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Legislative Recap: CalBike and Our Allies Deliver Wins for Bikes in Sacramento

October 11, 2022/in The Latest /by Kevin Claxton

The 2022 California legislative session ended on a high note, with CalBike’s sponsored legislation and many bike-friendly bills we supported becoming law. Breaking it down:

The legislature sent 19 excellent active transportation bills to the governor
The governor signed 15 of these bills into law
The governor vetoed four bills, mostly citing budget concerns
One bill we opposed became law, but with modifications that make it less harmful
An additional five bills died in the legislature

CalBike supporters played a key role in this victory, sending more than 5,500 emails, Tweets, and petition signatures to support active transportation legislation. Here’s a detailed recap.

CalBike-sponsored bills become law

Among the many excellent bills that passed the legislature this year are CalBike’s two sponsored bills.

The Plan for the Future Bill (SB 932, Portantino) will require general plans to include active transportation in their circulation elements and start building safe streets quickly. We co-sponsored this bill with our partners at Streets for All.

CalBike supporters sent over 2,200 emails and Twitter messages to Sacramento in support of the Plan for the Future Bill.

The Freedom to Walk Bill (AB 2147, Ting) doesn’t fully decriminalize jaywalking but prevents police from issuing tickets unless the street crossing is truly dangerous. It is a welcome first step to stop the over-enforcement of an outdated statute invented a century ago by car companies. And we know we’ve touched a nerve in the cultural zeitgeist because, for the second year in a row, this measure made it as a clue on NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!

CalBike supporters sent over 1,000 emails and Twitter messages to Sacramento in support of the Freedom to Walk.

Many more wins for active transportation

CalBike supported a historic slate of active transportation bills this year. Of 25 bills introduced, 15 (including our two sponsored bills) became law. That’s good news for people who get around by bike and for all Californians.

CalBike supporters sent over 500 emails and Twitter messages to Sacramento in support of the active transportation slate.

The OmniBike Bill (AB 1909, Friedman) makes bike-friendly changes to the California Vehicle Code. These small but significant amendments will make biking safer and increase access for e-bikes. The most significant change is that a car driver will be required to move over a full lane to pass a person riding a bike, where possible.

More than 1,800 CalBike supporters sent emails or signed a petition in support of the Omnibike Bill.

Here are the other active transportation bills that passed:

AB 2097 Friedman – No auto parking minimums near transit
SB 922 Wiener – CEQA exemptions for transit and active transportation infrastructure
AB 2264 Bloom – Pedestrian head start at crossing signals
SB 1079 Portantino – Sound-activated enforcement devices
SB 1472 Stern – Speeding and reckless driving
SB 307 McGuire – Great Redwood Trail Agency authorization
SB 1230 Limon – Zero-emission and near-zero emission vehicle incentive programs
SB 1107 Dodd – Protect California Drivers Act of 2022 increases liability insurance
AB 2863 Wilson – Bike parking standards in building codes (research)
AB 2174 Chen – Treat bikes and scooters as vehicles for purposes of towing regulations

AB 371 passes, but bikes spared from insurance requirement

For the past two years, we called AB 371 the Kill Bike-Share Bill because it initially imposed an outsized insurance requirement on bike and scooter sharing system operators that might have put an end to shared micromobility in California. Unfortunately, the bill passed, and the governor signed it. However, CalBike and our allies in the legislature were able to work with the bill’s author to remove the insurance requirement for shared bikes and reduce the coverage amount for scooters.

So the bad news is much less bad than it might have been, and bike-share still thrives in California. We’ll keep an eye on potential bicycle insurance requirements and be prepared to oppose it if it comes back again.

What got vetoed

The governor vetoed four excellent active transportation bills. The reason he gave for three of those vetoes was budgetary concerns because they required expenditures that weren’t in the budget passed in 2022. Those measures may come back, accompanied by budget allocations. And CalBike will work to get money set aside for an annual e-bike incentive program, even though AB 117, the bill codifying the program, got vetoed.

SB 457 Portantino and Wilk – Car-free tax credit
AB 1919 Holden – Free student transit passes
AB 117 Boerner Horvath – E-bike incentives program
AB 2438 Friedman – Align transportation funding with climate goals

What didn’t make it out of the legislature

Our biggest disappointment in 2022 was the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill. The safety stop allows people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields, and it’s been successfully implemented in several other states. It passed the legislature, but the author withdrew it ahead of a threatened veto from Governor Newsom.

Four more bills stalled out during the legislative process:

AB 2336, Friedman – Automated speed enforcement pilot program
AB 1778, C. Garcia – Prohibits any state funds or personnel from funding freeways in high-poverty or polluted areas
AB 1975 Nazarian – California bus shelter funding
AB 2237 Friedman – Regional transportation improvement plans

All five of these bills are excellent measures that would make our streets more welcoming to people on bikes, increase road safety, and make California more resilient to climate change. It sometimes takes more than one try to get a bill through, and we hope these bills come back in future sessions.

We don’t see the momentum for biking, walking, and public transit slowing down, and we’re already planning for a more ambitious agenda in 2023. Our progress this year shows that when we all raise our voices, we can bring about big changes!

Thank you to all of you who sent an email, tweeted, or signed a petition to support better biking, and congratulations on the role you played in moving California in the right direction. If you didn’t, there’s always next year. Sign up for CalBike’s newsletter to stay up to date on opportunities to fight for safer streets and a healthier, greener world.

CalBike Executive Director Responds to California’s Unprecedented Support for Active Transportation

October 7, 2022/in Press Release, The Latest /by Kevin Claxton

This was an unprecedented year for bike-friendly and active transportation legislation in Sacramento. CalBike worked hard with our members and allies to advocate for bike-friendly measures, and it’s clear that our elected officials have heard the message that Californians want safer streets, more space for biking and walking, and strong measures to tackle climate change.

We can’t drive ourselves out of the climate crisis; California needs to fundamentally alter its transportation system. The 2022 legislative session shows that our elected leaders recognize the value of bikes and other modes of active transportation to help bring the changes we need. Several new laws will bring vital changes to our communities, reducing pollution, mitigating the effects of climate change, and improving equity and quality of life for all Californians.

Pedestrians aren’t “jays”

Car companies invented the concept of “jaywalking” 100 years ago. At the time, jay was an insulting word for a country bumpkin, and the implication was that country folk were too uneducated to know how to walk on city streets filled with cars. The auto manufacturers did this as part of a PR campaign as sentiment rose against the new vehicles for mowing down children in the streets (something that autos continue to do, but now with sadly little awareness or outrage).

With the governor’s signature on AB 2147, the Freedom to Walk Act, California joins a growing movement to decriminalize safe, midblock street crossings. The law leaves jaywalking statutes on the books but will prevent police from ticketing people who cross without endangering themselves or others.

The Freedom to Walk Act won’t affect most people’s walking behavior: Everybody jaywalks, and that will continue. But it will make the streets safer for Black and Latino Californians, who are disproportionately targeted while walking or biking, sometimes leading to lethal police encounters or economically harmful tickets.

CalBike applauds Assemblymember Phil Ting for writing this bill, and for his unwavering support for passing it into law.

Planning for the future

CalBike also cosponsored the Plan for the Future Bill, SB 932, which requires a specific change to a somewhat obscure planning document, but the bill will have a tremendous impact on our neighborhoods in the years to come. Cities and counties base their long-term planning decisions on General Plans, which are only updated every 15 years — sometimes even longer. The changes outlined in General Plans may take years or decades to come to fruition, if they are ever built.

The Plan for the Future Bill requires local governments to update the circulation element of their General Plans (which governs all elements of transportation into and through a community) to include Complete Streets and other features that enhance safety for people walking and biking, and plans must be updated by the middle of 2024. Then they have two years to start building what they have planned, so good ideas don’t gather dust. The bill also creates a state fund to help pay for the costs of these changes.

We can’t wait decades to create communities where it’s safe and appealing to get on a bike or take the bus rather than driving a personal car. The Plan for the Future Bill recognizes this and takes bold action to move California into the future we need. We thank Senator Anthony Portantino for authoring this bill and our friends at Streets for All for cosponsoring it and working with us to pass it.

Accelerating the speed of change

SB 922, which grants permanent CEQA exemption for active transportation infrastructure projects, will help the plans created under SB 932 become reality. The measure extends an exemption granted temporarily during the pandemic.

CEQA, California’s environmental review law, is crucial to assessing the potential impacts of construction projects on our fragile environment. However, the law has often been twisted by anti-development forces. A CEQA lawsuit delayed the implementation of San Francisco’s bike plan for many years, putting that city’s bike riders in harm’s way and delaying the shift toward a sustainable transportation system.

SB 922 recognizes that bikeways have a positive impact on the environment by making active transportation safer and enabling more people to choose alternatives to driving. We thank Senator Scott Wiener for his leadership on this issue.

Bikes belong on California streets

The OmniBike Bill, AB 1909, makes four essential changes to the California vehicle code:

Car drivers must change lanes to pass bike riders wherever possible.
E-bikes, including Class 3 bikes, can’t be excluded from most bikeways.
Cities can’t enforce bicycle licensing regulations, which have often been used to harass Black and brown bike riders.
People on bikes can advance on a walk signal, even if the traffic light is red in their direction.

These changes legalize logical and safe choices for people on bikes, and reduce potential police harassment, discrimination, and pretextual policing. The change lanes to pass provision gives drivers clear direction about how to safely pass bike riders and will make it easier for police to ticket offenders.

This law has a bonus provision because AB 2264, which also became law, gives pedestrians a 3-7 second head start to walk before cars get the green. Called a leading pedestrian interval (LPI), this measure has been shown to reduce collisions involving people walking by up to 60%. Under AB 1909, bikes will be able to advance on the LPI, increasing safety for people on bikes as well.

We thank Assemblymember Laura Friedman, who authored the OmniBike Bill and several other critical active transportation measures, for her leadership on these issues.

Electric bicycle incentive program takes shape

In 2021, CalBike helped win a budget allocation for an e-bike incentive, similar to the rebates that California offers residents who buy electric cars. This year, we have worked with CARB to provide input to help shape the program. And we have mobilized over 8,000 people who care about the program, which makes e-bikes more affordable for more Californians, to add their voices to the discussion. CARB expects the pilot project to launch by the end of March 2023.

These are just a few highlights from a historic slate of active transportation bills that became law this year, and CalBike is thrilled with the results. This progress signals rapidly growing support for the transportation mode shift that California needs, not just to EVs but to biking, walking, and transit. We look forward to building on this momentum in 2023 to ensure that all Californians have access to healthy, sustainable transportation options, to safe and welcoming streets, and to joyful, connected, liveable communities.

Legislative Update: Status of Active Transportation Bills at the Midpoint

June 2, 2022/in The Latest /by Jared Sanchez

May 27 was the deadline for bills to move from one house of the California legislature to the other. Anything that didn’t move by that date is dead for this year, with the exception of two-year bills that made the move last year. At the midpoint, all but two of the bike- and climate-friendly bills CalBike supports have advanced. And one two-year bill we oppose remains stubbornly alive.

As these measures move ahead, we’ll need many voices speaking out for creating more space for bikes on our streets, decriminalizing safe street crossings, forward-thinking transportation planning, and much more. Look for opportunities to take action and sign our list to be the first to know about upcoming votes.

First, the bad news

The Appropriations Committees of both houses wield outsize power over the fate of legislation. Bills over a certain fiscal threshold get placed in the suspense file. If someone doesn’t want to see a bill advance, then it never makes it out of suspense. Any bills left in suspense won’t get a floor vote and won’t advance to the other branch of the legislature.

Unfortunately, two bills that CalBike supported got killed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 1975 would have put more bus shelters on the streets, a welcome change. We hope this is just a temporary setback for a worthy idea.

And AB 2336, which was another try at a speed camera pilot, also ended up stuck in suspense, with no reason given. Speed is what kills on our streets, and speed cameras, if implemented well, could truly enforce posted speed limits. However, most Californians drive, as do most members of the Assembly, and people who drive don’t like to get speeding tickets, so this one is a tough sell. And some progressive advocates worry that speed camera programs could reinforce bias if camera surveillance focused on disadvantaged neighborhoods, leading to increased fines, which would have a disproportionate impact on low-income populations. So this worthy project is dead for another year, but we hope that legislators and advocates will find a version that everyone can live with in the near future.

Bike-share still in danger

AB 371, the Kill Bike-Share Bill, sits where it stopped last June, in the Senate Committee on Insurance. The bill imposes heavy insurance requirements on shared bike and scooter systems, and the cost would end shared micromobility in California as those systems continue to grow in popularity and usefulness. CalBike is committed to promoting bike-share and making it better[link], and we are working hard to defeat this bill.

Although this harmful legislation hasn’t moved yet in 2022, we expect action soon. It’s critical that our elected representatives understand just how unpopular it is. Please tell your senator to oppose AB 371.

Tell Your Senator to Vote NO on AB 371 to Save Bike-Share

CalBike-sponsored bills move forward

CalBike is sponsoring a bill to decriminalize safe, mid-block street crossings (formerly known as jaywalking) and one that will get California communities to build safer, more equitable streets quickly. We’re also including the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill in this category even though we aren’t officially sponsoring it this year because we strongly support that measure and are working to help it through the legislative process.

Stop Ticketing Safe Street Crossings

AB 2147 (Ting) will direct police not to ticket for safe pedestrian mid-block crossings. Ending enforcement of this offense, which was invented by car companies to reserve civic space for car dominance, will reduce opportunities for police encounters that too often become violent for people of color. It passed the Assembly and will now move through committees in the Senate.

Tell your senator to vote YES on AB 2147 to legalize walking

Plan for the Future Bill

SB 932 (Portantino) will require cities to revise the circulation element of their general plans to include bicycle and pedestrian facilities and start implementing the changes within two years. The bill has passed the Senate and is currently in the Assembly Local Government and Transportation Committee.

Tell your assembly member to support SB 932, the Plan for the Future

Bicycle Safety Stop Bill

AB 1713 (Boerner Horvath), is a revised version of last year’s campaign to pass the Bicycle Safety Stop that will allow people on bikes who are over 18 to treat stop signs as yields. CalBike is not an official sponsor this year, but we’re strongly supporting this measure. The bill passed the Assembly and will now move through the Senate.

Tell your senator to vote YES on the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill

Other critical active transportation bills moved forward

This is a good year for human-powered transportation bills in California. Several other bills that CalBike strongly supports are advancing. Some have jetted ahead, and others will require a huge effort to overcome entrenched opposition from automotive, freeway building, oil, and other special interests.

OmniBike Bill

AB 1909 (Friedman) will change the state vehicle code to facilitate biking across our state. Elements of this legislation include requiring vehicles to switch lanes when passing people on bikes and expanding where it’s legal to ride e-bikes. It’s hard to overstate the significance of the OmniBike Bill. If it passes into law, it will signal that California recognizes that bikes belong on our streets. This measure is already in the Senate Transportation Committee, where it’s scheduled for a vote on June 14.

Tell your senator to vote YES on the OmniBike Bill

Ending Freeway Expansion

AB 1778 (C. Garcia) will prohibit any state money from funding or permitting freeway widening projects in areas with high rates of pollution and poverty. This bill is a long shot and it barely squeaked through the Assembly, but it’s a critical measure that recognizes the environmental and societal destruction wrought by building freeways. It would be a significant step toward reversing the state’s emphasis on choking our cities with highways instead of improving public transit and creating complete streets. We will be pushing hard to get this measure to the governor’s desk, and we hope you will too.

Many more active transportation bills have momentum

Several more bills that CalBike supports are moving through the legislature, demonstrating that California legislators recognize that support for active transportation and safer streets is the logical choice.

These bills have moved from the Assembly to the Senate:

Signals for Pedestrian Crossings AB 2264 (Bloom)
Sustainable Regional Planning AB 2237 (Friedman)
Aligning Transportation Funding with Climate Goals AB 2438 (Friedman)
No Auto Parking Minimums Near Transit AB 2097 (Friedman + Lee, Skinner, Wiener)
Free Student Transit Passes AB 1919 (Holden)
E-Bike Safety Training Program AB 1946 (Boerner Horvath)
Bike and Scooter Safety Instruction AB 2028 (Davies)
Advance Pedestrian Crossing Signals AB 2264 (Bloom)
Bike and Scooter Towing AB 2174 (Chen)
Driving Privilege Suspension AB 2746 (Friedman)
Bike Parking Guidelines AB 2863 (Wilson)

These bills have moved from the Senate to the Assembly:

CEQA Exemptions SB 922 (Wiener)
Sound-Activated Enforcement Devices SB 1079 (Portantino)
Speeding and Reckless Driving SB 1472 (Stern)
E-Bike Incentives SB 1230 (Limon)
Protect California Drivers Act of 2022 SB 1107 (Dodd)

Some of the bills CalBike supports will have a tougher route to passage in their second house. And, even if the legislature does the right thing, Governor Newsom has often vetoed bike-friendly legislation. See the status of all the legislation we’re watching on our 2022 Legislative Watch page and look for opportunities to take action to help grow support for a more bike-friendly California.

Update: Assembly Transportation Committee Supports Landmark Active Transportation Slate

March 30, 2022/in The Latest /by Jared Sanchez

Updated 3/30/22

On March 28, 2022, the California Assembly Transportation Committee held a historic hearing with an opportunity to advance seven bills that advance active transportation. We’re happy to report that the committee voted to support all seven critical pieces of legislation. Thank you to all of you who sent emails and tweets to your assemblymembers on the committee to ask them to vote yes on the Active Transportation Slate of seven bills!

7 vital bills that lift up active transportation

Here’s what’s in these critical bills and which committees will consider them next.

The Bicycle Safety Stop

(AB 1713, Boerner Horvath): As written, the bill allows all bike riders aged 18 and over to treat stop signs as yields. CalBike asks the committee to amend the bill to lower the age to 16. If someone is old enough to drive, they are mature enough to responsibly practice the Bicycle Safety Stop. Next stop: Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Legalize Safe Street Crossings

(AB 2147, Ting): A critical step forward in reducing over-policing of Black and brown Californians, this bill eliminates jaywalking ticketing for safe midblock crossings. Next stop: Assembly Appropriations Committee.

The Bikes Belong Bill

(AB 1909, Friedman): This bicycle omnibus bill changes several sections of the California Vehicle Code to enhance safety for people on bikes and expand where people on e-bikes may ride. It’s California’s endorsement of the idea that bikes belong on our roads and streets. The changes in this measure include:

Car drivers must switch lanes to pass a bike if there is a passing lane.
Bikes can enter an intersection with the pedestrian walk light and don’t have to wait for the traffic light to turn green.
Municipalities can’t require bicycle registration.
Removes the prohibition of Class 3 e-bikes on bike paths and trails. Local ordinances may bar e-bikes from equestrian and hiking trails, but not bikeways.

These changes, taken together, will make the streets safer and more equitable for people on bikes. Next stop: Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Leading Pedestrian Crossing Signals

(AB 2264, Bloom) A measure that would require a headstart for pedestrians before traffic can move when a light turns green, improving pedestrian safety. If implemented along with the Bikes Belong Bill, this measure will also enhance bike safety by giving bike riders a head start at busy intersections. Next stop: Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Bicycle Highways Bill

(AB 2237, Friedman): This measure requires regional transportation plans to be written to include visionary elements such as 15-minute neighborhoods and bicycle highways. Next stop: Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

Speed Camera Pilot

(AB 2336, Friedman): Speed kills on California streets and this bill creates a pilot program to study speed cameras for better and more equitable enforcement of speed limits. Next stop: Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee.

Transportation and Climate

(AB 2438, Friedman): If this bill becomes law, all transportation projects will have to align with California’s climate goals in order to receive state or local funding, which means putting active transportation and public transport at the center of California’s transportation future. Next stop: Assembly Appropriations Committee.

All these measures are worthy of support. Taken together, they represent an exciting leap forward to mitigate climate change, create more livable communities, and make our streets more equitable and safe for all Californians. CalBike urges the committee members to Vote YES on each of these seven critical bills.

Use the form above to contact your assemblymember. The members of the Assembly Transportation Committee are:

Laura Friedman (Chair)	AD 43
Vince Fong (Vice Chair)	AD 34
Marc Berman	AD 24
Jordan Cunningham	AD 35
Tom Daly	AD 69
Laurie Davies	AD 73
Mike A. Gipson	AD 64
Ash Kalra	AD 27
Alex Lee	AD 25
Jose Medina	AD 61
Adrin Nazarian	AD 46
Janet Nguyen	AD 72
Patrick O’Donnell	AD 70
Christopher M. Ward	AD 78
Buffy Wicks	AD 15

Legislative Wrap-Up: Everything-but-the-Governor Edition, 2021

September 16, 2021/in The Latest /by Kevin Claxton

September 10, 2021, was the last day for bills to make it out of their second house in the California legislature. CalBike’s three sponsored measures were all effectively passed by the legislature: one is fully funded, and two have passed both houses. But CalBike engaged with many bills during this legislative session. Here’s where they stand now.

Next stop Newsom’s desk

Now that voters have decisively rejected the undemocratic and dangerous recall, we can move our attention back to transforming our communities through bicycling. Besides our two bills that decriminalize everyday behavior by all of us, there are many important bills we are working on getting the governor to sign.

*Bicycle freeway in Auckland, NZ; photo courtesy of Alta Planning*

Regional transportation planning reform (AB 1147, Friedman)

One of the most exciting bills in this legislative session, AB 1147, came in a plain brown wrapper. Assemblymember Friedman’s visionary bill will change the priorities in regional transportation planning documents. Among the priorities AB 1147 would enshrine into law is creating bicycle highways and 15-minute neighborhoods. We hope the governor recognizes the value of this measure for combating climate change and creating livable communities. Sign our petition to support AB 1147.

Allow lower speed limits (AB 43, Friedman)

The 85th percentile rule forces communities to let people who drive too fast set speed limits on most California streets. While it doesn’t eliminate the 85th percentile rule, AB 43 gives communities more flexibility to lower speed limits in high-injury corridors. Add your name to show your support for this bill.

More Slow Streets (AB 773, Nazarian)

AB 773 will make it easier to continue the Slow Streets we enjoyed during the pandemic and open up safe neighborhood spaces for walking and biking.

The Great Redwood Trail (SB 69, McGuire)

SB 69 is a step towards building a bike path along the mostly unused right of way of the old North Coast Railway, from Sonoma County to Humboldt County.

Bill CalBike opposed that didn’t move forward: Shared Micromobility Insurance

Shared micromobility insurance (AB 371, Jones-Sawyer) would have imposed such steep and unprecedented insurance requirements on bike share and scooter share providers that those services would likely disappear from California. That would be a significant setback in CalBike’s work toward equitable transit systems that provide low-cost, low-impact transportation.

The author held this bill back in the Senate after hearing the concerns from CalBike and our allies. We will continue to work with him to develop a solution that will allow bike sharing systems to thrive. That solution will also need to address the issue of liability, and insurance coverage for people injured by, for example, tripping on scooters left carelessly on the sidewalk,

The bills we wish had made it

Fleet electrification (AB 1110, Rivas). This bill would have made it easier for public agencies to convert their fleets to electric vehicles, including electric bicycles, by enabling statewide contracts to reduce local agencies’ costs.

Housing for people, not cars (AB 1401, Friedman). This bill would have reduced parking mandates in new construction near transit, making more room for homes. Unfortunately, it died in the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Speed Safety Systems (AB 550, Chiu). This measure would have allowed communities to use automated speed enforcement. That would remove police from speed enforcement, which is often the beginning of dangerous police encounters for people of color. Speed cameras, on the job 24/7, reduce injuries and crashes wherever communities install them. Despite collaboration with diverse stakeholders to ensure equity and privacy in the implementation of camera enforcement, this critical measure died an early death in the Assembly. We hope to see more automated speed enforcement proposals in the future.

Several other bills that CalBike supports became two-year bills. Check our Legislative Watch page for all the details.

Proposed Law Would Bring the 15-Minute City and Bicycle Highways in California

May 7, 2021/in The Latest /by Kevin Claxton

Despite ambitious goals, California has made little progress toward building safe and convenient bike routes. Safe bikeways don’t connect the destinations people need to reach. Roads and intersections that prioritize cars make bike trips unpleasant at best, dangerous at worst. A bill working its way through the legislature could change this landscape. AB 1147 (Friedman) would emphasize people-centric concepts like 15-minute cities and bicycle highways in new transportation plans.

California’s investments in active transportation infrastructure are not big enough nor strategic enough to create genuinely bike-friendly communities. However, one of California’s strongest champions for bicycling, Assembly Transportation Committee Chair Laura Friedman, has introduced a bill that could make a huge difference.

AB 1147 would hold regions accountable for their goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. It provides tools and incentives to achieve these goals, including a new block grant program that has CalBike very excited.

Onramp to the bicycle highway

The block grant program in AB 1147 supports two kinds of planning and infrastructure efforts. One is inspired by the idea of a 15-minute city. A 15-minute city is a place where practically everything people need is accessible by a 15-minute bike ride or walk. The other is a program to fund the development of bicycle highways.

We’ll repeat that since you probably just dropped your coffee: bicycle highways. A bicycle highway is a limited access, fast-moving, separated route for bikes only. Imagine riding across town without dodging cars or pedestrians.

Of the few examples in the United States, the Minneapolis Midtown Greenway best illustrates a separated bikeway connected to the street grid by highway-style ramps. Bicycle highways create safe places for the majority of people who don’t feel safe sharing streets with cars. At the same time, they also serve confident riders who seek fast and convenient bike trips.

The bill’s grant program for 15-minute cities could provide funding for CalBike’s proposed bikeway network grant program. The program would provide substantial funding to communities willing to design safe bikeways that offer continuous connections to key destinations. It would also include incentives to avoid the compromises that create roadblocks in otherwise connected networks. For example, the bill would discourage city officials from refusing to approve parking or traffic lane removal that’s necessary to bridge a gap in an otherwise safe, low-stress bikeway network.

What is a 15-minute city?

Friedman’s grant program may be Inspired by the commitment of the Parisian mayor to make Paris a 15-minute city. A 15-minute city is a city where residents can reach the services they need within 15 minutes without getting in a car. The 15-minute city requires mixed-use zoning where grocery stores and other shops, schools, medical offices, and workspaces are situated among or near residences.

Cities use different definitions of the 15-minute city radius: it could be walking distance, biking distance, or 15 minutes on public transit.

That’s why Friedman suggested that the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) host the 15-minute city grant program. The SGC brings together people from multiple state agencies to coordinate efforts to create a more sustainable California. AB 1147 would fund multi-faceted planning and land-use changes needed to increase density. This will bring key destinations closer to where people live. The 15-minute city could be coming to a neighborhood near you if AB 1147 becomes law.

Next steps for AB 1147

This bill is a wonky piece of legislation with dozens of provisions about compliance and policies and process. It only has a number, not a name. But sometimes visionary change comes in a deceptively bland wrapper. Assembly Bill 1147 is a truly innovative piece of legislation that could open the door to more liveable communities, more humane commutes, and stronger neighborhoods.

CalBike strongly supports the concepts of bicycle highways and 15-minute cities. We are working with legislators to ensure the bikeway network concepts in AB 1147 are clearly defined and fully funded.

Initially, funding for the projects in this bill was slated to come from the Active Transportation Program (ATP). However, the ATP is already oversubscribed. We don’t want to see funding stripped from other worthy active transportation projects to meet the very worthy goals of this initiative. Instead, a group of nonprofits is asking that the funding come from California’s $15 billion budget surplus.

We are excited to watch the evolution of this revolutionary bill. Stay tuned for opportunities to voice your support as it makes its way through the legislature and to the governor’s desk.