March 2020 Election Tiburon Town Council Candidate Questionnaire
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Marin County Bicycle Coalition cannot endorse candidates for public office, but we are able to share information so that you can arrive at your own conclusion. Below are Tiburon Town Council candidates’ responses to our questionnaire on bicycling in Marin. We have made no content changes. Thanks to the candidates for their time and thoughtful answers!
There are three candidates running for one available seat. We have received responses from all candidates.
Do you ride a bicycle? If so, for what purposes? (transportation/road/mtb)
Daniel Amir: Yes – Road
Kathleen Defever: Yes – Transportation, Road
Jack Ryan: Yes – Transportation
Would you support the adoption of a Countywide Vision Zero policy and corresponding enforcement, education, and engineering initiatives aimed at eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries? (yes/no/other)
Daniel Amir: Yes
Kathleen Defever: Other (see below)
Yes, with appropriate adaptations to the needs of Marin.
Jack Ryan: Yes
Please rate the following statements on a scale of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree)
Bicycling has the potential to significantly reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions from transportation in Marin.
Daniel Amir: 5 – Strongly Agree
Kathleen Defever: 5 – Strongly Agree
Jack Ryan: 3 – Do Not Agree or Disagree
Agencies in Marin should do more to invest in and prioritize active transportation (walking/bicycling).
Daniel Amir: 5 – Strongly Agree
Kathleen Defever: 5 – Strongly Agree
Jack Ryan: 5 – Strongly Agree
Land managers in Marin should do more to improve trail access for mountain biking.
Daniel Amir: 5 – Strongly Agree
Kathleen Defever: 3 – Do Not Agree or Disagree
Jack Ryan: 3 – Do Not Agree or Disagree
If elected, what would you do to 1) improve safety for people riding bikes in your jurisdiction and 2) increase the number of people who bike?
Daniel Amir:
If elected I would push the following initiatives: 1) Encourage kids to drive their bikes to school while working closely with the Reed Union School district; 2) Push towards allocating more funds to bike lanes in the town of tiburon as part of the new 2020 general plan that is being drafted this year; 3) Work with county officials to see whether we could encourage more mountain biking on Tiburon ridge.
From 2014-2019 I was the President of the Belveron East Neighborhood Association and during this time we had pushed for a number of initiatives around biking and kids safety which includes: 1) Working with the town that when they repaved the streets to add bumps and light signals; 2) When Trestle Glen was repaved to work with the town on having a countdown clock in order to make pedestrian and biking safer; 3) Organize with the police department a number of educational events in the neighborhood to teach kids about bike safety; 4) As part of the Trestle Glen Hill project which is above the neighborhood, we pushed for the town to adopt as part of the approval process a requirement for a bike lane on Trestle Glen (yet to be constructed). All these initiatives were seen very positively by the community.
Kathleen Defever:
1) I am very concerned about bike safety in Tiburon. While we do have the Tiburon Shoreline Park that keeps bikers out of the vehicle traffic on 131/Tiburon Blvd, even the park can be congested with walkers, joggers, and dogs. There are no designated bike lanes. Also, many roadways in Tiburon do not have shoulders, and are often also very curvy (such as Paradise Drive on the north side of the peninsula). My partner often bikes there and I am always concerned for his safety. I would like to bike more, as I previously commuted by bike every day (while living in Chicago for 7 years), but I don’t feel safe enough to do so here. I would like to work with the Marin Co Bicycle Coalition to find solutions to these dangerous conditions, such as bike lanes where it is possible.
2) I think if safety is increased, it will not be difficult to convince more people on the Tiburon peninsula to bike. We have beautiful weather nearly all year-round, and most residents of Tiburon are quite active outdoors. Also, we need better connectivity of trails and biker-safe roads, so biking longer distances (such as from people’s homes to their schools and work) is more feasible and convenient.
Jack Ryan:
Tiburon will have several opportunities to make transportation infrastructure renovations in the near-to-midterm future. If elected, I would make sure that bicycle safety improvements are incorporated in any such projects. I think one current limiter on cyclists today is sub-optimal bicycle/auto/pedestrian delineations. If we can improve that, biking numbers would inherently increase.
What’s your vision for the future of transportation in Marin?
Daniel Amir:
My vision is that we should push towards encouraging reducing the overall cars on the road. This can be achieved in multiple ways: 1) Better connect the towns towards public transportation routes and then to public transportation hubs (e.g. Larkspur ferry, San Rafael bus terminal, Smart train); 2) Encourage people to use their bikes both for recreational and for commute by creating more bike routes to transportation hubs and in overall personal use; 3) Increase the number of Ferries and buses that are running between Marin and San Francisco in order to give Marin residents more options to reduce their dependency on their cars to get to work; 4) Push for a wider program to encourage kids/students to use their bike to commute to school which will reduce overall traffic congestion; 5) Encourage Yellow bus programs for student usage to reduce the overall cars on the road during school hours.
Kathleen Defever:
I want to see fewer cars and more bicycles and public transit. I think our future will be driverless cars, trains, and bicycles (probably many more electric bicycles than today). As the population increases and/or more people continue to move to the Bay Area for jobs, we have less space for the large vehicles (like SUVs) which are commonly driven today. Large vehicles will become more costly to purchase and operate while smaller, cheaper, on-demand driverless cars take over the market. It is our responsibility in Marin to plan ahead and offer great alternatives to personal cars, such as convenient and safe bike lanes. Amsterdam is a fantastic example of how cars are not needed when the biking network is well-planned.
Jack Ryan:
I worry that projects to overcome sea-level rise will predominate transportation project spending for years to come. I would support more intermediate distance shuttles in the meantime (e.g. workforce shuttles from transportation corridors to commercial centers).
What’s your vision for the future of access and recreational opportunities across Marin’s public lands?
Daniel Amir:
I believe that public lands should be shared among all community members. Therefore, there needs to be a balance between people who want the public lands to remain empty to those who want the lands to be developed to have bike and hiking trails. Public lands should be used for open space and not developed for housing.
A few ideas to provide future access and recreational opportunities include:
1) Encourage bike and walking trails that connect Marin public lands to town centers and neighborhoods so everybody will be able to have easy access to it.
2) Encourage development of parks. For example I would like to push the Town of Tiburon to purchase the southern Marin sanitary property by Blackies pasture and create a park for recreational usage.
3) Push for connecting public lands across Marin (as much as possible) to create the ability for a trail across cast distances.On that point, I support the current town plan to connect the area around St Hilary church to ring mountain.
We live in a beautiful area and we should encourage the usage of the open space.
Kathleen Defever:
Public lands should always be accessible and available for responsible recreation. I welcome the Marin County Bicycle Coalition’s feedback on this issue.
Jack Ryan:
I believe that restrictions should be minimal. However, I have not studied the data to know what is available now versus what demand is or may be.
