Safety « Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance (CABA)

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

NEWS FLASH ! – GOOD NEWS FROM U.S.CONGRESS

January 16, 2012

“Complete the Streets” bill

A new federal transportation authorization bill will include a measure for the safe accommodation of all users, including bicyclists and pedestrians, in federally funded street projects. The bill directs the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to create national standards for the safe accommodation of all road users. The bill is now awaiting passage of the full Fiscal Year 2012 budget. Charlotte has been ahead of the curve with its own version – the ”Urban Street Design Guidelines” -(passed by City Council with strong CABA support) – .

For more details, CLICK: CTS legislation.

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Posted by martinzimmerman8

PEOPLE AND HAPPENINGS

January 6, 2012

In and around Charlotte

Cycle Track in Uptown - maybe. We hear that a consultant contract is being negotiated to study the feasibility of Charlotte’s first two-way “cycletrack” along 3d Street from the new Little Sugar Creek Greenway and CPCC thru Uptown to Irwin Creek Greenway.
”Bike Share” update - CABA has been informed that discussions are taking place for outside vendors and sponsors for a bike share program on or before the DNC convention in Sept. 2012 but nothing is firm as yet. More news upcoming. Stay tuned !
Bad News: Update on $10 million Federal “Tiger Grant” application for a major urban/suburban bike trail - Unfortunately, Charlotte did not make the cut. This could have been a big one . It could have leveraged another $20 million to build a trail connecting Little Sugar Creek NE to Tobey Creek at UNCC and from there all the way to Cabarus County as a major link in the unfolding Carolina Thread Trail system. There were over 800 applicants !
Green lanes for Charlotte ? – CDOT has received tentative approval from national certifiers to construct some “green lanes” as an experiment. This is big news, and if you have ridden on them elsewhere you may have experince the secure feeling it is to be on one. BTW: In other cities they are also blue and red. As long as they are bright who cares !? CLICK: GoGreen to see a video of Brooklyn, New York’s test lane.

Leave a Comment » | Advocacy - Local, Bike plans / planning, CDOT, Events - Local, Safety | Permalink
Posted by martinzimmerman8

BICYCLING IS NOT AN “ALTERNATIVE MODE”

August 14, 2011

Words to the wise

cartoon by Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer. Click on cartoon to read text

Check out this excerpt from a memo sent by the TriMet transportation agency to its regional partners in ( you guessed it) Portland Oregon, and we quote:

” Avoid calling walking bicycling, and transit “alternative modes”. They are used by almost everyone to promote health, save money, avoid congestion, and reduce oil dependence. INSTEAD SIMPLY SAY “walking, bicycling and transit.”

Sounds obvious doesn’t it ? Well, in auto addicted cities of the Southeast, that is not always the case. (Thanks to John Cock of Alta Design for sending this along).

Leave a Comment » | Advocacy - National, Health Obesity Safe Routes to Schools, Quotable Quotes, Safety | Permalink
Posted by martinzimmerman8

MAY BIKE MONTH – UPCOMING EVENTS

May 1, 2011

There’s more to go, folks

Squirt some lube on your chain guard….and join CABA at these events >

Pimp My Rack: Friday, May 20th, 5-10 pm

A public art exhibition with six local artists painting custom designed racks in person, on May 20th during the gallery crawl and All Arts Market. The ‘racks’ are the new NoDa custom-designed and -built bike racks created with funds from the Neighborhood Energy Challenge grant. Watch artists in action, and vote on your favorite bike rack. Sponsored by New Belgium Brewery. Stop by for a FREE BEER and register for Team Wonderbike and the 2nd annual Urban Assault Ride (scheduled for Sept. 18).

Location: Salvador Deli parking lot: 3215 N. Davidson St. in the heart of NoDa

BikeFest in Plaza-Midwood: Sat. May 21st from 11-4

First ever Bike Festival and Block party. Meet your neighbors and, bike, skate, scooter or skateboard in tree-shaded bliss. Plan to spend the day with us. We have Harvest Moon Grille and Maki Taco gourmet food trucks for your taste buds. No Bike. No Problem. Call Charlotte NC Tours to reserve your bike today!

Location: Thomas Ave. between Hamorton and Belvedere

Soldier Ride - Sat. May 21

6:45 register; 8:00 a.m – ride start ; post ride picnic – 11 or so.CABA is supporting Board member Daniel Bennett to join this ride and welcomes other CABA members to join him.

COST: $25 + minimum $150 in pledges. Wounded veterans ride FREE. Soldier Ride is an initiative that provides to help the restore the physical and emotional well-being of the wounded across the country. It offers the public a chance to ride alongside victims of the ravages of war and promote a positive message of recovery.

Location: Coca-Cola Charlotte headquarters

Ride of Silence – This. Wed eve – 6:50 ride starts. Be on time ! – May 18

Booty Loop – only three laps – Join cyclists worldwide in a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph) in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways in and around Charlotte. Meet behind Queen College on Wellesley.Thanks much to Jeff Viscount, Mike Gibbons, Mike Stieglitz and others of the MoJo riders who have been instrumental in making this happen and growing its ranks over the past four years. Let’s get lots of folks to show up !

Location: Queens College parking lot of Wellesley Drive

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Posted by martinzimmerman8

RECKLESS HOMICIDE IN S.C.

March 7, 2011

Charges rendered against driver

Cyclist’s death. Ten years in prison. Last month, the man who drove into a pack of 15 cyclists was charged with reckless homicide, which brings a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a mandatory five-year revocation of his driver’s licensae. After months of working with Charleston attorney Peter Wilborn of mybikelaw , a verdict was finally reached. Peter works in tandem with Charlotte attorney and CABA member Ann Groninger. He was guest speaker at the CABA annual picnic a few years ago.

The victim died after months in a coma. He was 38 years old. The group ride was a regular Friday night social that departed from Outspokin’ Bicycles in Augusta. at 6:40 p.m. NOTE: This news item borrowed in part from the League of American Bicyclists website.

2 Comments | Advocacy - National, Advocacy - State, Crash reports, Safety | Permalink
Posted by martinzimmerman8