I don't know how many of you happened to be downtown last week but I was in the evening on both Wednesday and Friday and there were bikes locked up everywhere! Man, I wish I had a camera on me because it was a glorious sight let me tell you what! Honestly, I have lived in this town for 3.5 years and have never seen anything like this. It was rad. That's all I got. I just wanted to make mention of it because there are still a lot of people out there that say that people in this town don't ride their bikes if you can believe it.
The new Calhoun Street doesn't have any bike racks on it and the bikes were everywhere! I don't know if it was some kind of official event, but it sure as heck was an event! Great to see though. Keep it up Ya'll.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Way to go Pittsburgh!
It really warms the FW bike Commuter's heart to see that things like this can happen. After working in government for a long time I understand what a big deal something like this is. The average person thinks that this would be easy and I agree that it should be but it is not. So good for Pittsburgh to get it done. It is a win for sure!
The next day, the Pittsburgh City Council approved an ordinance mandating a minimum amount of bike parking for new and re-zoned commercial construction, depending on square footage. The vote in support of the measure was unanimous, and followed two years of hard work by the staff and members of Bike Pittsburgh, unaffiliated bike riders, concerned residents and the Planning Commission.
The approval of the bike parking measure is important symbolically, indicating a general acceptance that bikes are indeed a vital component of Pittsburgh’s transportation system and an essential element in Pittsburgh’s goal to become a more livable city.
Beyond the pretty symbolism, however, the legal provision for safe and secure bike parking demonstrates a commitment to sustainable transportation in Pittsburgh, now and in the future. Providing secure parking removes what some advocates consider the main deterrent to biking for transportation: bicycle theft. Following this theory, when secure and reliable parking is available, people are more likely to ride bicycles.
The whole story Here
The next day, the Pittsburgh City Council approved an ordinance mandating a minimum amount of bike parking for new and re-zoned commercial construction, depending on square footage. The vote in support of the measure was unanimous, and followed two years of hard work by the staff and members of Bike Pittsburgh, unaffiliated bike riders, concerned residents and the Planning Commission.
The approval of the bike parking measure is important symbolically, indicating a general acceptance that bikes are indeed a vital component of Pittsburgh’s transportation system and an essential element in Pittsburgh’s goal to become a more livable city.
Beyond the pretty symbolism, however, the legal provision for safe and secure bike parking demonstrates a commitment to sustainable transportation in Pittsburgh, now and in the future. Providing secure parking removes what some advocates consider the main deterrent to biking for transportation: bicycle theft. Following this theory, when secure and reliable parking is available, people are more likely to ride bicycles.
The whole story Here
Critical Manners/Courteous Mass for April 2010
Number 2 for 2010!
Do you like to ride your bicycle? Do you want to meet other people who ride bikes? Would you like to reduce the level of antagonism between bicycles and cars? Then join Critical Manners/Courteous Mass on the second Friday of the month. Riders should gather around 6:15 at Lawton Park so the ride can begin at 6:30.
All parties are welcome to join and help bring common courtesy back to the streets. For those who need a refresher on what Critical Manners/Courteous Mass is, here is the deal:
• The ride will respect and abide the city’s traffic laws.
• Rides will be on the slow side to ensure no one is dropped and that the Mass stays a mass.
• The Mass will only take up one lane, two when necessary for safety.
• The ride will stop at red lights and stop signs. If a light turns red mid-mass, the riders who made the light should safely pull over to wait for those who were caught by the light.
• Riders are asked to signal turns, call out danger, and communicate their intentions to other riders.
The goal of these rides is to be a visible and positive example of the cooperation that can exist between cars and bicycles when people respect the laws and each other. So join the Mass and help make Fort Wayne a better place for bicycles.This Friday at Lawton Park by the Softball Field.
Hope to see you there!
Do you like to ride your bicycle? Do you want to meet other people who ride bikes? Would you like to reduce the level of antagonism between bicycles and cars? Then join Critical Manners/Courteous Mass on the second Friday of the month. Riders should gather around 6:15 at Lawton Park so the ride can begin at 6:30.
All parties are welcome to join and help bring common courtesy back to the streets. For those who need a refresher on what Critical Manners/Courteous Mass is, here is the deal:
• The ride will respect and abide the city’s traffic laws.
• Rides will be on the slow side to ensure no one is dropped and that the Mass stays a mass.
• The Mass will only take up one lane, two when necessary for safety.
• The ride will stop at red lights and stop signs. If a light turns red mid-mass, the riders who made the light should safely pull over to wait for those who were caught by the light.
• Riders are asked to signal turns, call out danger, and communicate their intentions to other riders.
The goal of these rides is to be a visible and positive example of the cooperation that can exist between cars and bicycles when people respect the laws and each other. So join the Mass and help make Fort Wayne a better place for bicycles.This Friday at Lawton Park by the Softball Field.
Hope to see you there!
Contact Your Governor Today
Support the U.S. DOT Policy Statement on Bicycling Accommodations
On March 15, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the Departments' new Bicycle Policy Statement that heralds the end of second-class treatment for cyclists.
The statement reaffirms the language that is written in the current federal surface transportation law and demonstrates his leadership in this area. This is an important step in completing bicycle and pedestrian networks all over the country.
Please contact your Governor today to urge them to ensure that your state department of transportation is following the letter of the law.
Thank you for your assistance in this important matter.
Follow this link
It is totally easy and takes about 1 minute to do.
Thanks to the League of American Bicyclists and Indycog
On March 15, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the Departments' new Bicycle Policy Statement that heralds the end of second-class treatment for cyclists.
The statement reaffirms the language that is written in the current federal surface transportation law and demonstrates his leadership in this area. This is an important step in completing bicycle and pedestrian networks all over the country.
Please contact your Governor today to urge them to ensure that your state department of transportation is following the letter of the law.
Thank you for your assistance in this important matter.
Follow this link
It is totally easy and takes about 1 minute to do.
Thanks to the League of American Bicyclists and Indycog
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sad News
Bronx 'Mother Teresa' Megan Charlop, biker killed by city bus, 'sought to do good'
BY Kevin Deutsch and Rich Schapiro
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Friday, March 19th 2010
She devoted her life to helping the poor and sickly in the Bronx.
But Megan Charlop, the bike rider killed by a city bus this week, also found the time to be the perfect wife, her husband said Thursday.
"We were a team. We were partners. She gave me so much," said Richard Powers, his voice cracking. "I can't even imagine life without her."
Powers bared his heartbreak a day after Charlop's bike clipped a carelessly opened car door, propelling her into the path of a city bus.
Charlop, 57, died instantly on Crotona Ave. The driver of the car, Min Kyung Kwan, was slapped with a summons for interfering with a bicyclist.
Bike advocates said that Charlop died on a route that officials decided more than a decade ago should include a bike lane.
"These cyclists need help," said Wiley Norvell, of Transportation Alternatives.
"Meg has been biking in New York City for ages. If our streets aren't forgiving enough for a cyclist as skilled as she was, how can they be safe for anyone?"
The whole story HERE
The only good part of this story is that in New York it is against the law to interfere with a cyclist.
BY Kevin Deutsch and Rich Schapiro
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Friday, March 19th 2010
She devoted her life to helping the poor and sickly in the Bronx.
But Megan Charlop, the bike rider killed by a city bus this week, also found the time to be the perfect wife, her husband said Thursday.
"We were a team. We were partners. She gave me so much," said Richard Powers, his voice cracking. "I can't even imagine life without her."
Powers bared his heartbreak a day after Charlop's bike clipped a carelessly opened car door, propelling her into the path of a city bus.
Charlop, 57, died instantly on Crotona Ave. The driver of the car, Min Kyung Kwan, was slapped with a summons for interfering with a bicyclist.
Bike advocates said that Charlop died on a route that officials decided more than a decade ago should include a bike lane.
"These cyclists need help," said Wiley Norvell, of Transportation Alternatives.
"Meg has been biking in New York City for ages. If our streets aren't forgiving enough for a cyclist as skilled as she was, how can they be safe for anyone?"
The whole story HERE
The only good part of this story is that in New York it is against the law to interfere with a cyclist.
United States Department of Transportation Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations and Recommendations
This is totally sweet! We'll see if it filters down to us.
Purpose
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) is providing this Policy Statement to reflect the Department’s support for the development of fully integrated active transportation networks. The establishment of well-connected walking and bicycling networks is an important component for livable communities, and their design should be a part of Federal-aid project developments. Walking and bicycling foster safer, more livable, family-friendly communities; promote physical activity and health; and reduce vehicle emissions and fuel use. Legislation and regulations exist that require inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian policies and projects into transportation plans and project development. Accordingly, transportation agencies should plan, fund, and implement improvements to their walking and bicycling networks, including linkages to transit. In addition, DOT encourages transportation agencies to go beyond the minimum requirements, and proactively provide convenient, safe, and context-sensitive facilities that foster increased use by bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities, and utilize universal design characteristics when appropriate. Transportation programs and facilities should accommodate people of all ages and abilities, including people too young to drive, people who cannot drive, and people who choose not to drive.
Policy Statement
The DOT policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems. Because of the numerous individual and community benefits that walking and bicycling provide — including health, safety, environmental, transportation, and quality of life — transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.
Read the rest HERE
Purpose
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) is providing this Policy Statement to reflect the Department’s support for the development of fully integrated active transportation networks. The establishment of well-connected walking and bicycling networks is an important component for livable communities, and their design should be a part of Federal-aid project developments. Walking and bicycling foster safer, more livable, family-friendly communities; promote physical activity and health; and reduce vehicle emissions and fuel use. Legislation and regulations exist that require inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian policies and projects into transportation plans and project development. Accordingly, transportation agencies should plan, fund, and implement improvements to their walking and bicycling networks, including linkages to transit. In addition, DOT encourages transportation agencies to go beyond the minimum requirements, and proactively provide convenient, safe, and context-sensitive facilities that foster increased use by bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities, and utilize universal design characteristics when appropriate. Transportation programs and facilities should accommodate people of all ages and abilities, including people too young to drive, people who cannot drive, and people who choose not to drive.
Policy Statement
The DOT policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems. Because of the numerous individual and community benefits that walking and bicycling provide — including health, safety, environmental, transportation, and quality of life — transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.
Read the rest HERE
Armstrong: Cyclists and motorists need mutual respect and shame on Tony Kornheiser
I got this sent to me the other day...
By Matthew Cole
Armstrong: Cyclists and motorists need mutual respect
Lance Armstrong spoke to US radio talkshow host Tony Kornheiser live on his morning show today. He accepted an apology for Kornheiser’s anti-cyclist tirade and tried to spread some love and understanding between motorists and cyclists.
Kornheiser opened the ‘apology’ section of his ESPN show with The Beatles’ All you need is love playing in the background, and said: “I went on one of my rants the other day about bicyclists in Rock Creek Park and in new dedicated bicycle lanes in Washington DC... and got way over the top.
“The bicycle people who heard it were properly offended and it worked its way all the way to the most famous cyclist in the history of the United States, the multiple Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who lit me up on Twitter, which many of you have read about.”
Kornheiser said he got in touch with Armstrong through his friendship with Lance’s biographer Sally Jenkins. “Lance called all the way from France when he was done working out in preparation for the Tour de France and we talked about a lot of things,” he said. “I certainly apologized for any inference that I made, which was not an inference, the direct thing about, you know, going after bicyclists.”
During their on-air conversation, the two spoke about the aggressive attitude many motorists have towards cyclists. Armstrong said: “Well, first of all let me just say that … for myself and all the people that get on bikes, we appreciate your apology and I think we take that as a sincere apology.
“If it’s you or me, or anybody else out there that has this podium … whatever we say ... it might be funny, we may think it’s a joke but people actually take it seriously sometimes.
“And so, to your point of this interaction and this relationship between people on bikes and people in cars. I think that's a relationship that has to co-exist now and forever because … we're both gonna be around forever. It's one that's going to require mutual respect.
“Cyclists can't go down the road five abreast in Rock Creek Park. I understand. I go on rides all the time when people start lining up beside me wanting to chat and I say, ‘Hey, you know we gotta single up here, we got some cars back’.
“But at the same time there's no need for a car to come by and brush a cyclist, especially considering they're human beings on bikes … Not everybody's used to riding with cars. It could be a a 40-year-old lady – it's her first bike ride and she's out on the street and some guy comes and brushes her and taps her with a mirror. Trust me, she never gets on a bike ever again because she's so scared, and that's a shame. I know it's a volatile situation sometimes but both sides have to understand each other…
“The other thing I think I should say … [is that] cycling lost a guy yesterday who was well regarded and loved by many people, and got hit by a car and killed in the Carolinas – a guy by the name of Adam Little. I think it touched this nerve for a lot of people in the cycling community for both of those things to come out on the same day … Look, we’ve got to all get along here, and sometimes it's heated.”
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