Yes, I will help anytime on the weekends beginning Aug 21, and I see that Jonathon has contacted Sunnyside project for more volunteers. I am wondering: Since the bike lane also will be used by WVU students and faculty, would it be appropriate to inquire if WVU would partner with the City on this endeavor, and in doing so, provide some labor? If so, I would check with Hugh before going further.
"The first wealth is health." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
----- Original Message ----- From: "Frank Gmeindl" <frank.gmeindl@comcast.net> To: "Bicycle Board" <bikeboard@cheat.org> Cc: "Jeff Mikorski" <jmikorski@cityofmorgantown.org>, "Bill Austin" <baustin@moncpc.org> Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 3:51:09 PM Subject: [Bikeboard] No bike lane this year
Bicycle Board Members,
We recently cleared all the hurdles to get WVDOH to approve the bicycle climbing lane on Mon Blvd when WVU formally agreed with removing parking from the shoulder there. Meanwhile, the engineering department re-estimated the cost of the bike lane at $20,000. The original estimate about a year ago was $10K. Then it climbed to $13K about 6 months ago for new City labor rates and now it's up to $20K because they now prefer to contract it out.
I met with Dan Boroff last Friday to check on the status. He told me that the bike lane is a good project but the City can't afford it this year. City business and occupation taxes have been lower than expected during the first quarter of the 2010 impacting the City budgets. The project will need to be approved by City Council as a project with Capital Escrow funds at a future time (possibly next spring).
I'm just guessing that $10-15K of the project estimate is labor. How many of you would be willing and able to spend 2 days installing the bike lane if the City provided the paint, equipment and 1 knowledgeable supervisor? If we can raise sufficient volunteer labor, I'll ask the City Manager if we can negotiate.
Frank Gmeindl
Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles
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