|
Smart Cycling Classes
Improve your bicycling skills and confidence! Take our Smart Cycling Seminar - now offered as a 2-hour evening class.
These classes are interactive, fun and appropriate for novice to expert bicyclists, ages 12 to adult. You will learn about best lane positioning, safe turning practices at intersections, legal rights and responsibilities and much more. Classes take place monthly on Wed. 10/14, Wed. 11/18 and Wed. 12/16, from 6:30-8:30pm.
If you've taken our Smart Cycling Seminar, sign up for our on-bicycle class. We will do safety checks on your bike, practice riding skills, hazard avoidance maneuvers, and go on an instructional ride. This 4 hour class take place on Saturday morning of 10/10 and on 1/9, from 9am-1pm.
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.
Coalition Secures $750,000 Safe Routes to School Program Contract
On August 25th, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved SCBC’s new contract with the Sonoma County Department of Health Services to continue the K-8 Sonoma County Safe Routes to School program through June 2017. The program is funded via the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s One Bay Area Grant Program, Measure M, and Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefit Program. Under this two year contract Coalition staff will provide 22-31 selected county schools with comprehensive Safe Routes to School services in the areas of education, encouragement, engineering, enforcement, and evaluation. All 4th, 5th and 7th grade students at participating schools will be taught bicycle and/or pedestrian safety lessons by visiting SCBC instructors, and 4th and 7th grade students will receive on-bicycle instruction in the form of a 4th grade “bicycle rodeo†or 7th grade “on-bicycle skill drills.†SCBC staff also provides participating schools with technical support, materials, and resources to develop an ongoing Walk & Roll to School encouragement program, with the hope that more parents and kids will choose to utilize active transportation on their routes to/from school and in their neighborhoods. In addition, SCBC staff works with participating schools to provide outreach on bicycle/pedestrian safety and benefits to school staff and parents, and assess barriers to walking and bicycling in the areas of infrastructure and enforcement. The County Safe Routes to School program officially “kicks-off†each year with the annual International Walk & Roll to School Day event on October 7th, with approximately 70 schools and over 11,000 students participating. The months of October and November are already booked with bicycle rodeos. For more information about the Safe Routes to School program and participating schools, visit www.sonomasaferoutes.org.
|
|
|
|
|
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
The Coalition is hiring!
Bilingual School Education Program Coordinator (part-time, non-exempt)
The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition (SCBC) seeks a qualified, enthusiastic bilingual (English/Spanish) individual to coordinate Safe Routes to School bicycle and pedestrian safety education and encouragement programs in schools located throughout Sonoma County for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years (August 2015-June 2017). The primary role of the School Education Coordinator is to provide technical support, outreach and education services to schools to assist them in encouraging more families to walk or bicycle to school, and to do so safely. Hours vary each week/month, but average to about ½ time over the course of each program year. For more information go to: http://www.bikesonoma.org/jobs/
Bait Bikes
The Bike Coalition approached the Santa Rosa Police Department to see if they had any interest in setting up a bait bike program because Santa Rosa has a significantly larger amount of bike theft than any of the other cities or the unincorporated area of Sonoma County. Nor-Cal Bike Sport/Bike Peddler “loaned†several bikes for use in the program. They deserve much thanks for putting their bikes at risk. Without these bikes there would be no bait. The bikes are equipped with GPS trackers, so once stolen are easily recovered and the thief(s) arrested. Because of new limits established by Proposition 47, the Bait Bikes must be worth at least $950 dollars in order to allow the thief to be charged with a felony. This means the thief must post bail or remain in the County Jail until their trial date. A huge thanks to Nor-Cal Bike Sport/Bike Peddler for providing the bikes and maintaining them after recovery to make sure they're still worth enough to put the bad guys behind bars.On the first night SRPD deployed a Bait Bike, a hat trick was scored - three thefts and three arrests!. Bait Bikes have been on the streets of Santa Rosa for the last nine months, resulting in dozens of arrests. Many of those arrested had warrants and/or prior convictions, and are still cooling their heels in the County jail.
Remember that registering your bike makes it easier for the cops to reunite you with your bike if the worst happens and it's stolen. You can do this through the Coalition's website : http://www.bikesonoma.org/bike-theft/
|
|
|
|
|
|
Moving Forward on the Petaluma-Sebastopol Trail
An important step was made this summer for a proposed 13-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail connecting Petaluma and Sebastopol. In May, Sonoma County Regional Parks was awarded a $209,436 grant by Caltrans to study the feasibility of creating this trail. The general route of the proposed trail is inspired by a former railroad that ran from Sebastopol along the Highway 116 corridor to northwest Petaluma. Much of the railroad right-of-way is now privately owned and developed for other purposes, so a feasibility study will help determine the most workable route for a trail. The proposed study area extends from southwest Sebastopol through the unincorporated areas of Hessel and Cunningham, west of Highways 116 and 101 to northwest Petaluma. The study area also connects with the county's Joe Rodota Trail, which runs along the former railway route between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol.
"Imagine being able to ride from downtown Santa Rosa to Petaluma on dedicated bike paths," said 5th District Supervisor Efren Carrillo, who represents portions of the study area. "The proposed trail could help create healthier communities, new recreational and visitor opportunities, and much-needed commute alternatives. We look forward to learning more through this study."
The Bicycle Coalition is thrilled to be supporting the project with both matching funds and collaboration throughout the study. The study likely will begin this fall and will include multiple community meetings, surveys and workshops. A draft report will be prepared for public input before a final report is presented to the Board of Supervisors for consideration in 2017.
Community Connector Update
As expected, the Santa Rosa City Council voted at their September 1, 2015 meeting to approve a Cooperative Agreement between the City of Santa Rosa and SCTA (the Sonoma County Transportation Authority) to make a request for the final $200,000 of the total $250,000 available Measure M funding to continue to move the Community Connector project forward. The $200,000 will essentially reimburse the city for money already spent on producing the Project Initiation Document (PID), scheduled to be completed by January 2016. While money has not yet been allocated to construct the Community Connector, a completed PID is essential to secure construction funding from regional and state transportation funding sources. Although this has been a very long process, we are confident that one day it will be possible to bike or walk safely across 101 from Coddingtown to SRJC on the Community Connector overcrossing.
|
|
|
|
