The California Bicycle Coalition is a non-profit education and lobbying organization working to improve bicycling conditions throughout the State of California. CBC’s mission is to create safe, healthy and livable communities in California by promoting bicycling for transportation and recreation.

Based on its mission, CBC advocates for increased bicycle use, access, safety and education. CBC is a diverse membership-based organization comprised of recreational and commuter cyclists, bicycle related manufacturers, bike shops, law enforcement, environmentalists, transit advocates, and transportation and air quality planners. CBC has a 501(c)3 education branch, and a 501(c)4 lobbying branch.

Accomplishments

• Sponsored AB 1358, The Complete Streets Act, which was signed into law in 2008. AB 1358 will ensure that the transportation plans of California communities meet the needs of all users of the roadway including pedestrians, bicyclists, users of public transit, motorists, children, the elderly, and the disabled. AARP California joined CBC as co-sponsor of the bill.
• Shepherded major revisions to Caltrans Deputy Directive 64 (DD-64) which, as of 2008, clearly states Caltrans’ intention to embrace Complete Streets principles as a matter of policy. It also expands the duties of Caltrans staff under the policy and delegates most of those duties to the district level. The policy requires all levels of Caltrans, from headquarters to the 12 Caltrans districts, to consider the needs of travelers of all ages and abilities in all planning, programming, design, construction, operations and maintenance activities.
• Sponsored successful California Assembly Concurrent Resolution 211 (ACR 211), authored by Assemblyman Joe Nation (D-San Rafael), which in 2002, directed cities and counties to accommodate bicyclists in all transportation projects by implementing Caltrans Deputy Directive 64 (.pdf format) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s design guidance document on integrating bicycling and walking when making road improvements.
• Fought for bike racks on buses by successfully amending the vehicle code to allow buses in excess of 45′ in length to operate on California’s highways. Special thanks to the East Bay Bicycle Coalition and Marin County Bicycle Coalition for their help on AB1409.
• Fought for and worked on the “Bicycle Blueprint,” California’s master plan for bicycling (read highlights, .pdf format).
• Co-sponsored innovative legislation to invest $115,000,000 over five years in bicyclist and pedestrian safety projects near California schools aka Safe Routes to School.
• Led successful campaigns to increase bike project funding by $15,000,000; to allow cities and counties to consider bicyclist and pedestrian safety when setting speed limits, and to add four new bicycle program positions at Caltrans for project review, safety and coordination.
• Rewrote the bicycling section of the driver’s manual to better educate motorists about our presence on roads and got a question about our right to “take the lane” included in the mix of those used on the exam.
• Wrote and sponsored Assembly Bill 1020, which more than tripled the allocation to the only Caltrans account dedicated solely to bicycle projects.
• Played a crucial role in the success of two vital bills leading the way for a San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge bike facility.
• Helped deliver the votes of several US representatives to preserve federal support for bicycle transportation.
• Organizes the California Bike Commute, the nation’s largest bike-to-work type event with over 10,000 participants annually, which every May unites public agencies, major employers and local activists to demonstrate that bicycling for work or for errands is fun, doable and just plain cool.