If you build it, they will use it...

With the new bike lanes downtown less than one month old, I've already noticed some changes. Traffic has slowed somewhat. It's not the raceway it used to be on the one way streets. Also 3rd and 4th Street may start to look a little like N. Williams Street in Portland (bicycle related commerce). I've already spotted a guy or gal who has started selling bikes that are displayed on the driveway facing the bike lane. Maybe next we'll see a bicycle repair shop?

Also the picture below shows a sight I don't think I've seen downtown; a mother with her infant child in a front mounted seat. Notice she is using a bike with electric assist.

With the 10th Street bike lane in use for last Friday's bike party, over 4,500 cyclists had a chance to use the lane. If that's not example of "If you build it they will come."

Upcoming Cycling Events in the Bay Area - August 15, 2012

Upcoming Events in the Silicon Valley



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

San Jose Bike Party - The Luau Ride

Friday August 17, 2012
8:00 pm
Route posted 24 hours before ride time at sjbikeparty.org

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Bike Party is growing - In the Bay Area .....San Jose, East Bay, and San Francisco.

Also now in Washington DC and Baltimore.

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Also this weekend!

From Blight to Bright
Saturday, August 18th 8:30 am to noon
A bike inspired communtiy clean-up event to make the neighborhood more bikeable and walkable
Meet at the offices in the Elements Apartment Community 1201 Parkmoor Ave San Jose.
Continental Breakfast, Snacks, Drinks, and lunch provided to volunteers. Bring any brooms, or garden tools if you have them. Cycling, walking, or transit to the event is encouraged.
Please register to make sure you get on the food list

Sports Basement Cycle Swap
Saturday, August 18, 2012 10 am to 2 pm

1177 Kern Ave., Sunnyvale, California 94085

3 bucks for adults, kids are free money goes to the SVBC
if you want a booth contact bcurt@sportsbasement.com

Pedalfest 2012
Saturday, August 18, 11am to 8 pm
Jack London Square, Oakland 
Music, Food and Fun.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Ride until you die! Ride to Hell! in the Santa Cruz Mountians.
Meet at Blue Rock Shoot on Big Basin Way in Saratoga at 8am
Expect about 12 hours in the saddle.
Facebook Link

 

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East Bay Bike Party

Sharpie Ride
Friday, August 14, 2012
(More Info)

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Support Hedding Street Bike Lanes
San Jose City Council Chambers 6:30 at 200 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA
Come Show your support at the Tuesday evening San Jose City Council Meeting in Support of Bike Lanes on Hedding St.

If you can't make it please write or call your council member or their staff  (SJ City Countil Contacts)

City Council Agenda for August 21, 2012. Hedding Street Bike Lane vote is agenda item 6.1 on page 7

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San Francisco Bike Party
Friday, September 7, 2012
(More info)

Also note the Guadalupe River Trail will be closed for paving construction soon. The closed portion will extend north of 880 all the way to Gold Street in Alviso. check Twitter for more details.

Too see all rides on the map click the link just below the map. Thanks.

View Upcomming Bay Area Bike Events in a larger map

Hedding Street Bikeway to be discussed



New 3rd St. Bike Lane looking
 north from San Fernando St.

 Just as the City of San Jose finishes up on the wonderful new bike lanes on 3rd, 4th, 10th, and 11th Streets as well as Almaden Blvd., the Department of Transportation is arranging a public meeting to discuss a new bikeway that will run the length of Hedding Street.

The 4.3 mile route will run along Hedding St. and N. Winchester at the San Jose City line to the 101 Freeway where Hedding becomes Berryesa Rd. The southwest portion is just north of Valley Fair and Santana Row Shopping Centers. It will continue past O'Conner Hospital, just north of the Municipal Rose Garden, Bellarmine College Prep, Guadalupe River Park, County Civic Center, Raymond Bernal Jr. Park, the Luna Park Business District, Bankesto Park, and Watson Park.

City staff will update the plans to remove one travel lane and on-street parking and to add dedicated bike lanes on Hedding St. between Guadalupe River Trail and N. 17th St.

Meeting Date: Thursday, August 2, 2012
Time 6:00 PM
Location: Joyce Ellington Library, Community Room
               491 East Empire Street

Tour de Peninsula returns - come ride with us

Come out for a day of fun on the Peninsula

The Tour de Peninsula returns this year to Coyote Point Park in San Mateo. 

Sunday, August 5, 2012
Online Registration is now open.

The San Mateo County Parks Foundation, TdP Honorary Chairman Supervisor Carole Groom (a big supporter of cycling and walking in San Mateo County), and Honorary Tour Host and Dirty Shirt legend Mark Simon welcome you to the Tour de Peninsula, a perennial highlight of the Bay Area’s social calendar for outdoor recreationists. This family ride offers a variety of bicycle routes on beautiful courses designed to suit everyone from young children and first time riders to serious cyclists. After the rides, a day of family fun activities takes place in Coyote Point Park, which contains an award-winning children’s playground, CuriOdyssey, barbecuing and picnic facilities and live entertainment by the 'Tribal Blues Band'.

Apart from providing a great day outside in beautiful scenery, the main purpose of the Tour de Peninsula is to raise funds for the San Mateo County Parks Foundation and Bicycle Sunday – car-free biking on Cañada Road. The San Mateo County Parks Foundation funds projects that restore habitat, provide environmental education, improve trails, support volunteer efforts, and encourage recreational use of parks. Since its founding in 1998, the Foundation and its members have provided millions of dollars for San Mateo County Parks.

This year there are four different ride options:

• Kids - 2-6 miles
• Beginner - 20 miles
• Intermediate - 31 miles
• Advanced - 100k/63 miles (or consider the 7-mile Simon Says Shortcut, 56-mile option)

For more information or to register. Every TdP entrant receives a $10 Talbot's Cyclery gift card and a entry into a drawing for one for four Raleigh bicycles and other prizes.

Upcoming Cycling Events in the Bay Area - July 19, 2012

Upcoming Events in the Silicon Valley



Thursday, July 19, 2012

San Jose Bike Party - The Olympic Ride

Friday July 20, 2012
8:00 pm
Route posted this evening, July 19th

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7th Annual Menlo Park Grand Prix Sponsored by Mikes Bikes
Sunday, July 22, 2012 7:30 am - 6:30 PM

More details to follow

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Tour de Fat - San Francisco
Saturday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
September 22, 2012
Golden Gate Park
TDF website

"Olympic Ride"

Friday, July 20, 2012

Wheels hit the street at 8:00
Route and Start Location posted 24 hours in advance.

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San Jose Fixed SJF
15-25 mile Bike Ride,Every Tuesday 6:45 @
Meets @ IMinusD Fixed Gear Boutique
112 Paseo de San Antonio (See Map Below)

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San Francisco Bike Party
Friday, August 3, 2012
(More info)


Tour de Peninsula
Presented by Raleigh and Talbots Cyclery
Saturday, August 5, 2012 Coyote Pointe Park, San Mateo
Rides start at 7:00 and 8:00 am, kids ride starts at 12:00 noon.
Proceeds benefit San Mateo County Parks Foundation and Bicycle Sunday - Car free biking on Canada Rd.
www.supportparks.org/tdp

East Bay Bike Party
Tour De France / City of Lights
Friday, August 10, 2012
(More Info)

Also note the Guadalupe River Trail will be closed for paving construction soon. The closed portion will extend north of 880 all the way to Gold Street in Alviso. check Twitter for more details.

Too see all rides on the map click the link just below the map. Thanks.

View Upcomming Bay Area Bike Events in a larger map

Conversation with an engineer, a road engineer.

This video is from my good friends over at Strong Towns who we might be seeing this fall in the San Jose area. If you ever wondered how suburbs have evolved and how streets have turn into arterial conjestion pits, this funny little animation says it all.

The story background is that it is a conversation between a city's DOT (Department of Transporation) and a local resident, a mother who's children are accustomed to playing in the street with very low traffic. Let me know what you think. Enjoy.

If you design for cars...you get cars.

New textured pedestrian crosswalk
being placed at the corner
of Campbell and Winchester.

During many San Jose General Plan and Diridon Station meetings, I remember Michele Beasley of Greenbelt Alliance invoking a well known phrase, "If you design for cars, you'll get cars. If you design for people you'll get people". Just this week I took photos of two locations in the valley that bring this point home.

One picture is of the ongoing construction work in downtown Campbell and at the intersection of Winchester Ave. and Campbell Ave. The Winchester Ave project will make for a more walkable Campbell west of the downtown area. Two years ago the city built their complete streets project to the east of downtown near the entrance of the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

These infrastructure improvements, along with the construction of a multi-story garage, and additional private investment has helped to make Downtown Campbell into a bustling retail area with shops, an extremely popular farmer's market, and a number of well known restaurants.

Almaden Blvd.; wide, with no
pedestrian activity.
The old SJDOT felt it was
better to design for cars.
The 'new' SJDOT gets it.

The other photo is of one part of the city of San Jose's downtown Bicycle Improvement project along Third and Fourth Streets, Ninth and Eleventh Streets, Almaden Blvd. (shown in the picture). The city is doing great work incorporating more bike routes in the downtown area. One of the areas is along Almaden Blvd., a suburban office park arterial dropped into a traditional downtown area. With the wide boulevard, the large medians, the mid-level office towers with large setbacks to allow for front lawns you get the feeling if you where in Tustin or Irvine, not a downtown with 250 years of San Jose history.

What would you rather have textured crosswalks or textured left turn lanes?

Which area do you perceive as being safer?

If you notice the photo, old school San Jose designed as if for cars only. The boulevard is wide, wide enough to have one of those old Soviet era May day celebrations with the parade of ICBM's (curious if the generation who grew up without newspapers knows what an ICBM is. click here for answer)

Related Posts:
New building going up in the heart of downtown Campbell
Tread Bike Shop - Just one more reason to enjoy downtown Campbell

Upcoming Cycling Events - July 11, 2012

Upcoming Events in the Silicon Valley

Ladies Ride - July 14

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

San Jose Bike Party Ladies Ride
July 14, 2012 -
Meet-up at San Pedro Square Market Place (W. St. John St. & San Pedro St.)
5:00 pm San Jose Bike Clinic to perform minor repairs on your bicycle, food trucks or San Pedro Square food options, meet other ladies until wheels hit the streets at 6:00 pm.

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The Cafe Tour
Sunday, July 15, 2012 at 10:30 am

Join San Jose Bike Clinic volunteers and Content Magazine for a Café Tour of San José.

Bike repair education and tune ups are at 10:30am outside of B2 at the San Pedro Square Market, followed by the ride. Featured coffee shops include: B2, Roys Station, Crema, Top Nosh Cafe, Bellano, Barefoot Coffee, plus one secret location TBA!

All participants in this ride recognize that bike riding can be a hazardous activity and choose to do so at their own risk.

Geared For Kids Family Ride - Pleasant Hill
Sunday, July 15, 2012 at 10:30 am

Get GEARED UP! Helmets, Bikes, Bells!
...
This month's route will be about 5 1/4 miles long and take us along a few of the bike paths of Contra Costa county. Bring along snacks to share at our mid-route stop, and, or course, we'll have tunes to pedal to all throughout the ride!

Helmets required for kids. Be sure to pack snacks, water, and sunscreen!

There's a swimming center ( http://www.swimmersguide.com/query/Detail.cfm?PoolID=30 ), skate park, dog park, and great places to BBQ at the end of the ride if anyone wants to spend the day in the sun. Feel free to post your plans as comments to this event if you want to coordinate an after ride activity at Heather Farm Park.

Pleasant Hill BART is nearest station.
Facebook link

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San Jose Bike Party

"Olympic Ride"

Friday, July 20, 2012

Wheels hit the street at 8:00
Route and Start Location posted 24 hours in advance.

7th Annual Menlo Park Grand Prix Sponsored by Mikes Bikes
Sunday, July 22, 2012 7:30 am - 6:30 PM

More details to follow.

Tour de Fat - San Francisco
Saturday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
September 22, 2012
Golden Gate Park
TDF website

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San Jose Fixed SJF
15-25 mile Bike Ride,Every Tuesday 6:45 @
Meets @ IMinusD Fixed Gear Boutique
112 Paseo de San Antonio (See Map Below)

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East Bay Bike Party
Tour De France / City of Lights
Friday, July 13, 2012
(More Info)

San Francisco Bike Party
Friday, August 3, 2012
(More info)


 

Also note the Guadalupe River Trail will be closed for paving construction soon. The closed portion will extend north of 880 all the way to Gold Street in Alviso. check Twitter for more details.

Too see all rides on the map click the link just below the map. Thanks.

View Upcomming Bay Area Bike Events in a larger map

Roy's Station, a cornerstone in Japantown

Frank Rast and his family host the
community to Roy's Station,
a well-loved neighborhood coffee shop.

Just about every morning Frank Rast can be seen sweeping up the sidewalks and gutters around Roy's Station, a pre-World War II area gas station converted into a neighborhood coffee shop. "Around Roy's" is somewhat of an understatement. On many mornings Frank can be see a block away making sure the sidewalks are clean, the gutters clear, and the street side flower pots watered and trimmed.

Most mornings Frank puts in about four, yes four hours, cleaning up the area around his shop and around the neighborhood. While the Willow Glen Business Improvement District has its hired street crew, some merchants will sweep just outside their doorway, but nowhere in San Jose have I seen the commitment that Frank puts into his business and the surrounding area. And it shows.

If there was a prize for the cleanest,
most walkable streets in the city,
this block would be your winner.

Just about everyone I've talked to (and I talk to a lot of people on a daily basis), love, absolutely love Roy's. They all tell me that they do notice the little things that make it a pleasure to walk, yes I said walk in San Jose's Japantown.

That and the wonderful art inspired by Issei (first generation) and nissei (second generation) experiences in the Valley concerning agriculture, wartime internment, and post war re-settlement. The art and special care that Frank brings to the neighborhood makes Japantown stand out among other local business districts.

So make a special effort to stop by and say hi and thank you to Frank any morning. Let him know what an impact he has on Japantown. But don't linger too long, he's got a lot of work to do.

Obon Festival

So stop by this weekend, July 14 and 15, for Japantown's annual Obon festival (hosted by San Jose Betsuin). Also, the dedication of the Japantown Mural Project will be held in conjunction with the 2012 Obon festival on July 14.

The Mural Dedication is at 3:45 pm at the corner of Jackson St. and N. 7th St. There will be a short program, followed by a walking tour (yeah!, San Jose has a walking tour) of the entire mural project with lead artist/designer Tamiko Rast and some of the project artists. The event is free and open to the public. All are welcome.

San Jose Bike Clinic Summer Happenings

Come on down to the
Downtown Farmers Market
 this summer for some
good old fashion bike repair.

San Jose's new Bike Clinic will be hosting summer events in the downtown area. Here are a few.

1.  Farmers' Market Bike Repair Assistance
SJBC has been making appearances at the Downtown Farmers Market on Fridays on San Pedro St. in downtown San Jose. Scheduled times are 10am - 2pm, on July 13 and 27, August 10, September 7 and 21.

Be sure to come down to say hello and get some help with bike repair while grabbing your fresh produce!

2.  Ladies Night Bike Ride
SJBC is helping out on the Ladies' Night Ride, organized by the San Jose Bike Party.  The ride will begin at 6:00 pm on Saturday, July 14th.  The start location is San Pedro Square Market.  Riders should arrive an hour early at 5:00 to check out the Bike Clinic services and do a quick safety check. Then grab a bite to eat if they want, and soak up the vibe before the ride. 

SJ Bike Party encourages females and their families to attend.  The ride will be slow and the route will be flat, so riders with less experience are also welcome!


3.  Café Tour of San José (by bicycle of course).
Join the San Jose Bike Clinic and Content Magazine for a Café Tour of San José. Before the start, the SJBC will provide bike safety inspections, repair education and tune ups from 10:30am outside of B2 at the San Pedro Square Market. The ride will immediately follow.

The stops will include the featured coffee shops:
  - B2  
  - Roys Station  
  - Crema 
  - Top Nosh Cafe   
  - Bellano 
  - Barefoot Coffee Plus, one secret location To Be Announced!

For more information, go to us on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/events/447589841927365/  or at:
http://1sqmile.blogspot.com/2012/06/san-jose-bike-clinic-and-content.html?spref=fb

Bike Parking Volunteers needed for this weekend's Blues festival



Encourage other cyclists to bike to
everyday events by volunteering
 for this weeks festival

 The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC) will be providing valet bicycle parking at the 32nd Annual Fountain Blues Festival, on July 14, for the first time. Which means that they will need bike parking volunteers!

Enjoy some of the greatest blues musicians, including featured artist Elvin Bishop, while providing attendees that bike-to-the-event peace of mind knowing that their bicycle is being guarded by an organization they trust.

Volunteers are needed for the following shifts: 
Set-up 9:00 - 10:30

Bike Parking
10:30am - 12:30pm
12:30pm - 2:30pm
2:30pm - 4:30pm
4:30pm - 6:30pm
6:30pm - 8:30pm

As you can see, it's a busy day! Learn how you can help and earn a FREE entry to the festival at http://bikesiliconvalley.org/event/2591.

Conversations with a streetside artist; the utility box art project

San Jose Artist Michael Foley
 out in the warm sun finishing
 the latest Utility Box art

This afternoon I was tipped off by ThinkBiggerSanJose that another utility box at the corner of Hedding and the Alameda was getting "art-tified". So I took a walk down the Alameda and met freelance artist Michael Foley was as a few long hours from completing the latest of San Jose's growing number of utility boxes that have been turned into streetside canvas.

The painted utility boxes are now becoming quite popular with local residents. I just spotted a new one with a Rose Garden theme the other day. Also new in the area, in front of the old Andy's Pet Shop storefront is one with a canine theme.

I had a chance to talk with Michael about the art scene in San Jose, the Zero1 festival, good and not so good things happening in the city, and the difficulty of independent artist in the area to participate in community festivals.

Tough work when the temperatures
 begin to reach the 90's.

The work has been commissioned by the Art Box Project. I didn't know but Michael explained that each box has a theme pertaining to the area. So he was given parameters from which to work in pertaining to history and transportation on the Alameda. So his painting will incorporate an old tram, a modern light rail trainset, some residents of the area from the 1920's or 1930's, along with more modern residents using their "banana pads".

Trails & Rails, Amtrak Partners with National Park Service



National Park Service
Trails & Rails



If you've ever experienced an Amtrak ride it is definitely different than flying; no TSA body scans, no bumped flights, and seats that seem like lounge chairs made for giants, rather than for school children.

Although you wont get there as quick, the experience is thoroughly enjoyable, mixing America's scenic beauty with it's cultural past and historical stories. As you sit in the parlor car while the California Zephyr crosses the Rocky Mountains you can almost see the two coasts linking up in Utah to watch the last spike driven to link the revolutionary east with the expansive west. Riding the Coast Starlight through California you can imagine the hardships that Juan Bautista deAnza and his party encountered while pioneering an overland route to Alta California beyond the Spanish frontier to San Francisco Bay.

Through a partnership with Amtrak and the National Parks Service, the Rails & Trails program went national in 2000. The Rails & Trails mission is to;

Amtrak Rails & Trails
docents get ready to board
 the southbound Coast Starlight
 at Diridon Station

Enable Amtrak to enhance the overall experience of customers by offering interpretive programs that educate them about national and historic content of the scenery while also creating awareness in respect for America's "special" places within the National Park System.

While passing through San Jose's Diridon Station the other day I ran into two docents who were getting ready to board the southbound Coast Starlight train to Los Angeles to present their program. Since the route of the Coast Starlight roughly parallels Deanza's route to the Bay Area, the docents make this point in California history come alive.

Next summer I plan to do a bike tour from Buffalo, New York to Albany, New York along the historic Erie Canal and catch the Hudson River Valley Greenway in Albany to New York city. While on Amtrak's Maple Leaf route I hope to hear Rails & Trails volunteers present a history of on the Erie Canal and it's impact on the greater New York region 200 years ago.

Trails & Rails Partnership with Texas A&M university

NPS brochures

The National Park Service and the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences (RPTS) at Texas A&M University in College Station entered into a partnership in September 2008 to relocate and house the management and coordination of the National Trails & Rails Program to the University.

RPTS has provided logistical and technical support to the Trails & Rails Program in interpretation, education, marketing, tourism and recreational opportunities. Undergraduate students in RPTS are currently developing podcasts so passengers can listen to a thematic Trail & Rails program on their iPods or Mp3 players. Currently available are routes from Los Angeles, San Antonio, New Orleans and Chicago, but other routes are being developed.

Here are some Trails & Rails facts

• Amtrak passengers participating - 3,488,150
• Trails & Rails programs presented on Amtrak 73,615
• Volunteer guides participating in Trails & Rails - 754
• Volunteer hours donated to Trails & Rails - 267,082
• Value of volunteer hours based as the "independent sector" - $5,081,685

In a Flash, out with the old, and in with the new

The old paper based
 Flash Pass (L)
 now being replaced by
 the Clipper Card (R)

VTA (Valley Transportation Authority) is no longer in the paper pass business; at least not for monthly passes. The old paper Flash passes are passee being replaced by the Clipper Card.

The Clipper Card is a (see previous post, Clipper Card Tutorial) is an RFID based card that allows you to put more than just the VTA Flash pass on it. You can also put Caltrain, BART and other transit authorities passes on it as well.

VTA is the last transit agency in the Bay Area to incorporate the clipper passes into their system.

In the past my employer, through a company called Wage Words would send me a montly Flash Pass in the mail. Now after receiving a 'Clipper only debit card' I purchase the card each month with the funds on my debit card. This card is only for use in purchasing any transportation agencies tickets or passes. So now before each light rail ride you have to swipe the card near Clipper readers on the light rail platforms and each time you enter the bus.

Clipper promotion in front
 of Walgreens in
downtown San Jose.

VTA has been aggressively promoting the new clipper card on advertisements on the sides of buses and light rail cars, at bus stops and at special pop-up events around the county (see photo at right). Day passes will continue to be a paper based pass that is printed when you board the bus and pay the day pass fare (which is $6 for adults).