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We’re Hiring! Executive Director

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Join the Bike SLO County Team!

We're Hiring

For more than 15 years, Bike SLO County (formerly the San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition) has been advocating for bicycling throughout San Luis Obispo County. Our advocacy efforts have been instrumental in creating safer roads and paths and connecting our cities and communities. In addition, Bike SLO County provides bicycle education programming that spans all ages — from elementary to adults, operates a Bike Kitchen, and provides Bike Valet for county farmers’ markets and county events. Bike SLO County is supported by full-time staff, a dedicated board, and community volunteers. For more information, please visit: http://bikeslocounty.org/.

Mission: Bike SLO County inspires, educates, advocates and works to build a safe, healthy and connected community through bicycling.

Vision: Bicycling is safe, viable and popular for everyday transportation and recreation throughout San Luis Obispo County.

 Purpose: To connect San Luis Obispo County through bicycling, sustaining the health of our community and supporting the Central Coast environment.

Executive Director Responsibilities

The Executive Director (ED), with the Board of Directors, is responsible for implementing the strategic plan of the organization. The ED works with staff, board members, community partners, volunteers, government agencies, and an active membership to keep our plan current and responsive to community needs and opportunities. The ED is responsible for managing a $1/4 million budget and for successful fundraising through cultivating individual donor and business partner relationships. The ED manages, develops, and empowers a staff of ~4 people to conduct effective bicycle advocacy, educational programs and activities such as the Bike Kitchen and Bike Valet. The ED connects and engages with our diverse members, and work to expand our membership base to better reflect all San Luis Obispo County bike riders, including underserved groups and communities. The ED is the primary public face of the organization, speaking to media, government agencies, and at public functions. Weekend and evening work will be required at times to attend board meetings, fundraising events, member programs, etc.

Ideal Experience and Capabilities

  • At least three to five years’ experience managing people, including a demonstrated ability to hire, develop, and lead talented and committed staff.
  • Success leading advocacy work in areas such as sustainability, transportation, urban planning, land use, social justice, public health or a related field. Experience with bicycle advocacy is a plus.
  • A strong history of effective fundraising, including individual, business, government and foundations.
  • A deep commitment to Bike SLO County’s mission of improving quality of life through safe cycling.
  • Experience working in a membership organization.
  • Expertise facilitating participatory decision-making in an advocacy organization whose members hold diverse views.
  • Skilled at building coalitions.
  • Demonstrated ability to prioritize organizational efforts given input from a broad range of stakeholders and multiple competing interests.
  • Ability to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences and to maintain composure in challenging situations.
  • Strong experience representing organizations with the media and with the public at large.
  • Strong financial, organizational, management and program design and implementation skills, preferably with a nonprofit organization.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
  • A bachelor’s degree or commensurate experience.
  • Additional requirements include California Driver’s License and ability to lift 40 pounds. 

Compensation

Salary based upon experience.

How to Apply

Email a cover letter and resume to edsearch@bikeslocounty.org. Your cover letter should specifically address the experience and capabilities identified above. Please include “Executive Director – YOUR NAME” in the subject line, and please mention how you found out about the position. Inquiries may made by contacting the Executive Board at: executive@bikeslocounty.org.

Preferred Deadline for Applications: September 1, 2016. Applications received after September 1 will be reviewed, but priority will be given to applications received prior to that time.

Equal Opportunity Employment Bike SLO County is an equal opportunity employer.

Bicycle Boulevard

Broad Street Bicycle Boulevard Plan Meeting #2

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Ready for the Broad Street Bicycle Boulevard?

On June 9th, 2016, the City of San Luis Obispo will hold the second community meeting to discuss the process of developing the Broad Street Bicycle Boulevard Plan, which improves bike options along Broad Street from Ramona Street south to Monterey Street.

The meeting takes place on Thursday June 9th, 2016 from 6-8 PM at the SLO County Public Library, 995 Palm St, SLO, CA 93403 (map) and is a great opportunity to provide your input to City staff in person. If you can’t make the meeting in person but would still like to convey your thoughts/concerns/enthusiasm you can do so online at this link:

 http://www.slocity.org/government/open-government/open-city-hall

According to the City of SLO’s press release:

The City of San Luis Obispo invites the public to attend the second neighborhood meeting for the Broad Street Bicycle Boulevard Plan. The meeting will take place on Thursday, June 9th, 2016, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the City/County Library, 995 Palm Street. As listed in the City’s Bicycle Transportation Plan, the project is intended to provide a through route for bicyclists and pedestrians serving the downtown core and neighborhoods to the north—along Broad Street from Monterey Street to Foothill Boulevard. The agenda for the second project meeting includes:

1. Staff presentation on work completed to date
2. Staff presentation on their preliminary design concepts
3. Design charrette, attendees develop & present their own concepts
4. Group discussion and critique of concepts

At the first meeting, the project was introduced and staff gained feedback on issues to be addressed and the type of bike boulevard that was desired. The goal of the 2nd meeting is to explore a range of design concepts and begin to narrow those concepts into a plan for the bike boulevard.

If you have any questions, please contact Project Managers Jennifer Rice (805) 781-7058 and Luke Schwartz (805) 781-7190

Rand Paul Attacks Federal Funding

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Just yesterday, July 24, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an amendment to the Transportation Appropriations Committee that will strip all Federal funding for biking and walking facilities. Please help us maintain the Transportation Alternatives (TA)* program – that will help build a bikeable and walkable SLO County.PaulAttacksFederalFundingPaul’s amendment would prohibit ANY MONEY from being used for TA*, and to redirect it all towards bridge repair. Contact our Senators and ask them to save Transportation Alternatives by voting NO on amendment 1742. It’s quick, painless, and will help ensure the Bob Jones Trail is completed in your lifetime.

Caron Whitaker, the League’s Vice President for Government Relations, told POLITICO that the amendment is off the mark. TA represents just 2 percent of transportation funding, and that percentage would hardly put a dent in bridge repair.

“Stripping the Mayors of this funding and putting the entire TA program funding to bridge repair couldn’t fix our country’s bridges in 40 or more years […] However, putting this 2 percent put towards transportation needs in our cities, towns and counties can make transportation in those communities more safe, efficient and accessible.”

-Caron Whitaker, VP for Government Relations
League of American Bicyclists

Obviously repairing our bridges is important, both for safety and economic development reasons, but dedicating the small amount of TA funding to bridge repair would not be highly effective. Taking this small amount of funding away would dangerously undermine efforts in communities to provide safe and efficient transportation options for everyone. With rates of bicycling and walking fatalities on the rise, this is a trade we can’t afford to make.

The Senate hopes to finish this bill today, so please act soon!

Read more from our national partners at the League of American Bicyclists here.

*In 2012, Congress passed a new transportation bill, MAP-21, that dismantled dedicated funding for biking and walking by combining Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and Recreational Trails into one program, Transportation Alternatives (TA), and cut the funding by 30%. The only saving grace was a local control provision to ensure that Mayors and communities could access dollars to support their local transportation priorities.

Advocacy Alert

The Future of Bicycles in CA

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Governor Brown’s 2013-2014 budget proposal includes a new funding mechanism of $134 million for bicycle and pedestrian projects – the new Active Transportation Program (ATP). Our partners at the California Bicycle Coalition have outlined specific requests for the ATP as part of their online petition including maintaining funding for Safe Routes to School, a wildly successful program that began in California and has since been adopted at the federal level.

Despite the growing numbers of Americans choosing a bicycle for transportation (a 43% increase in the last 10 years), the funding levels for these facilities are still at risk. Just last year, researchers at Princeton University found that 83% of Americans want to maintain or increase funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects – yet a lack of funding for these projects continues to be the norm.

Here in SLO County, we rank 9th of 58 California counties for bicycle fatalities over the age of 15. Governor Brown’s budget proposal will directly affect the local efforts to reduce these numbers and increase safety and mobility for all road users. Now is the time to tell Governor Brown that we know it is good for the future of our children, our economy, and our state.Petition

The petition will be closed Monday January 28th at 5:00 PST – before it gets transmitted to the Administration for review before the release of the bill on February 1st.

Advocacy Alert

Save Our Streets: Act TODAY!

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We need you to ask both chambers of Congress to save our streets.

The current Senate transportation bill is a serious threat to biking and walking programs. To improve it, we’re asking our senators to vote for the Cardin-Cochran amendment, this will give local governments the freedom to build sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that keep people safe.

In the House, we are asking representatives to oppose the House transportation bill. Despite the fact that walking and bicycling infrastructure is a low-cost investment that creates more jobs per dollar than any other kind of highway spending, the House bill eliminates dedicated funding for walking and biking.

Contact our leaders TODAY and tell them how important dedicated funding for biking and walking is to you and our future.

Let our Senators know:

  • Safety matters. Bicycle and pedestrian deaths make up 14% of all traffic fatalities, but only 1.5% of federal funds go towards making walking and biking safer. These programs provide funding for sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that make streets safe for all users.
  • Local governments deserve a voice in transportation. The Cardin-Cochran amendment ensures that cities and counties have a voice in making transportation decisions for safer streets in their communities.
  • Active transportation is a smart investment. Walking and biking infrastructure is low-cost, creates more jobs per dollar than any other kind of highway spending, and is critical to economic development for our communities.

On the other side of Congress, the House is considering a transportation bill (HR 7) that reverses 20 years of progress in making streets safer for people. Despite the fact that walking and biking make up 12% of trips but receive only 1.5% of federal funding, the House bill eliminates dedicated funding for walking and biking. It’s time to defeat this bill.

Tell your representative:

  • HR 7 takes us back to the 1950s by eliminating dedicated funding for biking and walking AND eliminating transit out of the highway trust fund. We need a transportation bill to meet our multi-modal 2012 needs, not auto-centric 1950 needs.
  • HR 7 doesn’t invest wisely. Federal transportation laws should invest our finite resources in cost-effective, efficient infrastructure solutions that create jobs and keep the economy moving. The House bill eliminates walking and biking, despite the fact that walking and bicycling infrastructure is low-cost, creates more jobs per dollar than any other kind of highway funding, and is good for our healthy future.
  • HR 7 makes streets more dangerous for kids. By repealing the effective Safe Routes to School program, the House bill makes the streets more dangerous for kids on their walks and bike rides to school.

Congress needs to know that that finding effective, efficient transportation solutions to keep people safe on the streets should be a national priority. 

Please contact your representative and senators today.

For more information and great updates, visit America Bikes.

Advocacy Alert

New Bill Eliminates Bike/Ped Programs!

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New House Bill Reverses Decades of Progress

It’s so much worse than we thought… Today, the House released its transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Act.

Last week, we knew the bill would be bad news for biking and walking. But we didn’t think it would go so far as to completely remove every reference to bicycling and walking in the federal transportation policy. Despite making up about 1% of federal funding and over 13% of fatalities, it’s on the chopping block…

House leadership is pressing to eliminate bicycling and walking in the transportation bill:

  • Transportation Enhancements is gone, the primary source for bike-ped programs
  • Safe Routes to School is gone, reversing years of progress in creating safe ways for kids to walk and bike to school
  • Allows states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles
  • The Congestion Mitigation Air Quality program (CMAQ) is less likely to support pedestrian, bicycle, and transit improvements because air quality is no longer the operative measure.
  • Eliminates bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs
  • Eliminates language that insures that rumble strips “do not adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians or the disabled”
  • Eliminates language that specifically includes traffic calming and bike-ped safety improvements as eligible for HSIP funding

But we can still save biking and walking in this bill!

The benefits of biking and walking extend into all aspects of everyone’s life:

  • We save money on commuting costs, which we spend elsewhere
  • We improve our health with every trip we take
  • We reduce congestion on our roads by driving less
  • We reduce our impact on the environment by not creating pollution
  • We connect with our communities by being outside and ringing our bells at our friends as we pass by
  • WE HAVE FUN!

After the bill is out of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee this week, hopefully with some amendments to reinstate bike-ped programs, we will need everyone to contact your Representative before it goes to the House floor for a vote!

If we lose here, we risk losing decades of progress. We know we are asking a lot of you and we thank you for all you’re doing to preserve biking and walking. Tell your friends!

Read more about the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act via AmericaBikes.org

Contact your Representative to ask them to support biking & walking via BikeLeague.org

Find your Representative to contact via AmericaBikes.org

Advocacy Alert

Draft Transportation Bill Ignores Biking & Walking

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This past week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, released draft language for legislation to replace the Transportation Enhancements portion of the federal transportation bill. This is one of the main federal funding sources for bicycling and pedestrian projects and programs.

Biking & walking make up almost 10% of all trips in our country, but are only given 1.2% of federal funding, making it difficult to promote these modes and further increase the health of our communities. As you can see, Transportation Enhancements (TE) accounts for almost 50% of all funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects:

The draft federal bill is disappointing, as we had expected a continuation of dedicated bicycle and pedestrian funding, as promised repeatedly by Sen. Boxer. Current funding has never amounted to more than 1.5% of total federal transportation dollars, but it has produced many improvements in communities nationwide, including many in our own backyard:

  • Bob Jones Trail (Connecting SLO to Avila Beach)
  • Highway 1 Bike Lanes
  • Bike Lanes along Quintana Rd in Morro Bay
  • Bike Lanes along El Camino Real in Atascadero
  • Railroad Safety Trail in San Luis Obispo
  • …and many, many more
These projects are just a few that have been made possible thanks to TE funding, without it, the future of bicycle and pedestrian projects are at risk. In a time where active transportation options are vital for the health of our local economies, populations and communities, we cannot afford to strip their funding.

The draft bill delivers a triple whammy to bicycling and walking:

  1. Competition with highway funding: Bicycle and pedestrian programs (which currently receive their own dedicated funding) would be lumped together into an “Additional Activities” pot of funding, along with expensive highway projects, wetlands mitigation and environmental mitigation.
  2. Less funding available: The funding level for the entire “Additional Activities” pot is equal to less than 1% of the entire bill.
  3. Opt-out provision: The bill provides an incentive for states to not spend the “Additional Activities” funding. If states do not spend this funding for 18 months, they can redirect the funds elsewhere.

As chair of the Environment & Public Works Committee, our own Senator Boxer must fix these problems and support amendments to restore dedicated, committed funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects, so we can improve safety and mobility for people who choose to walk and bike.

We thought we would let you know what’s happening on Capitol Hill, and will be sure to keep you updated on any actions you can take to help make sure biking and walking get dedicated funding in the next bill. In the meantime, spread the word to others, keep biking and walking, and we’ll see you in the bike lane!

For a side-by-side comparison of the current and the proposed bills, click here.

To read the official statement from our National partners at America Bikes, click here.

Biking Saves Billions in Health Costs

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It seems like we’re seeing more and more articles these days about bicycles and health (and many other articles connecting bicycles with the topics of today). But recently a study was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives which puts numbers with the benefits associated with more bicycle trips.

Researchers found that if inhabitants of the sample region switched to bikes for half of their short trips, they’d create a net societal health benefit of $3.5 billion per year from the increase in air quality and $3.8 billion in savings from smaller health care costs…

Yet another reason bicycles are great! View the article on GOOD.is here.

If you think bicycles are a great solution to many problems also, join the Coalition! It’s the way to have YOUR voice counted when we advocate for bicycles on the local, state and national level.