Letter from the Saddle
We’re off to a rolling start this spring and summer with Bike to Work Day, the spring ride series, Climate Ride, a new website, Bike Education classes, Session Fest, and more!
Bike to Work day was an absolute blast. Whether you came to one of our 98 energizer stations throughout the East Bay, or joined us for the Old Oakland happy hour with Walk Oakland Bike Oakland, we want to thank you for riding and for your support. Over 1,300 of you pledged to ride, 6,000 of you picked up a keepsake bag, and Bike East Bay member Petrice even won a Rad Power bike!
Meanwhile, our bike education team hit a huge milestone this spring. (No spoilers, so turn to page 4 to see what it is!) Spring and summer are always a busy time for bike education and 2023 is on track to be our busiest year since before the pandemic with over 120 classes throughout the East Bay, completely for free.
This spring our advocacy team has been busy working with other advocates, including Traffic Violence Rapid Response, to secure funding for better street infrastructure and support for public transit. Together, we had a huge win in the Oakland city budget with increased funding for traffic safety upgrades and both the mayor and city council pushing for increased investment in safe streets. But we also felt some disappointment, most notably Hopkins Street in Berkeley where bike and pedestrian safety improvements were put on hold. We are frustrated given the time and effort put in by advocates and city staff to make Hopkins safe for everyone, especially when low-income and communities of color in West and South Berkeley have largely been neglected.
This fall we are excited to kick off our next phase of community engagement work on San Pablo Avenue. This corridor serves as a critical artery for many East Bay communities. It serves over 120,000 people daily and is home to small businesses, homes and countless community centers such as schools and churches. However, it is a dangerous place for people who walk and roll. We are excited to co-create a new San Pablo that puts people and communities first. Read more from Robert on pages 10–11 and look out for community engagement and volunteering opportunities coming up this fall. Check out the bottom of pages 10–11 where we highlight the work of two local advocacy groups.
Finally, get outside on some fun summer rides that you can access from transit on page 3 and join Phil for our Fall Ride series with the entire family.
See you at Biketopia on October 5!
Ride On,
Justin & Jill
P.S. Don’t miss our 2022 Annual Report, where we celebrate last year’s progress and milestones and thank donors for making our work possible.
