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Entries tagged: Marin County Bicycle Coalition

This month, the Mill Valley School District passed a new Safe Routes to School policy, initiated by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) that would encourage students in the district to walk, bike, or carpool to school each day. The policy gives support for safety education at school, as well as support for the Mill Valley Safe Routes to School Program.

The goal of the policy is to ensure that students in the district have access to safety education and support for walking and biking to school regardless of any changes in staff or elected officials. The foresighted advocates at MCBC recognized that, without that assurance in writing, progresses in programming could be walked back with a new superintendent or principal.

MCBC began the process by working with a city council member, a school board member, and the superintendent to draft the policy. They based their draft on the California School Board Association’s sample board policy and then adapted it to their specific needs. From there, they took the policy to the school board, where it passed unanimously.

Wendi Kallins, the program director for Safe Routes to School at the MCBC, credits the smooth passage of the new policy to the collaboration with school board members and the school district system. Now MCBC has a local example of how this policy (and the process to get there) can work — and take similar policies to other school districts.

“Don’t overreach but don’t compromise on your basic goal of institutionalizing Safe Routes to Schools,” Kallins says of crafting a similar policy for your community. “You might have to change the policy to say ‘may’ instead of ‘shall,’ but include the elements that are essential: education, encouragement, task force participation for engineering and enforcement, and evaluation.”

Click here to download the model policy from the Alliance Resource Library.

The Marin County Bicycle Coalition has plenty of street cred. Since its inception in 1998, the California advocates have compiled an impressive track record, including helping to increase weekday cycling trips in the region by more than 135 percent and reduce collisions by more than 34 percent.

Now MCBC is taking its advocacy off-road.

Yesterday, MCBC launched a new Mountain Bike Initiative that aims to “increase trail access for mountain bike riders in Marin County, encourage safe and civil behavior among all trail users, and promote trail stewardship.”

“As mountain biking popularity continues to rise,” the advocates explained in the program announcement, “MCBC is compelled by its growing membership base to devote its unique experience and resources in advocacy and education to achieving similar success off-road.”

Thanks to a new source of funding (and a fundraising campaign- donate here), MCBC will soon hire a part-time director who will work toward a host of program goals, like opening more trail opportunities for mountain bikers and creating more trails that serve as transportation.

“The organization will participate in trail planning processes alongside government agencies, land managers, environmental organizations and the public,” the MCBC noted in the announcement. “It will be deeply involved in activities encouraging all users to create a cooperative, respectful, friendly and safe environment on trails. With this program, MCBC looks forward to creating more positive change in Marin County.”

Read more on MCBC’s website.

Looking out at an excited crowd of more than 300 cyclists and pedestrians, Deb Hubsmith, advocacy director for the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, couldn’t have smiled any wider. “This is one of the happiest days of my life,” she said, as video cameras rolled and flashbulbs popped.

The happy and high-profile occasion was the December opening of the $27-million Cal Park Hill Tunnel, a world-class facility that will connect Larkspur and San Rafael, California, reducing the travel time for as many as 800,000 bike commuters every year.

The big-ticket project has been a major campaign for the Marin County Bicycle Coalition since its inception in 1998. But the vision for a bike-ped pathway through the former rail corridor far pre-dates the MCBC. According to the Coalition: “The Cal Park Tunnel was originally constructed in 1884 with significant renovations taking place in the mid-portion of last century. Originally designed to haul lumber and freight, and then later passengers, the tunnel was sealed in 1978 after a series of fires and structural collapses made it unsafe.”

When the tunnel was closed, local resident Jean Starkweather initiated the bold proposal to repurpose the facility for bicycle and pedestrian access — and kept the idea alive for more than two decades. In the late 90s, she handed off the torch to Hubsmith, who, in her own words, doesn’t take no for an answer.  “A lot of agencies came together and there were some fights along the way,” Hubsmith told a reporter from Streetfilms. “We had to stop a parking lot from being built at one side of the tunnel.”

But, Kim Baenisch, MCBC’s executive director, explained that the result was well worth the marathon effort. “We’ve been working on this for 12 years now, so it’s amazing to see it finally come,” she told Streetfilms. “It’s 1.2 miles tip to tip of paved path, including the stretch of tunnel, which is 1,100 feet long. This is a state-of-the-art facility with lighting and cell phone access and security cameras and beautiful smooth pavement and a ventilation system. I mean, what else could you ask for? And it’s for bikes and peds!”

It wasn’t just local residents celebrating, either. Tim Blumenthal, executive director of the Bikes Belong Coalition, was there for the ribbon cutting, too. His organization gave MCBC a $10,000 grant to work on the project back in 2002. Blumenthal called the tunnel’s completion a major development. “This is a classic example of a tunnel replacing a round-about way,” Blumenthal said. “When you make bicycling faster than any other way to travel from Point A to Point B, you really win.”

Watch the Streetfilm video here or read more about the project from the Marin County Bicycle Coalition.

Photo credit: Marin County Bicycle Coalition

It was a social ride, but Wendi Kallins couldn’t help falling into the role of instructor. The Safe Routes to School director for the Marin County Bicycle Coalition was accustomed to helping kids get comfortable on bikes. But this was a different audience.

“I went biking with a gaggle of my women friends, all of whom hadn’t been biking for a long time, and all were very nervous,” Kallins says. “I’m not an instructor myself, but I started telling them how to change gears and get control of their bikes and they all said, ‘Oh, this is so much better.’”

So last spring, inspired by the effect of that informal education and hoping to reach more interested women, the MCBC created a female-focused training that caters to the entire spectrum of lady cyclists. This weekend, Women on Wheels will roll out its second round of classes.

The California advocates tailored the beginners’ course on the fundamental bike skills outlined in John Ciccarelli’s widely used curriculum. With many adults having mothballed their bikes since youth, that first class filled up fast; so fast that some ladies had to be placed on a waiting list. The three-part training lived up to the excitement, too. The feedback, Kallins says, was overwhelmingly positive.

“They were really comfortable with the pace and the lack of competitiveness that often comes when you have a mixed group,” she explains. “Men tend to want to push themselves and women are more interested in getting the skill sets. Not that women don’t push themselves, but men seem to take more risks. So everyone was very comfortable and really enjoyed it. They took numbers and wanted to keep in touch to keep riding together.”

Many of those women were also ready to move beyond the ABCs of bicycling. “Some of the women in the beginning class said it was too basic for them,” Kallins says. The MCBC was ready for that; the Women on Wheels program also offers an intermediate track. The three-part course builds participants’ confidence and directly addresses some of the practical challenges of riding in Marin County.

“One of the things that was most popular was the hill climbing,” Kallin says of hte intermediate class. “Because, where we live, if you can’t climb a hill, you won’t get very far. So they learn to get up those hills — and get down.”

This weekend, MCBC is kicking off another series of Women on Wheels classes. But Kallin is already thinking about the next effort to get more ladies on bicycles. “The next level I want to do is ‘Moms on Wheels,’” she says.

“The impetus is really, with all these years of Safe Routes to School more kids are walking, but the kids who bike are the kids who come from biking families,” she explains. “Because too many moms don’t know how to bike themselves, I want to combine some elements of our Riding with Youth Class with elements of Women on Wheels, to get more moms confident about riding with their kids.”

Click here to read more about Women on Wheels.

For more than a decade, Mark Birnbaum’s daily commute was edged with anxiety. The Novato, California, resident and member of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (pictured) biked 16 miles to his job in San Rafael and, every day, braved a narrow stretch on Alameda del Prado.

“It became apparent the first day I ever commuted on my bike in 2000 that it was totally unsafe there,” Birnbaum told the Marin Independent Journal earlier this year. “It was just a matter of time before somebody got killed by an impatient driver. I’ve had a couple of close calls myself.”

Last week, advocates celebrated new bike lanes that will help ease the anxiety of riders like Birnbaum. “I wish Mark were here today,” Judy Arnold, Marin County Board President, said, as she cut the ribbon on the new bicycle facilities.

Birnbaum was traveling out of the country, but more than three dozen advocates showed up to christen the 4-foot bike lanes stretching along both sides of Alameda del Prado. Not only do the new facilities make a dicey stretch more passable for cyclists, but they also connect the existing bicycle lanes on Ignacio Boulevard to the Pacheco Pathway, closing a key one-mile gap in the North/South Bikeway.

According to the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Birnbaum would be proud. “The completed project includes narrowed landscaped medians, underground utilities and a smooth surface to roll along,” the organization notes in its latest newsletter. “Check out the new bikes lanes the next time you’re traveling north. They’re very nice!”

Read more about the Marin County Bicycle Coalition here.

MCBC’s goal of steadily improving biking and walking facilities within Marin County is gaining momentum with a newly completed multi-use pathway in the city of Larkspur connecting neighborhoods to local schools and parks.

The new ADA-compliant pathway replaces what used to be a dirt path that was primarily being used by local schoolchildren. Measure A Safe Routes to School funded the new multi-use trail which also included 54 trees planted along the pathway, a soon-to-be installed bench with a great view of Mount Tamalpais, and a fence to delineate the pathway from the High School property.

The path is increasing the amount of children walking and biking to school and is attracting many other members of the community to walk or bike along the path. MCBC will continue to support the city of Larkspur for their continued commitment to improving the non-motorized transportation system within the City.

Visit www.marinbike.org/Index.shtml for more information.

According to the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, “Marin County Safe Routes to Schools (SR2S) is pleased to announce its new Green Ways to School campaign to combat global warming, funded by a $175,000 grant from the Marin Community Foundation’s Climate Change Initiative. The Green Ways to School campaign will feature the new SchoolPool on-line trip sharing program, new contests, and cash incentives for the schools that show the greatest increase in green trips to school by walking, biking, carpooling or taking the bus.

Building on the success of Marin’s nationally recognized SR2S program, the Green Ways campaign will employ a classroom competition within schools, and challenges between schools with cash awards. Parents will be able to use the on-line SchoolPool program to build a network of friends to share the journey to school modeled after employee ridesharing programs; SchoolPool will provide parents with match-lists of schoolmates who live along their route to school. They can then form a carpool, walk or bike together, or find bus buddies for their children. Walking or bicycling in groups provides safety in numbers and provides socializing time as well as exercise on the way to school, for both the children and the parents. The program will be unveiled on January 21, 2010 at 4 p.m. “

For more information visit www.marinbike.org

On November 13th, the Marin County Bicycle Coalition(MCBC) will be honored for its years of improving biking and walking infrastructure with the Marin Economic Commission award.

MCBC has been fighting to ensure that bicycling be recognized as a legitimate form of transportation and over the past eleven years has shown incredible leadership and service, as well as raised over $183 billion for their cause. The funds have, and will continue, to go directly to local City and County projects as well as supporting various agency staff, contractors, and other important players in the design and implementation of biking and walking facilities. MCBC’s incredible feat has been acknowledged by the Marin Economic Commission leading to its recognition and well deserved award.

To find out more about MCBC and how bicycling can be “environmentally, fiscally and physically responsible-while being fun” visit http://www.marinbike.org/Index.shtml

Years of advocacy by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) has lead to 2009 being what they call a “banner year for San Rafael bicycle and pedestrian projects being completed or nearing completion.” Projects include the opening of the Cal Park Hill Tunnel in late 2009, opening of the Los Ranchitos bikes lanes in fall 2009, downtown bike and pedestrian improvements, and the Lincoln Hill Pathway. According the MCBC, “When these projects are finished, it will be possible to ride from north San Rafael all the way to Larkspur using bicycle facilities almost the entire way. This segment of the Marin County bicycle network, known as the North-South Bikeway, is rapidly becoming complete!”

For more information, click here…

Marin County Bicycle Coalition is excited about the recent progress made with the Cal Park Hill Tunnel, part of the North-South Greenway in California. The tunnel has been opened at both ends, which will allow cyclists to ride from San Rafael to Larkspur in five minutes versus more than 20. A second “tunnel within a tunnel” will safely separate bicyclists and pedestrians from the SMART train. Reopening the tunnel has been one of MCBC’s top priorities since it’s inception in 1998.

For more information, click here…

MCBC is well on its way to reaching its goal of 2,009 members by the end of the year. MCBC hit the 1,500 member mark by recruiting a whopping 97 people in 15 days to help increase membership. Such growth enables MCBC to take strides toward pushing the completion of the North/South Greenway, as well as the completion of the SMART bike path. Congratulations on this tremendous achievement!

For more information, click here…