SVBC News
Walk It before Planning It! - A New Take on the Safe Routes To School Planning Meeting.
What a great experience! On Tuesday, October 24, 2017, a slew of stakeholders (parents, school trustee’s, school representatives, Gilroy Engineering department, SVBC, and etc.) woke up early (arrived by 7:20am) for a beautiful and brisk walk around the school’s wider block. Usually a walk audit is undertaken by SCCPH and the school staff as part of organizing a SRTS Planning Meeting, but asking all stakeholders of the planning meeting to also be involved in a walk audit before the Planning Meeting was definitely a treat!Participants were able to watch firsthand some crosswalks where Crossing Guards were already assisting children to cross busy intersections, but we heard that there still remained some serious safety concerns. It was more than that; physically observing parents U-Turn randomnly around a corner or just rolling through yet another crosswalk – it made me (a parent, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) employee, and someone from outside the community), stand up and be concerned!
Announcing the 2017 Silicon Valley Bike Summit Award Winners
For the second year, we are presenting awards for the following categories at the Silicon Valley Bike Summit on August 8 in Mountain View. We held open, online nominations in May 2017 and voting in June 2017. Come to the event to honor the award winners, who will all also be participating in panels at the Bike Summit!
Silicon Valley Bike Summit Highlight: Safe Routes Champions
The Silicon Valley Bike Summit is less than one month away and we are excited to share some of the program with you. One of our sessions will be focused on Safe Routes to School (SR2S) Planning and Implementation. We interviewed two of the panelists to find out what they hope to share and learn at the Bike Summit: Karen Briones, Safe Routes to School Coordinator for Los Gatos Union School District and Matthew Reeves, Safe Routes to School Coordinator and General Program Associate for Redwood City 2020.
Youth - Join the YES Conference Advisory Council
Bay Area Youth - Want to step up and use your leadership skills to make a positive impact for youth throughout the SF Bay Area? We would love for you to join the Student Advisory Council and help us plan for the upcoming Youth for the Environment and Sustainability (YES) Conference in February 2018.
One More Chance to Measure Success Through Measure B
A recent VTA Board of Directors decision to delay approving the Measure B program guidelines means that the money from the measure will likely take a couple of extra months to start flowing. But it also gives advocates like SVBC and our members another chance to push for some tweaks to the guidelines. In particular, we want to make sure that the money earmarked for education and encouragement programs (anything from Safe Routes to School bike rodeos to open streets events like Viva CalleSJ) is spent wisely. And that means monitoring those programs to see what works and what doesn’t.
Get a Job: Wheel Kids Instructor
Wheel Kids is looking for paid, part-time, summer assistant instructors to team-teach Palo Alto's Middle School Bike Skills (MSBS) classes for several Saturdays and one Sunday between June and August 2017.