An area of approximately 374 square miles that serves as the eastern gateway to Los Angeles County, the San Gabriel Valley (SGV) is home to more than 2 million residents living in 31 incorporated cities and unincorporated communities. Most SGV communities are geographically small, suburban in nature, and offer little in the way of bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure. Few have dedicated bicycle lanes, and many do not have bicycle, pedestrian, and/or Safe Routes to School (SRTS) plans. Residents that wish to walk or bike as a means of healthy, active transportation must therefore navigate streets that have not been designed to accommodate them. 

Over the past several years BikeSGV and close partners such as Day One have been working hard to close the bicycle planning gaps evident in the map above. The SGV Bike Master Plan Project, launched in July 2012, was the first major phase of this effort. Funded by the LA County Department of Public Health in 2013, the project has allowed 5 SGV Cities among those highlighted in yellow above -- Monterey Park, Baldwin Park, San Gabriel, El Monte and South El Monte  -- to draft their first bike master plans. BikeSGV is excited to report that phase 1 is almost complete -- final plans should be considered for adoption in the 5 partner cities in September 2014 -- and even more excited to report that concrete steps have already been taken to launch phase 2.

On May 20th, 2014 BikeSGV organizers mailed away 6 copies of an ambitious proposal -- the San Gabriel Valley Regional Active Transportation Planning Initiative -- that would build upon and accelerate ongoing efforts to realize a more bike-friendly region. Developed by BikeSGV in partnership with the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (lead applicant) and the Cities of Duarte, Irwindale, Glendora, La Puente, Monrovia, and Montebello, the proposed multi-jurisdictional initiative is composed of the following elements, selected based on their ability to positively impact some of the region’s most pressing safety, public health, and environmental problems:

1. Active Transportation Plans to provide the communities of Irwindale, Glendora, La Puente, Monrovia, and Montebello their first bicycle and pedestrian master plans.
   
   
2. Regional Greenway Network Plan to formally study Class I path feasibility along the over 80 miles of undeveloped storm channels and washes that crisscross the San Gabriel Valley. 
   
   
3. Regional Wayfinding to design signage for, and a plan to, link together existing-, in development-, and proposed- city level bicycle routes. 
   
   
4. Evaluation to collect the first bicycle and pedestrian data for partner communities and existing regional County-controlled bikeways along the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River paths.
   
   
5. Education and Encouragement programming to provide residents of the project area free bicycle safety and maintenance education.
   

BikeSGV hosted the largest bike valet the SGV's seen to date at our partner Day One's downtown Pasadena headquarters for the Amgen Tour of California and Kaiser Permanente Ride, Roll and Stroll open streets event. The success of the event showcased the great potential to encourage more members of the public to bike to major events in town. 

Interested in offering bicycle valet services for an upcoming event?  Let us know! BikeSGV has a committed and mobile valet team that would be happy to make your event greener and healthier!  :)