Why would you ever care about an obscure city-run committee like the School District Liaison Committee?
Here’s why:
Are you terrified behind the wheel that an unpredictable bike rider is going to dart into traffic unexpectedly? Do you have a child pleading for an e-bike? Are you considering an e-bike yourself?
Who is responsible for ensuring e-bike, driver and pedestrian safety? According to panelists at a recent e-bike safety forum, the road to e-bike safety is through collaboration among cities, schools, parents, law enforcement and community organizations.
That brings me to the city’s School District Liaison Committee. In 2021, when I first attended, representatives from the city staff and City Council members, school districts — board members, superintendents and occasionally principals and members of the biking and walking community came together to collaborate on bicycle and pedestrian safety.
In the early 2020s, few people had heard of bike education, and hardly anyone had heard of e-bikes. Then the pandemic happened, and boom — they were everywhere. That’s when the city and school districts stepped in to fill the education void.
At first, Encinitas offered one three-hour bike class a month. The classes included an hour of lecture, an hour of drills and an hour-long bike ride. Once schools began requiring bike training for a bike permit, classes filled rapidly, and the city increased the offering to twice a month. More than 1,000 kids have been trained.
At the same time, school districts supplemented the city-sponsored classes with assemblies and bike rodeos, and the city helped cover the expense.
The collaboration expanded to include law enforcement. With bike classes available, sheriff’s deputies could respond to kids with unbuckled helmets or illegal passengers by sending them to training instead of issuing a citation.
The city also hired a mobility manager to coordinate partnerships among schools, city staff, law enforcement and other safety-focused groups. The mobility manager became the hub of the wheel — someone who could connect different stakeholders while maintaining the big picture.
The meetings between the city and schools did more than improve e-bike safety. They were essential for communication. At those meetings, the San Dieguito Academy principal and city engineers forged a relationship that helped them successfully manage the challenges of the Santa Fe construction project.
Sounds great, doesn’t it?
And then, when the current City Council took the reins, things changed.
As bike and pedestrian safety advocates, EncinitasBikeWalk had been included on the meeting agenda — until we weren’t. We never received an explanation. I took it in stride, but I was more concerned that city engineers and the mobility manager were also removed from the agenda.
With nearly half the committee absent, impromptu connections could no longer happen. At one meeting, an NCTD representative spoke. The mobility manager, who was leading the city’s microtransit study, had not been invited. A missed opportunity.
Where do we stand today? Some staff have returned. The city no longer has a dedicated mobility manager. And the school districts appear frustrated.
Last week, the San Dieguito Union High School District declined the city’s bike safety funding. District representatives indicated they would find the money elsewhere.
Why did they turn it down? The loss of trust between the City Council and school district is palpable for many reasons. Here’s just one example.
Under the previous City Council, funding for bike education in schools was approved at City Council meetings without debate. Any necessary issues had already been addressed at School District Liaison Committee meetings, saving valuable time at City Council meetings.
But now the rules of the game have changed. The school district was expected to attend a City Council meeting at 9:30 p.m. to discuss issues that could have been addressed in advance.
Collaboration is hard. For the sake of both kids and drivers, I hope Encinitas can find its way back to a renewed partnership.
Judy Berlfein lives in Encinitas and is chair of EncinitasBikeWalk.
