Bikes in the news and other updates

I have just a few things to quickly pass along today, mostly national level news. The House Congressional Resolution 305 (H.CON.RES. 305) sponsored by Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today. The National Bike Bill as it is know passed the House in May and you can follow its status right here. I am late in passing this news along, but you can still contact your Senator to let him know that this is something you support.

I want to mention the feature story on CBS News Sunday Morning this week about bicycling. It is great to see this kind of attention to cycling as a form of transportation. As fuel prices rise and more people turn to bicycles, I expect that we will see more stories like this one. I guess it is kind of pointing out the obvious, but I want to say that with new riders taking to the streets in the coming months and years, the need to educate drivers and cyclist about safety and sharing the road will continue to become more important. I would say more than infrastructure, education should be the primary focus of bike advocacy groups right now.

Finally, I want to pass along a recent email that Natalie sent to the PCC membership about commenting on revisions to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. I am in too big a hurry to paraphrase, so see her entire message below:

It looks like the deadline will be extended for comments, but please share with anyone that might be interested. This is an opportunity to provide feedback on bike design and the rules that guide engineers in best practices. I realize this is technical but I know some of you might be interested in viewing the proposed changes and learning more on what is happening in regards to new bike infrastructure, signaling etc.

Members (or anyone) wishing to make comments regarding the proposed revised Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices have until Thursday to do so.

Apbp member Richard Moeur has placed much of the needed information on his website at http://www.trafficsign.us/npa.html . Richard chairs the Bicycle Technical Committee of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD). Here one can view the proposed new MUTCD text and view new tables and figures. There is also a link to view submitted comments for docket Federal Highway Administration(FHWA)-2007-28977, plus advice on submitting comments. Part 9 deals with Bicycles while Pedestrian matters are interspersed throughout--- This link will take you directly to bicycle issues--- http://www.trafficsign.us/npa/part09compl.pdf.

Apbp president Seleta Reynolds has prepared an overview Powerpoint presentation which is posed on our website at http://www.apbp.org/pdfsanddocs/mutcd_bpdg_6.20.08.ppt which summarizes some of the changes, as well as information relative to the California MUTCD, in case you need a quick familiarization.

To submit a comment, simply go to the www.regulations.gov website and search on "28977" (the regulatory number assigned to the new MUTCD). Then follow the instructions on the webpage.

Rock Hill Velodrome

Most of you have probably already heard about the possibility of a velodrome in Rock Hill, SC. According to an email from the Carolina Velodrome Association (CVA), a group that has worked toward this goal for many years, the project is coming along:

“Earlier this year, we were presented with an opportunity to place the velodrome in the center of a 100 acre, mixed use development. The developer has already donated the land and presented his support to the City Council. We have raised $500,000 and have the full support from USA Cycling. All the economic impact studies have been done, everything is set.”

Sounds great, but they are at a point now when they need our help. The CVA is asking the City of Rock Hill to pay for construction costs, and to jointly operate the velodrome with them. All of us who would use the velodrome need to let the Mayor and City Council know that we support it by the end of July. Take a minute to contact them (download contact info here) and let them know that you support the idea of building the only world-class velodrome in the southeast right here in South Carolina. If it helps, you can also download a sample letter to use. For more information, read about the velodrome effort on the news page of the CVA website.

Coincidently, I am writing this on the same day that I am selling my track bike of 20 years. Oh well, if the velodrome gets built, I’ll just have to buy a new one. At this point, let’s just voice our support to make sure that does happen.

Photo credit: Racing at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown, PA by Fußgänger

A quick BFC workshop follow-up

The BFC workshop with Bill Nesper on Tuesday was a big success. I don’t have time to do a full recap today, but I do want to pass along the summary of the action step recommendations as determined by the workshop attendees (myself included). Also, I want to ask all of you reading this to think about volunteering to participate in one of the BFC committee based on the 5 E’s:

1. Engineering

2. Education

3. Encouragement

4. Evaluation & Planning

5. Enforcement

If you would like to participate, send an email to Andrew Meeker with the City of Greenville. You are welcome to contact me as well if you have ideas or if you would like a copy of the PowerPoint presentations from the meeting. I can’t stress enough that we really need for people to get involved to make this happen. Several cities in the southeast have received bronze level BFC designation. Here in Greenville, we have an exciting opportunity to work toward silver level. It won’t be easy, but I think it is a worthwhile goal.

Now, onto the 11 ACTION STEP RECOMMENDATIONS from the workshop:

1. Start a BFC Committee and set the goal of applying for the BFC application and reaching Gold by a certain time.

2. Set up a League Cycling Instructor seminar to certify instructors who can teach children, adults, an motorists. Start regular class for each of these groups.

3. Create a plan for improved signage (bike lanes, yield to bikes/pedestrians, share the road, bike parking) –start implementation on most traveled roads first.

4. Expand the bicycle network and increase network connectivity through the use of bike lanes, shared lane arrows and signed routes. This will provide a broader range of facility choices for users of various abilities and comfort levels.

5. Facilitate the creation of a stronger, more centralized advocacy group that will take the lead on education and encouragement program. Work with the PCC to launch this initiative

6. Create a bicycling website for Greenville that will act as a central hub for bicyclists and potential bicyclists to gather education tips, local bike routes, people to ride with, and news about events and other cycling-related activities. This site will also act as a place for bicyclists to comment on current bicycle projects and to report facility maintenance issues, etc.

7. Expand public education campaigns to promote the "share the road" message and the rights and responsibilities of all users. PAS'sPAS'S for TV, radio, and in print.

8. Adopt a Complete Streets policy in the community.

9. Develop a series of short (2-5 mi.) loops rides around the community and provide appropriate way-finding signage. Integrate these rides into a local bike map.

10. Improve marketing and education of bike rack and bus bike rack use. Ensure that drivers are educated as well.

11. Fill out BFC application!

Bicycle Friendly Community workshop

As hard as it is to do, I will take a break from following the web coverage of the Tour de France on my lunch hour to pass along a few updates and links.

Since Spartanburg was designated as a Bicycle Friendly Community not long ago, several people have asked when Greenville plans to apply for designation. It has been discussed among the Spinners and within the City for a long time, but Greenville just wasn’t ready… until now. Next Tuesday, the process begins with a workshop to educate City officials and business leaders about the benefits of becoming a bike friendly city. We are very lucky to have Bill Nesper, the League of American Bicyclists’ Director of the Bicycle Friendly Community program, here in Greenville next week to conduct the workshop. This workshop is the first official step toward BFC designation, so I will let you all know how it goes.

I was looking through the July/August issue of G Magazine (I think it is only the second issue) and I was surprised to see a short article about colored bike lanes (scroll down to read it here). When Portland started implementing the colored lanes in intersections in 2005 (if I remember correctly), I mentioned it to Jason V. who was the Spinners advocacy chair at the time. He was immediately interested in sharing information about painted lanes with Mayor White and City Council, so I pulled together some statistics from studies in Denmark, Sweden, and Montreal where the colored lanes were already in use. I hadn’t thought much about it since then, but it is good to know that the City is still interested. Of course, this is something that would most likely happen in the distant future; we need more bike lanes before we can start painting them green through intersections. But hey, we are making progress in Greenville and I do believe we could see colored lanes or bike boxes here someday.

Since I mentioned G magazine, I should point out that the same issue had a great article about a Main street bicycle shop from the 1800’s and a nice profile of George Hincapie. The other content is great too, so I encourage you to pick up a copy if you haven’t seen it.

This isn’t related to Greenville, but NBC Nightly News did a story on bicycle commuting this week. They mentioned Portland and pointed out that 6% of daily commuters in that city use bicycles. They also mentioned that Portland has 170 miles of bike lanes (not an unrelated fact to that commuter percentage). As someone who has commuted by bike off and on for nearly 20 years, it is great to see this kind of coverage about transportational cycling in the national news. Interest in bike commuting nationwide is at an all time high, so we need to prepare for more bike commuters here in Greenville going forward.

Finally, I just want to thank the guy with the Parlee TT bike who gave me his spare tube before the Spinners time trail at Donaldson last night. It wasn’t the first time I have showed up for a race or event unprepared and it probably won’t be the last. I offered to pay him for the tube, but he said something like “hey, we’ve all been there.” Very true, I have given people tubes, patches, etc. and have also been the recipient of such generosity on many occasions (including last night). Without getting too sappy, I’ll just point out that those within the cycling community look out for each other and that cyclists, in general, are a generous bunch. Sorry I didn’t get your name, but thanks again for the tube. Without it I would have just been sitting on the side of the road watching everyone else ride.

A convenience center for cyclists?

In keeping with the theme from my last post, I want to mention something else I would like to see in Greenville. I posted about this prototype cycling convenience center from Trek at my Bicycle Design blog. I would love to see one of these units in Greenville after the testing period is over. It’s a pretty cool idea for commuting cyclists who may be heading to and from work at times when the bike shops might not be open. I love the idea of being able to fix a flat with a tube from a bicycle specific vending machine.

While I am posting, I will mention the Bike MS ride this fall (Sept 27-28), a charity ride that is a 2-day, 150-mile event involving almost 2,000 cyclists. In past years, the ride has gone from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach, but this year they are moving it to Greenville. Cyclists will have start options on the first day in either Rock Hill or Greenville, and the second day all cyclists will ride a route in the Greenville area near Paris Mountain. Route options are 35-75-100miles the first day and 35-75 the second. More info is available on the MS ride webpage.