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MARIN COUNTY BICYCLE COALITION (MCBC)
WEEKLY BULLETIN
January 27, 2010
1. MCBC provides final comments on County’s Alto Tunnel Study
2. Significant cost savings on new Alameda del Prado bike lanes
3. 2010 MCBC Board of Directors election
4. Dirt Bowl needs you! MCBC members are asked to join the ride
5. Volunteer at Dirt Bowl for safe roads and great trails for high school teams
6. How can Facebook keep me connected to MCBC?
7. Is the U.S. love affair with the car coming to an end?
8. Video corner: Cycling in Copenhagen in January
9. The Bicycle Works community celebration and fun'raiser
10. Broken Drum Brewery 10% Night for Trips for Kids
11. Streetsblog SF Anniversary Party and Fundraiser
1. MCBC provides final comments on County’s Alto Tunnel Study
During open time at the Marin County Board of Supervisors’ meeting today, the Marin County Bicycle Coalition provided a 64 page report recommending changes and pointing out omissions associated with the draft Mill Valley to Corte Madera Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor Study which was completed by consultants Alta/LandPeople at a cost of $225,000 to the County. Final comments on the Study are due on Friday, January 29 to clando@co.marin.ca.us.
The three routes analyzed were the Horse Hill route, Alto Tunnel, and Camino Alto. The County of Marin worked for 10 years to secure the funding necessary for this important study, but unfortunately, the draft provided by the consultants raises as many questions as it answers, and does not provide adequate information about the methodologies used to draw conclusions about projected costs and about the proposed use of the facilities. The Study fails to analyze the potential hazards and liabilities associated with a possible Alto Tunnel collapse if nothing is done to stabilize the degrading tunnel built in 1884. The Study also does not adequately address economic, health, public safety, and emergency egress issues and benefits, all of which could be maximized if the Alto Tunnel were opened.
Read the MCBC’s report here to learn about our concerns.
2. Significant cost savings on new Alameda del Prado bike lanes
Final bid is ten of thousands less than original estimate
The Marin County Board of Supervisors voted on January 5th to approve a final bid of $398,700 for construction of Class II bike lanes in the unincorporated Loma Verde neighborhood of Novato - this bid is about $150,000 less than the original estimate. Alameda del Prado is a two-lane roadway with parallel parking. The center median will be narrowed to provide the additional roadway width needed for the bike lanes. Construction is expected to be completed before the end of Spring.
MCBC thanks the Marin County Board of Supervisors and County Public Works for their continued leadership in providing non-motorized transportation facilities. This project is part of the Federally-funded Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP) - a grant of $25M provided to Marin County with the express purpose of building bicycle and pedestrian facilities that will help to get people out of their cars and walking and bicycling more. More information on the NTPP can be found on the MCBC website. Additional funding for this project ($42,000) comes from a Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAMQD) Bike Facilities Grant.
3. 2010 MCBC Board of Directors election
The Board Development Committee of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) welcomes candidates for election to our Board of Directors. This is a rare opportunity to work with an influential team of community leaders and help shape the future of cycling in Marin.
Click here to learn about the role of the Board of Directors, their personal responsibilities and the election process.
4. Dirt Bowl needs you! MCBC members are asked to join the ride
Watch for Marin IJ Dirt Bowl story this Friday!
Six-time Leadville 100 winner, and former US Mountain Bike team member, Dave Wiens, will lead a new annual cycling event for the Bay Area, The Dirt Bowl, to be held on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7th, 2010.
The Dirt Bowl, produced by Marin County Bicycle Coalition in partnership with the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League, is a benefit ride to ensure that kids have safe roads and great trails. Proceeds from the Dirt Bowl will support the ongoing advocacy work being conducted by both organizations.
The ride is sponsored by Specialized Bicycle Components, WTB, Clif Bar, and Mike's Bikes and is for both recreational and competitive cyclists. Road cyclists are also invited to participate in the Dirt Bowl and will be supported by the Marin Cyclists. The start is at the San Geronimo Golf Course west of Fairfax, California. Riders may join the supported mountain bike route through the famous Camp Tamarancho, or plan their own route (trail or road).
After the ride, there is a BBQ at the San Geronimo Golf Course, with local beverages and the big game!
Participants are required to raise a minimum of $125 to join this fundraising event. There is no upper limit on fundraising. Fundraisers will receive:
- Saddle time with mountain bike legend and all-around great guy, Dave Wiens
- A commemorative event T-shirt
- Pre-ride hot drinks and snacks, and a BBQ lunch with sausages, turkey burgers, garden burgers, pasta, green salad, potato salad, and beverages
- Entry into a raffle with great prizes
- Special prizes for the riders who raises the most money
THIS JUST IN: Specialized Bicycles will be bringing their Demo Truck to the Dirt Bowl! This is a great opportunity to try out one of their bikes on your ride.
For more information, and to enter the fundraising ride, visit www.dirtbowl.net, or contact Tom Boss at tom@marinbike.org or (415) 272-2756.
5. Volunteer at Dirt Bowl for safe roads and great trails for high school teams
Your help needed at Feb. 7 fundraiser
Join MCBC and the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League as they co-host a new annual cycling event for the Bay Area to be held on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7, 2010. The Dirt Bowl is a benefit ride to ensure that kids have safe roads and great trails. Proceeds from the Dirt Bowl will support the ongoing advocacy work being conducted by both organizations.
Volunteer shifts available:
- Site logistics/volunteer check-in : Manage all the on-site logistics, such as checking in volunteers, putting bike-crossing signs out along Sir Francis Drake and letting people know where to set-up. Need one person for each shift at San Geronimo Golf Course, 9 AM – 1 PM & 1 PM - 5 PM.
- Ride support, 10 AM to 2 PM : Ride with the group, one in the main group, one stays back as sweep. Both riders should carry a pack and be well stocked with bike tools, parts (allen set, screw driver, tire irons, patch kit, tubes, spare chain link, lube, etc.), and cell phone. Need 2 people for the slow mtn. bike group; 1 person for the fast mtn. bike group; and 2 for the road bike group.
- Post Ride: Ride along the route and take down signs. Starts at San Geronimo Golf Course. One person needed for the afternoon or next day.
To volunteer, please contact Jo Ann Richards at (415) 456-3469 x7# or joann@marinbike.org.
6. How can Facebook keep me connected to MCBC?
Stay in touch with MCBC, family, friends and coworkers with the #1 social networking website!
Facebook has rapidly become an important part of the daily routine. It provides an easy way to catch up with MCBC, friends, family members and coworkers. It’s also a great way to share photos and videos and to promote causes (like ours!) that are important to you.
For example, many participants of the new MCBC fundraising ride, the Dirt Bowl, are using Facebook to raise money to support their ride. It is also a great way to learn about MCBC’s events and important meetings. You’ll be amazed by all the people you’ll find on Facebook via its ‘six degrees of separation’ capability.
Here’s how it works.
- Go to Facebook.com and sign up.
- Create your profile, including work, education, your favorite movies, books, and quotes, etc.
- Upload a photo. While many people upload a headshot, anything will do.
- Find Friends and Pages, like MCBC
- Start posting on your wall
Posting on my wall?
Some people think “who cares what I’m doing?” But you’ll quickly see the benefits of sharing even random thoughts, as others chime in and offer their advice. For example, a post such as “does anyone else have this brutal cold?” may provide an idea of how bad it will get and how long it might last. A post asking if anyone has tickets to a sold-out show you want to see may get you inside the venue.
For more on how to use Facebook visit cnet’s Newbie’s Guide to Facebook for instruction on how to set up and get the most out of Facebook.
7. Is the U.S. love affair with the car coming to an end?
According to a Jan. 12th Earth Policy Institute news release, "Between 1950 and 2008 more cars were added to our roads virtually every year as the total fleet expanded steadily from 49 million to 250 million vehicles. In 2009, however, 14 million cars were scrapped while only 10 million cars were sold, shrinking the fleet by 4 million vehicles, or nearly 2 percent. With record numbers of cars set to reach retirement age between now and 2020, the fleet could shrink by some 10 percent, dropping from the all-time high of 250 million in 2008 to 225 million in 2020."
"The United States, with 246 million motor vehicles and 209 million licensed drivers, is facing market saturation. With 5 vehicles for every 4 drivers, the 4-million-vehicle contraction in the U.S. fleet in 2009 does not come as a great surprise. In a largely rural society, more cars provided mobility, but in a society that is now over 80 percent urban, more cars provide immobility."
"A combination of driver frustration and the soaring congestion costs associated with wasted time and fuel are leading to a cultural shift that is reducing the role of the automobile as people turn to alternatives. Almost every major U.S. city is either building new light rail or express bus systems, or expanding and upgrading existing ones to reduce dependence on cars. The peak fleet may now be behind us..."
Click here for the complete story.
Source: Centerlines
8. Video corner: Cycling in Copenhagen in January
Apparently, in Denmark a blizzard is little more than an inconvenience! This video is from Copenhagenize.
Copenhagen January Cycling - Your Country from Copenhagenize on Vimeo.
Copenhagen writer, filmmaker, and bicycle advocate Mikael Colville-Andersen explains:
Another little winter film from the streets and bike lanes of Copenhagen. Snow and sub-zero temperatures and the bicycles roll on. There's even TWO bike lane snowploughs in the film for the Bicycle Infrastructure Fetishists :-).
In both instances you can see how the bicycle lane snowploughs push the snow away from the sidewalk, instead over onto the parked cars. Best illustrated in the second bit with a snowplough.
Worth mentioning - because I've been asked the question a few times of late - that we don't use studded tires or any other gadgets or gizmos or extra gear in the snow. Just the same squeaky, wobbly and half-flat tires as the rest of the year.
People just slow down. Simple as that. Riding straight in snow is hardly a challenge unless you're on super skinny racy tires - which you're not in the snow, duh - and on corners you just take it easy.
The number of bicycles is fewer when it snows, but there are easily still a couple of hundred thousand people riding their bicycles in Greater Copenhagen in this weather.
Source: The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
MESSAGES FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
9. The Bicycle Works community celebration and fun'raiser
Saturday January 30th 9am to 12 midnight All Day Event
Jelani Bertoni of The Bicycle Works writes:
- Morning: The Bicycle Works Superhero Community service Bike Ride
- Afternoon: Rock the Bike Pedal Powered concert
- Evening: Fundraising mixer at Gestalt Haus
- Night time: Full Moon Dance Party at the Center for Peace and Compassion
We will be Meeting at The Bicycle Works, Yolanda station, 1117 San Anselmo Ave at 9:00 am for coffee and a light breakfast. Come dressed in a superhero costume or cape for a community service ride to Larkspur landing. We will be picking up trash on the way and offering our altruistic services to those we meet. This will be our second superhero ride. The first was a great success. Superhero community service bike rides are a great activity for you and your kids who always wanted to be a superhero, and who want to get out in the community with helping hands and an open heart.
At 1:45 we will meet with Rock the Bike, a bike powered performance group from San Francisco who will be taking the ferry to Marin to help us get the party started. The Rock the Bike crew will be riding with us back to the bicycle works or a pedal powered concert. The ride back from Larkspur will be exciting because rock the bike is bringing a mobile Juke Box bike for in transit grooving. The Concert at The Bicycle works will begin around 3:00 and end at approximately 5:30.
We will then move on to Gestalt Haus in Fairfax along with Rock the Bike for another performance, a round of drinks, and some proper fund-raising for The Bicycle Works project. This is a great opportunity to support two new businesses, the non-profit Bicycle Works community tool workshop, and Gestalt Haus, Fairfax's new bicycle centered pub. Gestalt Haus is Located at 29 Bolinas Avenue, Fairfax.
Then, if dancing is in your heart along side bicycles and community service, you can get down and boogie with us at the Center for Peace and Compassion, 781 Bolinas road in Fairfax! DJ, music, and snacks. Come one come all! This will go from 8:00 pm to 12 midnight. Ta da!
Thanks and we will see you there!
This event made possible by the help of numerous Bicycle Works volunteers, Velo Club Fairfax, Gestalt Haus, Rock the Bike, and The Center for Peace and Compassion. Thanks y’all!
10. Broken Drum Brewery 10% Night for Trips for Kids
Tuesday, February 2 nd, 5:30 - 9:00 pm
Marilyn Price of Trips for Kids writes:
Mark your calendars to stop by the Broken Drum Brewery in San Rafael (1132 4th Street) during their 10% night for Trips for Kids on Tuesday, February 2nd from 5:00 - 9:30 pm.
This event will be a pre-celebration for Trips for Kids' 12th Annual Brews, Bikes, Bucks Meet the Mountain Bike Pioneers on Sunday February 21 from 2 - 6 pm also at the Broken Drum Brewery. On the 21st you can meet and mingle with mountain bike pioneers such as Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze, Tom Ritchey, Ned Overend, Scot Nicol, and Otis Guy.
At the event on the 21st bike-related prizes will be raffled throughout the afternoon. The grand prize will be a 2009 Jamis Dakar XC dual suspension mountain bike (retail value $1,025) donated by Jamis Bicycles. A silent auction will include items, such as a 2010 Marin Bikes Alpine Trail 29er mountain bike (retail value $785).
The bikes are on display at the Broken Drum Brewery. Advance raffle tickets are available at the Trips for Kids bike thrift shop (610 4th Street, San Rafael) and at the Broken Drum. There is no charge for admission, but Noah Berry, proprietor of the Broken Drum Brewery, will also donate proceeds from food and drink sales to Trips for Kids.
Click here to mapquest the Broken Drum.
11. Streetsblog SF Anniversary Party and Fundraiser
When: January 21, 2010 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Where: LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street
Streetsblog San Francisco turned a year old this month, and to celebrate our successes, and look ahead to 2010, we're throwing a party! Join us January 21st from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the LGBT Center at 1800 Market Street for a Streetsblog SF Anniversary Party and Fundraiser. We'll provide the music, food and drinks, you provide your wit and cheer. Valet bicycle parking will be provided by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Music by B-Haul (Tasty). And food provided, in part, by a generous donation from Nico Martin Presents.
While this event is free and open to the public, we do plan on making an appeal for donations to help us expand our reach in the coming year. We'll have Streetsblog swag for sale and anyone who donates $100 or more gets a Streetsblog hoodie. Check out our Facebook invite for updates. We hope to see you there!
We'll also need a few volunteers for the event. If you're interested, please email bryan@sf.streetsblog.org.
Marin County Bicycle Coalition
P.O. Box 1115
Fairfax, CA 94978
Office Location: 733 Center Blvd., Fairfax, CA 94930
(415) 456-3469 – phone
(415) 456-9344 – fax
http://www.marinbike.org
The MCBC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. You donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
We are a membership-supported group. If you are not already a paying member, please join today. Printable membership forms are on our website, http://www.marinbike.org.
Thank you for being a part of the solution.
To reach the MCBC Staff:
- Kim Baenisch, Executive Director, 456-3469 x 1#, kim@marinbike.org
- Tom Boss, Membership Director, 272-2756, tom@marinbike.org
- Jo Ann Richards, Volunteer and Activities Coordinator, 456-3469 x 7#, joann@marinbike.org
- Bob Trigg, Administrator, 456-3469 x 3#, bob@marinbike.org
- Deb Hubsmith, Advocacy Director, 454-7430, deb@marinbike.org
- David Hoffman, Director of Planning, 456-3469 x 4#, david@marinbike.org
- Andy Peri, Advocacy Outreach Coordinator, 457-0802, andy@marinbike.org
- Wendi Kallins, Safe Routes to Schools Program Director, 488-4101, wendi@marinbike.org
- Laura Kelly, Safe Routes to Schools Project Coordinator, 456-3469 x 2#, laura@marinbike.org
- Peggy Clark, Share the Road Program Manager, Safe Routes to Schools Project Coordinator, 456-3469 x 8#, peggy@marinbike.org
- Aviva Joseph, Safe Routes to Schools Teen Coordinator, 456-3469 x 5#, aviva@marinbike.org
- Gwen Froh, Safe Routes to Schools Teen Coordinator, 456-3469 x 5#, gwen@marinbike.org
- Frances E. Barbour, Safe Routes to Schools Instructor, 577-4601, frances@marinbike.org
- Heather Crawford, Safe Routes to Schools Instructor, 456-3469 x 6#, heather@marinbike.org
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