The great thing about living in Gilroy is that the sunny weather is just around the corner with Spring in the air. My family checks the air in our tires, brakes, and chains on our bikes religiously before each ride. We ride off down the bike lane on 3rdSt with the sun at our backs, and take it directly into Downtown Gilroy. 3rdSt would make a perfect bicycle boulevard in the future. We lock the bikes up at 6th/Monterey and walk a few steps to Promised Land Brewery. The large glass windows up front increase the walkability by making it inviting. You can see directly into the newest taproom in Downtown Gilroy while driving, walking, scooting, or biking. A parklet out front would enhance the walkability even more.
If you have not taken a walk in Downtown Gilroy lately you have missed out on all the activity. Downtown Gilroy is going to experience a huge boom soon with new restaurants, breweries, new residential units, and retail. We are ready for all you walkers, scooter, and bike riders. There are over 100 free front row bicycle parking locations and a free bicycle fix it station located at the bus stop on 5th/Monterey Rd. So when you come down for the Poppy Jasper Film Festival, Art & Wine Stroll, and Health Fair we will reward the effort with free parking. We have plans for the free bike valet to come back this Summer for the Thursday Night Live Series.
The Gilroy Bicycle Pedestrian Commission released our 2019 Strategic Plan, Work Plan, and Budget Recommendations. One of the Downtown projects that we would like to complete is the downtown artistic bike racks. Creating a sustainable and integrated bicycle network connecting to all our bicycle friendly facilities in Gilroy. Downtown is a cycling destination for residents, visitors, and employees and a place to dine and shop. Caltrain users can travel to Gilroy with their bikes and connect safely throughout the City. With the addition of e-bikes/e-scooters, and a car share company we will reduce the need for owning your own vehicle. We would like to build off our success of a public/private source to fund the remaining 7 artistic bike racks. We have a Downtown Bicycle Parking Plan in place, and a successful bike rack decal program that contributes to our Public Bike Fund. The cost is $350 for 5 years and then that donor will get first rights for another 5 years. We have a focus on vehicle parking in the Downtown and how it can be accomplished while creating equity amongst all road users. The only type of angled parking we recommend is called back-in-angle parking. It's the safest for all users of the road. We will be working on a test section for this style of parking on Eigleberry St this Summer for possible future use around the City and in the Downtown. We do not support or recommend parallel parking on any street for safety of motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclist. It's a highly dangerous maneuver to reverse out blindly into a traffic lane.
I’m proud to announce that we agreed with City Staff to provide recommendations on bicycle parking on all projects as they come through Planning. Sumano’s Bakery will be coming to Downtown Gilroy soon and will feature a small retail shop. Sumano’s will not only be providing bicycle parking for their employees but they will have bike racks right out front of the retail shop for its customers to come pick up fresh bread daily. This brings back memories for me as a kid growing up in Berkeley and my Mom would give me money to go get bread for dinner, and the ends of the sourdough baguette were always missing when I returned home on my bike.
Come join us on May 9thfor Bike to Work Day at the Caltrain VTA Station where we will be cheering on all the bike commuters and those that use public transportation with their bikes. We will be apart of Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalitions 150 energizer stations located throughout Silicon Valley. Whether you use a tech shuttle, VTA, or Caltrain (where bikes board first) we got you covered with goodies and a free tote bag while supplies last!
Please remember to not block the bike lanes on trash pick up days. If you have to place them in the bike lane, please remember all the users of the bike lanes that rely on it being clear and bring them back curbside as soon as possible. Follow us at #GilroyBPAC