Thank you to everyone who came to our Holiday Joyride.
The weather worked out perfectly for a dry and fun ride through some of San Diego's older neighborhood. Our brightly lit bicycles brought some joy to the streets, but I was especially joyous to report all the great things we have accomplished in 2012 back at Mission Brewery.
The weather worked out perfectly for a dry and fun ride through some of San Diego's older neighborhood. Our brightly lit bicycles brought some joy to the streets, but I was especially joyous to report all the great things we have accomplished in 2012 back at Mission Brewery.
In 2012, we adopted a new strategic plan with a mission to advocate for and protect the rights of ALL people who ride bicycles. We helped launch a bike friendly business district campaign and locate three new bike corrals in San Diego. We attended dozens of committee meetings, city council hearings, and other meetings to advocate for more bike safety measures and a more accessible regional network. We taught hundreds of adults and children safe cycling skills through our education efforts and we parked thousands of bikes through our bicycle valet program. We had the most successful Bike The Bay and Tour De Fat yet - raising funds to support for our work.
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner and Council President Todd Gloria both expressed their support for bicycles as a way to enhance the livability of our neighborhoods and the sustainability of the region. The time is right to make sure the bicycles stay at the top of the local agenda. In 2013 we will continue to work with local bicycle advisory committees to push to bicycle
improvements and make sure that bicycles are included in planning projects. We will support the implementation of a bike share program and more bicycle friend business. We will continue to provide bike education and offer valet services at large events.
Your membership helps provide a voice for cyclists in the region. As we seek to better advocate for all people who ride bikes, we can use your support as volunteers for programs like bike education and making, as well as members on our education, advocacy and organizational development committees. Watch you email boxes for more opportunities to get involved.
Thank you for your support in 2012, and I look forward to a great year ahead.
- Kevin C. Wood
I am declining to renew my membership in SDCBC. While I appreciate some of the advocacy done by the organization, I find the close association the organization has chosen to create with SANDAG to be troubling. I feel that SANDAG is a poorly run, and politically corrupt organization. I have seen "advocacy" for big dollar projects that are of no real value to the cycling community, but benefit back slapping politician's who can call themselves "The Cyclists Friend", and put money into the pockets of their contractor cronies. (It doesn't work on me-Mr Kern did NOT get my vote);
ReplyDelete>The rail trail in Carlsbad that is hardly used by anyone, while thousands of cyclists using the much better Carlsbad Blvd route ignore it.
>MUP's along Broadway and Myers St's in Oceanside that are in view of the thousands of cyclists on those streets, and mostly unused.
>Providing Bike lockers free of charge that encourages people to apply for, then not use, lockers, while people like me who would actually use them were shut out by "Lack of Vacancy". (I had attempted to engage SDCBC in my fight with SANDAG over this issue, but realize now I was trying to work with an agency that was in the pocket of the enemy)
>And the straw that broke the camels back, and drove me to drop my membership, half a million dollars to be spent on a traffic circle at Carlsbad Blvd, State St. and Hill St (Coast Hwy, for you newcomers)
Money that can be better spent on;
>Resurfacing Old Hwy 101 from Las Pulgas to San Onofre State Beach
>Widening the causeway over Buena Vista Lagoon, and adding bike lanes (The part of the traffic circle project that actually makes sense.)
>Resurfacing the Carmel Valley to Sorrento Valley Bike Path.
>Improvements to traffic flow in portions of San Diego, an example of which is the death trap that is the area surrounding Balboa and Mission Bay Drive.
David Saenz
Oceanside.
Dear David:
DeleteThank you for your note.
SDCBC values its members and we rely on input like this to bring issues to our attention. There are improvements to be made all over the region.
We do work closer with SANDAG to make sure that they money they make available get spent on worthy projects, but it is up to individual citieswhat projects get put forward for funding. once projects are funded we do put pressure on cities to make sure they are implemented in a way that best serves cyclists.Sometimes the amount of time it takes to get projects doneis frustratingly slow. Keep in mind that the SANDAG active transportation grant program last year also funded nearly $9 million worth for bicycle and pedestrian projects all across the region.
SANDAG is slowly addressing the bike locker issue with the move toward electronic bike lockers that are available on a first-come, first served basis, but it will take while. SDCBC can continue to put pressure on SANDAG to update the lockers.
The Balboa/Mission Bay drive is one of many intersections frequented by cyclists that we would like to see changed. In 2013 we plan on doing more to prioritize some of the worst intersections in the county.
Finally, we encourage and support the formation of local bike committees that can more directly address neighborhood level issues. The SDCBC has assisted all of these committees as they have formed and made an impact in their communities. They include the City of Oceanside, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Coronado and Chula Vista. More are on the way!