Thanks to your letters and phone calls, the Senate has passed a transportation bill (MAP-21) that includes key provisions to protect bicycling and walking. The Senate's bill includes the Cardin-Cochran amendment you pushed for, protects bicyclists right to ride on federally owned roads, and protects precious funding for recreational trails projects (like our County's proposed Petaluma Sebastopol Trail).
Congratulations! We'll keep you posted as things unfold in the House, and keep on working to protect bicycle funding that helps Sonoma County become the best place to ride a bike.
For details on the Senate bill, visit America Bikes.
Our efforts have paid off! Members and friends of Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, your calls and emails to your Senators have made a real difference! The Senate has included the Cardin-Cochran amendment to its transportation bill, MAP-21.
Three cheers! Thank you so much for your part in achieving this victory.
We hope this win will be the first of several that we'll need to restore critical bicycle/pedestrian funding at the federal level. Please read the following update from our partners at the League of American Bicyclists to get the details, and find out how you can take action today.
"After several long weeks of intense work from advocates around the country, we are extremely pleased to report that the Cardin-Cochran amendment has been accepted as part of the base Senate transportation bill, MAP-21. This amendment will ensure that local governments, school systems, and metropolitan planning organizations are able to access much-needed funds for to make routes to school and routes throughout communities safe for bicycling and walking.
Thank YOU for making this Senate win a reality! We are one step closer to a federal transportation law that makes streets safer for all users.Please consider calling your Senators to thank them for including the Cardin-Cochran amendment, and to ask them to vote for MAP-21.
Here is the contact information for your Senators.
Three big cheers! Thanks to your support, SCBC and our partners were able to raise a $19K matching fund to benefit the proposed Petaluma Sebastopol Trail. Regional Parks may now apply for a grant to study the feasibility of this fantastic trail project. We'll keep you posted on developments.
A big thank you to these generous folks:
Tom Abrams
Jim Avera
Erin Axelrod
Creighton Bell
Laura Bell Way
Neil Hancock & Jenny Blaker
Joanne Brion
Karin & Richard Burger
Roger Carillo
Billie Wolff & Martin Clinton
Marcia Coleman
John Comeau
Mark Crescione
Laraine Downer
Warren Dranit
David Elliott
Jim Fain
Tom Greer
Phil Grinton
Rachel Hallowgrass
Lissa Hanwright
Ralph Harmon
Alena Marr & Sam Heidecke
Gary Helfrich
Denise Hill
Christine Hoex
Timothy Hoffman
Jim Horn
Susan Ivey
Nick Izzarelli
Dia & Darrin Jenkins
Jan Kahndeman
Paul Larkin
Bo Laurent
Kit Lofroos
Judi Marley
Bill Mattison
Matthew Mcglynn
Diane McKay
Carl Mears
Marek Mierzwinski
Steve Miller
John Moise
Larkin Morgan
John Nagle
Genevieve Navar
Jess Nierenberg
David Ohlsen
Pat & Emile
Rick Pepper, ElevenGear
Maria Potter
Denis Quinlan
Cynthia Renfrew
Dale Roberts
Lisa Ruppenthal
Ross Shafer
Kyla Simpson
Geoffrey Skinner
Lowell Snyder
Randon States
Steve Striepeke
David Strong
Elaine Sussingham
Rick Targow
Pamela Tennant
Susan Ventura
Warren & Janis Watkins
Philip Welch
Tracy Wilson
Chris York
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition is working with citizens in Sebastopol and Petaluma to support an exciting new multi-use trail project, and we need your help!
Sonoma County Regional Parks has identified the planned Petaluma Sebastopol Trail as a priority, and is moving ahead with the project. At this time, Regional Parks is preparing to submit through CalTrans a $190,000 grant proposal that would fund a required feasibility study. Once the study is completed, the Petaluma Sebastopol Trail will be eligible to receive federal and state funds toward construction.
As 2011 draws to a close, so does Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition's tenth year of promoting bicycling for transportation and recreation and working to make Sonoma County the very best place for you and everyone you know to ride a bike.
What a year it's been!
I joined the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition as Executive Director this spring. For the past six years I had worked as a planner for Sonoma County Permit and Resource Management Department developing the County's transportation policies. During this time I'd always been impressed by how much Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition accomplished under the leadership of my predecessor, Christine Culver. I was honored to be selected to lead SCBC.
From the inside, I am absolutely astounded by how much Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition has achieved with so little money to support what I view as the most important part of our mission: advocacy.
Most of our very successful programs have dedicated sustainable funding sources. Safe Routes to School operates on grants. Street Skills for Bike Riders courses are funded by tuition. Bike to Work Day receives County and Regional funding, and corporate sponsorship covers the balance.
Advocacy is another matter.
Grants and sponsorships can only be used for specific purposes, leaving Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition without a dedicated funding stream to support our advocacy work. Advocacy is the core of our mission: it's how we work on your behalf to convince leaders to fund bicycle lanes and pathways, to pass laws that protect you as a cyclist, and to improve dangerous streets to protect your safety.
For the past half century, Sonoma County's policies, plans and funding decisions were based on accommodating automobiles and ignored the needs of bicyclists. But I believe (and hope you do as well) that a fundamental shift has begun to take place.
