Mark your calendar !

National Bike Month

• Bicycle Advisory Committee – Citizen appointed group which advises the Mayor, City Council and County Council. Membership open to the general public. Great opportunity to stay current on city sponsored bicycle projects and planning. Room 601, Char-Meck. Government Center – Third Tuesday of each month – May 22. Staffed by Ken Tippette, CDOT Bicycle Program Manager. Newest CABA members include Haley Beaupre and Chris Gladora.
• National Bike to Work Week - May 14-18
• Annual Clean and Green Festival – Little Sugar Creek greenway- May 19.

Jeff Viscount and Ann Groninger lead one of several caucus teams at the CABA Annual Meeting earlier this month. In background, Ben Barry, Maya Agarwal, Jon Harding and Harry Johnson. Photo: copyright Weldon Weaver.

Celebrating 13 years of bicycle advocacy

9 a.m.- 1 p.m. / Dowd YMCA / 7th floor

What: Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance Annual Meeting – Your chance to review the last year’s successes and help set our agenda for the rest of 2012. This is your chance to both learn and participate. We are especially interested in folks willing to volunteer in the months ahead to help our shared visions become reality.

When: Saturday – Feb. 4 – 8:30 a.m.  (Sign-in and schmooze). Meeting starts promptly at 9:00 a.m. 

Where: DowdYMCA - 7th floor conference room. Bicycle racks at front and rear of building.

Who: You ! (open to all comers).

Special Guest Speakers:

• Ken (KT) Tippette -  CDOT bicycle program manager – KT has been at his desk for 8 years tackling the big issues and small details, all the stuff that goes towards making Charlotte a first-class bicycle friendly community. KT will highlight recent projects and offer some clues to the challenges that lie ahead. Time is set aside for audience discussion.
  
• Cheryl Myers  – Senior VP for Planning and Development/Charlotte Center City Partners. Cheryl will present a brief overview of the Center City 2020 Vision Plan approved by City Council last fall, and suggest action items to transform Uptown and the 16 contiguous neighborhoods into a model “City of Bikes”. To include audience Q + A.

Additional speaker topics:

Light rail bike/ped. trail to UNCC (John Cock or Maya Aagarwal/Alta Design);  - Regional bike/ped. trail - Uptown to Mooresville (Gwen Cook/Park and Rec.Dept ); The Adam Little Foundation legislative petition campaign (Debbie Thompson); Safe Routes to Schools /”Safety Town Program” ( Dick Winters/County Health Dept . 

*    Mid-morning coffee and pastry and lunchtime catering will be provided  *

* $100  BIKE SHOP GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE LUCKY WINNER  ! *

Democratic National Convention Advisory Group for Sustainability

At the request of Dan Murrey and his Host Committee staff (with the behind the scenes support of Mayor Anthony Foxx ), we are pleased to announce that CABA will participate directly in convention planning in the coming months.

We pledge to make this the greenest convention with the smallest carbon footprint to ever land in the Queen City !

We intend to provide expertise to promote an innovative green transportation framework that will equal or surpass the success of the 2008 Denver convention. We will join other NGO partners incuding June Blotnick of Clean Air Carolina, Shannon Binns of Sustain Charlotte and Bill Gupton of the Sierra Club. We look forward to this opportunity to advance cycling as an integral component of the bigger mobility picture.

• State representative in bike crash - Rep. Pricey Harrison, our strongest advocate for bicyclists in the entire legislature, was hit by a red light runner while bicycling in Raleigh last week.  She had been on the greenway near the NC Museum of Art, and was crossing Blue Ridge Rd.  She has a broken foot and lots of scrapes.  The 21-year old driver was charged with failing to stop for a red light, but alcohol was not believed to have contributed to the crash.
• Waxhaw rezoning issue- CABA member Matthew Lueders has alerted us about a rezoning application in the Waxhaw area that might effect the safety of bicyclists. Food Lion has purchased 33 acres of land on the corner of Kensington and Waxhaw-Marvin Road. Matthews concern is that the increase in traffic might effect safe cycling in an already busy area. Although the town meeting occurred on October 11, there may still be time to voice your concerns. Matthew can be reached at: mlueders@uncc.edu.
• Yes, bike lanes spanning I-485 ! - Thanks to Dan and Aimee Burns for alerting us to this good news. From the South Charlotte Weekly regarding the Community House Road Extension, “A bridge to be built over I-485 will feature 8-foot bike lanes and 6-foot sidewalks.”  Finally, the residents living outside the I-485 corridor in this area will have bike/pedestrian access to the greenways without having to DRIVE our cars…this is great news!
• UNCC faculty member Mike Murphy recovering from injuries –  Long time CABA member, UNCC chemistry faculty lecturer and chairperson of the UNCC campus bicycle advocacy group. Mike is a daily and devoted  bike commuter. Mike is back at work although recovering from a collapsed lung while hit on his way home on Sept. 28. We wish you a speedy recovery Mike.
• Mark your calendar – AIGA Charlotte Design for Good Poster Initiative Gallery Show - NoDA gallery crawl – Friday, November 4, 2011 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM  / Dialect Gallery /3204-C N. Davidson St. Celebrate how design can ignite positive change in the community. Posters will inform Charlotte area citizens about environmental and social issues. The show will provides a chance for designers to meet local nonprofits like CABA. Beer and wine too ! Thanks to Rachel Martin  VP of Sustainability/AIGA Charlotte and Creative Director/Green Drinks Charlotte, for alerting us to this important event. CABA will be there! For more details or should you wish to submit a poster, CLICK: Dialect.

•  APBP biennial conference coming to Charlotte – October 25-27 - The national Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle  Professionals will camp out at the Blake Hotel with in-depth seminars and a collegial atmosphere where participants network, share knowledge, and learn to propel policy into practice. Attend this conference for cutting edge issues even if you are not a professional. Thanks to Danny Pleasant and the folks at CDOT for their leadership in making this happen. CABA will be there ! For more info CLICK: Seminar

John addresses Mayor Foxx at CABA annual meeting

We just got this item. John is a very active and generous CABA member, and of course, an avid bike rider. This is his first effort at City Council in the 5th District, and he has the endorsement of outgoing Councilmember, Democrat, Nancy Carter.

Campaign fundraiser this Wed. Aug 17 – Join John and his friends and supporters at Don Pedro Mexican Restaurant, 5317 East  Independence Blvd. 6-8 p.m. $25 minimum donation suggested. RSVP: gfredly@gmail.com.

 GUEST SPEAKER:  This year we welcome back Charlotte attorney – Ann Groninger. Ann is an avid daily urban cyclist, a member of the Dirt Divas and an adviser to CABA’s Board of Directors. She has a leadership role with mybikelaw.com. a firm that provides pro bono legal service to school groups, law enforcement personnel, cycling clubs and teams – about insurance,  bicycle safety precautions, legal procedures and much more. They also offer fee paid services for victims of bicycle crash situations.

PLACE: Freedom Park (Shelter #6); RSVP to charlottebikes@gmail.org and qualify to compete for a door prizes from your local bike shop and a CABA free membership entitling you to 10% discounts at 14 area bike shops ! Rain or shine. Bring an umbrella and a couple of folding chairs if you can. Space is tight this year.

TIME: 12:30-2:30

FOOD: Potluck – CABA supplies the drinks, ice and utensils. You supply the delicious food. (No charcoal grill).

• Hey, it’s vacation time everyone ! ~No Monthly Forum in July. CABA Forums are typically the first Tuesday of each month at Kickstands Burgers and Brew on Central Avenue and Heath Court, a few blocks towards Uptown from the Plaza Midwood Library.
• Thank you corporate sponsors !  ~ Alan”Teelo” Teeling/Bike Depot in Waxhaw, Nick and Steve/Espada Cycles in NoDA. Josh Rimany/Dilworth Pharmacy in Kenilworth Commons on East Blvd. Says Josh: “Any CABA membe who bikes to my pharmacy gets 10% off  purchases. ” Bring your membership card with you folks.

• CABA is now listed ~ Bank of America’s matching gift program. That means that if you are a BofA employee and donate to CABA via BoFA, BofA matches your donation 1 to 1. If you are a BofA employee or have some friends / cyclists who are BofA employees now is your chance to support the cause of cycling in our community  !  Donate now !

A bummer ~  Mary Newsom, Associate Editor and op-ed columnist/Charlotte Observer, an authority on livable cities, sustainability and smart growth (and a pro- bike ally) has taken early retirement . We will miss her greatly. (Rumor has it that she is being hired by REBIC as their VP for public relations!).  Meanwhile, she has rebooted her Naked City blog and is on Twitter.

• Another bummer ~ Davis Cable, until recently Exec. Director of the Catawba Lands Conservancy has left his position but continues as an adviser to CLC. Dave has been at the helm in growing the organization since its inception, and he was been a key player in making the Carolina Thread Trail a reality. We eagerly await Dave’s yet-to-be named permanent successor.
• New members – CABA Board of Advisors – Congratulations to Andrew Israel, (Bank of America), John Cock (Alta Design), and Jeff Viscount (CEO – Gutter Shutter Company, Weekly Rides website). Welcome aboard !
• 
  
• J. E. burns his rubber ~ CABA member and Critical Mass founder, Joey Emanual, tells us he and his lackeys embark on July 17 for a cross- the-USA bike ride.  Best of luck Joey and make sure to wear a helmet !

Bring your helmet

City council is about to vote on the 5-year Transportation Action Plan Update, which of course includes a bicycle component. It’s a combination of budget, projects and policies.  Rumor has it that our developer friends at REBIC (Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition) don’t like it much. We do. They’re paid lobbyists. We’re volunteers. But we can make a difference. We’ve stopped REBIC before, and we can do it again.

Bring your helmet and show up at 7 pm.  (Warm bodies count at City Council meetings!) If you wish to speak, contact the City Clerk: 336.2248 before 5 pm today.

To read the draft document and all of REBIC’s past comments CLICK: TAP.

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.

WHEN:  Wednesday, April 27^th

WHERE:  Charlotte Mecklenburg Gov. Center, 600 East 4^th Street, 8th floor

4-5:30pm:          Stakeholders group only – Open discussion of results of last workshop, project alternatives and priorities.

6pm:                      Meeting open to public

6:15pm:                Presentation for public

6:30-7:15pm:    Q/A + Further discussion of alternatives and priorities

7:15-7:30pm:      Wrap-up

Here is the web page link to all maps and other docs – CLICK: LYNX bike route.