off to an even more exciting start, with a huge slate of bills that will make our streets safer for all Californians, regardless of their income level, race or ethnic background, or neighborhood. And we’re excited to have strong legislation to support our Invest/Divest Campaign.

Here’s a first look at the bills CalBike is supporting in 2023.

CalBike’s priority legislation

In 2023, there are even more great active transportation bills in the pipeline. We’ve broken them into tiers. The five bills below are CalBike’s must-pass legislation for 2023.

Build Community, Not Freeways

AB 7 (Friedman) California spends too much of its transportation budget on polluting, neighborhood-destroying freeway expansion projects. This bill eliminates single-occupancy vehicle freeway capacity projects. It’s a critical step toward divesting from climate-killing freeway building. California should use that money instead for green transportation infrastructure, including complete streets, separated bikeways, and better public transit.

Riding a Bike Is Not a Crime Slate

AB 825 (Bryan): Allows bicycle riding on a sidewalk adjacent to a street that does not include a Class I, Class II, or Class IV bikeway.

AB 93 (Bryan): Prohibits police officers from requesting consent to conduct a search if the officer does not suspect criminal activity.

SB 50 (Bradford): Prohibits police officers from stopping or detaining a pedestrian or bike rider for a low-level infraction.

AB 825 protects bike riders from traffic violence, allowing people on bikes to ride on sidewalks in areas where municipalities fail to provide safe bike facilities. Too often, police stops of people on bikes end in harassment or even violence, especially if the bike rider is Black or Latino. As an LA Times investigation showed last year, these stops do nothing to keep our communities safer, but they make it more dangerous for BIPOC folk to get around by bike. AB 93 and SB 50 prohibit police from stopping and searching a bike rider for minor infractions like riding without a light and allow California cities to move traffic enforcement from armed officers to the Department of Transportation or other street safety agencies. Taken together, this bicycle safety slate goes a long way toward creating the safe and equitable streets California needs, divesting from police and traffic violence and investing in policies that truly make our communities safe.

Two bills in our exciting Active Transportation Slate for 2023 also decriminalize bike riding and transit, making active transportation more accessible, especially for disadvantaged communities. AB 819 decriminalizes transit fare evasion, and AB 1266 would eliminate bench warrants for minor traffic infractions, including tickets to people on bikes, and keep them from escalating.

The Equity-First Transportation Funding Act

AB 1525 (Bonta) Historically, the majority of transportation dollars have gone to keep streets in wealthier areas in good repair, while investments in disadvantaged communities were more likely to be freeways that fractured neighborhoods and polluted the air. Disinvestment has made low-income communities more dangerous for people who bike, walk, or take public transit, cutting people off from economic opportunities because of a lack of access to transportation.  AB 1525 seeks to right this injustice by requiring that 60% of California’s transportation dollars go to projects in disadvantaged communities, investing in transportation justice.

2023 Active Transportation Slate

Last year, we supported a historic Active Transportation Slate, which saw 15 bills signed into law, including landmark legislation like the Freedom to Walk Act. In addition to our five high-priority bills, this year’s active transportation slate contains 14 excellent measures that we’ll be working to pass into law. 

AB 6 (Friedman): Regional Prioritization for Clean Transportation

We applaud Assemblymember Friedman for taking another pass at this crucial measure, which passed the legislature only to be vetoed by the governor in 2022. It requires regional transportation agencies to prioritize and fund projects that significantly contribute to regional and state climate goals, divesting from projects that contribute to GHG emissions and investing in transportation alternatives.

AB 73 (Boerner Horvath): Bike, Yield, Succeed

After two years of senseless rejections at the governor’s desk for a commonsense measure allowing people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields, this bill would establish a pilot program to test it in several cities. It’s a good step toward full legalization, though the safety of this law has been tested in the many other states that already allow the bicycle safety stop.

AB 413 (Lee): Daylighting to Save Lives

Too many people walking and biking are being killed on our streets, and intersections are one of the most dangerous spots. This bill will create greater visibility and reduce lethal collisions by prohibiting stopping, standing, or parking a vehicle within 20 feet of any unmarked or marked crosswalk.

AB 819 (Bryan): Decriminalize Transit Fare Evasion

In a perfect world, public transit would be fully publicly funded, and no one would have to pay to ride. Until we get there, this bill to decriminalize fare evasion by removing it as a misdemeanor classification is an excellent step in the right direction.

AB 1188 (Boerner Horvath): California Bike Smart Safety Handbook

What if a bicycle handbook with information on safe riding was available for free at the DMV and other public offices in California? Wouldn’t that be cool? This bill would make it happen.

AB 1266 (Kalra): No More Warrants for Infractions

When someone doesn’t appear for a traffic infraction, including bicyclists and pedestrians who get tickets, a judge can issue a bench warrant. If that person is later stopped (perhaps due to pretextual policing because of the color of their skin), they will have a warrant for their arrest and could be taken to jail. This measure eliminates bench warrants for minor traffic infractions, thereby eliminating a pipeline that has often kept people struggling to get by stuck in a cycle of jail time and poverty.

SB 695 (Gonzalez): Make Caltrans Freeway Data Public

One of the challenges transportation advocates face as we work to invest more in active transportation and divest from destructive freeway boondoggles is that it’s hard to pin down what money goes where in California’s complex transportation budget. This measure will help us re-route funding by providing information, requiring Caltrans to prepare and make available information and data about activities on the state highway system on a public data portal each year.

The active transportation slate also includes:

  • AB 251 (Ward): Deadly Oversized Cars
  • AB 361 (Ward): Cars Blocking Bike Lanes
  • AB 610 (Holden): Free Transit for Youth Pilot
  • AB 645 (Friedman): Automated Speed Enforcement Pilot
  • AB 761 (Friedman): Public Transit Transformation Task Force
  • AB 981 (Friedman): Highway Pilot Projects to Reduce Emissions
  • SB 712 (Portantino): Tenancy & Micromobility 

We’re also watching a number of bills that are still being written, including one or two we might oppose. Check our Legislative Watch page for a list of all the bills on CalBike’s radar this year, and watch your inbox for opportunities to join our campaigns to pass essential active transportation legislation.

CalBike Senior Policy Advocate Reflects on Big Picture Agenda

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by Jared Sanchez

The California State Legislature is advancing more bicycle-related bills than ever. At least three times this year, a legislative committee approved seven important policy changes in a single day. With my years of experience, I’ve never seen so much energy and attention on bicycling issues at the state level. I’m grateful to our members whose advocacy has made this possible and to the legislators advancing powerful policy changes. It’s great to watch, and I want our organization to do everything we can to influence the changemakers who are taking bold steps to make our streets safer in a year that could have a huge impact on active transportation in California. 

Three goals that will bring better biking to California

These goals top CalBike’s agenda: 

Build 100% complete, protected bikeway networks in five California cities in five years.

At current funding levels, most local and regional bike plans won’t be complete for another 30 years. And even then, those plans too often leave gaps where one dangerous intersection or one block of fast-moving traffic will scare most people away from biking. CalBike has proposed a new program to fund cities that build complete bikeway networks without gaps quickly. We won’t wait 30 years.

Make it easy and inexpensive to hop on a shared bike anywhere in California.

We need to subsidize bike-share as an integral part of public transit so that anybody who can afford the bus can afford a similar ride on a shared bike. Shared bikes and scooters can be just as valuable as public transit if they’re supported with the same level of funding. Good shared micromobility programs, equitably distributed and affordable, can help millions of Californians take advantage of multimodal public transit and bike trips instead of car trips and make transit more effective and efficient. 

Make sure that when we talk about safe streets, we prioritize safety for Black and brown Californians.

Our policy team worked hard last year to pass bills that would have removed opportunities for pretextual policing—allowing bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields and decriminalizing safe mid-block crossings. The governor vetoed both bills, but we’re bringing them back this year with some changes that we think will garner his signature. 

We can’t forget the climate crisis

Climate disaster looms closer every day. Fire, drought, and extreme weather hit disadvantaged people hardest, widening social inequities. Energy costs, including the price of gas, are rising faster than incomes, squeezing low-income people even more. We can’t separate climate policy from economic policy from transportation policy.

Bicycling is central to creating transportation policy that will meet this critical moment in California. 

We know that to make transportation affordable for everyone, Californians need to be much less dependent on their cars. We can do that easily, as CalBike members well know, by relying much more heavily on bikes. And we have to make the switch quickly, in the next 10 years.

Yet California is moving very slowly to implement the changes necessary to make bicycling an easy choice for people. California’s policymakers know that bicycling is a low-cost, sustainable, healthy, and joyful transportation solution—bikeways are drawn on maps in every city and town in California. But local governments aren’t building them. That’s why CalBike’s 2022 agenda focuses on how we can speed up this transformation. 

The past two years have proven that California’s lawmakers and agencies can move quickly when faced with a dire challenge. The climate crisis, and the cascade of issues that result from it, require the same level of urgent action. 

  • No more “something is better than nothing” for bicycle infrastructure. 
  • No more prioritizing freeway building over creating safe neighborhoods. 
  • No more programs that advantage the comfortable and leave everyone else behind.

We can’t do this work without YOU. We rely on individual supporters, and your involvement is hugely impactful to the work we do. 

This is the time for bold action. Are you with us?

Bike Parking Bill Killed by COVID-19

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Add one more item to the (loooong) list of legislative priorities that have been derailed by the coronavirus pandemic: Assembly Member Robert Rivas’s bike parking incentive bill. It is the last of many bills that CalBike was working on in 2020 to improve the policy environment for biking. 

CalBike now has more capacity to plan and campaign for bills in the next session which starts in December. We also have more capacity to invest in a handful of close races for Assembly and Senate. More bike-friendly legislators can make a huge difference.

CalBike started this year with a full docket of bills in the Legislature. Our priority bill would have given the same purchase incentives for e-bikes that California gives for electric cars. Another would add the Dutch Reach to California driver’s education manuals. We were working on changes in how speed limits were set. All those bills were pulled by their authors in March as the legislative session got upended by the pandemic. 

The Bike Parking Bill

One key bill was not pulled. Assembly Member Robert Rivas proposed a fantastic statewide incentive for bike parking and car-sharing: incentives to build bike parking in new housing. AB 3153 would have allowed housing builders to reduce the amount of car parking they would be required to build if they built a certain amount of bike parking or car-sharing spaces instead. Thanks to hundreds of CalBike supporters who called and emailed in support of this measure, it made it through the Assembly and into the Senate. Even with that outpouring of support, however, this pandemic year created too great a headwind in Sacramento. 

The bill would not have made a huge impact on California’s housing stock, because it provided an optional incentive (instead of a mandate) and would only have impacted new housing in some counties. But where it applied, it would have overridden local zoning laws, making an incredibly bold statement on behalf of sustainable transportation. Housing builders could have used this law to build less car parking and more bike parking than local regulations require, and local officials could not have prevented it. It would have encouraged new local ordinances to reduce car parking requirements and increase bike parking requirements in the name of local control. 

Support AB 3153 for better bike parking

CalBike’s bike parking campaign continues

Minimum parking requirements are among the worst zoning laws. By forcing developers to add the cost of car parking to new homes, parking requirements add to the already high cost of housing construction. In addition, these laws increase inequality and impede sustainable transportation. Unfortunately, legislators are extremely unlikely to change minimum parking requirements at a statewide level. 

However, legislators are happy to impose a new statewide building code. For example, as of January 1 2020, all new residential buildings must have solar panels. 

Thanks to your tremendous show of support for the Bike Parking Bill, we are looking forward to positive developments in 2021. Senator Mike McGuire (SD 2) has committed to working with us to bring a bill about bike parking in next year’s session and has already reached out to CalBike to discuss it.

In the next legislative session, CalBike will launch a campaign to change the state’s mandatory residential building code to require bike parking in all new residential buildings. While such an initiative would not have the benefit of incentivizing a reduction in subsidized car parking, it would have a much more dramatic impact on the availability of secure bike parking in new residential buildings. 

Are you interested in supporting a campaign for mandatory bike parking in new California residential construction? Add your name to the form below to join the movement for better bike parking.

CalBike 2020 Agenda

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At CalBike, we have spent the weeks since the end of the 2019 legislative session plotting our direction for 2020. Soon, we’ll begin to implement the CalBike 2020 agenda by meeting with stakeholders, planning campaigns, and finding legislators to author bills to create the policies necessary to achieve our strategic plan.

We will announce our 2020 agenda in person at an event in Sacramento on December 10. Our priorities for the coming year reflect our continued focus on making California communities more safe, livable, bikeable, and equitable. With help from CalBike members and supporters, we believe 2020 will be a year of big steps toward a truly bike-friendly California.

CalBike 2020 Initiatives

CalBike will pursue campaigns in 2020 to make the streets safer, get more people on e-bikes, and change the manuals that tell planners how to make space for bikes on California streets. We’re pursuing initiatives that are proven to make our communities safer and healthier. Here’s our plan for 2020.

Complete Streets

The governor’s veto of SB 127, the Complete Streets Bill, last year included the statement that he fully supports improving facilities to increase walking, biking, and public transit use. Newsom claimed he would hold Caltrans “accountable to deliver more alternatives to driving.” CalBike will make sure he follows through on that promise. In 2020, we’re hopeful that the new leadership at Caltrans will implement the goals of SB 127, and we plan to hold the department accountable for the safety of people who walk, bike, and take transit.

E-Bike Incentives

Nearly half a billion dollars of subsidies help Californians buy electric cars. This subsidy has brought the electric and plug-in hybrid cars registered in California to about 1% of the total California electric and hybrid fleet. Meanwhile, folks who can’t afford an electric car even with the subsidy, and everybody else who would love to have an electric bike to carry their kids to school or navigate a hilly commute get zero support. Many people who would happily get around on e-bikes are forced to rely on cars instead. CalBike proposes a $50 million pilot program to help more Californians buy electric bikes for transportation.

Design Manual Reform

Despite our success in allowing local jurisdictions to use alternatives to the official state Highway Design Manual, and the department’s promotion of flexibility, the manual itself still recommends very old-fashioned, car-oriented standards. The design manual encourages bike lanes to be placed in the door zone. At the same time, it discourages narrowing car lanes to accommodate wider bike lanes. We will work with Caltrans on an overdue update to this manual. Along with necessary changes to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), this effort should help local planners and engineers design streets that prioritize safety instead of fast car traffic.

Driver’s Manual Improvements

The Department of Motor Vehicles’ official manual for motor vehicle operators does a terrible job of telling motorists to expect bike riders in the traffic lane. It even tells drivers that it’s OK to park in a bike lane! It doesn’t suggest that drivers use the “Dutch Reach” to open their doors. The “Dutch Reach” is a practice of using your right hand to open your door requiring you to twist your body so that you’re more able to see a bike rider approaching. We will work with the DMV to change the manual to teach car drivers to share the road with bicyclists more safely.

Vehicle Code Improvements

CalBike updated the Vehicle Code five years ago to require motorists to give three feet of clearance when passing someone on a bicycle. However, the Vehicle Code still includes some outdated information about biking. A CalBike priority in 2020 is to amend the Vehicle Code to bring it up to date. This will include clarification that someone on a bike is not required to ride as far to the right as practicable if the traffic lane is not wide enough to share. 

Change the Conversation on the Climate Crisis

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector fast enough, we must quickly reduce the number of car miles driven by Californians. Yet, too many people still advocate for spending billions of dollars to build new infrastructure that will only result in increased car traffic. In coalition with diverse organizations, CalBike hopes to illustrate how these auto-oriented projects hurt our communities, especially low-income communities and communities of color already suffering from disinvestment.  Car-centric projects hurt the planet, increasing greenhouse gas emissions when it’s imperative that we do the opposite. As a leader in the movement for safer streets and more biking, walking, and public transit, CalBike will continue to connect the dots for our decisionmakers between how humans move around and how we protect the future for all living things.

More 2020 Priorities 

In addition to leading on the issues above, CalBike and our allies will work together on several other issues, not to mention additional challenges and opportunities that we can’t predict.

  • Automated Speed Enforcement
  • Changing how speed limits are set to make it easier to lower speed limits
  • Encouraging more housing, especially affordable housing, in walkable, bikeable neighborhoods
  • Improving bike parking requirements statewide
  • Student transit passes
  • Statewide goals to reduce vehicle miles traveled

We know that this is an ambitious agenda, but we also know that every item on it is important. Together, they add up to a better biking in California. With your help, we can get there.

Clean Vehicles: E-Bikes at the California Transportation Commission

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E-bikes caused a buzz on the agenda at the California Transportation Commission meeting last Wednesday in Riverside, where CalBike recruited Jonathan Weinert of Bosch, a longtime supporter, to make a presentation and provide bikes for commissioners to ride to help illustrate the many transportation needs that electric bikes can meet.

Weinert presented on the development of electric bicycles and exciting technological developments in the field, and presented new research on their use in North America indicating that e-bikes are replacing car trips more than any other kind of trip. The study found that e-bike users are nearly twice as likely to be women as standard bike riders, a statistic greeted with enthusiasm by a number of commissioners.

Our co-presentation to the California Transportation Commission: The Rise of E-Bikes in the US

Commissioners were more engaged with this topic than with most others on the agenda, pressing Wienert and CalBike Executive Director Dave Snyder about electric bicycle technology and research about their use. By the end of the presentation, comments, and questions, commissioners were wondering why the state wasn’t doing more to get e-bikes into the hands of Californians.

One of the more encouraging indications to come from the last meeting of the year is that commissioners see some of the potential CalBike does in electric bicycles in providing healthy and sustainable transportation options to the communities that most need them. Ex-officio member Jim Frazier, Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, asked about the incorporation of e-bikes into the clean vehicle and electric car subsidization efforts the committee’s already engaged in, and we certainly agree with the assembly-member that a bill to expand e-bike access with Air Resources Board subsidies is a great idea (reach out to linda@calbike.org if you’re interested in working with us on legislation!)

The California Bicycle Coalition will continue to advocate for the inclusion of green, accessible mobility options like e-bikes as our state shapes tomorrow’s transportation system and its outcomes.

Edit: On our YouTube channel, you can see a 25-minute video of the whole presentation, or a 3-minute video of the highlights related to our e-bike purchase incentive campaign.

Announcing CalBike’s 2019 Legislative Agenda

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