Unable to attend our big dinner, dance and party on 9/28? You can still support by participating in our silent auction remotely! Like a big time international bidder, you can join the fun by proxy with a BikeSGV volunteer inputting your bids as the evening gets underway. Just let us know which of the following items you're interested in, and your highest bid for each, and we will do the rest! Or you can simply donate the "Buy it Now" price and assure you will receive the item! 

To participate, please email the following information here (info [at] bikesgv.org)

1. Name
2. Phone number
3. Item(s) you would like to bid on and maximum bids

Please note that if pickup is not possible, mailing charges will apply.  All donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 

Tour cicLAvia on a 5 Person Bike! - for 2 persons (Donated by Stan's Bike Shop)
Join Stan’s Bike Shop Owner, Eastside Bike Club Founder and public health advocate Carlos Morales for a truly unique ride through the nation’s biggest Open Streets event – cicLAvia – on Sunday October 6th! The ride will start from the El Sereno Parklet on Huntington Drive, head into downtown LA, and then along the 10/6 cicLAvia route. This package consists of two seats on a hand-crafted 5 person bicycle! Please note both participants must be in good enough physical condition to pedal a bicycle for a few hours at a casual pace.

• Value: $100
• Start Bid: $35; Buy it Now: $200

Framed Art Piece (Donated by Gustavo Muniz)
Gustavo Muñiz is a woodblock printmaker who was born in California but grew up in southern New Mexico. After he graduated from New Mexico State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, began exhibiting at several juried art fairs (most notably a six-year stint with the Contemparary Hispanic Market in Santa Fe). Gustavo moved to Los Angeles in 1998, and even though he has made his livelihood working as a graphic designer since 1995, he has participated in several group, as well as solo, art exhibitions.

“I want to make images that people can not only easily understand for their face value, but can also be read further by someone who can identify with the image on a personal level. I want my work to have a very hands-on and organic feel as a means of paying homage to work done with a person’s own hands. In a time when most things that we do are based on convenience, I think that the value of hand-done work has diminished. My intention is to regain and glorify that value and aesthetic.”

• Value: $150
• Start Bid: $50; Buy it Now: $300

Performance Bicycle Complete Commuting/Touring Set (Donated by Performance Bicycle Pasadena)
This package consists of a two TransIt Epic DX Pannier bags, Metro Trunk bag, rear rack, Wire Mesh front basket, PBS Transformer jacket (size L), Classic II gloves, Tire Repair Kit, Bicycle Mirror, Multi-tool, Reflective Snap band, water bottle and 5 Clif Shot Energy Gels. All you need to transform you and your bike into a load ready commuter, trusty tourer, or efficient errand-runner!  

• Value: $300
• Start Bid: $75; Buy it Now: $400

PowerBar Power Package (Donated by PAA Cycling)
Everything you need to tackle the biggest mountains in the San Gabriels and beyond. This assortment of Powerbar products - gels, bars, chews, and recovery drink mix - will keep you properly fueled for cycling and any other athletic challenges you put before yourself.  

• Value: $100
• Start Bid: $30; Buy it Now: $200

The San Marino City Council has placed a pilot project to stripe the City's first Class II bicycle lanes on its agenda for Wednesday September 11th. 

8/19 Transportation Commission Meeting 
In response to a group of local parents and students who requested that the city provide safer bicycle  routes to school, the City's Transportation Commission considered the striping of bicycle lanes on both Lorain Rd. and Del Mar Ave. on August 19th. At that meeting, the Transportation Commission formally recommended that the City move forward with bicycle lanes on Del Mar Ave., but hold off on Lorain Rd., citing costs and the advantages of first allowing the City to draft and approve a Bicycle Master Plan, a process that was set into motion earlier in the summer by the City Council (Evan Brooks Associates has been selected to develop the Plan, with the first public workshops scheduled for later this fall).

Lorain and Del Mar are two-lane, residential streets with 25-30mph speed limits and enough road space to stripe bike lanes without the loss of street parking or a travel lane. According to local residents, speeding traffic is a concern on both streets, particularly Lorain Rd. east of Del Mar. The existing wide travel lanes and relatively low traffic volumes encourage speeding. However, striping bicycle lanes should help calm traffic by narrowing the vehicle travel lane. 

Local Concerns
On August 19th a clear majority of local residents who weighed in on the issue were  in favor of bicycle lanes on both streets - 82 petition signatures, 9 emails, and 6 public comments were submitted in support of the proposal. Yet the concerns of a few outspoken residents appeared to sway several Commissioners, whose comments also revealed a general lack of knowledge of bicycle infrastructure, (e.g., the differences between a Class II Bicycle Lane and a Class III Bicycle Route), its merits, and how changes such as narrowing travel lanes can help calm traffic and improve safety for all road users.

Specific concerns shared by residents included the risk that striping bike lanes would encourage more "outside" cyclists, make backing out of driveways more difficult, and reduce property values. Opponents also noted that cyclists do not obey traffic laws, it is dangerous to ride in a bike lane, bike modal share is too low, and the street lights are not bright enough to bicycle at night. Unfortunately such misinformation was par for the course during the public discussion phase, underlining the need for education and dialogue in the community about bicycle-infrastructure. 

Fortunately, there should be plenty more opportunities in the near future to educate residents, stakeholders and local elected officials about Complete Streets improvements and safer Routes to School can improve health, safety, and benefit the entire community!

9/11 City Council Meeting
If approved, Agenda Item 3 would authorize the use of $25,000 in Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds to stripe the City's first Class II bicycle lanes on Del Mar from the City's southern border with San Gabriel at Longden Ave. north to Huntington Dr. 

What: San Marino City Council Meeting
Where: Crowell Public Library, 1890 Huntington Dr., San Marino 91108
When: Wednesday, September 11th (6pm)
Agenda

To submit public comment electronically, please email the San Marino City Clerk by 4pm Wednesday.