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DO YOU KNOW THE ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF SAFE BICYCLING?
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JOIN CBC TODAY AND RECEIVE A FREE LIGHT FROM PLANET BIKE
Join CBC with a membership donation of $35 or more and we'll send you your choice of one of these high-quality lights from Planet Bike: |
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Each year Planet Bike donates 25% of profits to grassroots advocacy organizations like CBC. Planet Bike donated the lights in support of CBC's efforts to safeguard bicycling as safe, clean, affordable transportation in California. |
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| Around the state | |
Can new draft plan, mayor's crash improve bike access in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles released a new draft of its 2010 Bike Plan this month. Perhaps in response to pressure from bicycle advocates critical of an earlier draft, the plan now proposes 255 miles of new bikeways to be built over the next 5 years, compared to 125 miles' worth proposed previously.
 Local advocates cautiously praise the commitment to new bikeways, while continuing to call for revisions that more accurately account for existing bikeways as well as the extent of proposed facilities and where they'd be built.
 Momentum for improved bike access in LA got an unfortunate boost a week later when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa fell and broke his elbow while dodging a taxicab during a bike ride in Venice. Villaraigosa released a YouTube video a few days later in which he thanked well-wishers and vowed to do more to improve bicycling conditions in LA.
PHOTOS (above): Washington Post; (right): City of Los Angeles
County to vote on group ride regulation
Next month the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is expected to decide whether to require permits for large recreational bicycle rides and other "special events" that use county roads.
The proposed ordinance was a response to several years of complaints from residents of the San Antonio Valley, a remote rural area in the hills east of San Jose, about group bike rides and most recently the Tour of California, which was routed through the area without residents being properly notified.
The ordinance doesn't define a "special event" and bicycle advocates fear a broad interpretation could limit bicyclists' access to public roads in violation of the California Vehicle Code. The County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee has recommended numerous revisions to simplify the proposed ordinance and make it conform to state law.
The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and other bicycling organizations have called on the county to treat rides that don't require road closures like any other routine road traffic.
Bond funds OK'd for Santa Cruz rail line purchase
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission will receive $11 million in state bond funds to purchase a 32-mile stretch of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line between Davenport and Watsonville. The commission plans to develop a bicycle-pedestrian trail from Santa Cruz to Davenport. The route eventually also may see expanded freight and passenger rail service.
Last month the California Transportation Commission unanimously approved the RTC's application for Prop. 116 passenger rail bond funding on the last day the funding was available.
Valet bike parking to ease beach traffic
Huntington Beach has introduced free valet parking for bicycles to lure beachgoing residents out of the cars and ease summertime  traffic.
Surf City Bike Valet offers free bike parking one block from the beach on weekend days and Tuesday evenings through Labor Day. The program is funded by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and operated by the Boys and Girls Club for donations.
Oakland hosts 3rd annual Peace Ride
Three hundred bicyclists from Oakland and beyond took to the streets of Oakland on June 24 to advocate for peace. The 3rd annual Bikes 4 Life Peace Ride started at Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland and ended at the Bikes 4 Life bike shop in West Oakland for a screening of the movie "The Warriors."
Oakland is home to a bicycling scene as diverse as its population, and includes the colorful, car-free scraper bike movement that originated in East Oakland.
Author delivers zero-emissions message by bike
Sacramento author James Kaelan is riding from Los Angeles to Vancouver while leaving a minimal carbon footprint to promote We're Getting On, his collection of short stories with a zero-emissions message. He and videographer Miles Kittredge, who is shooting a feature length film of the ride, began their tour on July  2 and expect to reach Vancouver around Aug. 18.
Camping at organic farms along their route, the pair rode from Los Angeles, up the Central Coast to San Francisco, and on to Sacramento. At the State Capitol last week, Kaelan accepted a State Senate proclamation before departing northward through the Sacramento Valley with stops in Marysville, Chico, Los Molinos, Redding and Dunsmuir. |
| November 2010 election | |
No on 23 campaign spans political spectrum Major Republicans and Democrats, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, have joined forces against Proposition 23, the November ballot measure that would suspend implementation of Assembly Bill 32, California's landmark greenhouse gas reduction law. Prop. 23 is financed by Texas oil companies Tesoro Corp. and Valero Energy Corp.
Former U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz and major Democratic donor and financier Tom Steyer are co-chairs of Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs, which opposes Prop. 23. Steyer, the founder of Farallon Capital and a donor to Barack Obama, kicked in $5 million for the campaign. Schultz is an advisor to GOP gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman, who has made the repeal of AB 32 a centerpiece of her campaign.
This month the Clean Economy Network, the largest national membership-based organization promoting clean technology and innovation, released a report that details the threat Prop. 23 poses to California's global leadership in clean energy and green jobs. |
| Complete Streets | |
New atlas shows nationwide progress
Keeping track of efforts throughout the U.S. to implement Complete Streets policies got easier this month. The National Complete Streets Coalition launched a Complete Streets Atlas, which maps federal, state and local Complete Streets efforts currently in progress. The map uses color coding to identify locations and the various kinds of policy changes being implemented. To date, 149 communities and states have adopted such policies, including 19 during the past year.
At the same time Caltrans approved an internal policy revised to make Complete Streets the guiding principle behind all phases of highway planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation.
As a result, California became the second state -- and by far the largest -- to embrace Complete Streets for all public roadways. |
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Bicycling and the law
I understand why I'm required to ride on the right side of a two-way street. Do I also have to ride there on a one-way street?
What the law says: California Vehicle Code Section 21202(b) allows anyone riding on a one-way street with two or more traffic lanes to ride as near to the left side of the road as safely possible. Section 21650 requires bicycles traveling on roads without bike lanes to travel as far to the right as safely possible, but makes an exception for bicycles ridden on a one-way street.
The rest of the story: The fact that most bicyclists ride on the right side of the street makes left-side riding somewhat unfamiliar to motorists and pedestrians, as well as to some bicyclists. So watch out for motorists traveling in the left lane and pedestrians in crosswalks who may not be looking for a bicyclist coming up the left side of the street.
Intersections require special attention. When traveling directly through an intersection on the left side, you'll want to watch for cars making a left turn onto a cross street. If the left lane becomes a left-turn-only lane, move into the next through lane to your right.
Take similar care when making a left turn onto a two-way cross street. You'll be moving from the left side of the one-way street to the right side of the two-lane street, across the path of traffic. This can get tricky when a car next to you also turns left, since you'll be crossing each other's path and you'll only have an instant to choose a safe lane position.
If you know how to do it, you could move to the center of the lane ahead of or behind the car or between cars lined up to turn - also known as "taking the lane" - long enough to complete your turn. This keeps cars from trying to go around you until you arrive at the right side of the cross street. You could also ride (or walk your bike) straight across the intersection to the opposite corner, then proceed left on the cross street, like a pedestrian.
The takeaway: You have a few more options when riding on a one-way street, but because riding on the left isn't quite a common, extra attention to some common-sense rules of safe bicycling will serve you well.
Many thanks to bicycle attorney and CBC board member Gary Brustin for reviewing this article. |
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| Rides & Events | |
AUGUST
San Luis Obispo
Aug. 5: Kidical Mass
Sponsored by the San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition
San Francisco
Aug. 14: Ice Cream Ride
Sponsored by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Sponsored by the Eagle Cycling Club
San Diego
Aug. 29: Bike the Bay
A benefit for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
SEPTEMBER
Sponsored by the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition
A benefit for Rails to Trail Conservancy, 1Sky and Green America
OCTOBER
Sponsors include the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
Oct. 16: Valley Girls Ride
A benefit for Camp Sunshine Dreams of Children's Hospital of Central California, Spirit of Woman, and the Central California Blood Center
Irvine
Oct. 16-17: Bike MS: Bay to Bay Tour
A benefit for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
A benefit for San Luis Obispo ALPHA
Find a full calendar of rides throughout California at Bikelink. |
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