A beautiful day for a ride through San José

Many thanks to Adam at Greenbelt Alliance and Beth with CommUniverCity for involving SVBC in last Saturday's Cycling through San José bike tour. I had a great time. I was happy to see that almost half the group came from outside San José and were eager to learn more about the Bay Area's biggest city.Our first stop was at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, where John Brazil of the City's Active Transportation Program discussed the San Fernando Street Improvement Project. In addition to green and buffered bike lanes, the project shortened some pedestrian crossing distances, improved signal detection for bicycles, and added street trees.Our next stop was the future site of the Alum Rock BART Station and Five Wounds Urban Village. Terry Christensen with CommUniverCity talked to the crowd about the fantastic job the community did in developing its urban village plan. The Five Wounds Urban Village Plan became the gold standard for such elements in San José's general plan.Next up was a trip to the future Berryessa BART station, where VTA's Brent Pearse described the amenities bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users can expect when the station opens in 2017. In addition to multiple points of entry for people on bikes and on foot, the new station will boast ample bicycle lockers and indoor parking.A quick jaunt across town on the fabulous new Hedding Street green bike lanes took us to Garden 2 Table, where an enterprising team has turned an unused urban lot into a sustainable small farm. After that, we hopped on board the award-winning Guadalupe River Trail and made our way down to the West San Carlos neighborhood, where Greenbelt Alliance's Michele Beasley discussed urban planning processes and the importance of community engagement when where and how to build housing, parks, and businesses.It was a beautiful day for a bike ride. Thanks to all who joined and all who helped organize!