As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition cannot endorse candidates for public office, but we are able to share information so that you can arrive at your own conclusion. Below are Sebastopol City Council candidates’ responses to our questionnaire on bicycling in Sonoma County. We have made no content changes. Thanks to the candidates for their time and thoughtful answers!
NOTE: None of the candidates below are members of SCBC.
DENNIS COLTHURST
Do you ride a bicycle in Sonoma County for transportation or recreation? How would you characterize the experience of cycling in your city?I was blessed to work at the Sebastopol Police Department for 34 years. During the early 1990’s I became one of the first four Police Bicycle Patrol Officers in the department.
We were the first agency in the United States to use the ZAP! Electric-assist bicycle on routine Patrol. The bike system served us well for many years until the demise of ZAP! and loss of support.
We also evaluated a self-shifting using a centrifugal system. We deemed the bicycle a good fit for the casual rider, though not rigorous enough for law enforcement. The evaluation was televised internationally.
My experience cycling in Sebastopol and the west county has been excellent. There have been many roads and trails engineered to be cycle friendly.
That said, there are many challenges to our traffic safety.
What are your city’s biggest transportation challenges, and how does bicycling fit into your vision of future development? The most travelled intersection in Sonoma County, SR116 X SR12, is in downtown Sebastopol. Thousands of vehicles travel through the Sebastopol and the west county each day.
If elected, what will you do to encourage more people in your city to bicycle and to improve cycling safety? A group has been formed to figure a way to calm traffic I hope to become part of the group and keep the City Council advised on action items.
Our dreams and goals generally exceed our budgets. How does improving bicycling infrastructure and safety rank against your other policy priorities? Lastly, improving bicycle infrastructure and safety is of the utmost importance to me.
JILL MCLEWIS
Do you ride a bicycle in Sonoma County for transportation or
recreation? How would you characterize the experience of cycling in your city? While I do not ride a bicycle in my town (I’m an avid walker!), my husband has been a recreational cyclist for many years and has ridden all over Sonoma County, from Sebastopol to Healdsburg. He also loves biking for in town errands when possible.
From what I have observed and discussed with other cyclists, Sebastopol has many fantastic attributes for cyclists as we are the juncture for many of the connective crossways for the Joe Rodota Trail. Sebastopol has good bicycle infrastructure but we need to do more to make it safe for cyclist to utilize. Distracted drivers and vehicles blocking the bike lanes can make cycling in Sebastopol more dangerous and less accessible than it should be.
What are your city’s biggest transportation challenges, and how
does bicycling fit into your vision of future development? In terms of the current state of cycling, I can recognize that we need better connectivity for bikes between the Joe Rodota in town and also at the edge of town, specifically along Occidental Road. I would also like to see better connectivity between the Santa Rosa Creek Trail, which ends on Willowside Road and the High School Road entrance of the Joe Rodota.
We also have several schools within and very close to the City Limits. We have many family recreational areas such as Ives’ Park and the Community Cultural Center. I would like to see Safe School Routes developed so that children and families can bike and walk safely throughout our community.
In Sebastopol’s General Plan, we have a commitment to “Provide a Transportation System that Promotes the Use of Alternatives to the Single-Occupant Vehicle and Facilitates the Efficient and Environmentally Responsible Movement of People and Goods Within and Through the City of Sebastopol” (Sebastopol General Plan, p. 3-2). This General Plan was developed in 2016 and might need to be updated to reflect new developments and new thinking about what makes a small City more pedestrian and bike friendly. The goals are still good and I support them. I am wondering if this plan is valid for 2023 and onward. It might not need to be changed but maybe we need to review it to see if it is 100% relevant and is the plan we want to move toward. Sebastopol has some traffic challenges and per our General plan we want to encourage citizens to use bicycles for local trips instead of their car. This would help to reduce congestion, help our environment and also keep our citizens healthy. We are potentially adding bike lanes on Bodega Highway and to connect Ragle Road with Mill Station and Bodega Highway. This will change our biking infrastructure, the question is whether or not this will accomplish a goal of family and senior friendly biking.
If elected, what will you do to encourage more people in your city to bicycle and to improve cycling safety? We should make it easier to make local trips by bicycle. We have bike racks in several locations across town, we should do an inventory to make sure it meets current needs. Potentially, I’d like to see the city invest in a few e-bike charging stations that could be placed downtown.
We need to work to make drivers aware of cyclist on the road and ensure that the police enforce traffic laws, especially in regards to speeding, blocked bike lanes and distracted driving.
While Sebastopol has limited financial resources at this time, I would like to support the Bicycle Coalition in working with our schools and community organizations to help develop Safe School Routes and family friendly routes through town. I know the Bicycle Coalition holds community clinics on bike safety at schools and public organizations. Perhaps there is a way to collaborate with our different stakeholders to develop 6-10 Safe School and Community Routes with our existing infrastructure. I would like to see more bike safety education but also to incorporate parent and community voices on developing bicycle routes that are appealing and safe for bicyclists of all ages.
Our dreams and goals generally exceed our budgets. How does
improving bicycling infrastructure and safety rank against your other
policy priorities? At this point, Sebastopol is a city of around 7500 people with a very small budget of about $11,000,000. That comes to around $1466 per resident – not too much funding for all the public space, service and infrastructure which is the City’s responsibility. If I am elected, I am responsible for applying our extremely limited funds toward basic services such as our fire department, our publicworks departments, our City Staffing and our public spaces in an extremely efficient and judicious manner. Due to chronic underfunding of certain departments, we have a lot of financial catching up to do to make sure our City is financially sustainable today and into the next decade.
In that light, I would like to see what community assets we can leverage to help make Sebastopol more bicycle safe and bicycle accessible for our community. I think the first steps would be to develop Safe School Routes using existing infrastructure with possibly minor adjustments. I would like to have a few community forums on Safe School Routes, which would be generative and also help us see what is needed to help students, families and seniors feel safe while biking. I would first like to see how we can use what we have and make it better. I would like to inventory our existing bike racks and their placement and to see if there is interest in e-bike charging stations. I would also like to work with the County to see if we can create safe connections for the various pieces of the Joe Rodota Trail that are not as family friendly such as the Occidental Road connection.
OLIVER DICK
Do you ride a bicycle in Sonoma County for transportation or recreation? How would you characterize the experience of cycling in your city? I occasionally ride a bicycle (old specialized rock hopper) within the City of Sebastopol and the surrounding trails but I am more of a runner than a cyclist ( I have run lots of trail marathons). I would say cycling quality is excellent (aside from road quality issues) in the city except on the major thoroughfares through town, although they have been greatly improved by the recent Cal Trans cycle lanes. (I would have preferred the cycle lanes to be separate curbed thoroughfares but the standard green caltrans cycle lanes are a major improvement).
What are your city’s biggest transportation challenges, and how does bicycling fit into your vision of future development? The City of Sebastopol is essentially a major crossroads of 116 & 12 which are the responsibility of caltrans. The residential streets provide a much safer alternative than the main thoroughfares in my experience.
If elected, what will you do to encourage more people in your city to bicycle and to improve cycling safety? Assuming people are fit enough to cycle, for those not within walking distance of downtown, cycling is a viable transportation method for several months of the year (when not too hot or too cold or wet). The city is very small and relatively flat which helps people who chose to do this. A major concern I have is the increase in electric ‘bicycles’ and their associated safety aspects. In the UK there is legislation being discussed to register bicycles in the same way as other vehicles as the lines are rapidly being blurred between types of vehicles. A friend of my sisters in London just had her hip broken after being hit by an electric bicycle. Cyclist safety and the safety of those around them is paramount in urban communities. My niece is Nicole Cooke who is by some measures the most successful professional cyclist ever, having won both the road racing gold at the Beijing olympics and also was professional road racing champion the same year (all drug free!). She is campaigning in Europe for road safety and is very concerned about cyclists ignoring the rules of the road, particularly around scooters and electric bicycles and the blurring of vehicle types.
Our dreams and goals generally exceed our budgets. How does improving bicycling infrastructure and safety rank against your other policy priorities? The city of Sebastopol is a postage stamp sized place with a tiny $10m per annum budget. A key goal has to be increasing tourist and retail revenue. We lost a bicycle shop on main street during the pandemic, and previously lost our only downtown hotel to the county. Greater Sonoma county is a popular tourist and sports cycling destination, and despite the current recession we have to focus on bringing more visitors into the city to stay while enjoying the surrounding areas and providing the resources needed to make the city of Sebastopol an attractive location. Improving our road surfaces and providing gathering points for cyclists are attainable goals. As a community focused candidate I am interested in hearing perspectives from everyone so that everyone’s voice is heard and respected.
SANDRA MAURER
Do you ride a bicycle in Sonoma County for transportation or recreation? How would you characterize the experience of cycling in your city? In my lifetime I have ridden bikes for both transportation and recreation. I’ve lived in Sebastopol for 34 years. I raised two daughters here and we’ve ridden our bikes to Andy’s, Joe Rodota trail, the farmers market, around Ragle Park, and on the trail to Analy High. My husband Chris Maurer has been an avid cyclist for over 25 years. One of his favorite spots to ride in the county is Willow Creek Road. He also rides from Sebastopol to Graton, using the Graton bike path. Navigating the side streets are ok in Sebastopol, but I prefer to avoid the main streets due to the heavy traffic.
What are your city’s biggest transportation challenges, and how does bicycling fit into your vision of future development? Sebastopol has traffic problems! Two highways intersect our city. I believe the ability to safely bike (and walk) around town is an important part of enjoying life here. I would support class 1 bike lanes where feasible.
If elected, what will you do to encourage more people in your city to bicycle and to improve cycling safety? If elected I will be open to meet with you to discuss how you see our bicycling environment can be improved.
Our dreams and goals generally exceed our budgets. How does improving bicycling infrastructure and safety rank against your other policy priorities? Creating safer bike infrastructure, class 1 bike/walk lanes for Sebastopol would be high on my priorities, because they improve community life for people, families and children.
STEPHEN ZOLLMAN
Do you ride a bicycle in Sonoma County for transportation or recreation? How would you characterize the experience of cycling in your city? I ride a bike recreationally and I would do it more in downtown Sebastopol, if I felt safer doing it. The bike lanes that co-exist with cars seem particularly unsafe. I have heard of lanes that have raised curbs and other protections to keep cars from running into bicyclists.
What are your city’s biggest transportation challenges, and how does bicycling fit into your vision of future development? With two highways cutting through our downtown, it would be great to figure out a way to have bicyclists be able to navigate through our downtown, stop for a while and then venture on to their other destinations. We are a very climate focused and reducing reliance on cars would help with those efforts. It would also help with ongoing challenges of parking.
If elected, what will you do to encourage more people in your city to bicycle and to improve cycling safety? I would highlight the climate benefits of cycling along with the other physical and mental health benefits. It is something that is pretty affordable for everyone to participate in.
Our dreams and goals generally exceed our budgets. How does improving bicycling infrastructure and safety rank against your other policy priorities? It is high on my list as I want to highlight more activities that are reasonably affordable for everyone to participate in. The more we can get folks out and engaging in common activities, the more of a chance for dialog and problem solving.