Category: Advocacy

Cycling Expert Makes Business Case for Bicycling

Posted on by RideCoordinator

This article was originally published in the City of Eugene InMotion Newsletter; a great resource for local active transportation information. Subscribe here!

LiveMove and the City of Eugene would like to invite you to join us for a visit by April Economides, a nationally recognized expert on how bicycling can contribute to a thriving local economy as well as a safer and healthier community. April will be in town sharing her knowledge with our community next Thursday, February 7th. Screen Shot 2013-01-31 at 5.25.46 PM

April Economides is principal of Green Octopus Consulting and General Manager of Bike Nation’s Long Beach bike share program, which will launch this year. She created the nation’s first Bike-Friendly Business District program for the City of Long Beach and helped launch similar efforts in San Diego and other cities around North America. She speaks throughout the U.S. and Canada on “The Business Case for Bicycling” and “Bike-Friendly Business Districts.”

A Bicycle-Friendly Business District integrates bicycling into its operations, events and promotions to encourage people to bike to an area to shop and dine. Merchants and employees also ride bicycles to run errands and make deliveries.

Below is April’s schedule for her visit. Feel free to join us for one or both of the activities listed below. Please feel free to share this information with others who might be interested.

Bicycle Ride of Eugene’s Bikeable and Walkable Business Districts
Date: Thursday, February 7th, 2013
Time: 3:30 – 4:30 PM
Location: Meet outside the Wells Fargo Building (99 E. Broadway).
Description: The bike ride will take guests through several retail districts in Eugene and highlight some of the current infrastructure already in place to our guest speaker.

Public Presentation on how Bikes Mean Business
Date: Thursday, February 7th, 2013
Time: 4:30pm Social Hour, 5:30pm Presentation
Location: Downtown Athletic Club, 3rd Floor, Ballroom A
Description: April Economides will give a presentation on how increasing cycling in a community can stimulate the local economy and improve health and safety.

The City of Eugene is excited for April’s visit and thankful for the University of Oregon’s LiveMove student group for sponsoring her trip to Eugene.

LiveMove Speaker Series: Rob Sadowsky Discusses the State of the Active Transportation Movement in Oregon

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Active transportation leader Rob Sadowsky will discuss the state of bicycling and walking in Oregon at the Downtown Athletic Center ballroom in Eugene on Thursday, November 29th at 6pm. This event is open to the public.

Sadowsky joined the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA), a Portland-based active transportation advocacy group, as executive director in June 2010. Rob will discuss the current state of active transportation in Oregon, including what we can expect from federal and state funding, emerging legislative priorities of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, what’s up and coming in the bicycling and pedestrian movement, and a personal reflection on being in Oregon for two years and how it compares to the rest of America.

Previously, Rob served as Executive Director of the Active Transportation Alliance in Chicago, Illinois for six years from 2004 to 2010. He has more than 25 years of non-profit advocacy and management experience working on issues of affordable housing, community economic development and transportation policy. He serves on the board of the Alliance for Biking and Walking, Institute for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation and the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium. He serves on the State of Oregon’s Access Management Oversight Task Force.

At 5pm, LiveMove will host a social hour before Sadowsky’s presentation at 6pm, both in the Downtown Athletic Club’s ballroom. Bike shop Arriving by Bike will sponsor a raffle for free bike gear. Sadowsky is the second speaker in the 2012-2013 LiveMove speaker series. The series brings transportation and planning professionals to Eugene to speak on topics around sustainable transportation and livability issues.
About LiveMove
LiveMove is the University of Oregon’s transportation and livability student group. LiveMove’s members engage in community outreach, campus advocacy, and career development around those topics. LiveMove is supported by a grant from the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, a partnership between four Oregon universities with the mission of supporting surface transportation research.

UO Bike Program "Fix-It Network" Celebration

Posted on by RideCoordinator
I am happy to announce that the UO Bike Program’s network of self-service bike repair stations is nearing completion! You are cordially invited to join us in celebrating the installation of the final Fix-It Station at 13th and University on Wednesday, November 7th at 12:30pm.

Thanks to the Student Sustainability Fund, the ASUO Over-realized Fund, and Greater Eugene Area Riders, we will have six locations across campus. Students, faculty, and staff can put their bike in a stand and perform minor repairs. Since they are conveniently located at prominent destinations on campus, bicycle commuters will find it easy to pump up their tires in between class or adjust their brakes before riding home. See attached image for a poster displaying the station locations.

A big THANK YOU to Campus Planning and Campus Operations for putting in many hours to help us site and performing the installation of the Fixit Stations! Also with help from EMU Marketing and the Emerald Media Group, we created maintenance videos that can be accessed via QR codes at the Fix-It Stations.
The Fix-It network is just one more way that we are supporting and promoting bicycling at the University of Oregon. We already received national recognition for our recent efforts. The League of American Bicyclists, a national advocate and lobbying organization for bicycling, published an article the Bike Program contributed to in this issue of their quarterly magazine, American Bicyclist. You can read the full magazine online (we are on pg 26-27).
We have received lots of positive feedback about the stations, and we will continue to look for opportunities to promote these great resources, install more stations around campus, and continue to look for other ways to maintain our leadership as a Bike Friendly University.
Best regards,
Briana

—

Coordinator 

GEARs Board Endorses Betty Taylor for City Council

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Incumbent councilor Betty Taylor and challenger, Juan Carlos Valle were asked the following questions as proposed by the GEARs Board regarding bicycling. Following each question is Councilor Taylor’s reply. Her opponent Juan Carlos Valle did not respond to the questionnaire.

GEARs: Explain the level of funding for the projects in the Ped/Bike Plan which you support, and where would the funds come from to support these projects?

Taylor: Any transportation funding should include 10% for bike and ped. The money should come from tax levies, SDC’s and any other legal source. We need more off street bike paths.

GEARs: In what way would you promote bicycling for fun, recreation and fitness in our community?

Taylor: Regular closures of streets to cars, if widely advertised would be a good incentive.

City sponsored bike rides and walking tours, with guides (and refreshments at the end), could attract participants and inform citizens of easy and safe ways to get to destinations without automobiles. I remember a city sponsored bike ride which included a safe route to Armitage Park.

Loaner bikes–adult and child sizes–could introduce people who can’t currently afford bikes to the pleasures of cycling.

GEARs: How would you promote mutual respect and safety between the bicycling and non-bicycling citizens of Eugene?

Taylor: If the city treated bike theft as a crime equal to automobile theft, it would encourage respect for bicycle owners. More places to park bikes safely would be another sign of respect. We need signs warning motorists to look for pedestrians and cyclists before turning.
Bicyclists and pedestrians need to be informed about the need to wear light clothing and use lights after dark.

Breakfast At The Bike Bridges

Posted on by RideCoordinator

It’s time for the July 27th edition of “Breakfast At The Bike Bridges” at the Greenway Bike Bridge (Across the River from the Valley River Center) from 7 to 9:30 AM this Friday morning. It is sponsored by:

Enjoy free bagels from Bagel Sphere, free coffee from Full City Roasters, free Toby’s Tofu Pate and Genesis Juice, free bike bells, bike tune ups, bike registration with the Eugene Police and many other bike riders to greet the morning with.

And while we’re talking bicycles please, please consider becoming a member of GEARS (Greater Eugene Area Riders) Eugene’s premier bicycle group. If you are a member, thank you so much and if you’d like to become a member here is a link to do so:  www.eugenegears.org/membership

GEARS maintains an active schedule of bike rides for riders of all skill levels and works actively in the community promoting cycling.GEARS members receive discounts at many area businesses including many bike shops.      www.eugenegears.org/programs/bikerewards

Coming up, the big Eugene bicycle event of the summer:

The Blackberry bRamble has long been known for its scenic route, extraordinary food at rest stops, reliable support and free blackberry pie and ice cream at the finish.  The night before the ride, meet other riders at a community dinner ($10.00) in support of  Eugene’s Adaptive Cycling program.   All are welcome to reserve a  campsite overnight in Amazon Park, and purchase a pancake breakfast on the morning of the ride.

Whether you’ve chosen the 100-mile Century, the 62-mile Metric Century, the 39-mile Crow Loop, or the 10/20 mile Community Ride, you’ll arrive back at Amazon Park to find a bike celebration in progress with: bike-powered music (with headliners Stephan Nance & Marv Ellis), local vendors community booths, bike obstacle course, tricycle race for kids, great food, and a beer garden!

If you’re hot and tired, cool off with a swim at Amazon Pool for only $1.  It’s a wonderful time to be on a bike.

Here’s a link to easily sign up for the bRamble: blackberrybramble.eventbrite.com

I look forward to seeing you at the Bicycle Breakfast this Friday.

David Gizara
GEARS
City of Eugene Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee