Stand up for Your Right to Ride Safely!

If this sign had been posted on Mission Street,
two recent fatalities would have been prevented.

Meet Tuesday, May 13, 6:00PM at the town clock in downtown Santa Cruz for a safety awareness ride on Mission Street. The ride will end at the City Council Meeting.

Come to the Tuesday, May 13 City Council Meeting and ask that "BIKE MAY USE FULL LANE" signs be posted on Mission Street. Caltrans is ready to cooperate with the City. Now it's up to us to convince council members to request this sign!

Cyclists all over the country are watching this struggle for the basic civil right to safely use a commercial street. We need you to show up and be counted.

If you absolutely can't make it, contact City Council at: 809 Center Street, Santa Cruz, 95060, or email citycouncil@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us or call 831-420-5020.

Call 831-425-0665 for more details.

Cyclists Allowed (Use of Full Lane)

Ten years ago the process for designing Mission Street was drawing to a close. Lines were drawn and plans were printed up. Task force members, City Council members, and engineers congratulated themselves. Caltrans and the city council agreed to widen the street to allow four lanes of automobile traffic. Everyone was happy with the design, except for bicyclists. People Power's then-director, Ron Goodman, had lobbied for a three-lane street with bike lanes and a center turn lane—a configuration that is arguably better for slow-moving commercial traffic of all types. He was ignored. "I knew that people were going to get killed as a result of that decision and I told them that. There was too much pressure to increase the capacity for cars." People Power had 60 members at the time.

May 10 – 17, 2008

Celebrate the 21st Annual Bike Week in Santa Cruz County with the entire bicycling community—from long-time commuters and recreational riders to novice bike commuters, young and old. Again we have a schedule full of fun, informative and inclusive events. Here are a few highlights:

Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11: Bike Fest Jump Jam. The best local and national freestyle BMX and MTN riders launch big air at the Bicycle Trip Bike Park. Valet Bike Parking by People Power.
Sunday, May 11: Bike to Worship
Tuesday, May 13: Commuter Race. A motorist, cyclist, electric bike rider, tandem rider and others. Who will finish first?
Thursday, May 15: Bike to Work/School Day. Check the Bike2Work website for the free breakfast site on your way to work or school www.bike2work.com/s_cruz/week.html.
Saturday, May 17: Rail and Trail Day

For more information on all these events, telephone: (831) 423-9569 x128, email: staff@bike2work.com, web: www.bike2work.com.

Bike to Worship

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Sunday, May 11th is the area's first organized Bike to Worship event. Friends and neighbors are encouraged to bike, walk, or ride a bus to church, instead of driving. Have fun while lowering greenhouse gas emissions produced from driving to worship services.

Participation has been arranged with the following congregations:

Center for Conscious Living
Chadeish Yameinu
Congregational Church of Soquel
First Congregational Church (High Street)
Inner Light Ministries
Quaker Meeting House
Saint Philips' Episcopal Church (Scotts Valley)
Santa Cruz Community Church

Participants can register for a raffle and other prizes. (Churches may offer additional incentives of their own.)

For information, contact People Power's Batya Kagan, Coordinator for Faith-Based Environmental Action: (831) 419-6574, lsgp-faith@peoplepowersc.org.

All Aboard for 4th Annual Rail and Trail Day Sat, May 17

All Aboard for the 4th Annual Rail and Trail Day

Tickets are now on sale for Rail and Trail Day! Celebrate train and bike travel with a Roaring Camp train ride from Depot Station in Santa Cruz to Felton. Bring your bike on the train, then join us for a fun group ride (with California Highway Patrol escort) down scenic Highway 9, back to the River Arts Festival in San Lorenzo Park. Or ride the train back to Depot Station.

This fun transportation event highlights the best of train and bike riding. Get your tickets beforehand—we expect to sell out.

Adults: $6 each way
Kids (12 and under): $3 each way

**Helmets Required**

Ticket Outlets

Santa Cruz

Another Bike Shop: 2361 Mission St.
Bike to Work/Ecology Action: 211 River St.
Bike Church/The Hub: 703 Pacific Ave.
Chamber of Commerce: 611 Ocean St., Suite 1
The Bicycle Trip: 1127 Soquel Ave.

Aptos

Chamber of Commerce: 7605-A Old Dominion Ct.

Felton

The White Raven Bakery: 6253 Hwy. 9

Watsonville

Watsonville Cyclery: 1202 Freedom Blvd.

New Leaf Envirotoken Balloting

People Power Needs Your Vote!

It's time again for New Leaf's annual election to choose organizations that will receive funds from their Envirotokens. People Power is on the ballot again and we need your vote.

Please vote once at each New Leaf store for your favorite six organizations, during the month of May (get your friends to vote too). This is a major source of funding for People Power!

Kinetic Sculpture Race

Sunday, May 18, 11AM, at San Lorenzo Park

Create an artistic vision of human powered motion (pedal or foot powered) and run the risk of being declared world's best artist. Show up early to register.

Bicycle Bakery Tour: Burn Fat, Not Oil

Sunday, June 1, 9AM–2PM

$20–$50 sliding scale
($15 minimum for People Power members,
Special event cup for $50 donors)

It doesn't get more fun than this!!!

Join 50 compatriots on a leisurely 18-mile ride to some of the best local artisan bakeries to sample sweet and savory delicacies. Host bakeries include: Kelly's, Emily's, the Buttery, Black China, Beckmann's, the Bagelry, and Gayle's.

Happily express our disavowal of wars over oil while supporting People Power. Share baked goods, coffee, tea, and two-wheeled philosophy with long-time cyclists Peter Beckmann and Micah Posner, among others.

Thanks to the generosity of participating bakeries, your entire donation goes to support the work of People Power. Send your donation to 703 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 to get your ticket today!

People Power Endorses John Leopold, Bill Monning and Mark Stone for June 3, 2008 Elections

On June 3, 2008, we have a chance to entirely change transportation and land use planning in Santa Cruz County.

At the county level, sensible transportation has been losing by 3–2 votes. Retiring Live Oak Supervisor Jan Beautz has consistently supported sprawl and freeway-oriented planning. We now have the opportunity to replace her with People Power member John Leopold. At the state level People Power member John Laird is being termed out, as the state teeters between supporting rail systems and continued highway expansion. We can continue Laird's pro-environmental legacy by electing Bill Monning for State Assembly. Monning has long been a hard-working champion for labor and environmental issues, with a clear understanding of transportation and land use. Mark Stone has been an important ally as a San Lorenzo and Scotts Valley Supervisor. Let's keep him in office.

The Transportation-Land Use Connection

Thursday, May 22, 7-9pm
Live Oak Grange
1900 17th Ave., near Capitola Rd.

Download a flyer of the event.

Featured Panelists

Amanda Eaken

Land use policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, is working to enact SB 375 in the state legislature. SB 375 is designed to implement California's landmark Global Warming Solutions Act. It would require that state transportation funding be limited to projects that are consistent with plans to reduce automobile dependency.

Lois Fisher

Lois Fisher of Fisher Town Design, designs walkable neighborhoods and towns in Northern California and the U.S. Lois directed the team that designed the Central Petaluma Specific Plan and Smart Code, the first adopted Smart Code in the U.S. "Smart Code", developed by New Urbanist pioneer, Andres Duany, is a set of rules for cities and developers that want an alternative to suburban sprawl's conventional car- and use-based planning codes.

Christopher Pizzi

Christopher Pizzi is an Associate at WRT/Solomon E.T.C., a San Francisco based design firm. Their work includes large-scale urban planning, neighborhood redevelopment, and regulatory controls. Christopher's work includes transit-oriented development in Northern California, suburbs of Washington, DC, and London.

Moderator, Mark Deming

Asst. Planning Director, Santa Cruz County

We need to transform our land use planning to create communities where people live close to work, school, shopping and recreation.

These speakers will outline the principles of land-use design that make for walkable and transit-friendly communities. They will describe what communities like ours are already doing to create a sustainable and socially equitable future.

Co-sponsors:

People Power, Campaign for Sensible Transportation, US Green Building Council, Monterey Bay Branch, Metro Santa Cruz, Ecology Action, Friends of the Rail Trail, Santa Cruz Friends Meeting (Quakers), UCSC Transportation and Parking Services, Santa Cruz Cycling Club, Santa Cruzans for Responsible Planning, SCAN, Brooks Properties, Solar Mike, Greenman Consulting,

More information: 831-425-0665 or www.SensibleTransportation.org

Upcoming Events at The Bike Church

All events are free (donations accepted).

Intro to Bikes, Maintenance, and the Bike Church

A useful introduction to our shop for newcomers. Practical overview of bicycle mechanics.

Four Saturdays, 11AM-1PM:

May 17
June 21
July 19
August 16

Women/Transgender Bike Workshop

Bike maintenance has traditionally been overwhelmingly male-dominated. We provide safe space for women and gender minorities to work and learn skills. Taught by women/queer mechanics.

Contact: (541) 232-9747

1st and 3rd Sundays, 11AM-2PM:

May 4
May 18
June 1
June 15
July 6
July 20
August 3
August 17

Bike Church Alley Cat

Road and dirt "race" focused on community fun.

June 15, 11AM

Cool Cycles Revolution

We all know that young people have the power to change the future of our community and planet. Thanks to a grant from the Webster Foundation, People Power will soon be working with local schools through Cool Cycles—a new program designed to help students make connections between personal transportation choices and climate change, oil use, and the health of their planet and themselves.

Bike!Bike! Conference in San Francisco, Sept. 25-29

Bike!Bike! is an annual conference of community bicycle projects from North America and beyond. Our goal is to further the mission of community bicycle projects, to strengthen local community, increase access to hands-on learning opportunities and low-cost bike repair and to address issues of patriarchy, racism, classism, and sexism as they are present in the cycling industry, our shops, and communities.

The conference includes workshops, skill-shares, and social gatherings to inspire, invigorate, and empower collective and community-based endeavors that provide low-cost hands-on bicycle repair in a diverse, welcoming, and safe environment.

More information at www.bikebike.org.

Rail Trail Purchase Appears to Be Back on Track

After more than a year of inaction, the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) has issued a new schedule for the purchase of the Union Pacific rail corridor between Santa Cruz and Watsonville. The purchase is expected to be completed September 2008. The purchase opens the way to the construction of a bicycle/pedestrian trail along with freight and passenger service.

Bike Traffic Safety School Begins

The first class of the Santa Cruz Bicycle Traffic Safety School opens on January 24, 2008, after years of work by the Traffic Safety Coalition with support from People Power and Traffic Judge Kim Baskett. This means that if you get a ticket on your bicycle you now have the option to attend a 2–3 hour class on safe cycling, with a charge of $35, instead of paying a fine of $100 or more.

Folding Bikes Incentive Program

The Folding Bikes in Buses program offers a financial incentive for Santa Cruz residents to ride a folding bike for short commutes or utility trips instead of driving an automobile.

The incentives will assist with the cost of purchasing a folding bike, while also providing discounted bus passes and safety training.

All Santa Cruz residents are eligible to participate in the program.

To request more information, or to enroll in the program, please call the Santa Cruz Area TMA at (831) 423-9569 ext. 125 or visit their web site at:
http://santacruztma.org/folding_bike.htm

People Power Offers Valet Bike Parking

People Power now offers valet bike parking at events. Valet bike parking allows people to ride their bicycles to an event and leave them with a People Power volunteer who will park and watch it within an enclosed environment. more »

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People Power!

sensible transportation for Santa Cruz County