Calthorpe Associates wins EBBC's Bike-Friendly Business Award

42 nominations, 3 winning companies, and lots of accolades to the East Bay's bike-friendly business community

by Terri Saul (from the EBBC website www.ebbc.org)

To list all Bay Area bicycle friendly businesses, one would need to employ a device used by Jack Kerouac – the scroll. Area leaders who care about cycling also tend to care about liveable neighborhoods, being design-minded and creative, and getting things done through grit and gumption. Plans and profits don’t suffer in the process. The winners not only meet the basic EBBC criteria such as providing secure bike parking, EBBC maps, pre-tax bicycle commuter checks, and discounts for cyclists. They also celebrate Bike to Work Day every day by encouraging lunchtime rides, showering at the office, conducting workshops, promoting safety, and including spandex as a new option for casual Fridays.

Calthorpe Associates, an urban planning firm with a focus on walkable, bikeable communities, is the winner in the small non-retail category. “The majority of our work right now is specifically oriented toward climate change,” says Joe DiStefano, principal at Calthorpe, founding firm of Congress For the New Urbanism.Garlynn Woodsong is a senior planner working exclusively on California projects. Both DiStefano and Woodsong are members of EBBC and various trails councils. DiStefano rides with the charmingly outfitted Knackered Tyres club, and is on the board of Liveable Berkeley. Woodsong is a member of Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO).

Aside from being a leader in designing bicycle friendly communities around the world, Calthorpe meets EBBC’s criteria for the award, including passing out federal bike vouchers. “I used mine for new tires,” says Woodsong. When asked about caring for communities, neighborhoods and streets, they replied in unison, “ That’s all we do.” DiStefano adds, “It’s not an exaggeration to say we live, dream, breathe, work the non-auto world.”