Author: RideCoordinator

GEARs Mini-Grants Support Community through Bicycling

Posted on by RideCoordinator

**Press Release**

The Greater Eugene Area Riders (GEARs) Cycling Club has awarded mini-grants to three local groups committed to meeting community needs through bicycling. The funds, generated largely through GEARs’ popular Blackberry bRamble bicycle ride held each August, will be distributed to the following groups:

Project Homeless Connect–$750 to buy bicycle tubes, tires, lubricants and other bicycle supplies for bicycle maintenance at the fourth annual Project Homeless Connect event on March 18, 2010. Project Homeless Connect provides “one-stop shopping” for critical services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and one important service offered is bicycle maintenance.

BRING Recycling–$200 for route maps and publicity for a new bicycle component of the annual BRING It Home Tour. The Tour features homes and gardens that demonstrate use of solar, sustainable or recycled materials.

Rick Bronson–$50 for locks to accompany abandoned bikes that Rick receives from the City of Eugene, repairs, and donates to non-profit organizations for use by people who need them for basic transportation.

GEARs has donated funds to the community for years, but this is the first time it has solicited proposals for grants. “We’re excited to be able to partner with other groups who share our belief that bicycling can play an important role in creating a better community”, explains GEARs President Sue Wolling.

GEARs was founded in 1991 with the goal of promoting and encouraging bicycling for transportation and recreation. More information is available at their Web site at www.eugenegears.org.

Save the Date- Walking & Biking Summit

Posted on by RideCoordinator
Save the date, spread the word, join the fun, make a difference
Save the date, spread the word, join the fun, make a difference

This winter the City of Eugene will be hosting it’s Fourth Annual Walking and Biking Summit. The first summit held back in 2006 was the kick-off for the cities Bicycle and Pedestrian Strategic Plan which helped to bring many community members together, build energy around different projects, and form the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The second summit was the final presentation of that strategic plan and the third summit was a celebration and information sharing gathering on the Active Transportation project.

This years summit will be the kick-off for the next major project to create an even more walkable and bikeable community, the Cities Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. At this summit the City needs to hear from you on the direction needed to encourage more walking and biking in our community. There will be more opportunities over the next year to provide input but a strong showing at this first event will help show the energy and support that is around a project that will make it safer, more comfortable, and more enjoyable to choose active transportation in Eugene.

Beyond the Master Plan input there will be some great fun to be had including booths from local vendors and organizations, an Active Transportation Fashion Show, Off the Waffle breakfast, and more. Special arrangements are being made for families including childcare.

Xtracycle Rally & Grand Opening Celebration

Posted on by RideCoordinator

This week the new bike shop “Arriving By Bike” is holding it’s grand opening celebration. Last night they held a grand opening celebration with pizza, libations and friendly chatter, turn out sounded pretty good.

Today was the Xtracycle Rally and few intrepid riders braved the cold ride from the shop over to Hideaway Bakery. There were about 9 Xtracycles on the ride plus a CETMA cargobike, and a couple ‘standard’ bikes. Arriving By Bike treated the riders to some well earned hot coffee (or hot chocolate) and pastries before turning back around and heading back to the shop.
Grey Matter Jugglers greeted the group on the return and showed off their humorous juggling and entertaining skills for the kids (and adults). There was also a drawing for a “Kick Back” Xtracycle kickstand that went to Nancy, a mom who will certainly get a lot of use out of it as she totes her kids to school and back (and more) on her Xtracycle.
Tomorrow there will be a coffee social ride meeting at the shop at 10 a.m.- they’re buying.

I like these kind of events, hosted by bike shops. It allows the shop to show off it’s wears and is a little bit of advertising for them but it also gives the bike community a fun gathering that doesn’t have to be organized by a club or advocacy organization. Collin’s had a big shindig back in January, Revolution has hosted a couple events including a Pub Crawl and a Bike Brew ha! ha! (is there a theme there?), and I’m sure other local shops have put together gathering as well (right?).
I hope the trend continues to grow as we continue to build Eugene’s bike culture.

Here are a couple shots from today’s ride:

Eugene Climate & Energy Action Plan- Land Use and Transportation

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Last night over 100 people gathered at the EWEB building to discuss Eugene’s Climate and Energy Action Plan and it’s approach to Land Use and Transportation. Attendees were given a list of of over 100 actions that will help in the goal to “reduce total, current, community-wide, fossil fuel consumption by 50% by 2030.” In small groups at our tables we discussed the actions and created a list of our “top 10” as well as turning in cards with our 5 favorites and 5 least favorites of the action items. There were a lot of actions to go through and discuss in the hour we had. From the experience at my table and in talking with other folks it was tough to get through the list let alone come up with a meaningful consensus of the of our top 10 during that time. It would have been nice to have had the list a week earlier with the idea that we would discuss our top 10 with the table or had a survey go out that narrowed these 100+ actions down to something more manageable for the event.

It was also interesting to note that many of the actions were items that the City is working on now (specifically items that are in the Ped/Bike Strategic Plan [.pdf link]) or planning work on (items in the Ped/Bike Master Plan). Most of the discussion at our table centered around the idea of “follow through with funding”. The city has some goals and ideas but when the rubber hits the road is the funding moving towards those goals or is it moving towards more ‘traditional’ spending. There are many items already in TransPlan that relate to our walking and biking infrastructure that aren’t being built because “there isn’t funding”. Making another plan without a roadmap for funding may get us to some of the same sticking points.

As the holiday season approaches we can think about this from the lens of buying gifts. Many of us have the best of intentions when we make purchases… we’re going to buy local crafts, buy from local shops, or maybe even make our gifts but for years we’ve shopped at the mall, online, or not found the time to make gifts and so for another year we fall back onto old easy habits. Change isn’t easy.

The city, state, and federal funding models for transportation need to change now to make the type of system that encourages more active transportation. We know the federal change will take a long time, the state too, so we have to push our local leaders to make our priorities change now! Instead of applying local dollars (and those applied for at the state and federal level) towards building more roads we need to complete our system of bike and pedestrian ways.

This Climate and Energy Action Plan reinforced to me how important having a strong Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan will be in this coming year. We need major community and leadership buy-in to the plan and then we need the financial support to back it up. If we create a MAJOR pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure system in Eugene we CAN have a major impact on transportations effect on the climate and our communities energy use.

For those interested in the action item that were discussed last night you can find them in this pdf. I look forward to the wrap-up and review by the Project Team and Advisors on last nights meeting and then I look forward to the “follow through with funding”.

Path Repair List

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Amazon Path Reopen

Now that we have a new, smooth, beautiful Amazon Path a lot of riders are asking “what’s next?”

Well here’s the answer. It’s the City of Eugene Public Works “Multi-Use Path Rehabilitation/Repair Priority List” and it shows what’s coming down the pipe.  The BPAC helped in the prioritizing of this list along with Public Works staff.  This is a draft list and is subject to change:

April 7, 2009

Draft Priority List

1) Amazon Path (19th Ave to 31st Ave)

• Concrete path is severally cracked with sunken grades and settled shoulders

• Highest priority ranked by BPAC and PWE staff

• Rehabilitation scheduled 2009 Pavement Bond Measure project

2) Fern Ridge Path (Van Buren to West side Chambers Street connector 100-feet

west of Chambers) and Westmoreland Path (Polk to Westmoreland Park

connector)

• Includes west-side Chambers connection and access ramp replacement

• Potential to include connectors at Acorn Park Street

3) South Bank Path (50 feet West of Grand intersection to Owen Rose Garden and

misc repairs)

• Existing concrete section to River House, Asphalt to Rose Garden

• Concrete section is cracked and settling in multiple locations – several areas with

poor drainage due to settlement (see park north of Grand)

• Identify and include other nearby sections to repair (i.e. Lamb Cottage cracked

panels)

• Two asphalt connectors also in need of rehabilitation:

o Adams Street connector adjacent to River House Rec center

o Rose Garden to Madison Street connector adjacent to 4j District Offices

4) West Bank Path (North of Greenway Bridge to Formac)

• Asphalt path is currently in good structural condition with raveled pavement

surface.  Minor areas of root heave and sunken grade.  Could be a candidate for

repairing small asphalt areas followed by a slurry seal or asphalt overlay of the

path surface.

5) Fern Ridge Path (Chambers connector to Arthur Street underpass)

• Existing asphalt path is failing do to Amazon Channel bank settlement

• The path should be realigned in coordination with a future channel improvement

project.

6) North Bank Path (DeFazio Bridge to last covered picnic area)

• Several tree heaved sections to be replaced

7) North Bank Path (Boat Ramp to Day Island Road)

• Asphalt path is root heaved, rough, substandard width winding through trees

• Candidate for concrete overlay

(8)Knickerbocker Path (Knickerbocker Bridge to Franklin Blvd)

• Path ranked by BPAC, no field notes collected by PWE staff prior to ranking

9) Canoe Canal Path (Bridge to N. Walnut/Day Island Road)

• Asphalt path in poor condition – tree root heaving

10) Centennial (MLK) Connector (MLK to Alton Baker Park)

• Substandard width

• Stream bank issues

11) Judkins Path

• Path ranked by BPAC, no field notes collected by PWE staff prior to ranking

12) Roosevelt Path (Maple St to Beltline HWY)

• Generally in good condition except tree heaving near Waite Street (~100 feet

east and west of Waite)

13) Fern Ridge Path (Terry to Greenhill)

• Requires a number of spot repairs

• Bridge ramps are settling to varying degrees

14)  Tugman Park Path

• Path ranked by BPAC, no field notes collected by PWE staff prior ranking

Other Path needing repairs, but not included in prioritization

1. South Bank Path (EWEB to Autzen Footbridge)

Low priority until future development of EWEB site

2. Washington Jefferson Park Paths

Low priority until plans for park are finalized

Fern Ridge Path (near Polk)
Next up on the list.

Leaves Continue to Fall…

Posted on by RideCoordinator

As many of us know from our rides around town there continues to be an issue with leaves being piled in unsafe and illegal areas, including bike lanes.  However, we knew that this wasn’t going to be problem that just went away.  The City has made a major effort over the past year to improve the leaf collection program to make it safer for cyclists.  As we continue to work with them to improve the program there are a few things you can do to help.

1- Report the problems.  The City has a phone number and a website set up to report the exact location of the problem area.  By reporting it you not only get the issue dealt with (many riders have already experienced 12-48 hour clean up times) but you also raise awareness of specific repeat offenders or trouble areas

The number is: 541-682-5383
The website is: http://www.eugene-or.gov/leaf

South of Bailey Hill & Warren
Leaves in the Bike Lane

2- Post some photos.  A new Flickr group has been set up by a GEARs member called “Eugene Bike Accessibility Issues“.  There you can post not only pictures of leaves in the bike lane but other issues such as cars parked in bike lanes, incomplete infrastructure, poor pavement, and other issues that make cycling less safe or discouraging.  There is a sister group called “Eugene Loves Bikes” where you can post the positive side of what makes Eugene a great place to ride.

3- Record the issue.  Whether it’s via the Flickr group, your own photos, cell phone camera, or simply writing it down on paper, record the issue.  As we talk to the City about broad issues, specific problems, repeat offenders and difficult areas it will be important to have documentation.  As part of GEARs and the cycling community you are our eyes and ears out there.  Record what you see and get it to us.

4-  Direct action. Some folks have had luck actually talking to the offender, whether they’ve called a business, knocked on the door of a home-owner, or approached a landscaper actually blowing the leaves at that moment.  Many people don’t know the rules and regulations, remember this is the first year that the city is actually telling people NOT to place leaves in the bike lane, it’s going to take some time to unlearn this bad behavior.  If you choose this method remember that you are an ambassador for cyclists, this is not meant to be a confrontation but an education.  If it starts to look ugly or to get heated simply step back and pedal away (and record what happened).   The hope is that we can work with the City so that they are doing the education and enforcement with these folks but until that happens and if your comfortable with it feel free to give it a try. Let us know how it goes.

(A story appeared on KVAL about this issue- see the report HERE.)