1. The Mark Bixby Bike and Pedestrian Path: The commissioners unanimously recommended naming the bike and pedestrian path on the new bridge connecting downtown Long Beach with Terminal island “The Mark Bixby bike and pedestrian path.”  We would like to thank the Harbor Commissioners and in particular Commissioner Cordero, who proposed the motion, for their support of the facility as well as their overwhelming support for naming the facility for our friend and colleague, without who’s efforts this facility would not have been possible.
2. A bike friendly port policy: The commissioners unanimously approved a recommendation for staff to develop a bike friendly port policy and to return it to the commissioners within 30 days.

A bike friendly policy is a big step forward in the continued development of green port policies and initiatives by the port of Long Beach.  The idea behind the policy is to provide a framework for developing infrastructure and procedures that will provide safe routes for employees and others within the port.

Bikeable Communities has already heard from a number of workers in the port, ranging from port staff to Longshoreman to boat captains…saying…”if we have safe route…we will ride out bikes.”  Many of the port workers live in Long Beach and the adjacent communities….all within a few miles…making for an easy bike commute.

The challenge of course is making that commute safe.  With the addition of the separated bike and pedestrian path on the New Bridge part of the “safe route” will be completed.  But that still leaves getting into the port itself where cyclists will be competing with semi’s.  Something that few want to do.  However, according to people who have looked at the problem…it can be solved…and most likely solved for only modest dollars.  Other ports, such as those in NY and NJ have recently implemented a bike friendly policy.

What the NY & NJ policy does is to lay out the parameters and directives for developing bike friendly infrastructure.  Here is some of the wording from the port policy.

The Port Authority seeks to provide its customers, tenants, visitors and employees with safe and convenient bicycle access and secure bicycle parking at its facilities, wherever operationally and financially feasible.”

The Executive Director may, consistent with the policy, need to take the following steps to advance this policy:

• Integrating improved bicycle access, safe bicycle lanes, and secure bicycle parking and storage into existing Port Authority buildings, roadways and other facilities owned or operated by the Port Authority.
• Ensuring that design guidelines for new construction and major renovations include sufficient bicycle access, storage, and related amenities to meet emerging demand.
• Developing multi‐modal transit hubs that encourage biking and walking.
• Removing any unnecessary restrictions on bicycle access, and promoting the safe co‐existence of motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians at Port Authority facilities.
• Encouraging tenants to expand bicycle access and accommodation.
• Coordinating bicycle facility improvements and inter‐modal connections with regional planning organizations, other regional transportation providers, and local governments.

If you are interested in being involved in developing a bike friendly port policy…let us know.  If you work in the port let us know what would make you feel safe in riding your bike to work.  If you have other ideas with regard to the use of bikes in the port…let us know that as well.

Two weeks ago we lost our great friend Mark Bixby.  Mark tragically lost his life in a plane accident on March 16, 2011.  One of his last acts was to make a presentation to the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commissioners on the bike and pedestrian path for the New Gerald Desmond Bridge.  At that meeting the port staff indicated that they would include the separate bike and pedestrian path as part of the requirements for the bridge in the bid package.  As the press release below states…this is indeed a bittersweet victory.  It is clearly as a result of Mark’s unrelenting efforts that we will have a world-class bike and pedestrian structure on this iconic bridge.  But it is through a window of sadness that we view this victory.  Mark will be missed by his family, his friends and the global community that he impacted.

Mark…thanks for making us all better people and our world a better place to live – and bike…..

Below is the press release from Bikeable communities on the progress on the bridge and Mark’s incredible life.

The Bittersweet Victory of Separated Bicycle and Pedestrian Paths on the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project Highlights Mark Bixby’s Legacy of Advocacy.

———————————————————————————————————————

Long Beach California – Long Beach’s lead bicycle advocate Mark Bixby’s last triumph in supporting Long Beach to become “the most bicycle friendly city in the nation” happened at the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission meeting on Monday March 14^th 2011 just two days before his untimely death on Wednesday March 16, 2011 in a plane crash. At the meeting the port staff presented a new position – and one that Mark had been advocating passionately for – general contractors bidding for the bridge project will be required to include both separated bicycle and pedestrian paths in their proposals.

According to Dr. Bob Kanter, Environmental Planning director for the Port “the solicitation package to the design-build team bidders will require their bid include a Class One bike and pedestrian path on the Gerald Desmond Bridge.  The bike path is a mandatory requirement. When the bid is received it must include those elements in order to be a responsive bid.” He also noted, “The coastal trail path…is part of the project…it will be built in addition to the class 1 path.” The plan is to serve a larger cycling and pedestrian community and create access all around the Port.

“We’re elated that the Harbor Commissioners, Port staff and Caltrans have come to understand the importance of including bicycle and pedestrian access on the new bridge,” said Martin Howard, a longtime friend of Bixby’s and a fellow board member of Bikeable Communities, a nonprofit advocacy organization. “You only have one opportunity to build a billion-dollar bridge in a century. And Mark felt passionately that the bridge needed to be constructed to benefit everyone and to connect as many places as possible. He called it, ‘the bridge to everywhere.”

As a member of the non-profit bicycle advocacy group Bikeable Communities, Bixby was tireless in his efforts to educate and inspire all parties involved to understand the importance of these facilities both to the Port with its focus on sustainability, and the City as it endeavors to become one of the most bike-friendly cities in the nation. Through Bixby’s efforts, Bikeable Communities leadership and volunteers worked in partnership with nearly 20 organizations, clubs and advocacy groups to raise awareness of the need for bicycle and pedestrian paths to create viable and safe routes to Terminal Island. The support of the California Coastal Commission (Deputy Director John Ainsworth supplied Mark with a specific letter of support for the March 14^th meeting), the Sierra Club, the League of American Cyclists, Long Beach Cyclists, Vice Mayor and 2^nd District Council member Suja Lowenthal and many more were critical to the success of the outreach effort.

In her response to the Harbor Commissioners’ decision, Lowenthal stated: “This bridge will be the envy of cities not only in the state, but around the globe.  I hope the commissioners see this as an opportunity to showcase the many advances that the Port has made in goods movement and green technology, bringing residents and visitors to the best location from which to view a working port. If I can just say how very excited I am at this possibility; it would be an understatement. I think it really is more than iconic it is such a progressive bold step made on behalf of this board.  And that is just in your DNA.  You have continually taken bold progressive steps.  And this is just the next installation.  I thank you for that.”

Commissioner Mario Cordero, the longest sitting Harbor Commissioner, and one of the original Green Port supporters voiced his strong support for the bike and pedestrian path: “The more I have read about what’s involved…and examined statements from other policy makers…like the federal government and like Caltrans, our partner on this project, it seems to me that we must consider a clear policy so there is no misunderstanding of the feasibility of the Class One route on the bridge.  We are only going to build one bridge for the next century here in Long Beach. I now very much see implementation of a Class One pedestrian and bike facility as an integral part of the bridge.”