Bikeboard February 2008

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10 participants
27 discussions

Cycling safety statistics and considerations
by director 24 Aug '08

24 Aug '08

Good morning, Just one more thing to pass on and then I'll quit bugging everybody. I was recently reminded of this link to Ken Kifer's website which discusses statistics on bicycling and pedestrian accident/fatality rates. http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm It's a good reminder about where to focus our attention when developing non-motorized amenities that allow all users to share the public roadways safely. Cyclist education is clearly the most effective form of accident prevention. For those who don't know, Ken was killed a few years ago by a drunk driver. This is also a reminder that drunk, inattentive and beligerent drivers - although a very small minority - are beyond the reach of cycling education but should be addressed better in driver education and enforcment. In the meantime be careful out there. Nick

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Addresses
by Frank Gmeindl 29 Feb '08

29 Feb '08

Bicycle Board Members, Barbara Shellito, the Traffic Commission Secretary asked me for an updated list of Bicycle Board members including member surface mail addresses. I have a current membership list with e-mail addresses but it does not include surface mail addresses. Could you please reply to this message and give me your surface mail address? Frank

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Re: [Bikeboard] MPO presentation
by director 29 Feb '08

29 Feb '08

Frank, You must have been nervous, Kennedy wasn't asking you to get Riverview residents on bikes. He was throwing you a red herring, asking you to find out why they won't walk 2 blocks to a bus stop. However, your presentation was excellent. The best part was after you'd answered a few questions when you summarized by saying "Well, I don't hear any disagreement." I realized at that point that what everyone was expressing was disbelief and obstruction. Asahel's obstruction amounted to "If we can't get everybody to change completely, then we might as well do nothing." I talked to Barbara Parsons afterwards, wanting to hear more about her initiative to reverse childhood obesity trends. She couldn't believe that roads would ever be safe for kids to ride on, so she's only considering indoor exercise. What I kept hearing sounded like people in a toxic relationship with their cars - knowing that the relationship is hurting them, but afraid to let it go. Not sure where to go from here. Nick ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl(a)verizon.net> Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 06:53:59 -0500 >Don, Nick, Marilyn, Bill, Tyler, Autumn, Kelly, > >Thank you all for attending the MPO meeting last night! If you all >weren't there, I know I couldn't have delivered that presentation. As >it was, I was so nervous that I can't even remember what I did when I >was standing up there. I only remember losing my voice, grasping for >words, hearing stupid incorrect ones coming out, and fumbling to find >any straight line to take through it all. I should have rehearsed more. > >I was so nervous because, of all the bodies that the Bicycle Board deals >with: Traffic Commission, City Council, City Manager, the MPO is the >first one that really can reshape our cycling environment. For almost 3 >years, I've attended MPO meetings (irregularly) and watched them make >decisions that I knew would further diminish the quality and safety of >cycling in Mon County. After 3 years, last night, I finally had a >chance to show them the cyclists' perspective. I don't think I did any >damage but I also don't think I had much effect. And, boy do I regret >taking on yet another project to get Riverview residents on bikes:( > >Well, enough whining. Most of you were involved in helping me create >the materials that I presented last night and I think they were >excellent. Chet Parsons is going to put them up on the MPO website >(plantogether.org) and I'll ask Jeff Mikorski to put them in the Bicycle >Board archives at http://www.morgantown.com/bike-board-docs.htm . >Maybe you can make better use of them than I did. > >Now, let's all get out there an change the culture! > >Frank > > -- Nick Hein Director, Positive Spin Morgantown, WV ph 304-276-0213 --

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Bike culture in the Twin Cities - MSP
by director 28 Feb '08

28 Feb '08

Gunnar, Not to sound like a broken record, but the link below is also maintained by friends of mine. In fact I was in MSP 2 years ago for my niece's wedding and got a cook's tour of the trails from one of the city planners who designed them. I took enough pictures to make a photo essay about the wonderful trail and park facilities, but never got around to writing it. If there's interest I could try and do it now. We have an abundance of student volunteers at Positive Spin this semester and I could get help from one of them. I stayed for 3 days in July, the first 2 I spent entirely on bike with biker friends riding around on the trail system. The last day I spent with my family driving around in the car in 100F heat and gridlocked traffic. The place is like 2 different worlds depending on how you get around - much more pleasant on bike. When Minneapolis was being developed the parks director committed to planning so that all citizens would be <15 min walk from a public park - a decision that had enduring results. btw My niece's marriage didn't endure. I'm still in contact with some of the bike transportation advocates in MSP too. Nick ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: "gunn4r Shogren" <gshogren(a)gmail.com> Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:50:09 -0500 >Some communities, nations, and folks, really have the "right" idea- >http://www.velomobiling.com/gallery/TravelsAndEvents/fietscafe/ > >Maybe Motown needs one of these. >Gotta get the public interested somehow... > -- Nick Hein Director, Positive Spin Morgantown, WV ph 304-276-0213 --

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Re: [Bikeboard] Fw: [WorkingBikes] New option for city bike rental program
by gunn4r Shogren 28 Feb '08

28 Feb '08

! On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 8:34 PM, director <director(a)positivespin.org> wrote: > Gunnar, > Actually, I'm the guy who gave the pictures to that guy for his web page. He's a friend of mine named Mark Garvey, from Cedar Rapids IA. You can see the same pictures on my PPV site... > http://bikelist.org/seawheels/NicksBikes/PPV/PPVHistory.htm You think things just *happen*? If you scroll just a little further down from the canopied PPVs you'll see what I mean... > > Although Mark updates his more often. > Nick > > > > ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- > From: "gunn4r Shogren" <gshogren(a)gmail.com> > Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:11:05 -0500 > > >Good job Nick, > > > >Nothing too controversial here. > >Looks like you're really taking our most recent talk to heart. > > > >Keep it up and I'm sure we'll even start to all ride recumbants and > >those PPV two-person bike cars you got holed up at the storage place. > >Check out the hottie we'll all be picking up (or the sweet dude if > >you're of that persuasion)- > >http://vine-ave.com/ppv.htm > > > >I personally like the ones with the canopies, about half way down or > >so, they remind my of the penny-farthing for the series "The > >Prisoner". > > > >Way to go Nick! > > > >...wonder if I sent this to the whole list? > > > >On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 12:59 PM, director <director(a)positivespin.org> wrote: > >> Good morning, > >> Here's how Chicago is trying to get city bike rentals at no cost to the city. One of their bus contractors is offering to renegotiate an existing bus shelter contract to include bike rentals. > >> Nick > >> > >> > >> http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/812569,CST-NWS-bike26.article > >> > >> New option for city bike rental program > >> French company offers to renegotiate bus-shelter deal to provide cheap rentals > >> > >> February 26, 2008 > >> > >> A French company awarded a bus shelter contract in 2001 -- after City Hall bypassed a more lucrative offer -- has offered to renegotiate its deal to incorporate a Paris-style, downtown bike rental program being pushed by Mayor Daley, Chicago's No. 1 cyclist. > >> > >> > >> > >> The Daley administration is entertaining the offer from JCDecaux after a "request for proposals" last year attracted only two competitors. Neither JCDecaux nor London-based OYBike met the mayor's mandate to operate a bike rental program "at low-cost or no-cost" to Chicago taxpayers. > >> > >> JCDecaux then came back with a more novel approach. Why not renegotiate the 2001 contract to include more bus shelters, newspaper boxes and city information panels? That way, there'll be enough advertising revenue to pay for as many as 1,000 bikes at 80 downtown stations, and bike rental fees can remain affordable. > >> > >> > >> > >> "You can make it more expensive and risk that less people will use it. Or it can be free, which promotes usage. You have a lot of options," said Nicolas Clochard-Boussuet, chief operating officer of JCDecaux North America. > >> > >> Rob Sadowsky, executive director of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, said he hopes the rental fee will be "similar to Paris, where the first half-hour is free and it's $1.50 for every 30 minutes after that. It can't just be a bike rental for tourists. It has to be attractive financially -- and competitive with the CTA -- so people see it as a true transportation option." > >> > >> > >> > >> Transportation Department spokesman Brian Steele noted that the 2001 "street furniture" contract provided 2,100 bus shelters, newspaper racks and information panels at no cost to the city "and that's what we're trying to achieve through the bike rentals. ... We want a program that provides great amenities to Chicago residents." > >> > >> > >> > >> In Paris, JCDecaux offers 20,000 bikes for rental at 1,400 locations and charges a $200 deposit to the user's credit card only if the bike is stolen or damaged. The program has been credited with doubling bike use almost overnight. > >> > >> Clochard-Boussuet said he's confident the same thing will happen in Chicago. > >> > >> "Except for the first [winter] quarter, I don't see why not. Chicago is very bike-friendly. It's easier to ride a bike because of all of the bike paths," he said > >> > >> > >> > >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. > >> > >> __._,_.___ > >> Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic > >> Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | Calendar > >> > >> Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) > >> Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional > >> Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity > >> a.. 2New Members > >> b.. 2New Links > >> Visit Your Group > >> Yahoo! News > >> Kevin Sites > >> > >> Get coverage of > >> > >> world crises. > >> > >> Biz Resources > >> Y! Small Business > >> > >> Articles, tools, > >> > >> forms, and more. > >> > >> 10 Day Club > >> on Yahoo! Groups > >> > >> Share the benefits > >> > >> of a high fiber diet. > >> . > >> __,_._,___ > >> > >> > >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> > >> > >> No virus found in this incoming message. > >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. > >> Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.1 - Release Date: 2/25/2008 12:00 AM > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> Nick Hein > >> Director, Positive Spin > >> Morgantown, WV > >> ph 304-276-0213 > >> -- > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Bikeboard mailing list > >> Bikeboard(a)cheat.org > >> http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard > >> > > > > -- > Nick Hein > Director, Positive Spin > Morgantown, WV > ph 304-276-0213 > -- >

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bike item - London Shifts Gears to Favor Bicycles
by John Lozier 27 Feb '08

27 Feb '08

> London Shifts Gears to Favor Bicycles Armed with a proposal to develop 12 major "superhighways" for bicyclists throughout the city, along with a daily "congestion charge" of almost $50 for polluting vehicles, England's capital city is gearing up to become the world's newest bicycle utopia. London's mayor hopes the programs will result in a 400 percent increase in the number of cyclists in the city by ... GET THE WHOLE STORY: http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004569.html John Lozier "It's an UPHILL STRUGGLE to get folks to think of bikes as TRANSPORTATION"

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Fw: [WorkingBikes] New option for city bike rental program
by director 27 Feb '08

27 Feb '08

Good morning, Here's how Chicago is trying to get city bike rentals at no cost to the city. One of their bus contractors is offering to renegotiate an existing bus shelter contract to include bike rentals. Nick http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/812569,CST-NWS-bike26.article New option for city bike rental program French company offers to renegotiate bus-shelter deal to provide cheap rentals February 26, 2008 A French company awarded a bus shelter contract in 2001 -- after City Hall bypassed a more lucrative offer -- has offered to renegotiate its deal to incorporate a Paris-style, downtown bike rental program being pushed by Mayor Daley, Chicago's No. 1 cyclist. The Daley administration is entertaining the offer from JCDecaux after a "request for proposals" last year attracted only two competitors. Neither JCDecaux nor London-based OYBike met the mayor's mandate to operate a bike rental program "at low-cost or no-cost" to Chicago taxpayers. JCDecaux then came back with a more novel approach. Why not renegotiate the 2001 contract to include more bus shelters, newspaper boxes and city information panels? That way, there'll be enough advertising revenue to pay for as many as 1,000 bikes at 80 downtown stations, and bike rental fees can remain affordable. "You can make it more expensive and risk that less people will use it. Or it can be free, which promotes usage. You have a lot of options," said Nicolas Clochard-Boussuet, chief operating officer of JCDecaux North America. Rob Sadowsky, executive director of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, said he hopes the rental fee will be "similar to Paris, where the first half-hour is free and it's $1.50 for every 30 minutes after that. It can't just be a bike rental for tourists. It has to be attractive financially -- and competitive with the CTA -- so people see it as a true transportation option." Transportation Department spokesman Brian Steele noted that the 2001 "street furniture" contract provided 2,100 bus shelters, newspaper racks and information panels at no cost to the city "and that's what we're trying to achieve through the bike rentals. ... We want a program that provides great amenities to Chicago residents." In Paris, JCDecaux offers 20,000 bikes for rental at 1,400 locations and charges a $200 deposit to the user's credit card only if the bike is stolen or damaged. The program has been credited with doubling bike use almost overnight. Clochard-Boussuet said he's confident the same thing will happen in Chicago. "Except for the first [winter] quarter, I don't see why not. Chicago is very bike-friendly. It's easier to ride a bike because of all of the bike paths," he said -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. __._,_.___ Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | Calendar Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity a.. 2New Members b.. 2New Links Visit Your Group Yahoo! News Kevin Sites Get coverage of world crises. Biz Resources Y! Small Business Articles, tools, forms, and more. 10 Day Club on Yahoo! Groups Share the benefits of a high fiber diet. . __,_._,___ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.1 - Release Date: 2/25/2008 12:00 AM -- Nick Hein Director, Positive Spin Morgantown, WV ph 304-276-0213 --

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History of unsafe cycling
by director 27 Feb '08

27 Feb '08

Good morning, I stumbled across this article during my daily news-read and thought it might be of interst to others. It describes the evolution of the "stay out of my way" mentality of motorists toward cyclists (vs. the "share the right of way safely" motive of effective cycling.) http://www.johnforester.com/Articles/Social/aaas94.htm Nick Hein -- Nick Hein Director, Positive Spin Morgantown, WV ph 304-276-0213 --

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MPO presentation Thursday
by Frank Gmeindl 26 Feb '08

26 Feb '08

Bicycle Board Members, First, thanks to the two Dons, Autumn, Leah, Marilyn, Nick and Tyler for critiquing my Accommodating Bicycles presentation last Thursday. Attached is the result of our efforts. Autumn suggested that I conclude with a call to action. Before I present it to them, I feel like I need your concurrence on the last 4 slides since they may set a direction that we'll have to live with for a while. Particularly the goal that by 2030, 10% of all trips in the Morgantown MSA will be by bicycle. If you look at the PowerPoint file, please be aware that there's a lot of content in the notes section below the slides. Also attached is the agenda for the MPO meeting this Thursday. They have a lot of work to do, they don't have times on the agenda and I'm up last. I know I asked you all to attend but I wouldn't be surprised if they run out of steam before I'm up. I'll be prepared to sit through their whole meeting and come back again if necessary. I'd still like you all to come but I'll certainly understand if you don't. Frank

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[Fwd: Addresses]
by Frank Gmeindl 26 Feb '08

26 Feb '08

Bicycle Board Members, Thank you all who replied to my message below. Attached is a file that contains your responses. One respondent suggested that it would be handy if we all had each others' phone numbers. While I didn't ask for them in my original message, if you send me your phone number, I'll add it to the attached list and send an update out. I'll submit the attached list, without phone numbers to Barbara Shellito today. Frank -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Addresses Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:25:44 -0500 From: Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl(a)verizon.net> To: bikeboard(a)cheat.org Bicycle Board Members, Barbara Shellito, the Traffic Commission Secretary asked me for an updated list of Bicycle Board members including member surface mail addresses. I have a current membership list with e-mail addresses but it does not include surface mail addresses. Could you please reply to this message and give me your surface mail address? Frank

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Bikeboard February 2008