BikeWalkSolana Meeting (Zoom), May 3, 2021

The next meeting of BikeWalkSolana, the Solana Beach Active Transportation Committee,  will be held on Monday May 3,  2021, 5pm on Zoom. For an invitation please email [email protected]

Agenda:

  • Updates from the City
  • Tour of Solana Beach Scavenger Hunt

Tour Solana Beach for a chance to Win an E-Bike! In 2019, more than 100 bicyclists enjoyed the first full Tour of Solana Beach and then the 2020 pandemic prevented a repeat. For 2021, the event is back, funded by a Solana Beach Community Grant, in the form of a self-guided tour of Solana Beach. This tour allows you to explore Solana Beach by bike, on foot, or any other means without a car. The event will run from May 1-31 in celebration of May, our National Bike Month. You must register to participate in the Tour of Solana Beach Scavenger Hunt. Riders and walkers will learn more about the City’s history, art, and commitment to safe streets as they enjoy a car-free adventure in our lovely seaside town.

Complete your score sheet in one trip or several as you answer questions along the scavenger hunt route. Submit your completed score sheet to enter your name in a raffle. The Grand Prize is an E-Bike donated by San Diego Electric Bike in partnership with BikeWalkSolana via the Community Grant. Additional raffle prizes from other local businesses will be awarded.

Register Now at https://tiny.one/SBscavengerHunt

After you register, you will receive your participation packet with instructions for completing and turning in your score sheet. An online version of the score sheet will also be available so you can do your tour paperless and record your answers on your phone. If you register prior to May 1, you will receive your personal packet on May 1.

Note that you must be 16 or over to be eligible for the grand prize.  There will be a raffle for those under 16 to give the younger cyclists a chance to win prizes, too!

When May 1 arrives, let the hunt begin!

    • May Bike Month – LoveToRide

      Let’s Ride!
      The National Bike Challenge 2021 is kicking off May 1st and runs through September.

      The 2021 National Bike Challenge is a nationwide event that unites thousands of new and existing bicyclists across the country in a friendly campaign designed to celebrate and encourage biking.

      We want bike riders of all flavors to show their support for a bike-friendly USA and join the National Bike Challenge. Let’s create a happier, healthier world and get more people riding and smiling!

      Connect with your friends and co-workers and encourage and support each other to ride. The National Bike Challenge is a fun, friendly challenge for social groups, individuals and businesses.  Learn all about the 2021 edition here.

      Join your local bike groups on Love to Ride
      BikeWalkSolana

      San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

  • New Business

Meeting Notes by Jill Cooper:

 

 

In attendance were Douglas Alden, Jill Cooper, Paul Dickstein, Dan Goldberg, Kristin Haukom, Howard LaGrange, Karl Rudnick, and Kristine Schindler.
Report from the City by City Engineer Dan Goldberg:  Thanks again for the clarification, Dan.
The Lomas Santa Fe Corridor Project will be discussed during the May 26 City Council meeting. The focus will be on final design features like street furniture and landscaping, including streetlights, benches, trash receptacles, etc.  The City is nearing the end of their budget with the City’s consultantsMichael Baker International.
The City is finalizing the contract with Chen Ryan Associates for preparation of a Safe Routes to School Master Plan. The Master Plan will include a significant public outreach component. Public outreach is more difficult during the COVID 19 pandemic, but it was pointed out that Zoom meetings allow more people to participate. 
The City needs to re-apply for the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Community Award. Dan will let us know when the application is due. We may put purchasing the signs designating us as silver level award winners on hold.
The BikeWalkSolana Tour of Solana Beach Self-Guided Scavenger Hunt
The Tour, with about 400 [update: 500!] registrations so far, takes place during the entire month of May, Bike Month. Bicyclists and walkers follow a route meandering around Solana Beach neighborhoods, searching for the answers to their score sheet questions. Participants can complete the route using printed materials or an app on their phones.
Here is our list of tasks which must be completed for a successful scavenger hunt! 
  • Everyone: Please keep your receipts for the final expense report that Douglas needs to turn in to the City.

We received $1500 in COSB Community Grant money; $1,000 will be paid to San Diego Electric Bike for our grand prize e-bike. $500 needs to be spent on prizes. If you spend/spent money, please let Douglas know asap.

  • Douglas: Use $500 in Community Grant money to buy raffle prizes, including bike locks, helmets (maybe with gift certificates?), pumps at local bike shops. We need a picture of every prize to post on the website as soon as things are purchased.
  • Kristine, Shawna, Paul: Coordinate raffle prizes with Douglas.  
  • 1. Assemble gift bags AND write a quick description of contents so we can decide which might be more appropriate for participants under or over 16. 
  • 2. Each prize needs to be assigned a number for the raffle. (So: The grand prize e-bike will be prize #1. Other prizes will follow, i.e., Gift bag #2, Gift bag #3, Bicycle pump #4, etc. Coordinate with Douglas. )
  • 3. Please send a picture of every prize or an image to represent gift bags to post on the website.
  • 4. Email the above information to Karl as soon as possible.
  • 5. Decide who will store the prizes. 
Paul: Be our on the ground contact with Trek after May 22 so that they can call you if they’re running low on registration packets. Please collect completed packets from Trek and San Diego Electric Bike, then coordinate with Karl so that he can enter paper-pencil information from returned packets into the scavenger hunt data base. 
Also, please pick up the last completed packets and remaining printed materials on June 1.
Karl: Will work to make sure that things go smoothly: recording registrations, who has completed score sheets for a raffle entry, entering this on the spreadsheet to easily run the raffle, solving problems, answering questions for our online participants, administering the raffle, communicating with participants. Jill will assist.
California Transportation Commission news from Howard:
At the April 6 meeting the CTC recommended funding all Cycle 5projects in the amount of $2B, with the belief that the federal government will provide funding as part of President Biden’s infrastructure bill. This is a great opportunity for active transportation funding, perhaps for the Lomas Santa Fe Corridor Improvement Project, although the intent is for the money to go to disadvantaged communities. 
From Douglas: LovetoRide and May Bike Month   
  •  May Bike Month – LoveToRide – Participation across SD County in the weekly Bike Month activities is used to justify the ~$75K that the BIke Coalition pays the national LTR program for all the LTR website and support we get from their organization. Without a significant number of participants, there is no return on investments as large numbers are used by the Bike Coalition in grant applications.

    Let’s Ride!
    The National Bike Challenge 2021 is kicking off May 1st and runs through September.

    The 2021 National Bike Challenge is a nationwide event that unites thousands of new and existing bicyclists across the country in a friendly campaign designed to celebrate and encourage biking.

    We want bike riders of all flavors to show their support for a bike-friendly USA and join the National Bike Challenge. Let’s create a happier, healthier world and get more people riding and smiling!

    Connect with your friends and co-workers and encourage and support each other to ride. The National Bike Challenge is a fun, friendly challenge for social groups, individuals and businesses.  Learn all about the 2021 edition here.

    Join your local bike groups on Love to Ride
    BikeWalkSolana

    San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

Solana Beach Community Grant Application

The City of Solana Beach is soliciting community grant applications. $25,000 will be awarded, with funding for projects of up to $5,000. Grant applications must be returned by 5:00 pm on Tuesday, May 25. Douglas volunteered to write the application, focusing on encouraging more Solana Beach residents to “think outside the car” and enjoy active transportation around town. We were in favor of using the funding for:
  • Smart Cycling Classes (classes that teach adults and older children how to ride safely in traffic)
  • another Tour of Solana Beach modeled after our very successful 2019 mass ride
  • the purchase of safety vests, pop-up bike racks, and a pop-up tent for biking and walking events.
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