Providence Bicycle Coalition (PBC)
Confirmed! Of course, it took college students to bring Providence its first bike-sharing program. Thanks to Greater City: Providence for passing this along. Story here.
Now: expansion! (but first, back to Thanksgiving…)
The Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island (GARI), thanks to the generosity of the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen, is soliciting grant requests from area organizations for projects that would benefit bicycling in our Ocean State and nearby parts of Massachusetts. Being a 501(c)3 is not a necessity.
$1500 is still available for 2008, and $5000 will be given away in 2009.
To get a copy of the RFP, contact GARI’s chair, Sue Barker, at sueb4@cox.net.
I frequently listen to The Bike Show podcast. It’s interesting to get a perspective on cycling from across the pond and listen to some of the activities and issues cyclists are facing in and around London. One of the recent shows entitled Emergency: Lorries Killing Cyclists really resonated with me, as I think we’ve all become keenly aware of the lack of responsibility motorists are allowed to get away with when they kill a cyclist. If you have the time, I’d encourage you to listen to the show (mp3).
The main point I took away from the show was the fight to make motorists more accountable is being led by a mother of a slain cyclists. Much like our own Lori DiBiasio has taken the matter into her own hands locally. It was inspiring to hear about the success the slain cyclist’s mother has had working with the company who owned the lori involved in the accident. In paticular:
She is also pushing to get all trucks fitted with tire guards that will push a person or car out of the way, rather than allowing them to get run over. While this still sounds painful, it does sound better than getting squashed!
What astounds me with this situation and many of the situations we are facing, is how little the actual implentation would actually cost. Sure, it’s not a drop in the bucket, but if a company fits all of their trucks with such technology and they save but one life, isn’t it worth the cost? I would hope any responsible business owner would be nodding their head at this point.
Our friends at REI have put together a handy web page with info about bikes as transportation:
http://www.rei.com/bikeyourdrive
While bikeprovidence.org is largely preaching to the choir, REI’s page is a great resource for novices. Check it out, and pass the link along to those who need it (or don’t know that they need it!). It contains handy information such as short videos on how to fix a flat or fit a helmet, tips on maintenance and safe cycling, and much more.
Are there other resources like this one that other bikeprovidence readers care to share?
In some ways, our neighbors to the west lag behind RI in bike advocacy, but they’ve gotten ahead of us on this one. Effective October 1, 2008, motorists are required to allow at least three feet of separation when overtaking and passing cyclists on state roads. Failure to do so can lead to a fine. You can read the ConnDOT press release
If When we get a similar law for RI, we should push for criminal penalties (beyond a fine) when failure to give 3′ leads to an accident. The absence of such language in the CT law makes it pretty weak.
Can anyone suggest a state house rep or senator to take the lead on this? Or does anyone know if efforts are already underway?
Given that it was a relatively small addendum to last month’s $700 billion Wall St bailout bill, it may have escaped the notice of some that our United States now enables employers to provide a tax benefit to those who commute by bike, similar to that which is available for those who commute on public transit. Talk to your HR person about this. The upshot is that this law enables bike commuters to receive a tax-free reimbursement of up to $20/month from their employer. The employer can then deduct that amount from their federal taxes.
(incidentally, one of the rumors I’ve read is that Obama may tap Rep. Blumenauer to be Transportation secretary. Can you imagine?)
Here’s how the NY Times described it on October 10:
Almost a year ago, we reported on an accident where a 13 year old boy was killed by a motorist driving while sending a text message. Yesterday, the driver was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to the charges.
While I have to give the driver some credit, he took responsibility for his actions, I’m once again left with this syncing feeling… if I were the parents of the boy who was killed, what would I feel a just punishment would be?
Sure, the driver will be spending 2 1/2 years behind bars, but that doesn’t do anything to help bring their son back or make it safer for other children. I know no more about this driver than what I’ve read, but someone who freely admits there wrongdoings would seem to be a reasonable person. He certainly made a stupid mistake, one which I can only assume he will regret for the rest of his life. Is putting him behind bars a reasonable punishment? I think I’d rather see him have his license suspended or revoked and ordered to do significant community service. Perhaps organize a speaking tour, where he can tell up and coming drivers about his accident and why it’s dangers to text or talk on the cell phone while driving.
What do you think?
Last night the city presented its summary of the charrette process for these 3 East Side neighborhoods. The following bullets are the specifically bicycle-related items in the summary. There is a bit of overlap due to items appearing in more than one area of the summary document. I have boldfaced a few items that I think can be easily implemented and have an impact.
There were also items not specific to bicycling, but which will clearly affect cycling in these neighborhoods. Here are a few:
There are 3 more rounds of neighborhood charrettes. December 2008: Federal Hill, Reservoir, and West End, January 2009: Charles and Wanskuck, and February 2009: Hartford, Silver Lake, and Manton. Notices for these meetings will be posted on bikeprovidence.org; let’s try to get good numbers of bike advocates at each of them!
RIDOT announced during the most recent Environmental Council meeting that, due to bugetary shortfalls, they are re-evaluating the George Redman Linear Park project. How or what will happen to this project is still up in the air, but it’s clear from what we have learned that the project will not go forward in it’s entirity.
I’ve had a sinking feeling ever since RIDOT separated this project from the much larger I-195 portion of the project and I’m sorry to see my gut was right. In the interim, RIDOT has agreed to open the Washington Bridge, in some form, to cyclists again this Fall. Last I heard, it will be late November before the bridge opens again.
The Warwick City Council met back on October 20th to vote on whether or not to pass a resolution requiring motorists to give cyclists a reasonable amount of room when passing. The resolution passed unanimously! I managed to get my hands on a copy of the resolution, the most important portion of which reads:
NOW, TEHREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the City Council of the City of Warwick hereby requests the General Assembly to enact legislation similar to the laws that have been enacted in the States of Florida and New Hampshire to require a three foot passing distance between motor vehicles passing bicycles, and if it is impossible to achieve the three foot passing distance, then the vehicle shall reduce it’s speed to 10-20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit and provide for a penality requiring a fine, community service, and license suspension.
The City of Warwick will be forwarding a copy of this resolution to all 39 cities and towns in RI. I’d encourage everyone to contact your local city/town administrators and encourage them to support Warwick and do what they can to encourage the General Assembly to take this matter up.