Bikeboard

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2521 discussions

3D Rendering of High Street
by director 24 Nov '08

24 Nov '08

Good evening, I received the image files of 3 blocks of High St (Pleasant to Willey) and put them into Sketchup to give a 3D rendering. My Mom just arrived so I haven't done a complete job of showing the bike rack locations that have been proposed, however the attached file shows the corner at Fayette St. with a couple of 3d racks, bikes, cars and a person for scale. I can do more with more time. The image I'm sending is a static 2d file, but I have the 3d version and I'd be happy to send it to anyone who knows how to use Sketchup. I could also bring my computer to the next meeting. There's some other cool stuff that can be done with this too. Nick -- Nick Hein Director, Positive Spin Morgantown, WV ph 304-276-0213 --

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Meeting Minutes
by Elizabeth Shogren 22 Nov '08

22 Nov '08

Attached are the minutes for the regular November BB meeting, as well as the extra parking meeting. If you have any comments or corrections, please email me. Thank you, BETSY SHOGREN

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Parking, SLMs, Ed Grant
by Frank Gmeindl 21 Nov '08

21 Nov '08

Bicycle Board Members, Yesterday, I had a very positive meeting with Jeff Mikorski, Assistant City Manager about bike parking and shared lane markings after which we met with Jeff Harpold, WVDOH Transportation Ehancement Coordinator on the Effective Cycling Education Program grant. *Bike Parking* * The City considered bike parking on the High Street Streetscape but didn't develop any plans because they didn't have sufficient budget. * I reviewed with Mikorski the Streetscape map that we marked up showing recommended locations for 30 bike racks. It made sense to him. His specific comments: 1. Design: City had considered post-and-loop. I described Chip's recommended flair rack. Jeff's OK with it. 2. Location: Concern for bicycle orientation (i.e. parallel or perpendicular to walkway) to minimize interference with pedestrians and parking motor vehicles. 3. The curbs around the trees were recently installed to keep water from flooding the tree boxes. City doesn't consider them a tripping hazard. 4. Watch out for vaults under the rack locations because you can't drill down there. Jeff favored putting racks between tree and curb. (I indicated maintenance risk.) 5. The prevailing color for streetscape hardware is black. 6. Maintenance: If private property owners agree to have the City put bike racks on their property, maintenance responsibility will have to be defined. 7. Abandoned bikes: policy? Who gets rid of abandoned bikes and how. *Shared Lane Markings* * We reviewed Derek's maps and I asked Jeff if the City would pay for future printing. He said that the City has a new part-time engineer, Damian, who's GIS-savvy and using ESRI software. Jeff will check with Terry Hough to see if Damian can work with Derek to get future maps printed at City hall. * The City is building a geo database and having GPS points for things like SLMs, BMUFL signs and bike racks is the way they want to go. *Effective Cycling Education Program* Harpold came up to Morgantown to meet with Mikorski, me and Nick Hein to review our application. Nick didn't show. Highlights: 1. We have 2 years from authorization to proceed to complete the work. 2. Authorization may not come for 4-6 months. 3. We will produce monthly deliverables (for example, number of course deliveries, PSAs produced, ads run, effectiveness data collected) that show that we're accomplishing what we proposed and that will justify reimbursing our expenses. 4. The contract between the City and Positive Spin must have a not-to-exceed limit. 5. Harpold and Mikorski need to resolve whether we'll have to go out for bids for work to be done. 6. There are probably state and federal regulations that determine the allowable salary ranges that we will need to learn before we can pay people. 7. Harpold will make an agreement between the City and the State that specifies scope, funding, deliverables and schedule. 8. The agreement must be reviewed by WVDOH legal, historic preservation, Greater Morgantown Metropolitan Planning Organization (the MPO can kill the project), Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan. 9. The total grant is $54,417 state + $13,605 City = $68,022. *Action Items * 1. Bicycle Board reorganize the Education Committee. 2. Education Committee develop a project plan. 3. Positive Spin and the City make a contract. Frank

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Hero
by Frank Gmeindl 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

Did you see Jim Rye's picture on the front page of the Dominion Post today: taking the lane on Cheat Road in the snow... my hero! Frank /Same Roads Same Rights Same Rules /

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Re: [Bikeboard] [Fwd: Mid-Ohio Valley Bicycle Council]
by Frank Gmeindl 17 Nov '08

17 Nov '08

Kim, Like everyone, my time is limited. I try to use it where it will have the most impact on my agenda. My primary mission is to teach cyclists to act as drivers of vehicles. That includes teaching them how to drive their bicycles on roadways and not on sidewalks. I'd like to see the shared lane markings and Bicycles May Use Full Lane signs on the roadways before I get involved in public arguments with ignorant individuals especially if they are not in a position to do anything but blow smoke. It took the Morgantown Municipal Bicycle Board over a year of continuous effort to get resistant public officials aligned with its plans to install the SLMs and BMUFL signs. Our biggest problem is that almost all of us only have a few hours a month that we can devote to advancing bicycling. Gary Warhoftig, the key public official with the WVDOH in Charleston who several months ago after a personal visit from the Deputy Mayor and a City Councilor finally gave Morgantown the approval to install these has since retired. We have been slow in getting the markings and signs installed because our volunteers do not have enough time to respond fast enough to the various demands that the lay on us. Now, we may lose the whole thing because Warhoftig's replacement has reversed the approval. Now, a contingent of us must waste a day going to Charleston to try to persuade Warhoftig's replacement to reconsider his reversal. After all, the law still says that cyclists must ride as far to the right as practicable and it is going to be a continuous uphill struggle to persuade people such as the WVDOH that it says "practicable" and not "possible" and that often practicable means to take the lane. I think it might be more effective to work with WV legislators to remove the far to the right restriction and establish a 3-foot passing rule than to argue with Mr. Dye. When you sent me the picture of the Parkersburg Critical Mass Ride, I was glad to see cyclists wearing helmets and riding not more than two abreast. My previous experience with Critical Mass Rides over a period of more than 10 years is that they generally create and intensify motorist animosity toward bicycling and certainly don't promote cyclists acting or being treated as drivers of vehicles. Dye's letter seems to be yet another confirmation of that. I'd rather keep Morgantown's SLMs and BMUFLs out of Parkersburg's and more importantly, Charleston's newspapers until they are installed and we have a preponderance of evidence that they are effective at improving both cyclists' and motorists' behaviors. Frank /Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles /- John Forester Kimberly Jo Broughton wrote: > Hey guys, > Thought I would forward this. I would appreciate any information you > could provide for a response. Frank, I plan to use information about > what Morgantown is doing for lane markings if you don't mind. I want > to respond and show work is being done all over the state towards more > biking and appreciate a quote from each of you if you don't mind. No > problem if you do. I want to respond by educating. It is a perfect > opportunity! > Thanks so much, > Kim > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: > Mid-Ohio Valley Bicycle Council > From: > Adventure Pursuit <adventurepursuit(a)hotmail.com> > Date: > Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:42:32 -0500 > To: > kimbroughton(a)verizon.net > > To: > kimbroughton(a)verizon.net > > > > > *November 16, 2008 * > * * > * > *Volunteers are needed to ride bikes with individuals, assist in the > helmet safety campaign and coordinate bike repairs with visiting > mechanics.* > * > * * > *You can sign up to be a volunteer by going to Adventure Pursuit's > volunteer application. It takes about 60 seconds. Click here > <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=10666840&msgid=224419&act=ZRF5&c=…>to > sign up. > * > * * > * * > *Adventure Pursuit* > *PO Box 431 * > *Parkersburg WV 26102 304-485-0911 * > * * > > > > > > * * > * > *Letter to the editor about cyclists in Parkersburg paper > * > ** > ** > *** > * ** Hey all,* > *There is letter to the editor on Parkersburg's website about > cyclists. You can see the link here* > * * > http://newsandsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/511433.html > I'd like to provide a response to the paper from the Mid-Ohio Bicycle > Council if anyone is interested in participating. If so, please send > your thoughts. This is a perfect opportunity to educate Steve and the > rest of the public. It would be nice to show a group of people > responding. > > Looks like our awareness ride worked :). > Thanks! > Kim > > > ** > * * > > > Drivers not only problem > > /POSTED: November 16, 2008/ > Save > <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=10666840&msgid=224419&act=ZRF5&c=…> > | Print > <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=10666840&msgid=224419&act=ZRF5&c=…> > | Email > <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=10666840&msgid=224419&act=ZRF5&c=…> > | Read comments > <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=10666840&msgid=224419&act=ZRF5&c=…> > | Post a comment > <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=10666840&msgid=224419&act=ZRF5&c=…> > > Email: "Drivers not only problem" > > *To: > > > > <--TO Email REQUIRED! > > *From: > > > > <--FROM Email REQUIRED! > > > > Being of the country persuasion, I've long been disgusted by city bike > riders coming onto our narrow country roads and making nuisances of > themselves. Yes, they have a legal right to be there. However, in the > days before cute little spandex outfits for aging athletes, most > people on bicycles realized that they were a safety hazard in their > own right and made at least some effort to cooperate with automobile > drivers. Many would move near the edge to allow drivers to pass more > easily, or slow down slightly and motion those behind them around. > > Today, too many seem to prefer to ride on the center-line and dare > anyone to hit them. Rarely do you see one deliberately yield part of > their lane to let a car around, and the only place that most slow down > is where they know auto drivers can't pass anyway. As soon as you get > to a safe place to pass, they take off like the proverbial bat out of > Hades. Few women bicyclists seem to behave that way, so I guess it > must to be a testosterone thing. > > In town, some of them dart between lanes of stopped traffic to crowd > ahead in line, run stop signs and switch on and off the sidewalk at > will. During the publicized ride for awareness the other day, my wife > and I stepped out the door of the bookstore by the mall and were > nearly run down by what appeared to be a bicycle club member who was > riding on the sidewalk to avoid the speed-bumps in the street. While I > realize that there are plenty of rude and careless drivers out there, > it seems to me that rude auto drivers aren't the only problem on the > highways (and sidewalks). > > Steve Dye > > Parkersburg > > > * > * > * > * > * > ** > * > > > > > > > > This message was sent from Adventure Pursuit to > kimbroughton(a)verizon.net. It was sent from: Adventure Pursuit, PO Box > 431, Parkersburg, WV 26102. You can modify/update your subscription > via the link below. Email Marketing Software > <http://www.icontact.com/a.pl/144186> > > > Manage your subscription > <http://app.icontact.com/icp/mmail-mprofile.pl?r=10666840&l=21227&s=ZRF5&m=2…> > > View this message in the iContact Community: View message > <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=10666840&msgid=224419&act=ZRF5&c=…> > Comment on this message > <http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=10666840&msgid=224419&act=ZRF5&c=…> > Receive as RSS > <http://community.icontact.com/p/testtest8/newsletters/mid-ohio-valley-bicyc…> > >

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bike rack sources
by Chip Wamsley 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

Here is a list of sites of interest with regard to bicycle parking. 1)http://toronto.ca/cycling/postandring.html this site is for the city of Toronto, not a specific manufacturer, but it has lots of good info about racks and all sorts of bike policies. 2)http://www.theparkcatalog.com A manufacturer of all types of park and streetscape items including bike racks. The flare style rack seems to be the best in terms of simple clean design and the lowest price at $77/unit vs similar racks in the $200-$500/unit price range. It also comes in a thermoplastic coating which should maintain its appearance and be kind to bike finishes (the only company I found offering this finish). Highland Products is located in Oklahoma with offices in Boca Raton, FL. 3)http://www.madrax.com Also a maker of bike racks including bike lockers (check out the wedge designs--4units/90 degrees @ $1825/unit). Their other bike racks are available in three finishes: galvanized, powder coat, or stainless. Prices for their 2 bike bollard model BOL450-1 are $189, $239 and $679 for the three respective finishes. Madrax is located in Wisconsin. 4)http://www.bikeparking.com They have an interesting circle design in the usual three finishes, pricing is on their site. The Palmer Group is located in San Francisco. 5)http://www.bikerack.ca/products.html They produce the classic post and ring racks for Toronto. This cast design's ring can be broken and looks to be hard on bike finishes, They are located in Montreal, Canada. Submitted by Chip W.

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Re: [Bikeboard] state wide bike meeting
by Frank Gmeindl 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

Kim, If you're trying to identify actions and accomplishments for making the State more bicycle friendly, Morgantown's application for the LAB Bicycle Friendly Community award provides a good summary for Morgantown. The application is available at http://www.morgantown.com/bike-board-documents/BFC%20Application.zip on the City's web site http://www.morgantown.com/. We didn't win the award but it helped us focus our efforts on the 5Es around which the application criteria are organized: Education, Enforcement, Engineering, Encouragement and Evaluation. The attached pdf file is LAB's feedback to our application. Since our BFC application, we have received WVDOH approval to apply Shared Lane Markings (sharrows) and Bicycles May Use Full Lane signs to select Morgantown roadways. The attached file, Chevron_press_release_v003.doc describes these. The City has put $35K in the budget for these this year. Also since our application, the State has given us a WV Transportation Enhancement Program grant for a Morgantown Effective Cycling Education Program. Attached is the final draft of our application that explains the education program. Could you help us with the Social Marketing part? Also at http://www.morgantown.com/bike-board-documents/Accommodating_Bicycles_prese… on the City's website is a Morgantown Bicycle Board presentation, /Accommodating Bicycles/, to the Greater Morgantown Metropolitan Planning Organization that provides a plan and goals for accommodating bicycles in the Morgantown Metropolitan Statistical Area. I know I've pointed you at a lot of stuff. We've been working on this for over two years. Reviewing the attached items might help us hit the ground running when we meet. Frank Gmeindl LCI #1703 /Bicycles fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles/ Kimberly Jo Broughton wrote: > I will! Thank you Frank! > > Frank Gmeindl wrote: >> Kim, >> >> Thanks for thinking of me. Let me know when and where. >> >> Frank >> >> Kimberly Jo Broughton wrote: >>> Hey Frank, >>> Bill Reger-Nahs suggest I touch base with you on a meeting I am >>> working with Bill Robinson to set up regarding the State's next >>> response to the League of American Bicyclists survey that was used >>> to rank states for biking. The report is due in March and we would >>> like to get bike leaders together and catalog the State's activities >>> in regards to the survey. I noticed one item in the report I think >>> you are personally doing and could change a no answer to a yes. >>> >>> Nothing has been set up yet as far as places, dates or times. I >>> just wanted to let you know we are working on organizing it and want >>> to do all we can to make sure you can be there. I would appreciate >>> any feedback that could help with that. >>> Thank you! >>> Kim Broughton >>> PARK manager >>> Adventure Pursuit >>> >>> >> >> > >

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Parking tomorrow
by Frank Gmeindl 12 Nov '08

12 Nov '08

Bicycle Board Members, This is a reminder that we're meeting tomorrow, Thursday, 13-Nov., 7:30 PM at the Public Safety Center Conference Room (our usual place) to continue developing a bicycle parking plan for downtown. Frank

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Re: [Bikeboard] Barcelona bike-sharing program - NY Times
by Frank Gmeindl 11 Nov '08

11 Nov '08

Good for a Transportation Enhancement Program grant application, I'd say. Who wants to lead the effort? Frank director wrote: > Good evening, > I received this from a friend in Chicago. > > btw I took pictures of the DC system when I was there last month for anyone who's interested. > Nick > > ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- > From: lee ravenscroft <leeravenscroft(a)yahoo.com> > Reply-To: leeravenscroft(a)yahoo.com > Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:11:56 -0800 (PST) > > http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/world/europe/10bike.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=bi… > > BARCELONA, Spain — In increasingly green-conscious Europe, there are said to be only two kinds of mayors: those who have a bicycle-sharing program and those who want one. > > Over the last several years, the programs have sprung up and taken off in dozens of cities, on a scale no one had thought possible and in places where bicycling had never been popular. > > The sharing plans include not just Paris’s Vélib’, with its 20,000 bicycles, but also wildly popular programs with thousands of bicycles in major cities like Barcelona and Lyon, France. There are also programs in Pamplona, Spain; Rennes, France; and Düsseldorf, Germany. Even Rome, whose narrow, cobbled streets and chaotic traffic would seem unsuited to pedaling, recently started a small trial program, Roma’n’Bike, which it plans to expand soon. > > For mayors looking to ease congestion and prove their environmental bona fides, bike-sharing has provided a simple solution: for the price of a bus, they invest in a fleet of bicycles, avoiding years of construction and approvals required for a subway. For riders, joining means cut-rate transportation and a chance to contribute to the planet’s well-being. > > The new systems are successful in part because they blanket cities with huge numbers of available bikes, but the real linchpin is technology. Aided by electronic cards and computerized bike stands, riders can pick up and drop off bicycles in seconds at hundreds of locations, their payments deducted from bank accounts. > > “As some cities have done it, others are realizing they can do it, too,” said Paul DeMaio, founder of MetroBike, a bicycle transportation consulting company based in Washington, D.C., that tracks programs worldwide. “There is an incredible trajectory.” > > The huge new European bicycle-sharing networks function less as recreation and more as low-cost alternate public transportation. Most programs (though not Paris’s) exclude tourists and day-trippers. > > Here in Barcelona, streets during rush hour are lined with commuters and errand-goers on the bright red bicycles of Bicing, the city’s program, which began 18 months ago. Bicing offers 6,000 bicycles from 375 stands, which are scattered every few blocks; the bikes seem to be in constant motion. > > “I use it every day to commute; everyone uses it,” said Andre Borao, 44, an entrepreneur in a gray suit with an orange tie, as he prepared to ride home for lunch. “It’s convenient, and I like the perspective of moving through the streets.” > > The expanding program in Barcelona is typical of so-called third-generation programs, which rely heavily on technology. (In its first generation, bike-sharing involved scattering old bikes around the streets, where they could be used for free; second-generation programs accepted coins.) > > Here, a customer buys a yearly membership for about $30 and is issued a smart card that allows the rider to remove a bike from a mechanized dock. The first 30 minutes are free, with a charge of 30 cents per half-hour after that. A bike must be returned to any bike rack in the network within two hours or the card may be deactivated. > > Most programs in Germany and Austria work on a different system; members receive cellphone text messages providing codes to unlock the bikes. > > Copenhagen and Amsterdam have had devoted bicycling commuters for many years. But the new programs have created the greatest transportation revolution in central and southern Europe, where warmer climates allow riders to ride comfortably year-round. The shared bicycles in Barcelona, Lyon and Paris are heavily used, logging about 10 rides a day, according to officials in these cities. > > In North America, issues like insurance liability, a stronger car culture, longer commutes and a preference for wearing helmets have slowed adoption of bicycle-sharing programs. None of the European programs require helmets. Still, Washington and Montreal are experimenting with small projects, and Chicago, Boston and New York are studying options. > > Perhaps the best indication that bicycle-sharing has arrived is this: Shanghai, which 10 years ago was trying to eliminate bicycles from some of its boulevards to make way for cars, opened a pilot bike-sharing stand last month. > > In most European cities, advertisers have been given contracts to set up and maintain bicycle-sharing programs in exchange for the rights to sell advertisements on city-owned structures like bus stations. > > “We provide a turnkey program,” said Martina Schmidt, bike-sharing director of Clear Channel Outdoors, which now runs programs in 13 European cities and recently started its first American program, the one in Washington. “We give the city what they’re looking for, and they give us space to sell.” > > Here in Barcelona, the Bicing program has had its glitches, reflecting, in part, its unexpected popularity. > > On Barcelona’s outskirts, users complain that the program’s racks, each with up to 36 bikes, can run out toward the end of the morning rush hour, leaving customers temporarily stranded. Likewise, docking sites downtown are sometimes full, so riders have to search for parking. > > Car owners complain about the removal of parking spots to accommodate new bike lanes; the city has about 80 miles of lanes, after rapidly expanding the lanes in the past two years. > > Barcelona’s downtown business district is in a geographic bowl, compared with most residential neighborhoods, so while many people want to ride downtown to work, fewer want to ride bikes home. Directed by controllers at a command station, Bicing’s 100 employees use trucks to rebalance the system, taking bikes to where they are needed. > > City officials seem a bit overwhelmed. > > “For the moment, it will not grow anymore,” said Ramón Ferreiro, an official with Bicing. “We now have to consolidate and start working so that maintenance is adequate, and improve the system at all levels.” > > Even with the growing pains, José Monllor, a graduate student, says he now rides to class instead of driving his car. “It stays in the parking lot,” he said of his car. “It’s stupid to drive.” > > The impact of bike-sharing on traffic or emissions is difficult to quantify because converts include people like Mr. Monllor, who would have driven, as well as those who would have taken public transportation. > > Officials in Lyon, one of the first cities to institute a large technology-driven bike program, estimate that bike-sharing has eliminated tons of pollutants since its inception in 2005. But more than that, they say, it has changed the face of the city. > > “The critical mass of bikes on the road has pacified traffic,” said Gilles Vesco, vice mayor in charge of the program in Lyon. “Now, the street belongs to everybody and needs to be better shared. It has become a more convivial public space.” > > > > > > > > > -- > Nick Hein > Director, Positive Spin > Morgantown, WV > ph 304-276-0213 > -- > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikeboard mailing list > Bikeboard(a)cheat.org > http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard > > >

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Education Grant
by Frank Gmeindl 11 Nov '08

11 Nov '08

Bicycle Board Members, This is a call for the Education Committee members to renew their commitment to the Education Program. It is also a call for any Bicycle Board member to volunteer to become an Education Committee Member to implement the $74K Effective Bicycling Education Program grant that we got. Please reply. First, I want to recognize and thank the people who got us this far. Marilyn, Chip and Don Dickerson worked several evenings creating the recommendations for the Education Program that the Traffic Commission reviewed and approved. Bill Reger-Nash, Greg Good, Chip, Nick and Jeff Mikorski worked through several drafts under deadline pressure to submit the Transportation Enhancement Program grant on time. And now, the fun starts. The next step is to re-organize the Education Committee and to make a plan to do what we promised in the grant application. (Attached) If we are going to involve WVU faculty and staff, we need to have a plan finished this month so that we can engage them before finals and the next semester begins. To be able to reimburse people working on the grant, the City required that the application identify a registered business entity through whom they could pay the reimbursements. You'll see in the grant application an organization chart that shows Positive Spin administering the grant. Last week, Nick and I met with Jeff Mikorski, Assistant City Manager. Following are the notes from that meeting. ******************* On 7-November, Nick Hein and Frank Gmeindl met with Jeff Mikorski to define the accountability relationships between Positive Spin, the Bicycle Board and the City. *Action Items* 1. Nick will obtain a model contract used by other not-for-profit organizations that have worked with governments. 2. Frank and Nick will participate in a 20-Nov. 2:00 pm meeting at the City Manager's office with the WVDOH to review the Scope of Work of the Morgantown Effective Bicycling Education Program. *Conclusions* 1. The City has escrowed $34K that can be used for up-front costs for the Morgantown Effective Bicycling Education Program. 2. Vendors will bill the City Manager directly for work that they do on the Program. For example, if the Dominion Post runs ads, the Dominion Post will bill the City. 3. For work done by entities that are not licensed businesses, Positive Spin will record their expenses and a justification on a monthly invoice that the Bicycle Board will approve and submit to the City Manager. 4. The grant period is 3 years but the funds can be spent in less than 3 years. 5. The City needs a contract with Positive Spin that defines roles and responsibilities of Positive Spin and the City. 6. The sequence of activities that lead up to the contract are: a) organize the Bicycle Board Education Committee; b) Develop detailed project plan; c) Develop and execute contract. 7. Jeff Mikorski can publish materials such as graphics and public service announcements on TV channel 15. Frank /Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles/

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