BE BRIGHT! Workshops in Calistoga

Napa Bike brings its Free BE BRIGHT! workshop to Calistoga on June 9. Learn how to be seen by drivers to be safer on your bike! First session in Spanish, second session in English. Details here 

First bilingual bike safety workshop in Napa County!

Good News! Green Light Cycle Extended

I noticed on Sunday that the traffic light on Washington at Lincoln stayed green a lot longer. Plenty of time for me to ride across the street.  I wondered, could it be that Caltrans did an adjustment? Then, I got the email below confirming a change has been made. 

Not sure if the longer cycle is applied only if a car is present. Hopefully that is not the case . . . I will test it this week and let you know.

Quick Update on the Short Green Light

Happy to update that John Montelli of the Calistoga Public Works reports today he is attempting to get an answer from Caltrans.

Stay tuned!

Been gone. Got back. Light is still short!

Wow. I can't believe it's been a month since my last post. Things got crazy busy with April Fools, Bike Fest, Tour de Cure, and then BottleRock. But I'm on my bike and I do have a smile on my face. 

Things seemed to be moving forward. Mr. Montelli of Calistoga Public Works decided to reach out to Caltrans after all, on behalf of the folks who live in and visit Calistoga.

A few days later, it looked even more promising.

But when I got a chance to check things out at Washington and Lincoln. Here's what I found.

I just checked in with John for an update. Stay tuned!

Public Works: We Have a Problem.

A few minutes after the previous posting reporting the short green light for people wanting to cross Lincoln on a bike, received this from Public Works.

So I called the Caltrans number, left a message, sent a follow up email to Mr. Montelli outlining my dismay at his response, and copied the Mayor. The Mayor stated that a different response was in order. Hopefully the City will add its endorsement to one person's complaint and the recalibration of the traffic light will happen before anyone gets hurt.

Good on you Mayor Canning!

Public Works, We Have a Problem!

Been riding around town more lately thanks to the April Fools Challenge. Happened to be crossing Lincoln Avenue on Washington and noticed how short the green light is if the pedestrian crossing button has not been pushed. So I took this video.

I remembered that Lynn Goldberg sent me a link to Calistoga's Public Works complaint submission form, so I filled one out and sent it in.

emailed to pworks@ci.calistoga.ca.us

Hopefully the Public Works team will get the signal recalibrated before somebody gets hurt. I will let you know. If you have ideas for safety issues that need attention, maybe you could send in a form too?

Planning Meeting: Time Well Spent!

Just last week the members of the Bicycle Advisory Committee met to review the Calistoga Bike Plan and set priorities. Facilitated by BAC member Tom Sherman, the group was joined by Karen Chang representing the Green Committee, Bob Beck owner of the Cottage Grove Inn, Vito Serrano representing Solage Resort, and Lynn Goldberg, Calistoga's Director of Building and Planning.

Lynn Goldberg, Brad Suhr and Karen Chang - into the Bike Plan

The group agreed that the number one priority is completing the protected bicycling and walking link between the Oat Hill Mine Road trail head and Bothe Napa State Park. Not only does this link serve the recreation needs of Calistoga Families, it places Calistoga at the nexus of the Napa Valley Vine Trail and the Bay Area Ridge Trail where these trails overlap to cross the valley floor. That should put Calistoga on the map as Bicycle Friendly!

The BAC was surprised and grateful to have so much support from the community and its government for this planning session. Even more exciting was news in the Calistoga Tribune of April 5, in the page 1 article 'City council constructs goals and objectives'

that the Council has set a goal to "Promote Calistoga as a city friendly to walking and biking."

By unanimous vote of the Council

Maybe things are looking up . . .

Planning Meeting on Wednesday!

Want to help set priorities for improving the safety of biking in Calistoga? Want to get acquainted with the members of the Bicycle Advisory Committee that serves the City? Considering becoming a member of the BAC? Here's the meeting notice sent out today.

Despite the date, this is for real. Please come if you want to help.

Get Out of Town!

Sometimes the best thing about living in Calistoga is getting out of town. You see stuff you just don't see too often around here. Like this . . .

Not a mariachi. Ole!


Or this . . .

Protected Bike Lanes in Golden Gate Park

Or even this . . .

Wow . . . they have suspended bike lanes!

For those wanting to go further north, a Class I transition off the bridge, to Sausalito

Looked like fun, but I was running out of time.

Seems like everywhere I went with my bike I felt welcome . . .

Even President Wilson.

And even when I cut through a neighborhood littered with villas, I felt expected and respected.

Makes me want to come back to ride again. Good job San Francisco!



Open Seat on Bicycle Advisory Committee

Do you want to help make Calistoga a safer place to get around by bike or on foot? Do you have some time to actually do stuff in addition to attending a monthly meeting? Do you play well with others? If this sounds like you, fill out the application and get involved. Here's the BAC at work just a week or so ago.

Tom, Dieter, Brad and Erik planning a brainstorming session to prioritize the Bike Plan

The BAC team agreed to meet April 3 at noon for a 3 hour session to set priorities for projects embedded in the Bike Plan. It is a public meeting, so it's a perfect way to get involved if you are thinking of joining the BAC. Maybe one of the things they will agree on is getting parklets in Calistoga with more bike parking. Here's one of the many parklets you can find in San Francisco.

Park your bike, get a coffee, relax and take in the scene.

Parklets encourage visitors and locals to linger downtown, and parklets are proven to improve business for adjacent shops. Here's a fledgling parklet in Calistoga . . . just need to add a few bike racks in the red zone and there we have it!

Just add bike parking!

Inevitably, the question will arise, 'Do we need really need more bike parking?' A picture is worth 1000 words, etc.

One well-utilized bike rack: 3 people parked in the space of 1/4 of a truck.

Another 1000 words . . .

No room at the rack . . . enough said!

 

This Just In:
Calistoga Gets $200k for Trail!

Who says miracles don't happen? An anonymous donor (said to reside in Calistoga!) has donated $200,000 to the Napa Valley Vine Trail to pay for the engineering necessary for building the missing parts of the Calistoga segment of the Vine Trail from the Oat Hill Mine Road to Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. This trail will also become part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, serving as the Napa Valley crossing.

When completed, this portion of the Vine Trail, a Class I multi-use path, will provide safe off-highway connections to two of the most beautiful hiking and mountain biking resources in Northern California.

Blue line indicates the approximate route

This is really big deal. With proper engineering plans in place, this planned segment of the Napa Valley Vine Trail will be considered "Shovel Ready", which means as of this fall, it qualifies for Federal and State funding. So instead of Calistoga being at the end of the Vine Trail's project list, it is now near the top. Thank you to our generous neighbor, whoever you may be; clearly you understand how good this trail will be for the residents and visitors of Calistoga.

Absolutely awesome!  Here's the complete press release.

A Fundamental Issue Revealed

Occasionally (like every day) I read Bike Snob NYC. It is an irreverent, funny, and often R-rated blog about bicycling. Not for everyone, I am sure. 

This morning the Bike Snob pointed out an all too-common behavior that drives me nuts: people citing stupid and dangerous behavior of people on bikes as a greater concern than the stupid and dangerous behavior of people in cars.

 

Idiot who thinks bikes are a bigger hazard than cars

 By the way, I have no idea about the meaning of the picture (was in the blog today), but it suggests to me the mentality of 'TT', the person who wrote to the NY Times (text in italics below) in response to an article about the recent death of a bicyclist. Here is the excerpt from today's Bike Snob NYC:

Yesterday I mentioned a New York Times article that, despite itself, proved we have a serious problem in this city with drivers running people over.  While the person who wrote the article made some dumb points, the people reading it are apparently even dumber, because one of them left this comment:

TT
new york

I was hit by a bike five days after Martha was killed, just a few blocks away.

Her situation was tragic. I was lucky. The bike food delivery messenger was not wearing a glow in the dark vest, had no ID, no bell on the bike, no basket
in the back for the food and was peddling quickly the wrong way.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been hit and injured, unfortunately.
What to do about reckless bike riders and bike messengers?

March 11, 2013 at 12:07 a.m.

Yes, you are lucky.  You're lucky the delivery person was on a bike and not in a car.  When you get hit by a bike you live to leave whiny Internet comments.  When you get hit by a car there's a blurb about you in the Post that ends with the phrase "no criminality suspected."  There seems to be a unique brand of American idiocy which causes us to read articles about cars running people down by the hundreds and then respond by getting angry about bikes.  It's like reading an article about gun violence and then leaving a comment about how you cut yourself while making dinner so what's being done about knives?

The bright yellow highlight above is mine. If you think this attitude does not apply in our area, check out online comments in the Press Democrat or the Napa Register the next time somebody gets hit while riding a bike.

People on bikes are fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. They work, they pay taxes and oddly enough, almost all of them also drive cars. What is with the anger that cyclists seem to create just by riding a bike? And what can be done to make that go away? 

Thank you Bike Snob! Ride safely and often. 

Wanted: Bicycle Advisory Committee Member

Are you interested in improving bicycling in Calistoga?  There is an opening on the Calistoga BAC that will be announced by the City soon. So if you want to get involved, now is the time to apply. 

Key qualifications include: 1) whatever the City says in the announcement, 2) time to help get things moving forward with the bike plan.

October 2012: New Bike Plan 

A bike plan is important for several reasons . . . most important is that we need one to qualify for State or Federal funding. No plan, no money.

Click her to download your own copy of our new 5 year plan

What is really cool is that the City Council adopted the plan unanamously, uh, 5-0. Here's the Resolution with a breath-taking 14 Whereases in it.

11 Whereases on page 1

3 more Whereases, plus a Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved.

As important as this document is, even better is that it met with the approval of the Metropolitan Transportation Agency . . . we qualify for funds.
Well done to the City Staff!

An important hurdle is behind us!

OK, we're legal now. What's next? Check back, or subscribe, to find out.

2012: The Loops Extend into the County!

You may have read the post about the bike loops that were created in 2008. Here's where the Eastern (yellow) loop ended where the Washington-Dunaweal Bike Path ends at Dunaweal Lane.

Where the Yellow Loop Meets the City Limits at Dunaweal Lane.

Well, a funny (unusual) thing happened to these loops in 2012. A bike-friendly manager at Napa County Public Works paid a visit to Calistoga and was most interested in seeing the loops. Two members of the Calistoga BAC showed him around and he took a lot of notes. Within a couple of weeks we noticed the way-finding signs for our loops had appeared on the adjacent County roads.

Calistoga's Bike Loop Signage on Dunaweal Lane

Now the Loops on the bike map were really loops on the ground! And it appears a neighboring artist has taken note of the additional bike traffic.

Bicyclists  Welcome!

Following the Loop gets you to Silverado Trail

Yellow Loop matches the mustard blooms

There is even a way to see a little more of the countryside on Pickett Lane and Rosedale. Brings you back to the Trail right across from the entrance to Solage Resort.

A quiet country lane is now part of the Eastern Loop

There are equally beautiful vistas if you take the Western Loop (red dots). It will get you to another nearby quiet stretch of road, Bennett Lane, where you will see things like this.

Mt. St. Helena from Bennett Lane

Wow! We've got loops that loop! Thanks Rick!

2009: Calistoga Gets First Bicycle Map!

After working with a local graphic designer for many months, the Calistoga Bicycle Advisory Committee proudly unveiled the new City Bike Map. When viewing the map online the top half is upside down . . . it was designed as a paper map and is meant to be folded in a particular way. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Calistoga Bike Map

Side 2 shows the whole town and the surroundings for context. Interestingly, after 4 years this map is not out of date. An unexpected 'benefit' to no progress on the bicycle network.

Calistoga Bike Map

Considering Calistoga is a Bicycle Friendly Community, why is it so hard to find this map on the City of Calistoga's Website? Seems like it ought to have a place on the VISITORS tab, like the pool. Just try to find it on your own. Then click on either of the map captions above to see where to find its hiding place.

2008: Calistoga Gets Scenic Loops!

It may sound trivial, but it was a big deal back in 2008. After months of discussion, Calistoga's Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) persuaded the City that way-finding signs would be helpful to visitors wanting to take a bike ride around town. One determined member of the BAC invested hours with a barely cooperative ex-employee of Public Works (nameless and long gone) to personally assist with placement of  Bike Route signs around town, and to define two color-coded riding loops.

Red Loop - Entering Cedar Street from Cyrus Creek Bike Path

The Red Loop is the route for exploring the west side of town.

Riding along Calistoga's Napa River bike route.

The Yellow Loop is the route for seeing the east side of town.

Heading south on the Yellow Loop

The results are obviously helpful. But why was it such a struggle? Hopefully those days are just ancient history.

Back to the Story . . . Grant Street

Not sure when this was created (90s my guess), but if you head downtown from Tubbs Lane on Grant Street, just as you pass Mora Avenue you will find this.

Looks like a Class II Bike Lane!

Here are typical users of this lane.

Mom, baby, and a couple of tykes behind

A Tyke Lane?

Scootin' after Mom

Here's why they ride on the wrong side.

There is no option. A half-Class II?

At the corner, the signage beckons.

Right onto North Oak

The half-Class II bike lane continues.

Maybe it's really a just a low budget sidewalk.