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/.

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! 

Youth bicycling news roundup (Pedaling Periodical)

In the last two weeks, we've noticed a lot of youth bicycling featured in the local news. We compiled a list of what's been going on for young people and bikes in Santa Cruz:

Aptos High Team Wins Division II Race
The Aptos High [bicycling] team won the Division II race with 4,304 points during Sunday's NorCal Cycling League event at the Granite Bay Grinder." Congratulations! Read more on the Santa Cruz Sentinel website.

"Volunteer starts bike club at Capitola middle school"
"The Capitola school is one of seven across the country participating in the incentive program, which enters students who bike, walk, scoot or skateboard to school into a monthly raffle for prizes. Since this fall, around 10 percent of the student body has used alternative transportation to school, said Piercy, who helps run the monthly program at New Brighton." Read the full article from the Santa Cruz Sentinel here.

Photo credit: Shmuel Thaler, Santa Cruz Sentinel 

Babes on Bikes: A new bicycling club for young ladies 

Their Facebook page reads, "Babes on Bikes is a cycling initiative to get more young women riding bikes! We believe biking empowers young women without compromising their QT lifestyle." How cool is that!? This Santa Cruz High-based bicycling advocacy group has grown in partnership with Green Ways to School and People Power of Santa Cruz County. They've organized two rides which looked really fun (from the Facebook photos we saw). Like their page on Facebook and share it with any young women you know in Santa Cruz who are interested in finding other young women who bike.

"Youth bike program kicks into gear in Santa Cruz"

"Teens in Santa Cruz who need some wheels have a new place to turn, as Santa Cruz police, the Santa Cruz Teen Center and youth groups have collaborated in a new program to distribute bicycles in police storage." Read the full story in the Sentinel here. 

Photo credit: Bike Church blog

To read another perspective about the recent City Council meeting to reinstate the program described above in its new form, read this blog post by a student who took the People Power: Sustainable Transportation Solutions course at UCSC this past winter quarter. The student author, Pedrum, is new to the political world of bikes in Santa Cruz, so any additional background that can be provided in the comments on his post is appreciated! There's also some back-story to the bike distribution program by Richard Masoner on Cyclelicious here and from the Bike Church here.

Did we miss any major youth bike news? Post about it in the comments, or email Melissa.

Bicycle Outreach at UCSC Earth Summit (IDEASS BTPT 2013-14)

Last Thursday, our team joined a number of other student organizations in tabling at the Campus Earth Summit at UCSC. The event featured not only tabling, but also inspiring speakers, spoken word performances by the incredibly inspiring duo Climbing PoeTree, and workshops throughout the day. There was also free food and music powered by a bicycle generator! 

Fellow bicycling enthusiast Alex Hoffman (co-teacher with Melissa for the winter quarter People Power: Engaging Sustainable Transportation Solutions class) joined Aly and Melissa at the BTPT table. We promoted bike riding in Santa Cruz, as well as encouraged visitors to the table to take a survey about their bike riding habits. We also had a map of Santa Cruz that visitors could pin their routes on using tacks and rubber bands.

We were able to tell attendees about our project, answered bike-related questions, handed out materials for safer and more informed riding (provided by Transportation & Parking Services--thanks!), and asked visitors to our table to fill out a survey designed specifically for Earth Summit. Only 13 people filled it out, so we aren't counting the results as statistically accurate by any means. But if you're curious what folks said, check out the results below. Click the image for a larger view.

Mostly students, which we expected.

Because most of them are students, most are 18-24.

High bike rate among this crowd--they did, after all, approach a table proclaiming to be about bicycles. Future surveys we conduct will be at our bike commuting workshops where we imagine there will be a number of bicycle riders, too. We conducted the survey at Earth Summit as a way to identify any confusing questions and also see what kinds of habits UCSC bike riders have.

The campus bike shuttle is fully subsidized by Transportation & Parking Services through parking fees. Yes, you heard that right. Parking fees. So to continue to subsidize and make sustainable transportation methods cheaper for us all, people need to keep driving to campus and paying for permits. Hmm... Let's envision another model for funding, shall we?

Woah, we got some experts in the house! We still want those kinds of folks to attend our workshops if they're inclined to do so--they can share stories, tips, and maybe they'll realize they could learn a thing or two themselves!

With our stellar bus system in Santa Cruz to get to campus, it's no surprise that a lot of people bus it.

Mostly split between never and every weekday. 

Did you know that about half of all trips in the U.S. are three miles or less? Three mile trips are totally manageable by bike. I call that opportunity for change!

0 means no concern, and 5 means great concern. The following questions are all in response to "What keeps you from biking to work and/or school more?"

Given the high rates of bike theft in Santa Cruz, this is interesting. Get a good lock, use a bike locker, or park your bike in high visibility locations.

Bike racks with bags on the side are the way to go, especially with our hills. It's incredible how much easier it is to carry things when they're on your bike and not your back.

Leave earlier so you can ride slower and not break too much of a sweat. If you're going up to campus, there are showers available for bike commuters in Kresge College and Kerr Hall. Check out Janet Lafleur's blog One woman. Many bicycles. for more tips like this.

You don't need the most expensive bike in the shop to bike commute. Search Craigslist or ask friends who bike. 

If you're really far away, consider taking your bike on the bus!

Time management is key, and it is possible! Besides, if you bike to work, you can reduce your daily exercise routine and you'll inevitably feel more refreshed in the mornings. Daily exercise like this is really healthy for you, and it can soon become something you look forward to.

Weather-proof your commute! It's all about getting the right gear, some fenders, and waterproof clothing. 

Such great reasons to bike! Are you still on the fence about biking to work more often? Our workshops are designed for encouraging you to get out there more and feel empowered by your decision to bike to work instead of driving. Have questions? We have answers.

Workshops begin this Monday, March 17, from 6-7 PM in the People Power Office, 703 Pacific Ave. Learn more and register here for our free workshops!

Thanks for reading about experience at Earth Summit! We hope to see you Monday!

Being the bicycling change we wish to see (IDEASS BTPT 2013-14)

This is the first of many blog posts about the Bicycle Transit Planning Team's IDEASS project for 2013-14. 

"When our principles inform our method, our project goals can be attained more effectively, with insight along the way." This thought came to me last Tuesday while bicycling along the westside of Santa Cruz, counting cars in parking lots for my bicycle transit internship with the Impact Designs: Engineering & Sustainability through Student Service program at UC Santa Cruz. The sky had let up on the rain, the air was warm, and sun peeked out from behind clouds. Needless to say, the bike ride was a treat.

But why count cars? My team project partner Alyssa Tyree and I are working on a number of different bicycle transit-related mini-projects, housed under the umbrella of our IDEASS project, which is a year-long commitment. We are working with two awesome women in the community, Tiffany Wise-West from the City's Climate Action Program and Amelia Conlen, the Director of People Power of Santa Cruz County. They are both supporting us in different ways for our project, which you will hear more about in future posts. The counting cars aspect is a small slice of our overall project scope, and it's a way for us to support the rail trail project (part of the Monterey Bay Scenic Sanctuary Trail master plan) by collecting data on how many spaces are filled in parking lots along the rail trail on different days and times each week. The goal is to identify if there are empty lots at certain times of the day or week that the City could incentivize lot owners to allow rail trail users to park in for access to the multi-use trail that will eventually be built along the rail line. Counting cars sounds boring, I know, but the bike ride to do so was a delightful way to end my afternoon, and it led to this philosophical reflection about principles, methods, and goals... But how did I get from counting cars to philosophy? Let me explain.

The thought I began the post with came to me right after I biked around the circular road of Errett Circle, which introduced me to the Circle Market and the Circle Church, adorable and unique attributes of the neighborhood that I hadn't ever come across before. I had just biked to this area of town from the Safeway area near Mission Street, and as I passed by Garfield Park, I was struck by how different the neighborhood felt and looked in that area. It felt closer, more quaint. I hadn't ever really explored near there before, and it was fun to be in a new part of town. When I drove through this area last time I conducted the car counting survey (it was pouring rain that day, and I rented a Zipcar), I did not notice the neighborhood around me or associate any feeling with it whatsoever. Cars are like that--you're in them to get from point A to point B, not to enjoy the scenery through glass and metal. The rain may have played a part in this, too, but certainly cars require more focused attention on operating heavy machinery, not gazing around.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about community places and how to live presently in our communities rather than just travel from home to school to work. I think this is why I was so interested in and excited to see the Circle Market and Circle Church. The circular nature of the community space has lent its name to these establishments, which seem to support community in their own ways. The market has a colorful storefront that is inviting, and the church looks welcoming and it's at the center of the neighborhood. It reminds me of the commons area in old European establishments, central and a place for gathering. There is a different feeling in that part of town, as I said, and it's even more tangible the closer to the circle you get. Especially on a bike. On a map it looks like a destination, a place all roads lead to. When you're there, it can feel like something special is happening or about to happen.

As I rode away from the circle and down California Street, I couldn't help smiling at a man walking by and being simply drawn into the present moment and aware of community in a profound way. And then I had this philosophical realization about principles. By "principle" I mean the values and expectations of conduct that we hold ourselves to as we work on a project. In this IDEASS project, we value clear communication, clear deadlines balanced with self-sustainability and awareness of the incredible amount of work on each of our plates. We also value bikes and sustainable transportation, community and relationship-building. These are all the ways we approach the different tasks and goals of our project--these are our guiding principles. So when I say "principles inform our method," I mean in this particular case that our principle of seeing and believing in the bike as a form of sustainable and viable transportation directly translates into our method of conducting our counts by bicycle. In turn, this brings us into the realm of our goal for our project overall--increased bicycle ridership, safer bicycle ridership, and engaged community ridership. Riding my bike last Tuesday for the count put me into the position of evaluating the effectiveness of the bike in these ways. I chose to bike instead of rent a Zipcar again. I put into place the safety tips that I and Aly and Amelia will be sharing at our upcoming bicycle commuting workshops (more on this here, and in future posts). Most profoundly for my experience last week, I was aware of the way the bike can engage you with your community--in this case, a silent and contemplative engagement with a community space that I hadn't come across before.

"When our principles inform our method, our project goals can be attained more effectively, with insight along the way." When we know our audience and can experience what our goal might be like for other people--in this case, biking in any situation--and when we can reflect on how our work can be real in the world or how we can approach our work differently based on experiencing it, we are closer to our goals than if we sit removed from them. Bicycle advocacy is fun, not only because you get to bike while you're doing it a lot of the time, but because the bicycle is so much more than just a mode of transportation in the way a car often feels. It is a tool for accessing reflective thoughts and engaging by being in the spaces we travel in (rather than simply through). By being the change we wish to see in the world and living our principles each day in our work, we can see the possibility and vision of our goals, and that in itself is incredibly inspiring.

Hasti's Project Challenges & Progress

Last week, I downloaded a digital version of the Santa Cruz County bike map from SCCRTC's website.

I plan to use this file to highlight recommended routes to share via People Power's Facebook page.


Amelia Conlen and I discussed a route that starts downtown on Pacific Avenue and heads South ending at Seacliff Beach. I took a screen shot of the section of the bike map that I wanted to highlight but the image was too low resolution when I tried to edit it in a simple editor. I'm planning to use a more sophisticated editor tomorrow on campus in the Porter Lab. Using Adobe Illustrator, I think I can just import the entire pdf file then crop the section I would like to highlight.

Sharing images of highlighted routes through social media encourages people staring at a screen to go outside and get active. I would also like to encourage people that take the recommended route to share a picture from the destination or somewhere along the way.

I have a meeting at the People Power headquarters tomorrow to discuss promoting People Power's upcoming bike commuting workshops. We will be receiving a batch of posters to distribute around town. I will put up posters around campus and also talk to local businesses like bike shops about posting them. We plan to discuss some ideas for promoting the workshops online.

So far, I have really enjoyed participating in bike related events ranging from group rides to helmet decorating with reflective stickers. I feel as though events have been one of the most effective methods of advocacy in action. With the group rides we are encouraging individuals to bike in a group and enabling them to do so safely by taking turns to stand at intersections. With the helmet decorating workshop, we cut reflective stickers to make ourselves much more visible at night in a creative way.

Supporting Sustainable Transportation

Since transportation contributes to the majority of carbon emissions in California (approximately 50 percent), it is essential to evaluate the environmental impact of such a major part of everyone's lifestyles: getting from one place to another.

Nearly half of all car trips made in the United States are 3 miles or less! 

When traveling locally in the US, why is it commonly considered more convenient to drive rather than to walk or bike? 

One of our readings from this week, "Unraveling Ties to Petroleum: How policy Drives California's Demand for Oil," suggests that policies developing and maintaining the automobile infrastructure often inhibit the quality of transportation alternatives.

In one of the first few weeks of this year, our Sustainable Transportation class discussed the benefits of cycling. Some of the environmental impacts our class brought up involved reducing congestion and air pollution as well as less dependency on oil.

One of the promotional aspects of my project is identifying the scenic and safe bike routes around Santa Cruz County using the SCCRTC Bike Map. I downloaded a digital version of this map and plan to highlight routes to recommend to cyclists via the People Power Facebook page. This promotional plan is free and paperless since it will utilize digital media to share the route with a large audience across several online platforms. I hope to encourage more physical activity and promote sustainable transportation choices by suggesting enjoyable routes to local spots.

People Power of Santa Cruz County Offering Free Bike Commuting Workshops to Local Businesses and the Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 17, 2014

PRESS CONTACT - Amelia Conlen, (831) 425-0665, director@peoplepowersc.org

People Power of Santa Cruz County Offering Free Bike Commuting Workshops to Local Businesses and the Community

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, February 17, 2014 – People Power of Santa Cruz County is partnering with two interns from the UC Santa Cruz Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) program to create and host bicycle commuting workshops throughout Santa Cruz County. They seek ten local businesses that would like to provide lunchtime workshops to their employees, available between March and July of 2014. There will also be free community workshops offered monthly, starting March 17th from 6-7PM at the People Power office, 703 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz.

Making your daily commute by bicycle can be a daunting prospect – what do you wear? How do you transport kids, laptop or a change of clothes? What about when it rains? The workshops are designed to answer all those questions and more, including rules of the road, basic skills and maintenance and how to choose the best route. By offering workshops at local businesses, employees can ask questions and get feedback specific to their daily commute, such as the best nearby routes and where to safely park and lock their bike.

People Power is seeking businesses that are willing to host a workshop, with a goal of having at least 10 employees at each one. Smaller businesses are encouraged to participate and reach out to businesses nearby to invite others to fill the workshop. In the coming weeks, the team will be reaching out to local businesses, but interested employers are encouraged to contact People Power directly.

If you are an employer looking to host a bike commuting workshop at your business, please contact Amelia Conlen, Director of People Power, at (831) 425-0665 or send her an email at director [at] peoplepowersc.org 

Community workshops will take place monthly from 6-7PM on the 3rd Monday of the month, starting March 17th. Workshops will be held at the People Power office, 703 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz. To register for a workshop, visit http://www.peoplepowersc.org/ 

Funding for the workshops is provided by the UC Santa Cruz Carbon Fund, which awards grants to local projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, research methods for doing so, or educate the community through behavior change programs. For more information about the Carbon Fund, visit http://sustainability.ucsc.edu/get-involved/funding/carbon-fund/index.html

About People Power
Since its inception in 1991, People Power has been improving the quality of life in Santa Cruz County by promoting bicycling and other forms of sustainable transportation. More information about the organization’s work can be found online at http://www.peoplepowersc.org/ 

About UC Santa Cruz IDEASS Program
UC Santa Cruz Impact Designs: Engineering and Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) is a service-learning program designed to empower students as change agents to face the challenges of the 21st century. In this yearlong upper-division course, students work together in teams with professional mentors to design and implement a project related to sustainability. For more information, visit the website at http://sustainability.ucsc.edu/get-involved/jobsinternships/ideass/index.html

Recap of the Last Couple Weeks

We're overdue for a recap of class! Between reading for class and preparing the lesson plans and learning about the awesome projects everyone's doing, Alex and I haven't had a chance to write about what we've been doing in class--which is important so that people who aren't there can learn about the cool stuff we're doing.

Two weeks ago, Amelia Conlen, Director of People Power of Santa Cruz County, and Tawn Kennedy, Director of Green Ways to School, visited our class to talk about the work that they do in the community and how students in the class can get involved. It was awesome to learn about the projects they're currently working on. Both of them spoke about transportation issues in general, as well, which framed their work within the larger issues of transportation that we're facing. Tawn spoke about climate change and the importance of encouraging young people to bike. Thank you both for attending and sharing with us!

Tawn speaking about his work with Green Ways to School. 

After hearing from Tawn and Amelia, Alex presented about bikes, which is evidently our class's favorite topics since we talk about it every week even when we aren't focusing on bikes. The presentation that Alex showed is here if you want to review it.

Last week, we focused on public transportation. We started class by going around and sharing the funniest, best, or most interesting experiences we've had on public transportation. The stories ranged from drunk, boisterous men on buses in the Central Valley to silent connections made by eye contact on buses to realizations about socioeconomic inequalities and why we feel how we feel when we take public transportation. (If anyone from class wants to share what their story was, please do so in the comments!)

We transitioned into talking about the readings and reviewing a presentation that I put together the night before. You can review it here. We ended that portion of class with a TED Talk by Enrique Peñalosa titled "Why buses represent democracy in action."

After this, we welcomed a guest presentation by Erich Friedrich, Senior Transportation Planner with Santa Cruz METRO. He spoke about the history of METRO, current struggles the transit district faces, and exciting opportunities happening in the future. Students had many questions, and it led to an interesting conversation about Santa Cruz transportation issues and possible solutions. We may have more details on this coming soon in a blog post from Alex!

As always, you can look over our syllabus to see what readings we're doing each week and what the topic and plans are for future weeks. Tomorrow, we're discussing walking, and we have two guest speakers, Jessica Pearson from Transportation & Parking Services and Dr. Paul Lee, founder of the Chadwick Garden and Homeless Garden Project and advocate for trails like Pogonip. You're welcome to join us any Friday from 8 - 10:40 AM in the Kresge Seminar Room 159.

Enjoy this rain!

Sneak Routes Bike Ride in Santa Cruz

People Power recently led a 10 mile bike ride around Santa Cruz through the lesser-known routes. It was fun biking around town in a big group. Many pedestrians were curious why there were so many bicyclists of all ages and different types of bikes, including one covered in fur (see below).

Bicycle safety overview 

The road less traveled 

 The Coastal Rail Trail will start here

http://www.peoplepowersc.org/news/2013/10/27/santa_cruz_approves_funding_application_for_coastal_rail_trail

 Handing out bike maps of Santa Cruz County

It was a beautiful day for a group bike ride!

~ Thank you Tawn Kennedy for taking these photos ~
&
~ Thank you People Power for organizing this sneaky bike ride ~

Engaged Discussions on Santa Cruz Transportation 1/17/14

Last Friday, our class met in the Common Ground Center, Kresge Room 166. Our normal classroom, the Kresge Seminar Room, was full of California Student Sustainability Coalition students who were at UC Santa Cruz for their winter convergence. Having class in the smaller space allowed for a more intimate discussion on Santa Cruz-specific transportation issues, and although we'll return to the Kresge Seminar Room for most other weeks, we may venture back into that space if we feel that our discussions on particular days require that closer intimacy.

We spoke about Santa Cruz transportation statistics, things to celebrate, issues to find solutions to, and also discussed our first blog post experience of writing our transportation histories, which can all be found on this blog. Students expressed having trouble getting started writing about transportation history because it's such an integral and typically changing history of our lives. Most people discussed the multiple modes they've used in their lives--cars, bikes, buses being the most common methods. We discussed how our experiences, comfortability, and perceptions of each mode affects how we view other modes and other people using other modes.

After spending some time reviewing local Santa Cruz information and hearing a brief presentation by Brenden Fant, a UCSC alum, former Impact Designs: Engineering & Sustainability through Student Service (IDEASS) bike transit intern, and former Student Environmental Center Transportation Campaign Coordinator. Brenden went through his report from his IDEASS project that surveyed people who bike to and from the UCSC campus to identify where people are riding and what the barriers are to people riding bikes more. Brenden had us brainstorm the benefits of cycling since we had touched upon the reasons why bicycling is an effective and healthy mode of transportation, but we hadn't articulated in one place what those reasons were. Here's what we came up with (click the image for a larger view):

Then we brainstormed as a class what kinds of visions we have for the future of transportation at UC Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz in general. This ranged from more people perceiving walking as a good way to get around to double decker bridges for bikes on campus to zip lines to less crowded buses. I took some photos of the board before class ended so we could review them later:

Thank you everyone for participating in great conversation and bringing your perspectives and experiences to class to share! We look forward to seeing you tomorrow, when we select project topics and hear from Amelia Conlen and Tawn Kennedy of People Power of Santa Cruz County about the work that they do and how you can get involved!

Documents from January 17 class:

• View the presentation slides from 1/17
• 2012-13 IDEASS Bicycle Transit Study (Brenden's project)
• Read the Community Assessment Project, which contains statistics about Santa Cruz issues