At yesterday’s Vision Zero meeting for Monterey County, the challenges of Salinas Road were among topics discussed. In fact, on Wednesday, a Watsonville resident traveling by bike was going north on the shoulder of Salinas Road when he attempted to make a left turn and was hit by a GMC Yukon. The Yukon’s driver fled the scene. Good Samaritans assisted the injured bike commuter. Thank you to law enforcement; the driver has been arrested and faces felony #HitAndRun charges.

Report by Ricardo Tovar, #KSBW: https://www.ksbw.com/article/arrest-hit-run-bicyclist-monterey-county/64445594

Thanks also to Amelia Conlen of Transportation Agency for #Monterey County for organizing yesterday’s mtg, and to Congressman Jimmy #Panetta for securing #USDOT funding for TAMC to develop a Monterey County Regional Vision Zero Plan: https://www.tamcmonterey.org/tamc-to-receive-640-000-federal-grant-for-monterey-county-regional-vision-zero-plan

#VisionZero #MontereyCounty #BikeTooter #MontereyBay #California #USDepartmentOfTransportation #SS4A #SafeStreetsAndRoadsForAll

#AltText photo of a gold-colored #Cervelo bicycle with right tire badly damaged by a collision.

#SeaOtterClassic, April 10-13, 2025
"The bikes are arriving in Monterey County—you may have noticed a higher-than-usual number of bikes attached to vehicles on the road lately.” https://www.montereycountynow.com/blogs/opinion_blog/as-the-sea-otter-classic-gets-underway-the-next-generation-of-cyclists-learns-how-to/article_bce5736c-4218-4ca6-96a3-e9a1ff1f8f03.html

ICYMI: Some history of SOC, who it’s for, and how to get free admission: https://bikemonterey.org/april-10-13-sea-otter-classic-2025.html

For anyone wondering, yes, there are #MontereyCounty, California #HandsOff events April 5:
Salinas Valley https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/767861/
Monterey https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/764540/

If you’re going and are able, please bike, walk, skate, scoot, take #MontereySalinasTransit #bus (or bike-and-ride MST https://bikemonterey.org/monterey-salinas-transit-tips-for-people-who-bike.html), or carpool there.

Spreckels sugar factory and sugar beet field with Mexican and Filipino workers thinning sugar beets. Monterey County, California

#Spreckels #Mexican #Filipino #MontereyCounty #California #America #undefined #photography #DorotheaLange

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017771832/

April 2, 2025, 6 p.m. Transportation Agency for Monterey County Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) meeting in Salinas. Public welcome to attend, in person or via Zoom or phone.

https://bikemonterey.org/monthly-meetings-tamc-bicycle-pedestrian-facilities-advisory-committee-public-welcome.html

From this eve’s ride: Grey skies, bright wildflowers!

We are grateful to John McCarthy, Esq of McCarthy Law firm in Monterey for his generous contribution today https://bikemonterey.org/about/financial-donations/donors. John asked that his contribution help support Bicycling Monterey’s Education Projects, e.g., Alternatives to Fines for Traffic Citations: https://bikemonterey.org/youth-bike-and-sometimes-receive-citations.html. (All donors are welcome to specify how they'd like their donation used—i.e., for Website and Public Outreach; Education Projects; Advocacy Projects; or General Operating Expenses.)

We appreciate donations in any amount, by check, credit card, debit card, or PP balance. To donate to the Bicycling Monterey work—a grassroots volunteer effort since 2009—go to https://bikemonterey.org/about/financial-donations.

“This is go time for #democracy,” said Erim Foster, age 56, of Carmel Valley, who organized the first (to our knowledge) protest at a Tesla site in Monterey County, per Sara Rubin’s #MontereyCountyNow 3/5/25 story: https://www.montereycountynow.com/blogs/opinion_blog/a-local-protest-movement-is-getting-organized-to-take-on-trump-2-0/article_ded5092a-fa27-11ef-8f98-3b239120276a.html

For people wondering if there are any #MontereyCounty #TeslaTakedown events, there are, per https://www.teslatakedown.com/ (where you can also locate events elsewhere):

SALINAS TESLA SHOWROOM - TESLA TAKEDOWN
Saturday, March 29, 2025 11:00 AM • Tesla Showroom •796 Northridge Drive, Salinas , CA 93906

PROTEST ELON MUSK'S ILLEGAL GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER
Saturday, March 29, 2025 12:00 PM • Tesla Dealership•1901 Del Monte Blvd, Seaside, CA 93955

If you’re going and are able, please bike, walk, skate, scoot, take #MontereySalinasTransit #bus (or bike-and-ride MST https://bikemonterey.org/monterey-salinas-transit-tips-for-people-who-bike.html), or carpool there.

"The Vistra fire in Moss Landing caught everyone by surprise. What we can learn from it?” —David Schmalz, #MontereyCountyWeekly cover story

"On Feb. 13, 2022, a similar incident occurred at Vistra’s Moss 100 facility, and this time, both #Vistra facilities were taken offline.

"Meanwhile, PG&E’s 182.5-megawatt Elkhorn facility came online in April 2022. Unlike both Vistra facilities, the Elkhorn’s batteries were not in buildings – they were in an array of 256 Tesla Megapacks on 33 concrete slabs.

In the early morning of Sept. 20 of that year, just over five months later, a fire broke out in one of #Tesla Megapacks at the facility, prompting the closure of Highway 1 and a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents. Though the fire only burned for six hours, the orders remained in effect until just before 7pm due to the risk of toxic smoke inhalation.”

https://www.montereycountynow.com/news/cover/the-vistra-fire-in-moss-landing-caught-everyone-by-surprise-what-we-can-learn-from/article_7c3112af-73d0-4ca5-a599-05e77d09963b.html

While biking the coastal trail Sunday eve, we met Salinas residents David, a teacher, and his daughter, Priscilla, home on spring break from her CalPoly classes.

Among the topics we touched on was April 10-13 Sea Otter Classic, which we think of as one big bike party! Who it’s for, how to get free admission, and history of #SeaOtterClassic: https://bikemonterey.org/april-10-13-sea-otter-classic-2025.html

https://www.europesays.com/1934865/ Finding Sanctuary | Whalefest celebrates our ocean economy – Santa Cruz Sentinel #business #California #Economy #Environment #LatestHeadlines #Monterey #MontereyCounty #News #newsletter #opinion #OpinionColumnists #Uncategorized

From #MontereyCountyNow "As leaders in Washington take a sledgehammer to federal funding, here’s a look at local expenditures,” an excerpt on transportation:

“Funding for #transportation projects in #Monterey County are a mixture of local, state and federal funds,” says Theresa Wright, a Transportation Agency for Monterey County spokesperson. “Federal funding is critical for implementing major regional #infrastructure projects. Without federal funding it will likely take longer to get projects fully funded and construction started.

“We are not optimistic that once the projects are eligible that federal funding will be available or that there would be federal employees in place to process and implement the application process.”

https://www.montereycountynow.com/news/cover_collections/as-leaders-in-washington-take-a-sledgehammer-to-federal-funding-here-s-a-look-at/article_4f2f3f46-2b3d-48b2-967c-d204c128542f.html

This Monterey County resident graciously waited for us to snap a photo before she hustled on to continue to her next destination. We met her while she was shopping by bike today.

We referred her to the Bicycling Monterey site, which includes riding skills, bike laws, and safety tips (including some in Spanish) https://bikemonterey.org/resources/resources-on-riding-skills-bike-laws-and-safety; California bike law summaries https://bikemonterey.org/wp-content/uploads/Leyes-de-ciclismo-de-CA-Laws-for-bicyclists-in-CA-Spanish-English-Summary-2.pdf; additional cycling-related resources in Spanish https://bikemonterey.org/resources/en-espanol; e-bike safety and training tips https://bikemonterey.org/e-bike-safety-and-training.html; shopping by bike tips https://bikemonterey.org/tips-for-tourists/unique-attractions; and much more.

Proyecto de Mejoras de la Ruta Estatal 183 de Castroville Merritt reunión de información comunitaria – Jueves, 17 de abril de 2025.

Thursday, April 17, 2025
Community Information Meeting
California State Route 183 / Merritt Street, Castroville Improvement Project

https://bikemonterey.org/castroville-ca-sr-183-merritt-street-improvements-project-update.html

Sand City Police responded to a bicycle theft report from a bike-to-work commuter employed at Costco. She'd chained her bike to a bicycle rack outside Costco, and after work, found her bike missing and chain cut. https://www.kron4.com/news/california/pacific-grove-man-gets-nearly-3-years-in-prison-for-stealing-bike/

Bicycle security / bike theft-prevention tips: https://bikemonterey.org/tips-for-tourists/bicycle-safety
#BikeToWork #commuters may also want to urge their employers to provide more secure bike lockers. In Monterey County, private businesses are among those who can apply for free lockers, racks, repair stations, support kits: https://bikemonterey.org/free-bike-racks-lockers-repair-stations-or-skateboardscooter-racks.html

April 10-13, 2025 Sea Otter Classic, Monterey County’s world-renowned 4-day Celebration of Cycling.

Details on that (including how to get free admission): https://bikemonterey.org/april-10-13-sea-otter-classic-2025.html

Our 17-yr-old ride companion tonight was in full agreement: We are fortunate to have this excellent car-free coastal trail—AND we need such infrastructure in neighborhoods all over our county!

The Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Program has been officially adopted by the Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) board of directors and the #Gonzales, #Soledad, #Greenfield, and #KingCity city councils. We were especially interested today in the Soledad section, because we’re currently assisting a Soledad teen who received a traffic citation for riding outside a bicycle lane. Details: https://bikemonterey.org/bike-buzz-winter-2025.html