Sunnyvale voters will soon be deciding on a new California Senator in the June 2 primary. To help inform voters interested in bicycle and pedestrian safety, Sunnyvale Safe Streets interviewed one of the leading candidates, David Cohen. David Cohen has been a San Jose Councilmember for 5 years. Prior to that, he served as a Trustee on the Berryessa Union School District Board for 14 years. David is approachable, rational, action-oriented, and candid.

For generations, many children commuted to school by walking or biking. Over the last 50 years, however, walking and biking have declined so that today only 14% of children walk and bike, shifting to using private vehicles instead. This trend has had drastic negative consequences on children and the community at large. Because children don’t have a means to get around independently, their rates of depression, obesity, and diabetes have increased.

A reflection on car culture, school traffic, and the infrastructure we keep failing to build.

The 12th most populous city in the US, San Jose has an entrenched car culture and a large dispersed land area, making the task of building out a bike network especially challenging. But, if you were to visit downtown San Jose, you'd see impressive bike infrastructure, like parking protected bike lanes and protected intersections. The city has made significant progress, but at the same time, it has not made enough.

Local bicyclist protests oil price increase. “I’m mad as hell, and I won’t take this anymore,” vows eccentric pedaler.

CalBike, the California bicycle advocacy group, hosted a fantastic summit last month. I thoroughly enjoyed lobbying state legislators, learning from active transportation professionals, and meeting bicycle advocates from all over the state. Here are some of my favorite experiences from the summit.