Deb Banks

20 years of May is Bike Month!

May is Bike Month is just about here!

May is Bike Month is a campaign where we celebrate our local bike culture and encourage new and experienced riders to replace their car trips with bike trips. The average car trip to run errands is 1-3 miles. This is a distance easily bikeable by people of all skill levels. Bicycling saves you money and time, plus it’s good for the environment, great for your wellbeing, and supports bike advocacy in your region long-term! Help us help you, your city, and the environment by logging your rides manually or with the Love to Ride app this May. 

We’re hoping to ride more, encourage more people to ride and to save more CO2 in 2024

Register now at mayisbikemonth.com and log your rides in May to win bikes, t-shirts, gift cards, park passes and more! Riders who register before April 28th are entered to win a commemorative 20 Years of May is Bike Month t-shirt.

You can also participate and win prizes by playing May is Bike Month Social Media Bingo:

And, don’t forget to check out all the awesome events around the great Sacramento region in May. You can find events near you on the BikeSacRegion365 event calendar. Don’t miss the upcoming SABA hosted events for bike month 2024:

1. May is Bike Month Kick Off/Breathe Bike Festival, 4/28

Get a jumpstart to May and join SABA and Breathe California on April 28th 2024 from 11:00am-2:00pm at Riverfront and Mill Streets for the third annual May is Bike Month Kick Off/Breathe Bike Festival in West Sacramento. You’ll find family activities, safety demonstrations, e-bike test rides, local partners, helmet decorating, blender bikes, bike repairs and displays, May is Bike Month swag, and so much more! Bike Party Sacramento is DJing, with food from Chando’s Tacos. Bring your friends and family to enjoy the wonderful view of the river! Check the Breathe California event website and bikesacregion365.net event calendar for details about group rides leading into the event. 

2.  Biking While Black, 5/2

Join us for this important film screening at the Guild Theater in Oak Park on Thursday, May 2nd.

3. SABA Bike Swap+Sale+Show @ Two Rivers Cider, 5/11

Two Rivers Cider is hosting the SABA Bike Swap+Sale+Show fundraiser on May 11th, 2024 from 10am-2pm. 

Join us at Two Rivers for vendor booths to swap and sell bike goods, a bike show (low rider, vintage [pre-1990], modern [post-1990], BMX, and people’s choice), plus food, drink, music, giveaways, and on-site bike repair and bike valet. Scan the flyer QR code or click here to sign up for a vendor table or to show a bike.

4. Mileage Madness, 5/11-5/19

SABA is hosting a competition mileage drive for May is Bike Month 2024: Mileage Madness!

The main goal of MiBM is getting people to choose biking over driving for transportation, and usually all prizes are for the number of trips overall – except for during Mileage Madness week! We are partnering with REI to have mileage, not trip, specific prizes for the week of 5/11/24-5/19/24. We will announce winners for most miles during the week for four categories: men, women, nonbinary, and teams, at the VeloRama party at Bike Dog West Sac on 5/19 (see flyer). This means groups can compete against other groups again for MiBM. If you haven’t already, create an account on mayisbikemonth.com and log your rides using the Love to Ride app or manually on the site (can also sync to Strava, or from RidewithGPS to Strava to Love to Ride). 

5. Cargo Bike Races at Township 9 Park, 5/18

Join us for some wild and whacky cargo bike races! Type 2 fun right here!

6. VeloRama, 5/19

Join SABA and REI at Bike Dog West Sac on 5/19 for a party celebrating the end of Mileage Madness week. Vendors, DJ, REI perks and displays, food trucks, drinks, and more. Meet at Paco’s Midtown for a guided ride to the party! Check the BikeSacRegion365 calendar for details. 

7. Folsom 2 Folsom: SABA Social Ride, 5/26

The Folsom to Folsom ride returns! Check the BikeSacRegion365 calendar for details later in the month. 

8. May is Bike Month Afterparty, 5/31

Once it’s all said and done, cruise on over to join us for the Afterparty. Details forthcoming!

Prizes 

Did we mention prizes? Oh heck yeah! Here’s a partial list:

  • Grand prize: REI generation e1.2 mini cargo bike
  • REI Co-op Cycles ADV 2.2 Gravel Bike (REI sweepstakes)
  • REI gift cards
  • Commemorative 20 years of May is Bike Month T-shirts (early bird prize drawing)
  • Riverfox Train Railbike excursions 
  • MIBM Socks
  • BMX bike donation from Sutterville Bicycle Company
  • Rivet Cycle Works leather grips 
  • Rivet Cycle Works leather bike bag
  • Bingo prizes (tbd)
  • Mileage Madness prizes (tbd)
  • Cargo Bike Race prizes (tbd)
An REI e-bike as a grand prize! Wow!
Get your gravel on with an REI gravel bike!

We hope to see you at one or many events around the region. Check the calendar as more events and energizer stations come online. Got a bike ride or event to add to the calendar? Enter it here!

Finally, we couldn’t make all this BikeLove happen without the support from our sponsors. We appreciate your support of active transportation which helps to create a safer, greener, more climate friendly Sacramento region! We wish everyone a GREAT May and most importantly, #getoutside and ride your bike!

Recommendations to make Sacramento a safer city for bikes

Dave Walker illustration

The City of Sacramento has an Active Transportation Commission (ATC), comprised by a group of appointees from each council district, plus the Mayor, and appointees from the Personnel and Public Employees committee. While the City continues to proactively pursue efforts that will improve walking and biking, the ATC believes that we’re not moving quickly enough. Both the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change and draft Climate Action Plan express urgency needed around strategies that will reduce greenhouse gasses (GHG) and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). This is only possible when our entire community can safely and conveniently access destinations without relying on a private vehicle to do so. 

For decades, the City’s investments in car centric infrastructure have created a disconnected active transportation network that has left many people, especially our historically underserved communities with limited transportation options. The ATC is asking for a level of investment from the City now to ensure Sacramento is able to create a more sustainable city for everyone, regardless of their District or zip code. In the spirit of progress, the ATC identified 9 ideas that will improve walking and biking across the City in conjunction with efforts already underway. 

Here are the 9 recommendations:

1. Increase Funding for Active Transportation: The City needs to allocate more funding towards active transportation projects to build a sustainable city accessible to everyone.

Many cities have recently benefited from increased funding. In 2005, Congress authorized the Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Project (NTPP) that provided 25 million dollars to four communities to fund active transportation projects. The result saw an increase in walking and biking trips in some areas up to 48.3%, according to a report from the League of American Bicyclists.

With over 700 transportation projects waiting for the shovels at Public Works, and many are a high priority as determined in the Transportation Priorities Plan, this is the most important of the nine recommendations.

2. Expand Speed Management Program: Lowering vehicle speeds through effective speed management measures will greatly benefit pedestrians and cyclists and contribute to reducing collisions.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s study showed that reducing speed limits in downtown Seattle reduced collisions resulting in injury by 20%.

3. Develop a Citywide Safe Routes to School Program: Establishing a comprehensive Safe Routes to School program across all schools in the city will encourage more students to walk and bike by providing necessary resources and support.

Portland area teacher Sam Balto successfully started a bike bus for his school that literally sees over a 100 kids participating. Schools across the country are following suit. As the capital city of California, whose climate is particularly suitable for nearly year round outdoor activities, we should be taking the lead with bike buses and safe routes to school.

4. Re-establish Slow & Active Streets: Revive the Slow and Active Streets program based on lessons learned from the pilot program and follow the example of cities like San Francisco to create safer, low-traffic routes.

Survey after survey has shown that many people would ride their bikes more often if they felt safe doing so. Many feel apprehensive about sharing the road with cars. Creating routes that slow or limit vehicular travel and create active streets for people would go a long way to encouraging more to walk and bike.

5. Create a Sacramento Quick-Build Bikeways Program: Establish a dedicated funding program for quick-build bikeways projects that utilize low-cost materials and accelerated timelines to rapidly improve street safety and accessibility.

Bikeways don’t have to be drawn-out, expensive projects. They can happen quickly and cheaply with the right amount of planning. Like slow and active streets, creating more space where people feel safe to ride will increase ridership. This can have a myriad of benefits from cleaner air to increased economic growth. Studies show that bike commuters and pedestrians are more likely to shop at local businesses.

Source: Getting Around Sacramento

6. Finalize the Construction Detour Policy: Urgently complete the construction detour policy to ensure safe passage for pedestrians and cyclists during construction projects and monitor its implementation to ensure compliance.

As it stands, our city doesn’t have a detour policy in place. For those who choose active transportation, the lack of a plan creates hardship. In some cases, it makes passage by foot or bike impossible.

It’s urgent that the city move forward to finish a detour policy. Sacramento has great potential to be an excellent bike city. Making sure people have a consistently safe route to commute using a form of active transportation is imperative for that to become a reality.

7. Increase Secure Bike Parking: Allocate additional funds to expand bike parking infrastructure to meet the growing demand and enhance safety and convenience for cyclists.

As it stands, there are many places where no secure bike parking exists. Besides sharing the road with distracted motorists, many people are hesitant to use their bikes over their cars for fear of theft. More secure bike parking would help alleviate this fear.

8. Pilot an Electric Bike Library: Seek funding opportunities to establish an electric bike library program similar to Oakland’s initiative, providing affordable long-term rentals and promoting alternative transportation options.

Other cities have also initiated similar programs. Calgary has started an electric bike library at some of their light-rail stations to encourage people in the suburbs to use active transportation.

Sacramento has a small fleet of e-trikes at Colonial Heights library, and SABA has a fleet that we are taking to community events to offer people a chance to get on a bike and experience the difference of an ebike.

9. Develop an ATC Dashboard: Create an online dashboard to provide the public with easy access to information about the Active Transportation Commission’s efforts, including letters to the mayor and council, policy updates, grant applications, project reviews, bicycle and pedestrian data, and progress towards GHG and VMT reduction targets.

For more info on these recommendations and ways to be engaged with the ATC, find your Active Transportation Commissioner here. We encourage you to reach out to your Commissioner and discuss any of these recommendations. For more info on each recommendation, the entire report can be found here. The ATC will be bringing these before City Council on August 29th, 2023 and we hope you’ll join us in bringing these recommendations to our electeds.

New Bikeways in the Central City

We’ve fielded a number of emails and texts asking us about the new protected bikeways going in due to the Central City Mobility Project, currently under construction in Sacramento.

We sent our questions over to the Central Mobility Project Team, and here are their answers to the most FAQs. Check out the website and don’t hesitate to reach out to the Central Mobility Project Team.

Why on the left?

When designing separated bikeways, our (the City’s transportation planners) current approach is to opt for the side which has the fewest inherent conflicts. The presence of active bus routes with frequent stops is one of the factors taken into account, as well as if one side has notably more driveways/alleys/cross streets.

On 19thStreet, because of the presence of the rail running between 19th and 20th Street, there are significantly fewer alley crossings, driveways and cross-streets on the east side of the street, which is the left side. This allows for more uninterrupted bikeway with fewer vehicle conflict points.

These are the primary considerations of picking sides, but other factors include feedback we received that many users of the northbound 21st Street bikeway may be heading to locations to the west (downtown, convention center, Memorial Auditorium, etc), and that a left side bikeway would be consistent with common travel patterns.

This is similar to what is currently on P, Q, and 9th Streets (on the left) that were installed in 2018-19.

Left side design aligns with best practices including those from the Federal Highway Administration,  Caltrans, NACTO, and others on one-way streets when there’s transit or more conflict on the right.

Why different from 10th and J Streets?

10th Street doesn’t have an active RT bus route, and the State Capitol is a significant destination, so that bikeway was placed on the right.
J Street does have a bus route, but the bikeway was placed on the right to avoid conflict with the freeway ramps at Cap City Freeway.

Making turns

Making right turns from a left side bikeway can be done either by making a two stage turn or leaving the bikeway in advance and taking the lane.  This would be the same if the bikeway was on the right and one wanted to make a left turn. 

Why separated bikeways?

The city’s goal is to expand a low-street network of bikeways that is all ages and abilities – a network that is comfortable for someone who isn’t a ‘bicyclist’ but is someone who might choose to travel by bicycle. Or someone who is 12 years old.  We know, based on data from other cities, that separated bikeways can increase the number of people who choose to travel by bicycle and that’s one of our City’s goals.

City Council Transportation Workshop: More talk or More Action?

On Tuesday, February 8th, at 5:00PM City Council will hold a workshop focusing on Active Transportation. The hope is to bring forward some BIG IDEAS that can propel Sacramento’s streets into safer places for all users while fighting climate change.

Recommendations from the report and work of the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change identified active transportation as one of the easiest and least expensive elements to an overarching Climate Plan that has us significantly reducing our GHG’s by 2040. And yet, besides the pilot project of Slow and Active Streets, the City has focused on electrification. Until now.

Sacramento ranks 6th among the cities with the worst air quality in the US. Shifting a transportation focus from car-centric policies to centering people will dramatically help us have a bikable, walkable, livable city. We need you to tell City Council to adequately fund and prioritize active transportation. The only highways we need now are bicycle superhighways.

For more on the workshop and how you can participate, GO HERE.

COP26

As many are aware, the COP26 just wrapped up convening in Glasgow, Scotland. But you might not know that SABA, along with 350 organizations from around the world signed an open letter calling on governments to boost global cycling levels. Our joint message was simple: the world needs more people cycling if we are to combat the climate crisis.

The Cop26 was dedicated to transport focused almost exclusively on fossil fuel-powered means such as motor vehicles and aviation, with almost no attention paid to sustainable methods of transport such as cycling and walking, which already exist.

The EU’s Matthew Baldwin brought up the missing subject and along with the letter signed by organizations around the world, a sentence on active travel was added to the Glasgow Declaration.

“We recognize that alongside the shift to zero emission vehicles, a sustainable future for road transport will require wider system transformation, including support for active travel, public and shared transport.”

In other words, we’re not going to reach our goals with zero emission vehicles alone. Leaders in Glasgow argued that cycling should be a part of a broader approach to a variety of multimodal transportation options. When a third of emissions come from transportation you have to switch modes.

Carlton Reid, transportation writer for Forbes and other publications was in Glasgow talking with leaders:

“The climate transition is not simply about replacing every petrol or diesel car with an electric car,” Ed Miliband told [Reid] in the COP26 Media Center.

“We need to create a better society where people can walk and cycle, with all the health benefits that brings,” added Miliband.

Jill Warren of the European Cyclists’ Federation argued, “If you make cities more cycling-friendly, you don’t just get the emission reductions; you get the livability, you get the absolutely enormous health benefits. These add up to over $60 billion in economic benefits a year.”

California signed onto the Climate Declaration as did Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Monica. The capitol of California, sadly, was MIA.

We appreciate that the City “took a chance” with the Slow and Active Streets pilot, but we recommend that the City double down and raise bike and pedestrian infrastructure to the top of their climate change implementation list of goals and actions. Let’s start by finishing the creation of a low stress interconnected bike network.

It’s obvious: bicycling is low cost, low tech, and high impact. Don’t underestimate the power of the bike.

Slow & Active Streets Sacramento

Update: October 15, 2021
The Slow and Active Streets Pilot has come to a close in Sacramento and the City’s Public Works Dept. has put out a report about the effort. Read the entire report here.
Here are our takeaways:

  1. Of the 1200 respondents to a survey put out by the City (with assistance from us at SABA), 60% of them were positive about the pilot. 26% were negative and another 14% were neutral. This is good news. Almost 3:1 people were in favor of seeing their streets used for something other than speeding vehicles.
  2. Slowed streets were calmer: 27% of respondents reported driving LESS on the Slow and Active Streets.
  3. Even though the City was slow in getting this pilot up and running (City Council gave the green light in December 2020, but the first neighborhood didn’t get started until mid February, and the entire pilot was over by the end of July), 30% of survey respondents reported an increase in walking, riding, running and scooting, then before the pilot.
  4. We heard from a number of people who thought the scarce resources allocated to the Pilot could’ve been used in a different fashion, but the respondents still wanted those dollars to go to making streets safer for all users. Good news in that their focus is in the right place – safe streets!
  5. The total amount of dollars to run the pilot was $241,000. This is a low number, if you add in the hours spent by a number of organizations like ours, who helped to advocate for, facilitate, and activate the neighborhoods who were “Slowed”.
  6. The upshot was a higher rate of engagement for the Pilot. This is also good news, because it tells us that people do care about their neighborhood, and how their streets are used or abused.
  7. In the final analysis, people want two things: Slowed traffic and comfortable places to walk, bike and scoot.

So then, what’s next for Slow and Active Streets?

Let’s start with the City. Although they are pushing for carbon neutrality by 2030, and they know that transportation is one of the highest emitters of pollutants into our air, they have been slow to prioritize bike and pedestrian travel at the top of the modal hierarchy. Funding should be proportionally allocated to make possible the mode shift targets. The promotion of cycling is not an end in itself; rather, it is a means of creating a safer, more comfortable and more functional urban environment. The more people travel on foot, by bicycle and by public transit, and leave their car behind, the greater the number of people who can efficiently move about the city.

The Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change identified a set of priorities with active transportation at the top of the hierarchy.  The report states, “To achieve a significant shift away from vehicle use, the cities will need to create an environment that enables greater use of active transportation modes by making travel by walking and rolling more accessible, safe and convenient. This strategy is focused on making active transportation a viable and attractive option by increasing the connectivity of active transportation corridors to create a seamless network, as well as by providing basic amenities at the neighborhood level so that shorter trips can be taken by walking or rolling to meet daily needs.”

Sacramento can and should do more.

Perhaps the only silver lining of the pandemic was that it gave us a chance to re-visit and re-think how our roads serve us. Cities worldwide are making significant strides in changing their roadways and transportation systems. The pandemic gave rise to the idea of the “15-minute City”, which is built on the premise of a street network that is walkable and ridable where one can access parks, food, medicine, schools and businesses within 15 minutes. Research tells us that beyond density, a walkable and ridable urban fabric is necessary to make the 15-minute city work. That implies a connected network of thoroughfares (streets, passages, trails) and small blocks knitting together the neighborhoods.

Sacramento has some of this in place, but it is missing a low stress network of routes to get in and out of town and within and around town. Low-stress routes are routes that are safe and comfortable for people of all ages and abilities to ride a bike. Neighborhood streets are typically low stress because they have low speed limits (25 mph or less), two or fewer motor vehicle travel lanes and low volume car traffic. Busier streets can also be low stress for bikes if they have adequate infrastructure that helps separate bikes from cars, like protected bike lanes. Low-stress intersections provide safe ways for people on bikes to cross busy streets through intersection treatments like traffic signals, flashing lights and crossing islands.

In the Statehouse: A.B. 773, from Adrin Nazarian (D-Los Angeles) will make Slow Streets a permanent possibility in state law. This is wonderful as it provides an opportunity for transportation departments and organizations like us continue to find ways to show people how their streets could be used to move people not cars.

We’ll be working on a few initiatives in support of the concept of Slow and Active Streets. We want to support and advocate for slowing traffic for residents, and ways to make their street spaces more enjoyable. A low stress connected bicycle network which makes it possible for people to get anywhere around the City by bicycle remains a priority for us.

February 2021: We are pleased to announce that on February 12th, the first set of Slow and Active Streets were launched in Sacramento in the Newton Booth/Midtown neighborhood of town. Congratulations to Abby Jackson and the residents of Newton Booth and Midtown for spearheading this effort. Kudus to city transportation leaders for helping to make this a reality.

Map of the Slow and Active Streets
in Midtown Sacramento

Read more about the progress made and the work still to be done here.

May, 2020
During these unprecedented times, people need safe places to get outside and exercise. Unfortunately, the surge in people seeking outside space close-to-home is putting a considerable strain on our public spaces. Trails, sidewalks, and parks are overcrowded, making it difficult for people to safely maintain 6 feet of distance between themselves and others.

With dramatically-reduced car traffic due to the pandemic, we have an opportunity to create more public spaces for people to safely get out—by opening up our streets for walking, biking, and physical activity. Closing off selected streets to cars or converting some traffic lanes for biking and walking use can expand access to the outdoors, which is essential to maintaining physical and mental health.

SABA and WalkSacramento have teamed up to urge the City of Sacramento to consider fully or partially closing streets for residents to be able to safely exercise and access essential grocery stores, restaurants, and parks. We know that opening streets for exercise and active transportation is an attainable tactic to improve quality of life and promote public health during this unprecedented public health crisis. Let’s join the 30+ cities worldwide in making these changes for Sacramento.

Here’s what you can do to help:

Go to this website and SIGN the petition, LEARN more about this effort and let your VOICE be heard in City Hall by sending a letter to your City Council member. Listen here for our take in an interview with Randol White on Capital Public Radio.

May is Bike Month 2021

Everyday is a good day to choose riding a bike, but May is special because people want to get outside and enjoy our wonderful city in warmer weather. It’s a time when everyone in the region celebrates bicycling, which is good for your health, and good for our environment. Every May, cyclists in the region pledge to ride their bikes and log miles and trips and have been doing so since 1956!

May is Bike Month 2021 will mostly be virtual, but we are planning on hosting a few rides in small groups. There are plenty of activities and events scheduled all around town and you can find them on this calendar, which is hosted by SACOG.

SABA is holding RIY (Ride it Yourself) activities and is hosting pop-up energizers in all around town. We are partnering with friends to help highlight what’s going on, and we hope that you’ll join us for many of our activities, which you can find here. Plus, there’s swag to be had!

We will post up rides and activities for you to enjoy with directions so that you can earn SABA and MiBM swag. Look for the latest information in our bi-monthly Gear’d Up, on our Facebook page and Instagram. Get out there and learn about our city, visit interesting new places and enjoy riding around our region. Don’t forget to tag pictures with #mayisbikemonth, #sacbikesmay2021, and #sacbike.

Week 1 UPDATE: We had a blast out at Success Academy on Saturday and on the ARBT & Chase Dr. on Sunday. Riders stopped by to win swag, answer simple questions and if needed, get their bike fixed. We’ll be out at Discovery Park on Sunday, May 16, from 10:00-12:00. Stop by, say hello, and win SWAG!

Happy riders on the ARBT!

May is Bike Month ACTivities!

Ride it Yourself (RiY) – Sac Mural tour

SABA Mural Tour. We created this last year, but it’s a great one. Ride to a variety of the murals around town. Take a selfie at each mural you ride to. Tag #sacbike, #sacbikesmay2021, #mayisbikemonth, & #wow.

When you’ve completed your mural tour, taken selfies and have uploaded them to @sacbike, or have tagged #sacbike, then go here to earn swag!

RiY – Bike Route Sacramento – West Sacramento

RIY West Sacramento. We’ve partnered again with Peter Hansell, creator of the Bike Route Sacramento board game. His routes are inspired by the Board game. Ride any and all of the RIY routes during MiBM and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a copy of the Board Game!

When you’ve completed the ride, and taken selfies, send everything to Angela@sacbike.org with your proof of riding, OR go here to earn swag! That’s your entry into the Board game drawing. Enjoy!

RIY – West Sacramento Gravel! Once again Peter Hansell came up with the goods for another fun quick ride. You don’t need a fancy gravel bike to have fun on this, but if ya DO happen to have one, shred with it! Same deal as above to win swag or a copy of Peter’s game Bike Route Sacramento. Take selfies and send them to Angela@sacbike.org.

RiY – Gina Rossi Bike Rack Challenge!

Gina Rossi is an amazing artist who has created bike racks and works of art all over Sacramento. Her nickname? Bike Rack Gurl, of course! The Bike Rack Challenge challenges you to ride around town finding the racks on this map. Take a selfie with you and the bike rack and submit your info here.

This amazing woman was recently diagnosed with leukemia. This May, she’ll undergo a bone marrow transplant from her Haplo sister. Because she is mixed with Pacific Islander, Gina could not find a full match from “Be The Match”, an organization that matches donors with people in need.

SABA invites you to join us in sending Gina our positive thoughts and prayers for a successful transfusion and a speedy recovery. We support Gina in bringing awareness to the importance of the Be The Match organization. She hopes that by sharing her experiences she can help others facing similar difficulties. Be The Match needs more Pacific Islanders and African-Americans donors to save lives. 

See this short KCRA clip on Gina’s incredible work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-DxwcmwsvQ&feature=youtu.be

In Solidarity

To our Community,

We know that Sacramento is not immune to unsafe streets. We can and should do better. Streets should be safe for all people, period. Yet what constitutes a “safe street” is different for many people. 
Streets are not safe until people of color can walk and bike on roads, on sidewalks, in parks, and in any community without fear of being attacked based on their race. 

We stand in solidarity with the Black community and their allies, many who have taken to the streets in communities across the country, demanding justice and calling for an end to systemic racism and oppression. 

SABA recognizes that improvements to our own work are needed to achieve equitable and just investments in communities of color throughout Sacramento, too many which are underserved and underrepresented. We need to do better. There’s a long road ahead. As a starting point, we will engage with local communities of color, to listen. We will share your ideas and feedback on how we can improve with our members, our allied advocates, and to local leaders. We are committed to doing the work imperative to arrive at a just and equitable Sacramento. Black Lives Matter.

Sincerely,
Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates

Farm to Fork Al Fresco

Parklets in Tampa

The Sacramento Bee recently published an article[1] about opening up sidewalks and streets for dining. Mayor Darrell Steinberg dubbed it, “Farm to Fork Al Fresco,” a catchy name capturing the essence of the food scene here in Sacramento. The idea is to open up space for diners and maintain social distancing, while helping restaurant owners fill seats to more than 50% capacity, which is, on average how much seating space is lost if all tables are distanced at six feet.[2]

Where does the extra space come from? In cities such as Paris, which has had outdoor seating at cafes and bistros for decades, the extra seating is on the sidewalk, either abutted to the restaurant or out farther adjacent to the street edge, with a wide space for pedestrians to pass through on the sidewalk. Few of our sidewalks in Sacramento are wide enough for that, and adding tables to the area would likely force pedestrians out into the street to maintain social distance as they navigate the corridor.

Instead, we could follow many other cities worldwide whose streets are being partially or fully closed to cars and businesses. They are able to add more space with a “parklet,” borrowing the parking spaces in front of their establishments.[3]

Parklet designed in SF. Photo: Rebar

Tampa, FL is allowing businesses to establish parklets on the sidewalk immediately adjacent to their establishment or in their parking spaces.[4] Applying for a city permit is suspended during their pilot program; however, property manager approval remains a requirement. The city will work with the business owner to temporarily disable parking meters so the parking spaces can be repurposed for use by the business. Some cities have been leaving one side of the road open to parking and the other to pedestrians. Restaurants may set up tables and chairs in these parklets as long as they are adhering to health and safety standards. Diners are seated through a reservation system to avoid gathering while waiting for a table.

Long Beach is moving in the same direction. The need for the extra space is what could make or break a business. One restaurant owner shared the math: 50% occupancy simply means 50% of the profits, which doesn’t add up when rent, utilities, wages and insurance are all at 100%.[5] The extra space is crucial to the equation of whether or not it’s a viable business model. Likewise, research has shown that places built for people but are less car-centric are more likely to be economically viable.[6]

The coronavirus is pushing us to think differently when it comes to the safety of our citizens and jumpstarting the economy, and using space in a different way is emerging as a key factor.[7] Following the lead of other cities around the world, Sacramento should close down streets typically reserved for driving and parking and open them up to accommodate diners at a safe distance, boosting much needed economic growth. The city is already working on a plan to close a few streets so that more people can get outside and enjoy some fresh air while maintaining social distance. 

Cinco de Mayo in Tampa. Photo by Jason Fernandez

Closing streets to vehicular traffic isn’t new or radical. In the 1970s, roads were closed off to create downtown walking malls, and these days major thoroughfares are closed to cars a few times a year for large events, such as the Sacramento International Marathon, or the Amgen Tour of California. Sacramento has already toyed with Open Street or Ciclovia projects, where the roads are closed for a set amount of time, like Bogota, Columbia does every Sunday, and Los Angeles has been doing now for years.

The list is long of cities who have taken steps to change their streets into places where people can move about free from concern of being too close. London, Paris, Barcelona, Bogota, Lima, Berlin, Vilnius, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Tampa, Charleston, Cincinnati, and Oakland have all embraced making changes to their streets.[8]

A prominent New York chef summed it up this way: “[What’s] the best dish on the menu? Safety. Restaurateurs will serve this one dish as they try to re-open. What’s true is that to safely serve this up, space is the key ingredient.”[9] So we urge you, our City leaders, to open our streets to people, extend sidewalks, create parklets and ease permitting so that businesses may serve us safely. Let’s enjoy it, “al fresco”.

[1] https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article242712226.html?utm_source=pushly&intcid=%7B__explicit:pushly_531639%7D  

[2] https://lbpost.com/hi-lo/addison-coronavirus-commentary-restaurants-close-off-roads?fbclid=IwAR0hEsm9PnEQrnAmcUwIirDzpIwi1_VmlI937fv_63iBjSD5bDDgDLhL5MY

[3] https://sf.streetsblog.org/2020/05/12/for-small-biz-to-survive-sidewalks-must-thrive/

[4] https://patch.com/florida/southtampa/tampa-expands-outdoor-restaurant-seating-sidewalks-roads

[5] https://lbpost.com/hi-lo/addison-coronavirus-commentary-restaurants-close-off-roads?fbclid=IwAR0hEsm9PnEQrnAmcUwIirDzpIwi1_VmlI937fv_63iBjSD5bDDgDLhL5MY

[6] https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/app/legacy/documents/cs/factsheets/cs-economic.pdf,  https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/downtowneconomics/files/2012/07/economic-benefits-of-a-walkable-community.pdf

[7] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/pandemic-shows-what-cities-have-surrendered-cars/610423/

[8] https://medium.com/@TransAlt/14-cities-getting-it-right-4ba7b78c920b

[9] https://www.scribd.com/document/461056931/Henry-Rinehart-Safe-Space-Open-Streets-And-Vibrant-Retail#download

#BikeMatchSac

Bicycles are essential transportation for many who need to get around at any time but especially now during the coronavirus outbreak. This might include traveling to essential jobs, running crucial errands, or participating in mutual aid for vulnerable people who cannot leave their homes.

Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates is connecting those who have an extra bicycle to folks in the community who need one. Whether you have a bike or need a bike, contact us via the links below, and we will match you.

We have teamed up with a number of other bike advocacy groups to create an on line platform to match up people who have a bike to donate with those who need a bike.

Here’s how it works

If you need a bike

Fill out the I Need a Bike form and tell us about yourself and what you need.

We will contact you when we have a match for you. You and the donor will be provided with each other’s contact information so that you can make your own arrangements to hand off the bike.

If you have a bike

Fill out the I Have a Bike form and tell us about the bike.

We will contact you when we have a match for you. You and the recipient will be provided with each other’s contact information so that you can make your own arrangements to hand off the bike.

Guidelines

  1. Participation in the Bike Match program constitues your agreement to the terms of the LIABILITY WAIVER.
  2. Donated bikes should be in “ready to ride” condition. Something that you would ride, at least in a pinch.
  3. The bike hand-off will take place between the donor and recipient in an outdoor, no-contact exchange in a public place observing social distancing guidelines.
  4. For sanitary purposes, clean the bike thoroughly before hand-off (handlebars, gear shifters, seat, etc). For the same reason, all bike exchanges are permanent.

If you have any questions, please get in touch.