Bicycle Advocacy News from California

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Safe passing bill

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CALBIKEREPORT

News from the California Bicycle Coalition

August 2011

IN THE STATE CAPITAL

Safe passing bill faces full Assembly vote

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The California Bicycle Coalition's 3-foot passing bill, Senate Bill 910, faces a decisive hurdle later this month when it goes up for a vote by the full Assembly.

SB 910 has won every vote so far in the full Senate and two Assembly Committees despite a campaign of misinformation and fearmongering by the Teamsters and AAA, which oppose the bill. We don't expect these opponents to let up when the bill reaches the Assembly floor, where SB 910 faces the last critical vote before going to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.

SB 910 would specify three feet as the minimum clearance when drivers pass bicyclists from behind. Existing California law only requires drivers to pass at an unspecified "safe distance," but the lack of a specific standard means drivers don't actually know what's considered "safe" until they're stopped for violating the law.

Meanwhile, far too many bicyclists suffer unnecessary close calls and preventable collisions. Forty percent of bicyclists who are killed in vehicle collisions die because of such collisions -- it's the leading cause of bicyclist deaths.

In the coming weeks we'll be urging Californians who care about safer roads to express their support for SB 910 in emails and letters to their Assemblymembers. Learn more about our Give Me 3 campaign for SB 910 at givemethree.org.

California to keep federal bike funding

Bicyclists said "enough is enough!" and lawmakers listened!

Funding for bicycling and pedestrian improvements will be preserved as California prepares to give back a portion of unspent federal transportation funding in an annual process known as the "rescission."

Through the efforts of Laura Cohen of the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the bicyclists organized by the California Bicycle Coalition, and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, as well as the support of Caltrans Deputy Director Marty Tuttle, among others, we persuaded the California Transportation Commission to keep money from the federal "Transportation Enhancements" or TE funding category, which pays for bicycling and pedestrian improvements, off the table.

"It's nice to savor a victory in the midst of all the federal policy struggles," said Cohen.

The annual rescission is part of a process to ensure timely delivery of transportation projects, where the U.S. government asks state transportation departments to give back some of its unobligated federal funding. Typically, in decisions that have as much to do with politics as they do with project readiness, a disproportionate share of the give back comes from TE funds. Last year, 43% of the money Caltrans returned -- $88 million -- came from the TE category, even though that category represents only 2.2% of the state's federal funding.

CBC and the Rails to Trails Conservency are working on additional guideline suggestions to ensure that California makes more effective use of TE funding, so that rescissions of TE funding are less likely in the future. Stay tuned!

CBC NEWS

CBC to host CA Bicycle Summit, Nov. 5-7

The California Bicycle Coalition will host an advocacy summit in Los Angeles on Nov. 5-7 where bicycle advocates, cycling clubs and strategic allies from throughout the state will help shape the statewide bicycling agenda for 2012 and beyond.

LACBC

CBC is hosting the summit to unite the bicycling movement in California behind a shared statewide goal and strategy and strengthen the advocacy capacity of attending organizations by sharing best practices, successes, failures and lessons learned.

The summit will feature workshops on how to affect policy at the community level, win funding for bicycle projects, building strong advocacy organizations, reaching out to diverse audiences, and more.

To learn more, visit the CBC website or contact CBC Executive Director Dave Snyder at dave@calbike.org or 916-251-2433.

AROUND THE STATE

Advocates push back against driver aggression

Efforts to protect bicyclists from the worst of driver behavior made headlines last month when the Los Angeles City Council approved a groundbreaking ordinance that authorizes bicyclists to sue drivers who threaten or harass them.

Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, the ordinance's sponsor, created a YouTube channel where bicyclists can post videos documenting the threats and harassment they've experienced.

YouTube channel for anti-harassment videos

"The ordinance is an opportunity to affect positive change in other cities -- but only if people can see and hear the driving force behind this policy," said Rosendahl. "YouTube is the perfect place to accomplish these goals."

Bike advocates in Sonoma County are publicizing the dangers of driver aggression by seeking the public's help. After a hit-and-run collision that left a local bicyclist seriously injured last October, the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition and Levi's Gran Fondo, the fundraising brainchild of local resident and Amgen Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer, hope to raise $10,000 as a reward for information about the hit-and-run driver.

"Eliminating the harassment of those riding bicycles is a top priority for the coalition," said Outreach Director Sandra Lupien. "The hit-and-run case here is relatively rare; unfortunately, verbal and p

hysical harassment of cyclists is not. We receive frequent reports from cyclists who've been targets of hurled bottles and debris, shouted at, threatened, chased and buzzed too close and too fast by passing cars. People driving cars who harass people riding bikes must be held accountable for their actions."

Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, photographer Kat Fowler is focused on positive reinforcement. Her "Thank You For Seeing Me" campaign rewards courteous drivers with a colorful thank-you on t-shirts worn by bicyclists. In a recent LA Times reader poll, a slim majority of respondents favored Fowler's sunny solution. Could a sea-change in attitudes be ahead?

BFBD Bike-friendly business districts in Long Beach: Four Long Beach neighborhoods designated as "bicycle friendly business districts" are encouraging residents to shop and ride locally. Bike-riding shoppers receive discounts or other incentives for patronizing shops and restaurants that display the "Shop/Dine Bike LB" sticker. Business leaders support the program when they realize that bicycling customers are spending their dollars locally instead of driving to faraway big retailers.

Pleasanton pioneers new signal technology for bicyclists: The city of Pleasanton, east of San Francisco, has installed first-in-the-nation microwave technology for detecting bicyclists and motorcyclists waiting at red lights. The city installed the sensors in six intersections, with plans to retrofit four more, in response to Senate Bill 1581 in 2008, which required new traffic signals, or the replacement of existing ones, with devices able to detect bicyclists and motorists.

CALENDAR

AUGUST

Big Bear Lake

Aug. 6: Tour de Big Bear

Santa Rosa

Aug. 20: Northern California Bicycle Expo

A benefit for the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition

San Diego

Aug. 26: Bike the Bay

A benefit for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

SEPTEMBER

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