Bike lanes + infrastructure « Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance (CABA)

PEOPLE AND HAPPENINGS

February 20, 2012

In and around Charlotte

Bike lanes coming to Uptown at S.Tryon overpass – Yes, for sure. The connector over I-277 should have lanes on both sides of the street and a widened sidewalk by December 31, of 2012 !

New Chairperson for BAC committee – Jane Cacchione, CABA Advisory Board member and a key player on the local bike scene has replaced CABA member Dick Winters. The Bicycle Advisory Committee advises the Mayor, City Council and County Council on bicycle policy and related isssues. Chris Gladora, also a CABA member, is the latest appointee. Welcome aboard Chris.

CABA to meet with NCDOT in Raleigh - In case you didn’t know, Paul Morris is the recently appointed Deputy Director of NCDOT (that’s about as good as it gets) and he oversees the entire bicycle and pedestrian planning staff. We hope to team up with other NC bike advocates to talk about the crisis in bike funding in the U.S. Congress and the NC “Complete the Streets” guidelines now under final review.

Solar panels on roof of IKEA – Thanks to Mary Hopper, University City Partners, who sent us this item. Yes, IKEA already has a huge set of bike racks, but they are now demonstrating further their commitment to the challenge of a new green economy. Panels should be in place later this year. Congratulations IKEA !

WANTED: Additional members to CABA Board of Directors – This is a real opportunity to contribute to the cause of safe and fun cycling for our community. We are especially interested in diversifying the board – women, minorities, young adults. Energy and enthusiasm a must ! Public relations skills, volunteer coordination, fundraising talent, or social events coordination are key skill needs. Contact us and tell us who you are: charlottebikes@gmail.org.

District 5 Councilman John Autry - John has been appointed chairperson of the Environmental Committee and member of the Transportation and Planning committee by Mayor Foxx. Both committees can have a huge impact on bicycling and walking in the Queen City. John is the first CABA member to be elected to public office in the Charlotte area.

Leave a Comment » | Advocacy - State, Bike lanes + infrastructure, Climate change C02 Clean Air, People, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by martinzimmerman8

CABA ANNUAL SURVEY – Due today – Feb. 8

February 8, 2012

Put your head where your heart is

THIRD ANNUAL SURVEY OF BICYCLE USER NEEDS - It is time again to take a reading of the community – cyclists and non-cyclists alike. This survey is being sent to several thousand area residents. The goal is to gauge the public’s needs, habits, and desires. We invite you to take a few minutes to complete our survey. We also encourage you to forward it onto people you know.

Deadline extended till Wednesday, Feb. 8. Results will be shared with all interested parties including civic leadership and government agencies, and will be available on the CABA website and Facebook. You need not be a cyclist to fill out this survey.

Leave a Comment » | Advocacy - Local, Bike lanes + infrastructure, Bike plans / planning, Safety | Permalink
Posted by martinzimmerman8

BACK FROM FRANCE !

December 9, 2011

Fact-finding tour of bike sharing systems

Message from Martin Zimmerman, CABA Exec. Director ~ ~

In mid-October I returned from a pretty remarkable 3 – week trip…..to Paris, Lyon and Strasbourg, three of the most successful “bike-sharing” cities in Europe. In Paris I interviewed Monseur Albert Asseraf, the JC Decaux company representative for the “Velib” bike-share system (20,000 bikes; usage increase of 20% over last year). I met with him and the JCD maintenance and repair guys on a barge along the Seine just a stone’s throw from the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Met with other insiders and community activists in Lyon and Strasbourg whose successful bike share systems predate Paris’. Pedaled the systems in all three cities to gauge the quantity and quality of the bike infrastructure and check out what segments of society are actually using bikes on an everyday basis. (Lyon is about as good as it gets). I took the subways, trams, trains and boats (and of course walked for miles in each city) to view how the transportation systems were integrated.

Bike sharing systems are simply well-managed fleets of high-quality bikes available for short-term affordable credit card rental at various locations within cities. There are now more than 375 systems in 33 countries. (For more on bike sharing - use the Search box on this page or CLICK: Bike Share.)

The results of this trip will be used by CABA as a public service to inform local decision-makers who are just beginning to consider its feasibility in the Queen City, possibly in concert with the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Leave a Comment » | Advocacy - Global, Advocacy - Local, Bike lanes + infrastructure, Bike plans / planning | Permalink
Posted by martinzimmerman8

UPDATED BIKE MAP AVAILABLE

September 17, 2011

In print – 5000 copies

Charlotte Cycling Guide – 2nd Edition – Check out your friendly neighborhood bike shop and you will find it. Slightly revised from the 2009 version. Includes 10 new marked routes with special signage, complete list of allied organizations, including CABA, safety tips, bike shop links etc. etc. High quality graphic design just like the previous map.

To download from CDOT website, CLICK: Map. Scroll down halfway, locate the link for Charlotte Cycling Guide, right click on it, select on the Short Cut Menu “Save As”, select where in your computer you want to save it to, and wait for the 45 MB file to download.

If you want a hard copy go to any local bike shop. Thanks to Paul (we don’t know his last name) who sent us this comment.

5 Comments | Advocacy - Local, Bike lanes + infrastructure, Bike plans / planning, Books in Print, CDOT | Permalink
Posted by martinzimmerman8

NY Times – GLOBAL NEWS UPDATE

August 14, 2011

Take a hike, gas-guzzlers !

Across Europe, irking drivers is urban policy - Sorry. A bit late posting this one. But it’s a must read !

From NYTimes, Environment page, June 26: ” While American cities are synchronizing green lights to improve traffic flow and offering apps to help drivers find parking, many European cities are doing the opposite: creating environments openly hostile to cars. The methods vary, but the mission is clear — to make car use expensive and just plain miserable enough to tilt drivers toward more environmentally friendly modes of transportation…” Thanks to Shannon Binns of local CABA affiliate, Sustain Charlotte, for sending us this article. CLICK: What’s your excuse ? to read the entire piece.

Leave a Comment » | Advocacy - Global, Bike lanes + infrastructure, Bike plans / planning | Permalink
Posted by martinzimmerman8

BIKE RACKS at BofA

May 25, 2011

FREE bike racks installed - Good news! 12 more racks are now in place at BofA branch banks in neighborhood locations throughout Charlotte for a grand total of 70.CABA’s $20,000 bike rack contract to CDOT is to market and install 100 bike racks on commercial sites. Thirty more racks still available. The racks in place include 15 Harris Teeters, UNCC Research Park and South Park office buildings, Common Market, Kohls, Caribou Coffee, etc. Any suggestions ? Let us know: charlottebikes@gmail.org.

Leave a Comment » | Bike lanes + infrastructure, CDOT | Permalink
Posted by martinzimmerman8

NEWS FLASH ! – NE LYNX LIGHT RAIL

April 12, 2011

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Do you live in NE Charlotte ? – Next public forum

Bikeway planning for NE LYNX light rail Uptown to UNCC – A special CABA Caucus Group, chaired by Andrew Street, tells us to get the word out. Tell the planners what you think.