Gil Penalosa of Walk and Bike for Life Coming to the Peninsula

Join County Supervisor Carole Groom and keynote speaker Gil Penalosa of Walk and Bike for Life. Learn about the many benefits of active public spaces, joint use agreements, community and school gardens, and park equity mapping.

Workshops will be provided by the Prevention Institute, the Trust for Public Land, Planning for Healthy Places, and Collective Roots.

RSVP is required for this FREE event. Space is limited. Lunch will be provided.

To register: call (650)363-4568 or e-mail gquiney@co.sanmateo.ca.us.

You can also catch Mr. Penalosa in San Mateo on the 15th -http://bikesiliconvalley.org/content/944.

October 16, 2009 - 8:30am - 1:30pm

399 Marine Parkway

Redwood Shores Library

Redwood City, CA

Don't Let The Flag Fool You

So Let me get this straight. If I drive a truck (solo of course) bigger than most Japanese houses, and I stencil an Amerkin flag on the side of the truck (which is almost the size of a highway billboard), I am an American Patriot.

How did we get here. How does this supposed to represent hard working, sensible, tolerant Americans. The sheer energy just to move this thing off of a stop light could power my home for 2 days.

It's no wonder why former President Bush how to go to the Saudi's; hat in hand to beg to keep the oil spigots open. Middle East oil barrons just love to see pictures like this. More money to fund terrorist projects.

So please sir, ask yourself this question; "Who is the true American Patriot, Me, or that guy on the bicycle I just ran over?".

Honey, When Did I Get So Fat. I Used To Fit Into This Parking Space.

What was the extra-ordinary, is not just the everyday and ordinary.


-- Post From My iPhone

Hey, Where Do We Park Our Tanks?

Or ...Tree Mulch is the Only Off-Road These Beasts will ever see.

Las Palmas Park, Sunnyvale, Ca, USA
The two photos below show (illegal) overflow parking at a local park even though there was ample parking across the street.





For those of you who read this blog from, Europe, Brazil, Australia, and and Japan; I don't make this stuff up; this is not Hollywood, this is real life in the Silicon Valley. We are overrun with cars; and not just Euro and Japan size cars with 2.5 liter engines, but monsters; the size of my aparment when I lived in Tokyo.





In the pictures above these 4WD beasts drove over "dangerous" Tree Mulch to find these covered spaces.

As James Kuntsler mentioned in "The Geography of Nowhere"; "if beings from another planet landed on this one they would think that it was inhabited by automobiles." If they saw this scene they would observe that the big fat earthlings were having a summer picnic.




The photo above was taken a couple of days ago showing just how brazen we have become.

I would welcome any comments you would have.
-- Post From My iPhone

"Car Surfing" Driver Pleads No-Contest in Sunnyvale

Athena Ford, 20 the driver charged with felony vehicular manslaughter in the death of Paul Benabides pleaded no-contest to the charges on July 24th. The women was "playing" a game of car-surfing with Paul, her boyfriend, when he fell from the roof of the car at speeds of up to 40 mph. The street, Lois Ave. in Sunnyvale is a residential street with a speed limit of 25 mph. One of the factors given for the accident besides speed was alcohol. Ford has been scheduled for sentencig on September 14 of this year where she could face up to one year in jail.

In a previous post, I mentioned how suprised I was that on this quiet residential street, a couple of days after the accident there was no evidence that a young man had tragically lost his life. There were no candles, pictures, ribbons, street markings; not even the telltale signs of road flares that would indicate a recent accident.

Paul Benabides -- RIP

Cash For Clunkers Approved!

Had to take a photo of this car while riding


by this morning. The sign on the windshiel says "Cash For Clunkers Approved.

The car was parked at a Shell station at the corner of Stelling Rd. and Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino. Can't figure out what the direct connection to the Shell Station.


-- Post From My iPhone

1AM Discovery Sunnyvale-Saratoga Rd.

Came upon this sad sight on a 1 AM ride. Must be recent; candles still burning and flowers still fresh.













-- Post From My iPhone

Park San Jose

This sign seems so natural for a city that boasts "Come Downtown to play. We have over 23,000 parking spaces".

Translation - Cars are are number one priority. Bike/Ped projects.....nah.....not on our list.




-- Post From My iPhone

Join me. Take the Challenge. The Drive Less Challenge!

Join me taking the Challenge to drive less in June.

TransForm

 (formerly the Transportation and Land Use Coalition

- TALC)  has put together a great summer program to get Bay Area Residents to drive less.

How It Works

1. You sign up to take the Challenge! To participate, Transform asks that you commit to either: 1) getting 10 people to support you at $5 each, or 2) donating $65 to TransForm. Here are 5 great ways you will help TransForm improve walking, biking and transit.

2. You pick a mileage goal that's right for you and then keep track of your miles.  No matter what your goal is, big or small, if you drive a lot or not at all, it all adds up collectively. Already planned a road trip in June?  Because the Challenge is focused more on the driving we do on a daily basis. 

3. You set a fundraising goal and then ask friends and family to support you in reaching your goals (both dollars and miles).  They've got tips and templates to make it easy! Don't want to fundraise? Simply donate $65 to TransForm and start your Challenge.

4. You chronicle your adventures via your Challenge page. Check out how others (or even "moi") are sharing the highs and lows in reaching their goals with stories, pictures, and videos. 

5. You compete for great prizes.  Prize categories include: "most entertaining posting", "most extreme story of avoiding driving a car", "most inspirational posting", "most supporters", and more.

6. You track your mileage and then share your results with us at the end of June so we can add up how many miles Challengers cut out of their lives. 

7. You celebrate with other Challengers at one of several post-Challenge parties hosted by Sports Basement around the Bay Area.

So Join me in June.

Population and Vehicle Density Correlation

This was a little fun I had playing with a graphical representation of the amount of land converted to parking; assuming a density of 6,000 residents per square mile (Sunnyvale, CA). I came up with just under 25% of the land would be needed to park cars, on average. This does not assume land needed to move those cars. I haven't gotten there yet.

The land here in the Silicon Valley only 50 years ago used to be full of orchards now parking lots have taken there place.

Parking Requirement Calculations (Google Docs)

The larger square represents one mile square. Notice how the old orchard roads were one mile distant. Now these "one mile roads" make for perfect suburban arterial roads. The smaller red square represents one quarter of a square mile.




View Asphalt Jungle in a larger map

Caltrans Forced to reduce Oil and Toxic Waste from California's Highways

Another cost of the primacy of the automobile, toxic sludge draining into Southern California's waterways was highlighted yesterday in federal district when Caltrans and the National Resources Defense Council and Santa Monica Baykeeper reached an agreement to limit pollution to the southland's watershed. The agreement calls for a reduction of pollution to 20% below 1994's levels. According to David S. Beckman a Defense Council attorney, This represents a major step forward in the control of storm water runoff -- the largest source of water pollution in the state."
LA Times "State to Curb Toxic Runoff" Dan Weikle January 19, 2008.

The state's Environmental Protection Agency reports that runoff oil alone accounts for 6 million gallons of oil from roads and sidewalks. Compare this with the recent headlines of an oil tanker spill in the San Francisco by which spilled 58,000 gallons of oil from a point source. Most of the oil combines with rubber, metal bits, human waste, solvents, pesticides, fertilizers, and brake dust. All of this combines to form a toxic sludge that effects birds, fish, shrimp, and other marine life.