Category Archives: Press

Meeting tonight: BERGAMOT Designing the Districts

Leave a reply

Monday, April 23rd – tonight! Bergamot Design the Districts, Open house 6-7pm, Workshop 7-9pm
Tuesday, April 24th.  Santa Monica Spoke Meeting, 6:30-8:30pm, 5th a& Colorado, info to follow 

BERGAMOT, Designing the Districts

The City of Santa Monica invites you to the fifth Bergamot Area Plan workshop, where you can help design a district-wide concept that merges previous community input to transition the former industrial areas into a creative and sustainable mixed-use destination.

Please join us tonight, April 23rd starting at 6PM at the Civic Auditorium, East Wing, (1855 Main Street) to discuss:

·         STREETS: craft street design concepts that unify the area by incorporating new amenities for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles, as well as a variety of public open spaces.
·         URBAN FORM: provide input on the shape and scale of the built environment. Define areas for conservation as well as reinvention to complement the districts’ unique character.
·         GROUND LEVEL EXPERIENCE: weigh-in on urban design principles that create an engaging and successful pedestrian atmosphere.

Your input, specifically on bicycle circulation and design is needed for this important Santa Monica planning effort.  Staff will host an OPEN HOUSE starting at 6PM to provide a preview of planning concepts and ideas. The COMMUNITY WORKSHOP portion of the evening, which includes a presentation and small-group discussion tables, begins at 7PM.

We hope to see you there!

To learn more about the project, please visit the website at www.bergamotplan.net.

Santa Monica Bike Learning Campus Opens Sunday 4/22

3 Replies

Sunday 4/22 Bike Campus Opening Event

This Sunday we will celebrate the Grand Opening of the Santa Monica Bike Campus. This bike campus facility is an off street facility that is to be used by cycling instructors and the community to practice street cycling skills in a car free environment.

We will celebrate the opening of the Bike Campus on Earth Day with lots of fun, festivities and education. There will be a Beach Bike Rodeo* aimed at middle school students and their parents, food, and raffle prizes. A coordinated collaboration with the City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica Bike Center and Santa Monica Spoke we will have bike safety checks with LCI’s (League of American Bicyclist Certified Instructors) at the different stations to teach safe bike traffic skills and obstacle avoidance techniques and to demonstrate how the community can use this great benefit to practice and improve their cycling skills on their own. You can bring your own bike or borrow one of ours.

Ribbon cutting ceremony at 12:30 with Mayor Richard Bloom
Bike Rodeo Classes, raffles, food and festivities from 1:00-3:00pm
Information on how we can  “Bring CicLAvia to Santa Monica and the westside”
At 3:00pm  Santa Monica Spoke will host another “Ride the BAP” to see and discuss more of the recent and upcoming bike infrastructure implementations.
We also hope to have our SMPD Bike Liaison Sgt McLaughlin in attendance.

The Santa Monica Bike Campus is located on a section of roadway no longer used that connected two parking lots just east of the beach bike path at Dorothy Green Park where Ocean Park Boulevard ends at Barnard way. The campus is painted with road markings and obstacle courses for teaching bike education classes and includes signage with instructions for self guided learning. It is painted with simulated vehicle lanes, street signage like stop signs, sharrows, crosswalks and bike lanes. It is used to teach lane positioning and obstacle avoidance as part of the curriculum of the League of American Bicycling’s Smart Cycling.

The facility is the first of its kind in Los Angeles. It is a dedicated space used to teach the road portion of the Confident City Cycling Skills by LCI’s (League Certified Instructors), as well as by the community with the self guided instruction signage and online videos. The area can also be used by local schools to teach bike skills in a safe space before introducing students to real traffic. This campus has long been envisioned by bike advocates in Santa Monica, Ron Durgin, GM of the Santa Monica Bike Center and Planning Commissioner Richard McKinnon, (BikeIt Day ) as well as us at Santa Monica Spoke. Last Year the City demonstrated its commitment to education by hosting a three day instructor training for League of American Bicyclist Instructors Certification. Santa Monica Spoke’s Director Cynthia Rose, Bryan Beretta and Mihai Piteu were certified as instructors along with a few members of the local community and 4 members from the City. We believe having an engaged City staff knowledgeable in cyclist rights and responsibilities as well as the many other skills learned in this training was a catalyst that helped us create a great Bike Action Plan that will serve the community well into the future. The City now offers monthly bike skills classes paid for by a safety grant coordinated by SM Bike Center’s Ron Durgin. The Confident City Cycling Classes, free for participants are taught here in Santa Monica, and also in West Hollywood and Burbank.

With the opening of this bike campus we can also hope to facilitate a traffic diversion program advocated by Santa Monica Spoke. This campus could now be used for bike education diversion program like Portland, OR or in Huntington Beach for bicyclists cited for moving violations like running stop signs and red lights to riding on sidewalks. In these programs, not unlike traffic school – a traffic safety class for cyclist is offered as a less expensive alternative to higher punitive penalties. But more importantly it offers offenders education instead of fees to help correct their behavior. Spoke had been working with former Cheif Jackman, exploring the implementation of such a program here in Santa Monica. We look forward to seeing this continue with the new Chief of Police Jacqueline Seabrooks.

“Bring CicLAvia to Santa Monica and the Westside”
We will launch the campaign to bring this hugely successful Los Angeles event west. You will be able to sign up to get involved or just stay informed.  We will have a map for you to help us in suggesting a route.

We are looking forward to a wonderful event this Sunday and hope you can join us to celebrate this next piece in the puzzle as we create a safer, more bikeable and walkable community.

*co-sponsored by Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District PTA Council

 

CicLAvia Feeder Rides & “Bring CicLAvia to SM & the Westside”

1 Reply

YES!! Let’s bring CicLAvia to Santa Monica and the Westside!

That will be our theme for our feeder ride to CicLAvia. We will launch our campaign to “Bring CicLAvia to the Santa Monica and the Westside” on our ride this Sunday. You can become some of the first to learn how you can get involved and bring this great event west!

Be among the first to sign up to receive updates or get involved  here,

Here is a list of some of the Feeder Rides starting from the westside.

 

Starting from the Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica Spoke
The route and more info here,  Facebook event here

 

The UCLA Bike Club & UCLA Bicycle Coalitions will join us in Beverly Hills, (where Santa Monica Blvd crosses Wilshire, at Starbuck’s)
more on their ride that starts at UCLA here

Ride hosted and starting at the Bikerowave
More info here,  Facebook event here

Culver City Bicycle Coalition’s ride starts at Media ParkFind info on CCBC ride here, Facebook event here

If you  know of other local rides let us know we will post it.
For more info visit CicLAvia’s web site

Save the dates: Bike Campus Opening 4/22 & Spoke meeting 4/24

1 Reply

Please save the date. Sunday April 22nd & * New meeting date Tuesday 4/24

Monday, April 23rd

*Monday meeting date conflicts with Bergamot Transit Village Design Workshop see below

On Sunday April 22nd we join the City of Santa Monica to celebrate the opening of the New Bike Campus where Ocean Park meets the beach.We will celebrate the opening of Santa Monica’s New Bike Campus with festivities and education.  There will be a Beach Bike Rodeo aimed at middle school students and their parents. Bring your bike or borrow one of ours. We will do bike safety checks and have instructors at the different stations to teach bike skills and demonstrate how the community can use this great benefit to improve their cycling skills on their own.  Santa Monica Spoke will host another “Ride the BAP” to see and discuss more of the recent and upcoming bike infrastructure implementations.
More on the Bike Campus and this event will be posted soon.

On New date Tuesday, April 24 Monday April 23rd we invite you to join us for a Spoke meeting to be held in the evening (6:30) . We will catch up on what’s up in Santa Monica, the BAP and future campaigns like “Bring CicLAvia to Santa Monica and the West-side”. As we confirm our location it will be posted here.
 update to follow

See you soon!

Bike Fest, this Saturday April 14th at REI

Leave a reply

Santa Monica Spoke joins REI for a day of cycling education and fun.  In addition to all the great stuff outlined below representatives from Santa Monica Spoke will be there to ask questions and get information about the new Bike Action Plan and all the new bike infrastructure in our city. Also JJ Hoffman, LACBC River Ride coordinator will be there so you can register for the River Ride on June 10th and get info on LACBC’s projects around LA county.

Just one more way you can prepare for CicLAvia on SUNDAY, April 15th.

WHAT: During a free Bike Fest on Saturday, April 14th from 11 am – 3 pm, REI will host the local cycling community.  REI’s Bike Fest is a fun day of events for everyone whether you are a commuter, a first-time rider or weekend warrior! Get educated and inspired as you meet vendors, community bike clubs and non-profits. REI will help you maximize your ride, teach you how to plan your route, and let you test ride some of their newest bikes. Come join us as we celebrate how much fun it is to be on two wheels!  REI Expert Staff will teach a variety of 30 minute classes to meet the needs of all levels of cyclists.

        • 11:30 am – 12:00 pm – Getting your Family Cycling.
          We’ll help you navigate the variety of choice of child carriers and safety equipment to find what’s right for you and your family
        • 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm – Maximize your Ride with GPS.
          GPS is everywhere, from bike computers to your phone.  Learn how to maximize this tool in your rides.
        • 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm – Learn how to Fix a Flat.
          Bring your own wheel and learn how to fix a flat tire and ride with confidence.
        • 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm – Using the Internet to Connect.
          We’ll help you map your ride and plan your route using the latest internet tools.

WHO:        All cyclists are encouraged to attend free of charge.

WHERE:   Santa Monica REI, 402 Santa Monica Blvd.

WHEN:      Saturday, April 14th, 11 am – 3 pm

HOW:         To register for the event or for information on other upcoming classes, visit REI.com/SantaMonica.

 

ABOUT REI:
REI is a national outdoor retail co-op dedicated to inspiring, educating and outfitting its members and the community for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship. Founded in 1938 by a group of Pacific Northwest mountaineers seeking quality equipment, REI is committed to promoting environmental stewardship and increasing access to outdoor recreation through volunteerism, gear donations and financial contributions.

# # #