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.”
Visit the Police Department, climb inside a cruiser, try on a duty belt, get a free bike helmet! Come meet your local police officers & dispatchers & learn more about what they do and how we can work together to keep Albany as safe as possible.
We need a few AS&R members to help fit helmets properly on kids. Can you please help? One of our experienced members will train you!
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
If you think riding bikes is satisfying, wait till you learn how to fix them.
WOJ’s recent bike maintenance clinic at our Montclair shop was a great success, so they’re offering another one at the Albany location. Flat tires, wonky shifting, dragging brakes – there’s no reason these problems should keep you off the road or trail, so we’ll teach you how to fix them yourself so you can keep riding. That’s why we’re here, after all.
Learn how to:
Fix a flat tire
Adjust your brakes
Tune your shifting
Replace a chain
True a wheel
Adjust handlebar and seat position
Because there’s nothing more satisfying than the feeling of man (or woman) conquering machine and riding off into the sunset…
RSVP for the event on WOJ’s Facebook page.
The family that rides together thrives together!
Safe road bicycling takes a lot more than balance, a helmet and a good attitude. Join the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s League Certified safety instructors for a day of fun games, safety drills, skills building, and a neighborhood ride. This workshop is for kids able to ride a bike and who are ready to ride on the roadways with their parents. Parents and kids must attend together and should bring their own bikes. Each child receives a free red blinky light for participating!
It’s free, and it will help you and your family ride the roads of Albany and beyond more safely and confidently.
Register at https://www.ebbc.org/index.php?q=civicrm/event/info&reset=1&id=425
Want to ride more but don’t have the confidence or the knowhow?
Here’s a great opportunity – a FREE bicycle safety class!
Learn basic rules of the road, how to share the road with cars on busy streets, how to equip your bicycle, lock your bike, fit your helmet, use transit, and avoid crashes by riding predictably, visibly, and communicating with motorists by your actions and signals. Every workshop has the same content so you only need to attend once. For adults and teens, no bike needed.
(Please note: All of EBBC’s UC Berkeley classes are open to the public, but are also part of the BEST (Bicycle Education & Safety Training) program allowing ticketed cyclists to have their fines reduced.)
Preregister for this free class here
Want to see and have input on Albany’s Active Transportation Plan? Here’s a chance. City Staff will be 
leading a bike tour to the sites of the ATP Striping and Signage projects.
Let’s ride with City Staff, see what they are thinking and give input on what signage and striping we think would help keep Albany residents and visitors safe when they are riding their bikes!
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!
Want to ride more but feel unsure about your skills and knowledge of how to ride our roads? Then take one of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s free skills classes – Urban Cycling 101!
The next Classroom Workshop in nearby Berkeley is Monday December 2.
This fun and entertaining workshop is taught by one of our bicycle safety instructors certified by the League of American Bicyclists. Learn basic rules of the road, how to equip your bicycle, fit your helmet, take a bike on transit, and avoid crashes by riding predictably, visibly, and communicating with other road users by your actions and signals. No bike required.
(Please note: All of our UC Berkeley classes are open to the public, but are also part of the BEST (Bicycle Education & Safety Training) program allowing ticketed cyclists to have their fines reduced.)
What a great opportunity to get the skills needed to ride more confidently on the road!
These classes offer great information for both beginner and experienced cyclists alike. Here’s what a few of the class’ attendees had to say:
“You know the type, aging, maybe a grey goatee, riding an expensive carbon bike, riding up to 10,000 miles a year, who the #$%^ are you to tell me anything about bike safety? Well, that was me, and mostly still is, except that I honestly got a lot out of an EBBC, Urban Bicycling Skills 101 class, and look forward to far safer riding in the future! ”
Brian Aldrich – President, Grizzly Peak Cyclists
“I wanted to thank you for leading the Urban Cycling 101 class at Berkeley… I just bought my first bike since childhood and I was initially so overwhelmed by riding in traffic. The class was really great and I feel a lot more comfortable trying to ride my bike around. The videos were great and I loved that it was so comprehensive. I signed up for the road class, and I just joinedEBBC as a member.”
Alexis Wong, Urban Cycling 101 student and new EBBC member
Register here
Want to ride to Cal with others? Write a note here in “comments,” or put on AS&R’s Discussion List or Facebook page!
