Bicycle Friendly Communities

Santa Barbara, CA | Silver Level

Education: Since 2003, Santa Barbara has significantly increased the education component of its bicycle programs in cooperation with the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, including offering scholarships for Spanish language speakers to become League Cycling Instructors. The city provides materials in both English and Spanish for bicyclists on traffic laws, safety at night, and employer assistance opportunities. Santa Barbara was also a partner in a Safe Routes to School planning project to increase the safety of bicycling and walking to school for children. The city is a partner in the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition’s CycleSmart program. Through this program, LCIs instruct bimonthly Street Skills for Cyclists classes for adults, and spring bicycle rodeos at local grade schools. City support in developing and teaching this program, which they also teach to city staff, is instrumental to the community’s encouragement efforts.

Encouragement: The city recently conducted a $200 per day giveaway to all downtown employees who bicycled to work or used another form of alternative transportation during a six-month period. Space permitting, Santa Barbara installs safe bicycle parking facilities in front of any local business that request it.

Engineering: Santa Barbara recently designed and constructed the Shoreline Bikeway, a Class I facility with adjacent sidewalk and landscaping that was made possible through the removal of two mixed flow vehicle lanes. The project cost $1.2 million. Santa Barbara has significantly increased its commitment to using the bicycle as a routine component for work delivery. The city has purchased 10 bicycles used by city employees for work, recreation, and personal purposes. As part of this project, secure and covered bicycle parking for these fleet bicycles was installed in prominent places. In addition, the city offers monthly Street Skills for Cyclists classes on city time, and provides free helmets for employees who take part in the class.