Bicycle friendly

Ukiah group hope to raise pedaling awareness

Ukiah certainly is no Arcata when it comes to biking, says local bike advocate Jennifer Smart who recently moved back to her hometown after living further upstate. She says she can go a whole day here and not see anyone else on a bike.

"Sad!" she exclaims. "Ukiah is not that big of a town and people could very easily bike to their destinations."

But rather than let this discourage her, she's seeing it as an opportunity to influence change.

She says she has slowly found others who want to make Ukiah a safer community in which to ride bikes. Thus began her quest to create a bicycling advocacy group and the First Friday Community Bike Ride, which Smart says, is the first step towards creating bicycle awareness and a need for better bicycle spaces in the community.

Being a rural area, there's not too much traffic here. And it's flat, so that's another plus. But people don't really feel safe biking around, she says.

"I believe that pushing for improved bicycling spaces, will allow bicyclists to feel more comfortable and safe while on their bicycles," she said. One of the main reasons she hears from people about why they don't ride their bicycle more often, is because they do not feel safe.

"I think if more people feel safe, more people will ride," she said.

Gobbi Street is the only thoroughfare in which bicyclists can safely cross between the west and east sides of Ukiah and traveling through Ukiah on the major arteries like State, Talmage and Perkins, bicyclists find themselves caught too close to cars.

Traveling north-south safely through Ukiah requires the use of smaller side streets, where traffic is lighter but only some streets have bike lanes and North State Street, an access point for those who ride from Calpella and Redwood Valley, poses many challenges for riders, Smart says.

First, they have to cross both an entrance to and an exit from Highway 101. Second, the bike lane/road shoulder is littered with gravel, car parts, screws, and other sharp metal pieces.

"I see so much traffic on Gobbi Street, Perkins Street, and State Street at rush hour and I always think about people who are driving less than two miles from work to home," says Susann Carlo and organizer for Walk and Bike Mendocino county wide advocacy group.

"If those people would get out of their cars and onto bikes and safe bike lanes, we could eliminate car congestion and noise pollution, get some exercise, and save time and money. It's a situation that would create a healthier and safer community," Carlo said.

Besides biking, the First Friday Community Bike Ride encourages walking through town afterward during the monthly art walks.

The first community ride, which was on March 5, has inspired Fort Bragg to start its own First Friday Community Bike Ride under the umbrella of Walk & Bike Mendocino.

After the first ride, the group stood around talking about bicycling issues in the community, noting a lack of bike parking outside of downtown. So some lock their bikes to street signs in front of businesses, one of whom mentioned an incident where she was harassed for parking her bike in such a manner.

Several riders spoke about not being able to ride on State Street and others commented on the roughness of bike lanes and how in places the bike lanes seem to start and end for no particular reason.

Then there's the law, some questioned. Some riders wondered why they had to stop at stop signs like cars. In the future, Smart hopes to see Walk & Bike Mendocino educate bicyclists about safe transportation methods as well as car drivers about how to interact with bicyclists on the road.

"I'm not sure how Walk & Bike members feel about this issue. But, it is the law to have a front white light and a rear red light when riding a bike at night," Smart noted.

Many of Walk & Bike Mendocino's Facebook fans think it would be great to develop some kind of bike/walk path that extends the length of town and beyond to Hopland, Redwood Valley and maybe even Willits with links to community hubs like downtown and Mendocino College.

Ben Provan, a Walk & Bike Mendocino Facebook fan, commented that the trail would be "... a huge tourist attraction. Slap in some wine tasting stops, eco-tourism branding, and some local foods/farm stands along the way, and we'll have all those city folks coming up here to give us their money."

Meanwhile Fort Bragg recently acquired 3.5 miles of oceanfront land on the former Georgia-Pacific mill site. The city is in the process of planning for a parkland and a trail that will become part of the California Coastal Trail network.

The Walk & Bike Mendocino Facebook page also serves as a tool for social networking between other pedestrian and bicycling advocates. For those who attend future events, it's recommended that bikers bring not only a bike, but helmets, lights and friends.

For more information contact walkandbikemendocino@gmail.com or find Walk and Bike Mendocino on Facebook. Upcoming Friday community bike ride dates include: May 7, June 4, July 2, Aug. 6, Sept. 3, Oct. 1, Nov. 5, Dec. 3.They begin at 6 p.m. at Alex Thomas Plaza.

Other upcoming events:
1. Bike To Brunch ­ Join fellow community members for a leisurely morning ride to Hopland on Sunday, April 18. The ride starts at 8:30 a.m. departing from and returning to the Alex Thomas Plaza. Pedal 18 miles along scenic Old River Road before enjoying brunch at Blue Bird Cafe. Bike, helmets, lights and friends

2. May is National Bike Month; Bike-to-Work Week is May 17-21 and Bike-to-Work Day is Friday, May 21.

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