Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition

For many years San Jose and others have touted that the city is the safest big city in America. This came close to home this morning while attempting to have an outdoor seat at my favorite morning coffee stop. While crossing in a signed crosswalk (complete with flashing lights) on four-lane Lincoln Ave., myself and another coffee shop regular were almost struck by a car that just passed right through the light doing about 25 miles an hour. Even though the light was flashing and the car next to her had made a complete stop she bolted the crosswalk missing us by a foot or two.

These are exciting times for residents of San Jose, but especially for the people who work, visit, and play in downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. As we all know, transportation improvements are coming to the Diridon Station area in the form of BART, High Speed Rail, the electrification of Caltrain, and expanded services for Amtrak, the ACE train, and the Capital Corridor.

Recently Copenhagen hosted Velo-City 2010, an annual cycling conference which brings together cycling advocates from around the world. Planners, bike advocates, and transportation officials from North America had an opportunity to see what makes Copenhagen unique amongst cities in designing their city for people.

I attended a bicycle dialogue hosted by the Los Altos police at the Bicycle Outfitters on July 29. Officer Brooks, in answer to "what are the top three violations that you typically see that result in car bike incidents" said that "running red lights and running stop signs especially at T-intersections was a big thing... San Antonio and Foothill folks run the stop light there all the time because it’s a T-intersection." Another violation he mentioned was motorist violating bicycle right-of-way and bicycle lanes.

It’s official, SVBC will be moving to a new office in San Jose on Saturday, September 4, and we'd love to do a bike move to show the community how fun this can be. In order to accomplish this, we'll need a lot of volunteers (we have a lot of stuff!). We will need folks with bikes and trailers who can help transport our things for about 3 miles. If you don't have a trailer (or can't borrow one) we'll still need your help to load and unload. Plus, this can be your chance to get your hands on a trailer of your own.

Do you know where the San Antonio Valley is? This remote valley, on the back side of Mt Hamilton, is one of the last truly rural and isolated places in Santa Clara County. One road runs through the valley from Livermore to the top of Mt Hamilton. Another road comes in from the east, from the town of Patterson in the Central Valley. Its isolation and rural beauty attract birdwatchers, motorcyclists, and bicyclists.

It has been too long. This one is much better than the Dahon, which in hindsight was much too small for me.

First impressions and run-ins with irrational motorists abound!

Bicycle Colorado will be staging a rally on the steps of the state capitol this evening to bring attention to the complete ban on cycling in Black Hawk, a small town 45 minutes west of Denver.

On June 22 the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors decided to delay any decision on the Special Events Ordinance until August. This ordinance was aiming to require permits and/or press releases for special events on county roads which would include recreational and group rides of 50-200 bicyclists.

The proposed County of Santa Clara Special Event Ordinance threatens cycling events! Join us at the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meeting next Tuesday, June 22, to voice your concerns. The item is on the agenda for 10 am, and is located in the BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' CHAMBERS, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose. Consider reading the agenda and proposed ordinance (scroll down to agenda item #5).