Advocacy Alert

Bicyclist Harassment Outlawed in LA

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Leaders in the City of Los Angeles recently voted to pass an ordinance which makes verbally or physically harassing bicyclists a crime, to help increase the safety of bicyclists of all types. The Los Angeles Times has a good article about the issue here.

 … shared stories of harassment; they described motorists who threw objects, shouted insults and tried to run them off the road.

This ‘groundbreaking move’ is one huge step forward that Los Angeles has taken recently to encourage bicycling in their metropolis. Harassment from drivers can certainly rattle any bicyclist, and threaten safety of all road users, discouraging this type of behavior is something we at the Coalition work towards everyday.

We previously posted a great series of videos from South Carolina to promote safe streets, this one deals directly with harassment:

We hope that everyone on the road can feel comfortable to give and get respect, this will keep everyone safe. Ride predictably, ride smart, and have fun!

Advocacy Alert

UPDATE: Johnson Ave Road Diet

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A very special thank you to everyone who showed up at the SLO City Council meeting on July 19th, your voices were heard and the Council voted unanimously to continue with the project as planned! This is a great step for making SLO County a safer and more enjoyable place for bicycles, and you were directly involved.

We will be sure to provide you with details as the project moves forward, and look forward to sharing the finished results with you as well! View the Johnson Ave Road Diet with this graphic:

If you love bicycles, and SLO County, but haven’t joined the Coalition yet, now is a great time! By supporting the Coalition, you help us to advocate for facilities like this and keep you informed about the future projects countywide! Sign up online here.

Spring 2011 Spoken Wheel

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View and download the latest Spoken Wheel online here. If you are a member, it will be arriving in your mailbox soon! Otherwise, you can pick one up at one of our events.

We’ve got updates from our programs, the National Bike Summit, Bike Month, and advocacy issues around SLO County. A few new features inside include a legal advice section from Harris May Bicycle Injury Lawyers, more bike hacks, and a couple surprises as well.

Advocacy Alert

Johnson Ave Road Diet

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Join us on Tuesday, July 19th, 6:00 pm at San Luis Obispo City Hall, 990 Palm St, to show your support!

This project has been carefully thought out by City staff for nearly six years, and is important to improve visibility and safety of bicyclists and pedestrians near this dangerous intersection of Johnson Ave and San Luis Drive.

View the proposed plan in a detailed graphic showing the benefits of the project: Johnson Ave Road Diet Infographic

Due to it’s proximity to SLO High School, Cal Poly and downtown SLO, this area is high traffic, and high speed. The combination of young drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists from the high school, and people using Johnson Ave to get to downtown, is extremely dangerous for all road users. A ‘road diet‘ will greatly calm traffic, and provide increased visibility for vulnerable users.

In the past, San Luis Obispo has created a similar ‘road diet’ on South St, which received a statewide award for it’s efficiency in calming traffic in the neighborhood. Borrowing on techniques and successes from this project, the Johnson Ave proposal is sure to provide similar results.

The Coalition asks that you join us at the next City Council hearing to express your support for this project in order to increase the safety of biking and walking in this area!

Check out a video of Johnson Ave to see how fast vehicle traffic is in this area, without a bike lane!

View our detailed Johnson Ave Road Diet Infographic

Advocacy Alert

Support Bike Facilities with a Note!

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Do you want more bike facilities in your neighborhood? Do you think they would help you or your neighbors get out on bikes? Do you think they add to the health and well being of your community? Let our elected officials know!

This handy note we created is the perfect way to show your support for bicycles in your neck of the woods. Here at the Coalition, we think that hand-written letters are more effective than emails, everyone loves getting notes!

Get creative! Drawings, photos, personal stories, anything you want to let our local leaders know how important bike facilities are to you. These notes will be hand delivered by the Coalition at various council meetings across the County to show how much our community values improved bike facilities.

 

Here’s the deal:

  1. Print out the form letter to our elected representatives.
  2. Let our elected representatives know how more bike facilities will improve your life. It doesn’t matter what type of pen you use, what you draw, write a haiku if you want, it’s up to you!
  3. Return it to us at the SLO County Bicycle Coalition.

It’s super simple.

Print some letters out for your friends, family or neighbors to fill out too, that way you can get more messages across with just one stamp! We’ll have letters available for you to pick up/drop off at various events throughout the County too.

Spread the word as we advocate for the future of bicycles in SLO County!

Advocacy Alert

Update: Senate Bill 910

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An update on SB 910, the safe passing bill:

Today SB 910 passed the Assembly Committee on Transportation.  It was a narrow victory 8-5 with one abstention. Our very own Katcho Achadjian (representing the 33rd district, which includes SLO County) DID NOT vote to approve SB 910.

He is your elected voice in the State Assembly, it is important to let him know that this issue is important to you. Please take the time to contact the assemblyman to let him know as a constituent, you wanted him to vote yes on SB 910, in order to protect the safety of bicyclists on the road. You can find information about how to contact him via email, phone or mail on his website here. Feel free to use the following text in your letter:

Dear Assemblyman Achadjian,

As a constituent from the 33rd District and I am excited that SB 910 was passed by the Assembly Committee on Transportation, but am extremely disappointed that you did not vote in support of this important issue.

Cyclists too often face dangerous conditions on California’s streets due to motorists passing too closely. This type of collision is the leading cause of adult bicyclist fatalities in California and the U.S. Requiring motorists to give bicyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing, we can minimize a leading cause of deadly collisions and help more people feel comfortable about choosing to ride their bikes.

A specified passing distance provides a more objective and easily understood measure of what constitutes “safe” and gives law enforcement and the courts a more objective basis for enforcing California’s safe passing requirement. Most importantly, it helps emphasize a motorist’s special responsibility to safeguard more vulnerable road users like bicyclists.

In the future, I would like to ask that you vote yes on SB 910 when it returns to the entire Assembly later this year. Thank you for your time and consideration.

The Coalition will continue to provide you, our reader, with the most update information about this issue. Thanks so much for your support, we couldn’t do it without you!