The San Gabriel Valley is composed of over 30 distinct jurisdictions, the majority of which are geographically small and auto-centric. Local residents that wish to bicycle must often cross multiple jurisdictions when commuting to work, school, or riding recreationally. Although a patchwork of local bicycle master plans had emerged by 2012, with several of the region’s more affluent communities (e.g., South Pasadena, Temple City) funding city-level bike plans, resource-poorer communities suffering from higher health disparities had little in the way of bikeway planning or facilities.
Driven by these community conditions, ActiveSGV partnered with Day One and 5 San Gabriel Valley communities - the Cities of Baldwin Park, Monterey Park, El Monte, South El Monte, and San Gabriel - to solicit and secure funding to develop and implement a:
1) Regional Bicycle Master Plan for at least five San Gabriel Valley communities that lack Caltrans-approved plans and suffer from high rates of childhood obesity.
2) Comprehensive Local Funding Mechanisms Educational Campaign to inform participating communities about manners to fund bicycle infrastructure projects locally.
3) Youth-focused Bike Cooperative to serve youth and low income residents of the project area.
Although project funding was eliminated due to Congressional budget cuts to the Affordable Care Act in 2014, the project team was able to complete the 5-City plan ahead of schedule, with each of the 5 City Councils unanimously adopting their respective master plan in Fall 2014. Subsequent to the project, ActiveSGV was able to secure other funding for and launch the youth-focused bicycle cooperative component of the original plan in Fall 2015.
