In the Lane

Bike Santa Cruz County Newsletter

July 2026 - Issue #17

July is here! Read on for the latest Santa Cruz County bike advocacy updates, upcoming events, and ways you can help support our mission to make our streets safer and more bike-friendly.

Join us for the Next Watsonville Community Bike Ride, this Sunday, July 5th!

Grab your bikes and bring the whole family! Join us for a fun ride on the Ohlone Loop Trail. It’s a route that is gently challenging and endlessly rewarding! All are welcome!

- Learn about Bike Safety & Why Bike?

- Bike safety gear giveaways, raffle prizes & more!

- Free burritos and refreshments for all riders!

- Limited bikes available for those who need to borrow one. First come, first served basis!

Details: Sunday, July 5th, 11 am

Location: 150 Westridge Drive, Watsonville

Interested in volunteering at the event this weekend - we need your help: Sign-up today!

Check out the ride video from our April ride to see what to expect:

Two Wheels, One Community: Cycle Fair 2026 is in the Books

Santa Cruz Cycle Fair, the first in what we hope becomes an annual event, welcomed an enthusiastic crowd Saturday, June 13th. Hosted by our friends at The Bicycle Trip, the free community event celebrated the region's diverse bike culture and active transportation movement.

Among the adventures was a 7-mile community ride loop led by board members Kyle Jordan and Jon Silver. The ride prominently crossed the award-winning bike and ped "whale bridge" over Highway 1 in Live Oak. Friends at Ecology Action produced a Bike Rodeo helping young riders build safe cycling skills. And numerous bike organizations and public agencies engaged guests with information, games, and gifts. Finally, board member Steve Jonsson’s band Vintage Point entertained the attendees with stellar renditions of pop music faves.

Raffles were conducted throughout the day, with the grand prize - a new Salsa gravel bike donated by Spokesman and Salsa - going to winner Jeff Hunt. Our favorite volunteer photographer Bill Bishoff documented the festivities, which can be viewed here!

New Countywide Safety Action Plan Released

Santa Cruz County, Scotts Valley, and Watsonville have released a new Safety Action Plan identifying the places, roadway conditions, and behaviors contributing to serious crashes in our community. The plan highlights the disproportionate risks faced by people biking and walking and recommends improvements including safer intersections, protected and expanded bike infrastructure, traffic calming, better crossings, and stronger safety education.

Bike Santa Cruz County will be using this study’s crash data, community feedback, and recommended projects in our upcoming report on this year’s countywide bicycle survey. Comparing the two studies will help build a more robust picture of how people’s experiences on the road match with documented crash patterns. We hope that this should help strengthen the case for broad and specific investments that will make biking safer and more accessible throughout Santa Cruz County.

The plan identifies priority corridors and intersections, outlines proven safety treatments, and can help local agencies compete for state and federal funding. Bike Santa Cruz County will continue advocating for these recommendations to move from planning documents into projects and to have a clear way to track progress here. Click here to see the report.

People for Bikes Releases 2026 City Ratings 

PeopleForBikes just released their annual City Ratings report, which measures the quality and connectedness of a city's bike network — the system of protected bike lanes, off-street paths, slow shared streets, and safe crossings that enables people to comfortably bike around a city. The ratings help advocacy organizations and policy makers target their efforts in redesigning our streets for all users. All four Santa Cruz cities are included, and whereas each saw improved scores compared to last year, none are in the top tier cities. We have lots of work to do to get there.

PeopleForBikes is one of the United States' leading bicycle advocacy organizations and industry trade associations. Founded in 1999 in Boulder, Colorado, it connects riders, local businesses, and communities to make biking safer, more accessible, and more fun.

PFB's City Ratings measures the quality and connectedness of a city's bike network — the system of protected bike lanes, off-street paths, slow shared streets, and safe crossings that enables people to comfortably bike around a city. City Ratings scores are released annually each summer based on results from our Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA) data analysis software that measures the quality and connectivity of a city's bike network on a scale of 0-100. The BNA assesses six factors captured in the acronym SPRINT:

• Safe Speeds
• Protected Bike Lanes
• Reallocated Space
• Intersection Treatments
• Network Connections
• Trusted Data

Here is how our cities scored in 2026 in the 0 to 100 system, with 2025’s score in parentheses: Capitola = 27 (17), Santa Cruz = 33 (31), Scotts Valley = 43 (37), and Watsonville = 37 (32). According to PFB, Scotts Valley is our county’s highest rated city, followed by Watsonville. All of Santa Cruz County’s cities improved, with Capitola showing the most improvement year over year, jumping 10 points.  

Here is how a few other cities in California ranked: Monterey = 37, Salinas = 35, Palo Alto = 45, Berkeley = 65, San Francisco = 61. Isla Vista, a Santa Barbara suburb adjacent to UCSB, was the highest ranked California city, with a 95. National City, a San Diego suburb, ranked lowest in the state, at 16.  

For a deep dive into the data and overall ranking results, go to: https://cityratings.peopleforbikes.org/about/how-city-ratings-works