Bike San Mateo County

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="05ad05a3.jpg"> <div> <B>                               </B><B>Bike San Mateo County</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="05bd2123.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Using your bike"><U>Using your bike</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bike SMC Recommendations"><U>Bike SMC Recommendations</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Campaigns/Activities"><U>Campaigns/Activities</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Current Issues"><U>Current Issues</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dangerous Conditions"><U>Dangerous Conditions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Google Discussion Groups"><U>Google Discussion Groups</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Maps/Routes"><U>Maps/Routes</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Resources"><U>Resources</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News Archive"><U>News Archive</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bikes on Transit"><U>Bikes on Transit</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletters"><U>Newsletters</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="City Links and Contacts"><U>City Links and Contacts</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Membership/Contact"><U>Membership/Contact</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id43.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Getting Involved"><U>Getting Involved</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Improvements"><U>Improvements</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="In Case of an Accident Legal Considerat"><U>In Case of an Accident & Legal Considerations</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Site Map"><U>Site Map</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Hot Topics</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Bikes On BART</B></div> <bR> <div> BART has just released a draft of their 2012 Bicycle Plan. This can be viewed at: <A HREF="http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/"><U>http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/</U></A></div> <bR> <div> BART currently allows bicycles, but there are blackout periods during the morning and evening commute when bicycles are not permitted. The SFBC sponsored BIKESONboard team is getting involved to press for better bicycle accommodation on BART and to eliminate this black out period.</div> <bR> <div> <B>From the BIKESONboard team</B></div> <bR> <div> BART has released its draft bicycle plan for public comment. The plan focuses on bike parking, and does not address the main issue - the need for bikes onboard trains at all hours with no blackout. Bike San Mateo County has joined other bicycle advocacy groups to support ending the blackout period for bikes. Please send your comments to BART by May 27, and sign the petition to end the blackout. See the BIKES ONboard web page for talking points and the petition: <A HREF="http://www.sfbike.org/?bobart" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sfbike.org/?bobart"><U>www.sfbike.org/bobart </U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>The consultants working on the BART bicycle plan have requested our review and suggestions. Please see their note below.</B></div> <bR> <div> In honor of Bike to Work Day, I wanted to be sure you and BikeSanMateo are aware that the Draft BART Bicycle Plan has been released and is available at <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/index.aspx" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/index.as"><U><U>http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/index.aspx</U></U></A></FONT><A HREF="http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/index.aspx" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/index.as"><U> (</U></A>click on “draft plan” and “appendices” separately). Comments are due to <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><U>bikes@bart.gov</U></FONT> by May 27, 2012.</div> <bR> <div> In addition to the systemwide existing conditions data, goals and recommended strategies that comprise the plan itself, I’d ask you to pay particular attention to Appendix D, which is where suggested improvements from the other countywide advocacy groups in BART’s service area (and the countywide BPAC’s, including C/CAG’s) are recorded. </div> <bR> <div> Also, please review the San Mateo County portion of Appendix F, which are specific station area (i.e., not on BART property) improvements that have been suggested by local bicycle coordinators. Since this list is meant to help jurisdictions apply for grant funding for their projects, unlike Appendix D, this list is limited to projects that are in local bicycle plans. There may be some important ones missing, though, so please take a look.</div> <bR> <div> <B>From BikeSMC</B></div> <bR> <div> Bikes on transit works, the BIKESONboard team was successful in gaining additional bicycle capacity on Caltrain and the new BART plan is another opportunity to continue to improve bicycle access on transit. Help out the BIKESONboard team by going to their webpage, sign their petition and get involved.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Upcoming Events</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Saturday July 14 2012</B></div> <div> <B>21 Annual BIKE 4 BREATH </B></div> <div> <B>Join Breathe California and ride in 10-62 mile fundraising rides starting in Foster City</B></div> <div> <B>More information at </B><A HREF="http://events.ggbreathe.org/site/TR?fr_id=1280&pg=entry" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://events.ggbreathe.org/site/TR?fr_i"><U><B>http://events.ggbreathe.org/site/TR?fr_id=1280&pg=entry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>New</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> At Bike San Mateo County </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>The Courteous Road User's Guide</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Bicyclists, motorists and pedestrians have to understand each other and work together to efficiently and safely share public streets. Our Courteous Road User's Guide provides simple and practical suggestions to achieve this goal.</div> <div> Download at:<A HREF="http://bikesmc.org/CourteousRoadUserGuideR1April2012.pdf" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://bikesmc.org/CourteousRoadUserGuid"><U> http://bikesmc.org/CourteousRoadUserGuideR1April2012.pdf</U></A></div> <bR> <div> Please print out and give copies to your friends and co-workers to help improve our relationship with other street user's</div> <div> Comments and suggestions for future improvements are encouraged.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Current News:</U></B><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>For past news go to </B><A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="News Archive"><U><B>News Archive</B></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>5/7/2012</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ringwood Ave New Bicycle/Pedestrian Overcrossing Opened for Use</B></div> <bR> <div> In early May 2012 a new bicycle pedestrian overcrossing of 101 at Ringwood Avenue in Menlo Park opened. This is a replacement bike/ped overcrossing to replace an existing older crossing. The crossing replacement was required due to the widening of 101. The new replacement is ADA compliant and uses long straight ramps in place of the spiral ramp design of the older bridge.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="127902c0.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="12ce12c0.jpg" border=0 width="225" height="300" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> West Entrance to the bridge, notice the unusual   Ramp east side,notice the</div> <div> ramp extension.                                                           bumps in the roadway</div> <bR> <div> <B>3/25/2012</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="12570fb0.png" border=0 width="624" height="763" ALT="Microsoft Office Word Document" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>2/25/2012</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Bart More than Doubles the number of Bike Lockers</B></div> <bR> <div> Over the last few months BART has installed 336 new electronic bike lockers at 19 stations. This is the second deployment of lockers around the BART system. Unlike older generations of keyed lockers, which had one user per locker, these are shared use electronic lockers which allow multiple users. Most of the lockers are in the East Bay, but there are 20 at the Daly City Station. For information on using these lockers go to the BART Webpage: <A HREF="http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/"><U>http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/</U></A> or the BikeSMC page <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bikes on Transit"><U> Bikes On Transit</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>2/14/2012</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>City of San Mateo moves closer toward Complete Streets</B> </div> <bR> <div> Last week two pedestrian facilities improvement projects marched steps closer to implementation after the February 8 City of San Mateo Public Works Commission voted by Resolution to move them to City Council for approval.</div> <bR> <div> The Hacienda Pedestrian Safety Improvements, <A HREF="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=10009" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentVi"><U>http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=10009</U></A> , will add sidewalks and remove parking on both sides of Hacienda Street between 31 Avenue and Louise Lane.  An added benefit of this project is that removal of on-street parking will remove the threat of dooring on an already designated Class III Bike Route.</div> <bR> <div> The 42nd Avenue Mid-Block Crosswalk, <A HREF="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=10008" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentVi"><U>http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=10008</U></A> will relocate an existing mid-block crosswalk installed on 42nd Avenue to provide pedestrian access between the Alpha Beacon School site on the south side of 42nd Avenue and the Hope Lutheran Church site on the northern side of 42nd Avenue. The alternative crosswalk location is approximately 65 feet east of the current crosswalk location and aligns with both the school entrance pathway and the church access path.</div> <bR> <div> BikeSanMateoCounty applauds the Public Works staff for its sensitivity in listening to resident concerns to develop infrastructure solutions that truly meet community needs and that move its city forward in compliance with the Complete Streets Act.  In addition, we have offered to submit letters of support when funding opportunities arise for these projects.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>2011 Progress and Accomplishments</B></div> <bR> <div> Making improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians can be difficult,  time consuming , requires patience and lots of dedication. Nothing happens with out people taking time to attend meetings, speak out, organize and following up again and again. City and county leaders have to  sort through the various needs of many competing interests, motorists, business owners, bicyclists, pedestrians, this can be no easy task and can be a thankless task at times. </div> <bR> <div> Our January home page is dedicated to the efforts of these individuals and leaders who made a difference. Below are some of the accomplishments made to improve bicycle and pedestrian access in 2011. This list is not complete, if you have additional suggestions email these to bikesmc. </div> <bR> <div> <B> San Mateo</B></div> <div>  </div> <div> The City of San Mateo adopted both a Bicycle Master Plan and a Pedestrian Master Plan which resulted from well attended public workshops to include extensive public participation. Many thanks to Gary Heap of the San Mateo Public Works department for heading up both these efforts and listening and applying the numerous suggestions developed in the public workshops. The bicycle master plan is available at <A HREF="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx?NID=2118" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx"><U>www.cityofsanmateo.org/ridesanmateo</U></A>, and the pedestrian master plan is available at<A HREF="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx?NID=2119" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx"><U> </U></A><A HREF="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx?NID=2119" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx"><U>http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx?NID=2119.</U></A><A HREF="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx?NID=2119" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/index.aspx"><U>  </U></A></div> <bR> <div> A small, but significant accomplishment that doubled the amount of downtown bike parking involved the efforts of the city staff, bicyclists and the Downtown Merchants Association to install bicycle parking rings on some existing parking meter poles that were slated for removal </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0fc0dca0.jpg" border=0 width="269" height="202" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Parking Meter with Bicycle Parking Ring in </div> <div> Downtown San Mateo</div> <bR> <div> <B>Belmont</B></div> <bR> <div> Belmont completed a new bicycle/pedestrian bridge over US101 at Ralston Avenue which includes a well marked route with bike lanes to the Belmont Caltrain station, and connections to the Bay Trail and business on the east side of 101. Pictures available at: <A HREF="http://bikesmc.org/id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://bikesmc.org/id61.htm"><U>http://bikesmc.org/id61.htm</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0ea21d90.jpg" border=0 width="289" height="217" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">   </div> <div> View of the Belmont bike/ped bridge from the west side of 101        </div> <bR> <div> <B>Menlo Park </B></div> <div>       </div> <div> Menlo Park has started the replacement of the old Ringwood Bicycle/pedestrian 101 bridge with a new ADA complaint bridge. The current bridge will remain open until the new bridge is completed by February 2012.</div> <bR> <div> <B>South San Francisco</B></div> <bR> <div> South San Francisco had a busy year, quietly implementing many improvements that included completion of its Bicycle Master Plan. Their BPAC secured pedestrian/bicycle grants, including the SSF Sharrow Program (Measure A), the Pedestrian Crossing Improvements at El Camino High School (TDA Grant) and the Safe Routes to School Grant for the Los Cerritos West Orange Improvement Project. The BPAC will unveil a website next year which will include information on meetings, bike/ped safety, upcoming grants and projects. The BPAC created a bicycle program to encourage employees to ride their bikes to work all year round.  Participation has surpassed previous years and continues to grow.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Millbrae</B></div> <bR> <div> Millbrae had Caltrans installed Sharrows on El Camino Real, between Millbrae Avenue and Center Street, a vital piece of the North-South commute bike route.   </div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="0fd08c60.jpg" border=0 width="264" height="198" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <div> Sharrows on El Camino Real</div> <bR> <div> <B>Burlingame</B></div> <bR> <div> Burlingame expects to install bike lanes in various parts of the city in the coming year after securing TDA Art.3 funding from this year's Joint Call for Projects.</div> <bR> <div> <B>San Carlos</B></div> <bR> <div> San Carlos continues with its East Side Connect Project that brings focus to bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Old County Road which is a critical part of the county wide North-South bicycle route.  Our effort to include the removal of the hazardous unused railroad track on Old County Road in the project has been successful. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="0fefebe0.jpg" border=0 width="254" height="190" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Railroad Tracks on Old County Road</div> <div> To be removed as part of the East Side</div> <div> Connect Project</div> <bR> <div> <B>BART and Caltrain</B></div> <bR> <div> BART is updating its Bicycle Access and Parking Plan.   We hope this will include removal of the "blackout" period that prohibits bikes onboard BART during peak commuting hours. </div> <bR> <div> Caltrain has increased its bikes on board capacity to 80 spaces on all Gallery (old car) trains, and 48 spaces on all Bombardier (new cars) trains. It has also created a Bicycle Advisory Committee that meets six times a year and is open to public attendance.  More info:  http://www.caltrain.com/about/advisorycommittees/Bicycle_Advisory_Committee.html</div> <bR> <div> <B>Commute.org</B></div> <bR> <div> The Peninsula Traffic Congestion and Relief Alliance continues to manage Bike to Work Day activities in San Mateo County. On May 12, 2011, more than 4,200 bike commuters participated and/or stopped by one of the official 23 energizer stations located countywide, where they enjoyed morning treats, coffee and a mussette bag on their way to work. They were greeted at these designated stations by a number of volunteers from the Peninsula cities, local employers and several bicycle advocates and enthusiasts. </div> <bR> <div> In the Team Bike Challenge, San Mateo County was well-represented by 45 teams. The company who recorded the most miles logged in our county was Blekko, Inc. of Redwood City, with 2,239 team miles. The 2011 Bike Commuter of the Year for San Mateo County was Mary Richens, a kindergarten teacher in Belmont and a San Carlos resident. The Bay Area Bicycle Coalition and the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance, respectively, provided the prizes to the winners. </div> <bR> <div> In conjunction with BTWD2011, the Alliance sponsored the second annual "Let's Roll, San Mateo County!" program, which encouraged new bicycle riders to ride their bike to work, and/or to a transit stop to work, at least eight times in May and June. Participants received a $40 gift certificate to a local bicycle shop (upon completion of the survey), and also earned a chance to win a foldable bicycle. The 2011 "Let's Roll, San Mateo County!" winner was Elidia Contreras, formerly employed at SRI International in Menlo Park and now at Stanford University. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="107e2bd0.png" border=0 width="226" height="189" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="1067bf70.png" border=0 width="123" height="247" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Brisbane Energizer Station           Elidia Contreras</div> <div> 2011 Bike to Work Day                  2011 "Lets Roll San Mateo County" Winner</div> <bR> <div> <B>Community Bike Safety Workshops</B></div> <div>  </div> <div> Working with local bicycle advocates, Commute.org co-hosted two community bike safety workshops this year that were well-attended. The Burlingame workshop was co-sponsored by the Citizens Environmental Council, the City of Burlingame Traffic Safety and Parking and the Burlingame BPAC, while the San Carlos workshop was co-hosted by the City of San Carlos and the Transportation and Circulation Commission of San Carlos. </div> <bR> <div> If your employer or your organization is interested in co-sponsoring a bike safety workshop, contact the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance by phone at (650) 588-8170, or by email at:  alliance@commute.org  </div> <bR> <div> <B>C/CAG (City/County Area Governments)</B></div> <bR> <div> City/County Area Governments continues to work on Complete Streets projects that include the El Camino Real Grand Boulevard Initiative.  SamTrans and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) received a Federal Tiger II grant for work on the implementation of the Grand Boulevard to assess case studies of Economic and Housing Opportunities Assessment (Phase II) and Infrastructure Study.  C/CAG received a Transportation, Community, and System Preservation program grant to bring one of those case study projects to final design along with a commitment from the C/CAG Board of Directors to assist one of the cities in San Mateo County to build one of the segments identified in the case studies mentioned above.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Peninsula Health Care District</B></div> <bR> <div> A new safety feature offered at most BTWD energizer stations in San Mateo County this year was the availability of 20 brand new bike tire floor pumps donated by the Peninsula Health Care District. These bike tire floor pumps are available to organized bicycle-related events in San Mateo County. Is your agency or organization having a bike event next year? You may be able to borrow these bike pumps by emailing the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance at gina@commute.org. A small security deposit may be required.</div> <bR> <div> <B>San Mateo County Parks Department</B></div> <bR> <div> The San Mateo County Parks Department was successful in its effort to obtain funding to extend the Sawyer Camp trail from the existing north end all the way to Highway 92. Construction on this is to start. The next step is to extend the trail on the north side of 92 to connect to Canada Road and the bike bridge over 280. </div> <bR> <div> <B>2011 Accomplishments and Activities by Bike San Mateo County</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>July Fourth Parade. </B></div> <bR> <div> This year we built and pulled by bicycle a model of Redwoods City's first fire engine. Kids and adults enjoyed the excitement of being in Northern California's largest July Fourth parade and we again reminded people of bicycling as a fun and valuable mode of transportation.</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="10985240.jpg" border=0 width="389" height="292" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <IMG SRC="10b86250.jpg" border=0 width="390" height="293" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Released our first version of </B><A HREF="http://bikesmc.org/crossing101bikesmc.pdf" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://bikesmc.org/crossing101bikesmc.pd"><U><B>Crossing 101 by Bicycle</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> It took a year to complete, but in 2011 we released our first version of our summary of how to cross Highway 101 in San Mateo County.</div> <div> The current version is available at:<A HREF="http://bikesmc.org/crossing101bikesmc.pdf" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://bikesmc.org/crossing101bikesmc.pd"><U>http://bikesmc.org/crossing101bikesmc.pdf</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Railroad Track Removal Campaign</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="10cfdbe0.jpg" border=0 width="253" height="190" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Back in October 2009, we started a campaign to get the unused railroad tracks crossing Old County Road in San Carlos removed. For decades these unused tracks have caused numerous crashes of bicyclists and we pushed to get them removed. Thanks to support fromthe San Carlos Transportation and Circulation Commission and  numerous bicyclists the removal of these tracks is to be included in the East Side Connect Project. </div> <bR> <div> <B>New City Reference page section </B></div> <bR> <div> Finding bike and pedestrian information on the cities of San Mateo county can be difficult. To make this easier we started a new section on the website with a reference page for each city. This page provides city weblinks, contact information and details on current city activities impacting bicyclists. Click on the <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="City Links and Contacts"><U>City Links and Contacts</U></A> to view this section.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Bike San Mateo County Recommentations</B></div> <bR> <div> Each year we are asked for our review and input on bicycle plans, city funding applications and we get involved directly on issues impacting bicyclists. The year we completed numerous endorsement for funding application by cities in San Mateo County, submitted our final recommendation on the new county bike plan. A list and links to our recommendations in available at: <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bike SMC Recommendations"><U>BikeSMCrecommendation</U></A>s. </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>