A “pop-up” protected bicycle lane is planned for 17th Avenue, as a pilot program led by Bike Santa Cruz County. The pop-up will help to demonstrate the feasibility of protected bike lanes on county streets.

This report, by Jessica Ngo, Lydia Jenkins-Sleczkowski, Christina Eldredge, and Christopher Tom, shows how to expand the pilot to a longer stretch of 17th Avenue, connecting the future Rail Trail and Simpkins Swim Center with Live Oak Elementary School. The report also shows the depth of community support for the pop-up lanes, and how protected bike lanes would reduce traffic concerns, particularly for parents whose children attend one of the schools on the corridor.

Read the full report. Thanks for the UCSC Carbon Fund for financial support.

The Bay Street corridor connects the new Rail Trail with the UCSC campus. It is one of the main commuting routes for bicycle riders, but the combination of high traffic speeds, narrow or non-existent bike lanes, and lack of physical protection put users at risk and deter others from riding at all. Less than 10% of surveyed people feel comfortable riding along the corridor.

This report, by Alissa Guther, Allison Westerman, Solomon Biers-Ariel, & Maximillian Pérez, provides a vision to redesign the corridor. The proposal shows how to implement wide, protected bike lanes using excess space left over from a six-lane highway plan that never came to fruition. It also shows that, even though parking would be removed, there is ample capacity on adjacent streets.

Read the full report, which will be presented to the Santa Cruz Transportation and Public Works Commission on May 18, 2020. Thanks to the UCSC Carbon Fund for financial support.

The UC Santa Cruz Coastal Science Campus is poorly connected to the main campus for those who bike. The most direct route, Western Dr, suffers from a lack of bicycle lanes, speeding vehicles, and “dooring” risk from parked cars. Not surprisingly, nearly 60% of current cyclists feel unsafe using this route.

This report, by Skye McIntyre Blomdal, Lucas Lee, Blake Pfister and Nadia Woodmansee, provides a detailed design to improve safety and encourage more people to travel by bicycle. Despite the physical constraints of a narrow right-of-way, the design would allow for continuous bicycle lanes on almost the entire corridor. To accomplish this, the report proposes innovative advisory bicycle lanes, which feature one shared driving lane for vehicles traveling in both directions, bordered by bicycle lanes on each side. Where the route widens out, parking-protected bicycle lanes are also recommended. A minimal number of parking spaces would need to be removed, and spaces are available on adjacent streets.

Read the full report, which was presented to the Santa Cruz Transportation and Public Works Commission on March 18, 2019.

Protected bicycle lanes represent the next generation of bicycle infrastructure in the US. By providing physical separation from cars, they improve safety and encourage more people to bicycle.

This report, by Jesus Contreras and Shirley Chun, analyzes several potential corridors to implement the first protected bicycle lanes in Santa Cruz. It identifies Water St as a top priority, due to high numbers of collisions, high connectivity, and traffic volumes and speeds. The report then provides a detailed design proposal for Water St, and shows that protected bicycle lanes are feasible within the existing street width, and with the loss of only two parking spaces.

Read the full report, which was presented to the Santa Cruz Transportation and Public Works Commission on March 18, 2019.

Nearly one-fifth of students, staff and faculty commute by bicycle, but parking facilities on the UCSC campus are often limited. Lyndel Fusello and Kate DoVale inventoried bicycle parking conditions on campus, and identified specific opportunities for improvement. Read their report. (Dec 2017)