From: Caro Vilain
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre
Subject: Support for item 16B
Date: Saturday, July 15, 2023 7:51:35 AM
EXTERNAL
Dear Council members,
I’d like to express my support for item 16B.
As many of you know, more and more people are replacing car trips with bike trips, and e-bikes have played a significant role in this shift, as they make bikes accessible to more people of varied abilities, and allow people to travel further, faster, more efficiently, with bigger loads.
Kayla
An e-bike subsidy program would give more people the ability to get around without a car, which would not only benefit many individuals (physical and mental health benefits from riding a bike, financial relief from the costs of driving, better sense of community,…), it would also benefit our city as a whole.
It would help reduce pollution and achieve our climate goals, it would also increase the well being of our community, and benefit our economy. A large portion of the costs associated with driving don’t benefit our local economy, and when people don’t have to spend their money on driving, they spend more locally, and they can often afford better housing.
If I owned a car, I couldn’t afford to live in Santa Monica. With this program, along with the implementation of our bike action plan amendment, and more, we’ll be giving more people the option to live a car free or car light life.
And after the hottest week ever recorded on Earth, I truly hope that you understand the urgency to get people out of their cars, which are the single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in California.
Thank you,
Caro Vilain
ITEM 16.B.
JULY 18, 2023
ITEM 16.B.
July 18, 2023