Lessons from Mount Diablo

Join Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition for an online forum about how you can advocate in your own community for safer streets through lessons learned improving bike safety on Mount Diablo.

Between 2010 and 2014, there were an average of 23 collisions per year on the roads of Mount Diablo State Park. By 2015, the number of collisions was reduced to five. In the past three years combined, there was only one.

These safety improvements were no accident. It’s been a long, uphill, windy climb with more hills yet to come. But the statistics don’t lie. Mount Diablo has become a safer place for cyclists to ride and motorists to drive. Additionally, California State Parks, though initially resistant to even allowing safety investigations, has now become a key ally.

How did that happen? What did it take? How do you keep up momentum when it takes a decade to get traction? How were the design improvements funded? And how do you make friends with your local agency bureaucrats to get what you want? Come hear a conversation with the lead advocate who led, organized, and fought for years to achieve this end result. Learn how you can advocate in your own community for safer streets.

Date: Thursday, April 15th

Time: 5pm – 6pm

Who: Alan Kalin, President Mount Diablo Cyclists and Chairman Bike Danville (bikedanville.org) in conversation with SVBC Board member, Andrew Hsu

Where: Zoom, of course!

For more information, please read about the Mount Diablo story, the safety accomplishments and watch the amazing videos at mountdiablocyclists.org. Keep an eye on the drone video of the Bike Turnouts, which are unique only to Mount Diablo (but hopefully not for long).

SVBC’s goal is to create a better community, environment and economy through the everyday use of the bicycle. We focus on how to improve street safety across the 35 cities and towns in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. But we can’t cover all that territory. That’s why we need you. And that’s why we coordinate these types of educational forums. You, the passionate people who ride bicycles are the most important tool in making the streets safe. By listening to these sessions and learning how others have successfully advocated for street safety improvements, it is our hope that you can band together with like minded individuals in your community to accomplish the same.

We hope you’ll join us on April 15th!

And, if you’re not already a member, please consider joining SVBC here. It is only through the collective power and resources of people like you that we can make the world more welcoming to those of us who live, or want to live, life joyfully through the bicycle.