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Tour de Vine wrap up
The 2nd Annual Tour de Vine, a family friendly bike ride to benefit the Napa and Sonoma Bicycle Coalitions happened on Sunday, October 10th. 100% of the ride proceeds went to fund bicycle advocacy in our two counties. Sincere thanks to Patrick Band, Napa Bicycle Coalition Executive Director, for sharing the ride proceeds with SCBC, and sharing the beautiful unknown backroads and bike paths of Napa County with us. We encourage everyone to explore our neighbor county to the east by bike. You won't be disappointed!
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Where did the SMART Path go?
It's Time to Tell SMART Board of Directors:
"I Want My Path!"
What:
SMART is eliminating important segments of the SMART Pathway and to date has not invested any money building the Pathway within Sonoma County. All segments built so far in Sonoma County have been constructed by "partner" agencies using their own funding sources.
When:
NOW!
What You Can Do:
(1) Contact SMART Board members to tell them that you want your Pathway!
(2) Take part in the “I Want My Pathway†photo campaign to the SMART Board of Directors via Instagram. Use the tag: #savethesmartpath OR email your photo to save.the.smart.path@bikesonoma.org.
(3) Sign the Marin Bicycle Coalition Petition to save the path between San Rafael and Larkspur.
How We Got Here:
In 2006, voters in Marin and Sonoma County rejected Measure R, a sales tax measure to fund development of the SMART Rail and Trail project. Two years later, a similar measure was put to the voters with one important change - it included a $91 million bicycle and pedestrian trail running from Cloverdale to Larkspur. With strong support from the Sonoma and Marin County Bicycle Coalitions, Measure Q passed with a 2/3 majority of voters supporting the vision of a 70-mile rail and trail project.
The recession reduced anticipated tax revenue, forcing SMART to adjust their timeline and build the SMART project in phases. The first action was to phase the project and construct the segment from Santa Rosa to San Rafael as the first phase. Estimated cost for just this segment of the Pathway was $42 million, down from $91 million for the entire trail.
In March of 2011, the SMART Board identified several austerity measures intended to save the project, including deferring many aspects of the project until additional funds could be found. As part of this action, the Board voted to defer 1/3 of the funds needed for the Pathway. This left only $28 million toward the estimated cost of $42 million earmarked to environmentally clear, design and build the Pathway from San Rafael to Santa Rosa. SMART promised to aggressively pursue federal and state grant funding to make up the difference.
SMART has not developed one inch of Pathway in Sonoma County with Measure Q money. So what happened to the $28 million that SMART said would be invested in developing the Pathway project from Santa Rosa to San Rafael?
At the October 15, 2014 SMART Board of Directors' meeting, after one of several requests by our friends at Marin Bicycle Coalition for a Pathway timeline and funding plan, SMART's General Manager stated that he did "not want to mislead you [SMART Board] and give dates for a Pathway timeline when there is no money to back it up."
Translation: SMART appears to have spent all the Measure Q money on building the train. There is no Measure Q money left to build the Pathway and so SMART will compete with Regional Parks and other local agencies for bike path money. What other local bike projects will go unfunded so SMART can replace Measure Q money for the Pathway?
SMART recently boasted that 37 miles of SMART Pathway will soon be federally environmentally cleared, making it "ready to go for federal funding" and that 24 miles of the Pathway will be "in operation" by the start of train service.
This sounded like great news until we began to dig into the details.
The reality is that SMART is counting existing portions of the Pathway that have been built by others. The largest segment is from Novato to Petaluma that's being built by Caltrans as part of the Highway 101 widening project. Caltrans planned, financed and constructed this project, which was required as part of upgrading Highway 101 - it would have happened even if SMART didn't exist. Once existing Pathway segments constructed by other agencies are subtracted, that 24 miles shrinks down to 4 disconnected miles of short segments in Sonoma County and what's planned for construction is disjointed and lacks connectivity to other Pathway segments.
Most alarming is the removal of three Pathway segments in San Rafael and one segment in Petaluma from the 2014 SMART Strategic Plan. This action was taken with no input from stakeholders and little public notice. One of the San Rafael segments, between Anderson and Second Street is critical for safe bicycle and pedestrian access between San Rafael and the Larkspur Ferry Terminal and was not included in the environmental clearance or project design for the train extension to Larkspur.
If the Pathway between Second and Andersen is not designed into the project now, extension of the rail as planned will forever preclude its construction. But SMART is plowing forward with the assumption that striping a congested high speed arterial road is just as comfortable and safe as providing a Pathway. Really? Click here for background on the Pathway between Second and Anderson .
Bottom Line: SMART needs to environmentally clear the Pathway between Second and Andersen NOW, and fund and construct it at the same time as the rail.
It's time to stand up and collectively say that we voted for the Pathway, we're paying for the Pathway, and we want SMART to deliver on its obligation to build the Pathway.
What can you do?
SPEAK UP - WRITE AND CALL YOUR ELECTEDS: Request a funding plan and timeline for the Multiuse Pathway (as has been done with the rail). Let the SMART Board, City Council members and Board of Supervisor members know that you support all efforts to protect, fund and construct the multiuse Pathway. Share stories about how you and those you know will use the Pathway.
- Click this link for email address of your local elected officials: http://www.bikesonoma.org/help-us/take-a-stand/
- Sign the MCBC petition today urging the SMART Board to honor its obligation to the taxpayers and voters of Sonoma and Marin Counties to fund and construct the Pathway - in its entirety.
- Take a picture of yourself with friends and family riding on one of the roads you'll have to ride on if the SMART Pathway does not get built. Make sure to have a sign, piece of paper or anything else with the message "I Want My Pathway" in the picture.
- Send the photo to the SMART Board via Instagram. Use tag: #savethesmartpath or email your photo to save.the.smart.path@bikesonoma.org.
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International Walk and Roll to School Day
Sonoma County's International Walk & Roll to School Day event, on Wednesday, October 7th, produced by our Safe Routes to School program, was a great success again this year. 63 schools participated in the event, and over 10,500 children walked, bicycled, scootered or skateboarded to school.
This represents close to 40% of students in attendance at participating schools that day. Douglas L. Whited Elementary in Santa Rosa's Rincon Valley participated for the first time this year, and their coordinator reported "It was more fun and had a bigger participation rate than we ever expected! The kids were so excited about it, the student council asked to do a walk and roll day every week!"
The Santa Rosa French American Charter School reported a record 94 kids bicycling to school that day. Their coordinator reported, "This event has grown in participation every year at our school. This was our most successful event yet. We are, this year, trying to encourage biking (to school) every Wednesday. We have created a bulletin board in the main hall with a map of routes people use, a suggestion sheet, a tally sheet of bike totals week to week and more. We have also invested in customized prizes with our school
name on them. We purchased enough for, hopefully, three years of events. We are also trying to merge two separate bike parking areas into one fenced area in front of the school. We plan to make our pitch to
district officials at a site meeting on our campus Oct. 20. With bikes in a fenced area out front, we can advertise to all that we are a cycling school."
Here's to all the schools celebrating active transportation in October, and a special shout-out to all the schools who will continue to encourage walking & bicycling to school, as well as educating students to be
safe while doing so, throughout the year.
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Lake County Bike Drive
Contacted by representatives of Middletown Schools in Lake County for help, SCBC was able on short notice to collect 50 donated bicycles for a bike giveaway. Combining forces with the Bike Peddler bike shop in Santa Rosa, which graciously paid employees to check out and fix all the donated bikes (and who collected 50 more bikes for the bike drive themselves) we helped deliver the bikes to people who’d been affected by the Valley Fire.
A second bike drive is scheduled for Saturday, November 14th. SCBC will again be collecting donated bikes to deliver to Middletown that day. Please call SCBC's offices at 545-0153 for to arrange a time to drop off your donation.
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Smart Cycling Classes
Our Smart Cycling Class is now available on week nights!
We are now offering the classroom portion (Smart Cycling A) as a two hour class once a month on a Wednesday night from 6:30-8:30PM.
This is an awesome place to build up street biking confidence or get answers to your questions about how the transportation laws work with people on bikes. Whether you are a daily bike commuter or new to two wheels there is something for everyone in this class. Our instructors are nationally certified by the League of American Bicyclists and live to teach each of you how to be legal while also being safe when biking in our community. No need to bring your bike to this class but we encourage you to bring your helmet for our LCI instructors to help ensure it is well fitted to your valuable noggin.
There are two more Wednesday night classes available before the year ends.
November 18, 2015 6:30-8:30PM
December 16, 2015 6:30-8:30PM
Sign up soon, to ensure your seat in this insightful class, before it fills up.
All classes are held at the Bike Coalition's office at 750 Mendocino Ave in Santa Rosa. The cost is $10 for Coalition members and $20 for the general public. For more information and to register online, visit www.bikesonoma.org or call (707) 545-0153 or email skills@bikesonoma.org.
Got a bike related problem or complaint?
Our website www.bikesonoma.org includes forms to report harassment by car drivers, road hazards and malfunctioning traffic signals. Just look for the black and white banner at the top of the home page and click on the appropriate category to reach the form to report your concerns. You do not need to be an SCBC member to report a problem.
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Join us!
The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition (SCBC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting bicycles for transportation and recreation through our advocacy and education programs. We rely on funds mainly from memberships, donations, and sponsorships to work to make Sonoma County the best place to ride a bike. Besides supporting the organization, your membership entitles you to the use of our bicycle lending library that includes four Yuba cargo bikes. Joining us is as easy as going to www.bikesonoma.org and clicking on the bright blue “Join Us†button.
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Volunteers Needed
Are you computer savvy?
Are you fluent in word press?
Do you have a few hours a week to spare?
Then we need you!
We are in need of a volunteer to lend a hand with updates to our website www.bikesonoma.org
Please contact us if you want to be our website hero!
The Bike Coalition needs YOU!
Are you a current member of SCBC, passionate about how bikes can be used for positive change whether for recreation, fitness or transportation, who would like to work towards making Sonoma County an even better place to ride a bike? Consider running for a seat on our Board of Directors. Board members are elected every January at our Annual Membership Meeting, serve for two years, are required to attend a monthly board meeting and get to weigh in on strategy and policy decisions for SCBC. We are especially interested in recruiting members who live outside of Santa Rosa, whether in Petaluma, Cloverdale, Sebastopol, Sonoma or points in between. For additional information, contact Board President, Vicki Duggan, Vicki@bikesonoma.org
Our Annual Appeal is coming your way
It's that time of year again - the holidays and the end of the year are almost here. Like most non-profits, we depend on financial contributions from our supporters through our year end annual appeal to help fund our advocacy efforts throughout the year. Watch for our annual appeal letter, which will be sent out in late November. As always, you can donate directly at our website, www.bikesonoma.org
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