bay area cycling news

Caltrain just posted that they're looking for public advisors to be on a new bicycle advisory committee. The committee will be a partnership composed of nine volunteer members who serve in an advisory capacity. There will be three representatives from each of the three counties served by Caltrain: San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara. One member from each county will be a public agency staff member responsible for bike planning and/or policy development; one will be a representative of the county’s bicycle coalition and one will be a Caltrain bike passenger from the general public. Head to their page to download an application for this post.

SF Streetsblog reports on some new street signs pointed at bicyclists that do not comply with any state vehicle codes. What's worse, the city of Sausalito recently installed a number of signs along Bridgeway that contradict California Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 21202 and tell cyclists that they "must ride single file in bike lane" and ride "single file on roadway" when passing through the town. In fact, the CVC allows cyclists to ride in the middle of a narrow lane, does not explicitly prohibit riding side by side, and allows cyclists to leave the bike lane under a number of circumstances. ... City Engineer Todd Teachout said the new signs are not anti-cyclist but are part of a strategy to deal with bicycle traffic. Teachout said that over the last three years "the city has been grappling with a large and increasing influx of not-so-skilled cyclists on city roads." He added, "the signs in question are advisory, not regulatory." The signs,

Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition reports that they are sponsoring San Mateo's Streets Alive! on April 11th. From 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, cities across the county will close streets to auto traffic and highlight public places such as parks, plazas and trails as a way to promote healthy outdoor activity for a healthy future. Check out the Streets Alive! website for more.

Silicon Valley Bike Coalition reports: The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) is gathering input from women and girls only on cycling issues through an online survey. The survey takes an average of 15 minutes, and is more fun than the census form. The survey will be open until May 1. And here's a link to the survey .

An interesting post on the U.S. Secretary of Transportation's blog offers a lot of hope for national cyclists. After last week's national bike summit , Ray LaHood now details his recommendations to state Departments of Transportation and local communities: We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities. ... Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes. Collect data on walking and biking trips. Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling. Protect sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are protected (for example, snow removal)

If there's one thing happening more than people noticing Google Maps now has routes for biking directions, it's that these routes don't seem to work out so well. Or they advise routes other than what the majority of the cyclists in the area use. The Wall Street Journal has one such article : But more importantly it included a long stretch on something called “Old Canada Road,” in a place which would be quite convenient for road riders, if only it were actually a road. Old Canada Road would appear to be a hiking trail that takes you around the western side of Crystal Springs Reservoir. Assuming you were even allowed to access that area, I don’t think you’d get very far on a road bike following those directions.

The next Beat the Clock TT up on Cañada Road is next Saturday (March 20). A nice low-key TT event for training, benefit, and fun.

Google Maps has finally launched Biking Directions for it's maps service.

Rumors are that Sand Hill Road in Palo Alto is closed between Whiskey Hill and Portola Road because of a gas main leak. Whiskey Hill Road is open to traffic heading east on Sand Hill Road to Interstate 280 and Menlo Park, and Portola Road is open to traffic heading west to Portola Valley, a firefighter from the Woodside Fire Protection District said. Read more at Palo Alto Online .