Help Joel King Secure a Bike Lane Sweeper for NCBC

Hello, I'm Joel King, the Board Secretary of the Napa County Bicycle Coalition (NCBC). Earlier this year when Caltrans installed Napa County's first separated bike lanes on the Imola Bridge, NCBC took a major step to help keep the lanes in place. We agreed to Adopt-the-Highway and sweep the lane ourselves. Caltrans realized they did not have the equipment to sweep them, so they were going to uninstall them.

Enter the tow-behind street sweeper! It's battery powered and pulled by a bike, and it works extremely well. We are asking you to help us purchase this brand-new-to-the-market bike lane sweeper that is making headlines around the nation. Our team was able to clean both sides of the bridge with the demo unit in about two hours. Handsweeping the bridge took our team three hours to sweep just one side. See a video of the sweeper in action, and read more about it here: https://bikeportland.org/2023/08/24/portland-will-be-testing-ground-for-new-bike-lane-sweeper-trailer-378550

We are already almost halfway there. Huge thanks to Friend of the Coalition and member, Bill Tuikka, who has already pledged $2,000 toward the total costs of $4,500. We are asking for your help in raising the final $2,500.

Put your name on the sweeper:

We see the sweeper as a community asset and hope to someday make it available to those who are interested in pitching in to help remove dangerous debris from other bike lanes as well, as a way to volunteer and enhance (but not replace) the efforts of local jurisdictions.

Had we not agreed to Adopt-the-Highway on the Imola Bridge, Caltrans would have removed this leap forward in safer biking infrastructure in Napa. Imola Avenue has an extremely high crash history, and this enhanced bike lane cuts the risk of a bike collision in half, per a Federal Highway Administration study.

We want the separated lane to stay because we want bicyclists to be safer.

Debris in the bike lane is one of the most enduring complaints NCBC receives from local cyclists. This relatively inexpensive tool that is bike-powered is a game changer for those of us who love to ride.

Thank you!