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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Some cyclists are vehicular in nature - they want to be treated just like cars on the road. Others are fans of specialized bicycle infrastructure like bike lanes and cycletracks. Many of us employ a combination of these two views to get where we're going safely and quickly. Whatever your opinion on the subject, a new report in the Injury Prevention Journal provides some very interesting data on urban bike paths.
Today U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood commented on his blog Fast Lane that "pedestrian and bicycle projects created nearly twice as many jobs per dollar spent than traditional road projects."
Portland, also known as Stumptown, Rose City, Bridgetown and PDX, became "Railtown" for a brief moment last week, when the city hosted the 16th Annual Rail~Volution under sunny skies and warm temperatures. The event seeks to foster greater involvement by public transit agencies in creating livable communities and linking to bicycle, pedestrian, and street networks as well as increasing private sector investment in creating livable communities.
SVBC members and staff, as well as members of the community at large, held their first meeting as the Redwood City Working Group. SVBC has formed a working group to provide input on bicycle-related projects to Redwood City staff. The workgroup is being formed primarily due to financial difficulties in Redwood City which have delayed institution of their Complete Streets Commission, which would normally provide input to City staff on bicycle and pedestrian issues. Thus, this workgroup will serve until a suitable commission is able to fulfill this function for the City.
Late last month, new "No Parking" signs were unveiled on Woodside Road in Woodside, west of the Cañada Road intersection. The signs were installed in order to pacify a chaotic traffic situation that threatened cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians outside the local elementary school. Sharrows - bicycle icons painted in the traffic lane - were also installed to let motorists know that bicycles have the right to the lane when they cannot keep safely to the right of traffic.
If you missed Park(ing) Day 2010, you missed some great conversions of street parking into inviting public spaces. Not to worry! SVBC was there (with a Park(ing) Spot of our own) to check out the asphalt alterations and report back.
In another great move by the city of San Jose's Department of Transportation to make streets safer and calmer for all residents, the city announced the completion of a project to convert sections of Julian St. from a one-way westbound street into a two-lane, two-way street. The project was completed on August 24th between 4th and 21th streets and involved new striping and signage changes.
As many of you know, following Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's appearance at the National Bike Summit, he announced on his blog that "People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized." This announcement came alongside a policy revision that puts the interests of bicyclists and pedestrians on equal footing with the concerns of motorists.
Recently National Public Radio had a news story about a section of Buenos Aires that decided on a different kind of book fair. Bookstores along the seven blocks of Corrientes Ave. closed off the streets in the summer, set up chairs, tables, and sofas and celebrated books and literature. While we tend to think of ciclovias as being for bicycles, any type of outdoor activity will do.
Recently National Public Radio had a news story about a section of Buenos Aires that decided on a different kind of book fair. Bookstores along the seven blocks of Corrientes Ave. closed off the streets in the summer, set up chairs, tables, and sofas and celebrated books and literature. While we tend to think of ciclovias as being for bicycles, any type of outdoor activity will do.
Of course we all know that line from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" but it also describes the current state of cycling on the Peninsula and in the South Bay.
A cyclist was struck by a car and killed on December 18 while crossing Hwy. 101 on Hillsdale Blvd. in San Mateo. The victim was an as yet unidentified 68 year old man. He was hit by a Caltrans vehicle.
San Francisco cyclists can now download CycleTracks, the free app that generates maps and statistics of your rides that you can share with friends. The app is now available on Android phones and iPhones.
TransForm has recently released a report titled, "Windfall For All: How Connected, Convenient Neighborhoods Can Protect Our Climate and Safeguard California’s Economy." The report looks at the four main population areas of the state - Southern CA, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, and Sacramento - and finds that residents could save $31 billion if all communities had the same level of efficient design and access to public transportation as the best 20%.
Well, it could be worse, but it certainly could be better, too. Transportation for America just released a report on the most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians. The report takes into account the percentage of residents who walk to work and the average annual pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people to acheive a "Pedestrian Danger Index," or PDI. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area received a PDI of 71.9.
