It’s mid winter in Oregon, 2011 and Jeff Sprague and his wife MaryAnne were “shopping” for a cycling vacation. They had concerns about the Euro/Dollar exchange rate and decided that the U.S. was a good destination. He scanned the ads in the back of Bicycling Magazine and the Adventure Cyclist also ran a nice article on a number of multi- day supported cycling tours in the U.S.

The ride from Moab to Cedar City is an amazing adventure through 5 national parks and several state parks. The route is fairly simple (go right or left at the national parks and mostly stay on Utah state highway 12). They also cycled in Zion national park as a bonus. The roads were lightly traveled for the most part and the scenery is amazing! Come and share this cycling experience with Jeff as he “rides” us through his trip!

Loaded Bike Touring in Zion via Flickr user Velaia

The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. Time will be available for public input around 11:25 a.m.. The agenda includes a discussion of the Springfield Pedestrian Safety Project on Highway 126B (Main Street), an update on the grant program, and introduction from ODOT’s new Alternate Modes Engineer Gary Obery, and a discussion of committee bylaws.

All Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee meetings are open to the public. Time will be available at the meeting for committee members to hear public comments, and accommodations will be provided to persons with disabilities. To request an accommodation, please call ODOT’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Program office at (503) 986-3555 (TTY: (503) 986-3854).

AGENDA
Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
November 17, 2011
Springfield Justice Center
230 4th St.
Springfield, OR
Thursday, November 17th

9:00 AM Administrative Business
Welcome; Call to Order & Introduction of Guests; Additional Agenda Items;
Order Lunch (15 minutes)

9:15 AM Minutes – July 2011 – review and discussion (10 minutes)

9:25 AM Committee Reports and 2012 Calendar (60 minutes)

10:25 AM        Break

10:55 AM        Grant Program Update (TE and Bike Ped Revisions) – Sheila (20 minutes)

11:15 AM        Gary Obery – ODOT’s new Alternate Modes Engineer (20 minutes)

11:25 AM        Public Comment Period (20 Minutes)

12:00 Noon      Working Lunch – Springfield      To be delivered

Springfield –  Ped Safety Project on Hwy 126B (Main St.)/Other Items –  David Ressor/Carl Deaton (45 Minutes)

1:00 PM         Travel to Alder St. Grant Project (75 minutes)

2:30ish PM      Adjourn

Recycle Your Bicycle

GEARS will hold its annual meeting and Bike Swap on Monday November 28th from 6 to 8 pm at Hilyard Community Center, 2580 Hilyard St.  All GEARS members are invited to join for free Pizza and a soft drink ($5 for non members)!  We will vote on a By-Law change, have a presentation about the bRamble and elect and present the Executive Board. A Bike Swap, from 7-8pm, that will offer cyclists an opportunity to sell and exchange bicycles, bike parts and accessories, will follow this. Each “seller” who is not a GEARS member will be charged $5. Memberships are available starting at $12/year at the event or online at http://eugenegears.org/membership

Both events are open to the general public.

The plan will show improvements that will help pedestrians and bicyclists travel safely and efficiently through the city. It will include shared-use paths to standard bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, bicycle boulevards, and tunnels and overpasses that will help getpedestrians and cyclists safely across busy streets. As quoted in theRegister Guard, Rob mentions “We’re looking to hear from people: Did we choose the right projects? Are we looking at the right kind offacilities?  What do people think about the policies we arerecommending?”

Join us for this very informative meeting. Tuesday, October 25, 6pm-8pm, Countryside Pizza, 645 River Road

There are few meetings happening this week that will inform and influence our transportation system in the coming years and your input is needed.

On Thursday (Oct. 13th) from 11:30-1:30 the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) is meeting at the Eugene Public Library (100 West 10th Avenue) and will be discussing the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). It’s a good time to let the Commission know that active transportation options are important and that we need more facilities that allow more people feel comfortable walking and biking throughout our community. Public comments (limited to 3 minutes) are at the beginning of the meeting

This would also be a good time to indicate support for some of the projects called out for funding in the next round of Flexible Funding from ODOT. Those projects include the following (more information on each in these letters of support):

• Blair/Van Buren Active Transportation Corridor
• West Bank Bike Path completion
• Regional Bicycle Wayfinding/Signage/Shared Lane Markings
• Bob Straub Parkway/Mt. Vernon Road Pedestrian Improvements
• A Bikeshare Feasibility Study
• A Regional SmartTrips Program
• Middle Fork Path Phase 2b
• Highway 99/Roosevelt Pedestrian Improvements
• Main Street Safety Improvements

Also on Thursday there is an Open House from 4:30 to 6:30 PM, at the Library to discuss the Regional Transportation Plan. The MPC will adopt the RTP in November and we need to make sure that facilities that make walking and biking just as easy (if not easier) than driving are a center piece of that plan. Go to the open house and give feedback on the importance of a great active transportation system. Connect the paths with a system more people will feel comfortable using (families, kids, and those currently not walking or riding as much as they want because they are not comfortable doing so).

Basic info on the RTP: The MPC adopts an updated RTP every 3-4 years. The Metropolitan Policy Committee is comprised of public officials from Springfield, Eugene, Lane County, Coburg, Lane Transit District, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.  The RTP enables our community to receive federal money for transportation and provides a framework for selecting which projects to build with federal money.  There is a draft RTP now available for public review (also at the Eugene and Springfield Public Libraries).

If you can’t make the meetings comments may be sent to mpo@lcog.org (email) or Lane Council of Governments, 859 Willamette, Suite 500, Eugene, OR 97401-2910.  Questions on the RTP may be directed to Paul Thompson (pthompson@lcog.org), Senior Planner, (541) 682-4405.  Submit comments by November 7, 2011 for consideration as part of the adoption process.

Finally, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will be meeting this Thursday as well (5:30-7:30, Sloat Conference Room, Atrium Building, 99 W. 10th) and will be discussing these and other issues including:

• Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan Update (20 min)
• Pavement Preservation Projects-2012 (25 min)
• Grant Applications (10min)
• Regional Transportation Plan (30 min)
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Counts (20 min)

Finally, to help inspire you, here is a letter from Sue Wolling, the GEARs Advocacy Committee Chair.  She makes some great points about the need to build an active transportation system for everyone, especially that untapped market of ‘potential bicyclists’. Get inspired and get writing.

This closure cuts off a critical north-south connector between the College Hill/Friendly St. and  the Jefferson Westside/Whiteaker neighborhoods.

The County Commissioners will hold a public hearing to close the gates permanently and remove the current Fairgrounds right of way.

Anyone who wants to preserve this public right of way and keep the gates open should plan to be at this hearing. August, 17, 1:30 pm – Lane County Courthouse, 125 E 8th Avenue, Eugene.

Whether you attend the meeting or not be sure to sign the petition opposing this closure here: http://www.petitiononline.com/Lec4all/petition.html

Wednesday, July 27,  6-7 pm, J. Michaels Books 160 E Broadway, Eugene

This month we have a great opportunity to hear author Amy Snyder talk about the Race Across America, a bicycle race like no other! Amy will be signing books from 5-7 and will speak to us at 6:00. Arrive early and bring a seat cushion so that we can make use of the hallway and stairway at J. Michaels to hear her presentation. Read the information below for a description of her book and topic. If you would like to purchase a copy of the book and have her sign it, contact Jeremy at J. Michaels, phone 541-342-2002. Here’s more information about the author and book:

Three-time Ironman finisher Amy Snyder takes readers inside a harrowing 3,000-mile long cycling race and follows a handful of courageous athletes who test themselves, each other, and the limits of human endurance in her nonfiction narrative, Hell on Two Wheels: An Astonishing Story of Suffering, Triumph, and the Most Extreme Endurance Race in the World. Hell on Two Wheels was published by Triumph Books, a division of Random House, in May, 2011 and rapidly became a best-seller on Amazon.com.

The Race Across America (RAAM) is a bicycle race like no other. Unlike its famous cousin the Tour de France, RAAM is much crazier, more gothic, and even savage. In this nonstop contest that takes up to two weeks to complete, cyclists have died, been maimed, and spiraled in to the nightmarish realm of the mad. Outside Magazine calls this race “the toughest test of endurance in the world.”

Written for a mainstream audience drawn to stories of adventure and survival, Hell on Two Wheels follows a group of athletes before, during, and after the 2009 race, the closest and most controversial in the event’s 30-year history. Hell on Two Wheels offers a thrilling and remarkably detailed account of the competitors’ triumphs and tragedies. As RAAM exacts its vicious toll, with clarity and compassion Snyder tells the story of how the 2009 racers discover their essential humanity and experience profound joy and completeness, demonstrating how such a grueling effort can also be self-revelatory and even magical.

“Thanks to my athletic background, I was able to embed myself in the obscure world of ultra-distance cycling,” Snyder said. “Getting to know these athletes before, during, and after the 2009 race helped me see that RAAM is more than a race — it’s a monster and a crucible. As a result, Hell on Two Wheels became more than a story about a bike race. It’s an allegory about overcoming personal limitations and self-discovery that offers lessons for all of us, cyclists and non-cyclists alike.”

Amy Snyder grew up in New York City and attended Princeton University and Stanford Business School. After a career in management consulting she retired and settled in La Jolla, California. She began competing in Ironman triathlons and eventually discovered events even longer than the Ironman. Knowing she didn’t have it in her to conquer these ultra-distance races, she decided to find out why and how others can by following the RAAM in June, 2009. She spent time with a handful of contestants before and after the race, ending up with a story that changed her own thoughts and feelings about personal limitations and the power of the human spirit For more information on the author or Hell on Two Wheels, visit: www.hellontwowheelsbook.com.

posted by Anya Dobrowolski, Advocacy Committee Chair

Riding the success of our spring advocacy efforts, the GEARs Advocacy Committee (AC) will be meeting in June to discuss to start putting together a local advocacy strategy.  The June meeting will cover two important actions that will help us move forward to make bicycling in our community even better than it already is:

1) Create a draft mission statement for the AC that we can share with the people and groups that we will be engaging with;

2) State developing an outreach strategy to educate local politicians and community leaders about the important role that active transportation plays in the community.

GEARs Advocacy Committee Meeting
Tuesday, June 14th, 6PM
University of Oregon, Hendricks Hall, Room 100 (across University St. from the EMU; find a UO campus map here: http://map.uoregon.edu/)

The meeting is open to all GEARs members.  If you’d like to get more frequent updates on the AC’s work and join in on the discussion, you can join our Google group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/gears-advocacy-committee?lnk=srg&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8 and clicking on the “join group” button on the right side of your screen.