Advocates are prepping for next month’s California Bike Summit, which will be held in Oakland Nov. 7-10.
The summit will be a gathering of industry and bike advocacy leaders in transit, urban planning, health, design and technology and will include presentations on infrastructure design, understanding advocacy, finding funding sources for biking infrastructure and programs, increasing youth participation and engaging the media.
The summit’s theme is “Mainstreaming the Bike” and speakers include Brian Kelly, California State Secretary of Transportation and John Burke, CEO of Trek, among others. Organizers hope to attract the 60 percent of Californians who are “interested” in riding their bikes but “concerned” about safety. California recently approved a 35 percent increase in bicycling and walking safety funding, and the state’s governor recently signed the “Three Feet for Safety Act,” requiring motorists to give riders a three-foot buffer zone when passing them.
“With Californians driving less and biking more, and bicycling growing faster among young women and people of color, bicycling is entering the mainstream of the California of the future. This summit is about giving it a big push,” said Dave Snyder, executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition, the event’s organizer.
Summit sponsors include Dero, Caltrans, Bay Area Council, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Smith Tech USA, Moved by Bikes, AAA Northern California, the Auto Club of Southern California, the City of Alameda, AGI Capital, Alta Planning + Design, and Wilderness Trail Bikes.