MCBC News That’s A Wrap! 2022 In Review

Phew! What a year. Like everyone, we found ourselves in a “new normal”–able to hold events, go to meetings, build and maintain relationships and trails. We got some new bike lanes that were a l-o-n-g time coming, we launched new programs (Local Teams, harnessing the power of our membership & community) and put current ones on overdrive (Cory’s Ride has a new cohort, new funding, and renewed inspiration).

Reimagine Mt. Tam is bringing bikers, hikers, equestrians together to actively and collaboratively plan the future of recreation on our watershed lands. Safe Routes to Schools–born here at MCBC–continues to educate and inspire Marin youth on the joys of human-powered travel. Thanks to you, MCBC crossed the $1million operating budget threshold for the first time allowing us to hire new staff in Safe Routes to Schools, Cory’s Ride, Advocacy, and development!

Road Advocacy Top Wins Of 2022

• Butterfield Road bike lanes

Butterfield Road in Sleepy Hollow is an important link in the bike network, with connections to multiple schools and the Fawn Drive path to Terra Linda. An MCBC inspired community survey showed that 90% of residents supported converting on-street parking into bike lanes. This collaboration between MCBC and the community broke the logjam and resulted in nearly a mile of new bike/walk lanes, helping kids get to school and people walk and bike to myriad destinations! Click here for the full story.

• East Blithedale Class IV Bike Lanes

Mill Valley repaved East Blithedale Avenue between Camino Alto and US-101 this summer, providing Class IV separated bike lanes, dividing car traffic and bicycle traffic with 4’ plastic delineators. This was the direct result of advocacy from MCBC and our friends at WTB-TAM. These new lanes greatly improve access between Mill Valley and Tiburon. Though we still have work to do on Tiburon Boulevard, we are proud of this joint effort that is a real win for safety. Click here to read more. 

• Golden Gate Bridge Pedestrian-Bicycle Advisory Committee

The Golden Gate Bridge District has launched a committee to advise staff and the District board on issues of bike/pedestrian safety and access. This committee matches those run by the bridge providing advice on bus and ferry service. Until now, little consideration was given to the thousands of people who walk and ride over the bridge daily. The committee has been convened and is establishing its priorities, but look for improved policy within the next year. Here’s our story about how the PBAC got started.

• SMART Funding and New Hire

This year’s SMART budget included a lot of great stuff. The agency is putting significant focus on completing the multi use pathway by allocating funding to complete design and permitting for the remaining segments, and are hiring a new staff member whose role will be ensuring delivery of the pathway. SMART also recently installed automated bike/pedestrian counters in 10 locations on the pathway, and they are in the process of developing unified signage and wayfinding. Find more detail about the progress SMART has been making here. 

• Local Teams Launches

To help advance our advocacy efforts, MCBC has been developing local advocacy teams around Marin County. Via this effort, community members will engage with other like minded people to advocate for safer cycling. We currently have active teams in San Rafael, Mill Valley, and one for the Golden Gate Bridge. These teams meet once per month and are currently developing work campaign plans. We hope to have some wins to report on by this time next year. Click here if you’re interested in joining one of our existing local teams, or want to be notified when one starts in your area.

Off-Road and Events Top Wins of 2022

• Year one of the women-only Jane Fondo road bike ride sold out and was a big big success. Be sure to register for the 2023 event on March 11th in support of our work to get more women on bikes!

• Planning for a more diverse and inclusive Mt. Tam Watershed kicked off in June and bicyclists have been turning out in force and are prepared, open minded and collaborative.

• Slow & Say Hello! Numerous outposts were held this year promoting safety and resource protection in parks throughout Marin. Hikers, bicyclists and equestrians say it’s resulting in friendlier encounters out on the trails. Let’s crank the courtesy up to 11!

• Rush Creek Open Space Preserve in Novato is a great place for beginner mountain bikers, and gravel riders. In April Blue Oak Trail and Lucky Aces Trail recently opened adding a mile of sweet single-track through oak woodlands.

• The 10th Anniversary of the Dirt Fondo was one for the books, with a sold out crowd enjoying perfect weather, festive aid stations, superb volunteer support and an awesome post-ride hoedown!

• Bob Middagh Trail was reopened to bikes in September following a temporary closure in April. Now go ride the trail and, be nice, and say hi!

• MCBC literally built bridges in 2022 with support from the Hard Yaka Foundation as we advanced progress on the Liberty Gulch Trail on Azalea Hill!

• It’s always a blast partnering with the NorCal League on the sold out Adventure Revival, and great to have Rebecca Rusch along for the ride!

Safe Routes to Schools Top Wins of 2022

• 12,400 students received Safe Routes to Schools’ safety education at 45 Marin Schools

• The first ever, High School inspired, Bridge the Bay community event was a tremendous success with over 60 bicycles fixed for families living in the Canal Area.

• Schools returned with robust events promoting walking and rolling with larger than ever participation

• Safe Routes to Schools’ students came out en masse for the new JEDI Challenge and May the Fourth Be With You walk and roll events (at 35 schools)

Cory’s Ride Top Wins of 2022

• We recruited our fourth cohort of Cory’s Ride students. Eleven amazing students from the Canal Alliance’s UP! (University Prep) program and San Rafael High School’s AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program have been participating in after-school bicycle classes with us since early October, and they took their bicycles home with them the day after Thanksgiving. If they continue meeting with us for group rides and completing their assignments over the next year, they’ll get to keep their bikes and equipment… forever.

• We hired two Cory’s Ride graduates to be our interns. They’ll start in January 2023 and work 5-10 hours per week, organizing group rides, attending local community meetings, working with partner organizations in the Canal to help strengthen relationships and improve transportation conditions, and provide mentoring to other Cory’s Ride students.

• We hosted our first Cory’s Ride spoke donor event. Tim and Suzanne Leonoudakis, Cory’s parents, welcomed some of our biggest supporters to their home for a ride, lunch, and presentation about the program. The event was incredibly successful, raising nearly $70,000 for Cory’s Ride, thanks to individual supporters and a matching opportunity from Climate Ride. We’re hoping to plan an even bigger and better event for 2023. Stay tuned!

• We received recognition from some amazing companies and organizations this year. Specialized was impressed by our efforts to make cycling more accessible and inclusive in our community, and they selected Cory’s Ride as a grant recipient via the Outride Fund. Through Outride, we raised $10,000, they matched $10,000, and to top it off, they provided an additional $5,700 from their Solstice fundraising ride. The Marin Community Foundation awarded a $67,000 grant (to be used over an 18 month period) for advancing climate equity and social justice in the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael through Cory’s Ride. Marin County Parks provided an $8,000 grant to lead rides to some of the beautiful parks around the county. Riding to a park and raising money in the process…that’s a win/win for Cory’s Ride!

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