Author Archives: Cynthia Rose

Free Bike Education Classes 2020

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Presented by Metro, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition – LACBC and Santa Monica Spoke

Class size is limited. Pre-registration is FREE but required.
Follow class links to register now to guarantee your spot!

Class Series:
Bike 1 – Back to Basics (January 25th)
Bike 2 – Rules of the Road (February 8, 2020)
Bike 3 – Street Skills (February 22, 2020) RESCHEDULED March 7th, 2020
Bicycling 101 (date TBD)
All 1st time class participants get a free helmet and a set of bike lights!

Watch the video to learn more about this class series!

**RAIN POLICY: In the event of a rain forecast, we will contact you 24 hours in advance to confirm or cancel the class**

Has it been awhile since you’ve been on a bike? Do you want to learn how to bike safely?
The Bike 1 – Back to Basics class, presented by Metro, will help you improve your bicycling skills. You’ll learn how to start and stop with confidence, scan, and signal. We’ll show you how to adjust your bike and helmet before a ride, and teach you how to perform a simple inspection to ensure your bike is road-ready. This is not a Learn to Ride class.

Do you want to make bicycling part of your daily travel routine, but you’re not sure where to start? The Bike 2 – Rules of the Road class, will help you learn how to bike on city streets safely. This is a free 2-hour class for adults and teens who would like to learn how to safely and legally ride on city roads. We will teach you the rules of the road, how to plan your route, and provide tips and trips to make bicycling for everyday travel safe and convenient. From what to wear to bicycling etiquette, we’ve got you covered!

Do you want to be more comfortable and confident when cycling on city roads? Take Bike 3 – Street Skills class and practice what you learned in a real-world setting. The Bike 3 – Street Skills class, is a free 2.5-hour class for adults and teens to practice safe riding with a group of beginning cyclists. You’ll learn cycling etiquette, practice riding in a real-world setting, and make pit stops at local establishments to get refreshments.

Open House: Stewart / Pennsylvania Bike & Pedestrian Project

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Please join us at an Open House hosted by City of Santa Monica for the Stewart and Pennsylvania Avenue Bike and Pedestrian Improvement project. There are two dates you can attend, December 14th or December 18th. There is also an interactive map to review and provide comments online. We were excited to give input to help shape the project to date and look forward to community input to help further build a project that will best serve equitable mobility in a safer, healthy and active Santa Monica. Together we can create a safe and friendly community for everyone.

Project Goal:
Walk & Bike Pedestrian improvements for Stewart and Pennsylvania Avenues

This project aims to make improvements that will connect local neighborhoods to transit facilities, bikeways, schools, parks, and employment opportunities. The Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE), Bicycle Action Plan (BAP), Bergamot Area Plan, and Pedestrian Action Plan all identify Stewart Street and Pennsylvania Avenue to include safety enhancements for pedestrians and bicyclists of all ages and abilities. This project plans to implement those improvements.

Project Elements:
•  Add new sidewalks, and pedestrian scale lighting on Pennsylvania Avenue between 26th Street and Stewart Street.
•  Enhance bike facility to a protected bikeway on Stewart Street between Colorado Avenue and Kansas Avenue to accommodate riders of all ages and abilities.
•  Enhance intersections at Stewart/Nebraska and Colorado/Yale.

We encourage you to check out the interactive map to review the project and provide comment.
Upcoming open house information session flyers:
•  Virginia Avenue Park Library Annex Saturday, December 14, 2019 from 2:30 PM – 5:00 PM
•  Edison Language Academy Wednesday, December 18, 2019 from 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Westside Global Climate Strike: Black Friday

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A coalition of youth-driven groups are organizing a LA regional climate strike on November 29th, Black Friday, at Tongva Park in downtown Santa Monica, 12-3PM.  Alexandria Villasenor, the Fridays For Future activist from New York, co-founder of US Youth Climate Strike and founder of Earth Uprising will attend and be one of the speakers at the strike.  A march is planned through Downtown Santa Monica, a die-in, live performances, networking time, tabling for organizations and media presence.

Regardless of why you ride a bicycle – our beloved bicycles are zero emission and part of climate crisis solutions!

“We would love to turn out a contingent of people of all ages – with all kinds of bikes – to make the point that bicycles are part of climate solutions”

Click here to RSVP or volunteer!

Find out more in our calendar event HERE

The strike is organized by multigenerational activists from all different organizations, ally businesses, and schools including Paul Revere Middle School, Santa Monica High, Pali High, Venice High, Loyola Marymount University and Santa Monica College.

Wellbeing Summit 2019

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The Wellbeing Summit is a one-day free and interactive event on November 16th, 2019, to spark conversation and action around community wellbeing.
For more on the event, please visit the website.

STEPS TO REGISTER

After you click the “Register” button above, you will:

1. Pick a Session!

  • Morning (10AM-12PM)
  • Midday (12PM-2PM)
  • Afternoon (2PM-4PM)

2. Provide contact information.

3. Select two workshops to attend per Session. See the list of workshops to choose from by flowing the registration link above!

REGISTRATION IS IMPORTANT – HERE’S WHY:

Space is limited in the workshops! The Wellbeing Summit is free and all are welcome. And, attendance is based upon first-to-register basis. Registration confirms your space.

Please arrive 30 minutes before your session to check-in.

Workshop details and event schedule are available at: santamonica.gov/wellbeingsummit.

The Future of Mobility in Santa Monica | A TechFire Panel Discussion

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click image to register

Join us for a discussion on the future of mobility in Santa Monica, and on the vitally important role that sustainable and equitable transportation options play for tackling the climate crisis, addressing equity issues, and improving mobility and quality of life for all. 

Santa Monica already leads the region in so many ways on mobility issues — but as Santa Monica’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan notes there is still much more progress to be made. Join us for what promises to be an enlightening, wide-ranging, and fun discussion as we think big and look to the future of what’s possible.

Panelists: 

  • Rick Cole, City Manager, City of Santa Monica
  • Cynthia Rose, Director, Santa Monica Spoke
  • Douglas Curl, Regional General Manager – West, Spin (Ford Smart Mobility)
  • and more TBA

Just a few of the themes to be addressed:

  • expanding protected bike lanes: Santa Monica already has some protected bike lanes in limited locations, but their spread pales in comparison to green bike lanes, which are great but offer far less protection
  • positioning Santa Monica to take advantage of a Green New Deal: strategies for getting the extension of the Metro Purple Line (“D Line”) to Downtown Santa Monica in the pipeline to take advantage of a possible federal Green New Deal down the line in the future
  • what’s next for scooters and micromobility more broadly in Santa Monica: lessons from the Shared Mobility Pilot Program as the City prepares for the next permit program in 2020
  • autonomous vehicles: how will the change Santa Monica, and how do they help or hurt environmental and equity issues?
  • the Big Blue Bus battery-electric bus pilot
  • lessons from other cities around the world
  • mobility as a human right: ways to further address equity issues relating to mobility (from micromobility to transit to EV carsharing, and beyond)
  • an update on next steps on implementing the transportation components of Santa Monica’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, and the latest on the work of the Task Force on the Environment and Subcommittee on the Electric Vehicles (including the  Electric Vehicle Action Plan)
  • and more!

About:
2:30 pm: doors open, 3–4:30 pm: panel discussion

Venue: Santa Monica Public Library (Main Library) Multipurpose Room (2nd Floor)