Support new bike lanes to New Brighton Middle School

On October 8th, Capitola City Council members will be weighing in on a proposal for new bike lanes on Monterey Avenue in front of New Brighton Middle School. The new lanes would stretch from Kennedy Ave., where new bike lanes are already planned, to Washburn Ave. where the bike lanes end, filling a key gap in front of the school. We are expecting this to be controversial, since adding bike lanes would require parking removal on the coastal side of the street.
 
We need your support to get these bike lanes approved—especially if you live in Capitola! Come to the October 8th meeting or send a letter to City Council by October 7th if you support better bike access to New Brighton Middle School.
 
Attend the Council meeting: Thursday, Oct. 8th at 7pm at Capitola City Hall, 420 Capitola Ave. For information on exact times or ideas for speaking points, contact Bike Santa Cruz County director Amelia Conlen at (831) 425-0665 or director@bikesantacruzcounty.org
 
Send letters to: citycouncil@ci.capitola.ca.us
 
Sample letter (feel free to customize):

Dear Mayor Norton and Councilmembers,
 
Please approve new bike lanes on Monterey Avenue between Washburn and Kennedy. The new bike lanes will help students safely bike and walk to New Brighton Middle School, and help me travel safely through Capitola. Bike lanes provide dedicated space on the road for people on bikes, reducing conflicts and discouraging sidewalk riding.
 
New bike lanes on Monterey Ave. would make me feel more comfortable riding my bike across Capitola, and provide an alternative to the more heavily trafficked Park Ave. Please approve these new lanes to make riding a bike a viable option for more New Brighton Middle School students and Capitola residents.
 
Sincerely,
You!

Weigh In on the Future of Biking in Santa Cruz

Over the next year, City of Santa Cruz staff will be working to create the city’s first-ever Active Transportation Plan (ATP), which will include an update to the 2008 Bicycle Transportation Plan as well as a list of pedestrian projects. In the coming weeks the City will host several community meetings to solicit input on the ATP. This process is a chance for us to envision for the bike- and pedestrian-friendly Santa Cruz of our dreams and is the first step towards getting new bike projects funded and built.

OUR SHORT LIST FOR A BIKE-FRIENDLY SANTA CRUZ
Bike Santa Cruz County is proposing a variety of projects to be included in the ATP. Our goal is to make riding a bike a safe, comfortable and convenient activity for all residents. Check out the following list and join us to advocate for a bike-friendly Santa Cruz!

  • Make big streets safe. Add protected bike lanes (bike lanes with physical barriers between bikes and cars), buffered bike lanes and/or green lanes to major corridors such as Soquel, Water, Ocean and Bay.
  • Neighborhood greenways. Create bike-friendly neighborhood streets by adding bike lanes, green lane treatments, and traffic calming features. This includes streets like King, Broadway, Laurel, Cayuga and connections to the future Rail Trail.
  • Fill the gaps. Complete the bike network by filling gaps, such as the missing bike lanes on Soquel and Delaware, the steep and hard-to-find access ramps to the levee paths, the missing bridge over Branciforte Creek, and the spot where King Street ends and drops you onto Mission.
  • Address difficult intersections. Create dedicated space for bikes and install bike-specific signals at intersections that are currently challenging for people on bikes. Many examples exist, including the intersections at Bay and Mission, Soquel and Front, Ocean and Hwy 17, and the Morrissey interchange.
  • Signage and Bike Parking. Implement the Countywide Bike Signage Program within the city to guide people on bikes to the best routes; work with existing businesses to provide short- and long-term bike parking; and include a Bike Station (with supervised, indoor bike parking) in the redesign of the Pacific Avenue Metro station.

GET INVOLVED
Contact us at director@bikesantacruzcounty.org if you have a project that you would like to see on our list. You can also attend one of the following public meetings to learn more about the ATP and share your ideas for new bike projects.

  • Wednesday, August 19, from 6:00 - 8:00PM at the Bike Santa Cruz all-member meeting at the Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave. in Santa Cruz
  • Saturday, Aug. 22, from 1:00 - 4:00PM at Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St.
  • Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 5:30-7:30PM at Bayview Elementary School, 1231 Bay St.
  • Tuesday, Sept 15, from 5:30-7:30PM at Branciforte Small Schools, 840 N. Branciforte Ave.
  • Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 5:30-7:30PM at Gault Elementary School, 1320 Seabright Ave.

If you are unable to attend a meeting, send your ideas to Claire Fliesler at cfliesler@cityofsantacruz.com.
You can learn more about the Active Transportation Plan at cityofsantacruz.com/activetransportation.

Bike Santa Cruz Endorses National Monument Campaign

Bike Santa Cruz County has signed on to endorse the recently renamed Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument campaign. The 5,800 acre Coast Dairies property is located on the North Coast, north of Wilder Ranch State Park and south of Swanton Pacific Ranch. It spans six watersheds and contains redwood forests, coastal prairies, and critical wildlife habitat. 

National Monument designation would ensure permanent federal protection and conservation status for this unique property. National Monument status could also help bring in funds for trail development, including bike trails. Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz has been actively involved in discussions around mountain bike access in the property, and the property is also the end point of the newly funded North Coast Rail Trail segment. Someday, we imagine riding on the rail trail to start a hike or mountain bike ride in the Cotoni-Coast Dairies property.

The campaign has raised concerns from some community members about the impacts of National Monument status. We asked National Monument campaign manager Steve Reed to answer some of our questions about the campaign.

1. How will National Monument designation help to create more opportunities for bicycling on the North Coast?

The Monument will open up new territory, new trails and new opportunities for cyclists.  The Monument will encourage convenient use of the Rail Trail.  Monument trails, vistas and mixed uses will bring people together around shared love of nature and outdoor recreation and education opportunities.

 2. How will access decisions be made if National Monument status is awarded? How will impacts like trash collection and traffic be addressed, and how can the public get involved?

Once the Monument determination is made (I remain very confident that this unique property will become our newest National Monument!), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will convene a community wide, and stakeholder planning process to finalize a Management and Access Plan for the Cotoni – Coast Dairies National Monument. I encourage everyone to be involved. The Plan will include access, signage and natural interpretation and parking options.  It will include trail alignments, and illustrate sensitive habitats, archeological and cultural sites, site security and oversight. BLM will try to open a small area of the Coast Dairies property as soon as possible, but the remainder of the property will not be open until the Management and Access Plan is completed, and until funds are adequate to open sections of the Monument when trails are built and other public accommodations are in place. If residents have concerns about the services provided beyond the 5,800 acres, they can contact their local representatives, Congresswoman Eshoo, Assemblymember Stone and Supervisor Coonerty.

 3. How can our readers support the National Monument Campaign? Anything else you’d like us to know?

The Cotoni – Coast Dairies National Monument campaign invites Bike Santa Cruz County members and their riding friends and family to sign the pledge of support. You will be joining more than 10,000 other local residents, more than 75 local clubs, organizations, local governments, businesses, schools, houses of worship, and kids supporting the Monument.  We are only asking that you sign the pledge’ of support (see instructions, below); we are not asking for anything other than your name in support.  The petition in support of the Monument will be transferred to the White House.  Under the terms of the 1906 Antiquities Act, ONLY the President can make this National Monument decision.  We are also asking that kids have a chance to sign the petition too.  This is a ‘teachable moment’ for kids in our community; it illustrates the power and responsibility that citizens have to protect our environment, and steward our resources.  In fact, this Monument will become theirs, more than it will be ours! 

Please pledge your support at: www.cotonicoastdairies.org

Questions?:  monument@cotonicoastdairies.org

Find us on:

Facebook:  /CotoniCoastDairiesNational Monument

Twitter:      @CotoniCoastDNM

Instagram:  CotoniCoastDairiesNM

New Bike Path in Scotts Valley

This past February we celebrated the opening of a Safe Routes to Schools project in Scotts Valley that includes a biking and walking trail through the future site of Shugart Park, which is between Siltanen Park and Glenwood Drive. In addition, the project established new sidewalks and bike lanes on Vine Hill School Road and a portion of Tabor Drive. The new Shugart Park path provides a connection from Scotts Valley High and the surrounding neighborhood to Vine Hill Elementary, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to bypass heavily traveled roads. Funding for the project was provided through a state- and federally-funded Safe Routes to School grant, as well as city funds. A big thanks to former City engineer Magid Yamin, who secured the grant and managed construction of the project. Thanks also to Scotts Valley City Council members for their support.

Green Lanes on Laurel Street and More Proposed at Freeway Onramps

Bright green thermoplastic was applied to the bike lanes on Laurel Street in Santa Cruz in early 2015, after being delayed by December rains. The project was a result of People Power’s campaign for a green lane pilot program, which was approved by the Santa Cruz City Council in 2014. The treatments are designed to remind drivers to check for cyclists before they cross the bike lane, and were installed in conflict zones (places where drivers may be entering the bike lane). Feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, with cyclists and drivers both feeling that everyone’s space on the road is more clearly delineated. The green lane treatments don’t change the rules of the road. People on bikes should still stay in the bike lane unless there is glass or other debris in the bike lane, they’re passing another cyclist, or if they are at risk from drivers opening their car doors. People driving are required by law to yield to cyclists before entering the bike lane, and use their blinkers before turning. People Power is hard at work to get more green lanes installed throughout the county. The Regional Transportation Commission’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, the Community Traffic Safety Coalition, and the Santa Cruz County Cycling Club all wrote letters of support for green lane treatments at freeway interchanges, particularly at State Park Drive and Soquel Drive near Dominican Hospital where there have been injuries and one fatality. Green lane treatments at interchanges indicate where cyclists will be crossing on- and off-ramps and they remind drivers to yield to cyclists before getting on and off the freeway.

Arana Gulch Multi-Use Trail Opens at Last!

Crowds gathered on January 14th to celebrate the ribbon cutting of the Arana Gulch Multi-Use Trail, hosted by the City of Santa Cruz. Speakers included Santa Cruz Mayor Don Lane, Supervisor John Leopold, Supervisor Ryan Coonerty, and City Public Works Director Mark Dettle, all of whom extolled the benefits of the trail and the years of cooperation and compromise that led to its completion. The ribbon cutting itself was performed by Lynn Gallagher and John Daugherty, two activists whose work was critical to getting the trail approved. The event was a joyful celebration of a long and often difficult community process. 

History of the Trail

People Power has a long history with the Arana Gulch Trail project—we have advocated for a trail through Arana Gulch since our founding in 1991. At the time, there were plans for a road through the gulch, which was not popular with neighbors. People Power worked with people who lived nearby to come up with a plan for a path, and then with Public Works staff to develop a more detailed proposal. Despite nearly unanimous community support, the path was not supported by City Council, and the project was stalled for many years. In 2006 the Arana Gulch Draft Master Plan was finally published, including plans for a bike/pedestrian path. 

After the Master Plan was completed, People Power lobbied to win City Council’s approval of the trail and supported a campaign led by volunteers Charlie Dixon and Paul Schoelhamer to win approval from the California Coastal Commission. This was a long, difficult process that required ongoing community support, and was complicated by opposition from environmental groups that were concerned about impacts on sensitive habitat and the endangered Santa Cruz tarplant. Both sides were required to make compromises in order to see the trail to completion, and the project you see today is a scaled-back and lower-impact version of what was originally proposed. The Arana Gulch Master Plan includes a management plan to protect the tarplant, which does best when competition from other grasses is minimized. In recent history, this has been accomplished by livestock grazing. Cows were introduced to Arana Gulch in February and will be there through June.  A Better Bike Connection The Arana Gulch Trail provides a key connection for people on bikes traveling between Capitola, Live Oak and Santa Cruz.

Currently, cyclists traveling from Santa Cruz to Capitola have two options: Soquel Avenue/Drive, a high-traffic street which was recently the site of a cyclist fatality, or the beach route along East Cliff crossing the harbor bridge (Murray/Eaton), which is often described as a scarey spot for cyclists. The new trail gives cyclists the third option of taking Broadway Avenue to Brommer Street. Broadway and Brommer both have bike lanes and are relatively low-traffic streets that make for a direct and safer ride. In order to encourage more bicycling, we need a complete network of safe facilities that make it easy to reach major destinations within the county. The Arana Gulch Trail expands that network by connecting two safe routes, and provides a great new option for cyclists traveling across town.