An Interview with former BPAC Chair, Bryce Beagle
During his time on the Sunnyvale Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC), Bryce Beagle considerably influenced city decisions on a number of active transportation projects. His energy and innovative outlook helped make Sunnyvale into a more walkable and bikeable city. I spoke with Bryce recently about his transformation from a car-dependent childhood to a car-free adult, his experience on the BPAC, and his decision to move to Paris. Here's our conversation, edited for flow.
[Sharlene] What got you into biking as a means of transportation? Did you start as a child?
[Bryce] I actually didn't use a bike to get around until I was a working adult. I grew up in Phoenix where everything is car centered. When I first moved to the Bay Area for work, I didn't bike or take transit. Then the Pandemic happened, and I stopped using my car. When workers returned to the office, I continued to not drive. Instead I started commuting by bus and Caltrain. Eventually, I got a bike after I moved to downtown Sunnyvale. I made it a personal goal to not use my car anymore. That forced me to explore different options. I sold my car, and my partner sold hers soon after that. We were car-free for the remaining 3 years we lived in the Bay Area.
[Sharlene] Why did you even consider being car-free?
[Bryce] Part of what really got me into considering being car-free is the YouTube channel, "Not Just Bikes". The videos were made by a Canadian who moved to The Netherlands. He was struck by the cool urban planning there. I followed his videos for 3-4 years and really liked the urban design ideas he presented. About the same time, I was doing a bunch of travel to Europe, including a 9-week stay in London. I came to love London as a city, being able to get around without a car. I had already started to avoid my car in the Bay Area. So being in London made me realize this is the life I want.
[Sharlene] Any advice for others aspiring to be car-free?
[Bryce] People in the South Bay think you have to have a car to get around. But from my experience, being car-free wasn't too difficult. We dedicated part of our finances toward a car-free lifestyle. We lived near a Caltrain station, and my job was near another Caltrain station. We moved downtown to make my commute easier. Living downtown also gave us ready access to grocery stores nearby. We treated Whole Foods and Target as our pantry. We'd walk across, buy something, and walk back. It was very convenient. Medical appointments were within a bike or transit ride away. I biked to get my haircuts. I want transit, biking, and walking to be the normal thing to do. Sometimes I had to borrow my friend's truck to get something from Home Depot, but that was rare. I could do 99% of the stuff I needed to do without a car.
[Sharlene] So you didn't feel cramped by not owning a car?
[Bryce] No. If anything, owning a car was like an anchor that I had to deal with. I had to pay for registration and maintenance for something I'm not using. If I ever drove it somewhere, I'd have to find parking. Not owning a car is liberating. During the 3 years I didn't own a car, I rented a car only 3-4 times, and that was to go on trips out of town. Even if I went to Santa Cruz, I took the Highway 17 bus instead of renting a car because sitting in traffic is not as bad when you're in a bus. Sometimes I'd take an Uber, but that was mostly in San Francisco when I was trying to get to the Caltrain station late on a Sunday night when buses don't run that often.
[Sharlene] Let's turn to BPAC. How long were you on BPAC? What inspired you to become a BPAC commissioner?
[Bryce] I did one full 4-year term. Prior to joining BPAC, I was attempting to live a car-free life and found that Sunnyvale roads needed to be improved. I messaged my councilmember, Alysa Cisneros, and we had a conversation about the problems I experienced. Then there was an opening on BPAC, and Alysa said, hey, you should apply. I thought, I can join BPAC and do my part.
[Sharlene] Overall, do you feel like your time on BPAC was worthwhile?
[Bryce] I do think serving on BPAC was worthwhile. Being able to give city staff feedback on projects was definitely useful, like, "This is what we'd like to see in future projects, this is what we'd like to see in this project." I asked for more data in one project at a BPAC meeting, and staff would present the data I asked for in the Council meeting. I feel that staff valued my input. I also feel like I did a pretty good job being the BPAC Chair, directing the meeting and focusing the comments of the other commissioners to give staff the feedback they were seeking.
Just like any member of the public, as a BPAC commissioner I could talk to councilmembers. I feel like I established credibility with them and contributed in a positive way. I also attended council meetings when there was a bike or pedestrian item being discussed, and I'd comment on them. I ended up attending council meetings every 1-2 months. I also met with councilmembers individually whenever there was a big agenda item coming up, and I felt like they genuinely listened to what I had to say. I kept my comments factual and not demanding. I think data-driven advocacy is very powerful. For the Sunnyvale Ave Caltrain undercrossing issue, I used the Google Maps API to calculate how driving time would change before and after closing the undercrossing to cars, and I got an average increase of only 2 minutes. I presented my finding to Council and that gave them confidence to vote for the closure. For the Hollenbeck bike lanes, the data analysis that you and Jon Blum did, to look at how much street parking was actually being affected, is really effective.
[Sharlene] Was there anything you wish you could have done on BPAC that you didn't get to do?
[Bryce] I wish BPAC had more purview into transit. I wish it was TBPAC, for Transit Bike Pedestrian Advisory Commission. I know the bus system and Caltrain are run by other agencies. But, the Peery Park Shuttle and the new Beam City Shuttle should have come before BPAC. I also wish I had set up quarterly meetings with the councilmembers, to check in and talk about projects.
[Sharlene] Do you have suggestions to improve the efficacy of BPAC?
[Bryce] Yes. I think BPAC should do more community outreach. Getting other citizen groups on board with projects is important. I also think BPAC is too bike-heavy. We need to put more emphasis on pedestrian projects. Bike projects are solved by big solutions, like miles of bike lanes, removal of street parking along those miles. But, the pedestrian projects are much smaller piecemeal things. I would have loved to see BPAC push for small things like raised crosswalks, bulb outs, and intersection signal improvements.
I think Sunnyvale is too focused on perfection, as opposed to progress.
Since moving to Paris, I've been walking around a whole lot. I see many people on bikes, and the bike infrastructure is horrible. There are bike symbols painted all over the place, and they don't make sense half the time. You've got bike lanes that disappear then reappear, that merge with the cars and with pedestrians, that are all over the place, and they don't make any sense. You'd think this layout is a safety hazard, but it just works. My bike commute to work is incredibly chaotic. Bikes and pedestrians ignore lights and weave through cars. But there are so many bikes and peds that drivers are forced to have their head on a swivel, and the drivers do pay attention and yield. Biking is the fastest way to get around, even faster than the Metro. Watch this video of my bike commute in Paris. I join the masses commuting by bike.
I was in Bologna, Italy earlier this year. They're just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. The number of people biking is skyrocketing. Bologna has bike lanes that go onto sidewalks and back down into the street, and all over the place. But it's safer that way than if the bike lanes weren't there at all.
I think our BPAC focuses too much on getting one little thing perfect as opposed to doing two half baked things. Two half baked things is better than one perfect thing, in my opinion.
[Sharlene] OK, but the Class 3B bike boulevards in Sunnyvale -- would you agree those made things worse?
[Bryce] I don't think they made anything better. They were a waste of money and staff time. But, drivers are going to be aggressive with or without them. I don't personally think they made safety much worse. The other thing that frustrated me about the Class 3B bike boulevards is that, in the Climate Action Playbook, staff marked it as complete, when in fact, they are nothing like what a bike boulevard should be.
[Sharlene] Do you have any advice for people thinking of joining the BPAC? What kinds of people would be successful in it?
[Bryce] I've seen candidates who say they want to give back to the community, or candidates who say they are a mother and they care about safety for children. That's all good, but that high-level motivation alone isn't enough to make them an effective BPAC commissioner. They have to also be interested in road design. They have to be able to analyze what makes a road work, what makes a sidewalk work, what makes traffic flow. They have to be able to identify deep rooted problems. If you don't have that analytical ability or an interest in transportation design, you're not going to have a lot to say. You can't just say, "It's dangerous". You have to say, "It's dangerous because of X, and we can do Y to fix it". It's almost like an engineering project.
You also have to accept that city government operates slowly, much more slowly than you'd like. If you can't accept the slowness, you'll get frustrated.
[Sharlene] Let's switch gears to Paris. Why did you move to Paris?
[Bryce] My partner and I wanted to move to Europe, not Paris in particular. In the last 4-5 years, we had experienced the walkability and transit connectedness of European cities, and we wanted to live that kind of life. We have the ability to relocate, so we're giving it a shot and see what happens. Last year, I had switched to a company intentionally knowing that they had a European presence. My partner and I ended up in Paris because that's where I found a job.
[Sharlene] What are your most interesting impressions of Paris so far?
[Bryce] The transit is fantastic. It's not polished like BART, but it works. You have to push a button to open the door. It doesn't automatically open. You can open the door before the train comes to a complete stop and step off the train while it's still moving. The dwell times at the station are incredibly slim. People start getting off the train before the train comes to a stop, and the train starts up again 5 seconds later. It's very quick and efficient. Things run better when they're not running perfectly. I'd say more than half the stations don't have elevators, so they're inaccessible to people in wheelchairs. But they make progress incrementally.
[Sharlene] It was great spending this hour talking to you about your new life, and your old life. Thanks for serving on BPAC and making Sunnyvale a little better to move around in. We really appreciate that. Best wishes for your new adventure in Europe.
About the Author
Sharlene Liu is Founder and Chair of Sunnyvale Safe Streets. She and Bryce Beagle served concurrently on BPAC.
