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2521 discussions

News
by Frank Gmeindl 01 Aug '12

01 Aug '12

Last night, gunnar presented the unicycle report to City Council. They seemed to agree with it but because it hadn't been run by the Traffic Commission yet, they sent it back to the TC. Tonight I presented it to the TC and they voted to accept it and to recommend to City Council that they take no action on unicycles. The Greater Morgantown Bicycle Plan requires quarterly progress reports. Since Council adopted the plan May 1, this first report is due today. At tonight's TC meeting, I reminded the TC of this and requested that the TC take appropriate action to get it. The TC chair, Roy Nutter agreed to write a message to the City Manager reminding him that the report is due. I also requested that the police include in the report the number of motorist-bicyclist rights and duties cards they've distributed to motorists and to bicyclists and why they gave them. The City Engineer's office (Damien) reported; 1. The Mon Blvd. bicycle climbing lane won't be installed until October at the earliest. 2. Two bicycle friendly community signs have been erected: one on Mon Blvd. by the Coliseum and one on South University Av. by Aldi's. He has 10 more signs. While we recommended 6 locations, the two signs erected are not at the exact locations that we recommended. WVDOH didn't like 3 of our locations and will not put signs there. 3. Walgreen's and WVDOH will install additional signs to keep motorists who are exiting Walgreen's onto Green Bag Rd. from running over bicyclists and pedestrians who are in the crosswalk on the Decker's Creek trail. See you tomorrow night. Please remember to come prepared to say what you want to do in the next 12 months to accomplish the BB's mission. Frank P.S. Enforcement action #7 and Evaluation action #2 state: “Measure bicycle use, bicycle crashes, bicycle injuries, and bicycle-related citations and publish the results quarterly and yearly. Analyze data to identify opportunities for increasing bicycle use and reducing crashes. Every year, 2 months before the beginning of the City's annual budget cycle, conduct an annual review with City Council, Chief of Police, City Engineer and the Bicycle Board of trends in bicycle use, bicycle crashes, bicycle injuries and, bicycle-related citations and identify required changes to the Bicycle Plan and related plans and operations.”

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BB meeting this Thursday
by Frank Gmeindl 29 Jul '12

29 Jul '12

Bicycle Board Members, For this Thursday's meeting, please come prepared to say what you want to do in the next 12 months to accomplish the BB's mission. (See procedural guidelines at http://bikemorgantown.com/Docs/2011.07.12_Bicycle_Board_Procedural_Guidelin… ) I'll bring flip charts and record what you say you want to do. Then, you can ask for help and I'll record names of members that say they'll help you. This will probably take up the whole meeting so I'm not sending the usual agenda. If we have time, here are some other things you might want to discuss: Bicycle Friendly Community road signs Grants for bicycle plan implementation Bicycle Plan annual review Bicyclist-Motorists rights and duties cards Unicycles The future of Positive Spin If you have any other items to discuss, please reply-all with them. The meeting begins at 6:30 pm in the Public Safety Center Conference Room. Frank Lead, follow or get out of the way - Thomas Paine

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Unicycles (was July Traffic Commission Meeting)
by Frank Gmeindl 28 Jul '12

28 Jul '12

Roy, FYI, Terrence has forwarded the Bicycle Board Unicycle Committee's draft unicycle report to City Council and Council will discuss it at next Tuesday's Committee of the Whole meeting. (See agenda at http://www.morgantownwv.gov/wp-content/uploads/07-31-12_COW.pdf. The unicycle report is part of the agenda packet.) As you know, the Traffic Commission requested the Bicycle Board to review the unicycle issue and to provide recommendations to the Traffic Commission. Since the Bicycle Board has not met since May and the Traffic Commission did not meet in July while Terrence had promised Council in June that the Bicycle Board's recommendation would be presented at the July 31 COW, we are assuming (hoping) that the Bicycle Board and Traffic Commission would have approved the report as submitted to Terrence. Frank On Jun 29, 2012, at 7:40 PM, Roy Nutter wrote: > e-mail a DRAFT to the city manager. Explain that a final report will be submitted to the TC at its August meeting because of no meeting scheduled in July....Roy > > >>>> Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com> 6/29/2012 4:59 PM >>> > Roy, > > The City Manager promised City Council that at the July 31 COW meeting, the Bicycle Board would provide recommendations on the unicycle issue. (See http://www.morgantown.com/manager-weekly-newsletters/2012/06-08-12-City_Cou…) > > Since the Traffic Commission will not meet until August, how would you recommend we handle this? > > > 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 Jun 29, 2012, at 8:47 AM, Damien Davis wrote: > >> All, >> >> The July Traffic Commission meeting scheduled for the 4th is canceled. We will meeting again August 1st. Enjoy your holiday. >> >> J. Damien Davis, PE, CFM >> Assistant City Engineer >> City of Morgantown >> Public Works Department - Engineering Division >> 389 Spruce Street >> Morgantown, WV 26505 >> Office: 304.284.7398 >> Fax: 304.284.7409 >> www.morgantown.com >> >> > > >

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Fwd: Fwd: Positive Spin
by Frank Gmeindl 27 Jul '12

27 Jul '12

Begin forwarded message: > From: Alice Vernon <vernon.mail(a)gmail.com> > Date: July 27, 2012 11:31:48 AM EDT > To: Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [Bikeboard] Fwd: Positive Spin > > Sounds like a good idea to me. > Alice > > On Fri, Jul 27, 2012 at 5:09 AM, Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> Bicycle Board Members, >> >> A local bicyclist who wishes to remain anonymous observed to me that >> regarding Positive Spin, he thinks Mark Wise has someone who is willing to >> do bicycle mechanical work, but there still needs to be some administrative >> oversight of the PS center. He suggests that the Bicycle Board establish a >> committee of three persons to run the center, communicate with the public >> and BOPARC, supervise the work of the mechanic and have the center generally >> overseen as an education and resource center of the BB. Perhaps the >> committee of three could be non-BB members recruited for that purpose. >> Perhaps the BB could ask the city for an extra $5 grand to operate the >> structure and to pay the rent to BOPARC. He believes that BOPARC might >> support you on that. The “rent” is $200 a month. The rest of the cash could >> be used for operation expenses, education of school kids, etc. The Positive >> Spin has made unique significant contributions doing some bike education and >> bike distribution in the area, and it would be unfortunate to let its >> marketing and reputation for success completely die. Even if the PS center >> could just be open for sales and swaps on Saturday mornings but hold >> periodic classes and special events after school and on weekday evenings. >> Perhaps the BB could even install a black board and hold a couple of its >> meetings each year at the center. >> >> Frank >> >> >> On Jul 16, 2012, at 10:33 PM, director wrote: >> >> Butch, Frank, Marc et al, >> Positive Spin has always netted some income at the end each year, primarily >> from the sale of recycled bikes. This is only because our overhead is quite >> low. I'll be happy to give a financial summary if interested parties can >> get together as group so I only have to do it once. This year, which is our >> best ever, we have grossed about $16000 up to now - as much as we have ever >> made in an entire year. I'm in the process of getting together monthly >> reports for this year but an average month has about $1000 expenses. We do >> a lot of unpaid activities like Toy Drive, Bikes for the World (overseas) >> that serve to clear out our otherwise unusable inventory. If you advertised >> through the Bike League or Alliance for Biking and Walking I'm sure you >> could find someone much better trained and experienced for the job. If they >> could add kids' "cycling skills" classes, mechanic training, camps, etc. >> they could bring in additional net income - probably enough to pay them a >> living wage. >> >> Currently I plan to close the doors Aug. 1 but if there is enough interest >> in keeping things going I'll hold off the fire sale until someone has been >> appointed to pay the bills. There are several volunteers who are not in >> this social circle who would like to continue volunteering in non-leadership >> roles. Jen Previll - data entry, showroom help. Ken Rice, Bill Jones - >> repair, freakbikes, showroom help. Joe Sallmen-repair, shop help. Danielle >> Williams and Derek Springston have expressed keen interest in keeping things >> going in some way. My suggestion to Marc was that the mission be scaled >> back from sustainable transportation to bike recycling/bike-ped education. >> This would drop the advocacy and infrastructure aspects, as well as >> transit/carpool travel modes. >> >> It's late and I'm tired, so that's all the coherent stuff I can contribute >> at the moment. I'm anxious to see new leadership emerge to continue filling >> this important niche of getting bikes that wouldn't get used otherwise to >> people who wouldn't be able to get one otherwise. And training them to use >> them safely and enjoyably. Thanks to all of you, for all you've done so far >> and for the kind words of grattitude. The best thanks, though, will be to >> see what I've started continue after I'm gone. >> Nick >> >> Nick Hein LCI# 1705 >> Director, Positive Spin >> 803 East Brockway Ave >> Morgantown, WV >> ph 304-276-0213 >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: "Graber, Stephen" <sggraber(a)hsc.wvu.edu> >> Sent 7/16/2012 9:57:26 PM >> To: "Frank Gmeindl" <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com>, "Bicycle Board" >> <bikeboard(a)cheat.org> >> Subject: Re: [Bikeboard] Fwd: Positive Spin >> >> Was Nick able to derive any income at all from Positive Spin? If so perhaps >> it could be "sold" (I know it's a non-profit) to some like-minded individual >> and perhaps the BB could help BoParc advertise and interview candidates. >> With the right person and possibly help from the City and/or BoParc I would >> think the operation might continue almost as is while providing just enough >> income to support a "director" that would manage things and oversee whatever >> volunteers are manning the place now. Doubtful anyone will ever give quite >> as much as Nick but perhaps they could come close enough to keep Positive >> Spin spinning. >> Butch >> >> ------------------------------------------- >> >> Stephen G. Graber >> >> Biochem & Mol Pharmacology >> >> PO Box 9142, HSN-3122 >> >> West Virginia University >> >> Morgantown, WV 26506-9142 >> >> phone: 304-293-2305 >> >> >> >> ------ _0 >> >> ------ _ \<,_ >> >> ---- (*)/ (*) >> >> >> ________________________________ >> From: bikeboard-bounces(a)cheat.org [bikeboard-bounces(a)cheat.org] On Behalf Of >> Frank Gmeindl [fgmeindl(a)gmail.com] >> Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 6:35 PM >> To: Bicycle Board >> Subject: [Bikeboard] Fwd: Positive Spin >> >> Bicycle Board Members, >> >> Please reply-to-all at your earliest convenience with your thoughts or >> recommendations for a response to Mark. He is director of BOPARC. >> >> 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 >> >> >> >> Begin forwarded message: >> >> From: "Mark Wise" <mwise(a)boparc.org> >> Date: July 16, 2012 3:05:47 PM EDT >> To: <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com> >> >> Frank, I was hoping to speak to the Bike Board about a concern I have >> related to Bike activities in our community. As you may know Nick Hein of >> Positive Spin is leaving the area. He has been a vital part of the Positive >> Spin operation. He has approached BOPARC about continuing the services that >> Positive Spin provided. We do not have the staffing or expertise to do this >> but think that it is an important service to offer our community. Do you >> have any thoughts on how we could integrate the Positive Spin operation >> under the Bike Board and BOPARC’s umbrella of responsibility? I know we >> cannot do this alone. Any thoughts? Mark Wise mwise(a)boparc.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Bikeboard mailing list >> Bikeboard(a)cheat.org >> http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Bikeboard mailing list >> Bikeboard(a)cheat.org >> http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Bikeboard mailing list >> Bikeboard(a)cheat.org >> http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard

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Re: [Bikeboard] Fwd: Positive Spin
by director 27 Jul '12

27 Jul '12

Butch, Frank, Marc et al, Positive Spin has always netted some income at the end each year, primarily from the sale of recycled bikes. This is only because our overhead is quite low. I'll be happy to give a financial summary if interested parties can get together as group so I only have to do it once. This year, which is our best ever, we have grossed about $16000 up to now - as much as we have ever made in an entire year. I'm in the process of getting together monthly reports for this year but an average month has about $1000 expenses. We do a lot of unpaid activities like Toy Drive, Bikes for the World (overseas) that serve to clear out our otherwise unusable inventory. If you advertised through the Bike League or Alliance for Biking and Walking I'm sure you could find someone much better trained and experienced for the job. If they could add kids' "cycling skills" classes, mechanic training, camps, etc. they could bring in additional net income - probably enough to pay them a living wage. Currently I plan to close the doors Aug. 1 but if there is enough interest in keeping things going I'll hold off the fire sale until someone has been appointed to pay the bills. There are several volunteers who are not in this social circle who would like to continue volunteering in non-leadership roles. Jen Previll - data entry, showroom help. Ken Rice, Bill Jones - repair, freakbikes, showroom help. Joe Sallmen-repair, shop help. Danielle Williams and Derek Springston have expressed keen interest in keeping things going in some way. My suggestion to Marc was that the mission be scaled back from sustainable transportation to bike recycling/bike-ped education. This would drop the advocacy and infrastructure aspects, as well as transit/carpool travel modes. It's late and I'm tired, so that's all the coherent stuff I can contribute at the moment. I'm anxious to see new leadership emerge to continue filling this important niche of getting bikes that wouldn't get used otherwise to people who wouldn't be able to get one otherwise. And training them to use them safely and enjoyably. Thanks to all of you, for all you've done so far and for the kind words of grattitude. The best thanks, though, will be to see what I've started continue after I'm gone. Nick Nick Hein LCI# 1705 Director, Positive Spin 803 East Brockway Ave Morgantown, WV ph 304-276-0213 -----Original Message----- From: "Graber, Stephen" <sggraber(a)hsc.wvu.edu> Sent 7/16/2012 9:57:26 PM To: "Frank Gmeindl" <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com>, "Bicycle Board" <bikeboard(a)cheat.org> Subject: Re: [Bikeboard] Fwd: Positive Spin Was Nick able to derive any income at all from Positive Spin? If so perhaps it could be "sold" (I know it's a non-profit) to some like-minded individual and perhaps the BB could help BoParc advertise and interview candidates. With the right person and possibly help from the City and/or BoParc I would think the operation might continue almost as is while providing just enough income to support a "director" that would manage things and oversee whatever volunteers are manning the place now. Doubtful anyone will ever give quite as much as Nick but perhaps they could come close enough to keep Positive Spin spinning. Butch ------------------------------------------- Stephen G. Graber Biochem & Mol Pharmacology PO Box 9142, HSN-3122 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV 26506-9142 phone: 304-293-2305 ------ _0 ------ _ \<,_ ---- (*)/ (*) From: bikeboard-bounces(a)cheat.org [bikeboard-bounces(a)cheat.org] On Behalf Of Frank Gmeindl [fgmeindl(a)gmail.com] Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 6:35 PM To: Bicycle Board Subject: [Bikeboard] Fwd: Positive Spin Bicycle Board Members, Please reply-to-all at your earliest convenience with your thoughts or recommendations for a response to Mark. He is director of BOPARC. 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 Begin forwarded message: From: "Mark Wise" <mwise(a)boparc.org> Date: July 16, 2012 3:05:47 PM EDT To: <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com> Frank, I was hoping to speak to the Bike Board about a concern I have related to Bike activities in our community. As you may know Nick Hein of Positive Spin is leaving the area. He has been a vital part of the Positive Spin operation. He has approached BOPARC about continuing the services that Positive Spin provided. We do not have the staffing or expertise to do this but think that it is an important service to offer our community. Do you have any thoughts on how we could integrate the Positive Spin operation under the Bike Board and BOPARC’s umbrella of responsibility? I know we cannot do this alone. Any thoughts? Mark Wise mwise(a)boparc.org _______________________________________________ Bikeboard mailing list Bikeboard(a)cheat.org http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard

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Could we do something like this?
by director 26 Jul '12

26 Jul '12

How about putting "Welcome to Bike Friendly Morgantown" on the old Whitetail rooftop sign?? http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/4-story-portland-mural-welcomes-you-america… Nick Hein LCI# 1705 Director, Positive Spin 803 East Brockway Ave Morgantown, WV ph 304-276-0213

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Re: [Bikeboard] August TC Meeting
by Frank Gmeindl 25 Jul '12

25 Jul '12

Damien, Please find the Bicycle Board report to the Traffic Commission at https://www.dropbox.com/s/3h7i1jy6cermyve/20120801Report_to_TC.doc. Could you please also arrange to have the appropriate individuals answer the following questions at the meeting? Police: How many rights and duties information cards have been distributed to motorists and to bicyclists by month. If possible, include circumstances in which cards were distributed, e.g. given to motorist for passing a cyclist too close; given to bicyclist for failure to stop at a stop sign, etc.? City Engineer: What are the status and plans for Mon Blvd. bicycle climbing lane? City Engineer: What are the status and plans for Bicycle Friendly Community road signs? For signs that have been erected, please include location and if convenient, latitude and longitude in addition to roadway name and nearest crossroad. City Engineer: What are the status and plans for Walgreen's Sabraton egress and protection of cyclists crossing Green Bag Rd.? City Engineer: What has the City done to implement the Greater Morgantown Bicycle Plan since City Council adopted it May 1? 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 Jul 24, 2012, at 9:23 AM, Damien Davis wrote: > All, > > Please send me your agenda items for the August meeting by the end of the day tomorrow. I'll will be sending it out on Friday. Thanks. > > J. Damien Davis, PE, CFM > Assistant City Engineer > City of Morgantown > Public Works Department - Engineering Division > 389 Spruce Street > Morgantown, WV 26505 > Office: 304.284.7398 > Fax: 304.284.7409 > www.morgantown.com > >

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Re: [Bikeboard] Fwd: August TC Meeting
by Frank Gmeindl 25 Jul '12

25 Jul '12

Derek, Thanks for the feedback. Please see my responses in-line below. Frank On Jul 24, 2012, at 1:49 PM, Derek Springston wrote: > Frank, > For the question below about the BFC Signs, if we provided the recommended locations map, can we more specifically ask for what locations were installed. Will do although I won't be surprised if WVDOH didn't record lat long when they installed them. > > In the TC report, I glanced over it and it looked fine to me with these exceptions: > Can we format the table so it's all on one page? Thanks for prompting me to look at it again. Apparently, viewing it in Dropbox without downloading it somewhat corrupts it. I'll remind Damien to download it when he preps it for distribution to the TC. The table may still run over multiple pages though. > > The Cyclist Police Information Card might be a little better if we: > -included a qualifier about kids being allowed to ride on sidewalks > -use an effective white front headlight and red rear reflector.... (is the red rear reflector, just a reflector and not a light?) §17C-11-7. Lamps and other equipment on bicycles. (a) Every bicycle when in use at nighttime shall be equipped with a lamp on the front which shall emit a white light visible from a distance of at least five hundred feet to the front and with a red reflector on the rear of a type approved by the department which shall be visible from all distances from fifty feet to three hundred feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle. A lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of five hundred feet to the rear may be used in addition to the red reflector.) > - I realize this doesn't necessarily affect this email and that comments for this are waaaaay past due, but noticed it and thought I'd go ahead and put it on record even if it doesn't get added or changed later. This is also assuming they are valuable comments! :) Man, you're sure right there. We worked this over quite a bit on the BB to come to what we have and I don't want to change it now that the TC and CC have reviewed it. I know at least Councilman Wes Nugent wants to make some changes to it so I propose we go with the flow. (Actually, I have a problem with the card saying motorists must leave 3-feet when they pass. That's not the law in WV.) > > > That's all I saw... > ~Derek > > > On Tue, Jul 24, 2012 at 11:12 AM, Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Bicycle Board Members, > > Please reply before noon tomorrow (Wednesday). > > Please find the Traffic Commission at https://www.dropbox.com/s/3h7i1jy6cermyve/20120801Report_to_TC.doc. Let me know if you want any changes. > > When I submit the report to Damien, I plan to ask him to include in the TC agenda the following requests: > > Police: How many rights and duties information cards have been distributed to motorists and to bicyclists by month. If possible, include circumstances in which cards were distributed, e.g. given to motorist for passing a cyclist too close; given to bicyclist for failure to stop at a stop sign? > City Engineer: What are the status and plans for Mon Blvd. bicycle climbing lane? (I thought this was going to be installed in July.) > City Engineer: What are the status and plans for Bicycle Friendly Community road signs? (I think they're up but I don't know how many or where.) > City Engineer: What are the status and plans Walgreen's Sabraton egress and protection of cyclists crossing Green Bag Rd.? > City Engineer: What has the City done to implement the Greater Morgantown Bicycle Plan since City Council adopted it May 1? > > > 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 > > > > > Begin forwarded message: > >> From: Damien Davis <ddavis(a)cityofmorgantown.org> >> Date: July 24, 2012 9:23:14 AM EDT >> To: Susan Sullivan <ssullivan(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, Julie.Thalman(a)mail.wvu.edu, Bethany Sypolt <bsypolt(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, Linda Little <llittle(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, William Wyant <wwyant(a)hsc.wvu.edu>, mmccabe(a)cityofmorgantown.org, wes(a)wnugent.com, Jeff Mikorski <jmikorski(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, j4im3s(a)gmail.com, "mckain, david" <david.mckain(a)gmail.com>, christophergluck(a)gmail.com, psteel(a)access.k12.wv.us, "Gmeindl, Frank" <frank.gmeindl(a)comcast.net>, Andrea Soccorsi <Andrea.Soccorsi(a)Mail.WVU.edu>, Barbara Shellito <bshellito(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, Christiaan Abildso <Christiaan.Abildso(a)mail.wvu.edu>, Ken Martis <kmartis(a)wvu.edu>, Margaret Roberts <Margaretormike(a)aol.com>, Roy Nutter <rnutter(a)wvu.edu>, Terry Hough <though(a)cityofmorgantown.org> >> Subject: August TC Meeting >> Reply-To: ddavis(a)cityofmorgantown.org >> >> All, >> >> Please send me your agenda items for the August meeting by the end of the day tomorrow. I'll will be sending it out on Friday. Thanks. >> >> J. Damien Davis, PE, CFM >> Assistant City Engineer >> City of Morgantown >> Public Works Department - Engineering Division >> 389 Spruce Street >> Morgantown, WV 26505 >> Office: 304.284.7398 >> Fax: 304.284.7409 >> www.morgantown.com >> >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikeboard mailing list > Bikeboard(a)cheat.org > http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard > > > > -- > Let deeds, not words, be your adorning. -'Abdu'l-Baha > > “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” -H.G. Wells >

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Fwd: August TC Meeting
by Frank Gmeindl 25 Jul '12

25 Jul '12

Bicycle Board Members, Please reply before noon tomorrow (Wednesday). Please find the Traffic Commission at https://www.dropbox.com/s/3h7i1jy6cermyve/20120801Report_to_TC.doc. Let me know if you want any changes. When I submit the report to Damien, I plan to ask him to include in the TC agenda the following requests: Police: How many rights and duties information cards have been distributed to motorists and to bicyclists by month. If possible, include circumstances in which cards were distributed, e.g. given to motorist for passing a cyclist too close; given to bicyclist for failure to stop at a stop sign? City Engineer: What are the status and plans for Mon Blvd. bicycle climbing lane? (I thought this was going to be installed in July.) City Engineer: What are the status and plans for Bicycle Friendly Community road signs? (I think they're up but I don't know how many or where.) City Engineer: What are the status and plans Walgreen's Sabraton egress and protection of cyclists crossing Green Bag Rd.? City Engineer: What has the City done to implement the Greater Morgantown Bicycle Plan since City Council adopted it May 1? 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 Begin forwarded message: > From: Damien Davis <ddavis(a)cityofmorgantown.org> > Date: July 24, 2012 9:23:14 AM EDT > To: Susan Sullivan <ssullivan(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, Julie.Thalman(a)mail.wvu.edu, Bethany Sypolt <bsypolt(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, Linda Little <llittle(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, William Wyant <wwyant(a)hsc.wvu.edu>, mmccabe(a)cityofmorgantown.org, wes(a)wnugent.com, Jeff Mikorski <jmikorski(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, j4im3s(a)gmail.com, "mckain, david" <david.mckain(a)gmail.com>, christophergluck(a)gmail.com, psteel(a)access.k12.wv.us, "Gmeindl, Frank" <frank.gmeindl(a)comcast.net>, Andrea Soccorsi <Andrea.Soccorsi(a)Mail.WVU.edu>, Barbara Shellito <bshellito(a)cityofmorgantown.org>, Christiaan Abildso <Christiaan.Abildso(a)mail.wvu.edu>, Ken Martis <kmartis(a)wvu.edu>, Margaret Roberts <Margaretormike(a)aol.com>, Roy Nutter <rnutter(a)wvu.edu>, Terry Hough <though(a)cityofmorgantown.org> > Subject: August TC Meeting > Reply-To: ddavis(a)cityofmorgantown.org > > All, > > Please send me your agenda items for the August meeting by the end of the day tomorrow. I'll will be sending it out on Friday. Thanks. > > J. Damien Davis, PE, CFM > Assistant City Engineer > City of Morgantown > Public Works Department - Engineering Division > 389 Spruce Street > Morgantown, WV 26505 > Office: 304.284.7398 > Fax: 304.284.7409 > www.morgantown.com > >

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Re: [Bikeboard] Question about Bike Trails
by Frank Gmeindl 17 Jul '12

17 Jul '12

Hi Matt, I don't think I'll be able to show you any intersections in Morgantown that are extraordinarily bicycle friendly. With our hilly terrain and no money, we've chosen to educate people to ride safely and confidently in the current situation and to educate public officials on cyclists' needs. This year, the League of American Bicyclists gave Morgantown bronze level recognition as a bicycle-friendly community primarily for our education program and secondarily for our planning. Most of the main streets in Morgantown are controlled by the state. For most of the years that LAB has been evaluating states for bicycle friendliness, WV has ranked 50. This year, it's 48. Getting the state to do anything primarily for cyclists is extremely difficult. I expect you're familiar with the 6 Es: Education, Enforcement, Engineering, Encouragement, Evaluation and Equity that LAB uses to evaluate communities. We chose to start off emphasizing education because we felt we could realize the most benefit by educating cyclists how to ride safely and confidently given the present infrastructure. We also chose to emphasize education to help City and State officials to learn how to make our community more bicycle friendly. Those of us that teach believe that if cyclists operated their bicycles as vehicles and if both cyclists and motorists obeyed traffic rules some costly infrastructure "improvements" could be unnecessary. That said, we can't expect 5-14 year olds to be competent drivers and so we must identify reasonable solutions to protect them. Our community has chosen to bus them all and/or have adults drive them to school. Creating Safe Routes to Schools is one of the top priority projects in the Greater Morgantown Bicycle Plan that City Council approved last May (attached). Many streets in Morgantown do not have sidewalks and so they also don't have crosswalks. We also have a Pedestrian Safety Board that has a prioritized plan for installing sidewalks and crosswalks as well as more multi-modal traffic control. However, whether children ride on sidewalks and in crosswalks or on the streets, their safety still depends on motorists paying attention, driving at appropriate speeds and not running them over: enforcement. Both local bicycling and pedestrian advocates face the same problem: a state that's motor-vehicle focused and a State and City that have little money. So far, nobody locally that I know has done a complete life-cycle economics study of bussing & driving children versus investing in infrastructure to enable them to walk or bike safely. Just getting started on that will take a major culture shift that we're just starting to talk about in our long range transportation planning (30 year horizon). Discussing such with you would probably be more pleasant on the trails but we could also discuss such on the roads accepting that we might have some distractions. Frank On Jul 17, 2012, at 2:00 PM, Matthew Boggs wrote: > Hi Frank, > > Thanks for the quick reply and great info!! We are excited to hear our road bikes should handle the nice rail trail system there. Can't wait to get pedaling there! > > We live in a town about half the size of Morgantown which is trying to take some steps to making the community more cycling friendly so we will be looking for ideas to take back home as well regarding making intersections safer for cyclists, especially children who elect to bike to school from nearby neighborhoods. Do you know of some good intersections in town we should check out for ideas to take back to our City Council? Possibly examples of signage, crosswalk markers, special stoplight programming, etc, with cyclists in mind. > > Thanks again! > > -matt > Rubber Side Down > > On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 12:22 PM, Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Matt! > > I ride 700x 23 GP 4000's on the crushed limestone sections of the rail trail with no problem. The Monongahela River Trail, Caperton Trail and Deckers Creek Trail as well as the trail all the way to Shinnston WV is fine for our tires. The crushed limestone is small and well-packed; a little slower rolling than asphalt and a bit dustier on dry days. Approximately 10 miles of the trail within the City are asphalt and several miles of the trail in and near Fairmont are asphalt. > > We also have great road rides around here that I'd be glad to show you. > > Other bike related items: > > Morgantown has 2 excellent bike shops: Wamsley Cycles, http://www.wamsleycycles.com/ located right on the trail and Pathfinder, http://www.pathfinderwv.com/ located right in the heart of downtown. > > The local bicycles clubs, Monongalia Bicycle Club and Country Roads cyclists have regularly scheduled rides. See the Monongalia Bicycle Club calendar at https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=64i6hoaouqrdmetaeu7o1en6a0@group.… and the Country Roads Cyclists' ride list at http://www.crcyclists.org/CurrentRideSch.html . > > Both clubs have Google groups that list races and impromptu rides. See https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/monbikeclub for the Monongalia Bicycle Clubs group and https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/CRcyclists for the Country Roads Cyclists google group. The google groups sometimes have post ride reports that might provide you more specific insights into the rides. > > Morgantown offers some great eats for bicyclists including Terra Cafe, Black Bear Burritos, Chaan Thai, Mother India, Sargasso ($$), Kenyan Cafe, Puglioni's, Rio Grande, Mountain State Brewery, Morgantown Brewing Co. > > I'm copying this message to the monbikeclub and the CRC so members can share with you other opportunities of which they may know. > > 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 Jul 17, 2012, at 10:13 AM, Matthew Boggs wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> We will be coming to Morgantown for a biking vacation from Illinois in a few weeks. I see that Morgantown has a lot of constructed bike paths of which most is defined as "crushed limestone". We were planning to bring road bikes but were not sure how they would do on the crushed limestone part of the trail system. Currently have Conti 4000S 700x23 tires installed. >> >> Do you think using road tires on the crushed limestone part of the trails is a bad idea? Do you have any advice on how to make a road bike more suitable for the crushed limestone part of the trail system, if possible? >> >> PS> We are very excited about coming to bike in Morgantown. We have been looking at the bikemorgantown.com website and have been impressed with the momentum cycling has gotten in Morgantown. We will be in town August 9-12 and staying in the downtown area. Can you recommend any other bike related items special to Morgantown you feel we should checkout while in town? >> >> Thanks! >> >> -matt >> > >

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