Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition’s Path Forward in the New Year

Dear Friends,

With 2024 now behind us, it is easy for some to see ourselves as a divided nation. I spent this past election cycle talking to voters about the issues that affect us most in our communities. And person after person that I spoke with, regardless of their preferred party, listed road repaving and public safety as top issues. When voters in Silicon Valley went to the polls they voted decisively for tax and bond measures that will provide local funding, that cannot be taken by Sacramento or Washington, to rebuild our roads and make our communities safer. Nearly every single local bond and tax measure for roads passed by a wide margin. Make no mistake: locally we won big at the ballot in November, and we can use our shared desire to rebuild our roads to build stronger communities together.

Now comes the important part. Our work in 2025 could not be clearer: we need to ensure that residents’ tax dollars go towards safer, complete streets that include robust investments in transit, bike, and pedestrian amenities. 

We rely on the generous support of our members to develop our Biketivist forums, which educate our members to become more effective advocates in their communities. Our latest Biketivist Forum recapped the recent bond measures and provided essential tools for people to advocate for changes in our communities’ next budget cycles. A contribution today could help us provide more resources to develop these Biketivist Forums even further.

Additionally, we are a key stakeholder at the table in conversations with local, regional, and state governments to ensure your voice is included when important decisions are made about our roads. With the October kickoff of the Grand Boulevard Initiative, a regional effort to reimagine El Camino Real, our El Camino Real 2030 campaign enables us to develop our grassroots base of supporters to advocate for an El Camino Real that includes bikes. With your generous support, we could provide even more volunteer training that helps us track parking counts and walk audits providing crucial information to decision makers.

Our mission at Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition is to help build healthier and more just communities by making bicycling safe and accessible for all. A huge part of this is supporting the creation of bike-friendly routes to link jobs, services, public amenities and people throughout the length of our Peninsula, from San Francisco to San Jose.

To advance this mission, we are excited to have kicked off our El Camino Real 2030 campaign. The move comes at a critical moment for the historic route – a vital transportation backbone, as the only non-freeway, north-south corridor going all the way from the San Francisco border through San Mateo and Santa Clara counties to San Jose. 

Cities, the state, and regional agencies along the length of El Camino Real are now debating renovation of the aging route, with re-pavement and changes likely to affect traffic flow and accessibility. Our goal is to ensure this it is done in a way that prioritizes movement for all – and especially for people walking and biking, via safe, inclusive and consistent infrastructure.

Let’s Ensure Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety on El Camino

Advocacy over the past decade has resulted in getting recommendations for bike lanes on El Camino Real included in bicycle/pedestrian plans for different cities and agencies. The focus of the 2030 campaign is to turn all these exciting plans into green paint on the ground.

This is a major campaign for SVBC – and just one of the many areas we are working in toward safe and accessible bicycling for all in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Every contribution supports our programs like bike education, repair clinics, social rides, and our advocacy for safe roads. Together we ensure that all people feel safe on bikes and have access to transportation that is safe, convenient, and fun.

Matt Jones

Director of Advocacy, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition

Your Support Matters and we need your help to maintain momentum and expand the bike movement. Join others who are leaving a lasting legacy by naming SVBC in your will or trust. Check out our Ways to Give page for more info on how to donate.