FREQUENT RIDER MILES RETURN

3rd Year of Pollution Saving Incentives Program Hopes To Build On Success

Following last year's multi-modal alternative transportation tallying awards program, GO GERONIMO is set to once again to offer free CDs and more prizes to those who keep track of their eco-miles.
From May 1st until June 1st, once again the zero emission categories of Walking, Biking and Skating will join Carpoolers and Bus riders in a pollution Saving Miles program designed to both get people to keep track of their modes and miles, while also raising awareness in the school district
and whole community about air quality and choices we have in the ways that we get around.
GO GERONIMO will give away 50 gift certificates to Bedrock Music to people who document a total of 25 miles from any of the modes. The leaders in each respective mode will also receive a special prize, and the overall mileage leader will receive a Seatrek paddling trip on Tomales Bay. The other modes' earnings prizes will be:

Skating mode -- gift certificate to Marin Skate Shop
Walking mode -- pair of shoes from Malloca.
Biking mode -- gift certificate to Sunshine Bikes
Carpooling -- 4 movie tickets to the Fairfax Theater and 2 large pizzas at Ghirenghelli's Pizza
Bus riding -- gift certificate to Northgate Mall

To enter, use the enclosed Frequent Rider Miles Tally Sheet (make copies so you can use it every week) and keep track of the miles you travel by other modes such as carpooling, biking, walking, skating and bus. On June 1, you can turn in your sheets to the Cultural Center or mail it to P.O. Box 304, San Geronimo, CA 94963. Remember, that everyone is a winner when we reduce pollution. For more information call 488-8888.

I Choose to Bike
By Breeze Kinsey (age 15)
There are many reasons I ride my bike: exercise, transportation, fun. But the main advantage of riding my bike is freedom - the freedom to do what I want, when I want, without anyone¹s help. It feels great to be in control of my own transportation and not have to wait for a parent or bus for a ride. If I want to go to a friend¹s house or the store there is nothing stopping me from hopping on my bike and heading off. Getting over White¹s Hill is a lot of work, but once I get into Fairfax, I can hang out there or see a movie. Riding my bike allows me to do many things that I otherwise would not be able to do.
One of my favorite places to ride is on the ridge. I ride (and walk) up past the spiral in Forest Knolls and head to the right. It makes a nice loop to ride along the ridge for a while and come out by the dam. It¹s really a fun hill to zip down. Another of my favorite rides is in the park. If I don¹t feel like a major workout that is the perfect cruise. There are many beautiful trails to ride in the valley and I look forward to exploring more of them.
I can also go places without participating in the destruction of the planet through the use of large, fossil fuel burning, exceedingly polluting, personal tanks. I feel good knowing that I¹m doing my part in some small way to save the environment. There is a group of bike activists that are working on bike paths and other bike friendly improvements that will encourage more people to stop using their cars and hop on their bikes. As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. Indeed that¹s the only thing that ever has." If our local bike activists get their way we could become a model transportation system for the rest of the country. Also with all the talk about gas prices soaring I feel no rush to get my driver¹s license as long as I¹ve got my bike. I could save tons of money by waiting to drive.
The less I depend on other people and things to live my every day life the more free and happy I become. I love riding my bike and it gets me where I need to go while giving me a good workout. I can ride it for free, and have a lot of fun doing it without messing up the planet anymore than it already is. And that is why I ride my bike!

RIDESHARING SHOWN TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE

credible though unsubstantiated explanation doesn't surprise GO GERONIMO
members.

Commentary
by jasper *> Thelin

In the current fossil fuel gluttonous world, a strange misnomer has crept into our American vernacular. The notion of "quality of life" as being directly reflected by how large a yacht one has. Being the biggest consumer has somehow come to mean your "quality of life" is the highest.
It is time we reclaim the phrase, using a different measure; it's called "human interaction," and it often consists of some small talk, laughter, networking, gossip followed by friendly appreciation's. All of these things go up when you Ride the Reg.
Most first-time GO GERONIMO Ride Registry users do it out of necessity. Then, on their journey caused by car breakdown, virtually every person ends up having a memorable and fun trip. When you're out there in the world, without your car, those fleeting recognition's we have when we see someone else we know turn into chances to actually see the person and spend some time together. Usually, when we're all driving our separate cars, each on our own personal schedule, our journeys only have two parts. Where we left from, and where we're going. We try and make the drive time more human by listening to the radio, controlling our climate and of course talking on the ubiquitous mobile phone. But, when sharing rides on the Reg, you see people you know, meet your neighbors, and have time to get a cup of tea and a bagel and read the paper somewhere, because you got to your appointment early.
Our automotive culture is so omnipotent, that even here in Marin County the topic de jour "gas price issue" that we're being inundated with in the main stream media is depicted as a gas pump price display going up. Isn't there more to the complex issue of global oil usage than simply which way to increase production dramatically-by bullying Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries or by tapping ultra-sensitive domestic possibilities? There is another important factor in our relationship to that gas pump. Ever heard of ridesharing? Every single time two car-owning people decide to share any drive at all, it is doubling one's fuel efficiency. Nothing
could be simpler. And yet, instead of working out the details involved in carpooling, or the even-easier act of raising your GG laminate in the air and Regging where you need to get.
How is it that we perceive the right to not only drive, by ourselves, in enormous vehicles, but that it should not cost much to do it? In Europe they pay over $4 per gallon, and we're already whining about a few cents a gallon tax.
So don't wait until your car breaks down and you can't find someone to come chauffeur you to be your first time to use GO GERONIMO. The reason it seems that there are so few riders out there by the stops is that as soon as you get out there with you card, a ride appears! There isn't much long waiting, so give the system a test. Go to Fairfax without a car. It's easy. Give yourself half an hour each way and just see how fun your errand turns out.

Inkwells Bridge gets Funding
By Brent Harris

The Inkwells look the same as ever this spring - with the creek plunging into beautiful rock pools on its way to Tomales Bay - but for hikers, equestrians and cyclists, big changes are in store.

The Marin County Department of Parks and Open Space and the Marin Municipal Water district have teamed up to build the Inkwells Bike Bridge and the new water pipeline which will be part of the bridge. The bridge will be in the same place as the existing pipeline, spanning from Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to the Samuel P. Taylor Park bike path.

According to their schedule, construction should begin in August of 2001. The total cost is anticipated to be $535,000. The Parks and Open Space Department has approved &75,000 for the project. MMWD will pay $80,000. The Bay Area Ridge Trail Committee has donated $5,000. The remaining $375,000 is expected to come this month from a Federal Transportation Enhancement Act (TEA 21) grant.

MMWD, which is coordinating the engineering for the project, has drafted a Request For Proposals to be sent out this month to consulting firms interested in doing the actual design. The permit process should begin shortly therafter.

When completed, it will create a continuous off-road bike trail all the way through the park, from Tocaloma to Shafter's Bridge. GO GERONIMO will keep you posted on the progress of this vital bikeways and trail link through the wheel and at our web site at www.gogeronimo.org. For more information, contact Brent Harris, the community representative for the project at (415)488-1433.

SKEDGE ADDS LIFE!
By Victoria Holman

I got a call last year from a single mom living in Woodacre, looking for a GO GERONIMO ride for her daughter. It seems that mom had to leave for work at 7am every morning, and so she was dropping her twelve-year-old daughter off at school in San Anselmo one to two hours before classes began. Mom had contacted GO GERONIMO in hopes of finding someone who was regularly going through San Anselmo later in the morning and could drop her daughter Claudia (aka Cloud) off at school. At the time I was working three days a week in San Rafael at 9am. It was a perfect match - I could pick up Cloud on my way to work and drop her off at school 15 minutes before her first class started.

It took a little getting used to at first. I had to leave a couple minutes earlier than usual, and remember to drive through Woodacre on my way out of the Valley, but I was really excited to have a regular Skedge ride & to be an active, consistent participant in GO GERONIMO. Before long I was really enjoying having a happy, new, young friend to talk with on my way to work.

Cloud and I had all kinds of interesting conversations on our morning trips. We talked about softball, music, clothes, acting, religion, gardens & cars. One day we played Mad-Libs, another day she did her homework. She brought me chocolate one morning, I gave her homemade cookies another. Last month we talked passionately about Prop 22 and the need for transportation alternatives like GO GERONIMO.

Over the course of the last six months our relationship has grown into a nice friendship, that I know will last long after we don¹t carpool together. But the basis of our relationship is our GO GERONIMO Skedge ride, which has served us both well. & this ride gives me an opportunity to feel good about actively, regularly participating in something I believe in. It gives Cloud more time to sleep, study and listen to music in the mornings. "It¹s just a perfect ride," she says. "I don¹t have to wake up as early and rush to get to school an hour before classes start. I have more time for homework and with my mom and sister gone, I can listen to NSync as loud as I want. It¹s a very, very good ride."

Sadly I will not be able to give Cloud a ride much longer because happily I got a job here in the Valley and will soon be riding my bike to work. So I am actively looking for someone to take over my Wednesday and Friday morning GO GERONIMO Skedge ride. As excited as I am to be working in the Valley, my only regret is that I will no longer be sharing my mornings with Cloud.

If you or someone you know has a regular driving or riding schedule, consider getting or giving a GO GERONIMO Skedge ride. It¹s really a lot more than ridesharing ­ it¹s talk sharing, laugh sharing, road sharing, and fun sharing, all of which are life giving and life growing. So grow some life in your life this spring with a GO GERONIMO Skedge ride.

Making Streets Safe for Children
By Wendi Kallins

Children's lives have altered dramatically over the last few decades. One of the most startling changes is how little independence and mobility they now have compared to the generations who grew up before them. Not so long ago, a vast majority of kids routinely roamed their neighborhoods on foot or bicycle almost as a rite of passage. Today, a new generation of moms and dads chauffeur their kids to nearly all their activities, fearing for their children's safety on streets due to perceived dangers from both crime and traffic. Researchers estimate while more than two-thirds of all children walked or biked to school as little as thirty years ago, that number has now plummeted to less than ten percent.

With less kids on foot, there are more cars on the road. Parents driving their children to school make up 25-30 percent of the morning commute according to the new Marin County Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. The more the traffic increases, the more parents decide it is unsafe for their children to walk, adding even more cars to the morning chaos.

There is a way to break the cycle. A new movement is emerging that is focusing on getting kids back on their feet and their bikes again. Parent and neighborhood groups, school and local officials, and traffic engineers are working together to make streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists along heavily traveled routes to school, while encouraging both parents and their kids to take advantage of the many benefits of getting around on foot or by bike. With new transportation funding available specifically for this purpose, communities all across California are discovering the many benefits of providing "Safe Routes to School."

The Lagunitas School District will be joining this movement. Faced with a morning traffic tie-up that has the administration and teachers frazzled, a new task force will take a look at how children arrive at school and look at ways to provide them with better and safer alternatives. Many parents are reluctant to allow their children to walk or bike to school for good reason. The streets are not safe in the morning. This can change, though. There are ways to slow traffic down, provide for better crossing opportunities, and provide safe off-road paths.

There is also state money now available to make these kinds of changes. The "Safe Routes to School" bill in California specifically provides $20 million a year for Safe Routes to Schools projects through the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The legislation is a two year pilot project through 2001, but may be extended permanently if there is enough public support. The first round of funding is coming up April 27 and the second round will be in November.

In addition to street improvements and new trails, a Safe Routes to School program includes education and escort programs. Parents take turns accompanying children to school, providing a safe escort and teaching good traffic skills at the same time. Children can learn about different transportation choices as part of their regular curriculum. Each program is unique to the school, the community and the people involved.

If you would like to join the Safe Routes to School task force call 488-4101 or email wkallins@igc.org

The Stage Coach

You asked for it! You got it! Valleyites have repeatedly said that they want a shuttle service to serve the Valley. In the 1996 Healthy Start survey, transportation was named number one in the list of Valley concerns, and a shuttle bus was, by far, the most popular solution. Coming in the Fall, the West Marin "Stagecoach" will launch its maiden voyage.

Thanks for Supervisor Kinsey, the County has earmarked funds to purchase two shuttles for West Marin and operate them in an 18-month pilot program. The program has been named "Stagecoach"' and is part of the development of a long range transportation plan for West Marin.

The operating funds of $180,000 will provide about 250 hours of service per month --28.5 hours of service per week for each vehicle, or six hours per vehicle per weekday, the County's transportation consultants said. GO GERONIMO and West Marin Senior Services has joined forces to seek out additional funding sources to make the pilot program more effective.

The two vehicles will be ordered soon, said John Loll, Marin County Transit District Director, and the County looks toward kicking off the program "sometime in the late summer or fall." In the meantime, those attending a series of workshop meetings last winter were urged to input more ideas on the transportation priorities that should be assigned in the pilot program.

Corinne Goodrich, a transportation consultant who presided over the West Marin portion of the workshop, told participants that there is no secured additional funding available at this time, although additional resources are being sought. "There may be opportunities for partnerships with West Marin community organizations such as GO GERONIMO and West Marin Senior Services providing feeders to the shuttles.

At the series of West Marin meetings, operating possibilities that would yield the reatest benefit for West Marin were discussed and the results of the community suggestions were summarized by Goodrich:

(1) Recognize and support existing community-based efforts and services provided by WMSS and Go Geronimo;
(2) Expand services to provide trips within local communities and to East Marin;
(3) Address the transportation needs of both seniors and students; and
(4) Come up with other innovative travel modes such as cycling, walking, ride sharing and coordination with the National Park Service's visitor shuttles.

Goodrich and Ann W. Jamison of the consulting firm of Meyer, Mohaddes Associates, both emphasized the need to "think big" and include ideas for a comprehensive program even though many of its elements can't be funded right away. Goodrich's and Jamison's firms have both been retained by Marin County to develop a total transportation program for the entire county. The West Marin pilot is part of that plan.

Supervisor Steve Kinsey, who attended the meeting, told the workshop that once the pilot program is underway its momentum can stimulate additional funding from any number of public and private sources.

Goodrich said that a comprehensive transportation plan for a rural area like West Marin might ultimately include fixed routes with big buses, community service routes with smaller buses, route destination services to pick up riders who call for service and some variation of a "dial-a-ride" service for handicapped. Other program elements might be bike rising, ride sharing, van pool, guaranteed rides home in emergencies, and transit
subsidies including taxi subsidies, she said.

A steering committee consisting of leadership from West Marin Senior Services, GO GERONIMO and other interested West Marin residents has begun meeting to formulate an initial proposal for service options. These proposals will then be circulated around West Marin for comment. Those wishing to participate or with innovative ideas should contact: Corinne Goodrich, Senior Associate, Craine & Associates, Inc., 210
Industrial Road, San Carlos, CA 94070. Telephone: 650/232-1800 x112; FAX
650/232-1808 or E/Mail: cgoodrich@crainassocs.com

Tina Noble - On Caring for Children's Safety
Interviewed by Anny Owen.

All of us morning travelers have seen florescent-vested Tina Noble and her husband Bill Noble crossing SFD Boulevard with the little ones on their way to school. Indeed they are the only people who've come forward to do this early, all-weather heroic job. The GO GERONIMO Steering Wheel decided to roll on over in that direction and see the valley transportation scene from Tina's view. Her eyes are shining and her voice is musical…
"I love being the crossing guard because I get to be in touch with a lot of different kinds of kids every morning and I can see how awake and alive and energized the kids
who walk to school are in the morning, especially the ones who ride bicycles. They're outside breathing air, looking at the sky, checking out birds, they're outdoors and experiencing waking up before they get to school….
"The other thing that goes through my mind is what a real danger these children face just walking or bicycling to school because half of the drivers going by are half asleep or in such a hurry that they don't think about the possibility of hurting a child.
"I see a couple of close calls every morning. And that really concerns me. Children are the most important thing in the world. If people could just leave home five minutes earlier they could slow down a little, being more aware and maybe save a child's life.
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"Penalties. People don't seem to realize that school zones are 25 miles per hour maximum anytime children are around and anytime it's school drop-off or pick-up hours even if you can't see a child in sight. The CHP patrols school zones constantly and the ticket for over 25 mph in a school zone starts at $100 and can get as high as $600 based on the driver's record, multiple violations, how much speed, and if it's a hazardous situation and if poor visibility exists. If a car enters a crosswalk when there's someone anywhere in the crosswalk even if they're 20 feet away on the other side its a maximum penalty.

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"There have been three fatalities in the last twenty-five years and several injury accidents in that block. Two mornings ago I was standing in the crosswalk with my son and a CHP officer parked at the crosswalk and a driver came speeding through the crosswalk and almost hit a child. Being in a hurry doesn't give anyone the right to risk hurting a child.
"The only thing that makes a difference is drivers caring enough to be conscious and aware of our children and of the terrible penalties a driver pays if they're caught by the highway patrol or if a child is killed just because somebody wasn't paying attention.
It is something they have to live with for the rest of their life.
"There's not much else we can do except educate kids and drivers. We can't get banners across the road in unincorporated areas but bumpy speed dots might help. Our new flashers help a lot. The worst thing I see is parents who drop their kids off anywhere on the roadside and let their children run across Drake Boulevard during the rush hour. If a child trips in the road, no one can see them and there's no way anyone can get out of the way in time.
"The bottom line is that kids deserve to be biking and hiking outdoors, walking to school, and roaming the woods without worrying about their safety. We need fewer people stressing out in fewer cars. Lets slow it down and take better care of our children, our future."

Tina Noble teaches part-time at Dominican College and at the College of Marin and has done Anthropological research all over the world