Spotlight: Janet Lafleur, 2015 Ellen Fletcher Volunteer of the Year

[retweet][facebook]Along with a fabulous dinner and auction, SVBC’s Annual Dinner will honor Janet Lafleur with the 2015 Ellen Fletcher Volunteer Award.Janet Lafleur is a Mountain View-based bicycle advocate, blogger, and founder of Bike to Shop Day, which encourages people to ride bicycles for everyday transportation as part of National Bike Month. Thanks to Janet’s efforts, more than 130 businesses in 15 San Mateo and Santa Clara County cities participated, inspiring Bike to Shop Days in San Francisco and Portland. She has served on the El Camino Precise Plan Community Advisory Group, is a member of SVBC's Policy Advisory Committee, and has served on the Board of the California Bicycle Coalition since 2014. All as a volunteer.Janet took some time to answer some questions from us. Enjoy, and be there on October 30 as we honor her efforts at our Annual Dinner!1. Can you share with us how you got involved in riding as an adult? Like so many of us, I loved bikes as a kid, but stopped riding in my late teens when life got busy. I never fell out of love with bikes, though, so as soon as I had a place to store a bike, I bought a mountain bike. My plan was simply to ride for errands around Mountain View and on trails along the bay. I wasn't expecting my friends to push me into mountain biking, road riding, triathlons and cyclocross racing. Ironically, my riding has come full circle so that now I ride mostly around town and on bike paths.2. What compelled you to become an advocate for bicycling, and more specifically, bicycling for practical purposes?In the mid-90s, I started commuting to work in North San Jose after getting route advice from SVBC volunteers. Since it was 10 miles one-way and a bit of trouble to pack clothes, I only did it about once a week. Five years ago, I got a job closer to home in Palo Alto and realized I could commute in my work clothes if I took it easy on the ride. My car got very lonely after that. But I quickly learned that when you pick your route, not as a workout but to get somewhere, you can't avoid the gaping holes and unsafe spots in the bike network so easily. Within a year, I made a commitment to stop complaining and get involved.3. What inspired the Ladies' Tea and Women, Wine, and Chocolate Bike Socials?I’ve always gravitated towards women's rides for the camaraderie, and for years led women's after-work dirt and road rides two nights a week. With the women's bike socials my goal was to bring together all women who ride bikes, regardless of what kind of riding they do. In particular, I wanted to support the everyday riders who are more likely to ride alone with the information sharing, the moral support, and the friendship that comes in a group setting. Why tea and chocolate? Because themed parties are fun.4. What are top three initiatives that are currently ongoing or that need to happen to help make Silicon Valley one of the top regions for bicycling in the country?My top three initiatives are national initiatives:Vision Zero is built on the belief that traffic-related injuries are preventable and we need to stop writing them off as unfortunate accidents. It's a comprehensive look at how cities can engineer, educate and enforce to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries.Complete Streets upends the notion that streets are for cars by making streets convenient, pleasant and safe for all modes of travel. Out with the disappearing bike lanes and skinny sidewalks next to high-speed traffic. In with protected bike lanes and wider sidewalks and safer, more convenient crosswalks.Equity focuses on the who, where, and how of other initiatives and projects: which people and communities are served, whose voices are included in the planning, and how we ensure efforts like enforcement are applied equitably.How does this translate locally? My wish list includes bike lanes and fast transit on major roads like El Camino Real, road diets in business districts like Willow Glen and on apartment-lined streets like California Street in Mountain View, and protected bike lanes and intersections wherever vehicle speeds regularly exceed 30 mph.5. Share with us what a dream day on your bike looks like.My dream day would be exploring a city by bike with my husband or a friend. We'd ride to breakfast, ride to a museum, ride to a park, ride to dinner and dessert. Bicycling is the perfect speed for experiencing a new place. It's slow enough to see things clearly but fast enough to cover a lot of territory. And you can pull over in an instant to check something out. Or in my case, take photos.6. What does it mean to you to receive the Ellen Fletcher Volunteer of the Year Award from SVBC?It's hard to put into words how honored I am. Role model doesn't begin to express how I feel about Ellen Fletcher and her work. She had the vision of how bicycling could change her city, the courage to stand up against fierce opposition, the creativity to find ways around major roadblocks, and the tenacity to keep pushing forward to the end. A few months before she died from lung cancer, I stopped her as she was riding her e-assist bike to thank her for all she had done, including making the impossible Wilkie Bridge that we were standing on a reality. I'm so glad I had that chance. When I face a tough advocacy issue, I often think, "What would Ellen do?"Thank you for all of your work, Janet! SVBC looks forward to honoring you on October 30.