Editorial: Pilot program to encourage walking, biking is working in Marin

By Jessica Bernstein-Wax
Marin IJ, April 11, 2011

MARIN'S BIKE and pedestrian pilot project appears to be encouraging people to do just that — not get in their cars for every trip.

A recent survey of the project's impact reflects a 46 percent increase in people riding their bikes since 2007, when the project of bike lane construction and pedestrian improvements got its start.

Between 2009 and 2010, there was a 29 percent increase in the count of weekday bike trips.

Marin was one of four communities selected to share a $100 million federal grant to find out whether making it easier and safer for people to get around on bikes or on foot would actually get them out of their cars.

Columbia, Mo., Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., and Sheboygan County, Wis., also are part of the program.

The Marin County Bicycle Coalition deserves credit for bringing this money home and then putting it to work.

Marin's impressive survey results reflect a trend of more people riding their bikes to their jobs, to school or to run errands instead of using their cars.

If gas prices remain about $4 a gallon, those choices will be more attractive to a growing number of county residents.

The $20 million available to Marin has gone to improvements, large and small, and to pay for planning for future projects.

The grant helped pay for reopening Cal Park tunnel, bike paths along Alameda del Prado in Novato and Los Ranchitos Road in San Rafael and bike routes through Northgate.

Marin municipalities also have worked to incorporate safe bike routes in their local planning. This grant has helped make much of this planning a reality on our roads.

Residents had indicated in earlier surveys that they would be more inclined to ride their bikes to work and school and for errands if they had safer routes to use. It appears they were telling the truth. The sizable increase over a short period makes a case for investing in additional car-free ways to get around this county.

The latest survey showed significant increases in the number of bicyclists who say they ride their bikes to work or to visit friends. There also was an increase in the frequency that they opt for a bike over their car.

Certainly, the results deserve to be remembered when deciding how transportation money should be spent. The debate should not just be about widening highways and roads or spending more on public transportation.

The goal of the pilot program is to determine whether investing money in improvements that would make routes easier and safer for cyclists or pedestrians would get significant numbers of them out of the cars and SUVS.

Marin's survey results show that such improvements — and a growing green awareness — are encouraging Marin residents to get out of their cars and walk or pedal. That's a choice that is healthier for them, and for our environment. We need to do everything we can to find ways to keep gas-burning cars off our streets and reduce traffic congestion and pollution.