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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

Fremont CA is the current US protected intersection champion. Check out 11 of their 18 installations to date on this flat 7.7-mile bike loop, including raised, street level, & quick build varieties:

ridewithgps.com/routes/51864...

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

I’m pretty confident Oakland’s Lakeshore cycletrack wouldn’t be under construction now if it wasn’t for the bike/walk commission. That group served as a space for Maia’s grieving family members to come share their stories & ask for help.

www.oaklandca.gov/Government/O...

Lakeshore Avenue Separated Bike Lanes Project

OakDOT has completed 100% Designs for safety improvements to Lakeshore Avenue from MacArthur Blvd to E18th Street.

www.oaklandca.gov

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

As someone with no technical transportation/planning training or expertise, I basically learned most of what I know over years of attending meetings & learning from staff & other members. Bike/walk committees can serve as focal points for so many advocacy & community engagement opportunities.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

This is the type of work a local bike/walk commission can accomplish, made possible with support & encouragement from city staff & electeds.

oaklandside.org/2025/10/02/o...

Oakland needs an 'all-encompassing' citywide greenway, bike commission says

The Bicyclist and Pedestrian Advisory Commission dreams of transforming the city’s car-centric roads into a tree-lined paradise.

oaklandside.org

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

SF is considering disbanding their bike commission, which is pretty pathetic IMO. Even tiny Emeryville, population 13k, has a bike/walk committee that meets monthly & always has something to discuss.

If they can manage to make it work then nobody else has any excuse.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

I think this one is supposed to be reminiscent of Emeryville’s city hall building.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

Emeryville commissioned artist Packard Jennings to build several of these custom bird houses along the greenway, as habitats for an endangered chickadee.

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Reposted by Robert Prinz

George Spies @georgespies.bsky.social · 2d

Somewhat late notice, but if you’re in Oakland and want to attend, my friend Anwar Baroudi is leading a walking tour to inform the General Plan Update team on disability access issues. Starts at OPL Main Branch. Knowing Anwar, it will be great!

www.oaklandca.gov/Event-Calend...

Mayor's Commission on People with Disabilities Walking Tour

Lake Merritt neighborhood walking tour open to the general public as part of the General Plan Update

www.oaklandca.gov

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

Here in the East Bay most major trails are regulated by East Bay Parks. So in the blog post I defaulted to the parks rules for Class 1 & 2 ebikes, but w a footnote that local rules wrt trails might be different.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

Sort of. The only regulatory differences btwn Class 1 & 2 are if local jurisdictions allow or prohibit them on multi-use trails. The city by city rules become very difficult to explain & educate on, similar to sidewalk cycling rules.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

Winky Dinky Dogs sign going up at the former Kasper’s at Shattuck/Telegraph in Oakland. Opening soon!

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

As an example WRT “big tent” inclinations, most bike advocacy orgs have by now called out & distanced themselves from the “vehicular cyclist” folks. And by doing so they’ve opened up avenues for collaboration w a much more diverse set of partners.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

Enforcement on the other hand isn’t an “easy” solution, it’s no solution. It has no lasting impact, is often applied w bias, takes resources & attention away from more effective options, & risks discouraging bike ridership altogether.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

Right the solutions aren’t easy, but if it’s an issue we actually care about we have to embrace the complexity & do the hard work. I’ve laid out seven steps local jurisdictions can take in my post here:

bikeeastbay.org/active-trans...

Active Transformation : Youth Cyclists and E-Bikes - Bike East Bay

Youth e-bike riders and safety concerns are in the news a lot recently. Find out more on the issue and what we're doing about it.

bikeeastbay.org

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

That’s an interesting theory though at least wrt police budgets I doubt it. IME the amount a community spends on police seems to be entirely uncorrelated w outcomes.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

Also I don’t know if some folks realize this, but policing & infrastructure needs are inherently at odds.

In many communities, exploding police budgets are the main reason why we don’t spend general fund revenue, the most flexible local funding, on transportation investments anymore.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

IME the fast e-device concerns are very overblown. They are getting undue attention b/c it’s mostly an issue in high income communities where parents are buying them for their kids, & those same communities are over-represented in the media.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 2d

I hear a great many excuses from people to avoid building all ages/abilities bike infrastructure, but I have yet to hear that one.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 3d

One of the reasons why I’ll never call myself an “urbanist” is b/c of the tendency of many in that niche to endorse the police, so long as they are on the same side of an issue.

Same thing wrt “YIMBY” & libertarians.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 3d

The popularity of extra fast e-devices is a reaction to our failure to provide networks of safe facilities for smaller, slower things.

What we actually need is a vast increase in facilities development. Prioritizing enforcement as a response is the wrong approach w many negative externalities.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 3d

Better solutions involve:
1) Crack down on manufacturers/retailers building/selling devices.
2) Provide more all ages/abilities facilities to alleviate crowding on limited trail networks, & so people are less compelled to speed & “keep up” w car traffic.

More here:
bikeeastbay.org/active-trans...

Active Transformation : Youth Cyclists and E-Bikes - Bike East Bay

Youth e-bike riders and safety concerns are in the news a lot recently. Find out more on the issue and what we're doing about it.

bikeeastbay.org

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 3d

Using words like “menace” or “scourge” is hyperbole and unhelpful. Are illegal e-devices a concern? Yes, absolutely. Have they been the cause of any significant number of the fatal & severe crashes I continue to respond to on a weekly basis here in the East Bay? Absolutely not.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 3d

Encouraging police enforcement w/o checks (and there are almost never checks) also leads to biased outcomes. Police *will* abuse this authority resulting in biased pretextual stops. It also takes resources away from relatively greater threats all related to dangerous car drivers.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 3d

Those devices are already illegal. “Enforcement” means ticketing kids & delivery workers. It’s a waste of time since these user groups are largely reacting to outside influences.

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Robert Prinz @prinzrob.bsky.social · 3d

I’m getting in touch w electeds & WCPD to find out more, and to encourage a more nuanced approach to e-device safety issues as laid out here:

bikeeastbay.org/active-trans...

Active Transformation : Youth Cyclists and E-Bikes - Bike East Bay

Youth e-bike riders and safety concerns are in the news a lot recently. Find out more on the issue and what we're doing about it.

bikeeastbay.org

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