Bikeboard March 2011

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17 participants
38 discussions

Re: [Bikeboard] West Run, etc.
by Frank Gmeindl 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

Alice, Thanks! Counting cyclists on Rt. 100 is an excellent idea. I'll ask Bryan if WVDOH could do that. I know from Damien that technology exists to automatically count bicycles just as there is to count motor vehicles. I think we'd all be curious to know how many cyclists use Rt. 100 and to have a good baseline against which to measure any roadway improvements. I believe WVDOH recognizes that the stretch of West Run between Stewartstown Rd. and Point Marion Rd. is also very much in need of improvement. I don't think they have the budget to do it yet. I'd guess they put higher priority on the other end because of the current traffic volume and number of housing units there. Frank On Mar 24, 2011, at 11:26 AM, Alice Vernon wrote: > Great job Frank > Wonder if we tried having someone count the cyclist on Route 100 on a beautiful weekend to give them some numbers. Kind of like the car counters on roads. > Also are there any plans to improve the other part of West Run? It seems to be the worst. > Thanks for all you do! > Alice > > On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 7:51 PM, Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Bicycle Board Members, > > I had an excellent meeting with Bill Austin and Brian Radabaugh, WVDOH today. We cruised West Run and discussed West Run Rd., Van Voorhis Rd., Rt. 100, in-line grates and Share the Road signs. Following is a summary. > > In-line grates > The in-line grates that we have identified on Walnut Street Bridge, Beechurst Av. and Mon Blvd. should all be replaced with bicycle friendly grates by this fall. The Walnut St. bridge grates will probably be replaced first and soon. We did not discuss the Westover Bridge grates whose cross pieces are falling out. > > Rt. 100 > I explained to Brian that: > Rt. 100 is a main route out of town because it is flat and connects to good rides in Green County, PA as well as the PA A-Bike Route. > The annual Appalachian Spring Spectacular is the first Sunday in May and always uses Rt. 100 and has had up to 138 participants from local as well as afar. > Rt. 100 from Granville to Rt. 19 is riddled with cracks and potholes. > Brian agreed to get Rt. 100 patched before May 1 and to put it on a schedule for regular maintenance every year before May. > We also discussed putting Share the Road signs or Bike Route signs on Rt. 100. See signage discussion below. > > Signage > Brian and Fouad "Fred" Shakry are developing a standard to use for deciding where to put Share the Road signs. Brian thinks we already have too many signs of all kinds on our roads. He also thinks that putting Share the Road signs where bicyclists won't ride dilutes the effectiveness of the sign. He invites input from us on routes to be signed. Our recommendations must include credible explanation that significant bicycling use increase will result. > > West Run Road > Before we cruised West Run Rd., we discussed the message that I had sent January 20 addressing the plan to widen the roadway to 11-foot lanes. Then, we cruised the road while discussing options. When we returned to the meeting room, Brian stated that his current thinking is to widen the lanes to 12-feet center-line-to-edge; stripe the travel lane to 10-feet width leaving a 2-foot paved shoulder; use any remaining budget to improve sight lines, e.g. cutting back steep banks in curves. Brian observed that wider travel lanes can encourage speeding, especially in the absence of enforcement. > > We also discussed the West Run segregated bike path that would run from Van Voorhis to Easton. Brian favored the bike path over further widening West Run Rd. beyond the total 24-feet that we discussed because he felt that acquiring right of way and building roadway would cost more than acquiring right of way for the path and building the path. > > We also drove a short distance along West Run from Van Voorhis toward the river where I explained to Brian and Bill how the West Run path could extend down to the Mon River Trail. > > We also cursorily discussed the bike path from the WVU Research Park down to West Run but didn't get into much detail. > > BTW, currently planned West Run Rd. improvement is only between Stewartstown Rd. and Van Voorhis Rd., and does not include the segment from Stewartstown Rd. to Pt. Marion Rd. (119) as we had thought. > > Van Voorhis Rd. > We drove up Van Voorhis from West Run to Windwood Village where I led us up through the development to show Bill and Brian how cyclists will wind our way up through there and across the grass to Wedgewood Dr. to avoid climbing the north side of Van Voorhis. We also discussed how it's practically the same coming up the south side. Brian said that he would look into widening the climbing side of each side of the hill when they do the drainage improvement on both sides of the hill and the sidewalk on the south side of the hill. > > Wrap Up > I exchanged many e-mails with Brian while we were working on the in-line grates and I was impressed with his open-mindedness, technical competence and dedication to safety and doing the job right. Meeting him, my opinion is doubly reinforced. We are indeed very fortunate to have him working for WVDOH in our district. I hope he stays for a while! > > We also owe gratitude to Bill Austin for facilitating these discussions with Brian and in general showing WVDOH that bicyclists have a right to the roadways. > > Frank > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikeboard mailing list > Bikeboard(a)cheat.org > http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard >

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West Run, etc.
by Frank Gmeindl 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

Bicycle Board Members, I had an excellent meeting with Bill Austin and Brian Radabaugh, WVDOH today. We cruised West Run and discussed West Run Rd., Van Voorhis Rd., Rt. 100, in-line grates and Share the Road signs. Following is a summary. In-line grates The in-line grates that we have identified on Walnut Street Bridge, Beechurst Av. and Mon Blvd. should all be replaced with bicycle friendly grates by this fall. The Walnut St. bridge grates will probably be replaced first and soon. We did not discuss the Westover Bridge grates whose cross pieces are falling out. Rt. 100 I explained to Brian that: Rt. 100 is a main route out of town because it is flat and connects to good rides in Green County, PA as well as the PA A-Bike Route. The annual Appalachian Spring Spectacular is the first Sunday in May and always uses Rt. 100 and has had up to 138 participants from local as well as afar. Rt. 100 from Granville to Rt. 19 is riddled with cracks and potholes. Brian agreed to get Rt. 100 patched before May 1 and to put it on a schedule for regular maintenance every year before May. We also discussed putting Share the Road signs or Bike Route signs on Rt. 100. See signage discussion below. Signage Brian and Fouad "Fred" Shakry are developing a standard to use for deciding where to put Share the Road signs. Brian thinks we already have too many signs of all kinds on our roads. He also thinks that putting Share the Road signs where bicyclists won't ride dilutes the effectiveness of the sign. He invites input from us on routes to be signed. Our recommendations must include credible explanation that significant bicycling use increase will result. West Run Road Before we cruised West Run Rd., we discussed the message that I had sent January 20 addressing the plan to widen the roadway to 11-foot lanes. Then, we cruised the road while discussing options. When we returned to the meeting room, Brian stated that his current thinking is to widen the lanes to 12-feet center-line-to-edge; stripe the travel lane to 10-feet width leaving a 2-foot paved shoulder; use any remaining budget to improve sight lines, e.g. cutting back steep banks in curves. Brian observed that wider travel lanes can encourage speeding, especially in the absence of enforcement. We also discussed the West Run segregated bike path that would run from Van Voorhis to Easton. Brian favored the bike path over further widening West Run Rd. beyond the total 24-feet that we discussed because he felt that acquiring right of way and building roadway would cost more than acquiring right of way for the path and building the path. We also drove a short distance along West Run from Van Voorhis toward the river where I explained to Brian and Bill how the West Run path could extend down to the Mon River Trail. We also cursorily discussed the bike path from the WVU Research Park down to West Run but didn't get into much detail. BTW, currently planned West Run Rd. improvement is only between Stewartstown Rd. and Van Voorhis Rd., and does not include the segment from Stewartstown Rd. to Pt. Marion Rd. (119) as we had thought. Van Voorhis Rd. We drove up Van Voorhis from West Run to Windwood Village where I led us up through the development to show Bill and Brian how cyclists will wind our way up through there and across the grass to Wedgewood Dr. to avoid climbing the north side of Van Voorhis. We also discussed how it's practically the same coming up the south side. Brian said that he would look into widening the climbing side of each side of the hill when they do the drainage improvement on both sides of the hill and the sidewalk on the south side of the hill. Wrap Up I exchanged many e-mails with Brian while we were working on the in-line grates and I was impressed with his open-mindedness, technical competence and dedication to safety and doing the job right. Meeting him, my opinion is doubly reinforced. We are indeed very fortunate to have him working for WVDOH in our district. I hope he stays for a while! We also owe gratitude to Bill Austin for facilitating these discussions with Brian and in general showing WVDOH that bicyclists have a right to the roadways. Frank

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Changed phone number
by Frank Gmeindl 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Dear Friends, Family and Associates, I hope this message finds you well and happy! I am writing to inform you that I have discontinued 304-284-8094, my land-line telephone service. You can still reach me on my cell phone: 304-376-0446. I look forward to chatting with you soon! Best wishes! Frank Gmeindl

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Re: [Bikeboard] WVU EmployeeFest
by Frank Gmeindl 22 Mar '11

22 Mar '11

Kim, Thanks for the invitation! I forwarded it to the Morgantown Municipal Bicycle Board. Two members expressed interest. They are also the two members that plan to staff a booth that Hugh said the Board would be provided at the Employee Fest. Following are some things we thought of demonstrating: Repairing a flat tire; Proper hand signals; Communicating with body language; Scanning, signaling & negotiating; Proper helmet adjustment; Adjusting derailleurs; Adjusting brakes; Fitting a bicycle. Demonstrating these things on a stage to a large audience that is distant from the demonstrator would probably be ineffective. What is the maximum number of people you would expect in the audience? Would it be possible to have them move close to the demonstrator(s) and perhaps even surround him/her/them so they could see? We haven't yet planned what we will have or do in our booth; perhaps demonstrating some or all the things in the above list. What do you think? Also, could you please confirm that Employee Fest is May 9? Frank D. Gmeindl Chairman, Morgantown Municipal Bicycle Board LCI #1703 491 WilsonAvenue Morgantown, WV 26501 304-376-0446 Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles On Mar 21, 2011, at 10:21 AM, Kimberly Zaph wrote: > Hi Frank, > > At a recent EmployeeFest committee meeting, Hugh Kierig suggested I contact you to see if your group would be interested in providing some demonstrations. I am working on a schedule of events for these demos, and I'd love to add you to the list. > > The plan is for all wellness-related activities/resource tables etc. to be located in the Mountainlair Ballrooms, and the wellness demonstrations will be performed on the stage. > > EmployeeFest will be heavily advertised soon, and a website has been created just for this event. > > If you'd like to participate in the demos, please provide the following information as soon as possible. > > 1. The name of the demonstration > 2. Description of what's being demonstrated > 3. Name of demonstrator/s > 4. Bio of demonstrator/s > 5. List of equipment you will be bringing for the demonstration/s > 6. Time/s that the demo can be performed. We hope to have demos repeated, since the crowd will vary throughout the day. (I'm guessing that some who will perform demos will also be manning the resource booth.) Demonstrations are needed between 11:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The demos can vary in length. > > > Please call me at your convenience for more information. > > > Thanks, > > Kimberly A. B. Zaph > EmployeeFest Committee Member > > > > > > > Kimberly A. B. Zaph, MS, CSCS, ACSM HFS > Wellness Program Manager > WVU Division of Human Resources > P. O. Box 6640 > One Waterfront Place > Morgantown, WV 26506 > (304) 293-8405 > (304) 293-7532 (fax) > Kimberly.Zaph(a)mail.wvu.edu > http://employeewellness.wvu.edu/ >

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Fwd: WVU EmployeeFest
by Frank Gmeindl 21 Mar '11

21 Mar '11

Bicycle Board Members, Please contact me if you have any interest in doing a demo at WVU Employee Festival. I think this is in addition to the booth that we're going to have. Frank Begin forwarded message: > From: "Kimberly Zaph" <Kimberly.Zaph(a)mail.wvu.edu> > Date: March 21, 2011 10:21:10 AM GMT-04:00 > To: <frank.gmeindl(a)comcast.net> > Cc: "Hugh Kierig" <Hugh.Kierig(a)mail.wvu.edu> > Subject: WVU EmployeeFest > > Hi Frank, > > At a recent EmployeeFest committee meeting, Hugh Kierig suggested I contact you to see if your group would be interested in providing some demonstrations. I am working on a schedule of events for these demos, and I'd love to add you to the list. > > The plan is for all wellness-related activities/resource tables etc. to be located in the Mountainlair Ballrooms, and the wellness demonstrations will be performed on the stage. > > EmployeeFest will be heavily advertised soon, and a website has been created just for this event. > > If you'd like to participate in the demos, please provide the following information as soon as possible. > > 1. The name of the demonstration > 2. Description of what's being demonstrated > 3. Name of demonstrator/s > 4. Bio of demonstrator/s > 5. List of equipment you will be bringing for the demonstration/s > 6. Time/s that the demo can be performed. We hope to have demos repeated, since the crowd will vary throughout the day. (I'm guessing that some who will perform demos will also be manning the resource booth.) Demonstrations are needed between 11:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The demos can vary in length. > > > Please call me at your convenience for more information. > > > Thanks, > > Kimberly A. B. Zaph > EmployeeFest Committee Member > > > > > > > Kimberly A. B. Zaph, MS, CSCS, ACSM HFS > Wellness Program Manager > WVU Division of Human Resources > P. O. Box 6640 > One Waterfront Place > Morgantown, WV 26506 > (304) 293-8405 > (304) 293-7532 (fax) > Kimberly.Zaph(a)mail.wvu.edu > http://employeewellness.wvu.edu/ >

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Bike Lanes vs. Wide Outside Lanes
by Frank Gmeindl 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

Bicycle Board Members, The article at http://www.bicyclinglife.com/effectiveadvocacy/blvswol.htm is one of the most comprehensive yet easy to read that I've seen that explains the pros and cons of bike lanes and wide outside lanes. Frank

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Mileground
by Frank Gmeindl 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

Bicycle Board Members, Attached is a flyer that describes the proposed Mileground improvement that the MPO and WVDOH settled on. You'll see that it is 4 lanes with a a sidewalk on one side, "mountable" divider and roundabouts at 705 and Airport Blvd.. Mileground property owners are campaigning to eliminate the sidewalk and for a center turn lane instead of a mountable divider. Please communicate with Bill Austin for questions or comments. FYI, a mountable divider enables emergency vehicles to cross it but discourages most motor vehicles from crossing it. Bill Austin, AICP Executive Director Morgantown Monongalia MPO 82 Hart Field Road Ste. 105 Morgantown, WVA 26505 304-291-9571 304-692-7225 Mobile Frank

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Mapping Team meeting minutes
by Frank Gmeindl 16 Mar '11

16 Mar '11

Bicycle Board Members, Please find attached, minutes of today's meeting of the BB bike route mapping team. Welcome Danielle Williams to the team! Frank

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Outdoor bike repair station from DERO
by Director 15 Mar '11

15 Mar '11

Good Evening, I must still be on some mailing list from back when I was researching bike parking. This interesting item just came my way. It's an outdoor bike repair stand with tools and pump attached by heavy duty stainless steel cables. Looks like it might be pretty student-proof. http://www.dero.com/products/fixit/ - Nick Hein Director, Positive Spin 803 East Brockway Ave Morgantown, WV 265605

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bluetooth headset
by Frank Gmeindl 14 Mar '11

14 Mar '11

Bicycle Board Members, Tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to drive along West Run Rd. with Brian Radabaugh our WVDOH district engineer and Bill Austin. Does anybody have a bluetooth headset that I could use with my iPhone to talk with Brian and Bill while I ride ahead of them on my bicycle? The plan is that we'll all ride in somebody's car but I think I could give them a better explanation of bicyclist needs on that road if I were actually on a bicycle and could talk with them. Frank

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Bikeboard March 2011