SVBC is your best source for bicycling information in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Check this page to learn about interesting events, volunteering opportunities, and current issues facing bicyclists.
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Did you hear? SVBC is bringing back the Silicon Valley Bike Advocacy Summit!
I know you thought I was going to tell you we're giving out McRibs, but hopefully a day full of networking and learning about bike advocacy issues that affect us all is more exciting that a pressed meat product sammie of unknown origins and dubious food product credentials. I dunno, just me, maybe.
TransForm and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership are kicking off a powerful new collaboration of advocates like you, health professionals, and planning experts: the Healthy Transportation Network. The Network's goal is to shape big, pivotal transportation decisions in the Bay Area so they yield healthy outcomes for all.
They want you to join the Network!
Get plugged into the Healthy Transportation Network at the kickoff on Wednesday, February 15 from 9:00 to 10:00 am.
Monday evening I attended the Healthy Communities Forum in San José, put on by the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club and co-hosted by a number of organizations, including Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.
The SVBC San Jose Team meets each fourth Wednesday of the month. Dinner and networking start at 6:00 pm, then get the meeting rolling at 7:00.
Come join us to meet your cycling neighbors and get involved in local bike advocacy! Policy suggestions from the local teams will be submitted to the SVBC Policy Advisory Committee and help shape our advocacy efforts. We'll also plan for fun events and work on strategies to expand and improve bike facilities in and around San Jose.
UPDATE: The dinner portion of tonight's meeting has been cancelled. Please join us at 7:00 pm for the regular meeting.
Come join us and participate in bicycle advocacy in Palo Alto and the surrounding communities.
This group, a grassroots collection of advocates that reports to the SVBC Policy Advisory Committee, meets the second Thursday of each month to discuss bike issues and events in and around Palo Alto. Learn about the latest bike projects, fun events, and ways you can help expand and improve bike facilities in your community.
Facebook is taking a leading position in promoting the bicycle for everyday use by funding the construction of a comprehensive network of bike lanes in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto on routes leading to its new Menlo Park Campus, and working with other Silicon Valley employers to contribute financially to the completion of a missing one-mile section of the Bay Trail.
This timely blog just in from SVBC Board of Directors member Ian Dewar. Listen up and act fast!
The Future of transportation is here… and it does not look good for cyclists.
On Thursday Feb 2nd, the House Transportation committee will take the first vote on the new transportation bill called the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. This bill shockingly eliminates all federal funding for biking and walking. This is a $260 billion bill that will support all federally funded transportation programs for the next five years. Not only has the bill removed mention to key cycling projects, it actively eliminates programs that most cycling funding comes from, including Safe Routes to School and the Transportation Enhancements program.
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition sponsored our first team meeting in San Jose last night at Pho69. We were joined by several members who work for the City of San Jose as well as other local residents. We all had one vision in mind: to make San Jose a safe and fun place to ride a bike.
We had a great meeting of the SVBC San Jose Team last night. Thanks to everybody who came out, and thanks to Pho 69 for giving us a quiet, spacious loft to meet in!
Our friends at the Safe Routes to School National Partnership are looking to California bicycle advocates to help them in their fight to keep biking and walking funded at the federal level. They need your help!
Next Thursday, February 2, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will vote on the House transportation bill, which will eliminate crucial funds for bicycling and walking.
I attended the Menlo Park Planning Commission meeting on Monday night to deliver some comments regarding the Facebook environmental impact report (EIR) on behalf of SVBC. I mentioned the fact that the bicycle would be a great way to mitigate some of the traffic, noise, and air pollution that the EIR cites as "areas of controversy." It's not unusual for me to visit such meetings and comment on projects, but the efforts that lead up to this meeting were pretty extraordinary.
Our colleagues at the Safe Routes to School National Partnership are making a special push in California this week, and they need you to contact your State Assembly and Senate Members TODAY.
California Friends of Safe Routes to School,
Okay, let's talk gear. Normally, we at SVBC do not concern ourselves with the type of bike people ride, as it is of little importance to us what you ride, so long as you are able to do so safely. However, I feel the need to delve into gear today - and the riding styles gear influences - as some people have taken up the misguided belief that SVBC is here solely to promote this:
Photo credit Patt Baenen, Scaled-Up Productions.
The League of American Bicyclists has created an online form to protest the inclusion of a mandatory sidepath law in the draft Senate transportation authorization bill. More information below.
