The annual Bike to School Day celebration in the Bay Area is today!
It’s a party on wheels for the kids!
Check with your kids for the time and place at their school!
For more info: http://www.alamedacountysr2s.org/programs/walk-and-roll/
Tonight’s Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting will include the first look at the newest proposal for the University Village Mixed-Use Project, including a Sprouts Farmers Market as anchor tenant and a two-way cycle track for excellent bicycle access.
More details about the project are here.
Discussion of and recommendations for the San Pablo Complete Streets project is also on the agenda.
Look here for the full meeting agenda.
Please come to the meeting to ask questions or speak, or send a message to the Commission care of cityhall@albanyca.org celebrating and supporting the proposed the cycle track.
It’s the 20th Annual Bike to Work Day in the Bay Area, a party on wheels!!
As usual, there will be coffee, snacks, swag, bike goodies, the famous Bike to Work Day musette bags, fun and lots of good conversation & information so come on down on your way to work!
New this year, the owners and staff of Blue Heron Bikes , Wheels of Justice and Berkeley Bikes & Skateboards have volunteered to be there with work stations checking your bicycles for safety and road-worthiness.
We need help at our Energizer Station (back at its usual location of the Ohlone Greenway and Marin) and preparing for a big celebration.
If you’d like to help out, please contact Nick at nicky@mindspring.com or leave a comment on this post.
Thanks!!
More info at http://ebbc.org/btwd
Join us at our special meeting for Bike Month (every other month – odd-numbered months) where we discuss policy and projects and talk about what’s going on in Active Transportation in Albany.
Note special date because normal date conflicts with Arts & Green Festival.
Tonight we will talk about our busy Bike Month – the APAL Bike Rodeo, Arts & Green Festival, the return of Bike About Town rides, among other things.
Have something you want to talk about? Request an Agenda Item in “comments.”
Location varies so check back here or email Angela at the above address.
Look forward to seeing you!
Ken McCroskey, AS&R’s master helmet adjuster and children’s brain guardian, tirelessly applies his craft.
courtesy Francesco Papalia
Bring your kids to Albany Police Activity League’s annual Bike Rodeo!
Use pedal power to blend a smoothie!
photo courtesy Peggy McQuaid
Free bicycle helmets will be given to youth participants. Rodeo activities will include bike inspections, safety information, and a bicycle safety course. The goal of the bicycle rodeo is to encourage riders to wear helmets on every ride, to give young cyclists basic skills for on-road riding, and to teach them the rules of the road to help keep them safe. This event focuses on young riders in elementary and middle school.
AS&R will again be working with kids, showing them how to ride their bikes safely and responsibly.
We’ll also have our “Check for Bikes” clings on hand for parents…and the famous Bicycle Blender so everyone can pedal-power a delicious smoothie!
We could still use some help running the bike blender station and talking to parents and kids. Any takers, please? If so, please contact Amy Smolens or Ken McCroskey.
School kids learn how to cycle safely and have fun doing it, while following the rules of the road.
courtesy Peggy McQuaid
There are lots of items on the agenda that affect cyclists and pedestrians here in Albany.
Those include the following:
*7-1, City Council Strategic Planning Follow Up
Part of what City Council Members recommended in its recent planning session was an emphasis on parks, including the long-awaited Pierce Street Park, and a more bikeable and walkable Albany.
Please speak in support of these plans and concepts!
*7-2, Update on “Complete Streets” planning for Buchanan Street and San Pablo Avenue to improve safety for walking, biking, and other modes of travel. The Staff recommendation is for Council to provide direction to staff and the Traffic and Safety Commission.
Show up and speak to let Council hear that a more bike and pedestrian friendly San Pablo Avenue should be a priority and a reality!
It may also be a good time to speak about your vision for Bike Boulevards on Kains and Adams, making up for the fact that many people will not feel safe riding on San Pablo in the sections without bike lanes.
*8-1, Albany Wayfinding Plan for Bicyclists and Pedestrians
Whenever I ride around Berkeley I marvel at the signage that directs me to the best and safest roads to cycle. I am also fully convinced that motorists on or crossing roads with signage for bicyclists are more courteous to their two-wheeled friends sharing the road.
Show up and tell Council that we all need wayfinding signage for our convenience and safety!
If you can’t attend, please consider writing a brief letter in support of any of these items to cityhall@albanyca.org requesting specifically that your letter be sent to all the City Council Members.
Thanks! Feel free to email the Discussion List or any of the Core Group with any questions or thoughts.
The Major Taylor Bike Fiesta will occur on June 1st from 10am-3pm at Lincoln Elementary School located at 29 6th Street, Richmond, California. This will be a celebration of the life and accomplishments of Marshall “Major” Taylor, the first African American professional cyclist. Born in 1878, Major Taylor had a professional racing career that spanned 13 years and included the world one-mile track cycling championship in 1899. He remained committed to his passion in the face of adversity and is a source of inspiration.
At the Bike Fiesta event, Fix the Cycle aims to spread awareness of the health benefits associated with safe bike riding. The fun educational activities for youth and adults will take place in a family friendly environment that encourages cycling. Activities include yoga, Zumba, the Cyclecide bike circus, and entertainment by Raw Talent and Earth Amplified powered by Rock the Bike. The Richmond Police Department and Cycles of Change will be running bike rodeo courses for youth throughout the day. The event will also include helmet giveaways and Fix the Cycle will be raffling free bicycles, bicycling gear, and other great prizes gear for youth and adults. There will be free healthy food, health screenings, educational booths, and simple bike maintenance repairs while supplies last. Of course, bicycle parking will be available.
If anyone wants to ride from Albany, please make a suggested meeting time and place in “comments.”
Hey, did you know that El Cerrito’s right next to Albany? I’m sure you ride through and around El Cerrito quite a bit, so here’s your chance to have input on EC’s cycling and walking infrastructure.
The City is in the midst of two planning efforts, the Urban Greening Plan and the Active Transportation Plan (an update to the 2007 Circulation Plan for Bicyclists and Pedestrians.) On Tuesday, July 23rd, at the City’s first of three community workshops, community members will review results of the Urban Greening needs assessment and opportunities inventory and will provide feedback on the proposed priority improvements for the bicycle and pedestrian network. Information about the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan and the Complete Streets Plan will also be available.
There will be information presented and input garnered on four different plans that are either being developed or updated. There is a link to an informational flyer here about the event, which is the first of three community workshops (the other two are Saturday, October 19, 2013 and Saturday, March 8, 2014.)
Contact Ralph Boniello here if you want to speak to an active AS&R member in El Cerrito.
RSVP to Emily Alter at ealter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
From the Albany Patch website:
A public hearing and workshop will be held Wednesday for the latest version of the UC Berkeley proposal for a Sprouts Farmers Market, senior housing complex and other retail next to University Village in Albany.
The hearing and workshop will take place at the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting at City Hall. The meeting, which includes other items on the agenda as well, begins at 6:30 p.m.
The revised plans – attached to the planning commission agenda– appear largely similar to those presented to the planning commission in June for the Sprouts grocery store and in July for the senior housing. The proposals also include two smaller retail buildings whose tenants have not been identified.
The development is a UC proposal for 6.3 acres of its property located in two parcels, on both sides of Monroe Street, between San Pablo and the University Village student family housing complex.
The lot on the north side of Monroe would contain the Sprouts market and a smaller retail building. The lot on the south side of Monroe would contain 175 units of senior housing in a four-story building and another retail complex.
Notes from Preston Jordan:
The plans for the UC project keep getting better with regard to cycling. Some time ago AS&R expressed concern about people cycling between University Village and Sprouts along Monroe given the proposed perpendicular car parking on the street. The latest circulation plan for the project designates the sidewalk along the north side of Monroe for walking and cycling. This will let people cycle in front of the parked cars instead of behind them where they are more likely to be hit. The circulation plan is on the last page of these plans.
For the first time, the plans also show the proposed HAWK signal for the biking and walking crossing of San Pablo at Dartmouth in writing. This is shown on the seventh page of these plans.
The last remaining potentially large problem is the proposed design of the bus stop on San Pablo. It specifies the boarding and debarking area right on the cycle track, which is not pragmatic and could result in CalTrans not approving the cycle track. AS&R has made suggestions how to solve this numerous times. Please tell the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff that this problem must be solved by commenting at the meeting or emailing Jeff Bond, jbond@albanyca.org.
If you would like to attend the meeting, AS&R suggests you follow it remotely from the comfort of your usual place or on KALB Channel 33 on a Wednesday evening in order to save yourself time. You can compare the meeting’s progress against the agenda and head to City Hall shortly before this item comes up (which will be a bit after the end of public comment on the previous item).
Come on down to the meeting to show your support for the cycling and pedestrian amenities contained in this proposal and to voice your opinions!
I’m sure you walk and ride around neighboring El Cerrito so here’s a chance to make that experience a little better.
El Cerrito will be completing a San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan in the coming months. The Plan, which builds on the efforts of the draft Plan released in 2009, will provide new development regulations that encourage higher density residential and commercial development throughout the planning area. The goal of the Plan is to create a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly community through providing clear, market-friendly guidance in the form of a Hybrid Form-Based Code for private residential, mixed-use and commercial development, a Complete Streets Plan and a Multimodal Capital Improvement Plan. The complete revised draft Plan and its programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be released for public review in early 2014.
Two upcoming public meetings are scheduled to present key components of the Plan:
San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan and Complete Streets City Council Study Session
City Council Chambers, El Cerrito City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.
Tuesday, November 5th, 7pm
The City Council agenda and draft PowerPoint are available at www.el-cerrito.org/CouncilMeetings
San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan – Form Based Code Planning Commission Study Session
City Council Chambers, El Cerrito City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.
Wednesday, November 20th, 7:30pm
An agenda for this meeting will be posted by Friday, November 15th. Please check back here: www.el-cerrito.org/PlanningCommission for more information.
To learn more about the San Pablo Avenue Specific & Complete Streets Plan, please visit www.el-cerrito.org/SPASP or attend one of the upcoming meetings. To submit questions and comments, please feel free to contact Emily Alter at EAlter@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us or 510.215.4385.
