News

A Pedal Powered Music Weekend

Posted on by RideCoordinator

If you haven’t heard about the awesome event(s) happening this weekend hold onto your hats….

Paul Freedman of Rock the Bike (AKA The Fossil Fool) is working with the University of Oregon’s Bike Program (a project of the Outdoor Program) to build a Pedal Powered generator.  They’ll be holding an informative and exciting expose of the program’s new bicycle electricity generation system, dubbed the “biker bar” on Friday night in Agate Hall (May 7th, 7-8pm, 18th & Agate).  WeBikeEugene did a good write up on the $10,000 grant that was received for the project.

via rockthebike.com

The Biker Bar will be debuted at the Bike Music Fest, the mainstage of the Willamette Valley Music Fest on Saturday (May 8th). Continue reading “A Pedal Powered Music Weekend” →

Attend the Eugene Riverfront Celebration this Saturday!

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Originally Posted on the BTA Blog (by: Susan)

The members of Connecting Eugene are putting on a party this Saturday, April 24th to celebrate the Willamette River Appreciation Day. This is a free event with activities for all ages. There will also be speakers to address the challenges and opportunities facing the Willamette River now and in the future.

Riverfront Celebration!

Saturday, April 24th, 10 am – 4 pm
South Bank Path between EWEB and Autzen Footbridge

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The BTA has been keeping tabs on Connecting Eugene’s fight against the development of the Oregon Research Institute building along the Willamette River. Here’s an update on what’s happened since January.

• Connecting Eugene appealed the City’s decision to grant an extension of a Conditional Use Permit to the University of Oregon. This appeal may take several months or more to resolve. Even after this issue is resolved the University must obtain a building permit and demonstrate that the proposed development is consistent with the 1988 Master Plan.

• Members of Connecting Eugene have met with Mayor Piercy and Councilor Alan Zalenka to discuss viable alternative sites for the Oregon Research Institute Building–including a site within the Riverfront Research Park designated for office buildings.

• The faculty of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, the Graduate Teaching Fellow Federation (GTFF), and the Graduate Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Students have all passed resolutions opposing development north of the railroad tracks until a new master plan has been developed. These resolutions join many previous resolutions by UO students and faculty, and over 900 petition signers like yourselves.

• Amelie Rousseau was elected ASUO President. She strongly opposes development along the riverfront.

• EWEB (Eugene Water and Electric Board) continues to engage the public in planning the redevelopment of their site while the University of Oregon keeps the door closed to public involvement on their property just upstream from EWEB.

For more information visit the Connecting Eugene website.

Detours around I-5 construction area

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Starting on Monday, April 19 and continuing through May 3, the Canoe Canal Path as it passes under I-5 will be closed. Path users will be required to use the North Bank Path for any east/west passage in the Whilamut Natural Area between Eugene and Springfield during the closure. With construction activity increasing daily, path users need to be aware of continuing delays on the paths which could last up to 20 minutes.

ODOT WRB – Path detour flyer – 4_8_10

Bicycling Magazine Names Eugene Number Five

Posted on by RideCoordinator

I’ll write more soon but I wanted to get this news release up!

BICYCLING MAGAZINE NAMES EUGENE NO. 5 MOST BIKE-FRIENDLY CITY IN AMERICA

EUGENE, OR (April 6, 2010) – In its May issue, Bicycling magazine ranks the fifty most bike-friendly cities in America and Eugene comes in at number five. Rounding out the top five spots as overall best are Minneapolis, MN; Portland, OR; Boulder, CO; and Seattle, WA.

Ample bike parking, lit bike paths, and the Smart Ways to School program are just three of Eugene’s cycling-friendly characteristics noticed by editors at Bicycling.

This year’s list pays homage to cities that have shown real innovation, as well as local government support and a vibrant bike culture. Highlights from the new 2010 best cities for cycling are as follows:

Top 5 Best Cities:

#1 Minneapolis, Minnesota
#2 Portland, Oregon
#3 Boulder, Colorado
#4 Seattle, Washington
#5 Eugene, Oregon

Worst Cities:

Birmingham, Alabama
Jacksonville, Florida
Memphis, Tennessee

5 Rising Stars:

#8 New York City
#17 Albuquerque, New Mexico
#23 Long Beach, California
#39 Cleveland, Ohio
#44 Miami, Florida

“Bicycling’s Best Cities list this year proves that great things can happen in short periods of time, even in the largest metropolitan areas,” said Loren Mooney, Editor-in-Chief of Bicycling. “New York City is literally re-engineering its streets to accommodate bikes. And watching a city like Miami pull a 180 to become bike friendly has been incredibly gratifying for us. This year’s list is evidence that a much needed, far reaching pro-bike movement is in full swing, all across the country.”

To compile the list, Bicycling editors strove for geographical diversity and considered cities with populations of 100,000 or more. They narrowed it down using factors such as cycling-friendly statistics (numbers of bike lanes and routes, bike racks, city projects completed and planned) including changes in these statistics and a city’s future plans since the last survey; and bike culture (number of bike commuters, cycling clubs, cycling events, renowned bike shops). Editors also referenced the Bicycling and Walking in the United States 2010 Benchmarking Report prepared by the Alliance for Biking and Walking, the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America project, and interviews with national and local advocates, bike shops, and other experts.

As for the worst American cities for cycling, Bicycling pointed to Birmingham, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; and Memphis, Tennessee. Despite community interest in cycling, these cities have fallen victim to suburban sprawls that lack bike lanes, and slow-going planning and implementation of improvements.

For the complete top 50 list or for more on Bicycling’s Best Bike Cities, please visit www.bicycling.com or pick up the May issue of Bicycling, on newsstands April 6. For a slideshow of each of the top 50 cities, plus information on the best small and best foreign cities for biking, go to www.bicycling.com/topbikefriendlycities.

Maximizing Our Transportation Dollars

Posted on by Paul Adkins

Surface Transportation Program- Urban (STP-U) funds; where we’re getting it right and where we might be missing the boat.

On Thursday the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) met at the Eugene Public Library and the main item on the agenda was the STP-U funds allocation for 2011-2013. For more information on the MPC you can visit the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) website, though it gives no great description of who makes up the MPC or what it does so we’ll have to do a separate story on that sometime. According to the LCOG website STP-U funds “are the only revenue source allocated and programmed for eligible projects solely at the discretion of the MPO” (Metropolitan Planning Organization, that is LCOG).  They also state that the “Surface Transportation Program (STP) provides States with flexible funds which may be used for a wide variety of projects on any Federal-aid Highway including highways, bridges on any public road, and transit facilities. Bicycle and pedestrian improvements may also be eligible activities under the STP.” The funds have to be met by a local match (minimum 10.27%) . These applications next move to the Citizen Advisory Committee for comments (they are meeting on March 18th 5:30 p.m. at the Eugene Public Library) then it goes back to the MPC for final approval on April 8th (11:30 a.m. at the Eugene Public Library). If you’d like to see the complete packet of applications see this PDF file from the LCOG site. You can submit comments until April 5th at the contact information at the bottom of this post.

So what are some of the projects for the upcoming cycle and are we using these ‘flexible funds’ to their highest potential? You can see the list of projects and how they meet “Regional Priority Criteria” on this PDF. We’ll do a breakdown of the projects here (based on the jurisdiction) and look at where they make some great strides for active transportation and where we might be missing the mark. Continue reading “Maximizing Our Transportation Dollars” →