Safe & Healthy Streets

Damon Boyd, Colin Bogart, Nathalie Winiarski and the recumbent woody 4-wheeler

For Cruise Night 2010, Safe & Healthy Streets and a group of volunteers set up a collection of great bicycles for the crowd to look at. Guest Contributing writer Jen (No, the other Jen) inspired us to do this and dedicated her time and energy to corral the bikes. She summarizes the night’s activity this way.

My first (grown-up) bicycle was a white Sears Free Spirit 10-speed. I rode it to school every day and through the lemon groves every afternoon, aimlessly. Those lemon groves are now condos. That was when I fell for bikes, when autonomy, freedom, speed, light, scent and pedaling took hold of me and never let me go. And maybe I’m old fashioned, but I still like lemons better than condos.

I don’t know when cars became “better” than bikes, or why. I don’t know why bikes have been pushed aside, trivialized, demoted, reduced and snubbed. What a thing of beauty, this simple machine. They’re so pure. They’re so accessible. And endorphins are way better than gas fumes.

So my sincere thanks to you, my fellow crazy Glendalians or Glendalites or whatever you people call yourselves, for both staffing the Glendale Safe and Healthy Streets booth and for bringing your classic old bikes to this car-centric event. It’s necessary to occasionally remind people the scope of pleasant memories.

You can see all the bikes on Photobucket here. [There were also some really nice bikes at the Library booth which you can see here too – ED]

Kristen Shadburn and her Free Spirit 10-speed

Thanks to the good people whose bikes made this a successful evening! Kristen Shadburn brought the Sears Free Spirit, Phil and Bill brought five bikes, including a blue mini low-rider, a classic Schwinn and a tandem mountain bike, and Damon Boyd of Nomad Cruisers brought one of his amazing custom bikes, a recumbent woody. Erwin of Roadrunner Bikes in Atwater brought four bikes including a very popular-with-the-crowd chopper. Bill from as-seen-on-TV Bicycle Mart down Brand Boulevard brought two beautiful road bikes. (That sentence was sponsored by the letter “B.”) Also, thanks to Babz Rowe, resident cheerleader, Nathalie Winiarski, Matt Clark, and Hannah Lazarus who helped staff the booth.

Update for Two Cases Involving Cyclists

We have continued to stay in contact with the Glendale Police Department and the District Attorney’s office for updates on the arraignment of Naira Margaryan, the driver charged with the tragic death of cyclist Gerardo Ramos. The arraignment was set to take place on June 2, but was re-scheduled for July 14. The arraignment has again been re-scheduled, now for August 18. We’ve been told the defense has requested more time to collect information. As promised before, we will keep you informed of all important dates and developments in the case.

Some of you may have seen a recent Glendale News-Press article mentioning a cyclist who was the victim of a hit and run collision on July 1. We have confirmed with Glendale Police that they are investigating the case and fully intend to file hit and run charges against the motorist, whom they caught in Sun Valley. We will keep you informed about this case as well.

Mayor Villaraigosa’s Bicycle Crash

By now you’ve probably heard about Mayor Villaraigosa’s bicycle crash. A taxi driver pulled out in front of him on Venice Blvd., leading to a fall that broke the Mayor’s elbow. We at Safe and Healthy Streets and the LA County Bicycle Coalition saw this event as unfortunate (we wish the mayor a speedy recovery) and as an opportunity to encourage improved safety efforts for cyclists, as well as more and better bicycle infrastructure. You can read about the LACBC’s response at the LACBC blog here.

Sharrow on Dunsmore Ave.

More sharrows have been painted on Glendale streets! As part of a slurry seal project in North Glendale, Dunsmore Ave., New York Ave., and Markridge Rd. haven been painted. Dunsmore is in Glendale’s 1996 Bikeway Master Plan as a north/south bike route for the area and New York was suggested by residents during several community meetings in the fall of 2009. Markridge was added at the north end to connect the two streets and help with access to Deukmejian Wilderness Park. Foothill Blvd. and Santa Carlotta are slated to be striped with bike lanes. Combined together, the streets with bike lanes and sharrows will provide potential riding loops in the area as well as encouraging bike access to multiple schools and parks. At this time, there are five streets in Glendale with sharrows: Grandview Ave., Stocker St. (between Pacific and Louise), Dunsmore, New York, and Markridge. The Safe & Healthy Streets team is excited about the new sharrows and we look forward to seeing more of them on Glendale streets soon.

Special Meeting for LA County Bike Plan

We wanted to remind you that there will be a special meeting in Altadena on Monday, July 12 regarding the LA County Bike Plan update. The meeting will be held at the Altadena Community Center from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. A significant portion of North Glendale is bordered by LA County and this is your chance to discuss what and where bicycle infrastructure is to be planned for the area. You can click on the flyer for a larger view or you can visit the LA County Bike Plan website by clicking here.

Arraignment for Driver Charged with Killing Glendale Cyclist Re-scheduled for July 14

We have been in contact with the District Attorney’s office for updates on the arraignment of Naira Margaryan, the driver charged with the tragic death of cyclist Gerardo Ramos. The arraignment was set to take place on June 2, but is now scheduled for July 14. We will keep you informed of all important dates and developments in the case. In the meantime, one thing is clear: safety for cyclists will be ensured only where there is accountability on all sides and the rules of the road are clear and understood.

Cruise Night reminder

We’re still looking for classic, custom, or vintage bikes to display at Cruise Night on Saturday July 17, 2010. Cruise Night is a huge car show in Glendale that attracts about 35,000 visitors. We want to show those visitors that bikes are also beautiful, artistic, and collectible. If you or someone you know has a show-stopper bicycle that we can display, please contact Jen at glendalesahs@gmail.com Thank you.

Bicyclist and Pedestrian Survey Reminder

Quick reminder that we still need more people to take the Glendale Bicyclist and Pedestrian Survey online. If you haven’t done it yet, please complete the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GlendaleBikePedSurvey . If you participated in the Safe & Healthy Streets Community Meetings in the Fall of 2009, we really need your survey! Thank you.

Thank you Mayor Najarian, Council Member Friedman, and Dan Evans

At a recent Glendale City Council meeting, Mayor Ara Najarian took time to announce that while in Vancouver, Canada, he rented a bicycle and went for a ride. We’re happy to learn from his comments that he had a great experience and that he’s seen first-hand how great a bike-friendly community can be. We thank Mayor Najarian for taking that ride and for telling us about it. You can watch video of his comments by going to the City of Glendale video archive here and fast forward to 32 minutes, 19 seconds.

At another recent City Council meeting, Glendale Council Member Laura Friedman talked about her participation in the 10th Annual L.A. River Ride which benefits the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition. We thank Ms. Friedman for her participation in the event, both as a speaker and a rider. You can watch a video of Ms. Friedman’s comments by going to the City of Glendale video archive here and skip to 21 minutes. We’d also like to thank the Glendale Community Services and Parks Department and the Glendale Management Association for their sponsorship of this year’s L.A. River Ride!

Finally, Glendale News-Press editor Dan Evans recently wrote a nice editorial about his experiences riding his bicycle to work in downtown Glendale. We enjoyed reading his positive account of riding from Burbank to Glendale in which he discussed the details of his route. He closed by inviting his readers to tell him about their routes by bicycle. You can read Dan’s editorial in the Glendale News-Press by clicking here and you can e-mail your favorite routes to Dan at Dan.Evans@latimes.com

Glendale’s “Cruise Night” will be on Saturday, July 17th and we want to display some super cool, custom or vintage bikes to show that bicycles are also historical, collectible, and beautiful. If you or someone you know has a two-wheeled beauty that will wow the crowds, we need your bike! Please contact Jen at glendalesahs@gmail.com for details. Thanks!

Deukmejian Park Re-Opens, Art from the Ashes Opens

On Saturday June 19, 2010, the Glendale Community Services and Parks Department will celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of Deukmejian Wilderness Park. For more information about the day’s activities, go to the online flyer here. The evening of June 19th will also be the opening reception for “Art from the Ashes.” The Glendale Parks & Open Space Foundation and ART from the Ashes present an art exhibition for the benefit of Deukmejian Wilderness Park. Over 60 artists have created more than 100 works of art out of natural and man-made materials burned during the Station Fire. For details, go to the Glendale Parks & Open Space Foundation website.

Please Take the Glendale Pedestrian & Bicyclist Survey

The Glendale Pedestrian & Bicyclist Survey has been online for several months and we’re going to shut it down by the end of July. We still need more surveys from anyone who lives, works, goes to school or just visits Glendale. The information gathered by the survey will give us a clearer picture of bicyclists and pedestrians in Glendale and will supplement the information gathered at the community meetings in the fall of 2009. All information gathered will be used to help draft the Safe & Healthy Streets Plan and its stated goals for improving biking and walking conditions in Glendale. Even if you don’t ride a bike, we’re all pedestrians some of the time and the Safe & Healthy Streets Plan is about pedestrians as well as bicyclists. If you haven’t taken the survey yet, please complete it today by going to the online survey here. Please encourage your friends, neighbors, co-workers, or classmates to take the survey too. Thank you.

Safe Routes to School Threatened

Republican House Whip Eric Cantor recently attempted to eliminate Federal funding for Safe Routes to School as part of his “YouCut” program. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) funds projects that encourage and support children walking or biking to school. The benefits include our children growing up with healthier, more active lifestyles, reduced pollution and congestion, and safer conditions around schools thanks to better infrastructure and a reduction in car traffic. While Cantor’s attempt was not successful this time, his office has vowed to put Safe Routes to School back on the YouCut list again in the future.

The threat to SRTS should be of concern to all Glendale residents with school-age children since the City of Glendale and GUSD is receiving SRTS funding from applications sent in last year and is in the process of completing new applications which are due in July of this year. Ultimately, all elementary and middle schools in the district are to receive funding for improvements such as better crosswalks, repairs to sidewalks if needed, installation of bike racks, etc. This will happen as long as the applications continue to be approved and Cantor is not successful in cutting the SRTS program. We encourage you to keep an eye out for continued attacks from Cantor and others in Congress who don’t seem to understand the importance of the Safe Routes to School program. You can sign up for e-mail alerts from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership here and we intend to keep an eye on this issue (and alert you when there’s another attack) as well.

In the meantime, take a look at a report that the Federal Highway Administration released this week. Here’s a key graph from that report.

Notice that bicycle and pedestrian projects make up only 2% of the total Federal Transportation Budget and keep in mind that Safe Routes to School is only a part of that 2%. While we’re not sure what percentage is SRTS, it seems clear that cutting the program doesn’t represent a significant savings. It’s also worth noting that although 2% is a 15-year high, we’re still spending very little of the overall transportation budget on bicycle and pedestrian projects, even though 11.9% of all trips are now made on foot or by bicycle. Wouldn’t it make sense to spend at least 11.9% of the budget on bicycle and pedestrian projects? Imagine what a difference the increase would make!

Pedestrian Safety Around the World – a FREE webinar

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is offering a FREE webinar entitled “Pedestrian Safety from Around the World” on Wednesday, June 30 2010 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. The webinar will be presented by Charlie Zegeer, director of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center

In this presentation, Zegeer will discuss pedestrian safety from an international perspective. From China to Dubai to New York City to India, Charlie will lead us on a quick tour of pedestrian safety design and treatments from around the globe. For more information and to register for the webinar, go to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center website.

Community Meeting November 2009

Many of you who attended our community meetings last fall, volunteered for us, or attended Safe & Healthy Streets events may be wondering what’s going on with the Safe & Healthy Streets Plan – the policy document we’ve been talking about for some time. Well, now that we’re done with Bike Month events, trips to Berkeley and Long Beach, the Safe & Healthy Streets team is hard at work crafting the policy document. Our plan is to present a draft of this document to you this fall, so please be on the lookout for announcements in September. In the meantime, there’s going to be another bike/pedestrian count in September and there are some other exciting developments we’d like you to know about. Read on….

R.D. White Elementary Pilots New “Park & Walk” Program

In keeping with efforts to align R.D. White Elementary School with the Safe Routes to School philosophy, R.D. White is piloting a new after-school pick-up process for their students – “Park & Walk” – a safer and healthier way for children to depart school! Effective June 1st to June 18 – all students will be dismissed out the front of the school to designated classroom assignments on the front lawn of the school (Doran Street), awaiting pick-up by their parent/caregiver.

Parents/caregivers will park away from the school, in the surrounding neighborhood, and walk to the front of the school to pick up their children. The school side gates on Everett and Geneva will be no longer be open—they will be locked—no dismissals via the side gates, no pick-up directly by car.

Parking and walking eliminates the unsafe car pick-up lane, road rage, and noise and air pollution that endanger our students. This pick-up and departure process is safer and healthier for all students and parents, and will help to ensure increased pedestrian and traffic safety around R. D. White.

The first day of this pilot program was a big success! You can read about it in the Glendale News Press by clicking here. A special thank you to the Glendale Police Department Traffic Division for their amazing support and presence! Thanks also to Vons Grocery Store (Glendale Avenue) as they graciously allow families to park in their lot.

For more information, contact Kara Sergile at 818-637-2872 or kysergile@sbcglobal.net

Glendale Bikeway Master Plan Update to Begin This Summer

During the Glendale Transportation and Parking Commission meeting on Monday, May 24 2010, Glendale’s Traffic and Transportation Administrator Jano Baghdanian announced that the process of updating the Glendale Bikeway Master Plan will begin this summer, possibly as soon as July, and should result in a draft document by January 2011. You can watch Mr. Baghdanian’s presentation as well as the presentation of Safe & Healthy Streets Coordinator Colin Bogart by going to the City’s online video archive. Stay tuned for more announcements about the Bikeway Master Plan update! Community input will be welcome and encouraged as part of the update process.

L.A. County Bike Plan Update Meeting July 12

Speaking of Bike Plan updates, Los Angeles County has been holding meetings for an update of its bike plan. For those of you following this process, you know that the meetings for the County Plan have been somewhat far from Glendale. Thanks to a request from the Altadena Town Council, there will be a special meeting to discuss the County Plan update on Monday, July 12, 2010 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm at the Altadena Community Center, located at 730 E. Altadena Dr. Altadena, CA 91001. For those of you who live, work, or ride in North Glendale, this is the ideal chance to talk to County officials about bike improvements in the County sections of La Crescenta. For more information about the County Bike Plan update, you can go to their website.

This Sunday, June 6, is the 10th Annual L.A. River Ride. This is the biggest annual fundraising event for the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition, a non-profit bicycle advocacy group and the non-profit partner (with Glendale) in the Safe & Healthy Streets project. Thanks to a sponsorship from the Glendale Community Services and Parks Department, all children 12 and under can ride for free! All rides start and finish at the Autry Center in Griffith Park. Come support the LACBC and ride your bike! For more details go to the L.A. River Ride website. See you Sunday!

Bike Month Thanks

Thanks to everyone who participated in Glendale Bike Month this May!! It all started with a formal City Proclamation for Bike Month in Glendale. We had two great history rides, a pre-Bike to Work Day bike fair, a festival on Foothill Blvd., 5 Bike to Work Day pit stops, multiple documentary screenings, presentations by Gil Garcetti and Charlie Gandy, and free bike related movies on Tuesdays. Thanks to everyone who helped make all the events possible: the Glendale Public Library, Community Services and Parks, Public Works Traffic and Transportation, the Glendale Historical Society, Glendale TMA, The CV Town Council, The Bicycle Mart, and Montrose Bike Shop,  as well as numerous volunteers including Nathalie Winiarski, Scott Lowe, Arlene Vidor, Paul Rabinov, Steve Pierce, Robbyn Battles, Corey Keizer, and Rye Baerg. We’re working on compiling more photos and the Charlie Gandy presentation was videotaped by GTV6 so we hope to provide you with a link for viewing that soon. In the meantime, here are some pics from the Historic Parks of Glendale Ride on May 22.

Group photo at Chess Park

Nathalie Winiarski and friend enjoy a moment at Verdugo Adobe Park

Scott Lowe addresses the group at Heritage Garden Park

Illustration & design courtesy of Justin A. Klein, www.SketchCandy.com

Glendale Bike Month continues! Don’t miss this special month of free documentaries, movies, lectures, and rides. There are only a few events left!

For the full calendar listing of Bike Month activities, go to http://la-bike.org/glendale/bikemonth/ Download the Bike Month flyer here.

Glendale Bike Month is a collaboration of the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition, Glendale Community Services and Parks, Glendale Public Library, the Glendale Historical Society, Glendale Traffic and Transportation, the Glendale Transportation Management Associates, The CV Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition, and the CV Town Council.

Here are pictures from more Bike Month events.

The “Discover Foothill” festival included free bike checks courtesy of Montrose Bike Shop, a bicycle safety talk given by CHP, information from the Crescenta Valley Town Council, and a short bike ride on the new Foothill bike lanes led by Safe & Healthy Streets Coordinator Colin Bogart. Local businesses up and down Foothill participated by offering discounts and gift items to attendees. There was also a History Walk led by Mike Lawler. Thanks to everyone who volunteered at the event, the participating businesses, and especially to Steve Pierce, Robbyn Battles, and Paul Rabinov for putting it all togeher. You can read an article about the event in the Glendale News-Press by clicking here.

Bike to Work Day Glendale included a pit stop at City Hall (pictured) as well as 4 other locations around the city. Twenty-two cyclists visited the City Hall stop and enjoyed coffee, donuts, fruit, juice, and a goodie bag containing patch kits, maps, and other items. Michelle from Clif Bar joined us, promoting their 2 Mile Challenge as well as handing out Clif Bars and super cool bandanas, buttons, and key chains. We don’t have all the totals for Glendale yet, but as soon as we do, we’ll let you know.

Illustration & design courtesy of Justin A. Klein, www.SketchCandy.com

Glendale Bike Month is rolling! Do not miss this special month of free documentaries, movies, lectures, and rides.

For the full calendar listing of Bike Month activities, go to http://la-bike.org/glendale/bikemonth/ Download the Bike Month flyer here.

Glendale Bike Month is a collaboration of the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition, Glendale Community Services and Parks, Glendale Public Library, the Glendale Historical Society, Glendale Traffic and Transportation, the Glendale Transportation Management Associates, The CV Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition, and the CV Town Council.

Here are pictures from some of the events so far.

Historic Neighborhoods of Glendale Bike Ride, May 1, 2010

Dahon Booth at Pre Bike to Work Day Fair, May 4, 2010

Gil Garcetti at Central Library, May 5, 2010

Illustration & design courtesy of Justin A. Klein, www.SketchCandy.com

Celebrate the bicycle with a series of bike related events in Glendale! Including history rides and documentary screenings, guest speakers Gil Garcetti and Charlie Gandy, Bike to Work Day energy stations and a ride in the new bike lanes on Foothill (with more to come), all events are FREE and open to the public.

For the full calendar listing of Bike Month activities, go to http://la-bike.org/glendale/bikemonth/  Download the Bike Month flyer here.

Glendale Bike Month is a collaboration of the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition, Glendale Community Services and Parks, Glendale Public Library, the Glendale Historical Society, Glendale Traffic and Transportation, the Glendale Transportation Management Associates, The CV Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition, and the CV Town Council.

Update April 28, 2010

Glendale Bike Month Proclamation

L to R: Stirdivant, Gilkerson, Bogart, Nilsson, Friedman, Carter

Mayor Ara Najarian declared May 2010 as Bike Month in Glendale at the City Council meeting on April 27, 2010. Council Member Laura Friedman presented Safe & Healthy Streets team members Colin Bogart, Marc Stirdivant, Kevin Carter, Mike Nilsson, and Sgt. John Gilkerson with the official proclamation. You can watch video of the presentation by clicking here (starts at 4 minutes, 20 seconds). We’re very excited about this official proclamation! Bike Month starts this Saturday, May 1 with the Historic Neighborhoods of Glendale bike ride. For details about all Bike Month activities, click here.

Glendale Visits Berkeley

Glendale City Staff, Safe & Healthy Streets Grant Coordinator Colin Bogart, and Council Member Laura Friedman visited Berkeley, California on April 22 & 23, 2010. The site visit which was paid with funds from the PLACE Grant: Safe & Healthy Streets project, included a bike tour with the City of Berkeley’s bicycle and pedestrian planner Eric Anderson, a walking tour with Wendy Alfsen of California Walks and Jill Cooper of UC Berkeley’s SafeTREC, a meeting with Berkeley Police Lt. Eric Upson, and a meeting with Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates.

The site visit was an opportunity for the Glendale delegation to see Berkeley’s bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure which included Bicycle Boulevards, wayfinding signage, sharrows, bike lanes, a bike/pedestrian bridge over Interstate 80, and bike parking facilities ranging from racks and lockers to a new bike station being constructed on Shattuck near the main BART station. The walking tour included a visit to the most dangerous intersection in Berkeley (for pedestrians) as well as a popular pedestrian refuge, pedestrian wayfinding signage, and transit stops. The ultimate goal is to consider how and where the amenities of Berkeley might be implemented in Glendale.

We’d like to thank the City Staff and Mayor of Berkeley as well as Wendy Alfsen and Jill Cooper for welcoming and taking good care of our Glendale delegation.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the Maple Street tree planting on April 10! Thirty-two volunteers helped shovel dirt and give the new trees some love. The staff from Glendale Public Works Maintenance Services were great and did all the heavy lifting!

To read the Glendale News-Press article click here and to see their blog photos click here. For additional photos of the tree planting, click here.

Bike Month is Coming!

May is National Bike Month and the Safe & Healthy Streets Team is working on a full month of events including bike rides, Bike to Work Day (May 20), documentary screenings, guest speakers, and more. Stay tuned for details soon!

Bicyclist and Pedestrian Survey

The Glendale Bicyclist and Pedestrian Survey is still active online and we’re still looking for more people to complete it. If you haven’t completed the survey already, please do it today. If you’ve already taken the survey, please forward the survey link to your friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. We want people who walk or ride a bike as well as those who don’t walk or bike to complete the survey. Anyone who lives, works, goes to school, or visits Glendale can complete the survey. Here’s the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GlendaleBikePedSurvey

Thank you!

Included in the Safe & Healthy Streets project is an effort to improve a street corridor in South Glendale to make it better and safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. The Riverdale-Maple Bike-Pedestrian Corridor has been chosen for this effort. It will connect three parks, form the spine of potential walking loops in south Glendale, will be part of a larger proposed bicycle network in Glendale, and passes within walking/biking distance of multiple schools, libraries, and businesses.

After visiting the corridor on multiple occasions to document existing conditions, we noted that there were many tree wells that were missing trees. To make the Riverdale-Maple corridor a better pedestrian and bicycle route, we need your help planting trees that will provide beneficial shade for those who live, walk, or ride a bike along the corridor. Please join us for this community tree planting. We will plant the first 17 of nearly 100 new trees along Maple Street, Riverdale Drive, Rock Glen, and Lincoln Avenue. Please wear closed-toe shoes, a cap, gloves, and sunscreen. All are welcome!

We need your help on April 10! To volunteer for the tree planting, please e-mail Colin Bogart at colin@la-bike.org or call 818 334-9731.

For more information about the trees or planting details, please go to www.la-bike.org/tree or contact Dan Hardgrove at (818) 550-3401.

Glendale Unified High School Mountain Biking Team Update

 A few months ago we reported on the Glendale Unified High School Mountain Bike Team. Glendale has one of the founding SoCal high school MTB teams which is part of a league of schools with mountain biking teams throughout Southern California. Info on the league (or how to start up your own high school team) can be found at: http://www.socaldirt.org/index.html

The Glendale mountain biking team has been meeting for practice 3 times a week since the beginning of the year, and now that the days are longer, they will be out on the fire roads and trails more than ever. Usually they can be seen in the hills above Descanso Gardens. Some students who were part of the program last year are now coming back as experienced veterans. What a difference a year makes! And there are an equal number of students joining the team for the first time; about 16 in all. Not only is the Glendale team much bigger than last year, the whole league has almost twice as many students. It is really popular and growing like crazy. There is a new team in San Marino and Arcadia along with another founding team at St. Francis in La Canada. There are similar leagues starting up in other states now too, copying the model created in California.

The first SoCal race of the year was March 14th in Temecula and GUSD did well. Three  students made it onto the podium; two in Freshman/Sophomore Girls and one in Sophomore Boys. There were over 160 racers taking part and many students were racing for the first time ever on completely new terrain. It was valuable experience. The next race is March 28 at Warner Springs Ranch near Temecula. The Glendale Students are aiming to do even better next time!

Caltrans Complete Streets Implementation Action Plan

On March 9, 2010 the California Department of Transportation released the Complete Streets Implementation Plan. The full document is available here

Caltrans  defines a Complete Street as “A transportation facility that is planned, designed, operated, and maintained to provide safe mobility for all users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, transit vehicles, truckers, and motorists, appropriate to the function and context of the facility.”

In an effort to maximize safety and mobility, the Implementation Plan calls for greater attention to detail in each and every mobility-related improvement in the State regardless of the size or scope of the project.

The implementation of this plan should result in a reduction in congestion, an increase in system efficiency, and the viability of environmentally sustainable development. Quality of life, including public health and improved safety are also among the goals of the Action Plan. The economic impacts of the Complete Streets Plan include job growth, increase in property values, and the reduction of costs associated with habitual retrofitting of streets.

To assure successful implementation, the Action Plan has clearly defined responsibilities broken down by groups and interdependent entities. A Steering Committee will monitor and report the progress of all action plans, making the projects transparent and the project divisions accountable to the public.

Now that the Implementation Plan has been released by the Caltrans, Glendale and every other city in the state will eventually be required to consider Completes Streets mandates with every new street construction, renovated road, and mobility improvement. To view the full scope of the Complete Streets plan click here.

LaHood Announces New Policy for Walking and Biking

In a speech to the League of American Bicyclists at the National Bike Summit on March 12, 2010, the United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood showed his full support for promoting and implementing policy which puts walking and biking on equal footing with automobile use. The speech made its way across bike advocacy blogs and has elevated the level of excitement for what looks like a significant shift towards healthier and more sustainable transportation options such as walking and biking.

The goals of the policy are underscored in an excerpt from the Department of Transportation’s Policy Statement :

“The DOT (Department of Transportation) policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems. Because of the numerous individual and community benefits that walking and bicycling provide — including health, safety, environmental, transportation, and quality of life — transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.”

For a more detailed look at Secretary LaHood’s perspective on the new policy, visit his blog . In addition, you may read what the League of American Bicyclists blog had to say about the new policy proposal and Mr. LaHood’s speech.