corinne's blog

Chip seal on Highway 35

Last Friday, SVBC hosted a meeting with local advocates and Caltrans representatives to discuss the recent chip seal maintenance job on Highway 35. SVBC heard from a number of our members that the riding experience on Highway 35 had been significantly degraded as a result of the recent chip seal--and we responded.

Our invitation to Caltrans resulted in eight of their staff members meeting with us on site to discuss the issues that cyclists face on Highway 35, and how those have been affected by the recent resurfacing.

The future of SVBC advocacy

On a recent ride from San José to a meeting in Palo Alto, I was checking out the different facilities in each city along the way. Every city has distinctive signage and street markings; It's really fascinating. I found myself thinking that it would be wonderful to have a better understanding of the actual conditions on the ground--so to speak--in all of the communities that SVBC serves.

Over the Hill with Alison Tetrick

This Sunday, SVBC member John Novitsky hosted a ride (not a date) and brunch with special guest rider, racer Alison Tetrick. This event was an auction item at our Annual Dinner last October, won by a couple of our friends in the Over the Hill Club.

Unfortunately I have the flu and couldn't join them but it sure looks like they had fun!

Alpine Road / Highway 280 update

San Mateo County Department of Public Works has prepared a modified design of Alpine Road under Highway 280 after incorporating some of our input. Due to their grant funding timeline, this is moving very quickly and they will be submitting their encroachment permit to Caltrans in the very near future--probably next week.

Caltrans approves some safety elements for Alpine at 280

We’ve received encouraging news from San Mateo County’s Public Works Department regarding the Alpine Road/Highway 280 underpass, a project that we’ve previously discussed here and here. Essentially, Caltrans regulations have put Public Works in a position where the department either needs to proceed with a design that SVBC did not originally support, or do nothing at all to the highly problematic interchange.

Clarification of SVBC's current position on Alpine/280 restriping

As announced last month, San Mateo County Public Works has finally found funding for the dangerous underpass at Alpine Road and Highway 280. Unfortunately, the design the County will move forward with was not SVBC's preferred option. This has created some worry in the cycling community that the redesign will not hold up to safety concerns.

New York, New York

I had the opportunity to check out some of the innovative bike facilities in New York last week--in the best way possible: riding around on a rented tourist bike.

King of the Mountain

SVBC members were invited this year to join our first team ride effort at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group's King of the Mountain (KOM) charity ride. Much to our surprise, and to the credit of team leaders and board members Shiloh Ballard and Alyssa Plicka, we were able to recruit 16 people to the SVBC team! It was great fun--and, we took third place in the "largest team" competition!

Good showing for the Bay Trail

I'd like to thank the SVBC members who attended Liz Kniss' press event this morning, where she officially announced a proposal to invest $5 million in the Adobe Creek Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge over Highway 101 in Palo Alto and $3 million in the Dumbarton link to the Bay Trail in East Palo Alto (a project SVBC advocates have been working on in conjunction with our Facebook campaign).

Policy Advisory Committee prepares for area polls

SVBC is thrilled to have an amazing Policy Advisory Committee. This election cycle, the committee has decided that SVBC will survey candidates in key races regarding their commitment to advance the cause of biking. While as a 501(c)3 we can't endorse candidates, we can ask them questions and publish their responses to help guide voters. We have determined a set of questions to ask candidates, and now we need your help in determining what races are key in your community!

Groundbreaking session at the SV Bike Advocacy Summit

Last week, at our Silicon Valley Bike Advocacy Summit, we hosted a closed session as part of our Vision Zero campaign. This was a follow up from the Stanford Trauma Bike Safety Summit in November.

Bikes and Apples

I met today with Eric Morley who is on the team of people leading Apple's development efforts for their new campus. This project has been on my radar for a while, since it's going to be one of the most significant developments in our area in this decade--or arguably this century.

Notes from the east

On Monday morning I flew into D.C. for a week of networking, lobbying, and good old fashioned work. All Monday afternoon I had the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) board meeting, and a dinner with the board that evening. The LAB board is comprised of amazing, dedicated individuals, making it a pleasure to serve on.

Pedaling with the Lord Mayor

On Sunday morning I had the joy of joining the San José Bike Party ride honoring the Lord Mayor of Dublin. And yes--that's the Dublin across the pond, not the one in California. Apparently San José and Dublin are sister cities and the officials from each get together annually. What better way to meet than on bike?

The Senator and I

On Friday I was lucky enough to join a reception and small dinner hosted by Marvell and Carl Guardino for Senator Diane Feinstein. It was an interesting event—the reception was attended by many elected officials who have been reliable supporters of bicycling over the years. I had an opportunity to chat with Santa Clara County Supervisors Ken Yeager, San José Mayor Chuck Reed, San José Councilmembers Sam Liccardo and Pierluigi Oliverio, and Santa Clara City Councilmember Jamie McLeod.