Posted in Advocacy
by Mark Dieterich at 9:26 pm
The PBC has put together a quick survey asking about how you use your bike and what, if anything, can be done to get you on your bike more frequently. Our goal of the survey is two fold:
- We want to better understand the community of cyclists interested in the PBC and our activities
- We want to get some input on where we should focus our energy
Please take a moment and fill out our survey. Thanks to the generosity of The Hub and Providence Cycle, we are able to reward those of you who fill out the entire survey!
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05.30.08
Posted in Announcements, Events
by Margherita at 2:20 pm
| June 21, 2008 |
| 9:00 am | to | 4:00 pm |
MAKE SOME WAVES AND PUSH SOME PEDALS ON JUNE 21ST
Paddle and Peddle to Support Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration’s Animal Rescue Efforts
MYSTIC, CT - The Fifth annual Animal Rescue Kayak (ARK) paddle and peddle will be held at Bluff Point State Park, Groton, CT on June 21st from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It promises to be a fun-filled day for the whole family!
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Posted in Advocacy
by Margherita at 1:01 pm
A ‘dream team’ gets the job done
Congratulations and hooray to Rolling Agenda for positioning the Town of Jamestown to receive a $250,000 Federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant. The grant, passed through the State of Rhode Island, has several goals: promote safe walking and bike riding for our school children; increase the number of walkers and bike riders to school, thereby improving their physical well-being; reduce school- related traffic congestion and improve air quality in the vicinity of our schools.
In 2005 the SRTS program, developed over several years by local advocacy and government groups, was adopted and funded jointly by the Federal Highway Administration, the National Center for Disease Control, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. A major element is that it be implemented by a true partnership between a local advocacy organization and local government.
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05.29.08
Posted in Advocacy
by Mark Dieterich at 11:24 am
I was driving home (I know, gasp…) the other evening and as I was heading East over the Washington Bridge, I could see a kid riding a bike going West over the bridge! Obviously, this kid put himself in an extremely dangerous situation, but I found myself wondering why he was doing this…
- Was he of the age where he just didn’t care and thought of himself as completely invincible? I’m certain most of us remember going through this phase, perhaps some of us are still at this point. Did he just not stop and think about the potential danger he was in, riding a bike along a highway with cars driving by at extreme speeds?
- Did he end up on the bridge by mistake? I would assume all the entrances are posted with no bicycle signs, but I plan to go by them myself and check on this. If he found himself on the highway by mistake, it could be quite terrifying.
- Was he trying to get into Providence and simply didn’t know how to get across? With the closing of the Washington Bridge pedestrian walkway, people who don’t know the area really have no clue how to proceed. This is something I plan to follow through on with the DOT. They will be putting up many signs during the upcoming Henderson Bridge work, it would be great if we could also get some bike detour signs up for while the Washington Bridge remains closed.
Regardless of the actual reason, this was an extremely dangerous situation. it seems to me that we can actually ensure that the second two possibilities don’t occur again. The first… well time and experience is probably the best cure for that one.
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Posted in Announcements, Events
by Eric at 9:14 am
| June 7, 2008 |
| 10:00 am | to | 8:00 pm |
| June 8, 2008 |
| 10:00 am | to | 8:00 pm |
On June 7th and 8th, the Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living (apeiron.org) is holding its annual Rhode Island Sustainable Living Festival & Clean Energy Expo. And the Providence Bicycle Coalition is helping Apeiron to offer a way to get to the event via sustainable, muscle-powered transportation!
For both days of the festival, a “bike train” will travel the East Coast Greenway route from downtown Providence to the event site in Coventry, about 22 miles away. All registrants coming to the fest on the bike train will get free admission and goodies. Plus, the first 50 registrants will receive a free t-shirt designed exclusively for the bike train cyclists!
This annual event features great music, fun and informational workshops, and many vendors and cool displays related to sustainable living.
For more information on the festival, go here:
http://livingfest.org
For more information on the “bike train” from Providence to the festival via Cranston, Warwick, West Warwick, and Coventry, including instructions on how to register, go here:
http://apeiron.org/slf_fest_2008/slf_sub/SLF_transport.html
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05.27.08
Posted in Advocacy
by Eric at 1:13 pm
There has been a ghost bike locked up outside of the Providence Art Club on Thomas St (between Benefit and N Main) since earlier this spring. It memorializes Amanda Lynn Benge, who passed away on February 2, 2008 after a bicycle accident on January 18.
To my knowledge, this is currently Providence’s only ghost bike. Let us hope that no more will be needed.
Other photos will be loaded to the PBC Ghost Bikes image gallery.
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05.25.08
Posted in Advocacy
by Margherita at 10:37 am
N.Y. Hopes to Ensure Smooth Pedaling for Bike Commuters
By Robin Shulman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 25, 2008; A02
NEW YORK — The view from the lens of photographer Mark Weiss’s camera is of a treacherous world of cab drivers weaving into bike lanes, of double-parked delivery vehicles, of car doors opening suddenly, of pedestrians wandering blindly and of narrow passageways between trucks. It is the world of the Manhattan bicycle commuter, which Weiss captures on a camera affixed to a bar on his single-gear bike.
City officials, hoping to make commutes like his less treacherous, have created a seven-block experiment of a bike lane on Ninth Avenue. Here, concrete dividers and a row of parked cars shield a bike lane from the street and its traffic. Low mini-traffic lights show when cyclists have the right of way. Bike commuters, messengers and delivery people peel down perfectly smooth paths.
“It would be nice if that were everywhere,” said Weiss, 45.
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05.24.08
Posted in Bike-to-Work Day
by Mark Dieterich at 9:38 pm
Thanks to Dick, we have a bunch of B2WD photos online now!
If you took some pictures at B2WD and want them posted, let us know.
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05.22.08
Posted in Advocacy
by Margherita at 9:51 am
1. AGRICULTURE: Change your menu and save the planet? (05/22/2008)
Sara Goodman, ClimateWire reporter
Climate change means different things to different people. To Tim LaSalle, chief executive of the Rodale Institute, it has brought opportunity: the acceleration of a trend his group has been pushing for years. He wants to make people more aware of where their groceries come from and how they are produced. To the Rodale folks, saving the planet can begin by altering your dinner menu.
“People are concerned about their health, and they’re getting worried about the chemicals and pesticides that are in regular farming,” LaSalle said. “They’re trying to get cleaner, safer food and many understand they’re making an environmental commitment.”
What’s new is that this message is resonating well beyond the crunchy granola set. In recent months, organically grown food has been a better bet than the stock market. Food producers are beginning to prick up their ears. According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, a consortium of Iowa State University, Kansas State University and the University of California, the organic food market has grown nearly 20 percent per year for the last seven years as climate-consciousness has spread.
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05.21.08
Posted in Announcements
by Mark Dieterich at 10:57 pm
We are happy to announce that we’ve added a a media gallery to our site. This will let us post interesting pictures featuring the cycling culture in and around Providence.
For our first picture, I’ve uploaded a picture of a bike rack I saw while traveling in MN. There are a couple interesting racks I’ll snag pictures of around RI and post them once I get a chance. If you see an interesting bike rack, drop us an email with the image and we will get it posted on the site.
Keep an eye out for Bike-to-Work day pictures!
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