bicycle infrastructure – Enviro Updates

Op-Ed: Everyone benefits when more people bicycle

May 10, 2026

Eris Weaver, PRESS DEMOCRAT

What would you say if I told you we have a technology that, if more widely deployed, could help solve many of the problems facing us today?

This technology improves physical and mental health. It creates community and is good for the economy. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions. It improves traffic safety and reduces congestion.

It is available to everyone regardless of age, gender, race and economic status, with versions specialized for folks with disabilities. It’s inexpensive and available now — plus it’s fun!

Wouldn’t you say that we need more of that, stat?

Of course, I’m talking about the humble bicycle.

Transportationbicycle infrastructure, bicycle safety, bicycles, ghg emissions

Santa Rosa cyclists enjoy new parking, rideshare opportunities

April 7, 2026

Natalie Hanson, PRESS DEMOCRAT

Santa Rosa cyclists are starting to see more bike facilities on some of the city’s busiest throughways, which city leaders credit to ongoing work to improve transportation opportunities.

Drivers and riders on Mendocino Avenue may have noticed new bike parking racks placed at different points along the throughway, particularly closer to downtown and near the heaviest trafficked part of the business corridor. The racks, built in an upside down “U” shape, are intended to offer cyclists new options in the public right-of-way. These are part of the city’s improvements between 4th Street and 10th Street, completed as part of the city’s Capital Improvement Program project which included pavement maintenance and new Class II bike lanes, along with similar work on several other downtown streets.

City spokesperson Misti Wood said the city obtained grant funding through the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Transportation Fund for Clean Air program.

Transportationbicycle infrastructure, bicycle-friendly

Op-Ed: CalBike commends California legislature for rejecting Active Transportation Program (ATP) cuts

May 29, 2024

Laura McCamy, CALBIKES

The legislature’s budget proposal, released today, rescinds the deep cuts to the Active Transportation Program (ATP) proposed in the Governor’s Budget and plans to backfill those cuts with state highway funding. CalBike thanks the legislature for recognizing the value of the ATP and maintaining funding commitments to critical walking and bicycling projects.

CalBike policy director Jared Sanchez: “I’m glad the legislature recognized the value of the Active Transportation Program. The legislature heard from its constituents and saved a popular program many local communities rely on to fund infrastructure projects.”

CalBike consultant Jeanie Ward-Waller: “The ATP is critical to meeting California’s climate goals and addressing the crisis of rising pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities on our roadways, especially in disadvantaged communities across the state. We commend the Legislature for their strong support of shifting funding from car-centric infrastructure to improve walking and biking.”

Climate Change & Energy, TransportationActive Transportation Program, bicycle infrastructure, bicycle safety, pedestrian safety

The growing importance of bike infrastructure

February 25, 2021

Bridgette DeShields, SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE

There is also a growing movement in the U.S. called “Complete Streets” – streets designed to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, enhance walkability, and increase transit efficiency. Already proven successful in London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Copenhagen with encouraging bike commuting and actually revitalizing downtown areas by bringing more people to these safe spaces, features include: protected bike lanes, dedicated bus lanes, accessible public transportation stops, safe crosswalks, and ADA compliant walkways, curbs, signals and more.

Last month, I wrote about the benefits of bike riding, and how attitudes about cycling differ between the U.S. and Europe (and other places). Now I want to examine why that might be and how that could change. One big difference is the investment in safe, convenient bike infrastructure. Bike infrastructure often appears to have a high price tag, but in comparison to the costs to build and maintain roadways for vehicles, the cost is relatively low. A study was conducted in the Portland, Oregon area (a mecca for cycling and bike commuting) in 2013 and found that the city’s entire bicycle network (over 300 miles of bikeways) “would cost $60 million to replace (in 2008 dollars), whereas the same investment would yield just one mile of a four-lane urban freeway.”

So where are we at in Sonoma County? We have really a very small and fragmented network of dedicated bike infrastructure with the main trails (e.g., Joe Rodota, creek trail, SMART path) making up maybe 50 miles at most. It is pretty tough to commute or even take the kids out for much of a spin without having to face less safe road conditions just to get from one trail segment to the other or utilize roadways with bike lanes. In comparison, there are over 600 miles of bike trails in the Denver Metro area. However, even places like the Denver area continue to have challenges. Denver is looking to the future with a plan to institute “Vision Zero,” a transportation planning philosophy about making streets safe for all users, “no matter their choice to walk, bike, drive or take transit.” Several California cities have adopted Vision Zero plans. Los Angeles has committed to end traffic deaths by 2025 in their ambitious Vision Zero Plan.
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Transportationbicycle infrastructure, bike lanes, bike parking, complete streets, pedestrian safety

For Buttigieg, ‘generational’ transportation change may not be easy, experts say

February 6, 2021

Pranshu Verma, THE NEW YORK TIMES

The new secretary has stirred excitement among transportation experts, but they warn that deep institutional change is likely to remain difficult.

Now that Pete Buttigieg is secretary of transportation, he faces a challenge: delivering on his promises of infrastructure overhaul.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, he said there was a “generational opportunity” to change infrastructure. In a string of news appearances over the past month — including ABC’s “The View” and an interview with the actor Chris Evans — Mr. Buttigieg said that climate change, racial justice and job creation could all be addressed through infrastructure overhaul.

We “have a historic opportunity to take transportation in our country to the next level,” he said on Mr. Evans’s website, “A Starting Point,” which interviews elected officials and policymakers. “We should actually be using transportation policy to make people better off, make it easier to get to where you’re going, easier to get a job, easier to thrive.”

His statements have generated excitement among transportation experts, who are unaccustomed to seeing the secretary of transportation adopt a news strategy to communicate about the nation’s infrastructure. But deep institutional change remains difficult, and reform will not come easy, they said.

“It’s an exciting time,” said Paul Lewis, the vice president for policy and finance at the Eno Center for Transportation, a nonpartisan transit research center in Washington. “But I do think a lot of the big things — the reform efforts — are going to take more time and effort than a lot of people are expecting.”
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For Buttigieg, ‘generational’ transportation change may not be easy, experts sayRead More »

Climate Change & Energy, Transportationair travel, bicycle infrastructure, complete streets, public transit, roads, sidewalks, trains, walkability

Focus on roads, bikes and pedestrian projects as Measure DD passes

November 23, 2020

Kevin Fixler, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Voters this month agreed to lock in tens of millions of local dollars each year for road improvements and upgrades to Sonoma County’s bus network and bicycle and pedestrian paths, ensuring transportation officials have dedicated funds for infrastructure projects into 2045.

In an countywide election that saw near-record turnout, Measure DD comfortably passed with 71% support, 4 points clear of the two-thirds majority it needed for approval. The extension of an existing quarter-cent sales tax won’t kick in until spring of 2025, but allows the county and its nine cities to start initial planning and grant work on the next generation of road and transportation projects.

While Measure DD, also known as the Go Sonoma Act, carries forward similar objectives as Measure M, the 20-year tax that voters narrowly passed in 2004, it has a reconfigured spending plan for the projected $26 million in yearly revenue. No major projects were included in the renewal measure after the initial tax allocated 40% of its annual funds to widening Highway 101 from the Marin County line north to Windsor.

The new measure puts more emphasis on smaller upgrades, including a greater share of funding for local roads, transit, bike and pedestrian projects.

Transportationbicycle infrastructure, pedestrian safety, public transit, roads, walkability

City leaders aim to shape green recovery from coronavirus crisis

May 1, 2020

Matthew Taylor and Sandra Laville, THE GUARDIAN

Mayors coordinating efforts to support a low-carbon, sustainable path out of lockdowns

Cities around the world are already planning for life after Covid-19, with a series of environmental initiatives being rolled out from Bogotá to Barcelona to ensure public safety and bolster the fight against climate breakdown.

Mayors from cities in Europe, the US and Africa held talks this week to coordinate their efforts to support a low-carbon, sustainable recovery from the crisis as national governments begin to implement huge economic stimulus packages.

Many cities have already announced measures, from hundreds of miles of new bike lanes in Milan and Mexico City to widening pavements and pedestrianising neighbourhoods in New York and Seattle.

The initiatives are designed to allow people to move around urban spaces safely in a world where physical distancing will be the norm for the foreseeable future – and do so without sparking a drastic increase in air pollution.

The mayors who took part in the newly formed economic taskforce this week believe these initial schemes point the way to more radical long-term measures that will help tackle inequality and the climate crisis.

Climate Change & Energy, Sustainable Living, Transportationbicycle infrastructure, health, safety, walkability