Bike Activism & Community Parade! Tues 12/11 5:00-7:30 pm

Have you ever seen the annual Santa Cruz Lighted Boat Parade? Nah? Doesn't matter...

Join us- for Bicycle Advocacy!
It's your chance- to participate in Santa Cruz's historic, FIRST ANNUAL LIGHTED BIKE PARADE!!!!

From the rings of Saturn: an inter-gala-k-tick beam to en-light-en our new Mayor (Ryan C) and the City Council! Join us in a celebratory parade and procession to demand our rights to be recognized, despite private developers wanting to push us to the edge! We can push back!

Meet: Tuesday Dec 11th at 5:00pm on Saturn (3rd ring)
For: 2 fer Tuesdays- $1 Beers and $2 Basket O'Frys! Yep!

Orbital and Circuitous Ride- don't forget... LIGHTS! camera... action!
Lanterns, sparklers, bells, whistles, noisemakers, ribbons!

Depart: Saturn at 6:30pm
Arrive: 7pm at Church and Center St- for the Santa Cruz City Council Meeting
Note: This is the first item on the agenda and should be heard by 7:30pm.

Optional pre event:
"Turn yer own flashlight into a High-end High-beam and Light-Magic Workshop" 4:00pm (at the Bike Church)
E-mail: grrrant [at] cruzio.com if you'd like to help lead and/or participate.
NOTE: This workshop will happen only if you respond.

Here's the scoop from Skip:

It's official--the little 4' path that would take the place of our 12' public easement along the length of Frederick St. Park to the harbor would be a PEDESTRIAN only pathway. -Skip


With little notice to the public, a proposal for development at 170 Frederick St (which borders Frederick Street Park) is going to City Council on December 11th.

A key, bigger-picture issue here relates to cycling: The proposal shrinks a
12' public right-of-way (easement) along the entire border with the park,
which pedestrians and cyclists have been using harmoniously for park and
harbor access for decades. The proposed plan shrinks this access to only 7',
which will no doubt lead to public safety restrictions on cycling on the
path (which may still result in safety problems). Moreover, THIS EASEMENT IS
THE ONLY REALISTIC FALLBACK ROUTE if the Arana Gulch Bike Path does not get
Coastal Commission approval or its additional, still-unsecured funding.
There is also a need for a cycle route to the Harbor from Frederick St. even
if the Gulch path gets built.

Below is information about the hearing--it's going to be big! Please come
and weigh in on the cycling and other issues!
---
Come to the public hearing!

Developers are planning to turn 170 Frederick St. (current site of Kingdom
Hall church) into a high-density, high-price housing project that would
fundamentally alter the park and neighborhood.
Just being there makes a difference!
------------------------------------

The development:
- Would create a wall of tract-style houses along the entire border of the
park, blocking views of Arana Gulch and boxing in our open space
- Means we lose much of a public easement along the border with the park
that pedestrians and cyclists have been using as open space and for park and
harbor access for decades
- Does not respect the character of the neighborhood
- Exceeds the zoning
- Increases weekday traffic
- And more

With overwhelming opposition at its public hearing on October 5, 2006, the
city's Planning Commission denied the developer's proposal. The developers
are now taking a similar plan to the City Council. Once again we have to be
there to speak up for our neighborhood!

For more information or to sign our petition, visit
http://www.seabrightneighbors.org, or call 427-3262.

SOME BIG-PICTURE ISSUES AT STAKE:

- Should the City set a precedent of allowing a development that grossly
violates the character of a zoning district, justifying it by pointing to
the style of development in the neighboring zoning district? NO!

- Should the City allow benefits for the developers from using the "planned
development" process if there are not equal or greater public benefits (as
the General Plan requires)? NO!

- Should the City give up big parts of public easements that people have
been using for decades just so that developers can have bigger developments?
NO!

- Should City planners be packaging unpopular and problematic projects on
behalf of property owners (rather than working for the public good)? NO!

- Should the City give up the only available place (the above-mentioned
easement) to build a fallback route for the Arana Gulch Bike Path (which
still needs Coastal Commission approval and additional, unsecured funding)?
NO!


Skip Spitzer
Root Action
317 Frederick St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062 USA
(831) 423-8670
spitzer [at] rootaction.org
http://www.rootaction.org

Please forward this message to any and all bicyclist you know.
Thank you!