Friday, August 31, 2012

Summer Reading - Wallowing in Wonk

Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Futre
of Passenger Rail Service
I have been busy this summer reading all manner of wonky (transportation, urbanist, land use, economics, linguistics) books. Hopefully I can find time for some fiction or maybe anime but for now its wonky wonky.

Here is a list of what I have been reading the last year with some on my wish list. The list reads from those that I have most recently read to those which I read up to about a year ago. (As of September 5, 2012)

Currently Reading:
Canals for a Nation - The Canal Era in the United States 1790-1860, Ronald E. Shaw
Cadillac Desert - The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Marc Reisner
The Age of Heretics - Heroes, Outlaws, and the Forerunners of Corporate Change - Art Klein (Tribes Biography)
The Leaderless Revolution - How Ordinary People Will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st Century, Carne Ross


Books I've Read since January 2011

The Little Blue Book: The Essential Guide to Thinking and Talking Democratic -George Lakoff and Elisabeth Wehling
Caltrain and the Peninsula Commute Service : Janet McGovern
27 Powers of Persuasion : Chris St. Hilaire 
City Comforts - How to Build an Urban Village : David Sucher
Open Road- A Celebration of the American Highway, Phil Patton
Oil on the Brain - Petroleum's Long, Strange Trip to Your Tank - Lisa Margonelli
Pedal Power - The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life : J. Harry Wray
Linchpin - Are You Indispensable?, Seth Godin
Meatball Sundae - Is Your Marketing Out of Sync, Seth Godin
Tribes - We Need You To Lead Us, Seth Godin
Purple Cow - Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable,  Seth Godin
Highways to Heaven - The Auto Biography of America: Christopher Finch
Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service, James McCommons
Getting There - The epic struggle between road and rail in the American Century : Stephen B. Goddard
The Checklist Manifesto: How to get things right, Atul Gawande
Here Comes Everybody - The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, Clay Shirky
Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile, Taras Grescoe
Going Local - Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age - Michael H. Schuman
Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in our Communities, George Kelling and Katherine Coles
On Bicycles: 50 Ways the New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life : Amy Walker
As One - Mehrdad Baghai
Open Leadership - How Social Technology can Transform the Way you Lead : Charlene Li
The Neighborhood Project : Using Evolution to Improve my City, One Block at a Time, David Sloan Wilson.
Rebel Bookseller - Why Indie Business Represent Everything You Want to Fight For, Freom Free Speech to Buying Local to Building Communities - Andrew Laties
Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took On New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City : Anthony Flint
What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures : Malcolm Gladwell
Metaphors We Live By, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson.
Don't Think of an Elephant, George Lakoff
The Elements of Influence: Introducing the Playmaker's Standard: The New Essential System for Managing Competition, Reputation, Brand, and Buzz : Alan Kelly
Grassroots leaders for a new economy : how civic entrepreneurs are building prosperous communities, Douglas Henton, John Melville, and Kimberly Walesh.
Ignore Everybody : and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, Hugh MacLeod.
Microstyle : the art of writing little, Christopher Johnson.
Behind the dream : the making of the speech that transformed a nation, Clarence B. Jones and Stuart Connelly.
Why We Buy - The Science of Shopping : Paco Underhill
What Women Want - The Global Market Turns Femaile Friendly : Paco Underhill
The Call of the Mall - The Geography of Shopping :Paco Underhill
Changing places : Rebuilding Community in the age of sprawl, Richard Moe and Carter Wilkie
Two Billion Cars: Driving Towards Sustainability, Daniel Sperling
The Organization Man : William "Holly" Whyte (Age of Heretics -Biography)
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces : William "Holly" Whyte
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How It Can Renew America : Thomas Freidman
The World is Flat - a brief history of the 21st century : Thomas Friedman
Bowling Alone - The Collapese and Revival of the American Community : Robert Putnum
A Whole New Mind : why right-brainers will rule the future, Daniel H. Pink.
Divided Highways: Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life, Tom Lewis
What the dog saw and other adventure stories, Malcolm Gladwell
Divorce Your Car: Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile, Kate Alvord
Unless it moves the human heart : the craft and art of writing, Roger Rosenblatt
Home From Nowhere : remaking our everyday world for the twenty-first Century (reread), James Howard Kunstler
The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape,(reread) James Howard Kunstler
Blink - The Power of Thinking Without Thinking : Malcolm Gladwell
World Made by Hand : James Howard Kunstler
The Death and Life of Great American Cities (reread), Jane Jacobs
The Economy of Cities, Jane Jacobs
Cities and the Wealth of Nations, Jane Jacobs
The Nature of Economies, Jane Jacobs
Systems of Survival: A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politics, Jane Jacobs
Change or Die: The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life : Alan Deutshman
Outliers - The Story of Success : Malcolm Gladwell
Traffic - Why we drive the way we do, and what it says about us : Tom Vanderbilt
Soft Energy Paths - Towards a Durable Peace, Amory Lovins
Brittle Power - Energy Strategy for National Security, Amory Lovins
Winning the Oil Endgame, Amory Lovins 
Stick Your Neck Out - A Street-Smart Guide to Creating Change in Your Community and Beyond : John Graham
Your Innner Economist - Use Incentives to Fall in Love, Survive Your Next Meeting, and Motivate Your Dentist : Tyler Cohen
Freakonomics - A Rouge Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything : Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
The Privitization Decision: Public Ends, Private Means : John D. Donahue
The Great Inversion and the Future of the American city : Alan Ehrenhalt
A pattern language - towns, buildings, construction : Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silverstein
Introduction to logic and critical thinking : Merrilee H. Salmon
Joyride: Pedaling Toward A Healthier Planet : Mia Birk
The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition : James Howard Kunstler
Two Billion Cars - Driving towards sustainability : Daniel Speriling
Wow Wal-Mart is Destroying America, and What You Can Do About It : Bill Quinn
Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities : Jeff Mapes
Triumph of the city : how our greatest invention makes us richer, smarter, greener, healthier, and happier, Edward L. Glaeser.
Last Child in the Woods - Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder : Richard Louv
Drill here, drill now, pay less : a handbook for slashing gas prices and solving our energy crisis, Newt Gingrich with Vince Haley.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference : Malcolm Gladwell
The Black Swan : the impact of the highly improbable, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Memoir Project : a thoroughly non-standardized text for writing & life, Marion Roach Smith
The Science of Fear - How the Culture of Fear Manipulates Your Brain : Daniel Gardner
The Storytelling Animal : how stories make us human, Jonathan Gottschall
Cadillac Desert - The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Marc Reisner
Special Events and Festivals : how to plan, organize, and implement,Angie Prosser and Ashli
Brew to Bikes - Portland's Artisan Economy: Charles Heying
Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability : David Owen
The New City State - Change and Renewal in American Cities : Tom McEnery

And Prior
Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky (Age of Heretics -Biography)
The Reckoning, David Halberstam (Age of Heretics -Biography)
The Fifties, David Halberstam
The Ecology of Commerce - A Declaration of Sustainability, Paul Hawken (Age of Heretics -Biography)

On my reading list:

Doing More with Less, Burce Piasecki
The Icarus Syndrome - A History of American Hubris, Peter Beinhart (recommended by Chuck Marohn of Stongtowns.org)
The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways : Earl Swift
Small is Profitable - The Hidden Economic Benefits of Making Electrical Resources the Right Size, Amory Lovins
Reinventing Fire - Bold Solutions for a New Energy Era - Amory Lovins
Together: The Rituals, Pleasures and Politics of Cooperation, Richard Sennett
Placemaking, Charles Bohl
The Quest - Energy Security and the Remaking of the Modern World - Daniel Yergin
The High Cost of Free Parking : Donald Shoup
ReThinking a Lot: The Design and Culture of Parking : Eran Ben-Joseph
Better Together: Restoring the American Community : Robert Putnam
The Witch of Hebron: A World Made by Hand Novel : James Howard Kunstler
Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation : James Howard Kunstler
The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century : James Howard Kunstler
Railroaded: The Transcontinental Railroads and the Making of Modern America : Richard White
The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger : Marc Levinson
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York : Robert Caro (Open Road Biography)
Stealth of Nations - The Global Rise of the Informal Economy : Robert Newwirth
Now Your See It - How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn : Cathy N. Davidson
America The Philosophical : Carlin Romano
Small Town Rules - How Big Brands and Small Business Can Prosper in a Connected Economy : Larry J. Molitz & Becky McCray
The Nonprofit Board Answer Book - A Practical Guide for Board Members and Chief Executives
No Way to Run A Railroad - The Untold Story of the Penn Central Crisis : Stephen Salsbury
Derailed - What Went Wrong and What to Do About America's Passenger Trains : Joseph Vranich
End of the Line: The Failure of Amtrak Reform and the Future of America's Passenger Trains : Joseph Vranich
The Powers That Be : David Halberstam 
The Best and the Brightest : David Halberstam 
Supertrains: Solutions to America's Transportation Gridlock : Joseph Vranich
Bold Endeavors - How our Government Built America and Why it Must Rebuild Now : Felix Rhoyhatyn
Moving Millions - An Inside Look at Mass Transit : Stan Fischer
Stuck in Traffic - Coping with Peak-Hour Traffic Congestion : Anthony Downs
Breaking Gridlock- Moving Towards Transportation That Works : Jim Motavalli
Making the Car Pay Its Way: The Case of Minneaapolis Roads : John Biley, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
The Pressue Boys: The Inside Story of Lobbying in America : Kenneth Crawford
The Interstate Commerce Omission: The Public Interest and the ICC : Robert C. Fellmeth
The Pavers and the Paved - The Real Cost of America's Highway Program 1971 : Ben Kelley
The Motorization of American Cities : David J. St.Clair
Superhighways Super Hoax : Helen Leavitt
The Automobikle and American Culture 1986 : David Lewis
The Going Rate - What it Really Costs to Drive : James J. McKenzie World Resource Institute, Washington DC
The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 David McCullough
The Economics of Competition in the Transportation Industries : John Robert Meyer
The Era of Thodore Roosevelt and the Rise of Modern America : George E. Mowry
Railroads - The Free Enterprise Alternative : Daniel Overbey
No Way to Run a Railroad: The Untold Story of the Penn Central Crisis : Stephen Salsbury
Building the American Highway System: Engineers as Policy Makers : Bruce E. Seely
The Interstate Commerce Commision and the Railroad Industry: A History of Regulatory Policy 1991: Richard D. Stone
Silent Spring : Rachel Carson
Suburbia - It's People and Its Politics 1979 : Robert C. Wood
The Prize - The Quest for Oil, Money and Power : Daniel Yergin (Age of Heretics -Biography)
On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors 1979 : Patrick J. Wright (Age of Heretics -Biography)
What Are People For - Essays : Wendell Berry (Age of Heretics -Biography)
Voluntary Simplicity - Towards A Life That is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich, Duane Elgin  (Age of Heretics -Biography)
A Grunch of Giants : Buckminster Fuller  (Age of Heretics -Biography)
The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers, Robert Heilbroner  (Age of Heretics -Biography)
Let Them Call me a Rebel - Saul Alinsky, His Life and Legacy : Sanford Horwitt  (Age of Heretics -Biography)
The Glory and The Dream,William Manchester  (Age of Heretics -Biography)
The Seven Laws of Money, Michael Phillips (Age of Heretics -Biography)
The Seven Sisters: The Great Oil Companies and the World They Shaped, Anthony Sampson (Age of Heretics -Biography)

Superhighways Superhoax, Helen Leavitt (Open Road Biography)
Interstate: Express Highway Politics 1941-1956, Mark Rose (Open Road Biography)
The Last Landscape, William "Holly" Whyte  (Open Road Biography)











Thursday, August 30, 2012

Upcoming Cycling Events in the Bay Area - August 30, 2012

Upcoming Events in the Silicon Valley


Remember to always carry a tire repair kit.
Thursday, August 30, 2012

San Jose Bike Party - Rocky Horror Ride
Friday September 21, 2012 8:00 pm

Route posted 24 hours before ride time at sjbikeparty.org


Bike Party is growing - In the Bay Area .....San Jose, East Bay, and San Francisco.

Also now in Washington DC and Baltimore.



The Rocky Horror Test Ride #2

Sunday, September 2, 2012 at 5:00 pm

Enjoy the labor day weekend with a SLOW CASUAL ride with SJBP.... It's the SLOW RIDE.

Everyone is welcome and invite your friends. if you want the inside scoop on september's route, come ride with us! We will have a dinner spot at the end of the ride for those interested.
Dinner spot TBD.
Also stay tuned for a possible sidebar to the ride... possible "ride-by" for a fallen rider.
Meet at Kohl's Department Store at 3700 El Camino Real, Santa Clara (Map)


San Jose Bike Party - The Rocky Horror Test Ride #2

Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 7:00 pm

Another test ride. And yes on another Sunday, so more can ride with us.
This will NOT be a slow ride, and if you'll be so kind, bring some bike lights for your ride. Let's not only be seen, but be able to see.
It will be dark. you can also test ride your costumes you desire. does anyone have black eyeliner, eyelash extensions, and black lipstick I can borrow?
Meet at Kohl's Department Store at 3700 El Camino Real, Santa Clara (Map)


Free Bike Planning Workshop & Bike Tour in Downtown San Jose
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 5:30 pm
Ride Starts at City Hall. Workshop is at Faber Cyclery, 702 S. First St., SJ

Join us September 5th for a free bike tour of new downtown San Jose bikeways and a workshop “State of Bicycle Planning in the South Bay”.
 Hosted by APA Northern California Chapter
Sponsored by RBF Consulting and Kimley-Horn & Assocaites

Also at City Hall....
Bike to Lunch Fridays at 11:55 am. Meet at Bamboo Garden on the South Side of City Hall to ride to a nearby restaurant. Just bring a bike, a lock, some lunch money....and follow the rules of the road. Host John Brazil, San Jose City Bicycle Coordinator.
 



Peninsula Bike Party
Friday, August 31, 2012

(More info)



San Francisco Bike Party
Friday, September 7, 2012

(More info)



DC Bike Party
Wendesday, September 12, 2012

(More info





East Bay Bike Party
Friday, September 14, 2012
(More Info)



A Spatial History of Computing...by Bike

Friday, September 14, 2012 2:00 PM
Come join me as I (Nick Lally) lead a bike ride through Silicon Valley. We will look at the birth of computing and the internet, the history of LSD and hackers, traces of what used to be and what replaced it, metaphors of computing and the social spaces they emerged from, office parks and nature preserves, and the material infrastructures in the birthplace of personal computing.

The ride will be around 20-25 mostly flat miles at a slow pace with a lot of stops to look at things. There will be one beer/snack stop and a stop at the Computer History Museum. I will be printing up maps for riders and there will be some surprises! Then we'll roll into the opening of the ZERO1 Street Festival around 6 or 7pm.
http://www.zero1biennial.org/nick-lally

Presented with the support of ZERO1 and the James Irvine Foundation.
//other things:
invite your friends!
please be on time
UPDATE: The Saturday ride (9/15) will leave from my installation at the ZERO1 Street Festival at noon. I will be near South 1st Street and Williams Street: http://goo.gl/maps/V0KUG. We will hop on the Caltrain and head to the Menlo Park Station.
http://zero1biennial.org/content/emerge



Luna Park Chalk Art Festival
Backesto Park, San Jose (Map)
Saturday, September 22, 2012 10 am - 5 pm
(More Info)

and....during the Luna Park Chalk Art Festival ....

The Art Box Ride

Meet at the Art Box Project SJ table in Backesto Park.10:30 am
Backesto Park, San Jose (Map)
In celebration of the Art Box Project SJ's first anniversary, we welcome you to join us on an inspired tour of original works of art on city utility boxes led by the Bike Clinic of San Jose.
Enjoy the displays at the Luna Park Chalk Art Festival...nosh some Art Box Project SJ anniversary cake (while it lasts) and then enjoy the art box tour.

Saturday, September 22, 2012
(More Info)

Tour de Fat
Lindley Meadow in Golden Gate Park (Map)
Saturday, September 22, 2012
(More Info)

REGISTRATION 10:00am
PARADE 11:00am - 12:00pm
REVIVAL 12:00pm - 4:00pm
BENEFITTING San Francisco Bike Coalition
Bay Area Ridge Trail Council
...
Critical Mass 20th Anniversary Ride and Interstellar Ride
Saturday, September 24, 2012 until September 30, 2012
On the last Friday of September, 1992, a group of San Franciscan cyclists showed up on Market Street for the first ever Critical Mass. This leaderless ride became a monthly “organized coincidence”, and in the years that followed, spread around the world. Celebrating a shared sense of rediscovering urban spaces, Critical Mass riders cross borders and find common cause to have a good time on foot-powered wheels. These uplifting rides also challenge the use of city streets and the domination of cars and oil in
our transportation system.

To mark the 20th Anniversary of the first Critical Mass ride, a group of enthusiasts has formed a Welcome Committee that is organizing a week-long celebration September 24-30, 2012. With great pleasure, we invite you to join us in San Francisco, California for our planned events, and we encourage you to get involved and/or create your own activities.

Dozens, hundreds, maybe a thousand friends from around the world will arrive here to help us commemorate this milestone. Friday the 28th is of course the big birthday, the Interstellar Critical Mass ride, which we hope will be a giant, crazy, awesome evening ending in a big party under warm skies.

Santa Cruz Open Streets
West Cliff Drive Santa Cruz
Sunday, October 7, 2012 9am-1pm
Free community event. Enjoy West Cliff Drive without automobile traffic. Bicyclists, joggers, strollers, skaters...come one, come all! Streets for people from Lighthouse Field to Natural Bridges State Park.

More Info


Also note the Guadalupe River Trail will be closed for paving construction soon. The closed portion will extend north of 880 all the way to Gold Street in Alviso. check Twitter for more details.
Too see all rides on the map click the link just below the map. Thanks.

View Upcomming Bay Area Bike Events in a larger map

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

California Assembly Passes 3 foot safe passing bill

California Passes 3 foot
passing bill.
photo: everymantri.com





The California Bicycle Coalition is declaring a victory this week after the California State Assembly passed SB-1464 "The Safe Passing Bill" by a margin of 54-24. All South Bay and Peninsula Assembly members voted for the bill. A previous version of the bill was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown in October of last year. The previous bill called for a 15 MPH speed limit when a 3 foot clearance was not possible in passing. The new bill replaced the 15 MPH language with "a speed that is reasonable and prudent given traffic and roadway conditions and only pass when it’s safe to do so.This provision is patterned after the Basic Speed Law (California Vehicle Code Section 22350) and California’s “Move Over” law (CVC 21809)" CBC

Twenty-one other states and the District of Columbia have already enacted safe passing distances from 3 to 4 feet.

  SB-1464 Vehicles: bicycles: passing distance.

(Full Text) An act to amend Sections 21460 and 21750 of, and to add Section 21750.1 to, the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
Bay Area Votes (San Francisco to San Jose)
District 12 Fiona Ma Aye
District 13 Tom Amiano Aye
District 19 Jerry Hill  Aye
District 20 Bob Wieckowski Aye
District 21 Rich Gordon   Aye
District 22 Paul Fong  Aye 
District 23 Nora Campos  Aye
District 24 Jim Beall Aye


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

April Economides returns to the Silicon Valley to talk about Bike Friendly Business Districts

April Economides of
Green Octopus Consulting
photo:womenonbikessocal.org
Last week Thursday, April Economides of Green Octopus Consulting returned to the Silicon Valley to speak to a packed house (the house being the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce) of about 50 attendees. I last saw April at the Grand Opening of 359 State Street, a new cycling lifestyle shop in Los Altos.

For the last two years April has been bringing the concept of bike friendly business districts to the four districts of Long Beach California. Working with Bike Long Beach, the districts draw cyclists to the area with events, promotions, ample bike parking, along with valet bike parking for some events.

BikeLongBeach.org
Twitter
Since cyclists who are either car-free or car-lite tend to have more disposable income $6,000 to $9,000 per car depending on the car, the districts have been focusing on attracting those customers locally. Attracting those customers would bring an intensity and vitality that is lacking from many cities traditional business districts.

What's amazing about the City of Long Beach however isn't just the Bicycle Friendly Business District promotion but the way the city not only has embraced cycling as a practical, alternative form of transportation but the way in which it promotes and delivers information related to cycling in the city.

To a cyclist (or transit user, or pedestrian) new to a city it is difficult to find information on cycling in one place, delivered in a straight forwards style. Try this: type in _________ Department of Transportation filling in the blank with you city name. Go to their "Transportation" page, usually a public works or traffic page. Look carefully and see how prominently a cycling subheading is displayed if, at all. Here are some examples

San Jose
Long Beach
New York
Portland
Santa Barbara
Denver

As you can see most city webpages contain little if any information. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advocacy groups are of little help as well, and really are not set up to provide a quality user experience while in the city. Tourism agencies or councils are geared towards traditional sightseeing as well. In the case of San Jose, there is no tourism organization, the bicycle coalition focuses mainly on advocacy, and the city transportation page focuses mainly on their wonderful safety program for school age children.

One city does stand out (and I'll write about this later) and that is Santa Barbara, with their Car-Free Santa Barbara program, one of the only programs that I am aware of.

BikeLongBeach.org
Although there is a very vague connection between the city of Long Beach's official web page and BikeLongBeach.org, the city has done an amazing job of making cycling information accessible to tourists and residents alike, as well as to experienced cyclists and novice cyclists. If anyone knows of any other webpage as in-depth as this one please contact me.

The website is broken down into basic bicycling categories such as Biking 101 which includes topics such as bike laws, bike security and safety, commuting, riding at night, and many other topics but also as an area devoted to bicycle planning which covers the more wonky, policy related topics. There is also a blog to keep readers up to date on rides, tours, and events. The get involved section has topics on bicycling community, volunteer opportunities, and bicycle friendly workplaces.

Many cities could benefit from a close collaboration with the city transportation staff, the city's economic development departments, business and business districts, transit and train lines, cycling and other alternative transportation groups to provide information on cycling in the city to help answer questions on bicycle parking, bike routes, bicycle promotions, as well as travel packages.

I'm sure cyclists would be excited to have special deals at hotels if they arrived by bike or if events will have valet parking, or if their favorite restaurant is offering a cyclists special. Long Beach has been at the forefront on promoting local business to cyclists. Let's just hope this is the start to many more city initiatives.

Thanks again for stopping by April.











Wednesday, August 22, 2012

San Jose City Council Votes to create a key east/west corridor on Hedding St.


Councilmember Sam Liccardo (l)
and Hans Larsen-
SJ Dept. of Transportation Director
photo: SJ DOT
Yesterday in an evening council session in San Jose the council voted in favor of creating key east/west corridors on Hedding Street and Ocala Ave. The vote was after three amendments were added in a memo submitted by Councilmembers Sam Liccardo, Rose Herrera and Xavier Campos. The motion put forward by the downtown Councilmember Liccardo and seconded by Herrera was unanimously approved with Counilmember Pete Constant absent last evening.

After Councilmember Liccardo put forward the motion, over 20 public speakers spoke in favor of the bicycle lanes. Only five spoke out against the motion including one cabdriver who made some very outlandish claims that the existing bike lane improvements on 10th and 11th cause extreme delays amounting to over $1,600 in losses monthly to his business. I found it odd since the bike lanes have only been completed and fully operational for only two weeks (San Jose opens bike lanes, offers plans for bicycle, pedestrian safe downtown -August 16,2012).

Most of the cyclists showed up to show support after a skewed article appeared in the San Jose Mercury News the morning after a public meeting was held at the Joyce Ellington Library in Japantown. The article was featured in a popular post on the Cyclelicious website.


Hedding St. looking east towards
the County Administration bldg.
Photo: Richard Massoner/Cyclelicious

Councilmembers Liccardo, Herrera, Campos, Kalra, Oliverio and Nguyen highlighted their yes votes with additional comments. Councilmember Herrera who has been a supporter of cycling in the past comment how the lanes proposed on Ocala and Hedding along with this month's new downtown lanes "reflects our vision,and on living out our values by putting words into action."

Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen comment how she has noticed on her way to the office that there appeared to be less speeding on the one way streets such as 3rd, 4th, 10th and 11th. She mentioned that this will help with all users sharing the road.

Speakers who spoke in favor of the bike lanes included mothers, bike commuters, new cyclists, advocates, and participants in San Jose Bike Party. It is great to see participants of San Jose Bike Party starting to stand up publicly in favor of increased cycling infrastructure. This months ride featured the new buffered bike lanes on 10th Street. According to Manuel Pineda - Deputy Director of San Jose DOT workis expected to begin in October.




San Jose City Council Agenda - 6. Transportation, August 21, 2012

San Jose City Council Agenda
August 21, 2012

6.   TRANSPORTATION & AVIATION SERVICES

6.1 Hedding and Ocala Bike Lane Projects.

Recommendation:
Approve the following actions to install two miles of new bike lanes in support of Envision 2040 transportation goals (pdf: Chapter 6, page 38):
(a) On Hedding Street (google map), authorize the removal of vehicular travel lanes between the Guadalupe River Trail and Seventeenth Street and all on-street parking spaces between First and Fifteenth Street.
(b) On Ocala Avenue (google map), authorize the removal of vehicular travel lanes between Capitol Expressway and White Road.
(c) Adopt a resolution to repeal Resolution No. 76192 and authorize the installation of bicycle lanes on the following streets in accordance with California Vehicle Code section 21207:

(1) Hedding Street between the Guadalupe River Trail and Seventeenth
Street;
(2) Ocala Avenue between Capitol Expressway and White Road.
CEQA:
Hedding Street - Use of the North San José Development Policies Update EIR, File No. PDC05-114, Resolution No. 72768, and Use of the San José Flea Market General Plan Amendment & Planned Development Rezoning EIR, File Nos. GP06-04-01/GPT06-04-01, Resolution No. 73738, and an Addendum thereto. Ocala Avenue - Categorically Exempt, File Number PP12-067. Council District: 3, 5 & 8 (Transportation)

The agenda item above was approved with the following ammendments (memo signed by Liccardo, Herrera, and Campos):


  1. Utilize a green slurry seal for bike lanes on both westbound and eastbound lanes of Hedding St., throughout the distance of the project, to provide a visual differentiation from auto traffic lanes.
  2. Utilize a full buffer for lanes in the Hedding Street corridor, with the exception of specific blocks where existing street parking will be maintained for residents and businesses:  a. Westbound Hedding (on the north side), between 2nd Street and 8th Street
    b. Eastbound Hedding (on the south side), between 4th Street and 7th Street
  3. Upon the completion of BART construction in 2017, return to council to evaluate the status of the existing primary bike facilities on HeddingStreet, and consider improvement in consultation with the community.

TO BE HEARD IN THE EVENING
Sam Liccardo (Motion)
Rose Herrera (Second)


Council Vote (Green = Yes, Red = No, Black= Obstain or Absent)
Mayor Chuck Reed
District 1 - Pete Constant
District 2 - Ash Kalra
District 3 - Sam Liccardo
District 4 - Kansen Chu
District 5 - Xavier Campos
District 6 - Pierluigi Oliverio
District 7 - Madison Nguyen
District 8 - Rose Herrera
District 9 - Donald Roacha
District 10 - Nancy Pyle

The cycling community showed up in force with over 50 attendees. Over 30 speakers commented publicly about the item. Five spoke against.

Some comments by council members
Campos: Supports the motion because "many in my district must walk or bike to work".
Nguyen: "Good compromise...working with the best resources we have. Don't know if cycling has increased but I noticed that auto speeds have decreased. I see it on my commute to and from office....very important to reduce speeds and share the road. We are moving in the right direction.
Herrera: "This motion reflects our vision....living out our values...puts our words into action>."
Kalra: " I am supporting the motion...lanes have caused a traffic slowdon...its like reconstructive surgery...it will change who we are as a city....we will start to think differently. Increase the health of our children....recognize how dangerous many of our streets are."
Oliverio: Thank Sam Liccardo for hiscollaboration skills. "...I will be interested to observe what happens...see how it works. We are limited in what we can do about speed limits. We have no flexibility. California Assembly should legislate speed limit controls back to the city."



6.2 Actions Related to the I-280/I-880/Stevens Creek Boulevard Interchange Improvement Project.

Recommendation:
Approve actions to support the I-280/I-880/Stevens Creek Boulevard interchange improvement project:
(a) Adopt a resolution, as a responsible agency for the project under CEQA, in accordance with the provisions of Section 15096(h) of the CEQA Guidelines, with the following findings:

(1) That the City Council has read and considered the Environmental Impact Report for the project and concurs with the Lead Agency’s (Caltrans’) analysis;
(2) That changes have been incorporated into the project that lessen the significant environmental effects of the project; and
(3) That the changes required to lessen the effects of the project are the responsibility of Caltrans, and that Caltrans has adopted those changes.

(b) Approve the Freeway Agreement between the City of San José and the State of California for the Highway 17 (from Downing Ave. to Highway 280), Highway 280 (from South Bascom Avenue to South Winchester Avenue) and Highway 880 (Highway 280 to Forest Avenue) authorizing the construction or reconstruction of certain City streets as part of the highway interchange project in accordance with California Streets and Highways Code Section 100.2.

CEQA: As referenced in the staff memorandum. Council Districts1 and 6. (Transportation) - 6 - CC 08/21/12

Council Vote (Green = Yes, Red = No, Black= Obstain or Absent)
Mayor Chuck Reed
District 1 -Pete Constant
District 2 - Ash Kalra
District 3 - Sam Liccardo
District 4 - Kansen Chu
District 5 - Xavier Campos
District 6 - Pierluigi Oliverio
District 7 - Madison Nguyen
District 8 - Rose Herrera

District 9 - Donald Roacha
District 10 - Nancy Pyle



6.3 Agreement with Mark Thomas & Company, Inc. for Engineering Consultant Services for the Route 101/Mabury Road Interchange Project.

Recommendation:
Approve an agreement with Mark Thomas & Company, Inc. for engineering consultant services for the Route 101/Mabury Road interchange project for a term from date of full execution to June 30, 2014, with the City’s option to extend for up to two additional one year periods, and in the amount not to exceed $1,604,420. CEQA: Exempt, File No. PP10-066(d), Consultant Services. Council District 3 and 4. (Transportation)