Active Sierra Madre Newsletter, Oct 14, 2023

 

Wider sidewalks coming to downtown Sierra Madre

Transportation News: 

• Bike To School: I rode to Sierra Madre Elementary for the school's first Walk, Bike, and Roll Day (Oct 4), and I would estimate that about 10 percent of the students walk, a handful ride scooters, and very few families bike to school. The only bikes I saw were a brother and sister whose parent brought their bikes in the car and let the kids ride on the sidewalk before school. And who can blame them? Highland Ave and Auburn are virtually choked with idling cars as parents and caregivers drive to school to drop one, and occasionally two, kids off in front of school. As I watched all the cars, smelled all the fumes the children are breathing, I wondered how many of those families live within a mile radius of the school. According to one study, in 1969, 89% of US K-12 students who lived a mile from school walked or biked to school. By 2009 that had dropped to 35%. According to most surveys of parents, concern over traffic safety is one of the main reasons why they drive their kids to school. When cities do little to provide safe pedestrian and bike infrastructure around schools, parents often feel they have no choice. As the Bike Bus Movement has shown, there is a pent-up demand for bike-friendly routes to school and programs to support that, but it takes organizing and planning. If any parents are interested in starting a bike bus in Sierra Madre, contact me: boyonabike62@gmail.com. 
• City News: The City's Transportation Subcommittee met last Wednesday and discussed the mail we have received from citizens on transportation issues. The mail fell into two broad categories: lack of good transit in town and traffic safety, especially for people walking and biking in town. This feedback is helpful and helps the subcommittee focus its efforts. We are scheduled to meet with Metro representatives in two weeks to share our views with them. We will be looking at Micro Metro transit service and also asking about the possibility of getting one (or both) of our old bus lines back. Both the transit and the traffic safety issues are going to be ongoing efforts, I expect. Unfortunately, neither looks like a quick fix. If you have feedback for the subcommittee, you can email us at transportation@cityofsierramadre.com.
  

Calendar: 

• Oct. 29: Arroyo Fest will open the 110 (Pasadena) Freeway for walking, jogging, biking, skating, scooting, etc. Take the Metro A (Gold) Line to either the Fremont station or South Pasadena station. The event is free from 9AM to 4PM.
  
• Oct 31: Sierra Madre Halloween Happenings, 3PM - 7PM. Our Transportation Subcommittee will have a table where you can get information about the subcommittee's efforts. 

Hot Links: 

• California spends too little on environmentally-friendly transportation options (Streetsblog California)  
• Unleashing Climate Progress in Transportation Planning (Climate 100)