In the Lane

Bike Santa Cruz County Newsletter

September 2026 - Issue #19

September 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.

Help Shape Capitola’s Active Transportation Plan

Right on the heels of the city of Santa Cruz’s adoption of a major update to the Active Transportation Plan (ATP) this past April, Capitola has embarked on their first ever ATP. And the planners are looking for bike riders to help. An ATP is an essential tool for establishing transportation planning policy in cities and counties. They establish direct priority projects to make it safer for active transportation: walkers, bikers, rollers, and mobility impaired. These priority projects then become formally eligible for funding from a range of sources.

Currently in Phase 1 of a three-phased planning project that will conclude in Winter of 2027, the city is seeking input via a digital interactive map located here: https://fp.mysocialpinpoint.com/capitola-atp. Participants are asked where they feel uncomfortable walking or biking in Capitola and why. The input will feed into a summary of Existing Conditions and Needs Identification.

BSCC is actively participating on the advisory committee for Capitola’s ATP, and we will continue to share its progress! 

Join Us: Watsonville Community Bike Ride, Sunday 9/20

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! This family-friendly event welcomes all ages and abilities for fun, exercise, and local exploration. Our community partners include Community Bike Collective, Watsonville Wetlands Watch, Community Traffic Safety Coalition and Watsonville Cyclery. Se habla español.

- 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!

Volunteer Opportunities are Just Around the Corner

Now's the perfect time to recommit to helping out one of your favorite local non-profits! It's also a perfect opportunity for the students who need fulfill Community Service hours!!

Here are the Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities:

• Saturday, September 19th: Bike Valet Volunteers for Friends of the SC State Parks Birthday Bash: Sign-up Sheet
• Sunday, September 20th: Watsonville Community Bike Ride: Event & Ride Support Volunteer: Sign-up Sheet
• Saturday, October 3rd: Bike Valet Volunteers for Sunrise Rotary Finish Line Event: Sign-up Sheet
• Sunday, October 4th: Bike Valet Volunteers for Run by the Sea: Sign-up Sheet

We love our volunteers and couldn't pull off these events without you!

New Santa Cruz City Middle School E-bike Safety Course

Two Santa Cruz middle schools are taking new steps to address e-bike safety as more students ride to school. Students at Branciforte and Mission Hill middle schools must complete bicycle-safety training before receiving a permit to park their e-bikes on campus.

The program is intended to encourage safer and more responsible riding while helping schools manage the growing number of e-bikes. City and school officials hope the combination of safety education and parking permits will make e-bike commuting safer for students and the broader school community.

Action Alert: Save Federal Bike Lane Funding

Bike lanes are under attack by the current administration. It started with mocking "DEI bike lanes" on social media. Then federal safety regulators quietly stripped bike lanes off the list of Proven Safety Countermeasures. Now the administration's transportation priorities would block all federal funding for bike infrastructure and actively support ripping out lanes that already exist - all so drivers can go faster and faster. Here is what is at stake: our safety and access to the road is being threatened by an administration in a way that would have been unthinkable just two years ago. 

Bicyclists and pedestrians make up roughly 20% of the 36,000 lives lost on American roads every year: already a shocking outlier compared to the rest of the world. What works to make people biking safer is clear: building separated bike lanes. It’s a fact proved time and again across the U.S. It’s data, not politics. The national bike advocacy group League of American Bicyclists is facilitating your voice to halt this madness.

Bay Ridge Trail Opens Six More Miles

413 miles and growing, the Bay Ridge Trail just opened another six-mile section to hikers and bikers in San Mateo County. Called the Skyline Watershed Ridge Trail, this newest segment of the Bay Area’s most ambitious linear recreational system provides sweeping views of the San Francisco Peninsula’s reservoirs, forests, and the bay. While this segment does not yet connect with the existing Ridge Trail to the north or south, future projects will close those gaps in coming years.  

Led by the Bay Area Ridge Trail Foundation, the Bay Ridge Trail has been over 30 years in the making. With the new Skyline Watershed segment, the planned 550-mile trial system is 75% complete. It provides linear trail facilities in nine Bay Area counties. The Foundation’s mission is to plan, promote and sustain a connected hiking, biking, and equestrian trail on the ridgelines around San Francisco Bay - linking people, parks and open space for today and future generations. It comes closest to Santa Cruz County at a planned future bridging of Highway 17 at the northern end of the Lexington Reservoir near Los Gatos. Even in its unfinished state, National Geographic has dubbed the trail one of its “100 Hikes of a Lifetime." See more on the new segment and obtaining a free use permit from SFPUC, look here: https://www.sfpuc.gov/learning/come-visit/peninsula-trails/skyline-watershed-ridge-trail. For overall Bay Ridge Trail project progress monitoring and events, look here: https://ridgetrail.org/

Community Partner Spotlight: Watsonville Wetlands Watch

We’re excited to welcome Watsonville Wetlands Watch (WWW) as our newest Community Partner!

In case you haven't heard, WWW is helping connect Watsonville residents to nature through more than seven miles of wetlands trails for walking and biking. These trails provide opportunities to explore the sloughs, enjoy local wildlife, and connect neighborhoods, parks, schools, and community destinations.

Through trail maintenance, habitat restoration, and support for projects such as the Watsonville Slough Connector Trail, WWW is helping build a healthier, greener, and more connected community. The wetlands offer not only valuable habitat, but also safe and enjoyable places for residents to walk, bike, and experience the natural beauty of the Pajaro Valley.

For more information and be sure to visit them here or in-person at their booth at our next Watsonville Community Bike Ride on Sunday, September 20th!