03.16.10
Posted in Announcements
by Mark Dieterich at 10:06 pm
It’s official. GARI members met this evening and officially voted to merge with the Providence Bicycle Coalition. This was the last hurdle we needed to get over to pave the way to merge the two organizations. In a short while, when all the legal paperwork is completeled, the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition will be born. Thanks to Sue Barker for all the work she put into this merger!
Stay tuned… the upcoming months will be filled with a new site look, new logo, and whatever else we can all dream up.
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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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12.16.09
Posted in Advocacy, Announcements, General
by Eric at 5:27 pm
The 2009 edition of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD, for those who enjoy alphabet soup) is finally out after a v-e-r-y lengthy delay. The MUTCD is the national guidebook published by the Federal Highway Administration that defines and regulates all traffic control devices, traffic signs, traffic signals, and pavement markings in the United States. For instance, a stop sign is a red octagon no matter where you go in the US because the MUTCD says so.
Shared-lane markings, or sharrows, are in the guide for the first time.
For years, many agencies have justified their decision not to apply sharrow markings to their streets by simply stating that, as sharrows are not in the MUTCD, using them would open the agency up to liability in case of accidents. Now that sharrows are “official”, that excuse no longer holds water, and we should see an explosion in the use of these markings, which are already in use in many locations around the country.
Why should we be glad for this? The sharrow, as defined in the Manual, serves 5 purposes:
A. Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking in order to reduce the chance of a bicyclist’s impacting the open door of a parked vehicle,
B. Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane,
C. Alert road users of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way,
D. Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists, and
E. Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling.
Essentially, the sharrow guides cyclists out of the door zone of parked cars, serves as a pavement-bound “share the road” reminder for motorists, and will hopefully lead to minimized “bike salmoning” – that is, biking on the wrong side of the street, or the wrong way on a one-way.
Just because sharrows are now in the MUTCD doesn’t mean that agencies must begin using them – but it does remove one potential impediment. The reconstruction plan for Broadway (that project should be underway in spring 2010) includes sharrows – these will be the first in Rhode Island. We should be glad for this, and we should advocate for greater use of sharrows in the Ocean State.
One last thing: in case you’re wondering what a state’s obligation is regarding when they need to start following these new regulations, here’s the skinny:
| Title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations requires all States to do one of these three things within two years after a new national MUTCD edition is issued or any national MUTCD amendments are made: |
| 1) Adopt the new or revised national MUTCD as the standard for traffic control devices in the State. |
| 2) Adopt the national MUTCD with a State Supplement that is in substantial conformance with the new or revised national MUTCD. |
| 3) Adopt a State MUTCD that is in substantial conformance with the new or revised national MUTCD. |
|
(It’s unlikely that any agency will actually take 2 years to adopt these standards.)
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11.13.09
Posted in Announcements
by Mark Dieterich at 3:21 pm
As anyone who has attended our last couple of meetings can attest to, we are growing! With this growth comes a problem, how to spread the responsibility and leadership opportunities, so that anyone who wants to help out can do so. During our last meeting, we decided to create four standing committees:
- Programs: The program committee will be chaired by Dick Durishin. Their focus will be on developing and organizing programs sponsored by The Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition (RIBike) and its member organizations.
- Legislation/Advocacy: The legislation/advocacy committee will be chaired by Barry Schiller. Their focus will be to keep tabs on RI legislature and any bills of importance to cyclists, keep an eye on the national scene to monitor what is working well in other states and could benefit RI cyclists, and help maintain a formal relationship with RIDOT, RIPTA, the Mayor’s Office, etc.
- Public Relations: The public relations committee will be chaired by Jack Madden. Their focus will be to help create and maintain our online presence, relationship with radio stations, and other news outlets. They will also work closely with the program and legislative/advocacy committee to ensure events and legislative activities are well publicized to cyclists, the general public, government, etc.
- Fundraising: The fundraising committee will be chaired by Margherita Pryor. Their focus will be to watch for and seek out grants and other funding sources. They will work closely with the program and public relations committee to ensure there is ample funding to carry out the mission of RIBike.
Thanks to these four brave souls who have stepped up to the plate to take on a leadership role within the organization. If you are looking to become involved with local or statewide bicycle advocacy, I would encourage you to reach out to one of these individuals or join one of the committee email lists.
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Posted in Announcements
by Mark Dieterich at 3:10 pm
A few months back, you might recall that the leadership of the Providence Bicycle Coalition (PBC) and the Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island (GARI) voted to merge the two organizations. The merger group has now be identified and should you have any questions or comments about the merger process, please feel free to contact us via email. Monthly meetings are now underway to determine exactly how to move forward with the merger and I’ll do my best to keep everyone up-to-date with the progress.
At the last meeting, the group voted to name the merged organization The Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition; simple, easy to remember, and to the point. I bring this up now, as it’s likely we will be referring to this organizational name, almost synonymously with the Providence Bicycle Coalition over the coming months and we don’t want to leave anyone in the dark.
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09.15.09
Posted in Announcements
by Mark Dieterich at 9:29 pm
Last Thursday, the leadership of the PBC and the Greenways Alliance of Rhode Island (GARI) met to continue discussions about a possible merger of these two organizations. Those attending the meeting, worked through a litany of concerns or questions about such a merger and left with a general consensus that a merger would be mutually benefitial. The boards of the two organizations have since met and officially voted to merge.
This is an exciting opportunity for both groups and, hopefully, it will only help to strengthen each of the individual groups. What will this mean for the PBC?
- We will ultimately be known by a different name, one which identifies the mission of the combined organization. If you have any great names for a statewide bicycle advocacy group, we’d love to hear your suggestions!
- The merged organization will take over GARI’s 501c.3 status. This was ultimately in the long term plans for the PBC and is now one less thing we will need to worry about.
- The fundamental mission of the combined organization is very closely aligned with the original PBC. The most noteworthy exception is that the focus will shift to statewide efforts, rather than solely focusing on Providence. In reality, this was the long term goal of the PBC, we are just accelerating the process slightly.
- We instantly grow the total membership and achieve a wider variety of cyclists.
We will be posting further information as the merger moves forward. I’d welcome any comments, suggestions, or concerns you might have.
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06.23.09
Posted in Advocacy, Announcements
by Mark Dieterich at 8:45 pm
From Barry Schiller:
The RI General Assembly may be going into its last week but there is still a chance to pass a bill to enhance safety for bicyclists and other roadway users by banning text-messaging while driving.
A bill sponsored by Senator Sue Sosnowski, S204A, to do this has already overwhelmingly passed the State Senate and was sent to the House Corporations Committee which also has a similar bill, H5021, sponsored by Representative Joe McNamara who has often helped us with bike safety bills. Despite support from RIDOT, AAA as well as the bike community, and even in light of the well publicized MBTA text-messaging accident, the House Corporations Committee has not yet acted.
So, if you support this bill, please call the Committee Chair, Representative Brian Patrick Kennedy, at the Corporations Committee, 222-2369 and at least leave a message with the clerk there. As the Speaker has a lot to say about what bills pass, similarly consider calling the Speaker’s Office, 222-2466 where they will take messages. If you know the sponsors or other legislators, ask them to help, this is a common-sense safety measure for all.
You can point out the recent accidents caused by people texting while driving. I have been told that three AAA roadside repairmen have been killed in the past five years by drivers texting while trying to operate an automobile.
If you have a question or suggestion, please call Barry Schiller, 353-6536
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05.26.09
Posted in Advocacy, Announcements
by Eric at 9:53 pm
The Providence Bicycle Coalition and the Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living are pleased to announce the second year of bike trains to Apeiron’s Sustainable Living Festival!
On June 6 & 7 (both Festival days), the PBC will lead rides from Providence Train Station to the festival site in Coventry, about 22 miles, starting at 8:30 and arriving at 10:30. Stops will be scheduled in Cranston, Warwick, West Warwick, and eastern Coventry to pick up additional riders. The first 50 registrants will get free Bike Train t-shirts, and ALL riders get free festival admission and some goodies.
The workshop schedule is great this year (including presentations from the PBC and the US Open Cycling Foundation), and this year’s music lineup is the best one yet, featuring Providence standouts (and national breakout) the Low Anthem, and folk favorite Dar Williams.
More information, including a registration form, are here. See you on the train!
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05.12.09
Posted in Announcements
by Mark Dieterich at 8:19 am
Thanks to a generous donation from the Narraganset Bay Wheelmen (NBW), the 2009-2010 version of the Guide to Bicycling in the Ocean State is now available. The PBC will be handing out bicycling maps along the bike trails, once the US Open Cycling Foundation cranks up their summer program. If you just can’t wait for your copy, you can complete an online request on RIDOT’s site and have one mailed to you.
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05.09.09
Posted in Alerts, Announcements, West Broadway
by Eric at 10:46 am
All-day bike party today! The grand opening of the city’s newest bike shop, 11 am to 10 pm, 267 Broadway. Alleycat at 2 pm, roller races at 7. Cool prizes, with food and drinks from Nice Slice and New Harvest Coffee.
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