Pilot Program Updates

Click here to read about Marin County's selection as a Nonmotorized Pilot. For more information, contact Deb Hubsmith, MCBC Advocacy Director, at (415) 454-7430, or deb@marinbike.org

• Winter 2010 Update, January 2010
• Fall 2009 Update, October 2009
• Marin bicyclists get green light on bike sensors, August 2009
• Complete Update Log

From MCBC's Winter 2010 Pedal Press

Marin Bike Counts increase 118%
January, 2010

If you’ve been thinking that more people are bicycling on roads and pathways in Marin County, you’re right!

Recent counts taken by the Marin County Department of Public Works for the federal Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program show that bicycling has increased 118% on weekdays in Marin over the past 10 years, and 125% on weekends. Walking has increased 52%. The findings were calculated using manual counts taken at 22 sites throughout Marin County.

The biggest increase in bicycling over the past decade occurred on Bridgeway in Sausalito, where bicycling rose from 188 to 502 bicyclists in a peak hour on a weekend day. The Mill Valley-Sausalito pathway was also very popular, with 397 bicyclists pedaling past the Tennessee Valley Path junction during a weekend peak hour.

The Pilot Program will take additional field counts in September 2010, and the University of Minnesota, which is helping with evaluation efforts for all four Pilot communities (Marin County, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Sheboygan County, WI; and Columbia, MO), will conduct random telephone surveys to determine use and trip purposes in the fall. The results will be compiled for a final report to Congress.

The MCBC expects that bicycle and pedestrian counts will continue to rise in 2010 with the near or recent completion of several infrastructure projects including bike lanes on Los Ranchitos Road and Alameda del Prado, the Lincoln Hill pathway along 101, and the Cal Park Hill Tunnel multi-use pathway. Read more about the Pilot Program at the County’s website, www.walkbikemarin.org and get out there to walk, bike and be counted!

From MCBC's Fall 2009 Pedal Press

October, 2009

There is never a dull moment with implementation of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP), a $25 million project for 2006-2010. The NTPP seeks to show how federal investment in bicycle and pedestrian programs, policies and infrastructure can get people out of cars, and onto their feet and bikes—improving health, traffic and the environment. Here are some highlights.

• New bike lanes were just completed on Miller Creek Road, connecting to bike lanes installed two years ago on Las Gallinas and Lucas Valley roads.
• New bike lanes on Alameda del Prado in Novato and Los Ranchitos Road in Terra Linda are under construction.
• This fall the County will be installing new bicycle traffic detectors at 31 traffic signals throughout the County.
• The County conducted annual bicycle and pedestrian counts at dozens of locations in September. These counts will be compared to the numbers from 1999, 2006 and 2007.
• WalkBikeMarin and Trips for Kids have started youth bicycle classes.
• The County will be hosting a second public meeting on the Mill Valley-Corte Madera Gap Closure Project this fall, analyzing the Alto Tunnel, Horse Hill, and Camino Alto routes.
• Fairfax held another public meeting on the East-West Corridor study (from Fairfax to San Rafael) and the final report should be released soon. The town is also moving forward with bike lanes on Sir Francis Drake from the Public Library to the Good Earth market, and a sidewalk on Pastori.
• The Marin County Department of Health and Human Services and the Marin County Department of Public Works co-hosted a conference on the built environment and health in September.
• Several representatives from Marin County are heading to Columbia, MO in October to meet with representatives from the other three federal Pilot communities, the Federal Highway Administration, and Rails-to- Trails Conservancy about developing the final report for Congress.

The Marin County Bicycle Coalition looks forward to continuing to work with the County of Marin and other partners to make the Pilot Program a huge success. For more information see www.walkbikemarin.org.

Marin bicyclists get green light on bike sensors

August, 2009

As part of the $25 million federal pilot program, charged with improving the built environment, promoting bicycling and walking, and measuring the results, Marin County has invested $922,000 to install 30 bike sensors at busy traffic intersections throughout the County.

This project is important for improving safety, because many traffic lights simply don’t detect the presence of bicyclists due to the fact that there is not enough metal on the bikes to trigger some traffic signals. At key intersections, video detectors will be installed before the end of this year to fix this problem. TV Channel CBS 5 recently reported on the story and interviewed MCBC’s Advocacy Director Deb Hubsmith and Marin County’s Assistant Director of Public Works Craig Tackabery.

For a list of the traffic signals that will be upgraded click here.