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.

Photo source/credit

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.

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!

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.

"Transportation in the Post-Carbon World"

One of our guest speakers from yesterday's class, George Dondero, Director of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, shared this reading titled Transportation in the Post-Carbon World to pass along to you all. It's optional, but it directly ties into the work of this class. You can access it online here by downloading the PDF or reading it online.

The excerpt on the site reads

"Successful post-carbon transitions will benefit from understanding the dynamics of transport revolutions. We define a transport revolution as being substantial change in a society's transport activity--moving people or freight, or both--that occurs in less than twenty five years."

And here's a video that gives you a sense of the topic being addressed in the reading:

Planning Department Takes a Serious Look at Highway 280 Teardown (SF Streets Blog)

Remember when we spoke about the economic and societal benefits of removing freeways? Here's a present-day example of a freeway that should probably be removed. Take a look, and be sure to peruse the comments to hear what others are saying!

"The idea of tearing down a section of highway 280, north of 16th Street, is taking a firm step forward with the launch of a new study by the Planning Department. Although the department has already released a study of the option in December 2012, the new initiative would take a deeper, more comprehensive look at the ”spiderweb” of interconnected transportation infrastructure plans in the area, said the Planning Department’s Susan Gygi." 

Photo: Michael Patrick/Flickr

Read the full story by Aaron Bialick here on SF.StreetsBlog.org.

Chima's Relationship to Cycling

My relationship with cycling is a very general question to ask me. Cycling to me takes on so many connotations. I could fondly remember as a younger individual Lance Armstrong and his many Tour-de-France victories, lifting the United States to worldwide fame in the arena of cycling. I have spent a great deal of my transporation history utilizing bikes as a means of transportation. I could remember as a young boy going to ride my bicycle in the BART parking lot in Oakland, California during the late 1990’s. Then again, later in my life, I remember riding my bike to my high school from 10-12th grade on most school days. I did this for many reasons. I remember that I did this because it was faster than walking and cheaper than taking public transportation. Additionally, I had to ride my bicycle to school because I could not get a ride from my parents, because they had to go to work. It was a great experience. From the late 1990’s until 2003, I did not ride my bicycle. This has to do with the fact that I was going through rough times, and I was riding my scooter. In March 2003, I moved from Oakland to Antioch, a suburb in the East Bay. I remember that I had to relearn how to ride my bike. From that period until Fall 2006 when I started 10th grade, I only rode my bike for aesthetic purposes, not for anything important. After riding my bicycle from 2006-2009 to go to school, I started to understand the importance of cycling. I admit that I did not really worry about, or really knew about the carbon footprint that I avoided by choosing to ride bikes over drive a vehicle or take public transportation. Also, I realized how healthy it was to ride bikes, because the human being became the engine, making the human being excercise by pedaling. I had to move to Tracy, California on June 26, 2009, after completing high school, this also affected my relationship with cycling. I remember that when I was riding my bike, I ran over sharp objects, my tire became flat, and I had to get my tube replaced over and over again. It got to a point that in the late summer of 2010, I had to stop riding my bike, partly because I officially received my driver’s licence on July 27, 2010. Because of this, I had to focus more on driving, because I had to travel farther I distances in order to get to school. I have not ridden a bicycle since at least 2010. I still have a positive relationship with cycling despite all of those setbacks. I am expecting to ride a bike sometime in the new future because I am in a class titled Sustainable Transportation. I now understand that when one chooses to ride a bike over drive a motorized vehicle, they reduce the carbon footprint.

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

The Language of our Transportation System

On the first day of class, we discussed our reactions to Jeff Speck's TED Talk based on his 2012 book, The Walkable City. In groups of two, we shared our thoughts and then as a full group reflected on what the video made us think about or what we disagreed with or found challenging.

One student, Pedrum, discussed how strange it is that we call collisions on the road "accidents." Another student questioned this: it's not like people driving intentionally hit other people, right? Pedrum qualified his statement: on a small scale, yes they are accidents, but when you step back and look at the system, are they really accidents? By calling them "accidents" we allow them to be excusable situations that simply seem to happen without any real cause.

But there is a cause, and it's the reason we're in this class in the first place. Our transportation system has biases and inequalities and inherent flaws in the way it focuses on car travel first and the people in the cars after that. I was just reading Elly Blue's Bikeonomics to find some evidence for a grant I'm writing to acquire some automated bicycle counters for Santa Cruz, and I came across a passage I had marked that directly aligns with Pedrum's sentiment that we should perhaps find other words to express the tragic crashes that happen every day involving cars. Here's how Elly Blue puts it:

"We have a very large cultural blindspot when it comes to cars. Using the roads by any means is one of the most dangerous things you will do on a daily basis; in a car, you are not very much less at risk, but you become a tremendous danger to others.

"Yet crashes are so commonplace that even when they affect us directly, we see them as flukes rather than a real and systemic threat. We call them 'accidents' and think of them as inevitable yet unlikely to happen to us. The legal system treats them the same way; unless a driver who causes a fatal crash was drunk or leaves the scene, criminal penalties are low or nonexistent. Texting and talking on the phone while driving are the functional equivalent to driving while drunk, yet the acts are so commonplace that it is difficult to either pass or enforce laws against them." (Blue, 2012, p. 101)

This example of language reinforcing the system is not the only example. Another one that I read about a few months ago (read here) which has completely altered my discourse around the subject is using "people who bike" instead of "cyclists." "People who bike" puts the human being, the person, back into the descriptor. "Cyclist" is in many people's minds a group of spandex-clad middle age men riding on Saturday mornings, rather than your typical everyday person trying to get to work by bicycle. Even if it doesn't conjure up that image, "cyclist" is still a descriptor that groups a bunch of people together based on the fact that they bike. Removing the collective aspect and saying "person on a bike" helps to distinguish in people's minds that regardless of how they're getting around, they're still first and foremost a person whose death or injuries while traveling should not be disregarded or mocked.

You might be thinking, no one would really mock the death of another person, even if they were biking, right? The fact is, many people do, and there's a clear cultural bias against "cyclists" among people who drive cars--just read the comments section of any news article about someone riding a bike who was involved in a crash. For some articles on bicycling and safety, check out the list of links under "Bicycle Laws and Issues of Safety" here.

Well, now that I've procrastinated from working on my grant application, it's time to get back to it. See you on Friday at class!


Works Cited
Blue, E. (2013). Bikenomics: How Bicycling Can Save the Economy. Portland: Microcosm Publishing.

Ernest Hemingway on bicycles

This week's topic is Bicycles!

More about last week and this week coming soon. Enjoy this perfect bicycling weather!

Corin's Transportation History

Write your transportation history - Think about the various modes of transportation that you've used in your life at different times and places. How do your experiences with these modes affect your perception of the world, your community, etc.? Have you had pivotal moments on buses, bike rides, car trips, etc. that have changed how you see the world? 

Where I am from in Southern California, riding a bicycle around as a regular form of transportation was very rare. Now it is getting much more prominent and even stubborn cities are beginning to put in bike lanes. I live in the mountains and went to school in the valley below where a lot of my friends got cars and started driving during, or right after high school. I was always driven everywhere throughout my whole life (except a few instances with walking), because I always seemed to be able to catch a ride. I always enjoyed riding bikes for fun, but didn’t see how anyone could use them to get around on a daily basis for a long time.

When I got older, I couldn’t get a car and taking the bus did not sound ideal (everyone I knew who had used the bus system said that it needed a lot of work), but my older brother always rode his bike everywhere he could. For a while, I thought that he just did it because he raced bikes all the time and he lived in San Diego and that I wouldn’t be able to do it. But I got into it because I was interested in trying a road bike as I had always had mountain bikes. I bought an old road bike at a thrift store and I learned that there was so much about bikes in general that I didn’t know. They didn’t just have to be objects used for special occasions like “bike rides”. They have been for a long time, and still are the main form of transport for many people. In high school, I would get a ride up and down the mountain and ride my bike to school most days out of the week.

Now, riding bikes is a huge part of who I am. I ride for transportation and recreation. I am really happy and surprised when I go home and see that a lot of the roads are being repaved and painted with bike lanes (I wish they would have done that before I moved away, but at least they’re there now). Ever since coming to UCSC and joining the bike co-op, I have been riding everywhere. From now going forward I hope to ride my bike as often as I can. I still don’t have a car and have to get rides from people sometimes. Obviously, you can’t use bikes for everything, but I believe they are beneficial for the rider and everyone else.

Riding goes along with my goal of being more sustainable and I see it as a way to change communities and make them more sustainable too. It feels good to be able to go somewhere quickly without having to have a car.

Maryam's Transportation History

Write your transportation history - Think about the various modes of transportation that you've used in your life at different times and places. How do your experiences with these modes affect your perception of the world, your community, etc.? Have you had pivotal moments on buses, bike rides, car trips, etc. that have changed how you see the world?

One of my earliest memories was the purchase of a white Dodge minivan with a built in roof extension. I was at the dealership with my parents and two sisters, vastly unaware about what was happening at four years old. What I did know was that we drove home in a different car that day - a car that would come to see dozens of family road trips and the birth of my youngest sister. The Egg, as we called it, soon became a symbol of family unity and comfort. Looking back, it is no surprise how I was brought to value the automobile at a young age. Then I entered my teenage years. I began carpooling with the neighbors who traded one Mercedes SUV for another each month. Suddenly, the Egg was not cool. It was the opposite of cool. It was an incredibly lame assault to my desperate pursuit of acceptance from the snobby and self absorbed junior high school kids. I hated the Egg as I was conditioned to perceive cars as a status marker.

Eventually, the Egg broke down. To my wretched fourteen year old delight, we traded it in for a Nissan Armada. It was shiny, new, horribly gas inefficient, and one of the biggest cars on the road. I was driven around by my parents until I got a license. I hated that I had no control over my transportation. The city was hardly walk-able, and bikes were not culturally relevant enough to even consider.

My first car was a 2000 Mazda Millenia. For the first couple weeks, it was freedom on wheels. It was quickly apparent that owning a car came with a lot of responsibility, expense, inactivity, and anxiety. I sold it during the Summer before I moved up to Santa Cruz for college. While I expected to be disappointed, I was relieved. I truly felt as though a burden had been lifted. I bummed rides off my friends for the remainder of the summer, and everything changed afterwards.

In Santa Cruz, I relied on my feet and the bus. I loved it. I was breathing fresh air that smelled like redwoods, exercising, interacting with people and my environment, more aware of ecological impact, and truly happy. By the end of my Freshman year, I was working downtown at the Penny Ice Creamery. Suddenly the buses were not reliable enough (either that, or I wasn't), and I was struggling to get to work on time. So, I invested in a bicycle to get to work on the fly. Within a week, it was stolen. I had hardly gotten to know it, but I felt if someone had reached into my chest and ripped my heart out. It was a stark and eye-opening comparison to the way I felt when parting with my car.

After another month or so, I had saved up just enough to get a fixer-upper. I took the initiative to learn the basics of bicycle mechanics and get it up and running. Soon, I had the most beautiful bicycle that had ever existed in the history of bicycles. It was the love of my life, the apple of my eye. I was commuting to Cabrillo college from the west side four times a week, commuting to work downtown, and going on bike rides up and down the coast on the regular. I was introduced to the simple joy of night riding. I felt free and alive. It was a life-changing experience to travel with conviction. Alternative modes of transportation connected me to my community, the city, my body, and my bicycle.

Camille's Transportation History

Write your transportation history - Think about the various modes of transportation that you've used in your life at different times and places. How do your experiences with these modes affect your perception of the world, your community, etc.? Have you had pivotal moments on buses, bike rides, car trips, etc. that have changed how you see the world?

I grew up in Eureka, CA, a town in Humboldt County that had its climax during a time of unregulated logging and fishing, where an abundance of resources was excitedly consumed and a town was built as a dwelling for these rugged laborers.  Now it’s made up of a mixture of conservative old people and liberal growers, probably in pursuit of a quiet, undemanding life in what’s left of the lush redwood forest that is Humboldt County.  In terms of geography, the town is somewhat sprawling with no central business hub, as most jobs were concentrated at the mills which were built on the outskirts of town. Because of this, I would guess that at least 90% of the population in Eureka owns a car. Growing up, I didn't know anyone who rode their bike except for the occasional recreational weekend ride, and as a kid I saw the bus system as a dirty, dangerous and unreliable last resort for transportation. The city itself is pretty flat and not too spread out so biking would have been an incredibly easy way to get to school or work. Using a car was such a normalized way of getting around that it almost seemed ridiculous to consider walking somewhere, even if it was less than a mile away. I realize now that Eureka is a strange, isolated place where people are unconscious (in a lot more ways than transportation) of overarching issues of sustainability.

Up until high school, my parents would drive me to school or anywhere I needed to go, but once I was old enough that they felt comfortable leaving me to walk, they often left me to find my own way to and from school. Because I saw walking as a painfully slow waste of time, I started skateboarding to and from school, which was drastically faster than walking and a lot more fun.

However, once I got my drivers’ license and my parents bought me a little Toyota, I started driving to and from school, as most of the more affluent kids did. There was a whole culture built around driving at my school; different parking lots informally designated to different social groups on campus: the hicks parked their trucks in the parking lot near the metal and the wood shops; the jocks and preps parked their expensive cars in the lot next to the language building; the seniors had their own lot, etc.

Once I graduated from high school and decided that I was going to UC Santa Cruz, I figured I’d buy a bike since my car had been totaled by a reckless lady who’d run a red light on me that summer. I had a mountain bike at the time but decided I wanted a road bike because it seemed like the hip thing at the time. I took my grandpa’s 1970s Univega Sportour to Porter College but was intimidated by the hilliness of the university so it sat locked up outside of my dorm for the entirety of my Freshman year. My sophomore year, I lived pretty far from campus, and, again inspired by my frustration with the sluggishness of walking and with my impatience in waiting for buses, I started taking the bike shuttle to campus and biking home. I began to recognize other people who rode their bikes a lot and started to see how my role as a bicyclist made a statement in the politics of sustainable transportation.

Now, my junior year, I use my bike more than ever not only as a means of beating traffic and avoiding the bus system, but for fun and exercise too! At this point it’s also a choice I feel I’ve consciously made, now that I have the means to buy a car but don’t find it a necessary or sensible means of transportation anymore.