2012 has come and gone and it has been quite a year for us. We have only been part of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition for 8 months and we have been working hard the entire time, building relationships, growing membership, and gaining political support. Here is a recap of the main things we have done and participated in and what we are looking forward to 2013!

Pomona Bike Master Plan and LA County Bike Master Plan

The Pomona Active Transportation Plan and Bike Master Plan (ATP/BMP) which happened around the same time the coalition formed , would help bring infrastructure, policy and educational improvements to cyclists and pedestrians. We played a great role in helping with the design of the plan, bring the community to meetings and participating in the Bike/Pedestrian Count-information that will help prioritize development. We had hoped the plan would pass through the council by the end of this year, but will be postponed until Spring of 2013 to be incorporated with the revision of the City’s General  Plan. This means that the ATP/BMP  will be a permanent part of the Transportation Element within the General Plan, giving it a stronger chance of approval by the council. Both ATP/BMP and General Plan are going through environmental review at the moment and we look forward to future meetings.

In addition to Pomona’s BMP, LA County has been working to create it’s 831 miles of bikeways throughout LA County. The County of Los Angeles Bike Master Plan has two big projects planned for the Pomona Valley Region: The San Jose Creek and Thompson Creek Proposed Bicycle Path. The San Jose Creek  will cover about 15.7 miles of Class I bikeway and will be the largest project for the region, covering the cities of Pomona, Walnut, Rowland Heights, Hacienda Heights and Industry. This East West Bike trail will connect the existing San Jose Creek Trail in Claremont and provide safe riding access in our region.

These two bike paths, slated to be both Class I and III bikepaths, will allow safer bike path access in our region. With Pomona being the largest city in the region, we look forward to seeing  a more bike-friendly Pomona in 2013.

Bike-In and Events

Our first event was our most ambitious since we have only been in existence for 4 months at that point. With the help of Pomona’s PONY, we were able to secure a safe space in Palamares Park and sell snacks and food to support both PVBC and PONY.  Trafik provided our feature film, a showing of  ‘To Live and Ride in LA’ under the Pomona night sky. We hope in the future we can host a larger event with the support of the City or council member. For us, creating and participating in events allows a chance for the general public to know who we are and increase membership and our support and strengthen our coalition. Here are some others events we were fortunate enough to participate in this year and we so thankful that we did!:  Cycle Azusa, Covina Public Works Fair,  Bike to Work Day, Dale Bro’s Brewery fundraiser, Adopt-an-Intersection at Ciclavia, LA Bike Fest with Cyclocross, Coates Vintage Bike Show and Holiday at the Plaza

Ciclavia

There has been a lot of talk and extreme excitement of potentially bringing Ciclavia to the Pomona/Claremont since Ciclavia did a community meeting in Pomona early 2012. Since then a Ciclavia sub-committee has been formed and communication between the committee, Pomona and Claremont and Cicilavia have been ongoing.  PVBC helped by hosting an exploratory ride in October that went very well. Although there were financial concerns and visionary problems from both cities it seemed as if these issues can be worked out with Ciclavia staff and the local sub-committee especially since there was a lot of community support. Then, the the unspeakable happened- major funding got redirected and funding sources pulled out on creating a region-wide Ciclavia.  But don’t despair! Ciclavia is very much fighting for this to happen and even if the date get’s moved back a year or two that doesn’t mean the end of the world! It jut means it’s a work in progress and PVBC is rooting and supporting for Ciclavia to happen in Pomona.

Whats coming up in 2013:

We have big plans and goals for 2013 and as we are approaching our first year anniversary we hope to create a larger and stronger coalition. Here are some things we have planned for 2013:

•  Operation Firefly-a light distribution program for riders who don’t have bike lights
• A bigger and exciting Bike month in May
• Monthly Ride Around Pomona (RAP) rides every first Saturday of the month as well as other fun themed rides!
• More fun event’s and fundraisers like at Dale Bro’s Brewery.

As always, this is a coalition for everyone and we would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on things we can do that will address the needs of all cyclists.

Lastly we would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all those who have supported us and helped us out this past year! We definitely couldn’t of done it without you guys! –  City of Azusa, City of Covina , City of Pomona,  Claremont Senior Cyclists, Coates Cyclerly, Cyclocross, Dale Bro’s Brewery, Dept of Public Health, Healthy Azusa, Incycle, One More Move, PONY (Pomona Youth Baseball League) and Youth Education Sports (YES).