Grassroots Group to Roll Out Pasadena Bike Blueprint Plan Tonight

The nine bike corridors Pasadena identified as priorities in 2015 are still mostly unbuilt. Tonight, a group of volunteers is doing something about it.

The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, an all-volunteer organization working independently of city hall, is holding a public campaign launch for its Community Bike Plan at McDonald Park in the Bungalow Heaven neighborhood, proposing a network of “Greenways” on slow residential streets and physically protected bike lanes on faster roads. The Coalition calls the combined system the Roseway Network. According to the group’s Eventbrite listing, the timing is intentional: the City of Pasadena is expected to begin its own Active Transportation Plan next month, and the Coalition wants its blueprint on record before that process starts.

The stakes are not abstract. Between 2020 and 2024, four of the corridors the Coalition has targeted for Greenway improvements El Molino, Wilson, Sierra Bonita, and Craig avenues saw 220 injury collisions, including 15 that were severe or fatal, according to city data cited by Pasadena Now.

“Biking can be healthy, convenient, fun and environmentally-friendly. But first, it must be safe! …” said Councilmember Rick Cole, who represents District 2 and co-led a 10-mile guided ride along the planned Greenway routes during last month’s Bike Month.

Transportation Commissioner Becky Hartung, who serves as vice chair of the city’s Transportation Advisory Commission, acknowledged the gap between aspiration and infrastructure during Bike Month. “Pasadena’s bike infrastructure could absolutely use some improvement,” she said, “but we do have some great areas to bike.”

Both Cole and Hartung, along with District 7 Councilmember Jason Lyon, are scheduled to speak at 7:15 p.m. The Coalition’s plan calls on city leaders to complete the nine high-priority corridors identified a decade ago in the 2015 Bicycle Transportation Action Plan, expand the network to connect transit, schools, and shopping, and adopt what it describes as an all-ages-and-abilities standard Greenways where traffic moves under 20 mph, and physical lane protection wherever it moves faster.

The city is not starting from scratch. In January 2026, the City Council considered a contract of up to $890,989 with transportation consultant Fehr & Peers to produce Pasadena’s new Citywide Active Transportation Plan, drawing roughly 80 percent of the funding from a Federal Highway Administration Safe Streets and Roads for All grant. As of 2014 the most recent publicly available inventory Pasadena had approximately 82 miles of bike facilities, including 21 miles of dedicated lanes and 61 miles of bike routes. The city has added infrastructure since, including the Union Street Two-Way Protected Bikeway. Pasadena’s Vision Zero commitment targets eliminating traffic fatalities by 2035.

The launch event runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m., according to the Coalition’s Eventbrite listing, at McDonald Park, 1000 East Mountain Street. It is free and family-friendly, with food and games. Registration is available at the Coalition’s Eventbrite page. More information about the Community Bike Plan is at pasadenacsc.org/bike-network.

Nine corridors. A decade of waiting. Tonight, volunteers are planting a flag.