Active Transportation Plan - City of Pomona

Pomona Active Transportation Plan
November 2012
Chapter 3 – Existing Conditions
Lastly, cycling is a popular recreational activity for all age groups. While most of this plan is focused on
encouraging bicycling as a form of transportation, recreational riders, with encouragement, may transition
to bicycling commuters. Similarly, recreational cycling can be a popular family activity, and children who
ride with parents may be more likely to bike to school or with their friends. Regardless, Pomona has a
mild climate, mostly flat terrain, and many parks within a 10-minute bicycle ride of downtown or
residential neighborhoods.
The Federal Highway Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation released in May 2010 the
National Bicycle & Walking Study: 15 Year Status Report. The agencies found that between the initial
report in 1995 and household survey data collected in 2009, bicycling activity had increased in general,
though not to the goal of doubling walking and biking trips that was set in 1995. Interestingly, though
only one percent of respondents in the 2009 National Households Transportation Survey said that they
made everyday trips by bike, 12 percent said that they had ridden a bike in the past week.
Future Bicycling Activity
Future bicycle trips will depend on a number of factors such as the availability of well-connected facilities,
appropriate education and promotion programs designed to encourage cycling, and location, density,
and type of future land development. Cities with thoughtful bikeway plans and meaningful
implementation programs have found high levels of correlation between bicycle facilities and number of
cyclists. Three cities with such plans – Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle – found that the number of
cyclists on a bicycle corridor after it was improved was double or triple the previous count. More
generally, the 2010 National Bicycle & Walking Study: 15 Year Status Report found that between 1990 and
2008 funding for bike and pedestrian projects increased from less than 0.5 percent of federal
transportation funding to about one percent. Over that same time, pedestrian and bicycle trips increased
by about 50 percent.
With appropriate bicycle facilities in place and implementation of employer trip reduction programs, the
bicycle mode split could increase significantly above its current rate. According to the methodology
adopted by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and outlined in their Bicycle
Transportation Strategic Plan (Volume 2), cities can expect to see a 279% increase in bicycling upon
buildout of a complete bicycle network. By expanding bicycle facilities that encourage a broad cross
section of bicyclists and improve safety, Pomona could increase the current mode split, which would result
in over 25,000 bicycle trips daily by 2020, as shown in Table 3-3.
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