April 2010 - RTC TrailBlog

May is Bike Month in Pennsylvania, and as part of the celebration the Pennsylvania Walk and Bike Summit is being held in Harrisburg, Pa., on May 4.

The goal of the summit is to promote state legislation that supports safe pedestrian and bicycle use throughout the state. We would like to see several hundred participate and join us on the steps of the capitol building.

The rally begins at 9 a.m., when bicyclists are encouraged to assemble at the State Farm Show parking lot and take a short ride to the west side of the capitol. Pedestrians are encouraged to form groups at City Island and meet us at the capitol steps. To learn more, contact Rick Nevins of the Harrisburg Bicycle Club at president@harrisburgbicycleclub.org.

State legislators and executive officers have been invited to say a few words in support of Bike Month and safe walking and bicycling throughout Pennsylvania. Here are some highlights of the summit schedule:

• Learn what Pennsylvania is doing for bicyclists
• Ride to the capitol from the State Farm Show parking area (departs at 9 a.m.)
• Walk from City Island to the state capitol steps (departs Walnut Street Bridge at 9 a.m.)
• Press event at 10 a.m.
• Luncheon with PA Walks and Bikes (registration necessary)
• Meet with legislators in the afternoon

Please visit PA Walks and Bikes and register to participate in the second annual Pennsylvania Walk and Bike Summit. 

PA Walks and Bikes is a new advocacy organization working to make walking and bicycling safer and better across Pennsylvania. They are major sponsors of the PA Walk and Bike Summit. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Northeast Regional Office has assisted as a planning and promotional partner.

On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day, it somehow seemed appropriate this morning to see an ad espousing the joy of bike trails on the back of a bus. As part of the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau's "Live the Life" tourism campaign, the website on the back of the bus takes you to a charming video of bikes on Virginia Beach's oceanfront trail, telling you that "life is too short not to enjoy the ride."

My first thought upon seeing this ad wasn't that Virginia Beach wanted you to vacation on a cruiser bike, but that they were advertising to road-weary D.C. commuters that moving to Virginia Beach would change the daily commute from a burden to a pleasant ride a bicycle. Talk about quality of life!

Although Virginia Beach would appreciate your tourism dollars, you don't have to go on vacation to enjoy the ride. This Earth Day, find a trail near you at www.TrailLink.com -- and get riding to work, to the store, with friends, or just for the fun of it.

Back in February, Bike Walk Twin Cities -- part of the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program -- released its 2009 Count Report, which surveyed cyclists and pedestrians during September 2009 in Minneapolis, St. Paul and surrounding communities. The numbers are positive: bicycling was up 13 percent from 2007, and the report's details provide proof of the strong role trails play in a regional active transportation network. Of the 20 locations with the highest bicycle counts, 16 were on trails, including the Midtown Greenway, Cedar Lake Trail and the Southwest Regional LRT Trail.

With more trails and connections funded as part of Bike Walk Twin Cities, Minnesotans can look forward to an even better transportation network ahead.

Keith Holt is currently working to develop Milwakee Bicycle Works, a community bicycle shop. Before moving to Wisconsin, he was an organizer for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (now known as the Active Transportation Alliance), where he worked to engage communities surrounding trails on Chicago's South Side. The trail he is most associated with is the Major Taylor Trail. In the clip above, Holt describes some of the hurdles that keep a community from cycling, even if the trail is convenient and resources like maps are easily available. "If you're going through communities that have been disconnected from cycling for decades," he says, "hardly anyone that you really want to use those trails are going to use them. People from other neighborhoods will use those trails. We have to bend bicycling to fit the neighborhood, not forcing the neighborhood onto bicycling. Bicycling is so vast, it's so expansive, it can bend to what the community needs."

Recorded at the Urban Pathways to Livable Communities conference, February 25, 2010.

Recently, we hinted at a soon-to-be released announcement that would be significant for the Sunshine State. Last week, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) announced its plan to establish a statewide initiative on bicycle and pedestrian mobility. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Partnership Council, to convene in early June, will make policy recommendations to FDOT and transportation partners throughout Florida on the state's walking, bicycling and trail facilities. Their mission is to assemble the many different partners needed to make statewide improvements in safety and facilities integration.

The formation of the Partnership Council is the result of many state leaders aiming to make Florida a national model for bicycle and pedestrian safety, in the wake of national studies finding Florida to be among the most dangerous places for pedestrians and cyclists. Among the biggest supporters have been State Representative Julio Robaina, State Representative Gary Aubuchon, FDOT Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos and FDOT Assistant Secretary for Intermodal Systems Development Debbie Hunt.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Partnership Council will include representatives from multiple state agencies, local governments and external stakeholders. They will make recommendations on design, planning, safety and other programs involving bicycle and pedestrian issues.

"Our focus is building a partnership to make Florida a more friendly state for pedestrians and cyclists. Everyone on this council has a role in that effort," said FDOT Secretary Kopelousos. "This really will be a collaborative effort to make the Sunshine State a better place to get out and walk or ride your bike." Who can argue about that?

Photo: Rep. Julio Robaina at the 2010 Florida Bike Summit. Photo courtesy Florida Bicycle Association.

The Richmond Greenway in the San Francisco Bay Area is moving forward to connect the neighborhoods it serves with open space, recreational opportunities and transportation options. A new 1.3-mile segment of trail doubles the length of the greenway and parallels BART between 23rd Street and San Pablo Avenue. This new segment connects neighborhoods along it to central Richmond with its BART station and comes tantalizingly close to connecting to the Ohlone Greenway on its east end.

The right-of-way is narrow in this section and only allows for some landscaping, but the route includes a bridge over the BART tracks and a tunnel under Interstate 80. Like most urban projects, there are some challenging gaps that still need to be finished to connect the two segments to each other and to the Bay Trail to the west and the Ohlone Greenway to the east. The city of Richmond is working on grant funding to connect the two completed segments across the railroad tracks and the 23rd Street undercrossing, which pose a major barrier to connectivity.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has promoted the greenway for more than a decade, including featuring the trail in the 2009 Green issue of Rails to Trails magazine. We celebrate each new piece that comes into place. Urban greening groups are working to make the greenway live up to its name with the Watershed Project spreading native plant gardens and Urban Tilth growing food with raised bed gradens and fruit trees. Despite challenges, the future continues to look bright for this urban greenway.

By Rue Mapp, Outdoor Afro

On Sunday, 23 cyclists of a wide range of ages and abilities wheeled though Richmond, Calif., in the inaugural Outdoor Afro Bike Ride, a ride with the goal of getting people of color to be visible in both urban and natural spaces, inspiring others to get out and enjoy the simple pleasure of riding a bike.

East Bay Regional Parks naturalist Bethany Facendini provided loaner bikes for those who did not have one and gave talks during breaks with demonstrations to educate the group about the local watershed. Urban Tilth’s Doria Robinson was also on hand to share information about native plants and other fascinating lore about Richmond’s expansive shoreline.

The ride was mainly a flat 12 miles that meandered along the Wildcat Creek line, through neighborhoods, and ended at the San Francisco Bay with sweeping views of Mount Tamalpias in the distance. This ride went farther than many in the group had ever travelled by bicycle. Even more compelling is that several participants were either new bike riders or had not been on a bike in decades. More experienced riders, including two from the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, seemed glad to slow their pace and support the newer riders.

Richmond Spokes, a community bicycle coalition and job training organization, was on hand adjusting many of the bikes that had not seen the light of day in years. Executive Director Brian Drayton assisted on the route and coached less experienced bikers to make small changes in posture and pedaling to help them get more enjoyment out of the bicycling experience.

As we rode through neighborhoods, residents were more than a little curious to see so many people of color riding through on bicycles. But there were frequent cheers and other gestures of support. Participant Delane Sims said, “A black bike ride has more impact on our inner city neighborhoods than we might imagine. It made my heart smile to hear all the love and support via car horns and cheers from our brothers and sisters!”

Comments like Delane’s were echoed by other participants, and a reminder that the most powerful way to get more people involved with outdoor spaces is through role-modeling culturally relevant examples.

Crossposted at Outdoor Afro. Photo courtesy Outdoor Afro.