Supporting Alternative Modes of Transportation in Santa Barbara
Last weekend, SBBIKE raised $43,125 at its Connecting Our Community Fundraiser. SBBIKE is a countywide advocacy and resource organization that has been working to make bicycling safe and accessible in Santa Barbara for more than 25 years. By creating a bicycle-friendly community and transportation system, SBBIKE promotes healthier and more balanced lifestyles for all. As part of its efforts, the organization operates Bici Centro - Santa Barbara’s only D.I.Y. bike shop and thrift store, as well as youth and adult classes, group rides, and online courses that develop safe and respectful road behaviors for motorists and cyclists, and a year-round bike valet service for countywide events, and more.
Bildsten Architecture and Planning's former studio was located next door to Bici Centro, and Ellen keeps a bike at our studio for meetings and errands around town. A member of the SBBIKE Board, Ellen contributed services for the silent auction and greeted guests as they arrived at the event. Raising about $10k more than last year’s fundraiser, the event was a huge success! Safer and greener transportation for Santa Barbara is an important part of our firm's values, so we are happy to help support SBBIKE in its mission.
Connecting Our Community is SBBIKE’s advocacy campaign that works to ensure that the streets of Santa Barbara are safe and enjoyable for people of all ages to ride bikes on. From completing the California Coastal Trail to developing bikeways near schools and providing safe and pleasant crosstown routes, the campaign works on a range of projects that aim to close gaps in Santa Barbara County’s bicycle network. Currently, SBBIKE is advocating for several new bikeways as part of the 2015 Santa Barbara Bicycle Master Plan Update. The updates include the East-West Cross Town bikeway, which will connect Downtown and West Santa Barbara neighborhoods to other cross-town routes, a new Alisos Bicycle Boulevard, and the completion of the Coastal Route bikeway. This past weekend’s enormous windfall to SBBIKE’s budget for advocacy will certainly keep the organization on track toward making biking safer and more accessible throughout Santa Barbara County.
“Our mission is to promote walking, bicycling, and public transit county-wide to create healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities”
A toast at a SBBIKE fundraiser
