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WOBO Broadway Campaign Ride a Huge Success
A
couple of weeks ago, on a sunny Saturday in Oaktown, about 20 folks
gathered for a bike ride from Jack London Square to Lake Temescal. The
purpose: to travel the Bike Broadway corridor and learn about
enhancements planned for those roads, the challenges facing
implementation of those changes, and what we can do to help.
Jennifer
Stanley, Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Coordinator for the City of
Oakland joined us for the ride and provided valuable insights about how
the city determines when and where to repave streets and install bike
lanes. Perhaps the most important thing she shared with us was the need
for people to contact their representatives to spur action.
With
most of Oakland's roads being on an 85-year paving cycle (i.e. slated
for repaving after eighty-five years), when a road is being repaved
it's important to call or email your rep to support the painting of
bike lanes or sharrows, since the city prioritizes striping and
painting roads undergoing repaving. And although the city has
no short-term plans for repaving most roads, it means that they are
more willing to repair streets in need if you let them know about a
problem area.
Big
thanks to WOBO Board members Chris H. & Mike J. for organizing, to
our super volunteers, to Jennifer Stanley for joining us, and to Manifesto for hosting a rest stop with bevs and snacks along the way.
Complete Streets Act Becomes California Law
California
has become the first state in the nation to adopt a statewide Complete
Streets policy for all local roadways. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
signed the Complete Streets Act into law on Sept. 30.
The
legislation requires cities and counties to ensure that local roads and
streets adequately accommodate the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians and
transit riders, as well as motorists. "This law makes California one of
the nation's leaders in supporting clean, affordable, healthful modes
of transportation," said California Bicycle Coalition (CBC) Executive
Director K.C. Butler. The CBC and California Chapter of AARP
co-sponsored the legislation.
California
joins a national movement that has seen Complete Streets policies
adopted by dozens of cities across the U.S., as well as a handful of
state transportation agencies, including the California Department of
Transportation. Caltrans is currently strengthening its internal
Complete Streets policy, which affects state highways. The Complete
Streets Act will be implemented through general plan update guidelines
developed by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research.
For more information, visit the CBC website.
WOBO's Monthly Meeting – Tuesday, Oct. 28th
Join
us for WOBO’s monthly meeting at Vo's Vietnamese Restaurant in downtown
Oakland (59 Grand Avenue). The General meeting is designed to be an
orientation for new volunteers. We're looking to get more folks
involved in community outreach for the Bike Broadway campaign!
Are
you up for reaching out to bicyclists who use Broadway, getting local
merchants signed on as campaign supporters and helping to spread the
word at farmers markets or community gatherings? We need your help!
Vo's is just 5 blocks from the 19th Street Oakland BART station. Join
us for food, drinks and bike and pedestrian advocacy from 6:30-8:30pm.
PARK(ing) Day 2008
 PARK(ing)
Day is an annual one-day, global event centered in San Francisco where
artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform
metered parking spots into "PARK(ing)" spaces: temporary public parks.
On September 19th the nation got to see what our cities would look like
if we swapped out some asphalt with green space. In San Francisco, City CarShare (CCS) teamed up with San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR)
to create one of the 450 temporary parks across the country. CityCar
Share's park, assembled in front of SPUR's upcoming Urban Center,
featured a bocce ball court, a library with urban planning books and
enough green space for a picnic lunch.
If
you would also like to make a case for more livable space, support SPUR
and City CarShare in their efforts to improve the quality of life in
our communities. To read more about PARK(ing) Day, visit the official website.
Traffic Lanes Around Lake Merritt Under Construction
Construction
has begun around Lake Merritt, with both Lakeside Drive and Lakeshore
Avenue getting overhauls. Four lanes of traffic on each have been
reduced to two auto lanes, and bike lanes are being added. The work on
Lakeside is taking place between 14th Street, near the Camron-Stanford
House, and Madison Street.
The
construction work on Lakeshore runs from East 18th Street to El
Embarcadero and includes the permanent closure of the southernmost
section of El Embarcadero to auto traffic. That section will be
replaced with a new pedestrian pathway and the lanes of the
northernmost section of El Embarcadero will be reconfigured and widened
to allow two-way auto traffic.
The
$4.5 million budget for Lakeshore and El Embarcadero includes the
renovation of more than 8 acres of parkland, installation of a new
decorative trail, greenery to buffer walkers from auto traffic, new
benches and seating areas, and several bulb-outs, crosswalks and
pedestrian islands to increase safety.
Barring
unforeseen delays, the Lakeside Drive construction should be done by
spring. The Lakeshore Avenue project is more extensive and should take
about a year to finish.
For more on this, read the full article in The Oakland Tribune.
Bailing Out Bike Commuters
After
seven long years, the Bicycle Commuter Act has finally passed both the
House and Senate as part of the financial bailout package. It's a
simple, equitable provision that puts cyclists on the same footing as
people who get tax breaks for taking transit or driving (or parking,
actually) their cars to and from work. Thanks to all of you who have
contacted your congressional leaders over the years, and also thanks to
Congressman Blumenauer and Senator Wyden for their continued insistence
on having this benefit provided to bicycling Americans. To find out
more about this provision and what it means for your commute, see the
League of American Cyclists' description.
Rise in Pedestrian Deaths in San Jose
In
the past 12 months, 23 pedestrians have been struck by cars and killed
in San Jose, according to a Mercury News review of police department
data. That's almost double the average in most calendar years. In about
two-thirds of the latest accidents, police say the pedestrians were at
fault. And more than half of those killed were in their 60s or older.
Many
senior citizens are alarmed, and now some are calling for changes, both
in safety measures on San Jose streets and the behavior of their fellow
walkers. “Sometimes, seniors are the cause, thinking they can just
scoot across the street,” said Ron Schwartz, 76, an active member of
the men's club at the Cypress Senior Center in San Jose. “But now, with
these deaths, we have to start realizing our age.”
Seniors
are busy drafting letters to San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed to encourage
engineering and traffic improvements — this in addition to talking
among themselves about the need to change their own unsafe walking
habits. Police say it will take a joint effort from drivers and
pedestrians to cut down on the number of people killed each year.
Other Upcoming Events:
Pacific Coast Brewing Co. Anniversary Party – Friday, October 17, 5pm
Pacific Coast Brewing Company celebrates 20 years of brewing beer in
Old Oakland this October. They’re throwing a birthday block party bash
in Old Oakland, between 9th and 10th Avenue on Washington, on Friday,
October 17, from 5-10pm. Enjoy live music by local bands, pub food and
beer served by Pacific Coast Brewery, including their special release
20th Anniversary Brew. For more information visit pacificcoastbrewing.com.
Bike to the Movies Night – Thursday, October 30th
Join Speakeasy Theaters in making Oakland the coolest place to bike! On
the last Thursday of every month, for the first 2 shows The Parkway
will valet park your bike for free and give you a voucher for a
discounted admission ticket. The Parkway Speakeasy Theater is located
at 1834 Park Blvd. For more information visit speakeasytheaters.com.
2nd Annual Scraper Bike Day/Halloween Bike Ride – Halloween @ 5pm
Get your wheels blinged-out and meet at the Mac Dre Mural next to
Fremont High School (High & Foothill) at 5pm on Halloween. Ride
along on the biggest night of the year for scraper bikes as they rule
Oakland's arterial streets. If you’re wondering what a scraper bike is,
check out this news story. The ride is sponsored by Oakland's Silence the Violence organization.
Bike to the Movies Night – Thursday, November 27th
Join Speakeasy Theaters in making Oakland the coolest place to bike! On
the last Thursday of every month, for the first 2 shows The Parkway
will valet park your bike for free and give you a voucher for a
discounted admission ticket. The Parkway Speakeasy Theater is located
at 1834 Park Blvd. For more information visit speakeasytheaters.com.
Rail~Volution Conference in San Francisco – October 27th-29th
Rail~Volution will bring together over 1,000 attendees and speakers
from across the country to share their experience and lessons learned
in building livable communities with walking, biking, and transit.
Rail~Volution will include over 80 different sessions, workshops,
mobile tours, and networking receptions. Be sure to check out the
mobile tours, which include an East Bay bike tour, explorations of
Oakland's BART stations and more. There's also a day-long charette
focusing on connecting the neighborhoods around the Lake Merrit BART
station! Find out more about the event and register at railvolution.com.
Fun Link: Red Bull Soapbox Race – This Saturday
 This
Saturday, October 18th, the Red Bull Soapbox Race makes its San
Francisco debut. Since coasting falls somewhere between walking and
cycling (and the event is free to spectators),
you might want to watch the wacky, zero-emissions fun. More than 30
teams will speed down Dolores Street in their homemade, human-powered
vehicles.
Pit
Row opens at 11am, with the first race scheduled for 1pm. The start
line will be located on Dolores St. and 21st St. The pit area, aka “Pit
Row” (where you can view the crafts and mingle with the teams), will be
located on 20th Street, between Dolores and Church St. The finish line
will be at the intersection of Dolores St. and 19th Street.
Wonder what crafts look like at this event? Check out this video or the official Red Bull Soapbox Race site.
Want to Get More Involved with WOBO?
WOBO is always looking for more folks to get involved with our all-volunteer crew! Here's how you can help:
- Can you volunteer for any of the following positions? If so, contact the folks below:
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