Year In Review From the Gilroy BPAC

The beautiful thing about living in Gilroy, California is that we can ride our bikes 365 days a year.  Even in the middle of December as I’m writing this in my kitchen, the sun decided to take over the sky with a perfect riding temperature of 68 degrees.  I took advantage of this and rode a 40 mile loop up over Mt Madonna, where the fresh smell of the trees soaking in the fog overcomes my senses.  Riding back down SR 152/Hecker Pass all the sounds of the city disappear as I’m cutting through the wind.  I’m finally starting to see some of our advocacy work pay off as I pass Burchell Rd heading to Santa Teresa Blvd.  The shoulders are getting cleared back to allow a safe 3 ft of passing by vehicles, and the historic deodar cedar trees are getting trimmed by Caltrans.  My stomach is rumbling for some fresh baked Sweet Sicily cookies and espresso.  As I lock my bike up Hecker Pass Plaza, I can already smell the authentic cookies that I am about to devour.  I begin to think about the successes that the Gilroy Bicycle Pedestrian Commission (Gilroy BPAC) had in 2019 while riding back down 3rd St.  It’s time for another year in review of what we have been up to.

As with any dynamic community engagement plan you need to be ready to interact on social media, and that doesn’t mean you are trying to put out multiple fires at once.  Community engagement is not something that you just pre-plan with cookie cutter statements.  It’s ever evolving and you need to be aware of the current situations 24/7 and not just business hours.  As I was reading through posts on Next Door, I found someone looking to give a BMX bike to a kid in need.  I quickly reached out and told them I could help.  We have developed relationships with many schools and organizations.  I contacted Ascencion Solorsano Middle School Counselors and they found a student who struggled with transportation to school and a bike was the perfect solution. The donor provided a bike lock, tubes, and a note that mentioned if at any point in his life he is in the position to help someone, he pays it forward.

Gilroy is a Complete Streets City by resolution and we successfully advocated for bike lanes, green bike lanes, pedestrian enhancements, and more along SR 152/1st St.  When Monterey Rd was repaved from 1st-8th St we advocated for the bike route that you see.  Gilroy Public Works added 6 miles of bike infrastructure in 2019. Each year we focus on achieving a higher score with Santa Clara County’s Healthy Cities initiative.  In 2019 we achieved the Bicycle Friendly Community Award and drafted Gilroy’s first Access to Water Policy.  This means that when you go to a public facility there is access to water, and this supports a healthy community.

We spearheaded the formation of Gilroy’s Safe Routes to School Task Force, along with Santa Clara County Public Health and National Safe Routes Partnership.  We meet quarterly at GUSD District Office with members of GUSD Admin, School Board, City Engineering, Gilroy Police, Public Health, and our Commission.  Thank you, City Council, for approving the Citywide Sidewalk Survey in the last budget cycle.  We have remained focused on creating Gilroy as a walkable community and we will be applying for a walk friendly designation in 2020.  Commissioner Patrick Flautt is currently seeking residents to sit on our new Pedestrian Safety Sub-Committee.

Several items on our 2019 work plan have been approved and are coming to City Council in 2020.  We recommended approval of the Back-In-Angle parking pilot program and it will be presented to City Council the 1st quarter in 2020.  This is the only type of angled parking we recommend. 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.  The citywide E-Scooter/E-Bike policy framework and permit process will take place through a Request For Proposal (RFP) process in the 1st quarter of 2020 and we are planning to have an operator in place by the 3rd quarter of 2020.  Measure B Education & Encouragement should start to be noticed citywide after the mid-year budget review takes place.   One plan that I want to highlight is the Community Engagement Plan.  The Gilroy BPAC already does this throughout the year and now get invites to participate with many Community Based Organization’s (CBO) events.  We need supplies to help us look official.   We currently use our own pop up tent and tables.  Community Engagement is what we do best and doesn’t cost much each time, we’d like a Gilroy BPAC pop up tent with barriers for the lines we get when providing helmet fittings and a table linen to help us stand out.  That way everyone will know what we are doing.  It will act as advertisement for Walk/Bike Gilroy.  A good thought out E&E plan will enhance current recreational tourism and economic development in Gilroy.  We will continue to work with Chamber of Commerce, Visit Gilroy, and GDBA.  Bike Gilroy/Walk Gilroy will align with their strategies as well.

Check out the Bike Gilroy on the Bibs

We will continue to move Gilroy forward in 2020 with the opening of the first BMX dirt pump track at Christmas Hill Park, the introduction of a strong Bike Parking Ordinance, advocating for the development of the Hillside Adventure Park behind Gilroy Gardens, and continue to work with Gilroy’s amazing organizations.  We are actively embracing, advancing ideas, and projects that promote the concept of free-range people in the City of Gilroy.  We advocate for building and planning that considers future generations as well as current residents who don’t own cars.  Advancing mobility options reflects what we are teaching the youth in our community through Safe Routes to School and why we are nationally recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community from the League of American Bicyclists, as well as recognized by the World Health Organization as an Age-Friendly Community.  #GilroyBPAC