San José Better Bikeways 2020
By 2040, San José wants no more than 40% of residents to drive solo to work, groceries, and other daily business. How do we get there? One way is by building our streets to be safer and stress-free for people who ride bikes, scooters, and all other interesting devices available. The City is working on the Better Bikeways Plan and also moving forward with several innovative bike projects. This is exciting but any time we talk about changing street designs, it causes some nervousness, rightly so. This is because once the reality of a new design starts taking shape, people are worried about the impacts it might have on their street (in terms of traffic, parking, transit stops…) and on their businesses. SVBC is hence gathering a team of San Jose residents to get lots of constructive voices involved, educate the community about the city’s work, help spread the word, and provide input to the city.
Join SVBC’s 2020 Bikeways Team today!
You are critical to making sure that we are able to plan and build a city that welcomes a bike-friendly lifestyle. As a part of this team, we’ll need your help to:
Make a public comment at meetings where important bike projects are brought up
Provide your input on surveys the city might conduct from time to time around different projects
Communicate constructively and positively to the City Council at the appropriate points in time
Help inform your neighborhood association, friends and fellow residents
Action Items
ACTION ALERT!
On Tuesday, October 6, the city staff will be taking the Plan to the Council for their Final approval. We need two things of you:
Tune in to the meeting to show your support for the Plan.
Send an email to the Council showing your support of the Plan.
Sample Talking points
Your Name, neighborhood or employment in San José, and length of time you’ve lived or worked here.
Thank city staff for their extensive time and effort spent for creating the Better Bike Plan 2025. Urge the council members to approve the Better Bike Plan 2025.
Demand even faster implementation by increasing the funding.
Let them know you demand safer streets. Let the council members know why increasing street safety is important to you; how these bike projects include key safety improvements addressing the need of all roadway users, including people walking, biking, and taking transit.
Thank them for listening to you.
For further details contact sandhya@bikesiliconvalley.org.
Street Surveys:
Each year the City repaves some of its streets under the Annual Repavement program. To avoid duplication of work, the city is trying to add bike lanes while the streets are being paved. The upcoming repaving program includes 5 such streets, for which the city has released proposals and is collecting feedback. Each proposal includes a short video where the city explains existing conditions and proposed infrastructure improvements.
The streets include:
The City is collecting feedback on some of its projects re: adding bike lanes under the Annual Repaving Program (Here are some brief talking points created to be a starting point to submit comments).
The City is collecting feedback before making permanent changes on San Fernando Street.
The city is planning to conduct a pilot for one-way Vehicle sharing services. It is currently conducting a survey to understand people’s perspectives about the same.
Upcoming Trainings and Forums
SVBC is conducting an Advocacy Training on Tuesday, Sep 15, 5-7 pm. Here you’ll learn how bike plans and projects work, how to get involved and be an active and engaged citizen. It is free and open for all, register today!
SVBC San Jose Local Team
You can also join the SVBC San Jose local team (This team would not only be working on bike projects, but also on various other issues like Measure B, VTA grants/guidelines, San Jose’s annual budget, and so on. This team also meets monthly on the 4th Wednesday.