Successful Summit

The fourth annual Silicon Valley Bike Summit was a success! One hundred forty people packed the Cultural Arts Hall at the Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto to learn and be inspired to act from a day of presentations and panel discussions.Mark Fenton, national public health, planning, and transportation consultant, jump started the day with an invigorating keynote about our nation's inactivity crisis, and how better-planned cities can help get people active. The audience was reminded that kids in particular used to be free-range, far-roaming, active young individuals, and that our current policies and mindset have created a culture and environment that no longer permit such easy activity.The day continued with panel discussions focusing on getting more people on bikes and incorporating the corporate world into biking. The top transportation officials from San José, Redwood City, and Palo Alto discussed the infrastructure changes and programs their cities are working on in order to promote more bicycling for transportation. They were joined by blogger Janet Lafleur, who discussed the many events, activities, and communications media she employs to get friends, family, and neighbors on bikes.
Mia Kohout's lunchtime keynote was an inspirational virtual tour of bicycle facilities and success stories from around the continent. Like the magazine she runs, Momentum, Mia's presentation showcased the fun, style, and economic benefits that bicycling brings to a community.The theme of bikes boosting business continued after the lunch hour, as representatives from Google, LinkedIn, and Stanford University discussed why they promote bicycling (happier, healthier, more productive employees and students) and how they do it (bike friendly facilities and programs that seek to improve the whole commute trip for those pedaling to campus). They were joined by April Economides of Green Octopus Consulting, who made the case for smaller business and biking being an economically powerful combination.SVBC's own Corinne Winter and Colin Heyne concluded the day with a report out about two new programs that were originally developed at the Wheel Well Design Sprint, and have since gone through several rounds of refinement. Bikepool is a group bicycle commuting program that we announced we will be developing with the City of San José. The other program is still being discussed with outside partners and is still under wraps. Only the Summit attendees got a sneak preview!Such an impactful event cannot happen without the help and support of many partners. We want to thank our co-hosts, Stanford Health Care and Stanford Parking & Transportation Services. We also want to thank our generous sponsors: Specialized Bicycle Components, Palo Alto Bicycles, Paoli Geerhart, LLP., The Bicycle Outfitter, and Velodome Shelters. And, as with all SVBC events, this one would have been impossible without our dedicated volunteers. Thank you Amie Ashton, Alan Ptak, Patricia Webb, Al Esquivel, Alison Paulin, Frank Viggiano, Rich Coolman, Tom Kabat, Tian Harter, and Moria Merriweather. You rock! And you keep us rolling.