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Newsletter of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Issue 10 Year End 2003
promoting bicycling for transportation and recreation
SCBC
Advocacy, Not Just for Commuters CALENDAR
Patrick Rocchi, NorCal Bike Sport Temporary Board
Meeting Date Changes:
The topic of bike racer involve- user groups The November and
ment in the SCBC is one that’s of cyclists on December SCBC Board
becoming more and more perti- Sonoma of Directors meetings
have been combined
nent with regard to the coalition’s County and will be held on
cause. Why should I, as a racer, roads. That December 9 at 6 p.m. at
support the SCBC? What does it being said, the Environmental
do for me? These questions have why wouldn’t Center, 404 Mendocino
Avenue in downtown
become common banter among racers be Santa Rosa.
bike racers who feel that there is interested in
SCBC General
little or no connection between supporting a Membership Meeting,
the SCBC and the sport of cause that Board Elections and
bicycle racing. directly sup- January Board Meeting:
ports their well being? tion a strong voice when working Wednesday, January 21,
As a racer myself, I can with local and state governments 2004 at 6:30 p.m.
empathize with this point of Part of the SCBC mission is to for bike-friendly road projects. It Round Table Pizza
view. There are a lot of things show that cyclists are a legiti- 2065 Occidental Road
is important for racers to be Santa Rosa
the coalition doesn’t do for rac- mate user of our roads, therefore involved in the SCBC because it Guest Speaker Jacquie
ing. It doesn’t outwardly help to the coalition works to make our shows the community that all Phelan, 3x National
nurture and develop the sport in roads as safe as possible for all cycling groups are united in Mountain Bike Champ &
our area and it doesn’t go out of cyclists. These are the roads we being models of good cycling Founder of WOMBATs, will
its way to bring any races to the train on. Remember the "Share discuss the bicycle as an
behavior and proponents of a agent of social change.
area. However, the SCBC has the Road" campaign? The phi- healthy and active lifestyle. Just how did the emerging
racers’ best interests in mind losophy of the SCBC is inclusive Racers are directly affected by mass market/consumer
every time we get on our bikes of all types of cyclists: commuters, the efforts of the SCBC, and it culture and its expression,
to train. Think about how many recreational cyclists and racers the bicycle, add momen-
should be in their best interest to tum to the (by 1880) forty
hours bike racers spend on our alike. Everyone benefits. align themselves with the coali- year old women’s suffrage
roads training for the next event. tion’s cause. movement?
The SCBC is almost 400
In fact, there’s a good argument Open to members only,
members strong and growing. Patrick is a service technician at
that we’re one of the biggest memberships available at
Numbers like this give the coali- NorCal Bike Sport the door.
Free pizza 6:30 p.m.,
Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Sonoma County Walks and Rolls to School!
Over 800 Sonoma County children to celebrate International Walk If you are interested in
serving on the board and
joined millions across the globe to School Day on Wednesday, would like to be included
and walked or rode bikes to school October 8. Children from on the ballot, please con-
Bernard Eldridge school in to school together with a pur- tact Christine Culver at
Petaluma, Roseland 707-545-0153 or
pose — to promote health, SCBC@att.net.
Elementary, Fremont School safety, physical activity and
photo by Vicki Duggan
and Wright School in Santa concern for the environment. SCBC Board Meetings
Rosa, Park Side School, are regularly held on the
Pine Crest School and The kids received fun reflective last Wednesday of each
month at 6 pm at the
Brook Haven School in zipper pulls, safety information, Environmental Center,
Sebastopol, and Sonoma’s and donated food and drinks as 404 Mendocino Avenue
Woodland Star participated. part of the event. Daniel O’Reilly, in downtown Santa Rosa,
Janice Oakley’s Troop 440 from Fremont except as noted above
Elementary School enjoy their walk to school The idea is to walk or bike who walked with his children and
Continued on page 5 (open to the public).
2
WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE,
Bikesonoma
EDITOR:
NOT JUST ACCOMMODATE!
Christine Culver
LAYOUT/DESIGN:
Sally Homsi
Sonoma County has many things going for it: great weather, beautiful rides and communities that are working
COPY EDITOR: hard to make it bicycle friendly.
Loretta Esparza
CONTRIBUTORS:
So, who am I to complain? Recently my neighborhood was involved in a study to see if we could benefit from
David Abbott traffic-calming techniques. This was exciting to my family and neighbors. It seemed to be a wonderful chance
Martin Clinton to make our neighborhood a model for the rest of the community; you know, the kind where you see people
Pat Rocchi walking their dogs, hanging over the fence talking to the neighbors and kids riding bikes down to the corner
Lou Salz market to buy a treat.
Steven Schmitz
Instead, the same old auto centric designs used to discourage cars from using our narrow streets as short cuts
PHOTOS: are being implemented. Don’t get me wrong; this will be positive too. But it doesn’t encourage folks to leave
AbbiOrca.com their cars in the driveway when they need that carton of milk. It doesn't reward folks who bike or walk by
Joe Breeze giving them the advantage. Instead of bicycle boulevards, bike- and walk-through diverters or street closures,
Christine Culver we are getting lots of stop signs and a couple of traffic circles.
Claire Culver
Vicki Duggan The people in charge of this truly believe that they are FOR bikes, and they do install bike lanes whenever
possible. What they don’t realize is that bicycles ARE part of the traffic solution. We must create better condi-
SCBC Board of Directors tions for people to ride, if we want to get them out of cars. We have to stop doing the same thing; it hasn't
Barbara Denlis worked in the past and it won't work now. We can't build ourselves out of congestion.
Mike Eunice (Secretary)
Debora Fudge Our faithful public employees are pretty good at keeping bike riders in mind when they put in new bike lanes.
Jim Keene Now we need them to start building the bicycle infrastructure for the non-bike riders so everyone will feel safe
Linda Picton enough to get out of their cars and start walking and biking for those quick errands through our little neigh-
Lou Salz (Vice President) borhood streets. The traffic calming solution needs to be more about bikes and less about cars.
Steve Schmitz
Sean Walling For those of you in the choir, thanks for riding!
Warren Watkins
Ken Wells (President)
Christine Culver, SCBC Executive Director
Gary Wysocky (Treasurer)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
Christine Culver
G i v e a Ye a r E n d Ta x D e d u c t i b l e D o n a t i o n t o S C B C
It has been a very productive Locally, lots of hard work by the derful volunteers. Through fund-
year for bicycle advocacy and the SCBC is paying off as more Share raising events and generous pri-
Sonoma County Bicycle the Road signs are now being vate donations we have been able
Letters to the Editor Coalition (SCBC). We have installed on our roads by Caltrans. to hire an almost full-time execu-
We welcome your comments. made great progress in promot- Also, our second year of involve- tive director. This has ensured
Send letters to: ing the bicycle for transportation ment with International Walk (& that we are well represented at
SCBC
P.O.Box 3088 and recreation. Sonoma County Roll!) to School day was a huge important governmental meet-
Santa Rosa, CA 95402-3088 has many of the basic elements of success; over 800 children and ings, both locally and regionally.
e-mail comments via our a cycling haven: great weather, seven schools throughout the
website: The SCBC needs your help! The
flat urban areas, amazing road county participated!
www.bikesonoma.org wheels of better bicycling are
rides and excellent off-road rides.
A key project on the SCBC front slowly beginning to turn as we’ve
However, if you bicycle in
burner is the Highway 101/Santa been rallying for our rights to use
Sonoma County, you know there
Rosa Junior College overcrossing. our roads. Your annual gift to the
are many more things that need
This project will link what has Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition
to happen before Sonoma
long been a broken east-west cor- will help directly with creating
County will fit the SCBC’s vision
ridor in Santa Rosa. The SCBC better bicycle facilities, education,
of a bicycle-friendly community.
has been working with key agen- bicycle valet parking at local
The SCBC has been involved at cies to promote this project. While events and basic operating costs. I
the regional level working with this will create a better east-west hope you will consider a gift of
the Metropolitan Transportation corridor, we are also working to $100, or as generous a gift you can
Commission (MTC) as the create a north-south bicycle and make. The SCBC is a 501 (c)(3)
Regional Transportation Plan is pedestrian corridor from non-profit organization and your
updated. We are working with Cloverdale to Larkspur. gift is tax deductible. Please send
other advocacy groups to secure your year-end donation to SCBC,
Many of our events and pro-
dedicated funding from the MTC P.O. Box 3088 Santa Rosa, CA
grams are successful because of
to improve bicycling in the Bay 95402. Thank you in advance!
the sheer will of our many won-
Area as well as Sonoma County.
3
Walk & Roll to School… Craig Litwin, mayor of that only 31 percent of the
Sebastopol joined the children who lived less than
Continued from front page
event at Park Side School a mile from school walked or
organized the event at and helped distribute biked there in an average
Woodland Star in Sonoma, food, drink and other week. According to the
exclaimed “It was quite a give-a-ways to kids and CDC, obesity rates have
sight: what with parents, sib- their parents who walked doubled among children and
lings in strollers, we took up or biked to school. He tripled among adolescents
the better part of an entire also walked with his since 1980.
city block. And that’s just the Danny O’Reilly leads the Walking School Bus and is young child to the school
people who met at the followed by Jesse U’Ren, Josh Larson and Kelly Braun site that morning.
library and walked in from
there.” Sonoma council- School Day. Joining them on Events like these are
member Doug McKesson the walk from the Community necessary for battling the
joined the festive event to Center were Dennis Dessel, alarming trend of
help promote walking and principal; Marlene Abel, increased health problems
rolling to school. school board member; John that our car culture has
Sedlander, school board mem- driven us to. A recent sur-
In Petaluma, over 130 kids ber; Pamela Torliatt, city coun- vey by the Centers for Petaluma
from Bernard Eldredge School cilmember; and Lynn Disease Control and
participated in the Walk to Francisco, event organizer. Prevention (CDC) found
Reasons we ride asked the weight of the approaches we take must follow the rules of
David Abbot bike and picked it up. I toward cycling and how the road. We also must
always enjoy watching people perceive us. I use organize and present a
My wife and I recently other cyclists test it for my bicycle for transporta- unified political front. A
attended a cycling event weight and I wasn’t disap- tion and to address prob- bike goes far beyond
on the outskirts of pointed. With the Baggins lems we face as a society being a toy and recre-
Sebastopol. We don’t own bag on the back, it weighs addicted to single-passen- ation. The sooner we act
a car, so we rode from about 40 pounds. He told ger motor vehicles. There seriously, the sooner we’ll
Santa Rosa and enjoyed me how light his bike was are times when I ride only get the respect we deserve
the beautiful summer day. and quizzed me on the for pleasure, but mostly I and need in order to sur-
As we were preparing to joys of riding a fixed-gear ride for transportation. vive on the road.
ride home, a few of the downhill. It was a typical
other cyclists came to We are all exposed to the David is the manager at
conversation, one I’ve
check out my bike. dangers of sharing the the Bicycle Factory in
grown to enjoy. Indeed,
road with cars. Safety is Sebastopol and commutes
My main ride is a Surly my bicycle is probably
an important issue, but from his home in Santa
Steamroller fixed-gear. Its heavier than it needs to be
the impression we leave Rosa to work everyday.
wheels are heavier than for just such exchanges.
with drivers is equally
most people’s bikes. I share this story to illus- important. If we want to
Inevitably, one of the guys trate the different be taken seriously, we
7
SB916 (Perata) will give Bay confusing language in the that it would be okay to clarify Do you want to be on the cut-
Area voters a chance in March California Vehicle Code per- the bicycling-related provisions ting edge of the veloution?
2004 to increase bridge tolls by taining to where on the road- of the vehicle code. Sign up for e-updates at
$1 to fund a variety of trans- way bicyclists may ride. 2) E-mail CBC if you've ever SCBC@att.net and you’ll
portation projects, including AB1408 seeks to clarify ill- been doored: 916-446-7558 or receive bi-weekly updates.
$20 million for a Safe Routes defined terms in the vehicle cbc@calbike.org.
What else can you do? Join
to Transit program. code including: "as far to the
National News: the SCBC list-serve at bike-
Unfortunately, only seven Bay right as practicable" and "sub-
From America Bikes sonoma@ihpva.org and let’s
Area Counties will be voting standard width lane."
get some bike dialogue going!
on this and Sonoma and Napa Specifically, the current codes Senate Committee passes
are not included. Let your do not make explicit enough a TEA-3 legislation, safe routes What? You want to do even
friends and families in the bicyclist’s frequent right and funding boosted. We moved more? If you haven’t joined
other counties know about this need to move away from the one step closer to a new feder- the SCBC now is the time, see
great opportunity, as Sonoma edge of the roadway for rea- al transportation bill, as the the form on the back page.
County will still benefit. sons of safety. Senate Environment and SCBC is looking for volun-
Public Works Committee teers to help and run different
The CHP currently opposes Here's what you can do:
passed their TEA-3 bill on programs. Call 707-545-0153 if
Assembly Bill 1408, authored 1) Contact CBC with the
November 12. During deliber- you would like to help with
by Assemblymember Lois names and contact info of
ations, an amendment raised valet bike parking, Walk to
Wolk (D-Davis), and spon- bike-friendly police officers
funding for Safe Routes to School day, event tabling, bike
sored by the California Bicycle who might be willing to con-
School from $50 million to $70 rides or annual events.
Coalition, which would clarify tact the CHP to let them know
million per year.
I want to Volunteer!
Grant writing Safe Routes to School & Walk to School Day Other
Marketing Staff an informational table
Valet Bike Parking Advocacy in your town
July Membership Party Newsletter distribution/mailings
Membership Level
$15 STUDENT/ $40 FAMILY $250 SUSTAINING Make checks payable to
LOW INCOME Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition
$50 CONTRIBUTING $500 CHAMPION
P. O. Box 3088
$30 REGULAR $100 SUPPORTING $1,000 MILLENNIUM Santa Rosa, CA 95402-3088
Please list family members if this is a family membership: