BikeSGV is E X C I T E D to announce we're forming a team to participate in our first ever Climate Ride event May 20-24, 2018!

After having wonderful supporters participate in Climate Ride events and select us as a 'beneficiary' organization in past years, the BikeSGV team is very much looking forward to partaking in this wonderful opportunity to build our capacity and engage friends, family, and BikeSGV supporters on important environmental issues.

Did you know that the transportation sector is the #1 source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state of California and most SGV cities, trend increasing? Did you know that BikeSGV is active on regional air quality issues, providing public comment and testimony at South Coast Air Quality Management District Board (AQMD) board meetings in Diamond Bar, and raised funding for and installed 10 real-time air quality monitors in 2017 to support crowdsourced air quality data for the SGV (check out live data here)?

BikeSGV's team cares deeply about the quality of our air, health of our communities, and our region's readiness for climate change, especially the forecasted increases in extreme heat events, severe drought, and poor air quality.  We have fought for more sustainable, multi-modal communities since 2010, and have a built a strong track record of progress across the region.

Support Team BikeSGV
One way you can support our work is by helping our team reach it's $10,000 initial fundraising goal! Each of our team members has committed to raise $3,000, and you can help them out by donating to one or more of them here.  

Why are they riding? 

• Cat: "Climate change is the single most important issue that faces the entire planet today, and it is a personal call-to-action for me. I want to spread the word and inspire others to take action, and support organizations like Bike San Gabriel Valley doing good work everyday to empower communities and future generations to fight climate change. "
• Jose: "I ride for the planet, and my health, and Wes' children."
• Monica: "I ride for the polar bears and the glaciers!"
• Wes: "I ride for baby Jasper!"
• Andrew: "I ride for ice creams."

 
Join Team BikeSGV
A second and more adventurous options is to JOIN BikeSGV's Climate Ride 'team' for the May 20-24 California North Coast event. Team members will join several #BikeSGV staff in training for and participating in an epic journey across California's magestic North Coast. Can't make the May 2018 event or prefer to do another one? Not a problem, you can also sign up for another Climate Ride event (see below) and support our work by selecting Bike San Gabriel Valley as one of your ride beneficiaries. 

What is Climate Ride?
Never heard of Climate Ride? In a nutshell it's a non-profit organization that organizes charitable adventures to raise awareness and support sustainability, active transportation, and environmental causes. Participants can choose to direct their fundraising to one or more charitable groups working in the realm of climate change, including BikeSGV! 

The lineup of Climate Ride events for 2018 includes:

• Death Valley National Park (Feb 24 - Mar 1, 2018) - Climate Ride
• California North Coast (May 20-24, 2018) - Climate Ride - Join Team #BikeSGV!
• Rocky Mountain High (Aug 25-30, 2018) - Climate Ride
• Iceland (Aug 2018) - Climate Ride
• Northern Michigan (Sep 2018) - Climate Ride
• Nova Scotia's Cabot Trail (Sep 2018) - Climate Ride

• Glacier National Park (TBD date) - Climate Ride and Hike option

• San Juan Islands / Olympic Peninsula (TBD date) - Climate Ride

October 2017 - The South Pasadena City Council will once again discuss design alternatives for Monterey Road at its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday October 18. Council Agenda item #18 will review alternatives, including receiving and filing a lengthy staff report on the history of the roadway, citizen's design committee process, and possible next steps (see agenda packet page 224). 

An important east-west corridor within the community that provides direct access to the City's sole high school, Monterey Road has a posted speed limit of 35mph and 85th percentile speed of 40mph. The latter is an important piece of information as it relates to state law on setting local speed limits. If the City wants to conduct legally defensible radar speed enforcement along Monterey Road the state of California requires that the posted speed limit be aligned with the 85th percentile average speed, in this case 40mph. However updating the posted speed limit to allow for enforcement may have the unintended consequence of making the problem worse, as drivers are likely to exceed the new speed limit by several miles per hour in light traffic conditions.

The stakes for public safety and health are high. The likelihood of serious injury or death in a collision involving a pedestrian and a vehicle increase exponentially as speeds rise from 20 to 40mph (see graphic below). 
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February 2015 - After several years of study and deliberation, the City of South Pasadena has released the results of a feasibility study (viewable below) for potential Complete Streets improvements, including wider sidewalks and bicycle lanes, along a stretch of Monterey Road. 

A significant minor arterial in the City, Monterey Road cuts east-west from the border of Los Angeles at the York Ave. bridge to the San Marino city limits in the east. However, only the four-lane western stretch of Monterey Rd (widened by LA County in the 1970s) between Fair Oaks Ave. and Pasadena Ave. are currently being studied for improvements. 

Key Figures - Existing Conditions for Monterey Rd. Study Area

• 1.1 miles - stretch of Monterey Road between Pasadena and Fair Oaks Avenues being studied
• 4-lanes - (2 in each direction) current roadway configuration along this stretch of Monterey
• 60'-84' - existing roadway width 
• 35 mph - posted speed limit 
• 40 mph - 85th percentile average speed 
• 3000 - peak traffic volume weekday afternoons
• 15,700 - average daily traffic volume 

In 2012, the South Pasadena City Council commissioned a citizen committee to work hand-in-hand with an independent traffic consultant to identify alternatives for a feasible future design of this segment. The working group identified a wide array of potential improvements, including adding bicycle lanes, widening sidewalks, relocating utilities, implementing traffic calming measures, coordinating traffic signal, installing higher visibility crosswalks, adding exclusive left- and right-turn lanes to selected intersections, restricting on-street parking in certain areas, and implementing a 4 to 3 lane roadway reconfiguration. On the latter recommendation the citizen committee was evenly split 4-4.

In 2014 the South Pasadena City Council authorized staff to hire an independent consultant to conduct a roadway reconfiguration impact study to help the City make a more informed decision in selecting a final design. The consultant was asked to study the impact and feasibility of removing a travel lane to accommodate a center turn lane, reduce speeding, and improve safety for people on foot and bike.