Learning to See. A White Paper

Learning to See. The Santa Monica School District and the Bicycles. A White Paper.

This white paper tries to co-motivate the school district to become more engaged in active and healthy modes of getting to school. It reminds the district that the roads in Santa Monica have become much more bike-friendly in the past five years, and that the school district has not been moving much on cars, buses and bikes. Are they missing the bike train? I hope not.

Sometimes a little unguarded gesture tells you more than a thousand words. I found this architectural view from 2008 quite interesting. It is proudly displayed on the second floor of the district headquarters. It shows a "schematic design" of the High School parking lot.

"Let them drive Porsches", about as distorted as "Let them eat cake" (Qu'ils mangent de la Brioche) attributed to Marie Antoinette

Look a bit closer. Striking indeed, the sheer number of Porsches, Maseratis, Ferraris (or worse) that the architect has parked there. Apparently there is nobody in the district building or on the Board of Education who would object against this distortion of what getting to school in our little town of Santa Monica means. This design of a parking lot is steeped in poisonous culture of Fast and Furious. It has been framed and displayed. This makes it a revealing testimony to the unconscious culture of transportation at the school district. "Let them drive Porsches" is irresponsible, naive, pathetic and revealing at the same time.

From the distorted fantasy of fast cars, a fantasy which is so last century, to the reality of getting to work in the school district. This bicycle is happily parked in the lobby of the district headquarters. It tells the story of a brave employee who is doing him/herself and all of us a great favor by choosing the better way to arrive at work. Perhaps a proper bike rack could be placed in the lobby? This would invite more employees to park their bike there. And if parking space is limited (it always is), and if a proper bike parking structure would reduce the number of spaces available for cars, is there enough Santa Monica Bike Spirit in the school district to do the right thing?

Five Years After: Revisiting the Bicycle Resolution of 2009

It is now 5 years that the Santa Monica School District adopted a far-reaching bicycle resolution. A good reason to revisit the commitments, and to see what has been achieved.

What has been achieved? Well, not too much.I think we were probably a little naive and too optimistic, thinking that the district would in due course discover this text and do the right thing. But paper is patient. We need readers who can remind the district that these good intentions are still only intentions. Some of the board members have probably never heard about this Resolution, so we better link to it in the form in which it was published in the minutes of the meeting on April 2nd, 2009.

Crossroads School: The First Bicycle Friendly School in Santa Monica

Crossroads School in Santa Monica is an independent school (K-12) with more than 1000 students. Last month they received word that they qualified as a Bicycle Friendly Business.

This distinction is offered by the League of American Bicyclists to places of employment which go the extra mile to encourage employees to ride to work. Participants undergo a complex evaluation process and receive guidance how to improve services to those who use a bicycle to come to work.

Andrew Gaines, who works as facilities manager at Crossroads, says the school has about 50 employees who ride to school, and many of the students do too. Employees do receive incentives (gift cards, monetary rewards) when they come to school without a car. Gaines said that the fact that teachers and staff are cycling is itself an important lesson for the children who understand that the bicycle is a perfectly acceptable mode of transportation around town, especially in Santa Monica. He hopes that his school can become an example for other schools in Santa Monica.

Congratulations, Crossroads! Keep up the good work!

Culver City Walk and Rolls to School

"Walk ‘n Rollers was founded to encourage children to walk and bike to school more frequently, helping kids start their day in a fun, active way." The non-profit is based in Culver City and has embarked there on a four-year contract to provide co-ordination, encouragement, education, helping to make sure that the Safe Routes to School funding is used effectively. "If you want to encourage kids to bike, walk, skate and scoot to school more frequently, then it is not about a new traffic light here or there, it is really an investment in cultural change." This is why a comprehensive and on-going encouragement program is fundamental.

Jim Shanman from Walk ‘n Rollers is full of praise for the Culver City School District. The district is very closely involved with the work he is doing on behalf of the city. He has monthly meetings with the CCUSD finance director. This continuing conversation allows school staff to give feedback and support his projects. "This kind of close collaboration is really essential," Shanman says. The school district has been very welcoming of his effort and is supportive of his work. "After 5 months we have not had a single case of reluctance or push-back. This is very encouraging. Culver City and the school district really get it."

For the city, which is funding his work through a SRTS grant, his role is to make sure that the Safe Routes to School funding is really spent in the best way possible. For this his local knowledge, his local contacts, the fact that he himself is a parent in the district, are invaluable. "Cities tend to think of Safe Routes to School as an engineering problem, but it is much deeper than that. It is about role models, about conversations at the school gate, about school nurses and involving the police department. You have to change the culture from within, and it will take time." One important item in his list is the drafting of a district-wide policy on walking and cycling which will create the basis for development in the future.

Santa Monica has better infrastructure for cyclists, but Culver City has embarked on a path of cultural change which is just as important. The fact that the Culver City school district cares deeply about how the students are getting to school is something Santa Monica school district should take note of.

Bike It Walk It is moving

Bike it Walk it, Safe Routes to School, events and opportunities around cycling and walking to school in Santa Monica now have a new website http://bikeitwalkit.org/



Be sure to visit it!

To school without a car?

Children come with wheels, it seems. First the small plastic wheels for the stroller, then the new family car, sometimes large enough to set up a family home on the road. And then there is the bicycle, the famous vehicle of childhood.

Today, many parents are concerned when their children want to ride their bike to school. Our streets seem hostile and dangerous. The cars are intimidating and seem intent to harm our children.

So when the question comes up if your kid could take the bike to school, the answer is often difficult. That is why a group of concerned parents in Santa Monica have come together to make it easier to get to school without a car. We have compiled some resources which can help make cycling a safe part of attending school in Santa Monica.

The good news is that most bike crashes can be avoided. A little bit of education can greatly increase your safety. Crashes are rare, but when they happen the cyclist has often acted in a manner which put him at a higher risk. An exaggerated anxiety about cycling in traffic can sometimes lead us to adopt unsafe and dangerous road behaviour. This is why education is crucial when you consider doing the school run with a bike.

So when the question about cycling to school comes up, the answer should be: Let's look at the route. Let's look at the rules, rights and responsibilities. Let's look at the advice from the experts, let's see when the next bike skills classes are scheduled. Perhaps they offer classes for parents on how to raise a competent cyclist. And: Let's see how we can make the streets around the school more welcoming for cyclists.

Many good things happen when people ride bikes. But in many families being a chauffeur has become the currency of parental love. The streets around our schools are crowded with cars because the parents enjoy those five minutes of quiet company, regardless of global warming, the price of gas, missing exercise, etc. So when the question of the bike comes up, make some space on the sofa, leave the car in the garage, and enjoy the company of your children without burning gas. Even better, find your own bike and become a cycling companion for your child.

For more information:
When People Ride Bikes, Great Things Happen.
Fourteen Ways to Drive your Bike in Traffic
Bike It Day
Sustainable Streets

Contact your PTSA to get involved with the local PTSA Transportation effort (Alison Kendall)

The Maps: Below are the links to maps which will assist parents and students to find the best route to school when not driving:  Please remind everybody to ride slowly, circumspect, attentive, and never without a helmet!

Muir-SMASH
Grant
Franklin 
Will Rogers
Roosevelt
McKinley
Lincoln
JAMS
SAMOHI

A Bridge Across the "Trench of Doom"

Every "Trench of Doom" (Jeff Tumlin) needs a solid bridge across it. Our own "Trench of Doom" is called Interstate 10. It contains a steady flow of fast moving, smelly vehicles which transport humans who should be walking and cycling, if their doctors and good sense could only get them out of their cars. We have some bridges across this dark stream of traffic, but most of them are not very inviting for pedestrians and cyclists, some of them (Lincoln, 4th Street) are downright dangerous and beastly.

SAMOHI students suffer from a lack of bicycle facilities. The school is right next to the interstate. Those who want to do the right thing and take the bike to school have fast and furious drivers on Lincoln to deal with. On top of it, our local police enforces the sidewalk riding ordinance against anyone seen on the sidewalks of Lincoln. Safe Routes to School, where are you?

There is a solution. It is called the 7th Street Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge. This is a project which was included in the presentation by the planning department to the City Council on April 12, 2011. The staff report underlined the benefit of this bridge for SAMOHI, and its connectivity with Michigan Bike Boulevard to create a robust bike network. It would offer students a convenient path across the "Trench of Doom". Precisely what is needed in order to entice more people to leave the car at home!

In comes our representative of traditional car culture, and historian of local traffic. He is called Robert Holbrook, a member of the City Council since 1990, master of common sense and sometimes defender of the car culture of the 1960ies. Here is his 2010 election advert, depicting a freeway sign referring to our very own "Trench of Doom"

Election Advert, Nov 2010

These are the issues Holbrook raised during the Council meeting (Item 4-B, time counter at 3:09):

Let me ask you some questions. We had a 7th Street Bridge. It was a pedestrian and bike bridge and I think it also carried important utilities across the freeway and it was removed, - I think - because no-one used it. It had to be maintained and eventually they took it out. So I am sitting here thinking: if we had it, and they did not come, why would we build it - again, - ...

Indeed, why would you re-build a bridge that was of no use? Luckily, Mr Holbrook's recollection is not quite correct. The Bike and Pedestrian Bridge (Caltrans # 53-1593) was removed in 1991, not in order to save the maintenance costs of an under-utilized structure, but in order to create a new, eastbound 4th Street Exit Ramp for cars who use the "Trench of Doom". The Los Angeles Times from September 13, 1992 lays it out nicely, even though it does not tell the whole story how pedestrian and bicycle interests have lost out against the car drivers who would not be satisfied with Pico access to school.

What is most obvious sometimes becomes invisible. Call it the White Elephant phenomenon. Cars seem to be the most natural thing in the world for some, and questions about alternatives to cars are mentally uncomfortable and hard. Let us listen some more to the politician who carries interstate signage on his election advert:

Have kids changed? Because, when I was young, well, it's a long time ago, but I, but at some point they want to get off bikes and drive, or drive to school if they could, ride to school with a car. How many kinds ride their bikes to school today ?

Yes, the kids have changed. They have started to understand that the car is not always a good idea, and sometimes a very bad idea. The kids have seen the "Trench of Doom" and they have embraced the environmental benefits of cycling. SAMOHI Solar Alliance has organised a series of very successful bike and walk to school events, which seek to question the old notion that at some point they want to get off bikes and drive. The last, district-wide Bike-It Day in October 2010 was a celebration of independence from cars, where kids, partent and staff participated enthusiastically. Today, bikes are no longer for kids only, bikes are part of the active, healthy, community oriented, environmentally conscious life-style which the modern Santa Monica represents.

But let us go back to the new offramp for cars, for which the pedestrian and bike bridge was sacrificed. Every Interstate needs an off-ramp you may say. Next time you roll on the I-10, just count those on- and off-ramps, and ask yourself why they are so many and so close to each other in Santa Monica, when in Los Angeles they are three or four miles apart. Twenty years ago, when then decision for the new off-ramp was made, the car was king and children got their drivers license in kindergarden. Today the car is no longer king, and the time may come when we think about sacrificing some of those ramps to the "Trench of Doom" in order to achieve a "Path of Happiness" for our cyclists.

The moral? Bob Holbrook is our longest serving man on the city council. He is formerly a member of the Board of Education (1983 -1990), a recipient of the High School Distinguished Alumnus Award for Community Service, a pharmacist by profession for whom the health benefits of active transportation must be evident, and surely a supporter of Safe Routes to School. Bob is not the only dedicated follower of California Car Culture in our city. But on reflection they will see the need for a robust bicycle network which can entice more and more citizens to leave the car at home for those shorter trips. We have built the interstate network to entice people into cars, now we need to build the bike network to allow them to make the short trips without a car.

Tebb Kusserow, former SAMOHI coach and supporter of Holbrook's election campaign, rode his bicycle four times up Mount Haleakala, and is rumored to have taught bicycle skills to his students at SAMOHI. Perhaps he is the one who could to teach Bob Holbrook a lesson about Safe Routes to School. Because who would want to be mistaken for a car salesman?

Recipe for a Bike Club

Children participating in a bicycle safety program run by the police in New York, 1945

Bicycle Education comes in many shapes and colors: Above a glimpse of a program offered more than 60 years ago in New York. Today we may do things differently: We signal a left turn with the left hand, and we know that when we put a few cyclists in a room together, they will soon find plenty to talk about. A school based bike club is a great opportunity for our young cyclists to learn from the mistakes and misfortunes of their peers, to become knowledgeable about their bike, and to better understand how to communicate with car drivers in traffic. 
So what would be the ingredients for a student run bike club at middle school level? 
A pair of  presidents, a webmaster, an event planner, an education committee, a membership director, a Safe Routes to School coordinator, a Bike Community Liaison officer, a Spoke Card designer, and a photographer, the flat tire expert and the ball bearing expert, the quick release master and the gender equality officer. And more. (The League of American Bicyclists has a many resources here http://www.bikeleague.org/action/creategroup/ )


The search has begun for a good name for a bike club at Santa Monica Alternative School. Will you help us find a smashing name? What responsibility do you want to take? In which area do you want to lead?

Bicycle Master Plan in Santa Monica: Take the Survey

City planning has started work on a new Bicycle Master Plan. It will set priorities for bicycle facilities on the basis of public input. The plan, once adopted by the council, allows the city to apply for funding for bicycle related improvements.

Many think that Santa Monica could become a bicycle perfect community: Take a community keenly interested in sustainability, a council which wants to do the right thing for the environment, and add sunshine most of the year: Really great things can come of this. The Bicycle Friendly Community Award (Bronze) from the League of American Bicyclists is proudly displayed in City Hall. Santa Monica Spoke emphasizes the community benefits of cycling, and there is talk about a bicycle commission for the city council. We are here in the Prius capital of the world: Every gas saving vehicle encountered on our streets bears testimony to a mild sense of guilt many motorists feel.

If you want to give the city the benefit of your comments, please take the survey. As part of the school community we are convinced of the value of education, but it may be important to remind the planning department that this is not only about bike lanes and bike paths, but about a change in transportation culture which needs lots of education and encouragement in order to initiate a process of change. Because we can no longer view the car as the default transportation mode.

I used to be one of those people who hugged the right curb...

The District PTSA offered a very successful bike education and encouragement event on 2 October. Sustainable Streets presented a Bike Safety Skills Workshop to a packed classroom of about 35 SMMUSD middle and high school students and their parents, with an age range of 9 to 40 years old.  The group included lots of kids who have been cycling with their parents in preparation for Bike It! Day October 13. Everyone had great questions on the rules of the road, hair raising bike crash stories, and lots of enthusiasm for cycling to school.  After adjusting helmets and checking bikes, the group headed outside to practice key safe cycling skills to scan, signal, stop and turn left at an intersection. 

Among the kids’ enthusiastic comments on the class evaluation form were “Awesome fun!” and “I loved this class!”  Parents were equally positive, saying “This is so valuable. I used to be one of those people who hugged the right curb; now I know why that’s not a good idea.”  This was the second two Bike Safety Skills Workshops, the precious one was held at Lincoln Middle Schools, taught by League Certified Instructors from Sustainable Streets. Some of the participants raised the idea of setting up a bike club at the school, which would offer more opportunities for advanced training. The complete course (10 hrs) of confident city cycling is usually taught over two weekends and includes an official certificate.

Many thanks to the PTSA, JAMS and Lincoln Middle school staff, and the students and their parents for supporting this workshop to promote safe cycling by our students!  Hope to see you all at Bike IT Walk IT Day on October 13.  We are expecting record participation by every SMMUSD elementary and middle school in Santa Monica and by SAMOHI, whose Solar Alliance Student Group started the Bike IT movement four years ago.

Bike Skills Workshop

On Wednesday 6 October 2010 Santa Monica will wake up to the first city-wide Bike It Day. In previous years each school had its own bike and walk to school day, - but because of the success and popular demand, the event is now conducted city wide, and other local institutions, employers, schools and colleges are encouraged to join in and leave the car at home.

In preparation for the event the district PTSA is sponsoring two bicycle workshops on Saturday 26 September and 2 November. These workshops are conducted by Sustainable Streets and aimed mainly for an adult audience.  Parents are encouraged to bring their children (age 10 -15) and teachers and school staff are especially welcome.

You want to bike more and become a more confident cyclists. You want to help your children to cycle more safely. Join us for a free Bike Skills Workshop for parents, teachers and students in Santa Monica SMMUSD. Free workshops will be held on Saturday, Sep 25 at 1 pm at Lincoln Middle School and again on Saturday, Oct 2 at1 pm at John Adams Middle School in Santa Monica. Please bring bike and helmet. Snacks and bike pins will be provided. To register for the workshop please email michael.cahn@sustainablestreetsla.org

The invitation is here and here (smaller format)

Bikes on Display

John Adams Middle School rides, and some of the bikes bikes are being hung up on the fence on display for the day. Well done everybody! You doubled the number of cyclists for the day. We also sold a few bike helmets, and gave away those ever popular bike pins ("Can I have a green one", "Can I have a pink one"), those bright green "Bike It" stickers, and of course the ever popular Clif bars (Peanut).
Now we are planning an experimental session to compare the effectiveness of hair gel and normal bike helmets. Just to

Free Middle School Cycling Class at JAMS June 7

Don't miss this free cycling class at John Adams Middle School, , just in time for Bike to School Day at JAMS on June 10. Meet outside Room 83 at 3:15, with bike and helmet. Helmets will be available for sale for $10--remember, they are required by CA law for cyclists under age 18. Be ready for Bike to School Day on Thursday. Learn great tips for urban cycling, and hear about bike accidents and how to avoid them. Taught by Michael Cahn and Ron Durgin of Sustainable Streets, both Licensed Cycling Instructors with the League of American Bicyclists and experienced youth cycling instructors. For more info, email velocipedus@gmail.com.

The Bicycle Revolution at Ocean Park

This document has come to our attention in June 2010. It dates back to 2008 (?) and is certainly worth some attention. It should be noted that back then the proposal did not receive an answer. But the times they are a'changin.

Katherine Iglis

Attn: Julie Eizenberg, Architect
Re: Sustainability Proposal for John Adams

GOALS: To implement a sustainability program at John Adams in accordance with the BB requirement, to alleviate the school's traffic and parking problems, to improve the school’s effectiveness, to invigorate and unify the school community.

PROPOSAL: Transform John Adams into a Cycling-Centric School by altering the campus as necessary and developing a PRO-CYCLING curriculum. Provide the necessary infrastructure, incentives and equipment (loaner bikes and safety equipment if necessary) to get students, staff and parents to embrace cycling as an integral part of daily life.

A NATURAL FIT: John Adams’ central location, benign climate and flat terrain make it an ideal cycling destination. Likewise, the age of its students provides an ideal opportunity. Pre-teens and teens are able to ride responsibly and crave the freedom and independence that cycling provides. Forming cycling habits now can benefit them for years to come – steering them (and their parents!) away from dependence on the automobile.

HOW TO: Make use of and expand upon the recently installed bike lanes along Ocean Park Blvd. Develop our own “Safe Paths to School” program where certain routes are designated with appropriate signs and traffic controls making them safe for cyclists. Establish a secure and accessible “Bike Zone” on campus. Possibly even convert 16th St. between Ocean Park Blvd. and Pearl St. to a Bikes-Only Zone feeding John Adams as well as Will Rogers Elementary and Santa Monica College. Basically, establish JAMS as a neighborhood cycling hub.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS: Increased cycling would reduce traffic, emissions, fuel consumption, parking problems and pedestrian danger. Rather than battling the City for more street parking or consuming more of the campus with asphalt, existing parking lots could be converted back into usable green space. The City, local businesses, and local environmental groups could help support the program by providing sponsorship, grants and other incentives.

FITNESS BENEFITS: Cycling improves cardiovascular health, strength and endurance while boosting endomorphins, staving off depression and controlling weight gain. Students would arrive at school more alert and ready to learn after a brisk ride. Adults who cycle would also benefit while providing the students with positive role models. Electric, motor-assisted bikes or scooters could be provided for handicapped or elderly members of the school community. Lastly, since John Adams already has a system of two sets of books, heavy backpacks would not impede the student riders.

ACADEMIC BENEFITS: Cycling could be incorporated into the curriculum with lessons on aerodynamics, hydraulics, bike engineering, bike mechanics and design. This could be further reinforced with cycling day trips, field trips and retreats. A cycling coach could be employed and a cycling team started. Bike “shop” could be offered as an elective giving students hands-on experience fixing, maintaining and assembling bikes.

EMOTIONAL BENEFITS: Cycling develops independence and self-esteem among young teens when they need it most. Rather than depending on their parents or the public bus for transportation, middle school students would feel empowered and exhilarated navigating their way around town on a bike.

SOCIAL BENEFITS: Cycling is fun and promotes camaraderie. Sponsor school cycling clubs such as a Mountain Biking Club, a Road Biking Club, a Beach Cruiser Club, a Trick-bike Club, a Bike Maintenance Club and host a bike design competition. Participation in these clubs could be rewarded with Academic, PE, or community service credit.

NEIGHBORHOOD BENEFITS: Bike routes used by students could also be used by others in the neighborhood. The school bike repair “Shop” could also be open to the local community. Students could operate the shop, gain work experience and/or community service hours all while benefiting the community and possibly raising money for the program.

INSPIRATIONAL WEBSITES:
Celebrating Cycling
Fun Fast Fit
Community Cycling Center

Lincoln Confident Cycling Class Wed June 2nd

Get set for Lincoln's Bike to School Day on June 8 at a free and fun after school class where you'll practice quick stops and turns, learn how to ride safely on city streets, and get tips on bike and helmet fit and picking safe routes to school.

Confident Cycling meets June 2nd at 3:15 at the Lincoln bike racks near the basketball courts off California Ave. To enroll, contact Michael Cahn, LCI at velocipedus@gmail.com. Bring your bike and helmet!

Bike To School Days in Santa Monica

It is June, and Santa Monica is cycling again. The diary for the current bike to school events features:

Monday 7 June: Bike It Day at SAMOHI, organized by Samohi Solar Alliance, Confident Cycling Education scheduled for 1 and 3 June after school

Tuesday 8 June: Lincoln Middle School, Confident Cycling Education scheduled for Wednesday 2 June after school, meet at bike racks, snacks will be provided

Thursday 10 June: John Adams Middle School, Confident Cycling Education scheduled for Monday 7 June after school, room 83, snacks will be provided

Friday 11 June 10:00 am - 12:00 noon, SMASH Middle School, Confident Cycling Education event.

Bicycle education will be offered by League Certified Bicycle instructors. If you want to assist at any of these events or have questions, please contact velocipedus@gmail.com. Parents are most welcome to attend all these events.

Johnny Depp to offer City Cycling Class

Bike It Day is on 10 March 2010. To make everybody safe on the road, Johnny Depp (really?) should be offering a free City Cycling Class at SAMOHI: Monday 8 March 2010 after school, at 3:30, room T 109, and again on Tuesday, same time and same location. Please bring your bike and a friend.

The class (1 hr) will highlight the most important ways to stay safe on your bike. City Cycling Science can help everybody to deal with traffic, and how to avoid these painful crashes or aggressive encounters, often really intimidating. Johnny Depp knows you can pedal your bike, now it's time to go on to the second level.

The room is in the Technology Building, next to the North parking lot, accessible from the alley which runs between Michigan and Olympic. If you have problems finding the room, and have any other questions, please call 310 752 3177

Safe Routes to School according to the Santa Monica Police Department

Santa Monica High School, 17 February 2010, 3:20 pm

After school students find the police in front of the Michigan Gate, right next to the bike parking. It is Wednesday, school started late, a good day to go by bike and not use the car. In the course of the police operation against cyclists three tickets are being issued to student cyclists for not wearing helmets. Is that a way to encourage kids to ride the bike?

Students riding the bike to school do the right thing. They support the environment. They reduce traffic congestion. They improve their health through active transportation. They reduce the carbon footprint. They live in a Bicycle Friendly Community (Bronze). Students under 18 who do not wear a helmet break the law.

Those who use a car to drive or be driven to school increase pollution, traffic, obesity. If they use a hand-held phone while driving they break the law.

If you want to support your young cyclists in a bicycle friendly city you reach out to them. With information. With warnings. By applying for grants to offer free helmets to the kids who cannot afford one. Or by rewarding those who wear a helmet. You go out and partner with the school, with student groups, with the PTSA and offer bike safety classes. Stay tuned. Continue the conversation that the local bicycle advocacy group has started with the police in May 2009. This is work and it takes time. Ticketing a few kids is easy. But it does not bring you respect. It brings contempt. In the process the police loses community which is the worst thing that can happen to a police force. If you speak to a child who knows about the environmental impact of fossil fuels, it may be a good idea to turn off the motor of your vehicle. Kids take note of these things. In this process kids have to learn the law, and the police has an equal responsibility to learn how to deal with kids and cyclists.

Indeed, on the basis of a sustained educational effort, especially if it is embedded in a diversion program, which removed the fine when the student attends a safe cycling class, a ticket does have its value. But probably not every officer is suited to this delicate work with children. Some forget to take off their dark reflective sunglasses when talking to a child. Some have never received special training for dealing with adolescents and children, and are more suited to work with hardened criminals. Some have never ridden a bike on city streets, and confuse the public by cycling on the extended sidewalk which is Third Street Promenade. Why not ride your bike while interacting with students? Would it not be a good idea to coordinate with the school or the school district in order to develop a comprehensive educational program for young cyclists? To support them and to make them safe? And to acknowledge that the helmet by itself does not make you safe, that only safe cycling education offers you the tools to stay safe on city streets. Without a sustained educational program, ticketing works as bicycle discouragement. If DUI checkpoints are being announced in advance, why not announce a helmet checkpoint?

Speaking about helmets is only half the story at this school. This school is located close to Lincoln Boulevard, and many students will have to use or cross Lincoln Blvd to get to school. This being Santa Monica, the police may well give you another ticket if they see you cycling on the sidewalk on Lincoln. It sounds unbelievable, but I have seen it happen more than once. More bicycle discouragement from the SMPD? Sure, in this city it  it is not legal to cycle on the sidewalk, and for many well documented reasons, the sidewalk is an unsafe place for cyclists, but Lincoln is a really horrible street, for children and adults, to share with cars. This community deserves better solutions than tickets.

So if you are a cyclist, or a parent, or a student, and you think the SMPD does not do enough to encourage cycling in this Bicycle Friendly Community (Bronze), or if you want to support the police action, please leave your comments below, and come to the next City Council Meeting on February 23, and offer you opinion during the public comment period. 


Police deputy chief Sanchez is so kind to meet concerned cyclists on Wednesday 24th Feb, 2010 at 3:30. Please let me know if you want to attend so that we can prepare the meeting. We are specially interested to strengthen our "legal department", and concerned citizens with expertise in civil liberties and equity issues are encouraged to get in touch with velocipedus at gmail dot com. We also warmly welcome highschool and middle school students to get in touch.

Beauty and the Bike

This is a girl project between Darlington (UK) and Bremen (Germany) - it set about getting girls on bikes. There is a book, a documentary (DVD), and the short preview below, with a great deal of serious beauty. The girls move from skepticism about cycling to exhilaration about how "liberating" it is. Look out for a fleet of those red bikes riding onto the stage of  he? what? Barnum Hall ? ?






This is a project that meets girls on their own terms, and that doesn't minimize or denigrate the importance of peer pressure.

For teenagers the question of their image is crucial. And if cycling is seen as mad or eccentric, it is unlikely to appear attractive. Statistics show that the already low percentage of British girls who have cycled regularly as a child, stop doing so when they reach puberty.

Thanks to StreetsblogLA for sharing this.

This is a Dare

Yes, you know EVERYTHING. You know how to ride your bike. Now tell us how you do it. This is a dare. Thursday 15 October, 15:30, T 109.

I will listen to your bicycle wisdom, and you will listen to mine. And then we count the points, and if you are a safe cyclist, then I will give you a bicycle.
 
PTSA Transportation has received a 5 used bicycles, great little riders, mostly of the mountain bike variety. A free bike for the first five students who can teach us how to stay safe on the road, and who can show that they master the art of safe cycling.

Show us what you can. This is a dare. Pictures of the bikes on bike-it-day.org. You know Everything. Now come and get your bike. Everyone welcome