Advocacy – Page 4

Category: Advocacy

Sustainability Commission to Discuss Ped/Bike Master Plan

Posted on December 18, 2011 by RideCoordinator

As the official liaison between the Sustainability Commission and GEARs, I wanted to let you know that the Sustainability Commission will be discussing the draft Ped/Bike Master Plan at its meeting this Wednesday, Dec. 21. The meeting is:

Wednesday, Dec. 21, 5:30 p.m.

McNutt Room, Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl

There’s an opportunity for public comment at the beginning of the meeting. The Ped/Bike Plan is on the agenda for 7 p.m.

While the Commission is generally supportive of bicycling and walking, it wouldn’t hurt to have supporters of bicycling tell them that we’re counting on the Sustainability Commission to push the City Council for a strong commitment to bicycling. We’d also welcome any specific comments or recommendations you have about the Ped/Bike Plan. You’ll find the Plan athttp://www.centrallanertsp.org/EugeneTSP/PedBikePlan/Home

In addition, any time you have any issues, concerns or questions you’d like to bring to the Sustainability Commission, please don’t hesitate to tell me, and I’ll try to make it happen. That’s the whole point of our having liaison relationships with various groups involved in Eugene’s efforts toward sustainability.

Thanks–and I’d love to see you at Wednesday’s meeting!

Sue Wolling

Leaves & Hazard Reporting

Posted on November 17, 2011 by RideCoordinator

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:

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

Oregon Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee to meet in Springfield

Posted on November 16, 2011 by RideCoordinator

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

Transportation Bill Update

Posted on November 9, 2011 by RideCoordinator

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

Posted on November 1, 2011 by RideCoordinator

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.

BTA Comes to Town for Strategic Plan Get-Together- Tomorrow!

Posted on October 26, 2011 by RideCoordinator

From Susan of the BTA:

Just wanted to remind everyone that we’re having a BTA Strategic Plan meeting on Thursday night 6:30-8:30 at Pegasus Pizza, 790 East 14th (in the bar Fathoms, so everyone needs to be 21 or older- sorry about the age restriction).