The Community Cycles Advocacy Committee is the voice for cyclists in Boulder County, working with local, state and federal government, as well as businesses and neighborhoods, for better access to bike parking, transit, and trails. The CC Advocacy Committee represents cyclists in local and regional planning and works to insure that new construction is bicycle friendly and that existing roads, schools, workplaces and shopping centers are re-envisioned to be safe for bicycles.

About the survey

We asked the candidates the six questions that are posted below. Click on the name links after each question to go to that response.

Questions

• Q1: Please describe the level of school district resources that are applied to safety and convenience of students walking and cycling to school. Is this a satisfactory balance? If not, what would you change? John Kettling(B), Lesley Smith (B), Tom Miers (E), Jim Pollicita (E), Jennie Belval (F), Louise Benson (F)
• Q2: How can the Safe Routes to School federal grant program be broadened to reach more students and staff with education and encouragement of walking, cycling, and busing to school? John Kettling(B), Lesley Smith (B), Tom Miers (E), Jim Pollicita (E), Jennie Belval (F), Louise Benson (F)
• Q3: What would you do to improve bicycle parking at schools for students and staff? John Kettling(B), Lesley Smith (B), Tom Miers (E), Jim Pollicita (E), Jennie Belval (F), Louise Benson (F)
• Q4: Open enrollment creates more car traffic and this can endanger kids who are walking and bicycling. Suggest ways to mitigate these problems. John Kettling(B), Lesley Smith (B), Tom Miers (E), Jim Pollicita (E), Jennie Belval (F), Louise Benson (F)
• Q5: The BVSD BLAST course (Bicycle Lesson and Safety Training) was introduced in spring 2009. Do you support bicycle training as part of the physical education curriculum? John Kettling(B), Lesley Smith (B), Tom Miers (E), Jim Pollicita (E), Jennie Belval (F), Louise Benson (F)
• Q6: Do you support the introduction of an employee Eco Pass Program funded by the district? In these tight economic times, where might funding be found? John Kettling(B), Lesley Smith (B), Tom Miers (E), Jim Pollicita (E), Jennie Belval (F), Louise Benson (F)

Responses

John Kettling, Candidate in District B

Q1) Bike racks and planned transportation routes are a part of the educational facilities master plan. The BLAST course (see below) is an excellent application of resources. However, note that the drive to school is rare parent/child time that doesn’t easily replace at some other time of day. Further, significant car miles are not being added since the parent is often going to work and simply has the child along on part of the ride. I do note that some parents are experimenting with tandem bike-kid carriers (like a trailer) and it’s that kind of innovation that may restore the parent/child time in a more bicycle oriented neighborhood.  

Q2) First, I would hope school bus travel is being curtailed because of cost, safety issues and being parallel to already established RTD routes. Further, those new crosswalks across 4 lane roads are amazingly dangerous since motorists cannot see over the top of the concrete barriers that form the bike paths to see if a bike is coming. Also, out of state motorists don’t know what those things are, and are unprepared for a sudden stop in a non-intersection situation. Police driving relatively fast in patrol cars through school zones to catch speeders simply trades one problem for another. So there are challenges. The work is not complete.  

Q3) Safety and security in where the bike racks are placed is a starting point, but I think everybody misses the fact that these areas must be kept very clean and debris free. Racks must be periodically resurfaced and painted. They should be regularly scrubbed. Kids spill after school food in the parking lots (and on the racks) creating a very unsanitary situation. I personally cleaned bike rack areas for years during my time at Louisville Middle School.  

Q4) Neighborhood schools are the best way to mitigate traffic, but reasons for open enrollment are sometimes subtle and not obvious to the public at large. For example, the Columbine neighborhood in Dist B is a very bicycle friendly area. However, local residents were driven out of the school by a very poorly thought out OCR settlement that reeks of reverse discrimination and left the area with a chronically poor performing school made up of families mostly from other neighborhoods. Still, there’s no doubt that the people of Boulder are losing interest in engine based transportation, and the bumper sticker remains quite prophetic: "The Industrial Revolution is Over. We Lost!!!"  

Q5) My knowledge of BLAST is the successful course over at Eldorado, where a very large percentage of students live within 2 miles of the school. If it’s safe and you can get past insurance issues, then there’s no problem adding BLAST to more PE curriculums. BVSD went through the same kinds of quests when they built the (possibly more controversial) ropes courses, which came out just fine from a safety standpoint. The first word in PE is PHYSICAL, and I can’t think of too many things more physical than a bike.  

Q6) This question is an employee survey issue. If they want it, then I would suggest funding through a bicycle type event, something like Ride the Rockies, only smaller.  

Lesley Smith, Candidate in District B

Q1) I think BVSD is fairly progressive in promoting green methods of transportation to schools. The state economy is bleak, and the district relies on state funding to run the school district. Even in the face of a $1M cut last year and probably a $3.8M cut this year in state funding, BVSD has two positions that provide support for alternative forms of transportation: Landon Hilliard, the school transportation coordinator and Ghita Carrol, the sustainability coordinator. Given all the demands on the district’s budget, not the least important is that of teacher compensation, I think the District has devoted an adequate level of funding for students to walk and ride to school. One way more funding could be leveraged is through community partnerships, like the Freiker program, started by BVSD parents.  

Q2) This program provides funding to individual states, and in Colorado it is used to fund educational programs and infrastructure to improve enthusiasm and safety for biking and walking to K-8 schools. To date, 15 schools, or roughly half of our eligible schools, have received funding through this program. This program has been quite successful, and I would like to see it expand to all of our K-8 schools. In some cases parents have initiated the idea of seeking funding, while in other cases the District’s Transportation Director has provided the inspiration. I would like to see the district highlight the successful programs and encourage schools to apply for funding. In those cases where there is not the parent power to write the proposals, I would like to see the district offer assistance.  

Q3) I am constantly amazed that a biking community like Boulder has extremely poor infrastructure for bikes. I came from University of California at Santa Barbara where 6000 bikes were on the campus bike paths, which functioned as a freeway system, during passing periods, and large expanses of bike racks were available for parking. CU, our schools, and the city really are behind the eight ball in comparison to UCSB. I see the new bond program as an excellent opportunity to increase the number of bike racks at schools. As we have crews at school sites to pour cement, move equipment and so forth, I think this is a perfect time to increase bike parking capacity at our schools.  

Q4) Sometimes open enrollment leads to less driving than sending children to their neighborhood school. I open enrolled my children. Their elementary school was located across the street from the University where I work. We typically rode the RTD to school, and I could walk across the street to volunteer. If they had attended my neighborhood school, I would have had to drive to school to volunteer during the day. With the school closures the school was moved to South Boulder. I was president of the SIT at that time, and I contacted DRCOG to find out about their carpooling program. I urged parents to consider carpooling, and it was pretty successful. We had a carpool of three families and the kids got dropped off at two schools in South Boulder. My children also began taking the RTD home, as did many of the other children. For middle school my children get to and from school via the RTD. There is a teen bus pass that students can buy at a reduced rate. I always encourage parents to consider alternative means of transportation, and the Transportation Director is quite proactive in this area.  

Q5) The curriculum has been developed by an advisory group through funding from a Safe Routes to School grant. Three schools are piloting the program, which will be evaluated in terms of effectiveness. I would like to first see that the curriculum does what it has set out to do – improve safety and knowledge of simple bicycle mechanics – before expanding it to all our schools (it aims at 2nd – 7th grades with the initial pilot focusing on 5th and 6th). I think incorporating it into the physical education curriculum is an interesting idea. I would want to see buy-in from the physical education teachers rather than forcing it upon them.  

Q6) The board meets regularly with RTD officials to discuss ways in which there can be better cooperation. We have tried to suggest an Eco Pass program for employees but so far RTD has found this economically unfeasible. In general, it is a money-loser for them, and their rules have become more stringent. I know in our neighborhood our block used to qualify, but it has not qualified for the past two years because not enough people have signed up. The RTD applies a similar method to the schools where each school needs a certain number of people to sign up for the Eco Pass program in order to qualify. I would ask RTD to consider treating the entire district as a single worksite, therefore more employees would qualify for an Eco Pass. With the limited resources the district has, I think teachers should pay for the pass, as they have to pay for gas and maintenance of their car. Plus, they can use their Eco Pass everyday, not just days they work. I do the same for my kids if our block qualifies for a pass.  

Tom Miers, Candidate in District E

Q1) I am currently not familiar with that level of detail. I am aware of specific cases in the past where the district worked very closely with the county and the local community to enhance the safety of our children walking and riding to school. I was involved and went before the County Commissioners to present the case for construction of cross walks, traffic signals, walking/cycling trails and bridges leading to Platt Middle School. It was successful and these are still in use today.  

Q2) I do not know a lot about this program other than its purpose is to increase the number of children who walk or bicycle to school by funding projects that remove the barriers that prevent them from doing so. I understand that applications can be submitted to secure funding for projects aligned with this goal. I support pursuing funding for this purpose.  

Q3) I would advocate for better/updated bicycle racks at our schools.  

Q4) I would like to see a close working relationship between the local police or county sheriff and the school district to formulate and execute a district wide safety plan to help with these types of problems.  

Q5) I do support bicycle safety training as a part of the physical education curriculum.  

Q6) I would support the district negotiating lower cost Eco Passes, but I believe that the employee should pay for the pass. This would be very similar to passes that CU students have now, where part of their tuition pays for the pass.  

Jim Pollicita, Candidate in District E

Q1) Your questions, as intended, I am sure, draw my attention to an area I really do not know well at this point. At this juncture, I would guess that I am only as aware as the average parent of the issues you raise. Beyond bicycle racks, police stationed at schools, and volunteer crossing guards, I am not yet aware of additional resources either applied to these issues by the district. I would love to know more about what your group sees as the current situation, the desired situation, and the potential means to bridge the gap.  

Q2) Again, let's talk about it. I'll offer this, for what it's worth; we establish important patterns when young and elementary and middle school students seem to thrive on challenges and positive competition. Maybe more could be done to encourage walking, cycling, and busing through those dynamics. My experience is that this sort of thing is more likely to happen when championed by a dedicated group like yours. The board's role would be to help reduce barriers to positive initiatives and help broaden the adoption of successful innovations.  

Q3) My guess is that the current need for improvement varies somewhat by school, as would the potential responses.  

Q4) The recent "Colorado Matters" program profiling the "Freiker" program was, I admit, "news to me." That sort of initiative needs to be more widely known in the district and, to the extent practical, should be considered for adoption at other schools. One of the comments made during the program pointed out that when there are more walkers and bikers, their safety increases.  

Q5) Whether or not it is in the physical education curriculum, I think it should be in the curriculum as part of the range of ways we need to learn to be responsible with and for one another.  

Q6) The second part of this question is the key; where might the funding be found. At this point, it appears that Eco Pass would have to come from limited funds available for salary increases or the underwriting of staff health care. I am not sure staff would want to make that trade at this point. Perhaps the district could work more closely with RTD on ways to make this possible.  

Jennie Belval, Candidate in District F

Q1) I support encouraging students to walk or ride to school: it's good for the students' health and it's good for the environment. This, however, is an area where I would rely on groups such as yours to provide input as to how BVSD can improve.  

Q2) A number of schools in our district have participated in the Federal Safe Routes to School program, and a number of community organizations have partnered with schools to help implement the program. I would encourage the district to continue to work with community partners to expand the program. Two ways to do this would be to recognize participating schools on the district website and at school board meetings, and to develop an award program for students and staff who walk, cycle, or take the bus to school.  

Q3) Some of our schools have added bike racks as part of the bond issue. But, off course, all schools should have ample parking spaces for bikes. If district funds for this are scarce, the district should look for community resources and partnerships. This would be a good use of service expansion fee funds in municipalities which have enacted these fees. Some local businesses might also be willing to sponsor additional bike racks.  

Q4) First, the district should work to make sure that all of its schools meet the needs of their neighborhood students, so that fewer students feel the need to open enroll elsewhere. The district should also work with schools to establish safety patrol programs. Encouraging carpools would be another way to mitigate traffic problems. Working with RTD to provide affordable bus passes for older students could be helpful in some neighborhoods as well. And, of course, the district should encourage those students who are able to walk bike or take the bus through programs such as the Safe Routes to School program.  

Q5) Yes. Bicycle programs could also be good after school enrichment programs.  

Q6) Eco passes for employees are a great idea. The district should look for grant money or community partners to help fund such a program.  

Louise Benson, Candidate in District F

Q1) BVSD need stop closing neighborhood schools, consolidating into larger schools, and building large K-8's with large and large attendance areas. (my son's brand-new K-8 was 5 miles away by bus!)  

Q2) I have not heard of this program, sounds great.  

Q3) I would like to, give me some ideas.  

Q4) Put the focus on improving our neighborhood schools so families don't feel compelled to open enroll. More education of parents and carpooling.  

Q5) Definitely yes.  

Q6) Yes. Also most middle and high school students should get one and ride the RTD, I plan to look at waste in busing in the Transportation program.