PROJECT: Back to School "Share The Road" educational checkpoints will be set up in many locations in Marin on Saturday 8/24/02, with brochures describing how motorists and bicyclists can and should safely "Share The Road."

Marin County Law Enforcement Agencies announced that they are increasing their efforts on education and enforcement of road rules for bicyclists and motorists. All local law enforcement agencies have combined with the Marin "Share the Road" Program, a non-profit founded and directed by Malcolm Foster, to form the Marin Law Enforcement/Share the Road Partnership. The goal of the partnership is to promote safety, mutual respect and fair and equitable enforcement of the rules of the road for all, no matter what the mode of transportation. The primary focus is to utilize existing law enforcement resources of Marin County to leverage the "Share The Road" message through awareness, education and enforcement.

The Partnership was initiated by Marin District Attorney Paula Freschi Kamena as a continuing effort toward bicycle safety in Marin. The All County Education and Enforcement Day project was conceived by Malcolm Foster along with Fairfax Police Officer James O¹Callaghan, and is coordinated by Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Gridley, an avid mountain biker. Marin County Superintendent of Schools Mary Jane Burke, the Marin County Board of Supervisors, and the Marin County Bicycle Coalition are supportive of this educational effort. The date of August 24, 2002 was specifically chosen as the Saturday before most of Marin¹s students go "Back To School."

We all know that motorists become impatient and enraged when bicyclists ride two or three abreast or run stop signs. Bicyclists become angered when a two-ton car coming too close challenges their vulnerability. To help ease these tensions and promote mutual courtesy and respect, the Partnership is launching this special project to emphasize the need to be even more diligent now that many of our children will be on their bikes going to and from school.

Each Marin law enforcement agency, including the Marin Office of the California Highway Patrol, will set up educational checkpoints at significant intersections in their communities that attract both motorists and bicyclists. Large banners bearing the now frequently seen Lance Armstrong "Share the Road" poster developed for road safety by an ad hoc committee started in the District Attorney¹s Office in 2000, will be at these intersections. Any motorist or bicyclist stopping at the sights will be given an educational brochure to help them understand their legal responsibility to share the road. Violators will be cited or warned as to any offense for which they might have been stopped, with officers using their discretion depending on the seriousness of the violation. The checkpoints with the educational brochures are intended to raise community awareness, reduce accidents and promote safety. Ten thousand brochures have been printed for the project. They will be used by law enforcement throughout the coming months, as well as on August 24th.

District Attorney Paula Freschi Kamena, President of the Marin County Chiefs of Police Association, spoke on behalf of the Chiefs: "The simple rules we are taught as children ­ to share and be polite ­ seem to evaporate when we are in our cars and on the road. Hurry, impatience and a strong sense of entitlement, have diluted courtesy and responsibility. There seems to be a serious disconnect between bicyclists and understanding that rules of the road apply to them equally as they do to motorists. Our goal in forming this partnership with the Share the Road Program, with input from bicycle organizations and the schools, is to bring us back to a place where our automatic habit is to follow the rules out of courtesy and concern for others on the road."

United Market¹s Bill Daniels is helping with the effort by contributing a safety advertisement that will appear in the August 21st Marin Independent Journal. Additional information may be found at Marin Share the Road¹s website at www.MarinShareTheRoad.org.

August 24, 2002 Marin "Share The Road" Checkpoint Locations
As of 8/16/02

Police Agency	Checkpoint Location	Times
Novato	Ignacio Blvd. @ Sunset Pkwy	11am-3pm
Nat. Park Serv.	Bunker Rd. and McCullough	10am-2pm
Twin Cities	Corte Madera & Redwood Ave¹s	10am-2pm
San Rafael	Staffing w/NPD & TCPD
Fairfax	Broadway & Bolinas Rd.	10am-noon
San Anselmo	San Anselmo Ave., downtown	noon-2pm
Mill Valley	Downtown Depot area	11am-3pm
Sausalito	Johnson @ Bridgeway	11am-3pm
College of Marin	w/ Ross PD @ Ross Commons	7am-11am
Ross	Ross Commons	7am-11am
CHP	Not yet determined
MCSO	Not yet determined
Tiburon	Not yet determined
Belvedere	Not yet determined

History of the Marin Bike Safety Campaign:

The development of the Lance Armstrong poster was a combined effort by law enforcement, the bicycle community and concerned citizens, as a result of the deaths of bicyclist Cecy Krone and Kirk Ross. Excerpts from the January 2001 press release announcing the creation of the poster are printed below for reference:

Note: At the time of this 2001 press release Lance Armstrong had won two Tour de France competitions in a row. He has now won four in a row.

TRAGIC DEATHS TRIGGER MARIN BIKE SAFETY CAMPAIGN

On the last day of 1999, while the world was preparing for Y2K, Kirk Ross lost his life. He was riding his bicycle on Nicasio Valley Road when a motorist lost consciousness due to a medical condition. Her car careened into Ross and killed him. This was the second bicyclist killed in Marin within four months. Cecy Krone had lost her life in September 1999 when a drunk driver hit her as she participated in a group bike ride, also on Nicasio Valley Road.

The two deaths stunned Marin County District Attorney Paula Kamena. Kamena said to her husband Mark: "I can¹t believe that another bicyclist has been killed. Somebody needs to do something about this." Mark replied: "What is the D.A.¹s Office going to do about it?"

The motto of the Marin District Attorney¹s Office is "Prevention Prosecution Protection." Kamena accepted Mark¹s challenge and decided that to prevent further accidents, community awareness had to be raised to educate drivers and bicyclists to share the road.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Mike Gridley is an avid bicyclist. Kamena asked him to invite some of his bike cronies to a meeting to talk about what could be done. Devoted to the cause, Ben Winslow, attorney and friend of Gridley¹s jumped in to help Gridley round up a powerful group to participate in the project.

Kamena also called Investment Banker Thom Weisel, a bike enthusiast and major sponsor of the U.S. Postal Service Team. Kamena told Weisel she wanted to do something about bike safety in Marin, and asked if he was interested in helping. "Anything you want," was the answer. An ad hoc group was formed that included Gridley¹s friends, marketers for the US Postal Team, county public works, county counsel, the Marin County Sheriff and CHP. It evolved to include Marin Bicycle Coalition, the Share the Road Program and members of the media.

The group decided to create a poster or sign to display in highly visible locations such as buses, stores, schools and movie theaters that would forcefully promote the "Share The Road" theme. The task force had the fortunate participation of international award-winning advertising executive Rich Silverstein (Goodby, Silverstein and Partner) and U.S. Postal team marketers Dan Osipow and Mark Gorsky (Disson, Furst and Partners, now Tailwind Sports). A dramatic 18-1/2" x 31-1/2" poster using the Share the Road theme and featuring the image of two-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was designed.

The circle came together when Peter Stock, a San Francisco print broker who lives in Marin, was contacted for printing services. He was the bicyclist behind Cecy Krone when she was killed. He brokered an amazing deal for printing that was funded by Weisel.

Ten thousand posters were printed and will be distributed to public sites. Distribution will be started at a public presentation of the poster to the surviving family members of Kirk Ross and Cecy Krone who are touched that the tragic loss of their loved ones sparked this group into action. Their copies of the poster have been autographed by Lance Armstrong.

District Attorney Paula Kamena states: "Our goal in this unique collaborative effort is to raise awareness of both bicyclists and motorists to share the road and share the responsibility. We can¹t bring Cecy Krone and Kirk Ross back, but we hope our efforts will save lives in the future."

January 10, 2001
Office of the District Attorney
Marin County, California

Paula Freschi Kamena
Marin County District Attorney