2020 Summit Awards: Rock the Vote

First, thanks to all of you for putting in your nominations for Person, Program, and Project for the Silicon Valley Bike Summit Awards 2020. We received many nominations from both Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties celebrating great work done in the past year around biking.And now, the exciting part begins! It is time to vote to choose the most deserving Person, Program, and Project for these awards! Voting will be open until July 15, and the winners will be awarded online at our 10th Annual Bike Summit on August 6 and 7, 2020.Below is a quick introduction of the nominees and the detailed bios are in the voting link here.

Nominees for Bicycling Person of the Year: (Four nominations in this category) -

• Larry Ames, Save Willow Glen Trestle - Larry challenged the City of San José over its attempts to destroy and remove a historical registry listed heritage railroad trestle which is a moniker for Willow Glen and a cultural asset along key cross-county bike ped trail. Through a grant, research and documentation will be done for the history of the trestle, the 35-year history of the community’s efforts to save the trestle and incorporate it into the regional trail network, and the efforts of the CSJ to replace the trestle.

• Alisa Campbell, County of Santa Clara, Public Health Department - Alisa's integral leadership played a pivotal role with Safe Routes to School efforts in Gilroy schools by providing training and technical assistance, recruiting SRTS Coordinators, parent leads, and community volunteers in Gilroy, noted on MTC Communities of Concern map. Alisa has sponsored Gilroy High School SRTS Mentoring Program as part of SCCPHD multi-year ATP grant.

• Julia Malmo-Laycock, San Mateo County Office of Sustainability - Julia spearheaded the Active Transportation Plan for the unincorporated areas of San Mateo County. The Plan had interesting new tools to draw participation from all cyclists and pedestrians in need of better infrastructure and programs. Due to Covid, Julia had to innovate on engagement in the middle of the plan and reached out to the community through an online Open House among many other ways.

• Jennifer Shearin, Walk Bike Cupertino - Jennifer was a key leader who orchestrated a coalition of supporters over the span of a few years in Cupertino to make the Regnart Creek Trail possible despite intense opposition from many neighbors adjacent to the proposed trail and a skeptical city council. She inspired residents to show up for multiple public forums -- many of which were marathon public hearings.

Nominees for Program of the Year: (Six nominations in this category) -

• Bicyclean || Santa Clara and San Mateo counties || Keeping our roads clean by picking up trash on the side of the road. Rick and others take the time and energy to pick it up. The group has ridden all over and up the hills around the Peninsula to tackle trash big and small. His passion for this project is contagious and the impact he has had on our beautiful area visible.

• Bike Palo Alto || Bike Palo Alto is an annual event that highlights Palo Alto’s great bike routes and provides activities to demonstrate how biking for local trips in Palo Alto can be easy and convenient. Different family friendly routes all less then 10 miles in length with three treat stops along each route to encourage people to get out and see how easy and fun biking in Palo Alto can be. This event is also coordinated with the local schools’ Walk and Roll to school week and promoted through the SRTS programs.

• Book-A-Bike || Belmont Library, San Mateo County || Book-A-Bike is a pilot program making a fleet of bicycles available for checkout. Four low-maintenance, easy-to-ride, reliable bikes were purchased with components, including a carbon drive belt three-speed internal gear hub, and flat-free tires ensure a smooth ride for patrons and less maintenance for staff.

• Change Gears || Los Gatos High School || "Change Gears" program was created by teens for teens as a music video encouraging mode-shift for the school commute. Led by their exceptional volunteer work and community leadership, the teens came up with the concept, wrote and performed the song, and produced and acted in the outreach music video. "Change Gears" wasn't released widely because Covid hit and the schools moved to online learning.

• Resilient Neighborhoods: Safe Routes to School Curriculum || San Mateo County Office of Education || Teacher training pilot program empowered educators to deliver a curriculum that encourages their elementary school students to choose modes of transportation that are healthy for people and the planet, and to take action in their communities to create solutions to ensure safe routes to and from school. Students learn about the risks and benefits of various types of transportation, the infrastructural features and challenges of their neighborhood and community, and methods to implement solutions to foster a healthy and safe lifestyle.

• San José Bike Clinic || San José Bike Clinic is a do-it-yourself community bicycle workshop located at the ground floor of Donner Lofts Apartments. Entirely volunteer-run and non-profit with a vision to build a diverse cycling community in San José by providing a shared space for bicycle repair and education. Note: SJBC is a fiscally sponsored program of SVBC.

Nominees for Project of the Year: (Three nominations in this category) -

• Hedding Street Road Diet || San José || A road diet on Hedding Street that narrowed from four lanes to three was politically challenging. An excellent high demand strategic high visibility route now.

• Redwood City Slow Streets || Redwood City || The Redwood City Council authorized a Slow Streets - temporary pilot program to encourage reduced driving on a few streets, while the Shelter-in-Place Order is in effect. The intent of the Slow Streets program is to allow residents to more safely walk and bike with members of their households on already low-traffic streets. Redwood City was the first street in San Mateo County to take charge and lead the way in adopting a Slow Streets Program.

• Vision Zero || Daly City || Daly City was the first city in San Mateo County to adopt a Vision Zero policy and is now leading the way to draft a Vision Zero Action Plan. Vision Zero prioritizes people when designing streets with the shared goal of eliminating all traffic deaths and major injuries. The work has been collaborative and measurable and has a commitment to equity. The work and process at Daly city is truly an inspiration for others in the County to work towards their Vision Zero Plans.

With all the above said, do put in your time to vote for these nominees and help us identify the most laudable candidate in each category. Don't forget, voting closes on July 15th. Rock the vote!