News - Marin Bicycle Coalition Gets Grant

On May 22, 2002, the Marin County Bicycle Coalition received $3 million from the California Transportation Commission for the rehabilitation of the Cal Park Hill Railroad Tunnel, a key part of the North-South Bicycle Freeway.

The funds come on the heels of a $10,000 grant awarded to MCBC by Bikes Belong, a bicycle industry advocate, to coordinate the implementation of the North-South Bicycle Freeway. The Freeway will be built in phases, with the latest phase incorporating the 1,000-foot Cal Park Hill Railroad tunnel to link downtown San Rafael and the Larkspur Ferry Terminal. Once opened, the bicycle commute between the two cities will take five minutes rather than the 20 minutes it currently takes.

The Bikeway will begin at the Golden Gate Bridge and parallel Highway 101 to the Sonoma County line. The 25-mile long facility will pass through seven transit centers, two ferry terminals, dozens of shopping centers and within two miles of 51 schools.

Several parts of the North-South Bicycle Freeway are already completed and other sections are now underway. With this $3 million commitment, Marin now has scheduled almost $7.5 million to be "in the ground" within the next three years.

"We are excited to see the fruits of the efforts of the cycling and pedestrian community," said Patrick Seidler, president of Marin County-based Wilderness Trail Bikes. Seidler serves on the boards of Transportation Alternatives of Marin and Bikes Belong. He has spent the past nine years serving on Transportation Steering Committees, lobbying for political support for bicycling on local, state and federal levels and drafting the North-South Bikeway Plan. Seidler noted that successes stemmed from years of hard work and thousands of hours of volunteer effort.

"With the $7.5 million now scheduled for development of the North-South Bikeway we are witnessing the start of how cycling and walking can be a more integral part of the overall transportation solution," said Seidler.

The grant originated from the State Transportation Enhancements fund, a component of TEA-21, the federally funded Transportation Equity Act. The project was the only bicycle project in Northern California to receive enhancements funds and was one of four projects funded out of a total 32 projects vying for federal funding.

Support from Bikes Belong enabled the Marin County Bicycle Coalition to coordinate six government agencies, get new bicycle plans approved, stop a parking lot planned for the right-of-way, assist with the Caltrans grant application and continually highlight a sustainable transportation future.

Bikes Belong Coalition is sponsored by the American bicycle industry, with the mission of putting more people on bicycles more often. Bikes Belong Coalition promotes bicycling and assists local organizations, agencies, and communities in developing bicycle facilities projects that will be funded by TEA-21, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Bikes Belong has awarded more than $400,000 in grants, with a return of more than $200 million in funding for bicycle facilities. Bikes Belong Coalition is working with organizations throughout the country to make America more bicycling-friendly. For more information about the Bikes Belong Coalition grants program, call 617-734-2111, e-mail tim@bikesbelong.org or visit www.bikesbelong.org.