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Advocacy Alert

Help Secure Cap and Trade Funding for Safe Routes to School and Bike/Ped

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SRTS_NationalThe California Air Resources Board will be holding public hearings for input on the investment of cap-and-trade auction proceeds to support the State’s effort to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHG) that contribute to climate change.  Active transportation offers unique advantages to reduce GHG emissions and improve public health, reduce congestion, and improve public safety.

Increasing investments in Safe Routes to School programs, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and first-last mile connections to public transit will support the goals of AB 32 and SB 375.  We encourage the administration to set aside a significant portion of the cap and trade revenues for these purposes.

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Increased levels of bicycling and walking must play a part in reducing GHG emissions if
California wants to meet the targets set by AB 32.

A shift of automobile trips to bicycling or walking trips has a direct, positive impact in that trip emissions are reduced by 100 percent.  Approximately 60% of trips in California are under one mile, and are currently taken by automobile. These trips can easily be accomplished by walking or bicycling, drastically reducing GHG emissions.

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Join us in providing comments to the administration on this important topic.  The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has developed the following talking points and nexus document for your information. (They are jam packed with information! Check them out).

We encourage you to submit a written comment here by March 8th to show your support for these funds to be used to help fund our bike/ped infrastructure and programs!

Help Expand Our Bike Education Program with a Year End Gift!

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2012 has been a year of incredible progress for the SLO County Bicycle Coalition. With 641 members and growing, the voice for bicycles in SLO County is the strongest it has ever been. This 20% increase in membership comes in tandem with an increased public interest in bicycles and the role they play in SLO County. We know that our work is certain to inspire more people to take to the streets on two wheels and we welcome everyone into our joyful community.

In our ideal world, people aged 8 to 80 would feel comfortable riding on streets and paths designed specifically to help everyone ride their bike more often. This is our vision, but we also know that knowledge is power. In 2012 over 30% of our members told us they want more bike education to empower people with the confidence to ride on our existing roadways. Help us expand our Bike Education program by making a year-end gift to the Bicycle Coalition.

The Bike Education program is our longest standing program. It has brought the message of safe riding to thousands of people through community workshops, business lunches, and school assemblies. Our plan for a bigger and better program has been in the works for months and recent developments have assured us we are on the right path. The Bicycle Coalition recently received numerous local grants, bolstering our ability to reach high-risk groups like college students and low-income communities. Your additional contribution will empower us to capitalize on the momentum created by grant funding.

We have ambitious plans for the Bike Education program in 2013 that will have a long lasting impact for bicycle riders of all ages and abilities in SLO County.
     ENHANCING the educational element of Kidical Mass will help make smart riding a family activity giving more moms the confidence to ride with her kids to the park.
     INCREASING educational efforts to Cal Poly and Cuesta will make incredible safety improvements for the age group that is most likely to be involved in traffic collisions resulting in injury or death.
     IMPROVING our existing materials and resources so they can be shared across language and socio-economic barriers to deliver important information to underserved populations.

Your donation will make you an integral part of the legacy that establishes bike education in schools, businesses, and throughout our great community. 

Our ambition, innovation and drive are on behalf of our members; we can’t wait to make you proud again in 2013.


Dan Rivoire
Executive Director

Click here to make your donation online, and to find information to mail your donation. All donations are 100% tax-deductible.

Safe Routes to School Grants Available!

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SLO County Regional Rideshare just unveiled their new grant program for Safe Routes to School.  Beginning in the 2012/13 school year, there will be three levels of funding available:

  • Gold $700 – monthly programs throughout the entire school year
  • Silver $300 – 2 – 4 programs throughout the school year
  • Bronze $100 – for 1 program during the school year

If you are interested in bringing some of these funds to you school, or in increasing the number of students biking & walking to school, visit our local Safe Routes to School site to make it a reality! Whether you want to host a onetime event or kick off a year long program, Rideshare has the funds to help get you rolling.

We all know the benefits of getting more kids biking & walking to school. Safe Routes to School is dedicated to making sure more kids are able to use active transportation to get to school, it’s better for their health, helps them focus at school, and provides them with a great chance to get to know their friends and neighborhoods en route!

Advocacy Alert

LOVR Bikepath Approved

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We’re pleased to report that, on Tuesday April 10th, the SLO City Council voted 4-to-1 to approve the LOVR bikepath, connecting the CL Smith and Laguna Middle School neighborhoods with a safe route to school for all kids.

The Bicycle Coalition was there to advocate on behalf of this project, which aims to get more kids biking/walking to school, decrease congestion at these intersections during before/after school hours, and to discourage kids from biking the wrong way in the LOVR bike lanes.


This is an alternative plan approved by the city (using a $800,000 Safe Routes to School grant from 2007) after the small Windermere Condominiums Homeowners Association blocked a much better and safer bridge option off of Los Osos Valley Road.

The Bicycle Coalition knows this would have been a much better option, allowing kids to travel between these two neighborhoods without ever going on Los Osos Valley Road. Yet the bylaws of the Windermere Condominiums HOA required 100% approval to proceed with the 4 foot easement for the bike path, making it possible for just one person to oppose the project and shut it down.

We strongly support bicycle and pedestrian projects which provide safe access to schools for generations to come, and are disappointed when a small minority of community members are able to shut these projects down, simply because they don’t understand the long-lasting positive impacts they have.

Our presence here is not without some frustration and concern that future projects promising extremely effective solutions will be cast aside for less attractive alternatives because some community members are unwilling to recognize the incredible value of smart infrastructure.

I urge [the council] to continue to approach these infrastructure decision points with a bold and knowing attitude that improving access to active transportation has powerful health, safety and economic benefits for all of our community members.

Dan Rivoire, Executive Director, SLO County Bicycle Coalition
Speaking at the April 10, 2012 SLO City Council

This is just one of many instances where the Bicycle Coalition represents YOU as we continue to advocate for smart bicycle infrastructure, educate bicycle riders throughout the county, teach bicycle safety assemblies at local schools, and provide everyone with programs to encourage people of all types to choose a bicycle for transportation and recreation. 

BECOME A MEMBER to support these causes in your community.

Advocacy Alert

LOVR Bikepath to City Council

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Join us on Tuesday, April 10th, 7:00 pm
San Luis Obispo City Hall, 990 Palm St, to show your support!

click to view map

This bikepath project has been carefully thought out by City staff after a proposed bike/ped bridge connecting the Laguna & Oceanaire neighborhoods was shut down by a small group of neighbors failing to see the value in a safe route to the Laguna Middle School. The bikepath is important to improve visibility and safety of kids biking and walking to school between these two neighborhoods.

By giving kids a safe route to school without having to cross Los Osos Valley Road, we can help ease traffic congestion near the school, give our kids a safe and healthy way to get to school, and decrease accidents at this busy intersection.

The City of SLO has put together this helpful graphic to see the existing and proposed changes to allow for this important connection between two school neighborhoods:

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One of the main benefits this path will provide is increased visibility for the students biking and walking to schools in this neighborhood. As LOVR is a heavily used road for recreational riders, the bike lanes have been kept on the road for them to use without conflicting with the hundreds of kids using the path at peak hours.

Join the Coalition as we speak up to make sure kids are able to safely get to school by foot or bike between these two neighborhoods. Tuesday, April 10th, 7:00 pm at San Luis Obispo City Hall, 990 Palm St.

Spread the word!