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We're at the State Capitol so you don't have to be.
We know how strongly you believe in bicycling as a simple, practical, affordable, clean, healthful mode of everyday transportation.
And we know you fight the good fight to enable more Californians to ride bicycles more places.
But since lobbying in Sacramento may not be an option for you, supporting CBC is your best bet for ensuring that state lawmakers understand why bicycling helps make our communities more livable for everyone.
Make sure your voice continues to be heard in Sacramento.
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Your support makes all the difference!
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| Legislation |
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Signing of Complete Streets bill promises safer conditions for all
The California Bicycle Coalition's biggest legislative success to date -- the governor's signature on the CBC-sponsored Complete Streets Act -- means Californians who ride bicycles for transportation can look forward to safer streets and roads.
Last month Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1358, the Complete Streets Act, making California the first state in the nation to ensure that all local streets and roads accommodate the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians and transit riders, as well as motorists. The bill was authored by San Francisco Assembly Member Mark Leno and co-sponsored by AARP California.
Fourteen states, including California, have adopted legislation, resolutions or internal policies that apply Complete Streets principles to state highways. Only California has enacted Complete Streets legislation for all local streets and roads.
"The signing of AB 1358 marks a major milestone in CBC's efforts to increase bicycle ridership in California," said CBC Executive Director K.C. Butler. "Many more Californians would like to ride bicycles for transportation, but they feel unsafe on the road. Designing and building local streets and roads for all users will encourage more Californians to choose active transportation like bicycling and walking."
The new law requires cities and counties, when updating their general plans, to ensure that local streets and roads meet the needs of all users. The law takes effect in January 2011, when the Governor's Office of Planning and Research issues new general plan update guidelines that reflect Complete Streets planning principles.
Yet even as he embraced Complete Streets, the governor vetoed the CBC-sponsored bill that called on Caltrans to establish guidance and criteria to ensure that the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians are addressed in the development of its safety programs by January 1, 2010. Assembly Bill 2971, the Fair Share for Safety bill authored by Assembly Transportation Committee Chair Mark DeSaulnier, sought to give bicyclist and pedestrian safety projects higher priority for some of the $100 million allocated by Caltrans under the federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act - A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) of 2005.
California ranks fifth among all states in the number of bicyclists and pedestrians killed in vehicle collisions. Federal rules call for allocating transportation safety funds in proportion to the greatest needs.
"AB 2971 was a natural companion to AB 1358," said Butler. "By vetoing the bill, the governor chooses to ignore California's unacceptably high rate of bicyclist and pedestrian deaths. CBC is urging Caltrans to take the governor's veto message to heart and begin doing more to safeguard those who travel by bicycle and on foot." Read more about CBC legislation. |
| Caltrans |
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Caltrans adopts Complete Streets policy
As the governor was signing CBC's Complete Streets bill, Caltrans released a revised policy that specifically applies Complete Streets principles to state highway projects.
Under review for the past year, the revised version of Deputy Directive 64, also known as DD-64, requires all levels of Caltrans, from headquarters to the 12 Caltrans districts, to consider the needs of travelers of all ages and abilities in all planning, programming, design, construction, operations and maintenance activities.
The original version of DD-64, which addressed ways to accommodate non-motorized transportation including bicycling and walking, was adopted in 2001. Thirteen other states have adopted legislation, resolutions or internal policies that apply Complete Streets principles to state highway projects.
The new version of DD-64 clearly states Caltrans' intention to embrace Complete Streets principles as a matter of policy. It also expands the duties of Caltrans staff under the policy and delegates most of those duties to the district level.
The next step is for Caltrans to develop implementation guidelines.
"I'm really encouraged to see Caltrans turn DD-64 into a true Complete Streets policy," said CBC Executive Director K.C. Butler. "DD-64 and AB 1358 constitute a seamless statewide policy that ensures that state and local roadways are designed for people, not just cars. I look forward to offering CBC's help to ensure that the revised DD-64 is implemented as quickly and fully as possible."
Read the full text of the revised DD-64. |
| State budget
Deficit closed (a little) with BTA "loan"
Among the many means used to eliminate an $18 billion deficit, the state budget signed by the governor last month diverts $6 million to the state General Fund from Caltrans' $7.2 million Bicycle Transportation Account.
The diversion was approved as a loan to be repaid with interest by June 2011. The $6 million is funding that had not yet been allocated by Caltrans.
"The Legislature missed a huge, historic opportunity by reducing funding for bicycle facilities at a time of high gas prices, economic uncertainty, and growing concern about global warming," said K.C. Butler, CBC's executive director. "Imagine the benefits if the Legislature chose to do more right now to help Californians use low-cost, clean, healthful modes of transportation like bicycling.
"Unfortunately, Caltrans made it easy for legislators by failing to allocate so much of the BTA funding," said Butler. Last year, local agencies submitted more than $50 million worth of bicycle facility projects for BTA funding.
Whether the $6 million loan will actually be repaid will depend on CBC's success in finding a legislator to champion repayment in a future budget year. | |
| California Bicycle Advisory Committee
No consensus yet on rumble strip hazards |
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Caltrans has yet to respond to the California Bicycle Advisory Committee's recommendation to study whether centerline rumble strips create hazards for bicyclists. CBAC advises the Bicycle Facilities Unit of Caltrans.
Several Caltrans districts have installed centerline rumble strips on sections of two-lane state highway to help drivers avoid head-on collisions. But on narrow lanes with little or no shoulder, bicyclists have nowhere to go when drivers try to pass too closely.
Late this summer the California Bicycle Advisory Committee asked Caltrans to halt installation of new centerline rumble strips until more is known about how they affect bicyclists. Bicyclists have complained about close calls on several narrow, shoulderless stretches of State Route 84 through the hills east of Fremont where Caltrans District 4 installed centerline rumble strips.
Caltrans has minimum standards for the installation of shoulderline rumble strips that resulted from an extensive study of their effect on bicyclists. But the agency performed no such study before it began installing centerline rumble strips, nor does the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which sets out the standards for signs, signals, and pavement markings, mention any potential hazard to bicyclists.
Caltrans District 4 acknowledged the hazard when it installed "share the road" warning signs on SR 84 in response to bicyclist complaints.
"We're seeing bicyclists being harassed now and at increased risk of being injured or killed," said CBAC Vice Chair Jim Baross, who also serves on the CBC board. "The danger is only going to increase, since Caltrans is moving ahead with installing centerline rumble strips on other state highways used by bicyclists."
CBAC's call for a moratorium reportedly has been embraced at Caltrans headquarters. But at a recent Caltrans District 4 meeting, district engineers said they wouldn't stop installing rumble strips unless specifically directed to do so by Caltrans headquarters.
District 4 plans to install centerline rumble strips on stretches of SR 9, also called Skyline Blvd., a winding mountain road in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties that is popular with recreational cyclists, and on SR 152 near Gilroy, south of San Jose.
The California Bicycle Coalition has sent a letter to Caltrans Director Will Kempton expressing its concern about the safety hazard that centerline rumble strips can create for bicyclists. |
| November 2008 general election |
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Vote yes on Prop 1A
High-speed rail offers a clean, highly efficient way to meet California's intercity transportation needs over the next 30 years. CBC has joined the supporters of Proposition 1A, the $9.95 billion bond measure on the Nov. 4 statewide ballot to help fund construction of a high-speed rail system in California. To serve the same number of travelers as the $40 billion, 800-mile rail system is projected to serve, California would have to spend $82 billion to build nearly 3,000 miles of new freeway plus five airport runways and 90 departure gates over the next two decades. The system will include facilities to accommodate bicycles, and its stations will be multi-modal transportation hubs planned according to transit-oriented design
principles.
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