State Parks Hike/Bike Campsite Survey and Tuolumne Volunteer Fair

California State Parks has posted a survey asking for input on Hike/Bike camping. Hike/Bike sites are lower cost shared campsites that don’t require reservations. If you tour or may someday, the availability and amenities offered in these sites may make or break your trip. Take a few minutes to explain your needs to be addressed in any changes to campgrounds or policies. Suggestions? How about Hike/Bike sites at Calaveras Big Trees, and a No Turn Away policy for bikes like in Washington State?

The MLBC is participating in the Tuolumne County Volunteer Fair. The volunteer fair is an opportunity for agencies and non-profits to meet with the public and explain their mission and their needs for volunteer help. The fair was rescheduled for the second time for August 26, 2021 only to have another Covid spike force cancellation of the in-person event. The fair was converted to a community access TV event, and the MLBC recorded a short video. The fair will be broadcast live on Access Tuolumne tomorrow, August 26, at 4pm, and is currently available to stream. Look for the MLBC at about 1:23:15 in the video. While this is a Tuolumne County event, please realize we have the same needs in Amador, Calaveras, and Mariposa Counties. Thanks to Jack Becker for recording the video and to Rob Williams for working on the script!

 

MLBC February 2021 Newsletter

Dear Motherlode Bicycle Coalition Members,

The MLBC Board recently met to discuss bike advocacy plans and bike sponsored activities in 2021. We agreed that our top priorities are to advocate to improve conditions for biking for transportation and recreation, encourage all residents, kids and adults to ride a bicycle, and to promote our region for road and mountain biking.

During the last several months we have all been out riding in the Motherlode and sharing our bike destinations on social media. Carl, Jack, Nikki, Holly, Rob and Carol are posting pictures and routes on Instagram, Facebook, and Strava.

In January, Caltrans District 10 Bike Advocates: MLBC, Merced Bike Coalition, Stanislaus County Bike Club, Modesto Bike Advisory, Lodi Bike, and California Alps Cycling met by Zoom with the new Caltrans District 10 Director of Planning and his staff.

At this meeting we discussed forming a Caltrans District 10 Bike Advisory Committee, our counties’ road safety issues and poorly planned rumble strips. (Photo above)

Our request to form a Bike Advisory is under review by the Caltrans District 10 Executive Managers. (*Purpose for formation of a District 10 Bicycle Advisory Committee is below) We also discussed our collective disdain for Rumble Strips! The good news is that CalBike has hired a transportation planner to draft general guidance to rumble strip application. These guidelines will be published in the final Cycling Tourism Plan and part of any road improvements application from Caltrans.

The Calaveras Arts Council annual bike event, RideandWalk4Art is scheduled for March 21, 2021. MLBC members are encouraged to participate. See https://www.rideandwalk4art.com/

We are proud to share that the Groveland Trail Heads Mountain Bike Destination Trail System in the Stanislaus National Forest was one of eight projects selected for International Mountain Bicycling Association’s Dig In Program founded by Shimano-MTB!

The goal of the Dig In Program is to bridge the gap between local and national fundraising efforts and show a new audience how inspirational and vital trails are to local communities, businesses and youth. This is an online peer-to-peer crowdsourcing opportunity with a $2000 match from IMBA corporate sponsors. Groveland Trailhead Needs our support. Make a donation to support the Ferretti Non-Motorized Trail System.

Tuolumne County has been awarded a $2 million State Active Transportation Program Grant to construct sidewalk improvements in the vicinity of Jamestown Elementary School. MLBC provided a support letter for the project, and we are happy to congratulate Tuolumne County on their first successful ATP application. MLBC also provided a support letter for Mariposa County’s application to the Caltrans Sustainable Communities Planning Grant program for an Active Transportation Plan. We wish them the best of luck in obtaining funding to help plan for walking and biking in Mariposa County.

The foothill counties need to compete with affluent urban areas for these statewide grant programs. Joining MLBC and supporting robust community planning can help our cities and counties demonstrate public support for their plans and projects to better compete for funding.

We hope to resume monthly pop up and weekly bike rides but until then, ride along with us on Facebook, Instagram or the Motherlodebike.org website to stay updated on our latest news.

If you haven’t become a member or would like to renew your membership find the Support MLBC page here.

Rob Williams
MLBC CHAIRPERSON

Important Motherlode Bicycle Resources:

Cycling Tourism Information
Showcase Areas Tuolumne and Calaveras
https://www.bikevalleytosierra.com/post/showcase-area-feedback-2

Caltrans District 10 Survey
https://www.bikevalleytosierra.com/post/caltrans-district-10-active-transportation-survey

My Calaveras County Road Maintenance Request
http://iframe.publicstuff.com/#?client_id=1000177

Caltrans Safety Maintenance Request
https://csr.dot.ca.gov/

Groveland Trailhead Needs our Support
https://www.imba.com/digin-applications-details?diginid=2861435

*Proposed purpose for formation of a District 10 Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC)

  • Provide District 10 with a dedicated outreach channel representing bicyclists throughout the District for planning, project development and delivery, maintenance, and encroachment permits.
  • Bring bicyclist concerns about State Highway conditions to the District in a coordinated way (reduce reliance on individual PIO customer service requests).
  • Improve, not bypass, bicyclist coordination for regional transportation planning agencies (COGs, Transportation Councils and Commissions), cities, and counties.
  • Inform coalition and club alignment with State goals regarding Active Transportation, Complete Streets, and transportation equity/inclusion of underrepresented communities.
  • Increase opportunities for partnership and knowledge sharing between bike advocates in District 10.

Join Cal Bike and the MLBC for a Holiday Virtual Get Together

We are getting together to celebrate another year of bike advocacy with a presentation from Youth Bike America about their cross country tour! Our special guests include, SFUSD Teacher, Andy Padlo, a Senior Projects Teacher, from the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts and three recent graduates Emmet Forde, Dasha Yurkevich, and Julian Jordan.Our guests will share their San Francisco to New York City bike adventure.

The presentation will be via Zoom. Contact rob@calbike.org, use the “Contact MLBC” page or call 209-273-8009 to request a Zoom invitation.

Why You Should Care About This Picture, The Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan

Mono Way/Sanguinetti Road Intersection

This intersection is designed to optimize vehicle circulation by allowing right turning vehicles from Mono Way to make the turn without slowing down. Think about how this design affects the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists traveling straight on Mono Way. In addition to encouraging vehicles to speed through the intersection, the design increases the distance a pedestrian needs to walk to cross the street. Modern street design discourages this kind of thinking in favor of making streets work for all users, not just for vehicles.

In drafting the new Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan, The City of Sonora, Tuolumne County, and the Tuolumne County Transportation Council (TCTC) ignored our requests to focus on improvements like fixing this intersection. The MLBC provided a comment letter (TCTC ATPlan Draft comments) requesting changes to the plan in order to emphasize improving bike and pedestrian travel to the essential destinations that serve the greatest number of County residents. We believe that a bike friendly community starts with bike friendly places to shop, work, and access essential services.

The MLBC Board wants to ensure our advocacy has the support of our members and cyclists in the community. We welcome your feedback on our letter either via the comments section or via a message through the “Contact MLBC” page.

Advocacy Opportunities Abound

Working with the government to enact change sounds great, but it requires work. The MLBC is working to help make the Central Sierra a better place to bike, walk and live. Here is a heap of chances to learn about what is being planned and to participate.

The MLBC has requested Caltrans District 10 make improvements to upcoming projects to include more sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes in Angels Camp and San Andreas and to remove rumble strips on SR 108 in Tuolumne County and SR 88 in Amador County that don’t allow sufficient room for cyclists to ride to the right of the fog line. Our letter is here: Letter of Support with Rumble Strip Concerns. If this strikes a chord with you, please send an email to Caltrans to lend your support or provide your own comments.

Edgeline rumble strips on Highway 108 near Little Sweden.

The Tuolumne County Transportation Council has several plans ready for public review with virtual public meetings scheduled or to be announced soon.

Calaveras County and the Calaveras Council of Governments are working on an application for State Active Transportation Program funding to partially implement the Murphys Complete Street Plan. Contact CCOG through their website to ask how you can help support this application.

Tuolumne County Active Transportation Plan Digital Workshop Postponed

The Active Transportation Plan Digital Meeting scheduled for August 4, 2020 has been postponed and will be rescheduled. The workshops for the two proposed ATP projects are not affected. Details are available at https://www.activetuolumnecounty.com/meetings

UPCOMING DIGITAL COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

DRAGOON GULCH CONNECTOR TRAIL
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2020 4:00 – 5:00PM
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2020 5:00 – 6:00PM
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