Category Archives: leadership

Happy Bike Month: Week #1

Join us in Celebrating May, Bike Month in Santa Monica!

Click here to sign up and add your Bike Month Event, Promotion or Bike to Work Day Pitstop or HandleBar Happy Hour #HBHH!
Check back for new events being added!


Our first Bike Month HandleBar Happy Hour is this Thursday at Gilbert’s El Indio

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Every week during Bike Month we get together for fun, support local businesses, and to celebrate all things bike.
Always fun, always family friendly!

Socialize, talk bikes, give input ….

If it’s on your way don’t forget to pass the Bike Counter!


Big thank you to all our Bike Month #BuyLocalSM #BikeLocalSM #HBHH venues: Week #1 Gilbert’s El Indio, Week #2 Thömus, Week #3 Santa Monica Brew Works, Week #4 Solidarity and last Week #5 TBD


Bike it! Walk it! Bus it! Week! May 1st to the 6th

Bike It! Walk It! Bus It! week encourages kids to be active, by getting to school using alternative modes of transportation. National Bike to School Day is coming up on: Wednesday, May 3rd…an exciting event aimed at promoting eco-friendly and safe transportation options for students.


Click here to view Map on line

Kidical Mass: Valentine’s Day

Kidical Mass: A Multigenerational, Social Bike Ride Event. 
Family Fun for all Ages!
Other activities include gardening class, community garden tours and Pancakes! We welcome our event Partner VEO providing sit-down electric scooters and helmets during the event so people who don’t have their own bicycle can participate at no charge.

NEW #ActionAlert: California Shared Scooters and Bikes Are Under Threat

AB 371 doesn’t solve the problem

The California State Senate is considering a bill that will endanger bike and scooter sharing in California. It’s absolutely crucial to voice your opposition to this dangerous bill today.

Tell Governor Newsom
VETO AB 371 and Support Shared Micromobility!

The Kill Bike-Share Bill singles out shared micromobility for an onerous insurance requirement. That will drive up the costs of bike and scooter sharing so severely that many programs will have to be canceled, and hopes of expansion into low-income communities will be dashed.

California needs real solutions

Bike and scooter sharing systems are essential to help mitigate climate change by reducing carbon emissions. The Kill Bike-Share Bill solves nothing and is likely to make California’s problems worse.

If passed, AB 371 would have a devastating impact on equitable mobility. Please take action today! Please join us and tell Governor Newsom to VETO AB 371 and Support Shared Micromobility!

See here why AB 371 doesn’t solve the problem, California needs real solutions, Insurance requirement comparison, and 4 reasons to save California bike-share

Action Alert: Support Pedestrian Pilot on Main Street

June 8th Council Meeting 

This Tuesday, Santa Monica City Council is expected to vote on final approval of the pilot program for temporary weekend street closures for vehicular traffic for a few weekends this summer on Main Street. In other cities programs like this have proven to reduce car use, support local businesses, and increase walking and biking. Santa Monica City Council needs to hear from you – share your support for a more sustainable, walkable, and vibrant Santa Monica! We want Santa Monica to be a great place for residents, workers, students and visitors of all ages to safely walk, bike, and scoot. As we emerge out of the pandemic, finding creative ways like this to support healthy active mobility and our local businesses by providing more outdoor experiences is critical for our community wellbeing and our economic recovery. 

We know you may have previously sent an email or submitted a survey but we need you to help demonstrate support to Council this evening with a short note to ensure that Item 7-A is approved. Click and customize the template below.

Santa Monica Spoke enthusiastically supports the Main Street Buisness Improvement District and the Ocean Park Neighborhood Association pilot. Other cities in the US and around the world have long been discovering the economic and safety benefits of slow and shared streets for safer, more equitable and sustainable mobility, for people walking, biking, scooting and driving. We have the data, we know that prioritizing people over cars makes streets safer for everyone, improves gridlock, is better for the environment, and indeed improves the experience of mobility regardless of mode. By providing safer and healthier options that encourage more people to leave their cars behind and explore the city, we improve safety, climate impacts, economic and environmental resilience, and vitality for our future. 

This item will be heard tomorrow at the Tuesday, June 8th council meeting.
Please send a quick note of support on Item 7-A, pilot program for weekend closures on Main Street, to the members of City Council* — template and email addresses listed below.
*preferably by noon on Tuesday June 8th

Example from Santa Barbara 

Template: Please personalize as you like

To: councilmtgitems@smgov.net, sue.himmelrich@smgov.net, kristin.mccowan@smgov.net, phil.brock@smgov.net, gleam.davis@smgov.net, oscar.delatorre@smgov.net, Kevin.McKeown@smgov.net, christine.parra@smgov.net

Dear Mayor and Santa Monica City Council,

As a Santa Monica resident, I support the pilot to pedestrianize Main Street for a few weekends this summer and hope you will consider making it permanent. Pedestrianized streets are more vibrant and encourage people to visit by foot, bicycle or scooter and leave their car at home. Pedestrian streets improve the visitor experience, encourage people to stay and bring in more customers to shops and restaurants. Streets that are pedestrianized are much more relaxing and enjoyable to visit and eat outdoors than a street with the noise and pollution of car traffic.

I very much support this program and ask that you vote to approve of the pilot on Main Street!

May is Bike Month

We are getting ready and gathering Bike Month Promotions and Virtual Activities to share for
Bike Month Santa Monica 2021!
#BikeThere #BikeMonthSM #GoSaMo #BikeLocalSM

#WhyIRide

TheLEAGUE-BikeMonth

May is National Bike Month, sponsored by the  League of American Bicyclists and celebrated in communities from coast to coast. Established in 1956, National Bike Month is a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling — and encourage more folks to giving biking a try.

WITH SO MANY REASONS TO RIDE, WHAT’S YOURS? Â»

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It’s a celebration of bikes; a reminder to get rolling again; a gateway to riding more often; a time to evangelize the beauty of bikes; and much, much more.

Whether you bike to work or school; ride to save money or time; pump those pedals to preserve your health or the environment; or simply to explore your community, National Bike Month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride. The momentum is building: With growing cultural awareness around health and wellness, sustainability and economic savings, bicycling is being seen by new and broader audiences as a simple solution to many complex problems, from reducing obesity rates to increasing mobility options. This year, we want to hear from you. What’s your “why?” With so many reasons to ride, what’s yours? Use the hashtags #WhyIRide and #BikeLocalSM #BikeMonthSM on social media and also tag @SMSpoke @BikeLeague!

Each year the number and diversity of Bike Month celebrations continues to grow, accelerating the momentum around bicycling nationwide.