Friday, June 6, 2014

What's Next for Our Team

On June 15, this year's Bicycle Transit Planning Team will be crossing the stage at UC Santa Cruz's East Field during the Stevenson College Commencement Ceremony. Both of us are Stevenson College affiliates, so we will be graduating the same day and sharing tears of joy and gratitude for our four years at UC Santa Cruz.

The project and our team name Bicycle Transit Planning Team will hopefully continue in some form or another in the fall, and there are already a number of ideas for projects for next year's bike team in IDEASS. If you have other ideas, visit the IDEASS website and submit them here! We'll also be sure to send out the final report for our project through a special issue of the Pedaling Periodical in July.

Here's what we'll be doing after we graduate!

Aly will be taking a break from the sciences in order to be working at Yelp in San Francisco in the field of sales. Although Aly already accepts that she’s going to incredibly miss all the beautiful bike paths in Santa Cruz, she vows to continue bike riding in San Francisco and her hometown. For instance, her mother at first wanted to drop her off to work in the early morning; however, Aly negotiated with her mom to let her bike to BART in order for Aly to continue using alternative modes of transportation and get the best wake-up possible! Aly wants to continue working in public policy either by volunteering or staying involved with the new and upcoming IDEASS team of next year! Last but not least, Aly hopes to collaborate with her dad, who is a mechanic, to build her own bicycle that she will rep with the ultimate pride. Alright, alright, alright!

Melissa will be sticking around Santa Cruz for at least the next year, bicycling everywhere as usual and continuing to work on environmental issues. She'll be re-joining the UCSC Sustainability Office for the summer after a quarter-long break. Melissa worked in this office for the past three years as a student, so she's excited to be able to return as a part-time member of the Office for awhile. She'll also be the Santa Cruz Sierra Club's new Outreach Coordinator, helping to promote the events, campaigns, and work of our local chapter. At the end of next week, she will be graduating with a BA in Literature, which will feature in her new positions primarily through the writing skills and analytic thinking skills she has gained in the past four years. Certainly she'll be reading literature when she isn't working and possibly keeping her eye on a future of graduate school to become a professor... but who knows where her path may lead?? She hopes to stay connected to the IDEASS bike project next year in whatever ways possible, as well as continue to volunteer with People Power, Ecology Action, and other organizations doing really important work to support bicycling in Santa Cruz!


Thank you to everyone who has supported our project this year, and to all of the professors, mentors, instructors, family, and friends who have been there throughout our four years as banana slugs at UCSC! We are so grateful for the opportunity to complete this fantastic project this year, and we could not have done it without the support of so many awesome people. Of all these fabulous folks, though, we have to give the biggest thanks to Tiffany Wise-West and Amelia Conlen, our project mentors for the year. It's been so awesome to work with such inspiring, dedicated women who have provided so much guidance and support to us all year! 

Spring Fest Celebration



The UCSC Sustainability Office hosts an annual Spring Fest celebration to honor outstanding projects students have worked on for the year. Melissa and I were invited to this year’s Spring Fest to honor our work on our IDEASS Bike Transit Planning Project. The day started with the MC’s introducing all the different organizations and project teams who have been working on incredible projects this past year. After a delicious lunch, all project teams went alongside their project posters to describe to attendees about the work they’ve done and their future projections of their project. Melissa and I had just created our poster for the Wharf Sanctuary and could not wait to show it off at this celebration! Talking to people about our project with our poster behind us summarizing the amazing work Melissa and I have done was an incredible experience. It allowed us to both feel so recognized and accomplished. We are so proud of all the other project teams that were recognized at this event and we give a big thank you to the Sustainability Office for creating an event like this! 



Branciforte Creek Bicycle and Pedestrian Counts

Throughout our project, Melissa and I remained connected to not only our community, but also the City of Santa Cruz. Our first experience was working with our mentor Tiffany Wise-West, the Climate Action Analyst of the City of Santa Cruz, to construct a grant requesting funding for two bicycle counters to be installed at specific locations in Santa Cruz. Since then, we’ve been working with the City of Santa Cruz on other projects in preparation for their Bike Plan Update of 2015. 

Recently, we were asked by Cheryl Schmidt, Transportation Coordinator for the City of Santa Cruz, to help conduct bicycle and pedestrian counts to collect relevant data of the volume of pedestrians and people biking near the intersection closest to where Branciforte Creek meets the San Lorenzo River. Currently, the River Levee path does not connect at this location, but a project is underway to build a bridge across the creek and connect the levee path. Melissa and I conducted counts for one hour at the Soquel/Riverside/Dakota intersection in downtown Santa Cruz. We marked down the direction the pedestrian and people biking were coming from in order for the City of Santa Cruz to see if this projected installation would have a high volume of people using it. 

The results for people walking were: Eastbound 35, Southbound 24, Westbound 32, and Northbound 18. 
The results for people on bikes were: Eastbound 34, Southbound 23, Westbound 29, and Northbound 19. 

We found it interesting to note that the frequency of people biking and pedestrians were similar in amounts, with the Eastbound being the highest for both, Westbound being the second highest for both, Southbound being the third highest for both, and Northbound being lowest for both. Likely the high traffic numbers heading east reflect commute patterns of people heading home in the afternoon since we did the count from 4 - 5 PM on a weekday. It wasn't clear from our count how many of the people heading north and south were connecting with the levee path on either side, but this data will be used by Cheryl Schmidt in a grant application for the completion of this project. 

Arana Gulch Multi-Use Trail Site Visit

During fall quarter and winter break, our team did research on automated bicycle counter technology, brands, and models to identify which kind of counter technology would be best suited to Santa Cruz. Ultimately, the one location we identified as feasible to pursue during this academic year was the new Arana Gulch Multi-Use Trail that is being built. Although we did not receive any funding to purchase a counter, we have been in communication with the project manager Chris Schneiter, who works with City of Santa Cruz Public Works, about the eventual possibility of installing a bicycle/pedestrian counter near one of the entrances to the path, which will connect Frederick Street to Agnes Street to the Harbor to Brommer Street through a few paved paths. Two bridges are being constructed to span the gulches near this open space area.

Our team met with Chris Schneiter to learn more about the project and visit the in-progress construction of the paths and bridges. Below are some photos from our site visit, and you can learn more about the project on the project's blog here.

We walked out to the anchor point for one side of the new suspension bridge. It will be the first bridge of its kind in Central California, and it allows construction of the bridge without interfering with the ecosystems below. No support columns or access roads are necessary in the riverbed. The giant cables will be strung across and tightened on either side.

Here's the view of the future suspension bridge. You can see that cables have been strung across already in preparation for the bridge.

The light pink path visible on this side of the chain-link fence is part of the new multi-use trail! It's porous concrete, so water seeps into the material and into the ground below. It's smooth enough for bicycles to ride on. 

Here's a closer view of the trail material. This part of the trail leads to the Harbor and a bridge connecting to Brommer Street.


A bridge is being built from Brommer Street to the new trail, crossing Arana Creek.

The beautiful setting of the new trail beside Arana Creek.

Here's a better view of Arana Creek and the location of the new bridge from Brommer Street to the multi-use trail.

It was exciting to see the progress that has been made on this trail! If you want to learn more about the project, please visit http://aranatrailproject.blogspot.com/ and keep your eye out for updates about the bicycle counter that will hopefully be installed at the trail in the near future!

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Local bicycle news round-up

Here's a collection of local bicycle news from the past few weeks:

Have you heard other bike news in Santa Cruz? Post it in the comments!

UCSC slugs combat social & environmental injustices with bicycles in San Jose

There’s no doubt that the work that UC Santa Cruz students accomplish during their time at the University can serve as a training ground and experimental space for future work in communities beyond Santa Cruz. The latest example of this in the bicycle and social justice realm is the creation of a new bicycle cooperative over the hill by two UCSC bicycling banana slugs, Adrian Baker-Kang and Cassidy Kakin, who are pedal driven to make a difference for youth and bicycle riders in San Jose.

At a recent Bikes & Food Justice Festival at UCSC on May 3, I had the opportunity to hear Adrian, a UCSC senior and UCSCBike Coop co-owner, speak about his thesis work on the role bicycles can play in supporting communities who don’t have access to healthy, fresh foods nearby. In his words, 
“I looked at the obstacles facing low-income individuals when it comes to accessing sustainable, low-cost, transportation. Due to a lack of infrastructure and education, bicycles are simply not a viable method of travel in many cities still, where car users are reluctant to share roads that were not designed with bicycles in mind. The option of public transportation in busy cities can be a massive time investment for many individuals, with short trips across town taking two to three times as long compared to cars or even bikes, as buses become stuck in traffic between picking up and dropping off passengers.” 
Adrian’s solution is pro-bicycle, but with infrastructure issues also comes the costly matter of purchasing a bicycle and then maintaining it.

Adrian speaking at the Bikes & Food Justice Fest.

Both Adrian and his best friend Cassidy studied Politics and “focused [their] efforts and inquiries on the position of marginalized populations in low income communities.” Cassidy Kakin, who graduated last year, explains that “Adrian studied public transportation and bike infrastructure, and I worked on the intersectionality of poverty, race, and education in modern urban society.” Their grassroots approach to these complex issues comes in the form of a bicycle cooperative in East San Jose, called the East San Jose Bicycle Cooperative.

Intrigued by their vision and purpose, as well as their studies on social justice and accessibility issues in communities like East San Jose, I asked them for an interview. Here’s what they had to share:

Melissa Ott: How did this bike co-op idea come about?

Cassidy Kakin: I’ve spent the past year serving a Year of Service with City Year, an Americorps Partner, in a low income school in the suburban ghetto of East San Jose, and I’ve seen the many social pressures and economic struggles placed upon the massive population of marginalized youth in the Alum Rock School District. 

The East San Jose Bicycle Cooperative is the combination of the two efforts, studies, and experiences of two best friends and UCSC alumni.  Its exact origin is shrouded in cold IPA's and hot Sunday afternoons spent together day dreaming about changing the world and starting something big, and in some sense evolved organically from an idea I had to come back to East Side San Jose in a different and more ambitious capacity, and Adrian's divine inspiration to change the world and promote social justice from the seat of a bike.

Adrian Baker-Kang: As a community bike mechanic for two and a half years, I have worked closely with low-income and poverty-level individuals who relied on their bicycles as a critical method of transportation due to the low cost and ease of owning and operating a bicycle. I never considered its potential for social change until I spent a year working at the Bike Church in Santa Cruz. The Bike Church is a non-profit community bike shop that promotes personal empowerment through teaching individuals how to do basic mechanical work on their own bikes. One thing that struck me while working there was how much worth these individuals placed upon their bike, valuing them oftentimes more highly than shelter or a hot meal due to the transportation needs they fulfilled.

Melissa: What is your vision for the East San Jose Bicycle Coop?

Adrian: Our vision is to help make the city of San Jose one of the most bike friendly cities in the nation, and a model for sustainable transportation world-wide. Our model will be one of building strong relationships with the community to foster lasting bonds in promoting bicycles as a viable method of transportation. We will be working directly with San Jose’s youth and their parents to address the safety and educational needs unique to this city, such as how to effectively navigate between downtown and East San Jose.


See more photos and videos of youth supporting ESJBC here.

Cassidy: We’re still in the process of evolving from an idea into a sustainable and successful project. All our goals now and in the future involve means of promoting a positive bike culture in East San Jose's youth community, in order to fight the injustices imposed upon young people by restrictive socio-economic realities.

As of now, we are hoping to promote a positive bicycle culture as an alternative to the often illegal and illicit or gang related activities that some of East San Jose's most vulnerable youth fall victim to. We hope to work during existing afterschool programs in middle schools and elementary spaces in Alum Rock schools, which have successfully situated themselves to address the issues facing San Jose's youth. 

Melissa: What might your work in these schools look like?

Cassidy: With elementary school students, we hope to fan the flames of the developing hobby of young riders in a safe way.  We have seen students with bright futures riding dangerously and recklessly and want to provide education so that their increased access to bicycle infrastructure will not come with negative side effects. In addition, the multifaceted benefits and goals of the bicycle world like environmentalism, social justice, and invigorated cities will be promoted.

In middle schools, we hope to take a long term and holistic approach in the after school space, giving us the ability to form and develop meaningful relationships with students. We intend to have fully functional, mobile bicycle repair clinics to teach students how to maintain and service their bikes, while continuing bicycle safety education.


Image from the ESJBC website.

Melissa: Why are bicycle co-ops important and valuable to communities? Why does East San Jose need one?

Adrian: Bicycle co-ops are an invaluable community resource socially, economically, and environmentally. Socially, they bring communities together in an engaging environment in a way that automobiles cannot. Individuals have the opportunity to slow their life down for a moment and learn new mechanical skills and make new friends without spending any money. Economically, bicycles are a cost effective method of travel that vastly expands the distance individuals can travel who do not use a car. The lack of gas, parking fees, and maintenance costs provides a valuable resource for making fun and healthy trips around town to the grocery store, school, or meeting up with friends.

Cassidy: As I’ve described, we do not intend on having a stationary “shop” space as many bike co-ops have; we instead intend to be fully mobile, giving us the ability to work in schools directly and develop meaningful relationships with students. So why brand ourselves as a “co-op” rather than an educational after school program component?  There is a certain power in the word “cooperative,” both in the bike community and more generally. We are a co-op because we intend to base all of our programming on the needs of the community we serve, evolving with and promoting the growth of the students and community members we work with, hearing their voices and responding to their ambitions and goals for our project. We hope to bring the ideology of a co-op model without replicating the typical cooperative structure. In this way, we hope to empower the voice of East Side San Jose's youth while promoting bicycle culture in a safe and productive manner.

Melissa: How are you spreading the word about this, and how can the community support your work?

Adrian: We are promoting our cooperative through a grassroots campaign, working from the ground up to directly interact with the communities we will be serving. This includes hosting free drop-in bicycle clinics, writing city council members, and promoting our organization through the parents and teachers of the students we will be assisting. We are currently seeking help in terms of volunteers for assisting with our bike clinics, a graphic designer to create a logo, and financial support from potential investors.


Gathering community support for the co-op, Cassidy (right) stands with Justin of Autonomous San Jose and RideESSJ.

Cassidy: At the same time, we are expanding our efforts, learning, and promotion beyond the East San Jose foothills and have begun the important and extensive process of reaching out to networks and people in bike enclaves around the world—from Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and the rest of the Silicon Valley, Marin County, Oregon and beyond, to online networks and social spheres. We also hope to reach out with and sit down with some big movers and shakers in the Silicon Valley bicycling community, like San Jose Bike Party and the Silicon Valley Bicycling Coalition. Hopefully, we will be able to learn from and work alongside the giants who have been working on bikes for years in San Jose and the surrounding areas.

Adrian: With the support of others in our community, we hope to further the ideals of sustainability, safety, and financial viability by promoting bicycles to a younger generation, to help promote a greener and healthier future. We are seeking support from anyone who is interested in supporting our goals, so please visit our website, blog, and social media sites and send us your ideas!

To support Cassidy and Adrian in making their vision a reality for the youth of East San Jose, please visit their Indiegogo campaign siteblog, Facebook, and Twitter to learn more. You can contribute money, ideas, resources, and volunteer support in numerous ways!

Summer 2014 Bicycle Friendly America Internship: Washington, DC

The League of American Bicyclists, a Washington DC-based advocacy organization representing the interests of the nation's 57 million cyclists, is seeking a summer intern to assist with the Bicycle Friendly America program.

 Each year, through its Bicycle Friendly America program, the League evaluates hundreds of applications from across the country, and designates Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly States, Communities, Businesses, and Universities. Learn more about the Bicycle Friendly America program at http://bikeleague.org/bfa.

Position Overview
The BFA Intern will gain firsthand knowledge of the League’s Bicycle Friendly America programs, and best practices in helping communities, businesses, universities and states become great places for people of all ages and abilities to bicycle. Work includes production of promotional materials, data entry, organization, analysis and maintenance, writing, website updates and general administration. This internship offers a flexible schedule with 12-20 hours/week commitment for up to 12 weeks, based in Washington, DC. We are happy to work with any academic requirements you may have to help you earn course credit for your efforts.

Skills and Knowledge to be gained:

  • Experience working with database and web content management systems (CMS)
  • Knowledge of effective bicycle planning and policymaking for communities, businesses and universities
  • Academic credit, by working with your academic program
Minimum Qualifications:
  • Strong attention to detail
  • Familiarity with Excel, content management systems, and databases
  • Strong research, writing, and editing skills
  • Cheerful, friendly, upbeat outlook
  • Ability to work independently
  • Enthusiasm for creating a more Bicycle Friendly America
Helpful:
  • Experience with InDesign a plus 
Hours: 12-15/week minimum, 20/week maximum

Length/Availability: 10-14 weeks

Start Date: June 2, 2014 (flexible)

End Date: August 29, 2014 (flexible)

How to Apply: Please send a cover letter of interest, resume, and writing sample to bill@bikeleague.org with Summer 2014 BFA Intern Application in the subject line. Applications are due by May 23, 2014. Start of work will be June 2, 2014.

Deadline: Friday, May 23, 2014

Monday, May 12, 2014

Immersing ourselves in Bike Week


Melissa and I could not wait for the first week of May. We had our calendars ready (well Google Calendars), our watches set, and our bikes all cleaned up. We were ready to start May with the big, the bold, and the wheely fun Bike Week.

This past year Melissa and I have been collaborating with the City of Santa Cruz, People Power, Ecology Action, and other related organizations. We've given our efforts in tabling at multiple events throughout the year, volunteering with Elise Ehrheart of Ecology Action in teaching elementary school children how to properly ride their bikes to school with the Bike Smart! program, and co-facilitating bike-commuting workshops with Amelia Conlen of People Power. All these events we partook in were to contribute towards our main goal: to increase bicycle ridership in Santa Cruz.

Melissa, our friend and favorite volunteer Hasti, and me at Bike Night First Friday

We started our week off last Friday (May 2nd) at the Ecology Action and People Power sponsored event "Bike Night: First Friday at the Museum of Arts & History." This event was the big kickoff of Bike Week! It was fun night filled of bike-related arts and crafts stations, a group-led bike ride downtown, live music from local artists, bike-blended ice cream, and free helmets! Melissa helped people deck out their bike with decorations for Bike Week while I helped lead the bike ride downtown. I had to to keep people to the right side of the road to ensure that we weren't impeding traffic too much! Overall it was a successful night!


On Saturday, Melissa hosted a Bikes & Food Justice Fest on campus to promote students to become more aware of this mode of transportation and get some free strawberry bike-blended smoothies! At this event, people learned about the importance in Food Justice and how it's related to sustainable transportation. I helped table about our project to heighten the importance of bicycling! 

Bike valet by People Power at Open Streets

On Sunday, Melissa volunteered at Capitola's "Open Streets" event. It was  day filled with music performances, arts and crafts, and People Power's exhibit on the importance and safety that cycletracks or protected bike lanes can bring in our town. Since Santa Cruz has two of these protected bike ways, this exhibit was advocating the importance of them and the encouraging people to support having of more in the local communities.

Bike Week World Cafe


On Monday, Melissa and I participated in a UCSC World Cafe by having the theme be about bikes (since Monday was the official beginning of Bike Week)! We made bike-blended smoothies, talked with students about cycling and its benefits, and got people stoked about the upcoming events! On Tuesday, Melissa helped volunteer with UCSC Transportation and Parking Services to give away free helmets to ensure people who are biking remain safe!

Bike to Work Day on May 8

Celebrating Bike to Work Day with a beer at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing with one of our mentors, Amelia Conlen.

IT WAS FINALLY THURSDAY! The reason Bike Week was so important for the both of us was it allowed us to measure if our goal of increasing bicycle ridership was being reached in Santa Cruz, specifically on Thursday when it was Bike to Work/School Day. To measure our success, Melissa and I volunteered alongside the UCSC Cycling Team in giving away free breakfast to bicyclists who biked up to school. We all had such sensational and awe-inspiring conversations with the vast amount of cyclists who stopped to chat and eat some of the food we offered. From bike cruisers, to mountain bikes, to road bikes, Melissa and I were both so proud to see so many people ditch their cars and bike that day. To end the great day, we both went to Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing to help donate $1 from our pints of beer (hehe) to Ecology Action and Bike Week programs for all their hard work this week.

Santa Cruz Bike Party takes over the Wharf!

On Friday, Melissa and I wanted to bring all this bike awareness towards some hard earned fun! We joined People Power in a massive Santa Cruz Bike Party that was themed (Bike) Empire Strikes Back with many local community members, students, and families in the streets of Santa Cruz. We all biked from downtown to the Wharf, along the San Lorenzo River, up to Mission Street, around Safeway, and back downtown. We were all motivated to bike the night away by the speakers blasting dancing music and everyone dressed in Star Wars costumes.  

Melissa and Hasti promote bike valet

We ended our Bike Week by volunteering with Amelia Conlen, director of People Power, in having free bike valet at the UCSC music festival "Edge of Eden." We wanted to promote to student and participants a cheaper alternative to driving and taking public transportation! We got to enjoy the amazing performances of several artists, soak in the sun, and give people the freedom to have fun as we took care of their bikes. 

On the "edge of Eden" waiting for people to come valet their bikes!

Overall, this week was filled with so many amazing moments, conversations, and memories. This month has only just began, but this past week sparked the passion and drive that Melissa and I have for cycling. Come join the fun! 

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

For Immediate Release – For May’s Bike Month Melissa Ott Puts the Spotlight on Santa Cruz’s Leading Female Bicycle Advocates

For Immediate Release – For May’s Bike Month Melissa Ott Puts the Spotlight on Santa Cruz’s Leading Female Bicycle Advocates 

Date: April 29, 2014

Contact: Melissa Ott/UC Santa Cruz undergraduate student/Bicycle Intern

Tel. (925) 918-3425 Email: mott@ucsc.edu 

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Santa Cruz, CA – To celebrate National Bike Month this May and recognize those who work to support a thriving and diverse bicycle culture in Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz undergraduate student Melissa Ott is writing a series of profiles of seven of the community’s female bicycle advocates for the Women on Bikes California initiative and its website Pedal Love, a new media communications platform dedicated to sharing “dynamic and compelling stories of how ordinary people are making extraordinary changes to their lives with bicycles.” Though much of the bicycling world’s focus has been on men and the sport of bicycling, these engaging profiles demonstrate that in Santa Cruz, bicycle advocacy is strongly supported and promoted by women passionate about all forms of riding a bike. To read the profiles go to: www.pedallove.org/its-wheely-easy-being-green.

In Santa Cruz, the week of May 2-9 is Bike Week, and many of the women profiled in the Pedal Love series are instrumental to planning, promoting, and celebrating more than a dozen bicycle-related events, rides, and workshops taking place during Bike Week and throughout May. To learn more, including the fifteen free Bike to Work Day breakfast sites visit http://santacruztransportationsolutions.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html.

A new member of the Pedal Love creative team, Melissa chose to write her first series of pieces on the women who are inspiring her in the local bike advocacy scene. The result is a glimpse of the diverse and thriving bicycle community in Santa Cruz from environmental program directors to college students to recreational club leaders, and more. The interviews feature the following women:

• Amelia Conlen (Director of People Power of Santa Cruz County)
• Maura Noel (President of the Santa Cruz County Cycling Club)
• Elise Ehrheart (Coordinator of Ecology Action’s Bike Smart! Program)
• Emily Glanville (Ecology Action’s Transportation Group Program Specialist)
• Myrna Sherman (Santa Cruz County Cycling Club)
• Hasti Afsarifard (UC Santa Cruz undergrad & volunteer with People Power)
• Alyssa Tyree (UCSC undergrad & intern with People Power)

In bringing them all together in a series of interviews, Melissa hopes to support awareness of Santa Cruz’s connected bicycle community that spans the varied interests represented by these seven women. She also hopes to continue her bicycle advocacy work after she graduates in June by staying involved in the Santa Cruz bicycling community and writing stories that she hopes will connect more people with the beauty and freedom of the bicycle. To read the profiles go to: http://www.pedallove.org/its-wheely-easy-being-green/ 

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About Melissa Ott
Melissa Ott is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz studying English Literature. She has been actively involved with the sustainability community on campus since 2011. In high school, Melissa served on the City of Pleasanton's Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and she has never owned a car. In her current advocacy work, Melissa strives to empower women, young people, and all members of her community to discover the magic of bike riding--not only to reduce carbon emissions, but also to increase happiness, health, and engagement with one's community. To learn more about the bicycle advocacy work she’s currently doing in Santa Cruz, visit http://santacruztransportationsolutions.blogspot.com/p/ideass-bicycle-transit-planning-team.html.

About Women on Bikes California & Pedal Love 
An initiative of the California Bicycle Coalition, the mission of Women on Bikes California focuses on the bike as a tool for optimism in the lives of women. We work to engage, connect and cultivate opportunity for women of all ages, races and walks of life interested in bicycling, active living advocacy and bike-related/bike-friendly industries. Key to our strategy is elevating the voice of women passionate about bicycling via engaging storytelling and proactive media outreach through our “Pedal Love” project website and our series of “Active Living Plugged In” trainings. Learn more about us at http://www.pedallove.org/.

Friday, April 25, 2014

A Conversation with Cheryl Schmitt, Transportation Coordinator

Cheryl Schmitt is the Transportation Coordinator for the City of Santa Cruz Public Works Department. We interviewed her to learn more about the work she does, current bicycle projects that are happening in Santa Cruz, and her perspectives on the Rail Trail.


As Transportation Coordinator, Cheryl's work focuses on alternative-to-car transportation programs for the City of Santa Cruz. She shared that her job entails "grant writing, public outreach, and working with the community and non profits." In her work, alternative transportation includes "infrastructure designed for bikes, pedestrians, public transit, carpool, car sharing, and electric vehicles."

We asked her where her interest in transportation came from, and she shared that when she was in high school, the Santa Barbara oil spill took place. She shared, "It was a pivotal moment for me because I saw what happened in Santa Barbara. Environmentalism started to bloom at that time, and it became a focus in my life." Cheryl has her bachelor's degree in anthropology and health, and she said she is fortunate that "this job happened to align with my values."

One bicycle-related project that she's currently working on is the construction of the Arana Gulch path, which she says was "dreamed about for twenty years and is a hugely important project because it will create a link between sections of arterial roadways that currently dead-end for bicyclists." This new path will become a transportation coordinator for both bikes and pedestrians. 

Our IDEASS project has provided research and recommendations to install an automated bicycle and pedestrian counter at the new Arana Gulch path, which will provide valuable data about how many people use the new trail once it opens later this year. There is more information about this project on the Arana Gulch Multi-Use Trail Project blog here.

In addition to the Arana Gulch Multi-Use Trail Project, the "Rail Trail" is another transportation corridor project that will eventually connect Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties with a path along the railroad tracks that will be separate from car traffic. "Yes, I think that it will increase bicycle ridership in Santa Cruz," she said. "Any new facility brings users." 


Despite seeing the Rail Trail as an opportunity for increasing bicycling in Santa Cruz, she did express one concern about the project: "My own feeling is that it is a huge project requiring a lot of funding. There are many other projects on the table, and I hope that these other projects don't get pushed to the side and it all goes to the rail trail." It will still be many years before the rail trail becomes a reality, though much progress has been made already. In the meantime, it is important that the community and City continue to support other bike projects in Santa Cruz that create a more connected and safe bicycle network while also keeping the vision of the Rail Trail in mind.

The official name of the "Rail Trail" project is the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail Network, and fortunately "approximately $7 million of local and federal funds have already been secured for construction of initial segments," according to the Regional Transportation Commission. Learn more about this project on the website here

Cheryl also spoke about the upcoming bike plan update, which she clarified will be a "complete streets" approach to an update. The previous Bicycle Transportation Plan was produced in 2008, and Cheryl says the new one will take a more holistic approach that will focus not only on bikes but on active transportation as a whole--bicycles, pedestrians, and public transit. Complete streets is a relatively new approach to transportation planning that is designed to "work for the entire community, from ages eight to eighty," she said. 

"When you chop it up into user groups, it has this sort of discontinuous feeling, like pitting one user against another," she said of traditional plans that separate bike planning from pedestrian, public transit, and cars. "We're all using the streets together, so we should plan together." For community members interested in contributing ideas for the new update, which is happening within the next year, be on the lookout for announcements about community workshops and opportunities to get involved.

Cheryl concluded the interview by sharing some thoughts on the future of transportation in the Santa Cruz region. "It's exciting to see younger people interested in transportation and pursuing it. I encourage it as a career option, especially since nearly 50% of the greenhouse gas emissions in Santa Cruz are from transportation. We are also going to see a lot of growth in our area, in the Monterey Bay Area. According to a study by AMBAG (Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments), the urban footprint of this area is projected to grow 40% from 2005-2035, so we need to be thinking about how we are going to handle the increase in traffic."

What an inspiring conclusion to our interview, a challenge for the future but also an opportunity for innovative thinking. It's already 2014, which means we're 9 years into that potential 40% growth. In addition to a sense of opportunity through the challenge of increased volumes of people in this region, that timeline creates a sense of urgency that is hopefully fueling more efficient and effective decision-making when it comes to bicycle and sustainable transportation projects in this region. 

Thank you so much, Cheryl, for your insight and thoughts on transportation and bicycling in Santa Cruz. 

To learn more about City of Santa Cruz Transportation Programs and the work that Cheryl does, please visit the website here.

UC Santa Cruz Bike Month Events 2014

Many UC Santa Cruz banana slugs bicycle year-round, but during May, which is National Bike Month, these banana slugs not only bike but also celebrate the greatest two wheeled invention known to humankind. Join the UCSC community in celebrating the bicycle at these upcoming events, and see a full listing of Bike Month events here.


Stevenson Bikes & Food Justice Fest - May 3 at 12pm - 4pm
Stevenson Main Quad, UC Santa Cruz. 
Join us for a bike & food justice fest featuring free bike maintenance, bicycle education and history, bike-generated strawberry smoothies with education about strawberry production, music, bike part art, a food justice & transportation board game, and more! At 2 PM, there will be a speaker panel and discussion about the intersections of transportation and food justice in the Stevenson Fireside Lounge.

Slug Bike Party Ride Around Campus – May 3 at 3:30pm 
Meet in Stevenson Main Quad, UC Santa Cruz. 
During the Bike & Food Justice Festival, a group will be heading off on bikes to explore easy and secret routes around campus while also touring some of the campus gardens. Bring a bicycle in good working condition, a helmet, and comfortable shoes. Bike party!

Bike Week World Cafe - May 5 at 5pm - 7pm 
Kresge Piazzetta, outside Kresge Seminar Room at Porter-Kresge Rd, UC Santa Cruz. 
The World Cafe is a weekly potluck of both food and ideas that takes place in Kresge College. The theme for this week is bicycles to celebrate the beginning of Bike Week in Santa Cruz! Join us for conversations about the revolutionary role of bicycles to empower and free people in our community, enjoy some bike generated smoothies and music, and learn some basic bike maintenance.

UCSC Bike Helmet Giveaway - May 6 at 1:30pm - 4pm 
Base of UCSC campus, corner of Bay & High. 
In celebration of Bike Week, Transportation and Parking Services is hosting the Bicycle Safety Campaign! TAPS will be surveying cyclists and handing out 200 free helmets to members of the UCSC community on first come first serve basis. Proof of UCSC affiliation required. Invite your friends if you care about them staying safe on the road! If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Julie.

Bike to Work/School Day! - May 8, 2014 at 6:30am - 9:30am 
Have you ever wished someone would celebrate your bike commute with free food? Well that’s what Bike to Work Day is all about! There will be 15 public breakfast sites for people who bike to work/school this day, with three sites at UC Santa Cruz: base of campus, top of the Bike Path, and Quarry Plaza. For more information, visit the website.

Edge of Eden Music Festival (Free Bike Valet) - May 10 at 2pm - 10pm 
Take your bike to this music festival at the UCSC East Field and receive free bike parking! Parking is limited for the event anyway, and you won’t have to worry about your bike while you enjoy the show. Learn more here.

Free Bike Commuting Workshop at UCSC - May 14 at 12:30pm – 1:30pm 
Science and Engineering Library Room 332, UC Santa Cruz. 
Come to a free one-hour workshop for UCSC bike commuters of all skill levels hosted by People Power of Santa Cruz County. We’ll cover best practices for commuting to campus, including gears, laws, and routes.

Endless Summer Bike Ride - May 18, 2014 at 11am to 3pm
Soak in the sun, practice your cycling skills and explore little-known routes around Santa Cruz on this easy 8-10 mile bike ride. $6 cost includes a picnic lunch at Twin Lakes Beach. Bring a helmet and bike in good working condition. Register online here.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

IDEASS Tabling at the UC Santa Cruz Community and Arts Festival!



On April 12th, Melissa and I had the wonderful opportunity to table at the UC Santa Cruz Community and Arts Festival. This festival invited students to present the research and projects they have been working on this past academic year. Melissa and I were fortunate enough to be able to table at this event so we packed our bags with our previous newsletters, bike maps, a simple CO2 emission calculator, and other bicycle-related resources we have used for our project and got ready to immerse ourselves with the variety of people downtown.



We weren't ready for who we'd talk to and what we'd talk about! Melissa and I talked to avid, confident cyclists who gave us suggestions on our bicycle-commuting workshops, we gave advice to people who want to incorporate cycling into their daily commute, a man asked us about our project's importance and why cycling mattered in Santa Cruz, but overall so many people acknowledge our project and applauded us for our efforts. It was an amazing experience to be able to educate and talk with the people who reside in the same the city we've both lived in for four years. Although, we've had numerous outreach events that we've promoted our project at, this event was exhilarating and an educational occasion for us too.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

IDEASS Presentations at Green Drinks Last Week

Last Tuesday on April 1, two teams of students from the Impact Designs: Engineering & Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) program spoke at Green Drinks Santa Cruz at Cafe Mare in downtown Santa Cruz. Both projects were related to sustainable transportation--one focused on electric vehicle charging stations and the other (our project) on bicycle transit planning and education. 


Green Drinks Santa Cruz is an informal networking event where environmentally-minded people meet over drinks, and it meets at different local restaurants each month on the first Tuesday. There was a great turnout for the April meeting, and after enjoying some drinks and happy hour appetizers, the Electric Vehicle Charging Station Team presented first. Team members Jessica, Dannah, and Amrita shared some of their initial findings from data collection at charging stations in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. They continue to work on the project as the school year progresses, and they were able to get some useful feedback on directions to go and trends to analyze from the community members who attended the presentation.

Their EV project is described on their UCSC Project Clearinghouse page:
"Our overarching sustainability goal for the transportation sector is more electric vehicles on the road that will ultimately reduce GHG and particle emissions and will put a more sustainable fuel source into widespread use. To achieve that goal we are working with Monterey Bay Electric Vehicle Alliance, a local non-profit organization, to analyze data from EV charging stations in Santa Cruz County and Monterey County. ... 
"This project primarily involves two components. The first component is data analysis, which involves retrieving information from EV charging station owners. Once the data has been retrieved, our team will look for trends and analyze the data for any significant correlations. The second component of our project will involve data visualization via GIS [geographic information systems] mapping, reports, and graphs for ease of public viewing."

After the EV Charging Team presented and the audience asked questions and provided feedback, it was our turn to present about our Bicycle Transit Planning project. You can view our presentation on Google Drive here and read more about our project on our webpage here.

Aly and I spoke about the various aspects of our project, including our bike commuting workshops for the community and local businesses, our survey analysis from these workshops, our educational efforts at community events on and off-campus, and our work to get an automated bicycle counter installed at the Arana Gulch Multi-use Trail. 


The audience had a lot to say regarding their perspectives and frustrations with the current bicycle infrastructure in Santa Cruz and the U.S. in general. Suggestions included installing safer roadway features than just a stripe of paint on the ground for a bike lane, working to educate drivers more on rights of bicyclists, working to educate bicyclists more on rules of the road, and more. It was helpful to have our project mentors, Tiffany Wise-West from the City of Santa Cruz Climate Action Program and Amelia Conlen, Director of People Power of Santa Cruz County, in the audience to answer questions and provide some support in addition to the answers we could provide. 

After our presentation, folks mingled in the restaurant and made connections, discussing topics further. Aly and I spoke with "Cosmic Joe" who among other pursuits leads the star-gazing workshops through the UC Santa Cruz Recreation Department. He was really supportive of our work, and it was nice to speak one on one with a community member who was learning about our project for the first time. It was also nice to realize how much of a hot topic bicycling is for our community--the amount of comments and frustrations expressed with the current state of bicycling was awesome evidence that our work is really necessary and valued.

We're grateful to have had the opportunity to present at Green Drinks, and we look forward to future opportunities to engage with the community. We hope to see you at the UCSC Community & Arts Festival this Saturday at Abbot Square downtown (10 - 3 PM) and next Saturday at the Earth Day Celebration at San Lorenzo Park (11 - 4 PM). Thanks for reading!

Thanks to Hannah Hodgson for the photographs and for organizing Green Drinks Santa Cruz!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Portland's Bicycle Infrastructure Takes the Cake (Food is fuel)!


Portland, Oregon has been ranked as the #1 fittest city in the United States and I could not agree more. This past week my friend and I went to visit an old pal in Portland and filled our days with countless miles of walking, biking, driving, and using the TriMet. Portland's transit system is truly incredible. There were frequent MAX light rails delivering you to every thinkable location, there were unlimited TriMet buses, and of course cyclists equally numbering the amount of cars on the road. I was able to see the visual bicycle counter placed on Hawthorne Bridge displaying the amount of people who biked over the bridge that day and that year. At 10am on a Wednesday, there was already 968 people who biked on the bridge that morning! Astounding! 



My friend and I walked to most locations while enjoying the beautiful wet skies and bustling people. We went into the famous Powell's bookstore and I was amazed by the selection of bicycle-related books. There were historical books, factual books, autobiographies on famous cyclists, pictured books, and books with short stories by the average joe (photo above)! This town just loved bicycling! 



So after observing the volume of people bike riding around the city, my friend and I had to join the hype! We went to Waterfront Bicycles to rent a bike for the day. At first we tried out a tandem bike, but due to the rain and slippery streets we opted for two separate bikes. With the purchase of the bike we were given a bike map listing which streets had designated bike lanes called "Greenways", which streets had shared roads, and which streets to avoid. In addition, we were given helmets, u-locks, cable locks, and a carrying packs to put on the racks on our bikes. With all these essentials we felt prepared to embark on this enlightening adventure. We started on the designated Greenways which were a real sweet treat because of instead being the normal narrow right side bike lanes, these Greenways were placed in the middle of the road or if on the right side were incredibly spacious allowing a handful of cyclist to ride past each other (photo above). While bike riding we were observing the positive attitudes of cyclists and their graceful interaction with traffic. It was astounding to see cars obeying the cyclist's right of way and working with them to communicate effectively. It was a phenomenal and unbelievable sight. We both were awarded the ability to bike freely and not be a part of the bad stigmatism that has been given to cyclists over time. Honestly, I can not stop talking about the refreshing attitudes Portlandians have towards public transit and alternative modes of transportation; such as, bicycling.

I can not wait to go back and experience the lifestyle of Portlandians and their positive approach towards commuting!


Thursday, March 27, 2014

Bicycle commuting community-building through conversation (Pedaling Periodical)

On St. Patrick's Day, March 17, a dozen bicyclists gathered in the People Power office in downtown Santa Cruz to discuss bicycle commuting tips, tricks, and laws. Hosted by People Power of Santa Cruz County and the UC Santa Cruz Bicycle Transit Team, this was the first of five community workshops happening every third Monday of the month from March until July.

The workshops are designed to educate new bicycle commuters, as well as remind and refine seasoned commuters' understanding of bicycle laws, best practices for all weather, and safe strategies for getting to work, school, errands, and back home safely on a bicycle. An article in the Good Times provides an overview of the workshops here.


Upon arrival, participants were asked to fill out a one-page survey about their current bicycling habits. The team coordinating the workshops will be compiling this data and comparing it to two post-workshop surveys one month and three months after the workshop. The purpose of comparing data is to identify the effectiveness of the workshops in encouraging more bicycling, as well as to be able to calculate carbon emissions reductions from miles biked instead of driven. The workshops are made possible by the UC Santa Cruz Carbon Fund, which funds projects on-campus and in the community that will reduce carbon emissions. 


The first twenty people to attend the workshops will receive a free bike light. Only about eight people attended the first workshop, so if you're looking for a new bike light, you might consider attending the next workshop on April 21. Front, white bike lights are required by law for night riding, and back red lights are required by common sense (the law does require rear reflectors for night riding, but a light's way more effective). 

In addition to bike lights and the survey, participants could take a free bike commuting tips half-sheet and if they do not already own one, a Regional Transportation Commission bike map. The map can also be downloaded online here.


The People Power office is located at 703 Pacific Avenue, and it has a big bike commuting workshop flyer on the window in addition to other information about bicycling. Right around the corner is the Bike Church, a tool cooperative where you can learn to fix your bike and also purchase parts.


Amelia Conlen, Director of People Power, led this first workshop, providing an outline and overview to bicycling law, best practices, and safety tips. Throughout the presentation, participants were encouraged to ask questions, share stories, and talk to one another about concerns and suggestions they have. Sitting at a table together helps to facilitate the dialogue, and it was clearly helpful to have community members talking among each other to identify solutions to challenges they face. 

At the beginning of the workshop, everyone shared their name and current bicycling habits. One woman had never bike commuted before, but she was interested in giving it a try. Another woman is an employee at UC Santa Cruz who has only biked to campus once. She is interested in making it her regular commute. Because everyone in the room knew a little about others in the room, people were able to share specific tips that they knew that might help others. When you get a slice of the community talking about bike commuting, you realize that we have the solutions to our problems within the collective knowledge of everyone in the room. It's pretty empowering to realize that!


Amelia had a whiteboard set up with a drawing of an intersection to demonstrate different ways to make left turns. Everyone had suggestions for methods they use to feel more comfortable among traffic, and it often depended upon location and comfort level as to the method people chose to use when turning left.

Aly Tyree, one of the student interns on the Bicycle Transit Planning Team, expressed her enthusiasm about the workshop: "By having people with a range of confidence in cycling, we really got to see the reasons why people bike compared to the reasons why people do not. I think by having some bicycle advocates at the workshop they became positive enforcers for the people who want to increase bicycling in their lives. It was overall a fantastic event and I had such wonderful conversations with everyone that showed up!"


The first workshop was certainly a success, and all people who bike commute or are considering it are encouraged to attend a future workshop. These free community workshops take place every third Monday of the month until July, from 6-7 PM at 703 Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz.

If you are an employee or owner of a business in Santa Cruz County and you'd like to have a free bike commuting workshop take place at your business during the lunch hour, please contact People Power at 831-425-0665 or email Amelia.

We hope to see you April 21st!