April  2009

 Advocacy News

 Legislative Updates

Bicyclists are being heard and listened to in Olympia this year, despite the legislators main focus on budget woes and difficult times. About 100 bicycle, pedestrian, transit and rail advocates participated in Transportation Lobby Day in February, including BIKES Club members Warren Bare, Rod McDonald, John Lindstrom, John Carlin and Kristin Kinnamon. Many other cyclists have contacted their legislators by phone or email in support of bike issues.

The session ends April 20, and it’s likely our bills still need support as you read this. One thing we’ve learned this session is that many legislators just don’t “get” bicycling, especially when adults are doing it. Education will be a key focus of our agenda for the rest of 2009.

Of the four issues carefully developed by the Bicycle Alliance of Washington for legislation this year, all four were heard in committee and two made it out of the House for action (we hope) in the Senate.

3-Foot Passing - HB1491: Passed House 63-32 with strong Democratic support despite several  Republican attempts at unfavorable amendments (along the lines of “if cyclists don‘t  ride far enough to the right, vehicles don‘t need to pass them safely“).. The Senate Transportation Committee, headed by 10^th District Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, will be key to this bill moving on.

Safe Routes to School - HB 1793: Although the bill was amended to remove any funding requirements in order to make it out of the House, it still requires the state Department of Transportation to establish a Center for Safe Routes to School and protects the existing funding for school district grants that encourage education, engineering and enforcement for safe walking and biking to schools while adding the important element of project evaluation. Some of our local legislators are bill sponsors - let’s thank them for the support.

Two bills that would have a lot of applicability in Snohomish County did not have enough legislative support to move forward  this year. HB 1403, Vehicle Activated Signals and HB 1535, Construction Zones. I personally am hopeful we will bring them back in 2010, but that will be a strategic decision made by the Bicycle Alliance Legislative & Statewide Issues Committee, which is made up of representatives from bike clubs and advocates across Washington.

This year the Bicycle Alliance shared many priorities and lobbying efforts with our partners in environmental and transportation advocacy, the Cascade Bicycle Club, Transportation Choices Coalition, Futurewise and the Washington Environmental Council. We hope to coordinate with those groups early this year to identify mutual interests and priorities.

Everett Bike Plan

Have you heard about the city of Seattle’s ambitious bike master plan? That’s the kind of thing City of Everett officials are hoping to accomplish in Snohomish County. About 70 community members attended an action meeting on  the City of Everett’s bike plan in early March. In addition to presenting some of their ideas and possible strategies, consultants from Alta Planning presented scenarios for small group strategy sessions. “What’s the preferred bike route from Everett Station to the Hewitt Avenue Trestle trail?” “What’s the preferred route through downtown?” “How do you get from north to south?” They then asked attendees to vote on best options for solving some of the city’s bike infrastructure problems.

There was a lot of energy and excitement in the room thanks to the great turnout and the ideas for improving biking in Everett. Unfortunately, the meeting ended with the information that there is no particular funding plan in place for any of the projects. However, having plans in place does enable the city to get grants and other funding to accomplish its goals.

City officials plan one final public meeting on the plan next fall. Stay tuned for any opportunities in the interim to shape this important document, a first of its kind in Snohomish County.

Marysville Health Communities

Budget woes have eliminated the Healthy Communities project from the Snohomish Health District budget, but the county’s first “healthy community” (also designated as the most overweight zip code) is continuing its efforts to improve access to healthy food, low cost activities and an active environment.

Thanks to the commitment of Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall and city staff including Parks Director Jim Ballew and Community Development Director Gloria Hirashima, committees continue to meet and a family play day is planned for June 6. If you’d like to assist with a BIKES Club table at the event (we’d hand out bike maps and perhaps do helmet fitting or safety checks), please contact Kristin Kinnamon at kinnamonk@aol.com or 360-658-2462.

Club Roster – Opt In or Opt Out?

Once or twice a year, B.I.K.E.S. distributes a roster of club members to the membership.  The printed list contains name, address, telephone number and email address of current members.  The roster is inserted in a newsletter and mailed to members only.

Do you look forward to receiving an updated Club Roster?  Or, would you rather not receive it and not have your name on the list?

If you want your name removed from the roster, send an email to roster@bikesclub.org or call Debby Grant at 425 778-5530.

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