Monday November 28th 2011

GEARS will hold its annual meeting and Bike Swap on Monday November 28th from 6 to 8 pm at Hilyard 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 athttp://eugenegears.org/membership

Both events are open to the general public.

Recycle Your Bicycle

Work has been completed on a $1.6 million extension of the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path
in the River Road-Santa Clara area, and the multi-use path extension is open for public use.

Knife River Corporation, working under contract to the Eugene Public Works Department,
began work early this year to extend the path from River Avenue, under the Randy Pape’ Beltline,
along Division Avenue to Beaver Street. The primary source of funding for the project was a federal
transportation enhancement grant administered by the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The project extends the existing West Bank trail to connect the River Road and Santa Clara
neighborhoods. Previously, bicyclists and pedestrians wishing to cross the Beltline corridor had to
use River Road, a busy arterial street with five lanes of traffic moving approximately 32,000 vehicles
a day. The extended trail provides a safer option that reduces the number of vehicle conflicts with
pedestrian and bicycle movements. The project also provides a connection from Eugene’s Bascom
Riverbank Trail System to the street system north of Beltline.

The new 12-foot-wide, concrete path is about 3,200 feet long and includes pedestrian-scale
lighting, a retaining wall next to the Willamette River under Beltline, and an undercrossing at the
main truck entrance to the Delta Sand & Gravel yard on Division Avenue.

The extension to the West Bank Path segment brings the total length of the Riverbank Path
system to approximately 14.5 miles: 2.7 miles on the West Bank Path, 4 miles on the South Bank
Path, 2.8 miles on the East Bank Path, and 5 miles on the North Bank Path. The path system is
named for former Mayor Ruth Bascom, who was an avid cyclist and a strong advocate for bicycling
facilities in Eugene.

Also this summer, the segment of the South Bank Path was reconstructed from Greenway
Bridge to the RiverPlay Discovery Village Playground in Skinner Butte Park using voter-approved
bond measure funds.

As Lee Shoemaker, the cities Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator states:

“We realize it ends just short of the neighborhood to the west of Beaver Street.  Lane County had a project in their capital improvement program to upgrade Beaver and Hunsaker to urban standards and add bike lanes and sidewalks.  The project was removed from their CIP due to funding constraints.  The project is included in the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan.”

This is an exciting extension that when connected with a new Beaver/Hunsaker will really improve connectivity and safe/comfortable cycling in that region of town.

The leaves ARE falling and it’s a good time to remind everyone that the City did make some improvements in their leaf program last year. As we continue to monitor those changes it’s also a good time to look at what resources are available to us to report issues.

These are contacts meant for cyclists to report various road hazards, from potholes and leaves to cars blocking the bike lane.

Program these numbers into your cell phone and the links into your bookmarks. Call or click whenever you see an issue. The City has a good record of being responsive but they can’t act if they don’t hear from us.

Thanks to the WeBikeEugene’s Hazard Page for the following information.

City of Eugene Roads and Paths

Online Bike Lane Service Request

Online Pothole Reporting Service

Online Vegetation Complaint Service

Maintenance Hotline:

1. 682-4800 – Potholes, leaves, cracks, unresponsive traffic lights, etc. This is a very important number- use it!

Eugene Parking Services: (541) 682-5729 For cars parked in the bike lane.
Police Non-Emergency: (541) 682-5111
Use when other numbers don’t work.

Springfield Roads and Paths

Maintenance Hotline: (541) 726-3761 for All hazards
Police Non-Emergency: (541) 726-3714

Glenwood and Rural Roads

The responsibility of maintaining the roads in Glenwood is spread between Eugene, Springfield, ODOT, and Lane County.  Refer to the PDF on WeBikeEugene as a guide.

ODOT Maintenance Hotline:
(541) 744-8080

Lane County Road Maintenance Hotline: (541) 682-6900

There are also a couple Flickr groups to share photos of where issues are as well as where some of the great spots are for cycling in Eugene.

Flickr Group to post photos of issues

Flickr Group to post positive photos

The Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will meet Thursday, Nov. 17,  at the Springfield Justice Center, 230 4th Street, in Springfield.

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.

A little update via “CenterLines” of the National Center for Bicycling and Walking:

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: WE’VE GOT A DRAFT TRANSPORTATION BILL!*

by Mark Plotz

-> *And, well, it is called “MAP-21 or the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” but after reviewing the relevant sections of the 600 or so page bill, the question that remains is: Progress-for whom? The bill, which comes out of the Senate Environmental and Public Works (EPW) Committee, is the product of a bipartisan agreement between Chairman Boxer (D-CA), and Senator Inhofe (R-OK), the Ranking Minority Member. You may be wondering what the #1 friend of the environment in the Senate and its #1 denier of global warming (respectively) could possible agree on-that rainbows are pretty, and that puppies are cute? I wish those were the stakes. No, what they seem to agree on, judging by the bill, is that Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, Recreational Trails, and complete streets ought to be forced to compete against each other, and against other worthy uses (environmental mitigation of highway projects, HOV lanes, BRT-to name a few uses), all while the highway capacity program remains largely untouched. Naturally, we disagree.

Fortunately, fixes are in the works and will be introduced by Senators Cardin (D-MD) and Merkley (D-OR) as amendments during the Committee’s Wednesday mark up session. Both amendments would restore protected funding for bicycling and walking programs, while making sure there is open and fair competition for the funding that remains. We’ve also received late word that Chairman Boxer will introduce an amendment to remove some of road programs that were being pitted against bicycle/pedestrian uses. Still, we have concerns and reservations about the bill.

Stay tuned to NCBW’s friends for the latest legislative updates:
America Bikes’ statement: http://bit.ly/ukFta6
League of American Bicyclists update: http://bit.ly/tjPhzk
Rails to Trails’ Press Release: http://bit.ly/sFsdax
MAP-21 text: http://1.usa.gov/u5XZuB

Eugene undertook a step toward becoming more bicycle friendly when it installed a two-way bike lane on Alder Street this summer, separating bicycles from moving cars. While the Alder Street cycle track was under construction, 11 University of Oregon students were exploring the home of numerous such cycle tracks – The Netherlands – on a study abroad course.
The course, “Sustainable Bicycle Transportation,” inspired the students to create a photography exhibit to share their experiences and to help facilitate a community conversation about what other bicycle innovations might be possible in the Eugene-Springfield area.

The exhibit, which is free, opens Thursday, Nov. 3, at Humble Beagle, 2435 Hilyard St., from 6-8 p.m. Photos will be on exhibit until Thursday, Nov. 17.

From Paul Everitt (via Paul Cole of Wheelworks):

Hi , I’m Paul and I’m in need of some help. After many months on the road I have to end my cycle trip in Eugene. Its been no normal trip. I have been cycling a 4 wheeled 2 seated bike car more than 8000 miles. Due to family & personal reasons I have to return home to England. I’m trying to find my bike car a new home and I was wondering if you might possibly be able to help? I’m either looking for a Sale or possible Trade for a normal bicycle. I hate to leave the bikecar behind but sadly we cant continue our journey together.

I will be staying at the HI-Hostel, 970 West 3rd Avenue, for the next few nights (I hope to arrive this evening).
Maybe you could circulate this around your cycling community and friends to help me relocate this machine as I would hate to see her on a scrap pile. I can be contacted on this email: everittpaul@hotmail.co.uk

going-solo.co.uk is my website for more details.

Thank you for your time and help.

Paul Everitt

This week planners at Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), debuted “CycleLane” a free application for iPhone and Android that allows residents of the Eugene-Springfield to help planners better understand bicycle behavior.  Users in the area can download and use the application, which sends information about their preferred bicycle route to LCOG data bases for analysis and planning.

The app consists of a GPS interface which tracks a person’s ride from origin to destination. After downloading the application, it asks for a few pieces of information pertaining to the user like frequency riding and age, which are all optional and confidential.  Once the ride is completed the user is asked to submit the trip’s purpose and then the trip information is saved on the phone and simultaneously submitted to LCOG. Think of this application as a travel survey that asks where and why you are riding, but automatically maps your route rather than asking you to write it down from memory.

“The key to success will be getting local residents informed about this app and how much it will help local planners”, said Josh Roll a planner leading the effort. With more trips, riders can help inform LCOG which routes are popular for riding and at what time of day, informing the region’s bicycle planning process. Additional demographic information requested upon downloading the application will also inform policymakers of how to best plan for a diverse riding population.

The application may be downloaded for iPhone or Android from their respective markets and more information about the app itself can be found at the Cycle Lane website: http://cyclelane.lcog.org. As an incentive, users that choose to enter their email address will have an opportunity to win a free gift certificate to a local bicycle shop. Josh Roll, stated that identical technology was employed in San Francisco with great success, and they were able to gather 20,0000 unique trips, a treasure trove of data that will greatly inform their bicycle planning processes.

So get out there and use that smart phone for some smart planning help.