- Bikeboard - lists.bikelover.org

FWD: RE: [Thunderhead] Model ordinances that work
by director 24 Feb '07

24 Feb '07

Good morning, These links to the Fort Collins transportation plan and bike/ped plan came across the Thunderhead list that Positive Spin belongs to. Thought they might be of interest here. Nick ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: "Rick Price" <rick(a)experienceplus.com> Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:56:02 -0700 Better than ordinances don't forget your community's master streets or transportation plan. This becomes the guidance system for all new street improvements and remedial action so it is not so easy for future politicians to change direction on you by abolishing an ordinance. The Fort Collins Streets standards policy is here. http://fcgov.com/engineering/street-standards.php It is a part of our Master Transportation Plan (2004) which includes our bike and ped plans. http://fcgov.com/transportationplanning/tmp.php Rick Price, Ph.D. President Friends of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program, Inc. 970-493-3424 or 1-800-685-4565 Who are the Friends of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program? See this web site: http://www.bikefortcollins.org/ ________________________________ From: thunderhead-bounces(a)thunderheadalliance.org [mailto:thunderhead-bounces@thunderheadalliance.org] On Behalf Of John Anastasio Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 10:35 AM To: thunderhead(a)thunderheadalliance.org Subject: [Thunderhead] Model ordinances that work Hello Everybody, We are gearing up to present model Complete Streets, Bike Parking and Bike Changing and Shower Room ordinances to the County of Marin and all the cities within it. We would love to hear from others on model ordinances that worked for you. Thanks in advance, John Anastasio Director of Planning Marin County Bicycle Coalition Promoting Safe Bicycling for Everyday Transportation and Recreation 415.456.3469 Ext. 4# Fax: 415.456.9344 Ext. 3# P.O. Box 1115 Fairfax, CA 94978 john(a)marinbike.org <mailto:john@marinbike.org> www.marinbike.org <http://www.marinbike.org>

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Thanks!
by Frank Gmeindl 22 Feb '07

22 Feb '07

Bike Board, In my message yesterday about the Road I training, I forgot to thank Nick Hein, Marilyn Newcome, Greg Good, Jim Rye, Don Dickerson and Bruce Summers all for coming up with suggestions of possible locations for the training. Special thanks to Jim Rye who made all the arrangements with WVU to use the Prete Building and parking lot. Frank

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Road I course
by Frank Gmeindl 21 Feb '07

21 Feb '07

Bike Board and Traffic Commission Members, The March 10-11 Road I course plans are nearly complete. The University Services Center (Prete Building), 3040 University Avenue is the training location. The classroom work will be in Room 3307. Drills will be in the upper parking lot in front of the building. We'll meet Saturday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM with a ride to lunch, and Sunday 9:00 AM - Noon. Eleven people are currently signed up and 8 have paid. Tuition is $35. Mark Archibald, the instructor, is bringing an assistant so we can handle a few more participants. I've again attached the table of contents from the Student Manual to help you decide to enroll if you haven't already. Please contact me if you want to enroll but haven't already. If you can't remember if you're already signed up, you're signed up if your name is on this list: Don Dickerson Frank Gmeindl Greg Good Chris Gluck Nick Hein Marilyn Newcome Tyler Pearson Betsy Shogren Gunnar Shogren Bruce Summers Buffy Vehse I'll provide reminders and more information as March 10-11 approaches. In the meantime, I hope you're getting out to ride now that the weather's giving us a break:) Frank

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Traffic Signals - New video detection technology detects bikes better
by director 18 Feb '07

18 Feb '07

Good evening, Thought this might be of general interest, it came from the Thunderhead list. Nick ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: Ralph Fertig <sb-ralph(a)cox.net> Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 10:40:00 -0800 In 1995, Santa Barbara County, California, started testing video cameras for signalized intersection control. They tried two manufacturers and decided on Iteris cameras. All new traffic signals have video sensors installed, and old signals with sensors in the pavement were updated as funding became available. This is great for bicyclists for whom street sensors often fail to detect us. The cameras are more expensive initially, but are more cost-effective in the long run. I know that the California cities of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo have also installed video-based bicyclist detection equipment. In my experience, the cameras work well in detecting me, unlike many in-pavement detectors still used by other local jurisdictions. Video cameras can be used to make separate traffic counts for motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians; count and analyze turns at an intersection; record accidents for attribution of guilt; automatically record license plate and driver images of those violating the law; turn signals to green for buses; and hold lights in the green phase for slower bicyclists or pedestrians to complete their crossing of broad avenues. In-ground sensors do none of this. ~~ Ralph Fertig, President ~~ Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition ~~ www.sbbike.org ============= Ralph Fertig received this email from Rick Price on 2/17/07 6:36 AM >Our streets engineers have asked for help in identifying efficient & >functional actuation devices that will actually recognize cyclists at a >stop light and encourage compliance with stopping. We have modern, >computerized, synchronized stoplights throughout Fort Collins but no >good actuation. Any suggestions we could pass on? > >Rick Price, Ph.D. >President >Friends of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program, Inc. >970-493-3424 or 1-800-685-4565 > >Who are the Friends of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program? See this web >site: >http://www.bikefortcollins.org <http://www.bikefortcollins.org/> _______________________________________________ Thunderhead mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/thunderhead Thunderhead Archive: http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/private/thunderhead

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Repealing mandatory side path law
by director 17 Feb '07

17 Feb '07

Good morning, In a recent committee meeting there was a question about mandatory sidepath laws. One of the Morgantown statutes can be construed as such. This email indicates that there have been states where such laws have been repealed. Another message in the thread indicated that these laws increase liability exposure to the city. Wisconsin repealed its law in the 1970's when a seasoned bike commuter was killed while riding on the sidewalk, after being hit by a car coming out of a blind alley. He had been ticketed the week before for NOT riding on the sidewalk. It also appears that sidewalks must be up to AASHTO/ADA standards for the sidepath law to be enforced. I can't think of a single sidewalk that's more than a block long that would. In another list someone mentioned that Wisconsin statutes require that a bike must have at least one wheel larger than 14" to be allowed on the road. Apparently this is directed at keeping the smallest kids' bikes off the street. I presume that AASHTO/ADA standards would still have to be met, but when I lived near Madison in the mid-70's they already did. Things are even better now. In the same message, the author related having been chased down by a cop and told to ride his velomobile on the sidewalk because drivers on the 35mph thoroughfare had been calling to complain that he was obstructing 50mph traffic. He was told to obey the law and get out of their way so they could violate the speed limit. He subsequently went to this officer's superiors and got it straightened out. (He had been riding this same vehicle in the same city for 6000 miles, the officer was new and unfamiliar with the laws). I only mention this incident to make it clear that there isn't rational or consistent enforcement of cyclists right to share the road. If you ever do find yourself in conflict (either on the road or off) the best response is to work it out through the system, with a minimum of confrontation or drama. Our rights are protected in writing, but to keep them we need to exercise and advocate for them. <soapbox off> Nick Hein ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: "Sue Knaup" <sue(a)thunderheadalliance.org> Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:58:33 -0700 Vermont, Oklahoma and Wyoming are three of the most recent successes. Check with our orgs in each of those states via our Links page. Sue Sue Knaup Executive Director Thunderhead Alliance 928-541-9841 http://www.thunderheadalliance.org Main Office: P.O. Box 3309, Prescott, AZ 86302 Washington, DC Office: 1700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Ste. 400, 20006 202-349-1479 -----Original Message----- From: thunderhead-bounces(a)thunderheadalliance.org [mailto:thunderhead-bounces@thunderheadalliance.org] On Behalf Of Mark Martin Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 10:17 AM To: thunderhead(a)thunderheadalliance.org Subject: [Thunderhead] Repealing mandatory side path law Greetings All, Here in Louisiana we have a "mandatory side path" law that seems to be a relic of the past. Many of us find it onerous and would like to attempt to get it repealed. Could someone point us to successful efforts to get such a law repealed? We are looking in particular for arguments supporting repeal. Thanks in advance! Mark E. Martin Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets (B.R.A.S.S.) _________________________________________________________________ Find a local pizza place, movie theater, and more..then map the best route! http://maps.live.com/?icid=hmtag1&FORM=MGAC01 _______________________________________________ Thunderhead mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/thunderhead Thunderhead Archive: http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/private/thunderhead _______________________________________________ Thunderhead mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/thunderhead Thunderhead Archive: http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/private/thunderhead

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PR committee meeting
by Chip Wamsley 15 Feb '07

15 Feb '07

To: Marilyn Betsy Johnathan Tyler We need to get started with the PR committee, by having a meeting. I propose a meeting at Wamsley Cycles, Monday The 19th at 6:30 PM. I propose an alternate date of Wednesday the 21 st, same place and time. What does everyone think? Let me know. Chip Chip(a)wamsleycycles.com

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FWD: [Thunderhead] Traffic Justice article
by director 15 Feb '07

15 Feb '07

Good afternoon, Thought this would be of interest to the board. Nick ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: "Sue Knaup" <sue(a)thunderheadalliance.org> Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:53:40 -0700 Hi all, Check out this excellent article on Traffic Justice that just came out in the Christian Science Monitor - the best press I've seen yet on this comprehensive issue. Sue <http://www.csmonitor.com> csmonitor.com - The Christian Science Monitor Online from the February 14, 2007 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0214/p13s01-lign.html To prevent crashes, a new push to improve driver behavior Methods that reduced road fatalities overseas would work in the US, advocates say. By Linda Baker | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor Despite the human and financial toll of traffic fatalities annually in the United States - 43,000 deaths and 2.7 million injuries at a cost of about $230 billion - such accidents are often viewed as an inevitable, if tragic, byproduct of driving. Now a small but growing number of safety advocates and transportation researchers want to change that perception, partly by borrowing proven strategies from Europe and Australia. The goal, they say, is to reduce the number of traffic deaths - not by improving cars to limit the severity of crashes, but by targeting human behaviors that trigger collisions in the first place. That strategy has worked well in the Netherlands, where over the past three decades, the annual number of traffic fatalities has declined by 75 percent from 3,200 to 800. Today, that country has one of the lowest per capita traffic fatality rates in the world. "The perspective in our society is that quite some proportion of all car crashes are preventable," says Fred Wegman, director of the Netherlands Institute for Road Safety Research, "and there is no need to accept the death toll." Mr. Wegman visited Washington, D.C., last month for the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board as an independent adviser to the US government. Improving traffic safety is not easy, he says. "You are famously dependent on how the population perceives the problem, and whether you can interest politicians to take action." Some methods used by the Netherlands to reduce road fatalities include changing road design to limit vehicle speeds, expanding automated enforcement and sobriety testing, and prohibiting the use of electronic devices while driving. "Since the 1960s, safety campaigns in this country have focused predominantly on crash mitigation, such as seat belts and air bags," says Bob Chauncey, director of a new "traffic justice" initiative for the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, a nonprofit group in Bethesda, Md. "With the exception of MADD [Mothers Against Drunk Driving], we don't look at the root cause of the crash." The US approach to road safety is limited in scope, says David Willis, a senior research scientist at the Texas Transportation Institute in College Station. Forty percent of all fatal crashes in the United States are due to speeding, he says. "But unlike almost every other civilized society in the world, we don't focus on driver behavior - we focus on vehicle design." In the Netherlands, says Mr. Wegman, speed limits are very low: 25 m.p.h. in the city, and 60 m.p.h. on the freeway. Dutch roads are also designed to encourage safe driving. Traffic-calming strategies include extensive bicycle and pedestrian facilities, narrow streets with medians, and roundabouts instead of intersections with traffic signals. Roundabouts are traffic circles that force drivers to slow down to 15 m.p.h. A strict police enforcement program, including random sobriety checks and cameras that automatically identify speeders, means "you have a very good chance of getting caught," says Wegman. The legal blood-alcohol limit in the Netherlands is 0.05 percent compared with 0.08 percent in the US. Studies conducted in London showed a 40 percent reduction in crashes that resulted in injuries after the installation of automatic speed cameras. In Victoria, Australia, the number of fatal crashes involving drunken drivers declined by 25 percent after random sobriety checkpoints were set up. In the US, 31 states have raised highway speed limits to 70 m.p.h. Only four states - California, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey - and Washington, D.C., have passed laws against using hand-held cellphones while driving. Most states prohibit or restrict the use of automated speed enforcement, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington, Va. "People say, 'Driving is a personal matter, government leave me alone,' " says Steve Lind, director of the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. Washington State law prohibits sobriety checkpoints and bans electronic speed enforcement except in school zones. But the benefits of these strategies are now well documented, Mr. Lind says. "We can't be afraid to get these tools in front of policymakers. It's up to the people to accept them." Legislation, enforcement, and public awareness are the key elements for a successful traffic safety program, Wegman says. The Netherlands' ban on hand-held cellphones while driving, for example, would not be effective without the accompanying media campaign on distracted driving. "The position of the press is very important," says Wegman. The "traffic justice" initiative in the US, which is fueled by local groups, aims to shift the national discussion from "car accidents" to "car crashes," says Mr. Chauncey. Americans accept limitations on personal freedoms in exchange for airplane safety, he says. "Now we expect just conduct from all players in the road transportation system: the planners, the engineers, the drivers, and the car companies." Although roundabouts are becoming more popular in the US, cities and states continue to build roads that allow drivers to speed, traffic-justice proponents say. "Drivers and pedestrians are victims of engineers looking at traffic flow," says Andrea Okomski, executive director of Pedestrian InRoads, a nonprofit in Seattle. "We know about traffic calming.... We just don't do it." www.csmonitor.com | Copyright C 2007 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved. Sue Knaup Executive Director Thunderhead Alliance 928-541-9841 http://www.thunderheadalliance.org <http://www.thunderheadalliance.org/> Main Office: P.O. Box 3309, Prescott, AZ 86302 Washington, DC Office: 1700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Ste. 400, 20006 202-349-1479

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Meeting Minutes
by Elizabeth Shogren 12 Feb '07

12 Feb '07

Good evening, Everybody. Attached are the February meeting minutes. Please let me know if you see anything that needs some attention. Thank you, BETSY

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Road I course logistics
by Frank Gmeindl 08 Feb '07

08 Feb '07

Bike Board members, March 10-11 will be here before we know it. It's time to complete arrangements for the Road I course. *Time* We must allocate 9-hours course time. I suggest Saturday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM with a ride somewhere for lunch. I suggest Sunday 9:00 AM - Noon. If any of you who are attending have any problems with those times, please reply-all with an alternative recommendation and justification. *Place* We need to find a place that has a classroom that can accommodate 12-16 people with chalkboard or whiteboard, DVD and projector/TV, and a large parking lot nearby for drills. It would be good if we could secure our bikes when we're in the classroom, too. Any ideas? Frank

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Recommendations presentation to Traffic Commission
by Frank Gmeindl 08 Feb '07

08 Feb '07

Bike Board members, The Traffic Commission responded positively to our recommendations last night. Thanks to Marilyn Newcome for supporting me and Greg! Thanks also to Don Spencer for his support both as a Bike Board member and a Traffic Commission member. Two TC members, Buffy Vehse and Chris Gluck signed up for the Road I course. Nobody batted an eye when I said we want $2,300 to defray the costs of attending the Effective Cycling Seminar in Bethlehem, PA. Peter Schuster wanted the Commission to act now to apply for the $10K grant. Unfortunately, the time ran out before the TC members could discuss and conclude on any of our recommendations so that's on their agenda for their March meeting. This was the second TC meeting that I've attended. They exhaustively discuss every change that anybody asks them to make. I would expect that a two-month cycle would probably be typical for our recommendatons: month 1, we deliver a presentation with a written report and they take the month to review it; month 2 they discuss and decide on our recommendations. Some of our recommendations will probably also have to be forwarded by the Traffic Commission to City Council for approval. That may add another month or two before some recommendations start to get implemented. On the other hand, that's no reason that we can't get all our recommendations ready before the weather gets nice and we'd rather ride;) Frank

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FWD: Re: BB web site picture
by director 07 Feb '07

07 Feb '07

Frank, We've used a couple of my favorite pictures on our website. These are from some of the first Critical Mass rides which started in 2005. http://positivespin.org/PS_AboutUs.html http://positivespin.org/PS_Events/MtownCritMass.html I've attached a few other. One shows Spruce Street filled with (25) bikes on World Carfree Day 2005, the other is in front of the Mtn Lair when we gathered that day. Last Friday our critical mass ride drew 3 riders, pretty good under the circumstances. In the next few months we should get a bigger turnout. Also planning has begun for a human-powered parade in April which would be a great photo-op to get riders of all ages parading down High Street. There's a pretty picture of the rail trail on the Morgantown.com homepage but I prefer the ones with lots of people riding in front of a familiar landmark. A picture of the ASS start would be a good one! Nick ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: "Frank G." <fgmeindl(a)verizon.net> Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2007 13:10:00 -0500 Nick, I'm glad somebody had a similar reaction to that picture. I don't know where it was taken but I would like to have a picture that is clearly taken in Morgantown and that shows lots of cyclists riding on ROADS. If you have such a picture, please present it to the Bike Board and invite feedback. (This morning, I saw a bus with a bike in the rack in front. I wish I had a camera to capture that: bike, bus, lots of snow and traffic.) Mainly to keep the Bike Board together, I would like to set a SOP that anything that goes on the web site passes Bike Board inspection and approval. I would like any Board member to feel free to propose anything to the Board and to invite and collect feedback. Please invite feedback from the Board on the "Share the Road" video. As Chairman, I would prefer to have last word. Frank At 12:00 AM 2/7/2007, you wrote: >Frank, >Is that picture taken in Morgantown? I'll go out and take a local picture >tomorrow. > >May I also suggest a link to the "Share the Road" video that I sent the >link about last week? (http://bikelib.org/video/index.htm) > >If we want to create additional pages can we just send them to Jeff (after >board approval of course)? This website would be a great place to solicit >citizen inputs to make "spot improvement" requests. > >Thanks. >Nick > > > > > >---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- >From: "Frank G." <fgmeindl(a)verizon.net> >Date: Tue, 06 Feb 2007 14:03:41 -0500 > > >Bike Board Members, > > > >Jeff Mikorski, Assistant City Manager, created a Bike Board web site at > >www.morgantown.com/bike-board.htm . He said: "I made an initial web page > >for the bike board. I used the only bike > >related images I had, but if you or other bike board people send me some > >images, I can include them onto the page(s)." > > > >Please reply all if you have any recommended changes. > > > >Frank > > > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > >Bikeboard mailing list > >Bikeboard(a)cheat.org > >http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard > >

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BB web site
by Frank G. 06 Feb '07

06 Feb '07

Bike Board Members, Jeff Mikorski, Assistant City Manager, created a Bike Board web site at www.morgantown.com/bike-board.htm . He said: "I made an initial web page for the bike board. I used the only bike related images I had, but if you or other bike board people send me some images, I can include them onto the page(s)." Please reply all if you have any recommended changes. Frank

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BB web site
by Frank Gmeindl 06 Feb '07

06 Feb '07

Bike Board Members, Jeff Mikorski, Assistant City Manager, created a Bike Board web site at www.morgantown.com/bike-board.htm . He said: "I made an initial web page for the bike board. I used the only bike related images I had, but if you or other bike board people send me some images, I can include them onto the page(s)." Please reply all if you have any recommended changes. Frank D. Gmeindl ASSET Program Manager ProLogic, Inc. NASA IV&V Facility 100 University Drive Fairmont, WV 26554 Office: 304-367-8395 Fax: 304-367-8221

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Bicycle Board Recommendations
by Frank Gmeindl 05 Feb '07

05 Feb '07

Dr. Eck, Please find attached, the Morgantown Municipal Bicycle Board's Infrastructure and Education recommendations to the Traffic Commission. We would like to present these recommendations to the Commission at this Wednesday's meeting. We will bring paper copies Wednesday. If you feel it is appropriate to forward this message to the Commission members, it would afford them the opportunity to review it in advance. Also, we are prepared to present a short summary PowerPoint presentation if appropriate. We will bring a computer and projector. Please don't hesitate to reply or call me at 304-376-0446 if you have any questions, comments or guidance. Frank Gmeindl 304-367-8395 (work) 304-376-0446 (cell) 304-284-8094 (home)

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Final recommendations report
by Frank Gmeindl 04 Feb '07

04 Feb '07

Bike Board Members, Attached is the final report of our infrastructure and education recommendations. I plan to get this to the Traffic Commission members tomorrow, Monday, if possible. If you catch anything wrong in the attached, please let me know ASAP. Frank

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Hi Everyone,
by Nancy LaRocque 04 Feb '07

04 Feb '07

Hi Everyone, I apologize for not being an active participant with the bike board. At this time I am going to resign my position on the board so the Traffic Commission can appoint a replacement. I am sorry as I realize I should have done this sooner. Good luck with everything, and I know I will see and experience your progress. Sincerely, Nancy LaRocque

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Bikes on Road sign
by Frank Gmeindl 03 Feb '07

03 Feb '07

Bike Board, Remember at last week's meeting, I described the "Bicycles on Road" signs that I thought Ron Eck meant? Here's the link to "San Francisco's Shared Lane Pavement Markings: Improving Bicycle Safety" at http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/uploadedfiles/dpt/bike/Bike_Plan/Shared%20Lane%… This is an excellent report that may represent the cutting edge in share the road signage as well as provide substantive data on the effectiveness of the signage. (Too bad it's a pdf file. It has some great photos that I wish we could rip for our presentation to the Traffic Commission.) Frank

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3/10-11 LCI
by Frank Gmeindl 03 Feb '07

03 Feb '07

Bike Board Members, Before you know it, Mark Archibald will be here to teach us the Road I course of the Effective Cycling program March 10-11. If you haven't already paid me, please let me know if you'll take the course. At our meeting last Thursday, 5 Bike Board members paid. At our January meeting, 9 or us signed up. (I still have the sign up sheet;) Our instructor says 12 is a good target class size. A few people who aren't Bike Board members have told me they'd like to take the course. If there's room, I'd like to welcome them to take it. Frank

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Re: [Bikeboard] share the road with bicyclists
by Jim Rye 03 Feb '07

03 Feb '07

Hi Bob, Thanks again very much for your interest in signage to facilitate bicycling for transportation at WVU. Here are two robust sites that illustrate quite a variety of signage (including "on pavement") to facilitate bicycling and walking for transportation: http://www.pedbikeimages.org/category_front.cfm?categoryId=2 (Bicycling Pictures--see especially "On Street Bike Lanes" and "Pavement Treatments") http://www.pedbikeimages.org/category_front.cfm?categoryId=19 (Design and Engineering--see Especially "Bike Trails and Shared Use Paths" and "Signs and Making Signals") At each link, clicking on "download for print" shows a much larger image. I have attached an example from the above site (http://www.pedbikeimages.org / photo by Dan Burden) that employs pavement and roadside signage, although I strongly advocate for the roadside signage to state "Share Road (or Lane) WITH Bicyclists". Alternatively, the sign might just state "Bike Route", although I think the "WITH Bicyclists" is the stronger message from an education and enforcement standpoint. The "Group Photo Pool" at the Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/groups/bicyclefacilities/ also has many illustrations, e.g.,: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/196792900/in/pool-bicyclefacilities/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikesontransit/184912823/in/pool-bicyclefacili… http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland/172598546/in/pool-bicyclefaciliti… This report from San Francisco has numerous examples of pavement signage: http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/uploadedfiles/dpt/bike/Bike_Plan/Shared%20Lane%… >>> Bob Roberts 02/01/07 7:44 AM >>> Please do and we thank you. >>> Jim Rye 2/1/2007 7:24:48 AM >>> Dear Bob, Thank you again for involving me in discussions about bicycling facilitities etc on campus. I am especially glad that you are looking into the "Share Road (or Lane) WITH Bicyclists". I wanted to let you know that I also have some links to similar markings on for pavement if you would like me to send them. Thanks again. Jim Rye

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Context Senstive Solutions Put to Practice: A Warning
by director 03 Feb '07

03 Feb '07

Good morning, I wanted to share this message from Thunderhead with the bike board, because it deals with an issue that has already happened in most of West Virginia. The emphasis of separated bike paths and exclusion of bikes on roads (by intent or neglect - I've seen both). Although sidewalks, separated trails and shorter pedestrian crossing distances on roadways are important - the federal right of cyclists to share the roadway safely is being eroded - irrationally. The effective end result is that cycling - the most efficient and effective means of single rider transportation over short distances - is being pushed off the road by 70% empty, 90% inefficient motor vehicles. This isn't a good trend and we should take every opportunity to emphasize how cycling has a right and a reason to share the road. Rights are like muscles, if you don't give them attention and use them you lose them. Nick ---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: "Eric Gilliland" <gill(a)waba.org> Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 10:21:35 -0500 National bike groups and bike/ped professionals may not be aware of the disaster potentially poised to happen in Montgomery County, Maryland, a major suburban county located right next to Washington D.C. The county council there is considering a pair of bills that would overhaul the county's "road code" - those laws that define its roadway design standards. The new legislation would essentially mandate narrow lanes in most circumstances, virtually eliminating the concept of a "wide outside lane" or "shared lane" for bikes on new or rebuilt roads. The legislation does not give cyclists any consideration except on roads identified as bike routes in the county master plan. That contradicts established principles framed in AASHTO guidelines and elsewhere (include the ITE CSS guide), that cyclists should be routinely considered during the design of all roads, not just select roads. Moreover, for county roads that are master-planned as "signed shared roadway" bike routes, the legislation allows only one extra foot of lane width. Specifically the legislation calls for lanes to be fixed at 10.5', 11', or 12' wide depending on roadway type (12' for suburban arterials, for example), with an extra foot added for shared roadway bike routes (i.e. 11.5' to 13'). The bills do not define minimums or maximums but instead specify hard widths that would apply regardless of project-specific factors, public input, etc. Waivers may only be granted by the county council itself. The legislation allows shoulders only on limited types of curbless roads and stipulates that they be 2' wide (4' on highways). The bills do however require bike lanes where called for in the master plan, although these are not numerous. Shared use paths would also be built where called for in the master plan. The legislation represents a fundamental paradigm shift that could have far-reaching implications if adopted by other counties and states. The bills were motivated by an admirable desire to reduce pedestrian crossing distances, calm traffic and eliminate impervious surface, and as such it has support from many usual cycling allies. But that makes it no less damaging. It appears to have been partly inspired, somewhat unfaithfully, by the ITE's new draft standard, "Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities". That document embraces bike lanes to the near exclusion of other on-road bikeway types. In any case, the Montgomery County legislation sets a dangerous precedent for design standards nationwide. It is all the scarier because it originates in a county that is uaually progressive on bike issues, from people who are usually supportive of cycling. Pedestrian safety is very important, but the proposed legislation seeks to make minor gains in pedestrian safety at an enormous cost to a complete other mode of transportation. Eric Gilliland WABA Jack Cochrane MoBike _______________________________________________ Thunderhead mailing list http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/thunderhead Thunderhead Archive: http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/private/thunderhead

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Infrastructure doc and ppt available
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 02 Feb '07

02 Feb '07

Hi everyone, I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression that Greg meant to send some updated infrastructure documents to this email list for review, but unintentionally sent them to his own committee's email list thinking the whole board would receive them. They are pretty large files. You can fetch them here: http://cheat.org/pipermail/bike-infrastructure/attachments/20070202/8a30102… http://cheat.org/pipermail/bike-infrastructure/attachments/20070202/56741c2… Jonathan

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Bike education video for drivers
by director 02 Feb '07

02 Feb '07

Good Morning, Last nite at the meeting I mentioned that I had seen mention of a video for bike education. It was produced for the League of Illinois Bicyclists and it's at this link: http://www.bikelib.org/video/index.htm You can download it from there, or get if from me. The guy I contacted also offered to send it on DVD. I should have it in a few days and I'll keep a copy at Positive Spin. I'll also look at donating a copy to the library like I discussed for the other education videos. Nick

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Links to pictures of bike/ped facilities
by director 01 Feb '07

01 Feb '07

Good evening, These links were in a message from Thunderhead Alliance last week. They show all kinds of categories of facilities and people using them. Hope they're of use... http://www.pedbikeimages.org/ http://www.flickr.com/groups/bicyclefacilities/ Nick Hein

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Re: [Bikeboard] Bikeboard Vision
by director 22 Jan '07

22 Jan '07

Frank, I like it as written. I've had thoughts about condensing it, but I wouldn't want to say anything that would delay approval. I'd like to get on to making it happen. So I guess it's compelling me already! Nick >/All Morgantown residents can enjoy bicycling safely and fearlessly >anywhere, anytime, for any reason. Morgantown residents choose to ride >bicycles for transportation as well as recreation. Our state and our >nation recognize Morgantown for the benefits of bicycling to our health, >our environment, our economy and our quality of life./ > >Perhaps I'm steamrolling on this. I'm trying to bring it to closure. >However, if this vision statement is not clear and if it doesn't compel >you to act to realize it, then it is a failure. If any one of us feels >that "This is Frank's vision statement and not mine", it is a failure. >If this is what you think, please reply to this message, either to the >whole Bike Board or to me personally. I will continue shaping this >until it is clear and every member of the Board, including the 8 members >who have been silent, adopts it as his or her own. Or, I will turn it >over to anyone who thinks they can do it better. Please reply. > >Frank > > > > >

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Re: [Bikeboard] Bikeboard Vision
by Bill Reger-Nash 22 Jan '07

22 Jan '07

Vision statement looks fine. Keep up the good work. bill WV Walks - 30 minutes or more daily Feel the power of half an hour! Bill Reger-Nash, Ed.D Professor of Community Medicine West Virginia University School of Medicine Morgantown WV 26506-9190 Phone: 304/293-0763 Fax: 304/293-6685 Dept. web page: http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/cmed BRN's web page: http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/cmed/wreger/ >>> Frank Gmeindl <fgmeindl(a)verizon.net> 01/21/07 1:29 PM >>> Bike Board Members, Please recall that a Vision statement must be our shared view of the future and must compel us to act. A shared vision enables us to stay focused, to enjoy working together, and to be proud of our accomplishments. At our 2-Nov meeting we brainstormed vision statements. Then, Bill Reger-Nash, Linda Cooper and I offered a summary that the BB did not accept. Using the feedback from that cycle and the original list of ideas, on 1/8/2007, I recommended the following Vision statement: /All Morgantown residents can enjoy bicycling safely and fearlessly anywhere, anytime for any reason. Morgantown residents choose to ride bicycles for transportation as well as recreation. Our state and our nation recognize Morgantown for the benefits of bicycling to our health, our environment, our economy and our quality of life./ Nick Hein, Jim Rye, Greg Good, John Lozier and Jonathan Rosenbaum responded to my request for feedback. Except for the addition of a comma behind the word "anytime", I'm not proposing any changes in reponse to their comments. Following are summaries of their comments and my responses. 1. Greg recommended adding a comma after "anytime". I agree and will make the change. 2. Greg, Jim, and John said the word "fearlessly" was redundant with "safely" while Nick suggested emphasizing "fearlessly". When we gathered vision statement inputs at our 2-Nov meeting, Sonitt's input explicitly included "feels safe to ride". Making cycling safe is a necessary but insufficient step to increasing cycling. Based on authoritative info (Forrester, John, /Effective Cycling/), fear is the main factor that discourages people from cycling. If we succeed at making cycling safe but don't eliminate fear, e.g. through education, we will probably not realize our vision for all Morgantown residents. Unless we want to argue further to delete "fearlessly", I will retain it. 3. John said the word "All" was superfluous. Marilyn's input at our 2-Nov meeting explicitly included "all citizens". I agree that one could argue that "Morgantowners" includes all residents but one could also argue that it doesn't. For example, consider, "Morgantowners choose to have parades on Friday evenings". I think we'd agree that this is true but it does not include all Morgantowners. I believe that including the word "All" in our vision statement says that if cycling is unsafe for anyone in the city, or if there are places in the city that you can't get to by bike, our job is not done. Therefore, unless there is further argument to delete it, I will retain "All". 4. John said, "The entire second sentence repeats much of the first, merely to detail 'any reason'". When we gathered vision statement inputs at our 2-Nov meeting, Jim's, Betsy's, Bill's, Sonitt's, and Nick's ideas all explicitly included the distinction of transporation and recreation. I believe deleting the second sentence loses their input. Unless we want to continue to argue to delete the second sentence, I will retain it. 5. John recommended replacing "All Morgantown residents can enjoy" with "Morgantowners choose to". Before I make that change, I need to hear from other members. If I accept John's argument that "All" is superfluous, then it follows that "Morgantowners" is synonymous with "All Morgantown residents". Then, to say, "Morgantowners choose to" would be equivalent to saying that "All Morgantown residents choose to". But, hey, I'm for everyone in Morgantown choosing to ride a bike rather than drive a motor vehicle and I can even visualize that. With regard to "choose" versus "can enjoy", when we gathered vision statement inputs on 2-Nov, Bruce's input explicitly included "enjoyment", and Nick's and Bill's inputs explicitly included "fun". 6. John said "the third sentence dwells on glory-seeking (recognition), a new and unnecessary concept". Jim responded that it adds to the importance of what we are about. It is also similar to what Jim proposed at our 2-Nov meeting although his input didn't say anything about national and state recognition. I added the recognition clause as a hook into the Traffic Commission and the City Council. Before I eliminate the last sentence, I need more input from the Board. 7. Jonathan suggested adding the sentence, "We are a people using our own power for a cooler planet." My reading is that the Board would not support lengthening the vision statement. Unless anybody wants to argue for adding a sentence, I will not add it. So, following is a proposed vision statement with the only change from that above being the addition of a comma: /All Morgantown residents can enjoy bicycling safely and fearlessly anywhere, anytime, for any reason. Morgantown residents choose to ride bicycles for transportation as well as recreation. Our state and our nation recognize Morgantown for the benefits of bicycling to our health, our environment, our economy and our quality of life./ Perhaps I'm steamrolling on this. I'm trying to bring it to closure. However, if this vision statement is not clear and if it doesn't compel you to act to realize it, then it is a failure. If any one of us feels that "This is Frank's vision statement and not mine", it is a failure. If this is what you think, please reply to this message, either to the whole Bike Board or to me personally. I will continue shaping this until it is clear and every member of the Board, including the 8 members who have been silent, adopts it as his or her own. Or, I will turn it over to anyone who thinks they can do it better. Please reply. Frank

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