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
October 5th meeting Join us on Tuesday, October 5th for our monthly meeting. Let’s improve biking for us all: Tuesday, October 5th Madam Lu Chinese Restaurant 3524 State Street Santa Barbara, California No-host dinner 6:00 PM Meeting 7:00 PM
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@topica.com
Leave the subject line and body of the message blank. That’s all!
Join the 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 details.
October 2004
Bicycle component for Measure D? by Ralph Fertig
Back in 1989, voters in Santa Barbara county approved Measure D, a half-cent sales tax to be dedicated to transportation uses. It’s a 20-year tax, so it will end in 2009 unless it’s extended. Thirty percent of the tax revenue is going to 15 major road projects, and the remaining 70% is divided by population for our cities and unincorporated county. A 2000 report on Measure D said that 6.3% of the local government agencies money has been spent on bikeways, sidewalks, school crosswalks, and handicapped access facilities. However, we don’t know how much of that 6.3% actually went to bicycling projects, nor how many road projects may have had an unreported bikelane or other bike component. With reauthorization of Measure D not coming up for five years, why are we talking about it now? It’s because any tax now requires a 2/3 majority vote to pass, while in 1989, only a majority was needed. So reauthorization may take a few attempts to pass and satisfy that two-thirds. The Association of Government’s Gregg Hart came to our Board of Directors meeting on September 15th to discuss Measure D. Our president Ralph Fertig had been contacting bicyclists in California to see what they were doing for their transportation sales tax. Alameda County, for example, passed a tax in 2000 that includes a 5% amount exclusively for bicycle/pedestrian projects. Should we ask for a given percentage of the tax for bicycle and pedestrian projects? Maybe. Within our county, 6.7% of the workers bike or walk to jobs. Should that percentage be used for bike/ped projects? Should 2.4% be used for buses
because that’s how many people use them? Should the proportions be larger because we want to encourage more bus, bike and foot traffic? Some counties are now asking for a “routine accommodation” clause in their upcoming tax reauthorization. That means that new and reconstruction projects will accommodate cyclists and pedestrians. Should we ask for that? In the upcoming months and years, we’ll be hearing more about Measure D. At this point, our questions are unanswered. What do you think?
Join us for dinner & meeting October 5th We’re having another one of our quarterly evening dinner/meetings. Please join us for either or both: Madam Lu Chinese Restaurant 3524 State St, Santa Barbara No-host dinner at 6:00 Meeting at 7:00
Obern/de Anza Trail Stop design moves ahead
Our Bike Ed program The Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition’s Bike Education program offers bicycling skills classes for school children and adults. Look for details of upcoming classes inside Quick Release, or contact our Coordinator Nancy Mulholland by phone at 563-9073 or email nmulhol04@yahoo.com.
The City of Santa Barbara used Measure D to fund the Calle César Chávez project that includes bikelanes. Without the Measure D tax, it wouldn’t have happened.
Wilson Hubbell, left, discusses design considerations with architect Jeffrey Stoutenborough.
Designs are progressing for our South Coast project of an “Obern/de Anza Trail Stop” at the junction of the Obern and Maria Ygancio Trails. On September 23, Bicycle Coalition member and architect Jeff Stoutenborough met with Ralph Fertig and Wilson Hubbell to consider preliminary designs. An application will be made for CREF funding for the project. The Trail Stop is currently envisioned as having a sitting bench, bike rack, horse hitching posts, trash can, some paving, and information panels on the de Anza trek, the Oberns, José Maria Ygancio, and the adjacent riparian habitat. It will have anti-vandal, flood-resistant, and fireresistant features.