September 2004 September 7th meeting www.sbbike.org How to reach us Join the Coalition Join us on Tuesday, Septem- ber 7th for our monthly meeting. Let’s improve biking for us all: Tuesday, 12:00 noon County Public Works Conference Room, 1st floor 123 East Anapamu Street Santa Barbara, California Online email list We’re a countywide advocacy and resource organization that promotes bicycling for safe transportation and recreation. For sale: video & flag [email protected]
www.sbbike.org September 2004 Serving Santa Barbara County We’re a countywide advocacy and resource organization that promotes bicycling for safe transportation and recreation. How to reach us Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition PO Box 92047 Santa Barbara CA 93190-2047 phone 962-1479 email [email protected]web www.sbbike.org September 7th meeting Join us on Tuesday, Septem- ber 7th for our monthly meeting. Let’s improve biking for us all: Tuesday, 12:00 noon County Public Works Conference Room, 1st floor 123 East Anapamu Street Santa Barbara, California Online email list We sponsor an online email forum where you can post and read messages that pertain to regional bicycling issues. It’s easy and free. To subscribe to our general forum, just send an email message to: [email protected]Leave the subject line and body of the message blank. That’s all! Join the Coalition You can help improve bicycling safety and condi- tions in Santa Barbara County by joining others in our own regional Bicycle Coalition advocacy group. Together we will continue to make a real difference. See page 6 for details. For sale: video & flag We’re pleased to offer our own video “Decide to Ride.” It’s about a young woman who learns to bike commute to work. It’s only $18 (tax and US shipping included) from us, address above. Plus, we’re selling Bike Week flags, 4’x6’ heavy nylon, terra cotta and white. They’re $33 plus tax. Look at this PDF file: www.sbbike.org/art-home/ flag.pdf After hearing dozens of people speak on the subject over three meetings, the Board of Supervisors finally voted to proceed with the Santa Ynez Valley Community Plan on August 10th. The proposed trails in the plan themselves did not receive much dis- cussion or comment, but there were strong feelings about whether the plan should encompass the Valley’s entire 231,000 acres, or should only deal with the much smaller urban core. If the rural areas had been deleted, it would have also de- leted many of the proposed trails. Supervisors Joe Centano and Joni Gray sup- ported excluding agricultural land from the plan area of the original acreage. However, it was Su- pervisor Gail Marshall—whose district encom- passes the Santa Ynez Valley—who felt that the Valley should be remain unified under one plan. She eventually made a motion to proceed with the plan that would consist of all 231,000 acres, and it was passed with the support of Supervisors Susan Rose and Naomi Schwartz. At the August 3 Supervisors meeting, Bicycle Coalition president Ralph Fertig delivered the petition with 728 names of people who supported the Santa Ynez River Trail, collected over two months last spring by Buellton bike shop owner Supervisors approve Santa Ynez plan Corey Evans and by the Bicycle Coalition. During the August 10th discussion, Supervisor Joni Gray admitted that “trails improve our qual- ity of life,” although she also said that she didn’t want one running through her property. Willie Chamberlin, a ranch owner near Los Olivos, said that there should be no trails through private property. He objected to the standard process of putting a trail on a map, then having planners re- quire a trail easement whenever the owners, one by one, apply for a project permit on their land. Overall, we consider the progress of the plan a positive step toward new bicycling trails. What happens next? The plan was sent off for study of environmental impacts. At the earliest, it could be adopted by summer 2005. However, there will be challenges along the way, so we will need your help in realizing better trails for us all. This drawing shows a possible route for the Santa Ynez River Trail. A bikepath along Highway 154 would avoid problems near the dam. Shoreline bikepath opens On August 14, a large crowd turned out to cel- ebrate the opening of Santa Barbara’s new Shore- line Drive bikepath, sidewalk and landscaping. Mayor Marty Blum, Supervisor Susan Rose, SBCAG Director Jim Kemp, plus past and present City Council members officiated. Mulholland & bike education Bicycle Coalition Board member Nancy Mulholland has offered to head up our committee on Bike Education. Although it officially awaits approval at our next board meeting, we have no doubt that she will be confirmed. Three others have come forward to assist her: Dru van Hengel, Erika Lindemann, and Chuck Anderson. If you would care to help out with this important program for children and adults alike, whether you are a League Cycling Instructor or not, contact Mulholland at 563-9073 or [email protected]. Watch Quick Release each month as courses are announced and bike safety information is of- fered. Look at thenext page for a description of two September bicycle education opportunities for South Coast children—and spread the word. This is just the start of an important program that will enhance community awareness of bicy- cling. We look forward to a long and successful program under Mulholland’s coordination.
Transcript
www.sbbike.org September 2004
Serving Santa BarbaraCountyWe’re a countywide advocacyand resource organizationthat promotes bicycling forsafe transportation andrecreation.
How to reach usSanta Barbara BicycleCoalitionPO Box 92047Santa Barbara CA 93190-2047
September 7th meetingJoin us on Tuesday, Septem-ber 7th for our monthlymeeting. Let’s improve bikingfor us all:Tuesday, 12:00 noonCounty Public WorksConference Room, 1st floor123 East Anapamu StreetSanta Barbara, California
Online email listWe sponsor an online emailforum where you can post andread messages that pertain toregional bicycling issues. It’seasy and free. To subscribe toour general forum, just sendan email message to:[email protected]
Leave the subject line andbody of the message blank.That’s all!
Join the CoalitionYou can help improvebicycling safety and condi-tions in Santa Barbara Countyby joining others in our ownregional Bicycle Coalitionadvocacy group. Together wewill continue to make a realdifference. See page 6 fordetails.
For sale: video & flagWe’re pleased to offer our ownvideo “Decide to Ride.” It’sabout a young woman wholearns to bike commute towork. It’s only $18 (tax andUS shipping included) fromus, address above.Plus, we’re selling Bike Weekflags, 4’x6’ heavy nylon, terracotta and white. They’re $33plus tax. Look at this PDF file:www.sbbike.org/art-home/flag.pdf
After hearing dozens of people speakon the subject over three meetings,the Board of Supervisors finally votedto proceed with the Santa Ynez ValleyCommunity Plan on August 10th.
The proposed trails in the planthemselves did not receive much dis-cussion or comment, but there werestrong feelings about whether theplan should encompass the Valley’sentire 231,000 acres, or should onlydeal with the much smaller urban core. If the ruralareas had been deleted, it would have also de-leted many of the proposed trails.
Supervisors Joe Centano and Joni Gray sup-ported excluding agricultural land from the planarea of the original acreage. However, it was Su-pervisor Gail Marshall—whose district encom-passes the Santa Ynez Valley—who felt that theValley should be remain unified under one plan.She eventually made a motion to proceed withthe plan that would consist of all 231,000 acres,and it was passed with the support of SupervisorsSusan Rose and Naomi Schwartz.
At the August 3 Supervisors meeting, BicycleCoalition president Ralph Fertig delivered thepetition with 728 names of people who supportedthe Santa Ynez River Trail, collected over twomonths last spring by Buellton bike shop owner
Supervisors approve Santa Ynez plan
Corey Evans and by the Bicycle Coalition.During the August 10th discussion, Supervisor
Joni Gray admitted that “trails improve our qual-ity of life,” although she also said that she didn’twant one running through her property. WillieChamberlin, a ranch owner near Los Olivos, saidthat there should be no trails through privateproperty. He objected to the standard process ofputting a trail on a map, then having planners re-quire a trail easement whenever the owners, oneby one, apply for a project permit on their land.
Overall, we consider the progress of the plan apositive step toward new bicycling trails. Whathappens next? The plan was sent off for study ofenvironmental impacts. At the earliest, it could beadopted by summer 2005. However, there will bechallenges along the way, so we will need yourhelp in realizing better trails for us all.
This drawing shows a possible route for the Santa Ynez River Trail. Abikepath along Highway 154 would avoid problems near the dam.
Shoreline bikepath opens
On August 14, a large crowd turned out to cel-ebrate the opening of Santa Barbara’s new Shore-line Drive bikepath, sidewalk and landscaping.Mayor Marty Blum, Supervisor Susan Rose,SBCAG Director Jim Kemp, plus past and presentCity Council members officiated.
Mulholland & bike educationBicycle Coalition Board member Nancy Mulhollandhas offered to head up our committee on BikeEducation. Although it officially awaits approvalat our next board meeting, we have no doubt thatshe will be confirmed. Three others have comeforward to assist her: Dru van Hengel, ErikaLindemann, and Chuck Anderson. If you wouldcare to help out with this important program forchildren and adults alike, whether you are aLeague Cycling Instructor or not, contactMulholland at 563-9073 or [email protected].
Watch Quick Release each month as coursesare announced and bike safety information is of-fered. Look at thenext page for a description oftwo September bicycle education opportunities forSouth Coast children—and spread the word.
This is just the start of an important programthat will enhance community awareness of bicy-cling. We look forward to a long and successfulprogram under Mulholland’s coordination.
Quick Release • September 2004 • Page 2
Member summer barbecue another successAugust 8th was another superbday in our area, and just the per-fect time for a picnic. Our annualMember Appreciation Barbecueattracted over 30 members, familyand friends to Tucker’s GroveCounty Park. We offered barbe-cued chicken from Santa BarbaraChicken Ranch, drinks, and allthe great food brought by ourmembers to share.
Our thanks to Dru vanHengel, Erika Lindemann, andRalph Fertig for all their work inputting it together. And to WilsonHubbell who brought free peel-and-stick reflective material to pass out,plus Vie and George Obern who broughtthree big bags of apples from their trees forus to enjoy.
We realize that some members had con-
flicts with Fiesta and other commitmentsthat kept them from attending, so would amid-August date be better than early Au-gust? Was the Goleta Beach location bet-ter? Please let us know.
Here our Bicycle Coalition members digging into all the foodat our Third Annual Member Appreciation Barbecue.
Coalition honored forCar Free Project
Since its inception in fall 1998, the SantaBarbara Car Free project has encouragedSouth Coast visitors and residents to getaround without a car. Originally called“Take a Vacation from Your Car,” theproject has been coordinated by the AirPollution Control District’s Mary Byrd fromthe beginning.
Partner organizations include the SantaBarbara Bicycle Coalition, hotels, bikerental shops, kayak, bike and jeep tourcompanies, boat rentals, the MTD transitagency, regional tourist bureaus, Chambersof Commerce, and Amtrak.
Current Bicycle Coalition presidentRalph Fertig has been involved from thebeginning because he saw a great opportu-nity to get visitors to rent bikes while here,or bring their own bikes with them. “Themore bicyclists on our streets and paths,the safer it will be for us all,” is his feeling.
So on August 19, the Board of Directorsof the Air Pollution Control Districtawarded a Certificate of Appreciation toFertig who received it for us, for all ourwork in making bicycling a more prominentaspect of our community.
Bike safety for kidsThese two offerings are part of our bicy-cling education program now being coordi-nated by Nancy Mulholland. See the ar-ticle about it on page 1.
Bike Safety & Handling Rodeo for KidsEvent: Salsa Festival Santa Barbara 2004Date: Saturday, September 4thTime: 12:00 noon to 8:00 PM
Location: Ortega Park in Santa BarbaraInstructor(s): to be announcedSponsor: COAST Safe Routes to School ProjectContact for more information: Ricardo Venegas
963-7605 to sign up children for the course,or Jessica Scheeter at [email protected] for moreinformation.
Children’s Bicycle Safety CourseEvent: Lompoc Old Town FairDate: Saturday, September 18thTime: 10:00 AM to 12:00 noonLocation: Cypress & South H Streets, LompocInstructor: Erika Lindemann, LCISponsor: Lompoc Valley Chamber of CommerceContact for more information: Lompoc Valley
Chamber of Commerce 737-4567; or ErikaLindemann at [email protected], or 961-8919.
August Coalitionmeeting topics
Our August 3rd Bicycle Coalition gatheringattracted 14 people to discuss these andother issues:
• Ralph Fertig described meeting VinceDeCarlo from Greenwich CT who was hereto examine Santa Barbara’s transporta-tion system.
• Plans for our Member AppreciationBarbecue were discussed.
• Ralph Fertig described Renaissance Cyclesrelocation to Santa Barbara.
• Wilson Hubbell described the re-plankingof the Obern Trail bridge near Pattersonusing recycled plastic lumber.
• Mike Hecker talked about his ongoingmountain bike races in Elings Park.
• Ralph Fertig, Mike Hecker and otherstalked about the Board of Supervisorsconsideration of bike trails in the SantaYnez Valley Community Plan.
• Cliff Baldridge complained about unsafebicycling on Cliff Drive in Santa Barbara.The City is working with Caltrans overrelinquishment of the state highway.
• Wilson Hubbell and Ralph Fertig talkedabout Caltrans’ plans for Foothill Road.
• Ralph Fertig described the involvement ofUCSB students in the MoveUC campus tourcurrently taking place.
• We discussed reauthorization of theCounty’s 1/2-cent transportation tax, andpossible inclusion of bicycling conditions.
Hazard’s new shop
What a summer!Lance Armstrongand the Postieshad barely finishedtheir last circuit around the Arc de Triumph,when the Olympic flame was ignited. For usbicyclists, it’s road races, time trials, trackcycling, mountain bike races, and triathlons.We’re proud of local cyclist Adam Duvendeckwho raced in the Olympic velodrome, eventhough he didn’t win a medal.
The cycling totals show the United Statestied with Great Britain and Spain for fourthplace in total medals. Australia, Russia, andGermany were ahead of us, and 14 othercountries share the remaining medals.
Olympiccycling
Bruce Davis has many reasons to smile at hisnew, bigger shop, Hazard’s Cyclesport. It’s nowlocated at 110 Anacapa Street in Santa Barbara.
Quick Release • September 2004 • Page 3
Coalition seeks safer Foothill designsOver the past 3 years, Caltrans has consid-ered improvements to a narrow stretch ofFoothill Road (Highway 192). What’s in-volved is a 0.7-mile section between MissionCanyon Road and Alamar Avenue. Becauseit’s a state highway, Caltrans is responsiblefor its design and maintenance.
The situation first came to our attentionat a November 2001 meeting betweenCaltrans and the Mission Canyon Associa-tion. Caltrans described possible changesdue to the high accident rate, poor drain-age, and emergency response times. Ac-cording to a report published in December2001 Quick Release, the subject of pavedbikelanes came up. We observed, “Mostresidents favored paving because they ei-ther want to bike or walk there, or becausecyclists hold them up when they drive onthe roadway. Other residents, however, saythat while they don’t mind paved shoul-ders, they sometimes use the space forparking when they have company.”
The Bicycle Coalition followed the meet-ing with a letter to Caltrans dated January23, 2002. We urged them to design theroad with four-foot shoulders, shoulderstripes, and designated “No Parking” zoneson both sides. This was for six reasons:• safer conditions for pedestrians and
bicyclists• a place for USPS mail trucks for delivery• safer conditions for disabled vehicles• space for motorists when emergency
vehicles approach• greater sight distances for motorists
exiting driveways• no blocking of motorists by slow-moving
bicyclists in the travel lanes.After that, we heard nothing about FoothillRoad for 30 months until they scheduled apublic information meeting last July 28th.Their proposed design was on display—itincluded four-foot unpaved shoulders. Wewere told that it would be a “stabilized”material, and that the roadway pavingwould extend in various distances onto theshoulder. We were also told that it was theMission Canyon Association who asked forthe unpaved shoulders.
What was most disturbing was an infor-mational poster at the meeting titled “Pur-pose and Need.” One of the six items onthe poster said, “While the shoulder wouldremain mostly unpaved, it would provide aflat refuge area for bicyclists.”
Bicycle Coalition president Ralph Fertigsent a letter to Caltrans on August 4th. Theletter states that Caltrans failed to complywith its own Deputy Directive DD-64 in de-sign of Highway 192 improvements. That
DD-64, dated March 2001, states in part:
“The Department fully considers the needsof non-motorized travelers (including pe-destrians, bicyclists and persons with dis-abilities) in all programming, planning,maintenance, construction, operations andproject development activities and products.”
We further questioned the concept of a“refuge area for bicyclists.” We asked, “Arefuge from motorists? Does that mean thatwe are expected to abandon the pavedroadway to which we have full legal access,whenever a motorists approaches us fromthe rear?”
Fertig suggested a solution. It would beto use a colored surface paving treatment.It could be colored to match local earth, giv-ing residents the rural feeling that they de-sire, while providing bicyclists with a safeplace to ride.
It remains to be seen whether we get theconsideration that DD-64 requires, but wehave heard that our letter has provokeddiscussions. We’re definitely staying tuned.
Foothill Road west of Santa Barbara will havethese drainage ditches filled in, but we ask thatthe new covering shoulder will be paved.
Granada bikestationmoves ahead
On August 24th, the Santa Barbara CityCouncil accepted a $19.9 million bid toconstruct the “Granda Garage” parkingstructure that includes a “bikestation”within the structure. Ground breaking willbegin this September and the bikestationshould be completed by February 2006.
The management and services offered bythis new bicycle facility have not been de-termined. The extent, if any, to which ourBicycle Coalition is involved, will be consid-ered over the next 18 months.
Bye bye bikepathSanta Barbara County’s Coast Route bikepaththrough UCSB was temporarily reroutedonto a service road while construction ofKohn Hall extension was in progress overthe past year or so. It entailed a short dis-tance on busy Lagoon Road from theGoleta Beach bikepath before entering theservice road between Kohn and Engineer-ing I. Yes, it was less safe than the directcrossing and an inconvenience, but it wastemporary. Or so we were told.
On August 25, to commuting bicyclists’surprise and dismay, the place where thebikepath was to be restored was replacedwith new parking spaces that were clearlydefined with freshly-poured concrete curbs.
Investigation by bicyclists determinedthat Chancellor Henry Yang made the deci-sion in response to a request from some-body with influence in Kohn Hall forconvenient parking for his car.
Whether protests against this taking areeffective or not, the precedent that it sets isdisturbing: that the Chancellor can, with aswoop of his pen, inconvenience and en-danger thousands of people using sustain-able transportation for the personalconvenience of one individual who prefersnot to walk a short distance.
A flurry of phone calls and emails fromirate bicycle commuters over their loss iscontinuing as this goes to press. The BicycleCoalition will take a stand against this ac-tion. We especially note the timing of thisswitch, intentional or not: it occurred whennearly all students were absent and manystaff and faculty were on vacation.
While we formulate an appropriate pro-test, you may wish to express your ownopinion—please contact Chancellor Yang [email protected].
Kohn Hall now has a sidewalk on the left of newparking spaces (where the construction truck isparked). Chancellor Yang removed the bikepathfor new car parking.
Quick Release • September 2004 • Page 4
For Santa BarbaraCounty Bike Maps,info on ridesharingand van pools, justcall: 963-SAVE.
FREEBIKEMAP!
Ads in Quick ReleaseQuick Release accepts advertisements. Circulation isabout 400 people. Ads are 3.5” wide x 2.0” high.Cost is $18 per ad, or 12 consecutive ads for $180.Details and an order form are available on PDFformat online at: www.sbbike.org/QR/ad.pdf.
For two weeks during the summer,UCSB students joined others on a bi-cycle-oriented tour of University ofCalifornia campuses. They were inves-tigating and promoting sustainablecampus transportation as part of the“MoveUC” program that is a campaignof the California Student SustainabilityCoalition < www.ucssc.org >.
By meeting with students, facultyand administrators at eight of the UCcampuses, they laid the groundworkfor awareness and action. One resultwas that the UC Office of the Presidentis creating a new Sustainable Trans-portation Coordinator position to workwith the MoveUC campaign and collect“best practices” information. UCSB stu-dents Soumil Mehta and Edward Franceare working with Arthur Coulston from UCSanta Cruz in gathering that information.Their task, says Mehta, is to compile thedata for the CSSC, and then use it for pre-sentation, documentation, and outreach.
By using bicycles for transportation be-tween cities and on campuses, the groupappreciated more deeply that, as Mehta ex-presses it:• Bikes are the perfect transportation match
for the medium-to-high density andcentralization of college campuses.
• Bicycle networks are a vital part of anysustainable transportation network.
• Bike-friendly development enablesconnecting links, thereby completing anymulti-modal network of transportation.
• Among the campuses, there is a wide-range of practices and cultural attitudestowards sustainability and transportationalternatives.
• All the UC campuses have the potential tobecome more bicycle-friendly, especiallyRiverside and Irvine because they planlarge-scale growth well suited to bicyclingnetworks.
• Bicycling is a rewarding, exhilarating andintimate way to travel through California.It provides freedom to get on and go with-out worrying about traffic jams, whilerewarding the cyclist with a sense of joyand wonder.
• Bicycles have been taken for granted fortoo long. For a real and substantial changein the campus mode split, we need to givebike facility development the highestpriority and first consideration in thecirculation element of campus long-rangedevelopment plans.
• Bike networks must be the centerpiece ofthe campaign because they have thepotential to benefit a significantly higherproportion of campus populations than
UCSB students, from the left—Soumil Mehta, GregBanks, Eric Lohela, Edward France, and Logan Green.Photo courtesy of Edward France.
MoveUC students visit university campuses
any of the other solutions like carshare,rideshare, transit, and others.
What lies ahead for MoveUC is a campaignthat requires a methodical approach, a cul-tivation of relationships with faculty, staff,and administration, and a persistence.
At UCSB, the Associated Students’BIKES committee has provided the spawn-ing ground for MoveUC action. Bicycle Coa-lition president Ralph Fertig has regularlyjoined the committee for meetings, and in-tends to continue. It’s to our united benefitto aid them in embracing their vision of atransportation network developed on soundprinciples. It will lay a sustainable founda-tion for not only the UC campuses, but alsoall neighboring communities.
Walk/Bike Conferencein Ventura
The California Bicycle Coalition’s PresidentGail Payne announced that the City ofVentura will be the site of the Walk/BikeCalifornia 2005 conference. Our BicycleCoalition had teamed with the City of SantaBarbara to propose that it be held here, butVentura beat us out.
It will be held in September 2005, andwe may be involved with pre-conferenceand post-conference events. With over 300people attending, we can offer bicyclingweekends for those who chose to make it afun vacation or expand their education.
Transportation andLivability Summit
Our thanks toRepresentativeLois Capps fororganizing ahalf-day meet-ing on August25 to discussthe future oftransportationin the SouthCoast of SantaBarbaraCounty. Over100 key transportation partners from SantaBarbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispocounties attended; Ralph Fertig was in-vited to represent bicyclists.
The keynote speaker was RepresentativeEarl Blumenauer from Portland, Oregon.He is a senior member of the importantHouse Transportation and InfrastructureCommittee. Both he and Capps are mem-bers of the House “Bike Caucus” that pro-motes bicycling issues. Fertig phonedBlumenauer’s office beforehand and invitedhim on a Santa Barbara bike facilities tour,but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time.
“Increase the number and variety oftransportation choices,” said Blumenauer.“The auto is necessary, but it’s importantto not surrender to it.”
Congressman Earl Blumenauer
Quick Release • September 2004 • Page 5
Upcoming bikemeetings & events
With many meetings and events being an-nounced a week or two or three before theytake place, this list should be consideredonly the beginning. To get an updated list-ing, go to www.sbbike.org/meet/meet.html . Andlook at the bicycling education events forchildren described on page 2.
September 7, General Meeting. Meeting atnoon, first Tuesday of the month, CountyPublic Works conference room, 123 EastAnapamu Street, First Floor, Santa Barbara.Our guest will be Heather Diez, Goleta’sProject Manager to discuss the upcomingHighway 101/Cathedral Oaks interchange.Phone president Ralph Fertig, 962-1479 oremail him at [email protected].
September 7, Figueroa Mountain HillClimb, sponsored by Dr. J's Bicycle Shop. Itbegins at 6:00 PM at the flagpole in LosOlivos. Details from Corey Evans [email protected] or at 688-6263.
September 21, Santa Ynez Valley TimeTrial, sponsored by Dr. J's Bicycle Shop.The course is 5.2 miles with rolling hillsthrough the wine country with picturesquebackdrops. There will be both an individualtime-trial, as well as a two-person teamtime-trial. Meet at the corner of Baselineand Edison Roads off Highway 154 inSanta Ynez (next to the Valley of the Shep-herd Church) at 5:00 PM. Details fromCorey Evans at [email protected] orat 688-6263.
September 26, Carpinteria Triathlon,sponsored by Carpinteria Parks and Recre-ation. Choose from the long course with a40K bike ride, or the short course with a15K bike leg. Relay teams can only com-pete in the long course. Bike in mountainfoothills through agricultural lands. Prereg-istration required at www.active.com. Phone684-5650 x432 for info.
Active membersPlease thank and support the following Bicycle Coalition businessmembers:
• Hazard’s Cyclesport, Santa Barbara• Rincon Cycles, Carpinteria• Piekert Group Architects, Santa Barbara
We welcome new Bicycle Coalition members Kenneth Kosai andYolanda Blue.
And we certainly thank those who renewed their memberships:Jim Marshall, Hildy Hoffman, Dennis Thompson, MarkMcClure and Ron Williams.
Westside BikeaboutWestside Santa Barbara activist JoanLivingston led a bike tour of existing andproposed public facilities on August 18th.The purpose was to see how existing parks,bridges, and gardens were used, and lookat possible new park locations.
The group consisted of Livingston, the Bi-cycle Coalition’s Ralph Fertig, city Plan-ning Commissioner Jonathan Maguire,and several others. They visited BohnettPark, the upcoming Bohnett Park Exten-sion, the “green jungle” at Figueroa andSan Pasqual that could become a new park,the graffiti-free Anapamu bike/ped bridge,the newer Ortega bike/ped bridge, and theRancheria community gardens.
We learned that a new “Aloes and Birds”art project will soon be installed at theOrtega bridge. It will consist of decorativearches all along the bridge and its ramps.
Maguire commented that the long rampson the Ortega bridge were a deterrent to pe-destrians who resented the extra walking.Fertig said that he loved them for bicycling,and would sometimes go out of his way touse that bridge. The ramps must have agentle slope to accommodate disabledpeople, whether separate stairs are addedor not, so there may be no design alterna-tive short of an elevator.
Joan Livingston, center, shows a map ofimprovements slated for the Bohnett ParkExtension during her Westside Bikeabout.
We met Caltransabout new bridge
Bicycle Coalition members Wilson Hubbell,Erika Lindemann and Ralph Fertig metwith Heather Diez from the City of Goleta,and three Caltrans representatives on Au-gust 27th. We examined plans for the pro-posed Cathedral Oaks bridge over Highway101. We agreed that the bridge configura-tion of two 12-foot traffic lanes, two 8-footshoulders, and one 6-foot sidewalk on thewest side would acceptably serve all users.
Details for the intersections of Calle Realon the north and Hollister Avenue on thesouth include stop signs and no added turnlanes. This still needs approval of the Cali-fornia Transportation Commission. If all goeswell, construction will start in mid-2007,and finish in mid-2009. We’ll be watching.
Obern Trail stopAn idea was hatched last spring duringpreparation for Bike to Work Day. A tem-porary coffee and rest area was establishedby Don Lubach at the juncture of theObern and Maria Ygnacia Trails. The ideaof a permanent stop and information dis-play came from Wilson Hubbell and RalphFertig, and applying for CREF fundingseemed ideal. An email to the four archi-tects who are Bicycle Coalition membersgenerated interest in design of the stop,with Jeff Stoutenborough being the first toreply. Additional assistance was offered byDennis Thompson and Carrie Bingham.
The idea is to create an information stopthat explains the Juan Bautista de Anzaparty’s trek through there in 1776, why theObern Trail was so named, and who MariaYgnacia was. So we’re going to work withJeff to make the deadline for a preliminaryproject description by October 1st. If youwish to be involved, contact Fertig at [email protected] or 962-1479.
P.O. Box 92047Santa Barbara, CA 93190-2047
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED NONPROFITORGANIZATIONU.S. POSTAGE
PAIDSANTA BARBARA,
CAPERMIT NO. 647
Santa Barbara Bicycle CoalitionPresident, Ralph Fertig, 962-1479
❏ New membership ❏ Renewal membership Make check out to Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition.Mail to Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, PO Box 92047, Santa Barbara, CA 93190-2047
✔
MEMBERSHIP IS VALID IF LABEL BELOW SAYS “MEMBER”
Is an address label missing?
Put your name here by joining theBicycle Coalition and have Quick Releasedelivered right to you 12 times a year!
Discounts tomembers
Members of the Santa BarbaraBicycle Coalition are offered dis-counts at local bike shops. It’sanother reason to join our advo-cacy group. To get your dis-count, take your copy of QuickRelease to the shop & showthem your address label thatsays “MEMBER” on it. Or cutout the label box and take it.Discount details are posted onour web site at www.sbbike.org/SBBC/who.html. Please patronizethe following shops:
Bicycle Bob’s250 Storke Road #A, Goleta15 Hitchcock Way, Santa Barbara
Bicycle Connection223 W. Ocean Avenue, Lompoc
Big Gear Bike Gear324 State Street #A, Santa Barbara
Hazard’s Cyclesport110 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara
Mad Mike's Bikes1110 E. Clark Avenue #G, Santa Maria
Open Air Bicycles224 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara
Pedal Power Bicycles1740 Broadway, Santa Maria
VeloPro Cyclery633 State Street, Santa Barbara5887 Hollister Avenue, Goleta
