Campaigns

Napa Bike is working for your ride. 

We do that by planning and executing Ongoing Campaigns for the long-term improvements in that will enable Napa County to achieve its goal of having 20% of all trips be people-powered by 2035. 

Equally important for improving your ride is paying attention to safety and other concerns that are urgent or more immediate in nature.  We focus attention on a limited number of Primary Campaigns, as a call to action for our organization. Our goal is to put the light of public attention on an issue and get it resolved through our elected representatives and staff charged with serving the community.

And last but not least, we act in your behalf in the public forum. We find out about, and then track, issues affecting cyclists by attending meetings where decisions are made.  We regularly attend and speak up for you at Caltrans District 4 in Oakland, Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency, and when necessary, at County Supervisor and City Council Meetings. Think of Napa Bike as your cycling lobbyist.

Whitehall Lane/Highway 29 Bike Lane Rail Crossing

The intersection of Whitehall Lane and Highway 29, where train tracks cross the highway, has more than twice as many reported bicycle accidents than any other location in Napa County.  It has earned this dubious distinction even though it is in a rural setting and even though the parallel Silverado Trail is the primary  North/South route through Napa Valley for cyclists.

Because the angle of the tracks at that point approximates the angle of the adjacent bicycle path, bicyclists frequently get their wheels stuck in gaps between the road surface and the tracks.  Many people have been injured; we are thankful that no one has been killed so far.  We are concerned that, based on the long history of delays, this project may never be started until there is a needless tragedy.

Caltrans responded to community concerns decades ago by including a new bike lane at the Whitehall Lane crossing as part of a pavement rehabilitation project (04-25940) between Mee Lane and Charter Oak Lane, which they have been working on since 1983.  Currently Caltrans says the project is forecast to begin, at the earliest, in 2013.  

Napa Bike has been collecting signatures on a petition to Caltrans at cycling events throughout 2010 and will continue to do so until the matter is resolved.  Supervisor Diane Dillon graciously receives these petitions and is working hard to persuade Caltrans to implement an immediate remedy.  If you have a Facebook account, you can help by signing the online petition.

Otherwise, you can email Diane Dillon’s office directly with the words WHITEHALL LANE CYCLING SAFETY in the subject. Note: the link includes suggested text for your email. Please add your personal comments, especially any direct knowledge about safety issues at Whitehall Lane that you may have experienced.

Building Bicycle Friendly Communities

The League of American Bicyclists provides an objective method for measuring a community's progress toward making people-powered transportation a safe alternative for getting from any Point A to any Point B. They also provide incentives, hands-on assistance, and award recognition to further this goal. Napa Bike actively encourages all jurisdictions in Napa County to adopt LAB standards of safe accommodation for cycling for transportation and recreation.  

Calistoga applied for Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) recognition in 2009 and qualified for a Bronze Level designation through 2013. You can use the online BFC scorecard to see if your town is ready to apply. Napa Bike is glad to assist local bicycle advisory committees with understanding the standards and developing an action plan to qualify for, or improve on, BFC recognition.

Safer Riding = Less Traffic  = More Livable Communities

In Napa County opinion polls show that the number one irritant is vehicle traffic congestion.   A picture is worth a thousand words . . . the photo above was taken about 10 years ago in the town of Muenster in Germany to help people understand how public mass transit and individual transit by bicycle reduces traffic congestion.

Too many people still think about public investments in safe riding as serving only the interests of a small 'elite' minority. Napa Bike has plans for a public outreach campaign to get the facts about the community benefits of safe cycling into the conventional wisdom.  We are working on getting sponsorship or grants to fund this. Ideas and donations welcome.

Safe Routes to School

Safe Routes to School is a federally funded bicycle safety program that is alive and well in Napa County. The goal of the program is to get more children walking and biking to school safely. The program includes education, incentives, engineering and partnerships with parents, city governments, schools and law enforcement. Currently, the main emphasis is classroom education that teaches children traffic safety skills. Contests and events encourage students and their parents to shift their travel behavior through fun community activities.

It is working in schools across the county as a means of reducing traffic congestion, increasing physical activity and encouraging community involvement in solving complex problems. Napa Bike assisted the Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) in securing its grant which enabled the program to start in 2010.  This year, Napa Bike is helping NCOE’s Safe Routes staff partner with schools in jurisdictions throughout the County, facilitating agreements with school staff to run the program in more locations.

You can learn more about this program in a presentation by the National Center for Safe Routes to School, or by visiting the Napa County Office of Education website here.

Share-the-Road

Some day it won't be necessary to even talk about this.  But now, in Napa County, it is important to educate motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians on this concept:

Same Road - Same Rights - Same Responsibilities.

There are some great local models for us to follow. We are working on getting sponsorship or grants to fund this. Ideas and donations welcome.

Complete Streets

Caltrans has officially adopted a Complete Streets policy.  According to Deputy Directive 64 of October 2008: "The Department views all transportation improvements as opportunities to improve safety, access, and mobility for all travelers in California and recognizes bicycle, pedestrian, and transit modes as integral elements of the transportation system."

Why then are roads and highways being built that seem to focus only on the needs of motorists? Frankly, it takes time for changes in policy to be translated into implementation. Currently the status is that the new Draft Caltrans Highway Design Manual has been updated to address Complete Streets and the draft manual is under review for public comment through early July 2011. The draft manual is being reviewed by technical experts at the California Bicycle Coalition and other bicycling and pedestrian advocacy groups.  You can download the draft manual here and provide your input to Caltrans, but you must act by July 8.

If you have any doubt about the urgency of implementing a Complete Streets policy, check out the new report called "Dangerous by Design" which reports on the epidemic of pedestrian deaths and injuries. It was just released in June 2011 by Transportation for America, an incredibly diverse coalition of organizations (ranging from the Rails to Trails Conservancy to the National Association of Realtors) all of whom believe in the value of people powered transportation. 

There are lots of ways to get involved. 

The first step is to be a member.  When it comes to effectiveness of advocacy organizations, size really matters.  We won't be taken as seriously as we need to be until we have a significant membership.  For example, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has 11,000 + members and is really getting things done.  To be a similarly-sized political force in Napa County, we need to have about 1,900 members. We're short of that by about 1,800.  Become a member online in about two minutes using your credit card here.

If you can share some time, we can definitely can use your help.  Check out our Volunteer page for details. There's an easy-to-use submission form here that will get your contact information and interests to us. 

If you don't have a lot of time, you can make a donation that will help us sustain our daily activities that lead to achieving our long term.  You can donate online by clicking any of the donate buttons that are on every page.