Operation Firefly Pomona

Posted on February 19, 2013 by pvbike

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We can all agree that night riding can be a little risky but riding without lights is even riskier. So on February 7th, the  Pomona Valley Bicycle Coalition participated in Operation Firefly, a bike light distribution program sponsored by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and gave away 30 bike lights to light-less bike riders for a safer ride home. The program is intended to make sure bike riders in Los Angeles County are riding safely at night and are aware of  the California Vehicle Code of biking riding (CVC21201).  So, to ensure that riders in Pomona were riding safely and educated on bike laws, eight awesome volunteers also handed out spokes cards with the CVC and bike safety tips (in both English and Spanish) and conducted a brief survey on riders.  The result? Appreciative and well lit bike riders.

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Of the survey data, we found that affordability and theft were among the main reasons why riders didn’t have bike lights. We also found that some riders knew it was the law to have lights but risked riding without them. One rider got in a accident because of it and another got a ticket.

Operation Firefly is set for the fall and winter seasons during daylight savings and we hope in the coming year we raise funds to continue this program for the future and expand it to other locations. But for now, we hope we made 30 riders in the Pomona Valley have a safer journey to their destination.

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First Community Meeting of 2013

Posted on February 8, 2013 by pvbike

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A new year is upon us and with it some new faces, projects and ideas for 2013. Among our new attendees were council member, John Nolte from District 1 and Maria Sipin from A Healthy Design and new LCI Instructor. The meeting was held at the beautiful  gallery The LOFT in downtown Pomona where 18 cyclists and residents met and shared their ideas and visions for the year. After learning about each others 2013 biking goals, which included a range of adding more mileage to just learning how to ride, the group broke up into groups of three to brainstorm on ideas of Education, Advocacy and Events/Rides. The following are the groups findings:

Education:

  • Find funds and grants to buy tools and get tools donated to create pop-up bike repair workshop such as The Bicycle Tree in Orange County
  • Start having a presence during Second Saturdays Artwalk in downtown Pomona
  • Increase rider education and make safety a #1 priority

Advocacy:

  • To build a stronger bike network in the region with local city staff and different city departments
  • Increase public education for bike safety through Public Service Announcements and other venues
  • Create a cohesive, region-wide Bike Week in May for Bike Month
  • Mirror Los Angeles’ model on Bike Parking Ordinance and Anti-Harassment ordinances for cyclists in Pomona
  • Campaign to increase bike cars for metrolink by participating in @BikeMetrolink twitter
  • Increase PVBC/LACBC membership

Events/Rides

  • Host training rides for LACBC River Ride in June
  • Host more events for a bigger and better Bike Month in May
  • Host another Bike-In Movie
  • More fun rides that include historic tours, fun destinations, night rides and food!
  • Increase fundraisers at restaurants and Dale Bro’s Brewery

As you can see there is a lot to work on for 2013 but we are excited to bring all this fun bike love to the Pomona Valley area. Of course, we are a volunteer run organization and always need help to pull off these awesome ideas. So when a volunteer opportunity comes up, sign up! Or email us at pvalleybikes@gmail.com to get more information and take an active role.  If you missed the meeting but want to share your thoughts, please leave comment.

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Taking a look back at 2012

Posted on December 30, 2012 by pvbike

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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

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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).

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PVBC in the Christmas Parade and Holiday at the Plaza Event

Posted on December 13, 2012 by pvbike

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This past Saturday, the Pomona Valley Bicycle Coalition had the opportunity to participate in the Pomona Christmas Parade and the Holiday at the Plaza event. This was our first year in the parade and apparently the largest with over 100 participants. Our ‘float’ was the design and work of Krik, a local metal sculpture artist who uses repurposed materials and has some sort of movement to his work. In this case, the sculpture we used had three teeter totter-like arms which students from the Pomona Arts High School rode on and gave our float some special effects. Jeff, with his awesome green cargo bike, was the main engine to our float and proudly displayed our banner on his bike. Although we did not win ‘Best Teeter Totter Sculpture’ Award, we had a great time and were happy to show Pomona residents there is a cycling organization out there fighting for their rights to cycle.

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The highlight of the event, however, came afterwards as we raffled off bike helmets to kids. We tabled at the ‘Holiday at the Plaza’ in Pomona City Hall and, through a generous donation at no charge from Coates Cyclery, we were able to give 10 helmets to much needed kids. One kid in particular was learning how to ride and was afraid of falling and hurting himself; the helmet will now give him the extra security and confidence he needs to go out and ride. Larry Sheets from Claremont Senior Cyclists volunteered with helmet fitting so each helmet was properly fitted to it’s new owner. Event’s like these are what we love to be part of and if we can help give an individual the confidence they need to get on a bike, then we think we are doing a good job.

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Thank you Daryl Grigsby and Good Luck

Posted on December 2, 2012 by pvbike

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If there was ever a community member who has created a substantial impact to the Pomona Valley region, it’s Daryl Grigsby. Daryl’s not only a devoted cyclist, he is an individual who believes in the power of change and community empowerment and has a zeal that’s impacted the lives of many. His position as Public Works Director of Pomona allowed him to move the City into a direction that gave many residents hope for the future of Pomona. When Daryl first moved to Pomona in early 2010 he immediately noticed the potential that lied within the City and he worked hard to build the cycling community and important partnerships to showcase this energy. His down to earth attitude made it easy for anyone to approach him and his lust for change was infectious to whoever met him.

His method was simple: Go out on a bike and explore your city. And he empowered people to do just that with his Ride Around Pomona (RAP) rides he created in August 2010. The RAP rides gave people the opportunity to meet one another and explore Pomona and to think differently about their City,  all within a safe riding group. Soon the rides began to grow in popularity and residents from neighboring cities like Walnut, Claremont and Ontario began joining in on the fun. His twice a month rides gained regional attention and people began to notice the impact he was doing in Pomona. He spoke at conferences such as Creating A Bike-Able Los Angeles County Summit and Rail-voltion displaying Pomona’s diverse and unique community and the need for action and for partners to come together and build up the City. For Daryl, it wasn’t about the bike, it was about the community and the bike is there to build relationships and strengthen communities. He was a driving force in helping the City create a Bike Master Plan and helped push the completion of a Class II Bike lane on Bonita, connecting La Verne and Claremont. Daryl has worked relentlessly to push Pomona into the future helping create the healthy, sustainable City it’s residents deserve.

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In the two years that Daryl has been in the community, he has helped put Pomona on the map and has inspired individuals to take action and change their lives for the better.  The impact he has created has caused many people to think positively about Pomona and the Pomona Valley area and his efforts should not end when he leaves.  Although bike rides are important in getting community together,  letting your local council member know that you want to have vibrant neighborhoods, safer roads and healthier communities are equally important. Building coalitions and strengthening relationships is what will help Pomona reach it’s goals of becoming a thriving City. As for the RAP, Pomona Valley Bicycle Coalition is honored to adopt the ride as one of it’s monthly rides and hopes to have different community members lead them. The coalition also continues it’s advocacy work in partnering with city staff and local organizations to create safer roads and is working to ensure the Pomona Bike Master and Active Transportation Plan will be adopted in Spring of 2013. Now with Daryl out of Pomona, it does not mean cycling efforts are over, it just means now is the time for the community to come together and continue to fight for the things that Daryl has fought so hard for. We wish Daryl the best of luck as the new Public Works Director of San Luis Obispo and although we will miss him terribly, we look forward to working with the City of Pomona and are optimistic of it’s future.

We invite those who have something to say about Daryl to please leave a comment and share your experiences with this wonderful individual.

Posted in Advocacy | 7 Comments