Mike, that's great! Advocacy can be anything, even just riding a bike is a form of advocacy. It needn't all be organizations and collective action; everyone who cares enough to say or do something is an advocate.

supposedly, they will start work on Jamacha BLVD in March.

mike_ballard: Today, I got a call from the City (San Diego) that red zones will be put at the NE and SW corners of Howard Ave / Alabama St on Howard Ave.

Don't want to appear a grouch here, but if the SDPD had simply enforced what already exists in the CA vehicle code and in City of San Diego parking regulations with regards to parking near intersections, red-painting would often not be necessary at corner curbs: Such regulations already exist for parking within a certain distance of intersections, stop/yield signs and curb cuts, as well as -- notably -- within a certain distance of marked and unmarked pedestrian crossings.

Painting a curb at random corners always seem to make uneducated motorists conclude that un-painted corners are a free for all.

PS! I suppose there is some kind of analogy to painted bike lanes somewhere in there, too!

If you see some guy digging along the Rose Canyon Trail today, it is me. I'm going to do what I can, if anything, to clear the flooded area on the Rose Canyon Trail, near the northern end. I'll post what results I get.

Fantastic! I would hire you in the heartbeat for the City of San Diego Street Division!

That is the next step, getting a more permanent solution. Even making the canal I dug more permanent would be a step in the right direction.

things do seem to move slow around here but i going to help the North Park City Council and Jay Porter in removing a car parking space and installing bike parking in front of Jay's new restaurant north of University on 30th. i want to do the same for in front of my shop too.

LA Times article on Long Beach January 26, 2009. WOW! This city is very proactive in making a bike friendly town

I bought some Basil panniers this past weekend that look ridiculously girly and it is not my style at all (which is all dark and gloomy). So far my hypothesis is panning out wonderfully: I get lots of room when riding around town.

Cute.

Rule is, anything that gets you noticed is good.

In 2008, I spent 9 months waiting to ride my bike, and literally told myself stories about the stuff I wanted to do, and how I was going to do it. #1, not to be selfish, #2, to get out and KNOW people. I think what has bothered me all year in 2009 was how impossible this seemed to be. People have become so entrenched (the best word possible) about their “position with in advocacy”, that it is nearly impossible to hold a conversation about cycling with out dancing around who believes what. This dance, is ridiculous. I put a post up about “bridging the gap” a while back, trying to think about how to create a central focus on cycling. But, I couldn’t grasp it even then. One of my great downfalls (and oh, there are so many) is the eternal hope that we will all, to some extent, get along. This board was one of those hopes. Sadly, lately, the divisiveness that pervades the internet has shown up here, and created an ugly stain. There is way to much “I know what is better”, and to much ignorance. With much of the guilt being my own. In the 9 short years of riding back and forth to work, a few critical mass, a few organized group rides, a few wild alleycats, and a few other “let’s just meet up and ride”, I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why things are so apathetic in San Diego.

Apathetic?

My early years of cycling here were met with frustration due to my own pigheaded desire to “figure it out”. After 3 years of battling horrible roads, I remember going to the velo swap meet to, not shop, but meet the San Diego Bike Coalition. I was pretty proud to have been riding for 3 years on my own, and figured I’d be a welcome addition. Instead, I was told “you’ve been riding OUR streets for free.”, in front of my family. So, a few months later, I ran into a courier who convinced me to try critical mass. While exciting, the ride was predominately anti~government, and a lot of people acting out. Not many there were interested in change in San Diego. So, I just kept riding, loosely getting to know a few people, but mainly, keeping to myself.

So, back to my sanity dream. Having dealt with extremist, and fundamentalist at many levels, it seemed apparent to me, that in San Diego, we’d have a common bond. But, suggestions at bridging the gap have been met with hostility on both sides. This isn’t the debate of “VC” versus “infrastructure” as has been a highly debated topic. This is the “we represent” versus “we are not represented” issue. For a while, I was rebuffed at the mere suggestion. But, I persisted. Finally now, there seems to be some reach out. One group is reaching out to the other and the other is reaching out as well. Commonality is being recognized, and in general, there is some hope that. So, dream realized?

Unfortunately no. Still, on both sides, negative sniping continues. Most of this is done at board meetings, parking lots and widely on the internet. While a bridge is being built, there is a storm brewing on which side is right versus wrong. There are small groups, on each side, throwing stones, making issues, and when angry, rallying others from all over the country to weigh in arguments. I played a part in this. Primarily out of anger. Anger that we are FAILING TO WORK TOGETHER, and that the time we waist is never to be regained. Preconceived notions of both sides, the idea that one has nothing to learn, and that the other has an obligation to instruct. Since one side had not been very vocal, and the other was a small group that was overly vocal, I chose to stand for the quiet majority. This was an interesting choice, but has met with little success, other than to earn some laughter, and as well some disdain. People have emailed me at home, and at work attempting to “derail” my voice. Which is really, what ever and ineffective, but surprising that people would lay to this level.

What is lost in the middle is those, who are like as I was before. Riders who just ride. The noise of the arguments turns them away from community, and to the singular experience of riding. Those, those we do a disservice to. Those and to the future.

The real question, when is the kicking and the biting going to stop?

Well put ...

I think we need to frame this in terms of ... what do you expect that continuing in a specific strategy for the next ten years will achieve?

I hear a lot of talk of "this is the right way to ...." but I wonder if we continue in that approach what can we expect to happen?

I was a die-hard vehicular cyclist and a huge critic of CM in the past. Not so much anymore. Maybe it was the hit-and-run on La Costa that did that.

To twist a phrase from an infamous Philly Mayor of the 1970's (100pts if you know this):

A facilities proponent is a vehicular cyclist who got rear ended yesterday.

I think Frank Paiano has it about right. When gas gets to $8/gallon suddenly cycling will matter a great more to the powers that be then it does today.

bikingbill:
To twist a phrase from an infamous Philly Mayor of the 1970's (100pts if you know this):

A facilities proponent is a vehicular cyclist who got rear ended yesterday.

Frank Rizzo? (said in my best Jerky Boys imitation)

This, just in....
http://bikeportland.org/2010/02/01/first-look-milwaukies-new-bikeway-signs/

Recently I had the thrill of meeting Dottie and Trish who write the popular bike blog, Let's Go Ride a Bike. They wrote about their visit to San Diego but didn't mention the best compliment I could have ever heard. Dottie who is car-free with her husband in Chicago said that she could see herself living in San Diego car-free and just get around by bicycle all year round. The San Diego friend who invited them lives in La Jolla and they weren't too pleased with the area and thought I was crazy for living here car-free. But then Dottie and Trish met up with me in Hillcrest and Dottie fell in love with Hillcrest. After walking around the neighborhood, said she could definetly see herself living here car-free.

Serge:That's very interesting. What do you think makes Hillcrest more amenable to car-free living than La Jolla?

Because, unlike the parts of La Jolla that they may have experienced, Hillcrest is flat. I will also venture a guess that there is a much wider diversity of shops and services in Uptown than in La Jolla.

At least that's what I figure.

And, FWIW, I much prefer riding Uptown than La Jolla, too - just seems much more bike friendly to me.

Njord Noatun:Because, unlike the parts of La Jolla that they may have experienced, Hillcrest is flat. I will also venture a guess that there is a much wider diversity of shops and services in Uptown than in La Jolla.

At least that's what I figure.

And, FWIW, I much prefer riding Uptown than La Jolla, too - just seems much more bike friendly to me.

mike_ballard:Living quite close to Hillcrest, I find it much better without a car. Parking can be problematic, traffic can be as well. Just walking and/or bicycling is much easier and quicker. La Jolla, depending on where you call it, is much more auto dependent.

I've often wondered what could be done in La Jolla to get more people to ride around here. I love it. On the one hand the hills are a problem, on the other hand Mt. Soledad is popular because it's such a great climb, and there are at least a dozen different ways up. I've often dreamed of creating a "killer hills of La Jolla" ride. But that's not what makes a place "bike friendly" in the usual sense of the word. I hardly ever see any bike other than my own at the Vons.

While the main streets can be intimidating, many blocks in La Jolla are split by alleys going north/south. When I take my 10 year old daughter to her homework club on Saturdays in "downtown La Jolla", our route is almost entirely via the alleys.

A Great article from Momentum Planet: Magazine for the Self Propelled.

The Advocate- Issue #43 From Vision to Victory By Kristen Steele

In 1999, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) decided to replace two aging bridges over the Cooper River connecting the city of Charleston to the town of Mount Pleasant. The original design didn’t include accommodations for bicyclists. A small group of concerned citizens got organized. They attended dozens of community group meetings to share their vision for a bikeable bridge. They didn’t have much money, but had a coalition of local groups who supported their cause.

They decided to target the mayors on either side of the bridge and the DOT commissioner. Pooling limited resources, they printed thousands of postcards addressed to the mayors asking them to ensure the new bridge was bikeable. Their tactic with the DOT was to publicly thank them for including bike accommodations in the new bridge design, before the DOT had ever agreed to such a thing. They printed t-shirts and bumper stickers, and took out a full page ad in the local paper with the slogan “Can’t Wait to Bike the New Bridge: Thanks SCDOT!” This put pressure on the DOT, and thanks to the thousands of postcards delivered to the mayors combined with a broad-based coalition of support the result was a bridge with a 12-foot wide bicycle and pedestrian path.

There is no shortage of challenges and opportunities for cycling advocacy. The Charleston story is just one example of how a small group of concerned citizens can make a big impact. If you’re interested in taking action in your community, here are some tips for translating your vision to victory:

1. Define your issue. What problem are you addressing? What is your proposed solution? Boiling these answers down to a concise and hopeful statement that can be easily recited in 30 seconds is a crucial first step.

2. Set goals. How will you know when your campaign is over and you can hold your victory celebration? Be clear about your end goal. You may also want to set short and medium term goals that will help achieve your ultimate goal.

3. Assess resources. Get real about the strengths and weaknesses of your team. What allies do you have who will support your issue? Who are your potential opponents? Do you have lots of connections but little money? Taking inventory of your assets will help you pick a winning strategy.

4. Strategize. Whose minds do you need to change to get the results you seek? Indentify the decision-makers; they are your primary targets. Next, think about who can influence that person/group – they are your secondary targets. Do you know any of them? Develop a path for reaching your primary target.

5. Craft your message: Hone your elevator speech – the quick pitch for your issue that you can recite in a short elevator ride with a key decision maker. This will also come in handy when talking to the media.

6. Develop tactics. This is the fun part. Many organizers will want to skip right to this step, but the other steps should come first to help you choose the right tactics. Tactics should address a primary or secondary target or public audience; they should help achieve your goals and be realistic given your resources.

7. Manage resources. Every campaign effort takes some resources: time, money, or both. What resources do you need to win your campaign? Be realistic about what resources are needed and how you will attain them.

And, of course, don’t forget to have fun!

I was riding in the bike lane just to the left of the 'white' concrete, on the black asphalt, and I actually did see the SUV coming just as it hit the tailbox and my handlebars.

I am lucky to be able to ride away from that one (abet bleeding), given I was running 22mph and the SUV was probabily doing close to 50mph. My guess is that the driver misjudged his right.

Are there STANDARDS for bike lanes? Because this one is a joke.

My strategy now is to weave to the left if I see a vehicle approaching too close to the right. On the section heading east from I5, I take the lane at close to 40mph (it's a downhill).

More rants:

Every time a road is 'improved', as this one was with the median addition, the bike lane gets compressed. Another example is 101 in Solana heading north. As I wrote a few years ago...

Subject: Thank you for for taking away our wide lane on 101 in Solana Beach

To: Whoever promoted the rail-trail along 101 in North San Diego County.

Hey, thanks for getting that "multi-use" path funded and launched. Today I noted that in Solana Beach ... from Loma Santa Fe north to the Cardiff Beach ... the road has been reconstructed (new curbs) to totally remove the extra width that was previously occupied by the bike lane

I guess the plan is that cyclists will be asked to ride on the "multi-use" path, sharing the road with alert pedestrians and considerate dog owners. This is on a segment that I routinely ride at 25 mph or better.

I look forward to the adventure that awaits me. Meanwhile, I'm learning to enjoy and recognize the various tones produced by car and truck horns. I'm almost at the point where I can recognize the actual make and models of vehicles that now find me occupying their 45 mph speed limit lane.

billd:

bikingbill:Regarding Cell Phones and Driving:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/02/05/a-googler-has-his-tiananmen-square-moment/comment-page-2/#comments

Someone takes a stand.

That is a case of idiot vs. idiot. Both were wrong.

I agree...

markphilips:

I look forward to the adventure that awaits me. Meanwhile, I'm learning to enjoy and recognize the various tones produced by car and truck horns. I'm almost at the point where I can recognize the actual make and models of vehicles that now find me occupying their 45 mph speed limit lane.

Bill, stick this on the back of your luggage carrier. Velocult may still have a few of these stickers.

I have one ... bought it a few weeks ago ... now where did I put it?

Got it.

Now they say they want this on cars .... but I'm on my bike more often.

.

I was downtown on Saturday night, driving up 5th Ave at about midnight. I see a bicycle blinky riding against traffic on the left side of the road, and I start thinking, "what a jacka$$, etc". Then I realize its a San Diego bicycle cop! I almost stopped the car to harangue the guy, but figured I better not as I had three semi-intoxicated folks with me, and one quite intoxicated one (I was DD'n). Wow though. The cops don't even ride the right direction. I'm sure he was "responding to a call."

I've seen "transit" police also riding against traffic. I called it in. I don't know what came of it, but I called it in. Stupidity is still stupidity even if under the guise of authority. Though on a historical note, 5th Ave used to be bidirectional, when it had streetcars running on it. Not sure when it went one-way.

bikingbill:I was riding in the bike lane just to the left of the 'white' concrete, on the black asphalt, and I actually did see the SUV coming just as it hit the tailbox and my handlebars.

I am lucky to be able to ride away from that one (abet bleeding), given I was running 22mph and the SUV was probabily doing close to 50mph. My guess is that the driver misjudged his right.

Are there STANDARDS for bike lanes? Because this one is a joke.

My strategy now is to weave to the left if I see a vehicle approaching too close to the right. On the section heading east from I5, I take the lane at close to 40mph (it's a downhill).

More rants:

Every time a road is 'improved', as this one was with the median addition, the bike lane gets compressed. Another example is 101 in Solana heading north. As I wrote a few years ago...

Subject: Thank you for for taking away our wide lane on 101 in Solana Beach

To: Whoever promoted the rail-trail along 101 in North San Diego County.

Hey, thanks for getting that "multi-use" path funded and launched. Today I noted that in Solana Beach ... from Loma Santa Fe north to the Cardiff Beach ... the road has been reconstructed (new curbs) to totally remove the extra width that was previously occupied by the bike lane

I guess the plan is that cyclists will be asked to ride on the "multi-use" path, sharing the road with alert pedestrians and considerate dog owners. This is on a segment that I routinely ride at 25 mph or better.

I look forward to the adventure that awaits me. Meanwhile, I'm learning to enjoy and recognize the various tones produced by car and truck horns. I'm almost at the point where I can recognize the actual make and models of vehicles that now find me occupying their 45 mph speed limit lane.

I totally agree with you about the effect of that rail trail here. I just got lambasted on the sdcbc list for saying that facilities often imply that bicyclists don't belong in the street. I think that's the effect they often have, and it was manifested on this stretch of 101 first by them not creating any bike lanes at all, and then, when bicyclists protested, these narrow(er) ones were put in. But the notion implied by the "multi use" path parallel to the road remain: that that is where bicyclists should ride.

So, you were in the bike lane, not controlling a traffic lane, when you were still hit from behind. I'm curious by this since you were the one who said "a facilities advocate is a vehicular cyclist who was hit yesterday".

I suppose you can blame it on the narrowness of the bike lane, rather than on the bike lane itself, but if the bike lane was wider, you would probably still have been riding near the stripe (we all tend to ride there because debris usually makes all but the pavement near the stripe undesirable), no? If you had noticed him coming in a mirror you might have been able to dodge in a wider bike lane, but most cyclists don't have mirrors, and most who do probably don't monitor often enough to do that. In other words, the bike lane doesn't really protect you (my theory is it makes you more likely to get hit, because the stripe creates a false sense of security, and makes bicyclists seem irrelevant to motorists who are then more likely to not notice them and thus drift into them). I read and hear about bicyclists hit in bike lanes all the time (glad you're alive to talk about your case); this is why I don't get why bicyclists seem to want bike lanes so much. Riding in a bike lane is effectively donning a cloak of invisibility and riding on a debris magnet. And that debris can be deadly. A cyclist was killed about two years ago on Torrey Pines Rd. when he hit a branch in the bike lane that popped into his front wheel, locked it up, and he went over the bars. His riding buddy estimates their speed was about 15 mph, and he had a helmet on. I much prefer the motorist-swept-clean pavement in the traffic lanes where I'm more visible, thank you very much.

il Pirati:.
2) What is your definition of Advocacy? What do you want to see from the "powers that be"? Is Advocacy the effort to get more people on bikes? Is it the effort to make those people who already ride's lives better? Is it education? Is it a combination? What's the recipe? I guess the question is, what do you expect from Bike Advocates?

To me an advocate is someone who pushes for a goal or an idea. My idea is to see more people on bicycles. How many? Everyone. All the time. Every day.

I'd like numbers. I want a hard goal by which we can see improvement. If the goal is to ensure 100% of San Diegans have the option to ride to work, every year's benchmark should be based off of that goal. Making things "better" is a very soft goal. How does one define what "better" is? How do we know when things are better?

As a bicyclist I want my bicycling advocate to take my point of view 100% of the time without question. Like an attorney or legal advocate would.