www.sbbike.org Serving Santa Barbara County We’re a countywide advocacy and resource organization that promotes bicycling for safe transportation and recreation.
How to reach us Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition PO Box 92047 Santa Barbara CA 93190-2047 phone 962-1479 email info@sbbike.org web www.sbbike.org
December 5th meeting Join us on the first Tuesday of the month for our general meeting: Tuesday, December 5th Santa Barbara Bank & Trust 2nd Floor Meeting Room 1021 Anacapa Street Santa Barbara 12:00 noon
Online email list We sponsor an online email forum where you can post and read messages that pertain to regional bicycling issues. It’s easy and free. To subscribe to our general forum, just send an email message to: sbbike-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Leave the subject line and body of the message blank. That’s all!
Join our Coalition You can help improve bicycling safety and conditions in Santa Barbara County by joining others in our own regional Bicycle Coalition advocacy group. Together we will continue to make a real difference. See page 6 for application details.
Our CycleSmart program The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition’s CycleSmart bicyclist education program offers bicycling skills classes for school children and adults. Look for details of upcoming classes inside Quick Release, or contact our Co-coordinators Dru van Hengel and Erika Lindemann by email CycleSmart@sbbike.org.
December 2006
What defeat of Measure D means
North County off-road biking looks promising
by Ralph Fertig
Our Bicycle Coalition offers sincere gratitude to all those who worked hard over the past two years toward the passage of Measure D renewal. Disappointingly, it attained only 54% of the vote, 13% less than the required two-thirds. In the South Coast, it nearly attained the two-thirds, it was in the North County where it failed dramatically. Voters did pass five out of eleven similar California county transportation taxes. The only tax renewal that failed was in Santa Barbara County—possibly because it was an increase and voters failed to perceive a sufficient benefit. It’s difficult today to discern whether any transportation tax will now be passed in our county, whether in 2008 or 2010 or ever. I personally see three possibilities: • Return to the old 1989 Measure D half-cent tax that goes to roads and local governments. • Pursue a half-cent measure that includes some dedicated funding for transit and alternatives. • The county will be fragmented as each city passes its own tax for its transportation needs. At this time, I feel that the first and second would both be defeated in 2008, out of disappointment over what they fail to provide. As for fragmentation, that is exactly what just happened in San Luis Obispo County, where four cities passed their own taxes. If that occurs here, that will leave the unincorporated county residents with scant funds, and inter-community transit at risk. Whatever evolves, the Bicycle Coalition will work to assure that we are included at the table.
Santa Barbara’s Elings Park BMX track successfully hosts races for youth—we need other tracks in the county.
There are mountain biking events at Firestone and Chamberlin ranches near Los Olivos, and ongoing programs for BMX and off-road racing at Elings Park in Santa Barbara, but North County people need something permanent. They’re currently working to change that with three projects: • BMX track at the Elks Unocal Event Center east of Highway 101, north of Clark Road. • Mountain biking trails at the newly-purchased 1778-acre Las Flores Ranch property south of Clark Road east of Highway 101. • BMX track in the Buellton area to replace the Valley BMX that lost its land several years ago. Our young people especially need facilities nearer their homes where they can learn the joys of biking that will carry over into adulthood.
Light up for South Coast’s Holiday Parade of Bikes This is your opportunity to be Valley Cycling Club. It will start cheered by pedestrians stopped at 5:00 PM at the World Savings in their tracks, to have motorBank parking lot, 3891 State ists honk in approval, to vanStreet. Enjoy a fun ride down quish the dark winter night State Street to Santa Barbara with an electric bicycle parade. Roasting Company and back. Last year 25 bicyclists had a Every bicyclist wearing a helmet blast biking in Santa Barbara is welcome to join in the fun. with imaginatively-lighted Wendy notes that Walgreens bikes, trailers, reindeer, Christhas strings of LED lights for $5; mas trees, costumes, bells, they run 150 hours on four AA Forget that packs of LED lights like horns, and more. The upcoming these say they’re for “wreaths, garlands, batteries. For the technically inholiday ride promises to be bet- small trees and centerpieces,” we know clined, there is a site that dethey’re for bikes. ter, so start thinking of what scribes how to select, wire and you can do. power lights for bicycles: http://michaelbluejay.com/ This year’s Holiday Light Bike Parade is being electricity/dc-christmas-lights.html. It also has links to coordinated by Wendy Manning from the Goleta other sites that have mail-order light sets.