Councilmember to Host Biking Forum Focused on Safety and Sustainability

Pasadena District 2 Councilmember Rick Cole will host a public forum focused on biking, street safety, and sustainability on Tuesday, May 20. The “Biking Towards A Sustainable Pasadena” event, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Jefferson School Auditorium, aims to address current cycling initiatives and explore additional measures needed to enhance safety for cyclists of all ages throughout the community.

“Biking can be healthy, convenient, fun and environmentally-friendly. But first, it must be safe!” said Cole. 

“That’s why, as part of National Bike Month, I’m hosting an Issue Forum focused on biking, street safety, and sustainability. We’ll talk about what we’re doing — and what more we need to do — to ensure everyone in our community, no matter their age, can safely ride to school, work, and around our neighborhoods.”

The forum will feature presentations from a panel of local experts, including Becky Hartung from the Transportation Advisory Commission, Jonah Kanner, a Senior Scientist at LIGO Lab at Caltech, and Brandon Lamar, Vice Chair of the Pasadena Rental Housing Board. Community members will have opportunities to share their thoughts and ideas during the event.

Pasadena currently maintains over 12 miles of bikeways on collector and arterial roadways throughout the city, with approximately 82 miles of bike facilities, including 21 miles of bike lanes and 61 miles of bike routes as of early 2014. Recent infrastructure improvements include the completion of the Union Street Two-Way Protected Bikeway stretching from Hill Avenue to Arroyo Parkway and the Cordova Street Enhancement Project featuring buffered Class II bike lanes, bicycle detection, pedestrian ADA accessibility upgrades, and curb extensions to improve safety and accessibility.

“Pasadena’s bike infrastructure could absolutely use some improvement, but we do have some great areas to bike,” said Transportation Advisory Commissioner Becky Hartung, who will be speaking at the forum.

This cycling-focused gathering is part of a new monthly series of Issue Forums organized by Councilmember Cole. 

“Please be sure to mark your calendar for more of these monthly Forums — every third Tuesday of the month, same time and same location — as we continue to tackle the issues that matter most to our community,” Cole added.

The Jefferson School Auditorium is located at 1500 E. Villa Street in Pasadena. Convenient parking is available at the venue, and attendees can also access the location via Pasadena Transit Route 40. All community members are welcome to attend.