Heather Deutsch, one of Santa Barbara’s premier advocates for alternative transportation, was preaching to the choir this Tuesday as the county supervisors issued an official proclamation declaring May Bike to Work month.
Deutsch, who heads Move Santa Barbara County, told the supervisors that “tens of thousands” of county residents ride their bikes “because it’s joyous,” and that tens of thousands more ride because cycling fits their immediate transportation needs. The average cost of an average car, she told the supervisors, was $12,000 a year; owning a bike, she said, is infinitely cheaper.
One can park 10 bikes in the space required to park one car, she added, something planners will need to contemplate due to all the new housing units now on the drawing boards because of new state laws designed to remove barriers — and create new incentives — to new housing development.
In the meantime, the county Sheriff’s Office announced it would be conducting special enforcement actions in the City of Goleta targeting scofflaw pedestrians and cyclists.
