What does it take to make a whole region “bicycle friendly”?
How can we double the number of people riding bikes in northern Santa Clara County?
What do bike networks look like when they’re built for residents of all ages and abilities, from 8 to 80?
Companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, Linkedin and more are growing in Silicon Valley. We at Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition recognize the tremendous impact their land use decisions can have on changing every day behavior. As the saying goes, if you build it they will come. A company that builds a sprawling campus with ample amounts of car parking will perpetuate a car culture and continue to apply the brakes to our ability to create a community that values, includes, and encourages bicycling for all purposes for all people.
Imagine a world where a company that employs tens of thousands of workers commits to expand without building a single new parking space and couples its commitment with a solid plan to make sure those employees can get to work by shuttle, transit, bike, and foot. The potential ripple effect would make a serious dent in our mode shift goals as more people would choose the bicycle as a transportation option sooner and in larger numbers.
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and Alta Planning + Design have partnered with Google to create the Google Bike Vision Plan, a new look at what it’s like for people riding bikes in northern Santa Clara County today and what our region could look like with 8-to-80 bike networks.
As you’ll read in the Plan, Google is committed to reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips and encouraging healthy transportation options for their employees. But beyond its employees, Google understands and appreciates the myriad societal benefits that come with more people riding bikes in their communities. Google envisions a place where anyone from ages 8 to 80 can ride a bike safely and comfortably. But what does it take to create such a place?
Too often lines on a bike map can’t tell you what the experience is like for a resident trying out a bike route for the first time – we need to start thinking differently about bicycling if we are going to meet people’s needs. The Google Bike Vision Plan goes beyond the lines on the map and measures the stress a person biking encounters when trying to get to their destination on the best route possible. The Google Bike Vision Plan also shows the impacts on the region that an 8-to-80 bike network could have for employers and residents alike.
