2021
Impact & Outcomes 

Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, NCBC made significant strides toward our mission: making riding a bike in Napa County safe, convenient, and accessible. We advance our mission through local advocacy with elected officials, government agencies, and partner organizations and through our community-based safety education & encouragement programs, including the Safe Routes to Schools partnership. Thank you to every one of our donors and supporters for making our 2021 accomplishments possible.

Program Highlights

Bike Month. We gathered 50% more Pledges to Ride on Bike to Wherever Day—during which we partnered to provide nine contactless energizer stations around the county—than we did in 2019 (the most recent pre-pandemic year). Of those pledgers who took our post-survey, 59% said they believed they would ride more frequently after participating in Bike Month.

Happy Heads Helmet Program. We gave away over 150 helmets to local youth who needed them while teaching recipients and their families how to properly fit a bike helmet.

Walk and Roll to School Day. In partnership with 23 schools, we hosted welcome stations and gave away fun incentives to encourage youth to walk or roll to school on October 6. A total of 2,025 youth accepted the challenge.

Family Biking Workshops. We provided 35 youth and parents with a free, bilingual 2-hour workshop taught by League Certified Instructors that teach children balance, control, and the rules of the road and teach parents how to confidently ride with their children.

Free Bike Valet. Provided at Napa Farmer’s Market and Blues, Brews & BBQ, we parked over 150 bikes, helping to make local events more bike-friendly and sustainable.

Advocacy Highlights

• A stronger and reconstructed Stanly Lane Trail. After over a decade of neglect and disrepair, bicyclists and walkers can now enjoy a completely reconstructed Stanly Lane Trail. Initially planned as a simple repaving project as part of the new Auberge resort, NCBC worked closely with the City of Napa and the resort developer to ensure that the newly rebuilt path will remain safe and accessible for many years to come. NCBC’s efforts included a detailed review of decade-old agreements between the developer and the City, site visits with partners, engagement with the City’s BTAC, and outreach to our members/supporters.
• Innovative bike facilities tour of Berkeley/Emeryville for elected officials and agency staff. In August, NCBC staff led a bike ride through Berkeley and Emeryville for roughly a dozen elected officials and staff from local agencies throughout Napa County. The purpose of this ride was to provide decision makers an opportunity to experience first-hand what innovative bicycle and pedestrian improvements are possible in our communities. Joining us for this event were staff from Bike East Bay, as well as the Executive Director of the Alameda CTC and Deputy Public Works Director for the City of Berkeley. We developed a post-ride writeup that can serve as a guide and has been shared with decision-makers.
• Improving a bike trail in American Canyon. Following the opening of the new Napa Junction Elementary in the fall of 2021, we heard from several parents and community members who were concerned with increased vehicle volumes and the safety of students. Based on our Elected/Staff ride mentioned above, we worked with the City of American Canyon on improvements along the frontage of Napa Junction and along Wetlands Edge path (also a Class I), including installation of new Share the Path thermoplastic signage. These build upon existing “Quick Build” traffic calming improvements along Wetlands Edge Road.
• Crossing Guards to increase safety in St. Helena. Following detailed conversations with the St. Helena Unified School District and our Walk Audits at local school sites that evaluated the barriers to walking and riding to school, we were delighted to see the District embrace our preliminary programmatic and infrastructure recommendations for access and safety improvements. This work directly resulted in the District assigning existing staff to conduct Crossing Guard duty at four highly-travelled locations near the Primary, Elementary, and Middle Schools, as well as making small but impactful infrastructure improvements.