by Laura McCamy, Oakland Local
On Feb. 1, Renee Rivera joined the East Bay Bicycle Coalition – EBBC – as its newest executive director.
Fresh from a nine-month stint as interim executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, or SFBC, Rivera is happy to return to her East Bay roots. The graduate of Berkeley High recently moved back to the East Bay, after living in San Francisco for a number of years.
During her time in San Francisco, Rivera developed an interest in bicycle advocacy, as many cyclists do, from personal experience.
“A lot of queer folks of my generation got involved with gay rights at that time, but for me, growing up in the Bay Area, going to Berkeley High, moving to San Francisco when I was 19, I never felt anything but accepted as a young queer person,” Rivera recalls. “On the other hand when I rode my bike in San Francisco in the late ’80s and early ’90s, I was yelled at and nearly run off the road almost every day on my commute along Polk Street.”
Rivera took action, joining the SFBC and working for change.
“It took us five years to win bike lanes on Polk Street, and they aren’t perfect, but when those bike lanes went in, they changed my life,” Rivera says.
This experience sowed the seeds of her activism.
“While I didn’t feel oppressed as a queer person, I did feel oppressed as a bicyclist, and I have been fighting ever since for a better ride for everyone.”
When Rivera joined the SFBC board in 2002, it had about 4,000 members; it now has about 12,000. The SFBC is considered one of the most effective advocacy organizations in San Francisco, wielding considerable political clout and effecting major changes that has improved the streets of San Francisco for bicyclists and pedestrians.
“I feel like there’s a lot of opportunity for growth,” she says. “Having gone through that same trajectory with the SFBC, I feel well prepared to take the EBBC through that same trajectory. I feel very optimistic about our growth rate now.”
The EBBC also has organized effectively for years in a challenging landscape: working with two counties and 33 cities to promote projects that improve access and safety for cyclists. Rivera is realistic about what bicycle advocates are up against in the current fiscal climate.
“Cities are really strapped right now, so it’s hard to get staff to work on projects and it’s hard to find money to fund bike projects,” she says. “Of the two, the staffing is the biggest issue. There’s federal money for bike projects, but often cities don’t have the staff to go out and find that money.
“Things will be a lot worse if redevelopment gets cut,” she adds. “Cities do a lot of bike projects with redevelopment funding.”
Oakland is one particularly bright spot for East Bay cyclists.
“Oakland has already committed funds to add 35 miles of bikeways [in 2011], so it’s going to be a great year for biking in Oakland.”
And Rivera says she remains positive about the future.
“At the EBBC, we actually have a great track record of helping cities and counties to find money for bike projects and we will continue to do that.”
Rivera sees EBBC as instrumental in building bicycle community.
“The thing that I’m seeing now that I’d like to capitalize on more is the enthusiasm of our members and volunteers. There is a real desire to create the kind of community around cycling that I have seen in San Francisco.” Rivera cites, in particular, EBBC’s many dynamic partner organizations, including one of the newest, Oakland’s own WalkOaklandBikeOakland. “That’s one of the things I see as a strength in the East Bay, that there are so many groups working in one way or another to build community.”
Bike to Work month is right around the corner and Rivera expects a fantastic day, noting, “Over the last three years, there’s been a 250 percent increase in the numbers of people biking by the energizer stations in the East Bay on Bike to Work Day.”
The EBBC brought Bike to Work Day to the Bay Area in 1994 and will organize more than 100 energizer stations throughout the East Bay on May 12.
On May 21, EBBC partners with local supermarkets, including Berkeley Bowl and Whole Foods, for Bike to Market Day. This will be a great opportunity for people who are new to cycling to answer one of the most basic questions: How do I get my groceries home?
Rivera’s answer: “I am always preaching the gospel of the basket. Getting a basket on my bike totally changed my life.”
For more Bicycle Friendly activities in May, the annual pancake breakfast in downtown Oakland, the Bike Away From Work Party, bike-in movies and more, visit www.ebbc.org/btwd.
For inspiration about the future of cycling culture in the East Bay, Rivera turns to her experience in San Francisco, where cycling has gone from a transportation choice for the fearless few to a mode of choice for many, including families with children.
“The East Bay is flatter, we have better weather, the streets are wider,” she says. “There is so much potential for making the East Bay a great place to bike and even exceeding San Francisco.”
Asked what she loves about bicycling in the East Bay, Rivera says “When I get to work in the morning, I feel energized and sharp in a way that I don’t feel when I don’t bike to work.
I feel like I can fly,” she goes on to say. “I feel so free and able to get wherever I need to go.”
Read the original article at Oakland Local, part of an ongoing series on 11 leaders and organizations to watch in 2011.