As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the 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 Santa Rosa City Council candidates’ responses to our questionnaire on bicycling in Sonoma County. Thanks to the candidates for their time and thoughtful answers!
MARK STAPP, District 2
MELANIE JONES-CARTER, District 4
Do you ride a bicycle in Sonoma County for transportation or recreation? How would you characterize the experience of cycling here? Yes, I do ride my bike locally for recreation. We previously lived in Palo Alto and while living there I rode my bike to work daily. My husband rides 3-4 times a week alone or with a group and my son is still racing at 40!
One of the things that makes Sonoma County so special is the incredible access we have to scenic roads, trails, and communities. But traveling by bike can be difficult, some bike lanes on some roads are so narrow or none at all. My son frequently rides from Sonoma to Santa Rosa and it always makes me nervous!
I know that there have been improvements in recent years but, too many roads still feel unsafe for families, students, commuters, and older adults who want to bike regularly. In many areas, bike lanes are inconsistent or disconnected, and rural roads can present additional hazards due to limited shoulders, traffic speeds, and wildfire evacuation concerns.
What are your community’s/Sonoma County’s biggest transportation challenges, and how does bicycling fit into your vision of future development? I think a big challenge is the newly created bike lanes and the reduction of car lanes down from 2 to 1. I approve the creation of dedicated bike lanes to increase the safety of cyclists. But the communication of the plan needs to be improved. The city and bike organizations could do a better job of explaining the plan to residents. One of Sonoma County’s biggest transportation challenges is balancing growth, affordability, environmental sustainability, and mobility. Investing in safe bike infrastructure helps reduce congestion and creates safer transportation for cars and cyclists.
If elected, what will you do to improve cycling safety and encourage more people in the county to ride? I like the creation of specific bike lanes, however I am not a fan of the green bollards that mark the lanes. I prefer the type of bike lanes that you see in Europe with parking available next to the sidewalk and the bike lane more in the center of the street. We need to make better connections to unimproved creek trails, and hopefully keep the gravel and not pave over the road. I would support investments in connected and protected bike infrastructure, safer intersections, improved road maintenance, and expanded Safe Routes to School programs.
Our visions and goals are often tempered by available budgets, staff time and public focus. How will you seek to balance improving bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and safety with your other policy priorities? I view bicycle infrastructure and safety as part of a larger conversation about public safety, community health, sustainability, and quality of life. While Santa Rosa faces many competing priorities, investments in safe transportation infrastructure provide long-term benefits across multiple areas — including climate resilience, public health, traffic reduction, and economic accessibility.
Are there any specific projects in your jurisdiction – either planned or imagined – that you are particularly excited to see implemented? The recent bike/pedestrian overpass from the JC to Coddingtown is a big deal. It has created a safe path for cyclists and pedestrians.
TERRENCE SANDERS, District 4
Do you ride a bicycle in Sonoma County for transportation or recreation? How would you characterize the experience of cycling here? I ride mostly for recreation. Though, I do tend to ride my bike to my Planning Commission meetings. Riding a bike in Santa Rosa can be a little bit of an adventure. We have some really great bike paths and bike lanes—and then sometimes they just…end. Apparently at that point, the plan is between you, the traffic, and your higher power.
Santa Rosa is a beautiful place to ride, but we’ve got work to do on connectivity. You shouldn’t have to be Levi Leipheimer just to ride across town. If we want more regular people—kids, families, students, commuters—to get on bikes, the system has to feel safe from the beginning of the trip to the end.
So I’d characterize cycling in Santa Rosa as good in places, challenging in others, and full of potential if we can connect the pieces we’ve already built.
What are your community’s/Sonoma County’s biggest transportation challenges, and how does bicycling fit into your vision of future development? Santa Rosa’s biggest transportation challenge is maintaining what we have while creating better connections between neighborhoods and destinations. As a Planning Commissioner, I’ve received updates on our Active Transportation Plan, and I support its goal of creating a safer, more connected network. But plans only matter if we actually implement them.
For Santa Rosa, I’d work on improving east-west bicycle and pedestrian connections and connecting the Prince Memorial Greenway with the Southeast Greenway. We have good pieces of infrastructure; now we need to connect them so they’re actually useful as a network.
I don’t see this as cars versus bicycles. We need good roads, safe sidewalks, reliable transit and bicycle routes that don’t suddenly end. My vision for future development is simple: give Santa Rosans safe, practical choices for how they get around. Support the network by making it safe, attractive and working in harmony with our existing infrastructure.
If elected, what will you do to improve cycling safety and encourage more people in the county to ride? I’d start with something pretty basic: make cycling feel safe and attractive enough for someone who doesn’t already own a bicycle to be inspired to get one.
That means focusing on the places in Santa Rosa where bike lanes disappear, routes don’t connect, pavement is poor, or cyclists are pushed into uncomfortable interactions with traffic. I’d prioritize closing those gaps, once again, improving east-west connections, maintaining the infrastructure we’ve already built, and using the City’s Active Transportation Plan to guide investments where they’ll have the greatest safety benefit.
I’m less interested in encouraging people to ride by telling them they should, and more interested in building a system where they might actually want to. If a parent feels comfortable riding with their child, or someone feels safe biking to work, downtown, to the JC or SMART train station, that’s a win!
Our visions and goals are often tempered by available budgets, staff time and public focus. How will you seek to balance improving bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and safety with your other policy priorities? Budgets do have a way of reminding us that everything can’t be the number-one priority at the same time. My focus is on getting the fundamentals right and making smart use of the dollars we have.
I don’t see bicycle and pedestrian safety as some separate interest trying to extract a pound of flesh from the city. I see it as a critical part of a much larger healthy, safe and functional transportation network. And that network is at the heart of productivity in Santa Rosa. People need to be able to get to work, school, businesses and everywhere else, safely and efficiently—whether they’re driving, walking, biking or taking transit.
So when Santa Rosa is already resurfacing a road or rebuilding an intersection, we should look for opportunities to improve sidewalks, crossings and bicycle connections at the same time. We should also aggressively pursue regional, state and federal funding to stretch our local dollars.
I support the goals of our Active Transportation Plan, but a plan also has to recognize fiscal reality. My approach is to prioritize safety, fix the most important gaps, coordinate projects whenever possible, and make measurable progress without losing sight of our other basic responsibilities.
Are there any specific projects in your jurisdiction – either planned or imagined – that you are particularly excited to see implemented? While it’s not specifically in District 4, I’m particularly excited about creating a better connection between the Prince Memorial Greenway and the Southeast Greenway. We elect Councilmembers by district, but once elected, our responsibility is to the entire city, not just the district that elected us.
As a member of Santa Rosa’s Waterways Advisory Committee, I attended the presentation of the Greenway Connectivity Study and had the opportunity to preview the three potential connection options and their tradeoffs. Connecting these two assets could create an important bicycle and pedestrian corridor while improving east-west connectivity across Santa Rosa.
I have a favorite of the three options, but I’m also interested in hearing from the people who use these systems. I’d be very curious to hear which option the Bicycle Coalition prefers—and why. That’s exactly the kind of informed community input I want at the table when we’re making these decisions.