DOWNEY >> Mayor Mario Guerra wants to transform Downey one bicycle at a time.

The city is developing a bicycle master plan after receiving a $225,000 Caltrans grant in late September and providing $25,000 in matching funds. The plan could lead to bicycle lanes and other infrastructure improvements, but city officials say action to improve Downey’s roads for riders can and should be taken now.

The City Council formed a Bike Downey committee made up of Councilman Alex Saab and Mayor Pro Tem Fernando Vasquez at its meeting Tuesday night. The committee will examine ways to implement bicycle infrastructure improvements and will consult with the Downey Bicycle Coalition.

Using a bicycle to commute around Downey is impeded by the lack of bicycle racks, lack of bike lanes and other factors, Guerra said.

“The Downey Gateway has no bike racks,” he said. “There are a lot of places in our city that you can’t ride to. I don’t want to wait for a master bike plan. Why don’t we put some striping down,” he said. “Downey will be a more bike-friendly community. I think we need tons of bike racks now. We can incorporate some great ideas from cities like Long Beach. We could have events similar to CicLAvia.”

Guerra said he visited downtown Los Angeles this past Sunday for CicLAvia, which shut down streets to promote biking, walking or skateboarding.

“It was cool, and it worked,” he said. “There were streets that were still open (to cars), then you’d get to an intersection and a (police officer) would be blocking it off. It was very safe and it looked low-cost. We need to do something like that.”

But promoting bicycling in Downey will take more than installing racks and painting bike lanes, Guerra said.

Jennifer Angulo is a teacher at Sussman Middle School, a member of the Downey Bike Coalition and she rides three miles from her home in north Downey to her school in south Downey every day.

The commute along Brookshire Avenue is filled with hazards such as speeding cars and dangerous intersections, she said.

“If I as an adult am not able to ride safely to school, how can (students)?” Angulo said.

All riders, and children especially, must be educated on proper riding rules, she said.

“As adults we have an advantage,” Angulo said. “We know the rules of the road.”

A solution could be to establish routes away from busy streets that students can follow to ride to school and to educate drivers on bicycle rights, she said. A common misconception is that bicycles cannot ride on the street.

Rogelio Pardo, a founding member of the Downey Bicycle Coalition, pointed out that Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill on Monday that exempts bicycle plans from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, which had been criticized for impeding cities from making bike travel more accessible.

“Downey really must seek the opportunity at hand,” Pardo said. “(Assembly Bill) 417 essentially frees funds to educate the community and (implement) bike plans.”

Vasquez said he looks forward to working on the Bike Downey committee.

“I’m probably part of that last generation that knows what it’s like to ride around the block,” he said.

Councilman Saab said taking immediate action to improve Downey’s bicycle friendliness is a “no-brainer.”

“There are many cyclists in our area, and it seems to be increasing,” he said.

Safety, however, will be the city’s first priority, Guerra said.

“Safety is No. 1,” he said. “When I rode my bike home from the YMCA at 8:30 last night it was very scary. It’s economical and it’s healthy, but it needs to be safe.”

Contact Greg Yee at 562-499-1476.