‘Walk and Roll’ to school today

Here's a friendly reminder of "Walk and Roll" each Wednesday at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. If you haven't already, perhaps you'd give it a try?

The intention behind "Walk and Roll" is to promote alternatives to students commuting to school by car, which is why, every Wednesday, we close the gates to the school parking lot.

(Our school is located just a couple blocks away from bus stops on Mendocino Avenue -- a main corridor both for Santa Rosa CityBus and Sonoma County Transit. There are also places to park your vehicle just a couple blocks away, if you have a younger child or want to ease into the idea of not simply driving your child to school.)

With fewer cars pulling in and out of the driveway, safety is enhanced for those students (and adults) who want to travel to-and-from using "person-powered" transportation.

We admit after-school programs' vans, and people with disabilities who have DMV placards. But we ask that other motorists park safely and legally on the street.

Crossing guard at-risk from cars in Santa Rosa intersections

Santa Rosa crossing guard Mario D’Olivo says he “could have retired long ago if he had a dollar for every motorist who has zipped through the crosswalk despite the red traffic signal overhead and the stop sign in his hand, or who’s breezed by in clear violation of the no-cellphone-while-driving law.”

Living in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Our first weekend in our new apartment in Santa Rosa, Calif.! Having secured a home in the same community where I work and where we like to hang out, we really enjoy our recovered ability to walk, ride our bikes, and take public transit.

‘Walk and Roll,’ school gates close each Wednesday

School is out this week, in observance of Thanksgiving, but I want to reinforce “Walk and Roll” each Wednesday at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts.

Vycle, pedal-powered alternative to elevator

Vycle - urban vertical movement from Elena Larriba on Vimeo.

Check out this great space-saving alternative to stairs or elevators that promotes personal health. The Vycle, invented by Royal College of Art graduate Elena Larriba, looks like a bicycle with a vertical rail attached to it. Passengers use pedals to ascend or descend the rail; the speed of pedaling controls the rate of travel.

Bike give-away for fire victims, Saturday, Nov. 11

Event flier, ‘Bikes for Firestorm 2017 Victims’

As a cyclist myself, here’s an especially meaningful benefit for victims of the North Bay fires. Southern Marin Fire District is hosting a bicycle giveaway for the victims of “Firestorm 2017,” 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, in the front parking lot of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, 2796 Ventura Ave. in Santa Rosa. (Giveaways are also planned in Sonoma, Napa and Glen Ellen.) Please bring some proof of the residence address where you lost your house to the fire to receive a free replacement bicycle, complete with helmet. (And if you’d like to help, SMFD is accepting donations of new or slightly-used bicycles at any of its fire stations with the goal of securing 1,000 bicycles).

‘Walk and Roll to School’ Wednesdays at SRCSA

Wednesdays are “Walk and Roll to School” days at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts! For the first time this week, we closed the yellow gates to the school parking lot on Wednesday; I was out in my bright yellow-green, reflective vest helping to redirect motorists.