Author: RideCoordinator

Oregon Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee to meet in Springfield

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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

General Meeting & Elections PLUS a Bike Swap

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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.

 

Transportation Bill Update

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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

 

"If We Build It…" Photo Exhibit

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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.

BikeCar Ends Journey in Eugene?

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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

LCOG Debuts App For Improving Eugene/Springfield Bicycling

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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.