Good morning,
I received this information on a new transportation bill being considered in Congress. Interesting aspects that directly address improved bike/ped infrastructure and programs.
Nick
Update on House
Transportation Bill and Safe Routes to School
June 19, 2009
Over the past few days, there has been a lot of movement on
the transportation bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. On Thursday, June
18, Reps. Oberstar, Mica, DeFazio,
and Duncan, who are the lead Democrats and Republicans on the House
Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, released a Blueprint
of the transportation bill [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102616852275&s=2741&e=001gi-qANuZ0JyRsdDNpJVamlqS…].
The day before the Blueprint was unveiled, US Department of
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asked Congress to delay consideration of
the transportation bill and to instead pass an 18-month extension of the
current law. Chairman Oberstar and
Ranking Member Mica were very firm in the need to move the transportation bill
this year, and indicated that they plan to move forward with consideration of
the transportation bill next week.
While we do not yet have the text of the legislation, which
is expected to be released early next week, the Blueprint provides an overview
of the high-level changes the Committee will be looking to carry out.
Of primary interest to Safe Routes to School supporters, the
Blueprint indicates that the transportation bill will create an Office of
Livability within the Federal Highway Administration. The office will administer
bicycle and
pedestrian programs, including Safe Routes to School and Transportation Enhancements.
The office is charged with increasing modal
choice, advancing livable communities, and promoting integrated land use and
planning. Also under the Office's jurisdiction will be compilation and
dissemination of best practices on active transportation, developing better
data collection and analysis on active transportation, and requiring that all
federal aid projects consider comprehensive street design principles, policies,
and standards. The Office will also
oversee the creation of the U.S. Bicycle Route System.
While the details of any proposed changes to strengthen or
expand Safe Routes to School will not be known until the legislative language
is released, Safe Routes to School supporters should be pleased to see that the
program is included in the Blueprint and is being placed with a new office that
is charged with overseeing many other bicycle/pedestrian programs.
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership will analyze
the language of the legislative text as soon as it is released to assess which
elements of our
recommendations [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102616852275&s=2741&e=001gi-qANuZ0JxgQ7W1ARRJ0WuG…
included, and will provide you with additional
information as the details emerge. We
may have a "call to action" for Safe Routes to School supporters next week, so
please watch your email over the coming days.
Thank you for your continued support and interest in Safe
Routes to School. For questions, please
contact Margo Pedroso at margo(a)saferoutespartnership.org [mailto:margo@saferoutespartnership.org].
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forward email
http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1100380121653&ea=director@posit…
This email was sent to director(a)positivespin.org by deb(a)saferoutespartnership.org.
Update Profile/Email Address
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001JkPYvl9GdBxNH5I1lra7pqiG5gADO…
Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe(TM)
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?v=001JkPYvl9GdBxNH5I1lra7pqiG5gADO…
Privacy Policy:
http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp
Email Marketing by
Constant Contact(R)
www.constantcontact.com
Bikes Belong Coalition | P.O. Box 2359 | Boulder | CO | 80306
--
Nick Hein LCI# 1705
Director, Positive Spin
2567 Univ Ave Ste 6000L
Morgantown, WV
ph 304-276-0213
--
Good morning,
I'm currently travelling and have posted a mini-trip report (preliminary) about my visit to Seattle. It covers bike parking, bike paths, bike routes, urban cycling and interesting bike shops I visited while there. You can find it at:
http://www.positivespin.org/PublicFiles/2009_0618_SeattleTripReport.pdf
Please feel free to pass the link on to anyone else who might be interested.
I'm currently in San Jose for the Smart Cycling conference of League instructors. I'll have a report on this next week after I return.
See you then.
Nick
--
Nick Hein LCI# 1705
Director, Positive Spin
2567 Univ Ave Ste 6000L
Morgantown, WV
ph 304-276-0213
--
Good evening,
I just came across this blog via the Complete Streets newsletter. It's about a road I was biking/walking on Tuesday. This is a sorely-needed big improvement for this corridor. The concepts might work well at certain intersections along Beechurst/Mon Blvd as well.
http://seattletransitblog.com/2009/06/15/358-bus-stop-plazas/#more-5653
Nick
--
Nick Hein LCI# 1705
Director, Positive Spin
2567 Univ Ave Ste 6000L
Morgantown, WV
ph 304-276-0213
--
Hey guys,
HealthSouth, where my wife works, is involved with Amputees Across America. I guess they'll be riding across the US and will come through Morgantown on July 10th. She invited me to ride with them at 11am on July 10th and asked for support. There are several college students who would like to ride with them but don't have bikes, so she thought I might know some folks who could help. Angie is planning on contacting at least Positive Spin. It seems like they could help with getting folks bikes to ride for the day. Maybe we can offer support just as cyclists.
#1 What would the Bike Board like to do about this?
#2 Would this be better suited for Positive Spin?
Have a nice day!
~Derek
_________________________________________________________________
Bing™ brings you maps, menus, and reviews organized in one place. Try it now.
http://www.bing.com/search?q=restaurants&form=MLOGEN&publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TEXT…
Hey guys,
I just wanted to remind everyone that there is a GIS Bike Route Meeting tonight at 5:30pm in the Training Room of the PSC Building. Please attend if you wish to have input. Brainstorm and bring some ideas, too! I'll do the same today and print out a few maps with the most current info I have. If I left anyone off of the list, please let me know. Thanks!
Hope to see you tonight,
~Derek
_________________________________________________________________
Lauren found her dream laptop. Find the PC that’s right for you.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/choosepc/?ocid=ftp_val_wl_290
Hey,
Thursday is Mountain Line Transit’s ‘Dump the Pump’
Day. They’re offering FREE bus rides with a coupon. Make sure you
take one for each ride, both to and from your destinations. You can also
print them from their website: http://www.busride.org/
I can print more if you guys need me to. If you do use this, let me know. I'll likely still be riding my bike unless the weather is bad, but it's a great option for transportation.
~Derek S.
_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail® has ever-growing storage! Don’t worry about storage limits.
http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Storage?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutori…
Hey guys,
I guess since I'm the mapping guy, I'll take the lead for the creation of the Bike Route map! :) As discussed during the meeting on Thursday, a few of us need to meet to discuss how to create this map, what the criteria will be for a 'route', and various other issues.
First, lets identify those of us who would like to meet. During the meeting, these names were mentioned:
Derek Springston - volunteered to help
Frank Gmeindl - volunteered
Jacob Brown - volunteered
Don Dickerson - Frank suggested that Don should be involved since he helped with an earlier drafts
Gunnar Shogren - Frank suggested Gunnar
I believe it may be beneficial to contact these people as well:
Steve Harouff
Will Ravenscroft
Chet Parsons
So, who is willing to meet within the next week or two? Please let me know if you're not interested, so I won't keep sending emails.
Then, we'll establish a time.
Thanks,
~Derek
_________________________________________________________________
Insert movie times and more without leaving Hotmail®.
http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/QuickAdd?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutor…
Bicycle Board Members,
So, you think you can talk on the cell phone, even hands free and drive
safely? Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA and be
entertained.
Frank
/Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles/
Good morning,
I should have read the article before I posted. The Bikewise site defaults to Seattle, but actually is available anywhere there is Google map info. You can register, set your default location, and then put in reports about thefts, hazards, crashes and annoyances. I tested it by reporting the light at 6th and Beechurst that doesn't respond to bicyclists waiting to cross the thoroughfare.
I'd encourage everyone else to share as much info as you have so that others can benefit from it. As the article states, there is no official link to authorities that can do road repairs or engineering to address problems. However, there's the opportunity for authorities to take it upon themselves if they monitor the site.
Hope this helps.
Nick
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "director" <director(a)positivespin.org>
Reply-To: director(a)positivespin.org
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:31:42 -0400
>Good morning,
>On one of the environmental websites I read regularly this news item appeared today. I'll be out there next week and will check into it further. Chances are that I know someone in the program if anyone would like more info on it.
>
>http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/06/10/bikewise-community-makes-cycling-safer/
>
>Nick
>
>--
>Nick Hein LCI# 1705
>Director, Positive Spin
>2567 Univ Ave Ste 6000L
>Morgantown, WV
>ph 304-276-0213
>--
>
>_______________________________________________
>Bikeboard mailing list
>Bikeboard(a)cheat.org
>http://cheat.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard
>
--
Nick Hein LCI# 1705
Director, Positive Spin
2567 Univ Ave Ste 6000L
Morgantown, WV
ph 304-276-0213
--