Katie Taylor, an engaging young chemical engineer originally from Atlanta Georgia, is so taken with Long Beach California’s charming urban appeal and bike friendly stance she agreed to make a short video “valentine” illustrating why she’s enamored with her new hometown. Since moving to Long Beach eighteen months ago Taylor has become an avid bicyclist and member of the new Women On Bikes SoCal initiative with the goal of doubling the number of women and girls riding bikes in Southern California in the next five years.

And happy valentines day Katie from all of us at BIKEable communities.

Melissa Balmer - BIKEable Communities director for Women on Bikes

Getting women and girls on bikes will make a difference in your community….and there are lots of people in the Southern California…working to make it happen.

Yesterday Bikeable Communities launched the Long Beach based Women on Bikes Initiative.

The purpose of the initiative is to encourage and enable more women and girls to include bicycling in their routine activities in order to provide them with a more active and healthy live style.

We know that Long Beach, like most other communities throughout the US, has a health issue; over 20% of our students between grades 5 and 9 are obese. The numbers for grade 5 are a staggering 31%. And we know that active living can make a big difference with this issue. 

But we also know, based on the 2011 bike count data, only 20% of our bicyclists in the city are women and girls.  And nation wide these numbers are even lower…closer to 15%.

In Vice Mayor Lowenthal’s comments she spoke about the importance of getting women involved in the bicycle program. “We know that if we get more women on bikes…they will get the other members of their family to ride as well. If the women feel comfortable riding…they will get others to ride as well.”   As Charlie Gandy says…the women are our indicator species. If we can get them riding…we know that we are being successful and that others will follow.

So how can we get more women and girls on bikes???

The women on bikes program will initially train 12 women as Bicycle League of America instructors. These women will then go out into the community reaching out to places such as our non-profits, our hospitals and our large employers who have a large population of women employees. They will then work with small groups showing them how to do things that are often times intimidating..and that keep them from riding. These range from the very simple things of putting air in a bike tire, to fixing a tire to riding on our local streets. They will also teach them how to get a bike on and off our city bus bike racks.

The program is targeting to double the number of women on bikes by 2020. Given all of the bike friendly infrastructure Long Beach has installed coupled with their safe routes to schools educational program and now this …. the group feels that this is an achievable target.

Participating or donating to the program

If you would like to potentially be a participant in the program or if you would like to donate to the program, see the women on bikes socal website.

For more information on the overall women on bikes program see www.womenonbikessocal.org

This initiative is under the direction of Melissa Balmer who is working in conjunction with Long Beach Vice Mayor Lowenthal, Andrea White-Kjoss, Bikestation President and COO, Elizabeth Williams founder of Calibiketours, April Economides from Green Octopus Consulting  and Jen Klausner from the LA County Bike Coalition along with many others from the community.

The Saturday Parking Lot Scramble....

Pretty much every Saturday the Trader Joe’s parking lot in the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach looks like this.

What can you do to avoid this scene…and frustration?

Thanks to the Pedalers’ Society it is as easy as 1-2-3…

Three Easy Steps…

Step 1:Ride your bike to Trader Joe’s in Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach and if you live within a one mile radius (give or take) the Pedaler’s Society will pedal them home for you for free.

Step 2: Buy your groceries and have the Pedaler’s Society load them into their cargo bike

Step 3: Have your groceries delivered to your front door – for free (of course there is nothing wrong with a small dip for your gracious “driver.”

This program  is part of the Long Beach Bike Friendly Business District Program.

For more information on the program check out the bike friendly business district page on www.bikelongbeach.org

And look for a video on www.LBTV3.com in the next few days.

The Hub is a volunteer based non-profit organization in Long Beach that takes old bikes (with a few newer ones thrown in), reconditions them and then either gives them or sells them at low cost to people in the community in need of a bike.

The Hub started two years ago with some help from the City of Long Beach and a $10,000 grant though Waste Management to recycle bikes.

Through this program The Hub received over 200 bikes and donated them back to community groups.

BIKEable Community members at the Hub

Most recently the Hub and Waste Management received a US Mayor’s council award for the program.

According to Evan Kelly the director of the Hub, in total they have had over 400 bikes donated and have either donated them or sold most of them at low cost back to the community.  Most bikes sell for $20-$50.

One of the biggest challenges for the Hub is getting the bikes reconditioned.  According to Kelly “Most people don’t want to come in and fix up a bike before they take in home.  They want to come in select it and go ride it.”

However, there are a few who eagerly come into the Hub to work on Bikes. They are part of the Hub’s “work for a bike” program, which offers people, mostly kids, the opportunity to come into the Hub, build a bike and then receive one for free. They also have a $5.00 per hour DIY bike repair program that attracts many of the local residents.

The Hub depends entirely on volunteers to work on the bikes.  All of the sales from the bikes go back into running the operation…not into salaries.

Evan Kelly puts two changes together to make one that works

The shop, which is located at 1730 Long Beach Boulevard in Long Beach is “on loan” from Hancock University, which owns the building.

If you are looking for a bike to buy, if you want donate bikes or parts…or you want to volunteer stop into the Hub any Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Check out their website at www.hublb.com or call them at 562.912-7777.

Mark Bixby in fall of 2009 helping to install Patrick Vogel's Penny Farthling sculpture

On Monday December 19th, 2011 the Long Beach Harbor Commission approved a revised Environmental Impact Report that gave final authorization to proceed with the replacement for the Gerald Desmond bridge…including a separated bike path.

But this would not have happened without the voice of one person…Mark Bixby.

“It took one person with a legion of many behind him.” (Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal)

The story

Less than two years ago the City of Long Beach approved an EIR for the replacement of the Gerald Desmond Bridge that did not include a separated bike facility.  Mark Bixby looked at this and asked….”How can Long Beach hope to be The most bike friendly city in the nation if we don’t include facilities for bicyclists on this new world class bridge, which will be a vital part of Long Beach’s infrastructure and a showcase for the world.”

Mark took his message to everyone he knew.  He reached out to the politicians, he reached out to port commissioners, he reached out to advocates and he reached out to the regulators.  As a result of his work the bike path went from something that was a best a remote possibility to something that today is an approved part of one of the largest government funded bridge projects in the US.

What did Mark do?

Mark started by asking…what is the right thing to do?  He didn’t ask…is this likely?  What will it cost?  He asked…is it the right thing to do?

He then started enlisting support and gathering facts.

He went to a number of very knowledgeable advocates and asked…are there any laws that say “you have to include a bike path on this type of federally funded facility.”  It turns out that the advocates came back and said…yes…there are laws that mandate a bike path be included.

He went to the coastal commission…and asked…can the port sever an existing bike facility (there was a bike and ped facility on the existing bridge…all be it not a great one)..and got the answer…”we don’t think that would be appropriate.  The port needs to include a separated bike facility on the new bridge.”

He went to the local and regional politicians and asked….do you support access for everyone to the facility…including bicyclists?  And he got a resounding yes.

He went to the Sierra Club and asked…do you support access — and if access is denied…will you support filing a law suite and or protest with Coastal Commission?  And the answer was yes.

Mark and colleagues then took this to the Long Beach Harbor Commissioners one at a time. It is the Harbor Commissioners who ultimately made the decision on whether or not to include the bike facility.  At this point Mark could say….it is both the right thing to do…and oh…by the way… legally you have to do it.  And..not to threaten…but someone will appeal this to the Coastal Commission if you don’t do it…and the Coastal Commission is quite likely to deny the permit if it isn’t included. And baring that…someone will file a law suite.

The result

As a consequence of Mark’s efforts the Long Beach Harbor Commission voted to include the bike facility in the RFP and has now unanimously approved the revised EIR, which includes the facility.

Equally importantly Mark established a good working relationship with people in the port.  This allowed him and his colleagues to continue to have influence on effective ways of designing and implementing the bike facility as well as continuing to work with them on future projects that will benefit the port as well as the bicycling community.

What Can We Learn from Mark

AS Long Beach’s Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal said in her remarks to the Harbor Commission ”It took one person with a legion of many behind him.”

Mark was that one person.  But what what we learned from Mark was the value of enlisting the legion.

Share your vision: Mark took his vision and shared it with others.  In doing so…he made it not just his vision…but a shared vision.  He gave others the ability to see what possible..and then help to make it  possible.  Mark was never hesitant to pick up the phone and call people who could help shape the future.

Reach out to the advocates with knowledge: He reached out to those who knew the facts.  He enlisted advocates who knew the law and who could articulate it.

Enlist regional and national advocacy organizations: He enlisted organizations such as the Sierra Club that had clout and standing in the community.

Enlist the local and regional political leaders:  Mark reached out to the mayor, to the council members and to our state and local legislators.  He got letters of support and a commitment to champion the project.

Enlist the regulatory agencies: Mark reached out to agencies who’s approval was needed for the project.  Most importantly he reached out to the coastal commission. As you can see from the video below this was extremely effective with the Coastal Commissioners in effect saying to the port…”we strongly advise you to include the bike facility in order to ensure that the bridge permit is not challenged and potentially rejected.”

Enlist the decision makers: Finally Mark and his colleagues reached out to each and everyone of the Port Commissioners, who were the ultimate decision makers in whether or not to include the facility in the RFP and ultimately the bridge.  Again..the message Mark and his colleagues presented was…this is the right thing to do…and it is the legally mandated thing to do.

What is next?

As many readers of this blog know Mark was tragically killed in a plane accident in March of 2011.  He would have been very proud of what has been accomplished to date.  But..if he were here he would say..” He would have thanked the port and the commissioners. And he would have said

“This is great…BUT…what about that bike friendly port policy?  And what about the connection into downtown Long Beach?  And…Port of LA…it’s time for you to step up and help figure out how bicyclists are going to get across the Vincent Thomas Bridge to complete the connection between the Palos Verde Peninsula and Long Beach.”

As advocates…we need to carry out with what Mark started.  And as he would have admonished:

Go Big…or Go Home

How do you measure the impact (and benefits) of becoming a bicycle friendly community?

You can count the number of people riding on a regular basis, you can look at the number of kids who ride their bikes to school, you can look at the growth of bike related businesses  and the impact on your local business economy, you can do surveys.

And of course you can see what the press is saying about your city.

The January 2012 issue of Sunset Magazine,  Western America’s largest-circulation regional magazine (more than 1 million subscribers), highlighted Long Beach’s East Village and touted it as a “bike to” destination.”Sunset Article – bike in LB003

“Long Beach is quickly becoming one of the most bike-friendly cities in the States.  Get in on the Action at the Bikestation.”

“How to experience it (referring to the Long Beach’s East Village Art District): On foot or, even better, by bike.  SoCal’s first separated bike lanes run down Broadway and Third Street; on weekly Bike Saturdays (bikelongbeach.org), two wheeled travelers get discounts at participating shops and eateries.”

The article goes on to talk about the “2nd Saturday artwalk” and a sampling of the great “shops and eateries.”  In total the article talks about not only the overall district but highlights the Bikestation as well as eight additional businesses.

What is the value of this type of coverage?

First…lets take a look a the audience for this type of article. According to Sunset’s website they are looking for  “take-action” travel ideas within our coverage area that will appeal to a large, general interest audience (70 percent women) that is time challenged, appreciates value…”  Okay…they want to publish things that will give a their very large audience base ideas on where to go in their local area that they may not have known about or previously thought about going to. Hummm….sounds like a potentially great marketing and outreach opportunity.

What is the value of this type of attention that is being fostered by your bike program?  One way to think about it is…could I get this same type of attention through advertising?  What if  Long Beach and the East Village had run an ad in Sunset versus having the media story?

There have been numerous studies that assess the value of advertising dollars versus media coverage.  They all come to the conclusion that the value to the business  or the community is larger for media coverage than for paid advertising.  As you dig though the literature you will see values ranging from 1.5 to 6, in other words…if an ad cost you $100 the value of the equivalent media coverage would be somewhere between $150 and $600.

So what would a two page 4 color ad cost you in the Southern California edition of Sunset?  According to the Sunset website the cost would be just over $100,000.

So what is the value of this type of article to Long Beach?  With Long Beach being located only 20 miles from downtown LA and less than 100 miles from San Diego the potential audience is huge.

However, this type of coverage in a large circulation magazine would not be affordable for the East Village District.  But in significant part because of the unique twist provided by the bike program, the bike infrastructure and the Bike Saturday’s program…the business district and the individual businesses are getting the equivalent benefit of a well over a hundred thousand dollars of advertizing in one of the most widely read publications in Southern California.

Not a bad benefit from a bike program….

The Port of Long Beach looks set to approve the EIR with Bike and Ped Path for Gerald Desmond Bridge

Another major milestone along the path to build a separated bicycle and pedestrian facility on the replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge will occur on December 19 when the Long Beach harbor commission meets to review and  approve the Final Environmental Impact Report for the bridge.

The revised EIR includes two elements, the bike and ped path and noise control requirements associated with pile-driving and drilling activities

The city of Long Beach bicycle staff meet with port planners and a representative of the California Coastal Commission to get a preview of what will be presented to the harbor commissioners as well as to talk about next steps in building the path as well as connecting it into downtown Long Beach.

Below is the wording that is contained in the revised EIR.  As far as we are aware this includes everything that the bicycling and pedestrian communities asked to be included.

PRIOR TO COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION, the permittee (Port of Long Beach) shall submit to the Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission for review and approval, one (1) full size set of final project plans approved by the Port of Long Beach, which shall clearly depict the inclusion of a Class I bikeway as described in Section 20 (Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities) of the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Design-Build Request for Proposals dated September 2, 2011.  The plans shall specifically include the following:

A single, continuous, non-motorized Class I bikeway (bike path) connecting SR 47 to Pico Avenue.  The Class I bikeway shall be a minimum of 12 feet wide, and signed and striped for two-way movement.  The Class I bikeway shall be located along the south side of the main span and approach bridges, and shall be essentially the same elevation as the bridge deck.  Protective railings shall be of an open design that provides and protects public views from the bridge.  The approximate western termination point for the Class I bikeway shall be at grade in the northeast quadrant of the SR 47 / Ocean Boulevard intersection.  The approximate eastern termination point for the Class I bikeway shall be at grade on the west side of Pico Avenue, at a location across from the intersection of Pico Avenue and the off-ramp from westbound Ocean Boulevard.

We are assuming that this will be approved by the Harbor Commissioners.

But having said that it would be good to have some supporters/advocates in the room to show strong support for this amendment and the inclusion of the bike and ped facilities in the final construction. We know that Mark would have been there to ensure the commissioners got the message…and to celebrate yet another milestone along the way.

A brief update on the time frame for the bridge

The RFP was sent out to four pre qualified bidders earlier this fall. The bids are expected to be returned to the Port by February with final contractor selection in March. Design will take 12 to 18 months. Opening of the bridge is scheduled for March 2016.

As of right now it is our full expectation that the bridge, when completed will include a class one bike and ped path that fully meets all of our expectations.

Connection to the LA River trail

One of the things that is not included in the plan is a connection to the LA River trail. The path as currently design ends at Pico Avenue, just west of the LA river. The purpose of the meeting meeting earlier this week with the Port Planners was to talk about the configuration of that landing and how it can be connected to the LA River trail and into downtown LA. The next steps will be to meet the Tidelands staff, who may have funding to create this connection, and then to conduct a workshop with the port on possible configurations for the connection as well as the wide variety of bike related projects that are planned for the 710/Ocean Ave Corridor area.

Please let us know if you have any questions. And we  look forward to seeing some of you at the Harbor Commission meeting on the 19th. The meeting will be held on the 6th floor of the Port headquarters at 5:00. The building is located just south of the Queen’s Way bridge at 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach.

The message conveyed was…..Share our Streets.  Streets are public spaces that bicyclists, motorists and pedestrians need to share…and where they need to feel safe as well as welcome.  Bicyclists ranging in age from under 5 to over 70 joined in the fun to promote the message of sharing our streets.

The group was also there to promote Mark Bixby’s message of “Go Big…or Go Home.”  In other words if it is worth doing…it’s worth doing well and putting in a big effort in order to deliver big results.  We were incredibly fortunate to have Mark’s mother Betsy and his step-father Denny join us for the ride in the parade.

And we really did have some of our participants “Go Big.” Check out the decorated bikes, the decorated dog…and Michael Bauch’s pulling his hand built boat – “Michael that really is going big in the spirit of Mark Bixby.”

Join us next year….for the Belmont Shore Holiday parade…to share the message of Sharing our Streets, Bike Safety, Bike Advocacy….and GO BIG….

Happy Holidays, Safe bicycling….and Go Big….from Bikeable Communities….