02.24.10
Posted in Advocacy, Alerts, Announcements, Events
by Eric at 4:25 pm
Exciting! From the City of Providence’s “Art Culture & Tourism Newsletter”:
The 2nd Annual Claiborne Pell Lecture on Arts and Humanities
March 9 @ Trinity Rep
Hosted by Mayor David Cicilline
City of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline invites you to a panel conversation with musician, artist and author David Byrne; urban historian Samuel Zipp, Assistant Professor at Brown University; Thomas Deller, Director of the City of Providence Department of Planning and Development; and a local bicycle advocate (TBA) about how bicycles transform our urban experience. Initiated by Mayor Cicilline in 2009, the memorial lecture honors recently deceased Claiborne Pell (1918-2009), who represented Rhode Island in the United States Senate from 1961-1997.
How do creative thinkers strengthen civic life?
How can a city foster a more bicycle friendly environment?
How might Providence change if more people made a bicycle their primary mode of transportation?
This is a free but ticketed event.
Beginning Thursday, February 25th, tickets will be available at the Trinity Repertory Company box office, 201 Washington Street, and must be picked up in person (no phone reservations). Four ticket limit per person. Due to limited availability we suggest advance pick-up. For box office hours and directions, call 401-351-4242. For answers to questions about the event, please call 401-421-2489 x456.
Full press release here!
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02.23.10
Posted in Advocacy
by Eric at 3:22 pm
From John Powning:
RECYCLE-A-BIKE is a volunteer-based community bike education and maintenance collective that promotes bicycling as a safe, fun, sustainable, and empowering mode of transportation. We provide the greater Providence community access to the skills and resources to maintain, repair, and build bikes in a workspace where all are welcome. We are currently located in the Steel Yard.
RECYCLE-A-BIKE is working to assemble a board of directors that would have responsibilities relating to:
- periodic review of organization goals, and progress towards those goals
- suitability of location and facilities
- fundraising
- review of educational and community offerings
- review of the organization’s vision and mission statement and progress
- legal consultation
- communications to the greater providence and wider bicycling community
- continuing leadership development
We hope this opportunity is of interest to you. If so, and you would like to discuss this further, please contact me by email or phone.
Thanks for your consideration,
John Powning
401-273-9244 (Home)
jpowning@hotmail.com
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02.10.10
Posted in General, Tales from the Trenches
by dgduris at 6:11 pm
The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute recently released data on some safety tests they had performed against a variety of helmets along a considerable price range ($9.96 – $206.99). The results show that the helmets tested stood up equally well to the destructive onslaught of the masses dropped on them – regardless of their retail price.
That’s good news because it confirms that effectively protective helmets are available to virtually everyone. It also points to the potential value of the youth helmet program that the RI State Health Department and the U.S. Open Cycling Foundation have been providing for the past couple of years by delivering and individually fitting hundreds of helmets to kids around the state. All good news to those concerned about society’s health care cost burden.
One caveat – these tests, where a mass is dropped onto a helmet strapped to a simulated head, are only part of the appropriate measurement of a helmet’s effectiveness. Whether you are a rider or the parent of a rider, you must consider three additional issues:
1. Does the helmet fit and is it adjusted correctly – some studies show that over 90% of riders wear their helmet incorrectly
2. Is the helmet comfortable and will it be worn when it is hot outside
3. Does the intended wearer find its styling attractive enough to wear?
In fact, with the tests showing that helmets offer the same amount of crash protection regardless of price, these three are, perhaps, the only questions you need to ask.
When, during Cycle-for-Health programs in schools around the state, I ask kids why they don’t wear helmets, they usually say because they are good riders. So we talk about famous, helmeted athletes ranging from Tom Brady to Tony Hawk to Lance Armstrong. I try to make one point: that being a great rider – or athlete – doesn’t mean that you are immune from things you can’t control…like wayward dogs, potholes or drivers…the avoidance of which can cause you to fall and bump your head.
The good news from these Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute tests is that – as long as it is on your head correctly – one helmet is as good as the next.
- Durishin
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02.09.10
Posted in Advocacy
by Eric at 9:29 pm
Last night’s (Feb 8th) hearing was… interesting. The City’s proposal was quite good, I thought, addressing only that section of PVP between Rosebank Ave and Justice St. Currently, the roads on both sides of the median/stream have 2-way traffic, leading to tight squeezes and high confusion at intersections. Where the road meets Rosebank (at the east) and where it meets Justice (at the west), there are wide expanses of asphalt, with no striping to guide roadway users; while there haven’t been a great many accidents along the street, neighbors report that near-misses are a daily occurrence. Needless to say, there is limited room for bicyclists, particularly when there are cars parked and cars both coming and going. The city’s proposal has 3 general elements: (1) shrink the large asphalt areas by Justice and Rosebank by extending the median at the east end and adding an island at the west end, (2) alter the traffic pattern, creating a single lane of one-way traffic on each side of the median (eastbound on the south side, westbound on the north side), painting in travel lanes, stop lines and crosswalks, and (3) adding bike lanes to the stretch between River Ave & Justice St, between the parking lane and the car lane. Between River and Rosebank, the roadway is narrower, not leaving enough room for the bike lane; share-the-road signs will be installed here. If I recall correctly, the city is also proposing changing the posted speed limit from 15 mph to 25.
Per the normal pattern, those opposed to the city’s proposal spoke earliest, loudest, and most stridently; so loudly, in fact, that it might have seemed like the crowd was mostly opposed to the plan, even though there were really only 6 or 8 people stridently opposed. Ultimately, many voices also spoke in favor of the city proposal, thanking the City Engineer’s office and DPW for presenting a thoughtful plan which brings the “complete streets” ethos to the neighborhood. Word is that Councilman Solomon has already determined to support at least some elements of the plan, and will meet with the City Engineer for fine-tuning. What the end result will be is anyone’s guess at this point. It’s not too late, however, to ask Councilman Solomon to support the plan in its entirety; he can be reached at his city email address: ward5@providenceri.com.
Study area
View Larger Map
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02.08.10
Posted in Events
by Mark Dieterich at 5:20 pm
Tired of riding outside in the cold or alone on the rollers in your basement? It’s time for the next installment of RIVeloSprints! Come join us on February 8th @ 6:30pm for some fun on rollers. Rumor has it that someone from the Providence Journal will be joining us this evening, let’s show RI how much fun you can have indoors on a bicycle!
RI VeloSprints is an indoor bicycle roller racing tournament. Two cyclists climb aboard bicycles securely mounted to rollers and pedal as hard as they can for 500 meters. There will be nightly, monthly, and tournament-wide winners in various categories.
Proceeds from the event go to support the US Open Cycling Foundation, East Coast Greenway Alliance, & the RI Bicycle Coalition; organizations working to make cycling safer and better in Rhode Island.
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02.06.10
Posted in Advocacy, East Side
by Mark Dieterich at 5:29 pm
The folks over at Greater City Providence did a great job summarizing the alternatives RIDOT presented this past Monday for the Wickenden St./195 interchange. I wasn’t able to attend the meeting and am hoping that anyone who was in attendance would add their thoughts to this post. My understanding was that the following option was most widely accepted by everyone:
I’d encourage everyone to take some time and submit any thoughts or comments you have to either Melanie Jewett in the Planning Department and/or Lambri Zerva at RIDOT. They will be accepting comments until the close of business on Tuesday, February 16th.
Looking at these designs, it’s still not clear to me how a bicycle is expected to navigate from the mulit-use path coming from India Point Park, through the intersection, and continue down to the bicycle path on South Water Street. Clearly they are going to need to use the pedestrian signals, because crossing over two plus lanes of traffic, coming off at highway speeds, is going to be a death wish. I just hope RIDOT has the sense to build some sort of large catchment area for bicycles, as people riding along paths can often be families with children.
I’m also seriously concerned about how RIDOT and the city plan to encourage motorists to slow down to the posted 25mph speeds after coming off the highway. I don’t see any sort of traffic calming built into the plans. I’m also dismayed to see that no thought, once again, has been given to HOV lanes in either direction.
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02.05.10
Posted in Advocacy, Events
by Eric at 3:11 pm
We’ve got a shot at real, good improvements to Pleasant Valley Parkway! Please join the forces for good!
When: Monday Feb 8, 6 pm
Where: Capital Ridge (assisted living facility) 700 Smith St
Early word is that the new plan calls for one-way movement on each side of the stream, removal of one car lane, and addition of bike lanes on each side. It would end up looking like a small-scale Blackstone Blvd, if this is true. Currently, the roads on both sides of the median/stream BOTH allow 2-way traffic, with little room for cyclists and walkers, and extreme confusion at intersections.
See you there! We’ll all head to RI Velosprints (at McFadden’s, on Pine St) afterwards!
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01.29.10
Posted in Events
by Mark Dieterich at 6:07 pm
| February 1, 2010 |
| 6:30 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
Tired of riding outside in the cold or alone on the rollers in your basement? It’s time for the next installment of RIVeloSprints! Come join us on February 1st @ 6:30pm for some fun on rollers.
RI VeloSprints is an indoor bicycle roller racing tournament. Two cyclists climb aboard bicycles securely mounted to rollers and pedal as hard as they can for 500 meters. There will be nightly, monthly, and tournament-wide winners in various categories.
Proceeds from the event go to support the US Open Cycling Foundation, East Coast Greenway Alliance, & the RI Bicycle Coalition; organizations working to make cycling safer and better in Rhode Island.
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01.25.10
Posted in Advocacy, East Side, Events, Jewelry District
by Eric at 6:27 pm
| February 1, 2010 |
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
RIDOT and PVD city planning have scheduled the follow-up meeting for street designs emerging from the teardown of “old” I-195. Changes to the earlier design (based on earlier public feedback) will be presented, including new alternatives for the Wickenden/Point/Benefit/South Main/South Water clusterf#*k interchange. Your participation is crucial to ensuring livable streets in Fox Point and the Jewelry District!
Monday, Feb 1, 6-8 pm, at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School Community Room (that’s the Bath House to you that have been living here for a while), 455 Wickenden Street.
Here’s a flier, courtesy of PVD Planning & Development, that you can forward around, stick on your fridge, pin to your office bulletin board, etc. (Right-click image to open separately or save to your computer.) See you there!
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