In case you are wondering,the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) published the following "draft" work plan in their October 2009 minutes. The work plan is for 2010.
If you would like to address comments to the BAC you may do so at BAC@FCGov.com.
You may also view minutes of past meetings by clicking on this link.
DRAFT - BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WORK PLAN 2010
The Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) is a subcommittee of the Transportation Board.
It is composed of representatives of various city boards and commissions and community
organizations that have a stake in bicycling. The BAC reviews and provides
recommendations regarding bicycle capital improvements, bicycle policies, and Bicycle
Plan priorities. The overall goal of the BAC is to promote safe, efficient bicycling in Fort
Collins and the surrounding area.
After examining the Bicycle Plan and considering needs of the various interest groups
represented, the BAC has established the following goals:
1. Bicycle Safety – Work with City departments, bicycling advocacy groups, law
enforcement agencies and other interest groups in the community to promote bicycle
safety education programs on the rules of the road and sharing the road for motorists and bicyclists of all ages.
2. Bicycling Encouragement – Continue to develop and implement innovative programs,
campaigns and events to encourage increased bicycle travel
3. Bicycle-related Economic Development – Use the existence of high quality bicycle
facilities, a robust bicycling culture, bicycle sporting events and enjoyable recreational biking to attract employers, new residents, businesses and visitors.
4. Bicycling and Household Affordability – Provide a safe, efficient bicycle infrastructure to facilitate bicycling as an affordable transportation option for low income households and non-drivers.
5. Bicycle Facilities - Identify innovative interim solutions for improving design
deficiencies and/or maintenance of important bicycle travel routes to assure a safer, more efficient bicycling environment.
6. Bicycling Performance – Establish performance measures for bicycle programs and
facilities.
Discussion:
It was suggested that the work plan as presented doesn’t really reflect the importance of how bicycling fits into many goals and policies of the City. It was felt we should go farther and tie this to overall city policies relative to environmental and community benefits.
After some discussion it was decided to add a paragraph from page 3 of the 2008 Bike Plan to put these above goals into context relative to their value to the community.
Further discussion focused on the lack of law enforcement issues in our work plan, though it was pointed out that enforcement is present in item number 1.
Kathleen Bracke & Dave Kemp suggested that they invite the Police Department to come and join us in a BAC meeting to respond to questions about law enforcement relative to bicycling.
Further discussion focused on just what type of enforcement is necessary and the choice police have to make in enforcing bicycling violations versus more serious violations of the law that have higher levels of harm.
Some suggested that education be the focus, as suggested in item one to include law enforcement. Chairman Gould suggested that the discussion was moving into the area of action items under the above major points. As we analyze the above goals we’ll eventually want to enumerate action items or activities that will come up as specific agenda items for the BAC later.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Bike Safety Education an Economic Development Issue in Fort Collins
At its January 6, 2010 meeting the City's Economic Advisory Commission voted unanimously to recommend that Fort Collins City Council ask staff to review the City's bicycle education policy. The recommendation comes in light of Council's work session scheduled for February 9 on "transportation safety."
Dear Mayor and City Council,
The Economic Advisory Commission, as part of our 2009 and 2010 Work Plans, has had discussions regarding the fact that Fort Collins has been recognized as a “bike friendly community” and that there is a positive economic benefit to this based on marketing and quality-of-life. In light of the pending February 9 Council work session on transportation safety, the EAC, at our January 6th, 2010 meeting, discussed the issue of bicycle safety and education and the impact on the overall viability of being a “bike friendly community.” It is in this context that the EAC has voted on and agreed to the following recommendation to Council:
The EAC finds that Bicycle Safety Education is an important part of being recognized as a “bike friendly community,” and that this recognition plays an important role in the Economic Health of Fort Collins.
Accolades that Fort Collins receives as a great place to retire, work, raise a family or locate a business are jeopardized by twenty-five serious injuries or fatal bike/car crashes involving cyclists since 2007. Incidents such as these may seriously jeopardize our image as a bicycle friendly community and our ability to continue to receive such recognition.
Therefore, we encourage you to ask staff to explore best practice solutions to take bicycle safety education to the community.
Thank you,
Christophe Febvre and the Economic Advisory Commission
Dear Mayor and City Council,
The Economic Advisory Commission, as part of our 2009 and 2010 Work Plans, has had discussions regarding the fact that Fort Collins has been recognized as a “bike friendly community” and that there is a positive economic benefit to this based on marketing and quality-of-life. In light of the pending February 9 Council work session on transportation safety, the EAC, at our January 6th, 2010 meeting, discussed the issue of bicycle safety and education and the impact on the overall viability of being a “bike friendly community.” It is in this context that the EAC has voted on and agreed to the following recommendation to Council:
The EAC finds that Bicycle Safety Education is an important part of being recognized as a “bike friendly community,” and that this recognition plays an important role in the Economic Health of Fort Collins.
Accolades that Fort Collins receives as a great place to retire, work, raise a family or locate a business are jeopardized by twenty-five serious injuries or fatal bike/car crashes involving cyclists since 2007. Incidents such as these may seriously jeopardize our image as a bicycle friendly community and our ability to continue to receive such recognition.
Therefore, we encourage you to ask staff to explore best practice solutions to take bicycle safety education to the community.
Thank you,
Christophe Febvre and the Economic Advisory Commission
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Cycologist Cooperates with Bike Co-op on Clunker Bikes
Through Jan. 31 the Cycologist Bike Shop will give you a 10% discount if you turn in a "clunker" bike with the purchase of a new bike. The good news is that the Cycologist will donate your clunker to the Bike Co-op for recycling, refurbing and redeploying to someone in need! Everybody wins.
Visit the Cycologist web site today and take a look in the basement for that clunker that you never use!
Then plan to visit the Bike Co-op to see what we do! (Of course, we're glad to take that clunker as a donation if you don't intend to buy a new bike this month). Visit the Bike Co-op web site today.
Both cyclists and drivers can make bicycling safer
Fort Collins Coloradoan, January 4, 2010
by Rick Price, Ph.D. (Safe Cycling Coordinator, The Bike Co-op)
Headed north on College Avenue from Old Town, the motorist shouted something as he passed.
At the light, he continued: "You were in the middle of the lane. Get out of the road! You can't ride in the middle of the road." I gave him my League of American Bicyclist cycling instructor business card as he roared off.
Others have advised me that College Avenue isn't a "bike lane" or that "bicycles are illegal on College Avenue." When I explain that bicycles are prohibited on College Avenue from Laurel Street south to Harmony Road but not in Old Town, people seem surprised. Most don't realize that legally, my bicycle is as much of a vehicle as the SUV or the Prius driving through Old Town.
With this monthly column, I will discuss rules of the road, shared rights and responsibilities, belligerent motorists and scofflaw cyclists. The outcome, I hope, might be a safer cycling and motoring environment.
I'll begin with six basic rules for cyclists and motorists.
> Cyclists are safest when they ride with the flow of traffic. Wrong-way riding is the single biggest cause of bike/car crashes.
> Cyclists are safest riding on the street or road, not on the sidewalk. This reduces conflicts with pedestrians and decreases sidewalk "ride-outs," another cause of bike/car crashes.
> "Share the road" has two meanings, depending on the width of the lane. A 14-foot lane has room for bicycles and motor vehicles side by side. A 12- or 10-foot lane does not, so the League of American Bicyclists teaches cyclists to ride in the center of the lane or just to the right of center, where they are more visible and therefore safer.
> When there are no bike lanes, bicyclists should ride where they feel safest. State law allows this, and with the new 3-foot passing rule, this may mean that cyclists should use the entire lane. In Old Town, with the hazards of diagonal parking, bicycles are safest in the middle of the lane if they chose to ride College, Mountain and LaPorte avenues or Olive, Oak and Magnolia streets. Cyclists no longer should feel the need to pedal in the gutter.
> Bicycling is safe, yet cyclists should wear helmets to protect themselves from the 5 percent of crashes that can’t be avoided. To avoid the 95 percent of crashes that can be prevented, cyclists should ride defensively, avoid falling off their bikes and not allow others to knock them off their bikes.
Bicyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles. This rule is the mantra of the League of American Bicyclists and dominates 99 percent of the safe cycling curricula taught in the U.S. Different rules apply for children under age 10 and for those between ages 10 to 15.
In the following months, we will examine these common rules more in depth.
by Rick Price, Ph.D. (Safe Cycling Coordinator, The Bike Co-op)
Headed north on College Avenue from Old Town, the motorist shouted something as he passed.
At the light, he continued: "You were in the middle of the lane. Get out of the road! You can't ride in the middle of the road." I gave him my League of American Bicyclist cycling instructor business card as he roared off.
Others have advised me that College Avenue isn't a "bike lane" or that "bicycles are illegal on College Avenue." When I explain that bicycles are prohibited on College Avenue from Laurel Street south to Harmony Road but not in Old Town, people seem surprised. Most don't realize that legally, my bicycle is as much of a vehicle as the SUV or the Prius driving through Old Town.
With this monthly column, I will discuss rules of the road, shared rights and responsibilities, belligerent motorists and scofflaw cyclists. The outcome, I hope, might be a safer cycling and motoring environment.
I'll begin with six basic rules for cyclists and motorists.
> Cyclists are safest when they ride with the flow of traffic. Wrong-way riding is the single biggest cause of bike/car crashes.
> Cyclists are safest riding on the street or road, not on the sidewalk. This reduces conflicts with pedestrians and decreases sidewalk "ride-outs," another cause of bike/car crashes.
> "Share the road" has two meanings, depending on the width of the lane. A 14-foot lane has room for bicycles and motor vehicles side by side. A 12- or 10-foot lane does not, so the League of American Bicyclists teaches cyclists to ride in the center of the lane or just to the right of center, where they are more visible and therefore safer.
> When there are no bike lanes, bicyclists should ride where they feel safest. State law allows this, and with the new 3-foot passing rule, this may mean that cyclists should use the entire lane. In Old Town, with the hazards of diagonal parking, bicycles are safest in the middle of the lane if they chose to ride College, Mountain and LaPorte avenues or Olive, Oak and Magnolia streets. Cyclists no longer should feel the need to pedal in the gutter.
> Bicycling is safe, yet cyclists should wear helmets to protect themselves from the 5 percent of crashes that can’t be avoided. To avoid the 95 percent of crashes that can be prevented, cyclists should ride defensively, avoid falling off their bikes and not allow others to knock them off their bikes.
Bicyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles. This rule is the mantra of the League of American Bicyclists and dominates 99 percent of the safe cycling curricula taught in the U.S. Different rules apply for children under age 10 and for those between ages 10 to 15.
In the following months, we will examine these common rules more in depth.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Panda Bicycles Makes Innovative Bamboo Bicycles in Fort Collins
Fort Collins' very own Panda Bikes hit the big time this week with coverage on Denver's CBS4. Yes, indeedy, we're getting famous as a bike town with the passion and persistence of a bunch of bike folk.
Check out the CBS4 coverage of Jacob, John and Mark at Panda Bikes.
Check out the CBS4 coverage of Jacob, John and Mark at Panda Bikes.
Monday, November 9, 2009
City should rethink stance on bike safety
Soapbox in the Coloradoan, Nov. 11, 2009
by Rick Price, Ph.D.
Safe Cycling Coordinator for the Fort Collins Bicycle Cooperative
Thanks go to City Council member Lisa Poppaw for questioning funding for bicycle safety at the Sept. 1 City Council meeting. That question, and the discussion that followed, gave us Traffic Engineer Joe Olsen's study of bike/car crashes, which appeared Nov. 1 on the front page of the Coloradoan.
Although data on bicycling are sparse and the statistics on bike/car crashes are preliminary, we can make some interesting inferences from the data we do have. Hopefully, these inferences will help the City Council rethink funding priorities for the city's bike program.
According to the estimates of the American Community Survey, a project of the U.S. Census, 5.4 percent of commuters rode their bicycles to work daily in Fort Collins in 2006 (about 3,800 people). In 2008, that percentage had risen to 7.4 percent (5,800 people), a jump of 37 percent. With this increase, we saw a 31 percent increase in bike/car crashes compared to annual growth in the single digits for most of the early part of the decade (one exception was the increase of 13.5 percent from 2003 to 2004). (We don't have data on the increases of cyclists during the early part of the decade as this information has been collected only since 2006.)
Based on these statistics and observations, most of us would agree that bicycling in Fort Collins is on the rise and so, it seems, are bike/car crashes. Is this because we reinstated the bike coordinator's position in 2006, or is it because there is a bicycle revolution going on across the country? Probably both, but the alarming increase in bike/car crashes and the deaths in the last year of two children suggest that we have an issue that needs the immediate attention of the City Council.
Our bike coordinator will be funded from federal monies at about $287,500 per year for two years beginning in 2010. Those funds are allocated as follows: $70,000 to promote bicycle events; $70,000 to fund the bike coordinator's position (including benefits and training); and $32,500 to fund "regional bicycle coordination and marketing" so we can help Loveland and Greeley become more bicycle friendly. Finally, $100,000 a year will continue to fund the Bike Library. By comparison, $38,500 of other federal funds will pay for a Safe Routes to School Program during 2009/10. As yet, no funds have been awarded for Safe Routes in 2010/11.
The council has scheduled a work session Feb. 9 to address "transportation safety." That session should focus on a review of the city's bicycle policies and take a serious look at reallocating funds from bicycle events and encouragement to bicycle education. And by education, I mean just that: "providing knowledge and training through formal schooling, teaching and learning," not through pamphlets and posters.
Is it not reasonable, given the present situation in Fort Collins, to suggest that federal funds be reallocated so that we are spending $250,000 annually on bicycle education and $38,500 on encouragement and events?
If you have an opinion on this, please let City Council know.
by Rick Price, Ph.D.
Safe Cycling Coordinator for the Fort Collins Bicycle Cooperative
Thanks go to City Council member Lisa Poppaw for questioning funding for bicycle safety at the Sept. 1 City Council meeting. That question, and the discussion that followed, gave us Traffic Engineer Joe Olsen's study of bike/car crashes, which appeared Nov. 1 on the front page of the Coloradoan.
Although data on bicycling are sparse and the statistics on bike/car crashes are preliminary, we can make some interesting inferences from the data we do have. Hopefully, these inferences will help the City Council rethink funding priorities for the city's bike program.
According to the estimates of the American Community Survey, a project of the U.S. Census, 5.4 percent of commuters rode their bicycles to work daily in Fort Collins in 2006 (about 3,800 people). In 2008, that percentage had risen to 7.4 percent (5,800 people), a jump of 37 percent. With this increase, we saw a 31 percent increase in bike/car crashes compared to annual growth in the single digits for most of the early part of the decade (one exception was the increase of 13.5 percent from 2003 to 2004). (We don't have data on the increases of cyclists during the early part of the decade as this information has been collected only since 2006.)
Based on these statistics and observations, most of us would agree that bicycling in Fort Collins is on the rise and so, it seems, are bike/car crashes. Is this because we reinstated the bike coordinator's position in 2006, or is it because there is a bicycle revolution going on across the country? Probably both, but the alarming increase in bike/car crashes and the deaths in the last year of two children suggest that we have an issue that needs the immediate attention of the City Council.
Our bike coordinator will be funded from federal monies at about $287,500 per year for two years beginning in 2010. Those funds are allocated as follows: $70,000 to promote bicycle events; $70,000 to fund the bike coordinator's position (including benefits and training); and $32,500 to fund "regional bicycle coordination and marketing" so we can help Loveland and Greeley become more bicycle friendly. Finally, $100,000 a year will continue to fund the Bike Library. By comparison, $38,500 of other federal funds will pay for a Safe Routes to School Program during 2009/10. As yet, no funds have been awarded for Safe Routes in 2010/11.
The council has scheduled a work session Feb. 9 to address "transportation safety." That session should focus on a review of the city's bicycle policies and take a serious look at reallocating funds from bicycle events and encouragement to bicycle education. And by education, I mean just that: "providing knowledge and training through formal schooling, teaching and learning," not through pamphlets and posters.
Is it not reasonable, given the present situation in Fort Collins, to suggest that federal funds be reallocated so that we are spending $250,000 annually on bicycle education and $38,500 on encouragement and events?
If you have an opinion on this, please let City Council know.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Bike Co-op Schedules Open House Saturday, November 14
The Fort Collins Bike Co-Op would like to invite you to come help us celebrate our Grand Re-Opening/Open House at our new location at 331 N College Avenue on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 between 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. (We have glass in our windows now! You must see to believe!)
We are excited to show off our new space (our fourth home since 2003) and encourage the public to drop by and see what we’re all about. Bring along your neighbors, friends, and people you meet in the bike lane on the way there. Its a great chance to learn more abut the Bike Co-Op’s programs and discover how you can learn about bike maintenance and bike safety. Join our army of volunteers and help us give back and encourage a better bicycling community. Drop off a business card for a chance to win our Bike-A-Way.
The Fort Collins Bicycle Co-Op is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to 'Building community through bicycling". Our programs and services are designed to give back to the northern Colorado community through your open bike shop, bike education, bike recycling, bike donations, and coordination of bike parking at local events. We put a strong emphasis on a zero-waste goal to help minimize the impact on our environment. Please contact us at outreach@fcbikecoop.org for more information or we’ll see you on the 14th! Spread the word - pass this information on!
Come and see how our pile of bikes for Ghana has grown! More importantly, come and see what a pile of 500 bikes looks like!
We are excited to show off our new space (our fourth home since 2003) and encourage the public to drop by and see what we’re all about. Bring along your neighbors, friends, and people you meet in the bike lane on the way there. Its a great chance to learn more abut the Bike Co-Op’s programs and discover how you can learn about bike maintenance and bike safety. Join our army of volunteers and help us give back and encourage a better bicycling community. Drop off a business card for a chance to win our Bike-A-Way.
The Fort Collins Bicycle Co-Op is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to 'Building community through bicycling". Our programs and services are designed to give back to the northern Colorado community through your open bike shop, bike education, bike recycling, bike donations, and coordination of bike parking at local events. We put a strong emphasis on a zero-waste goal to help minimize the impact on our environment. Please contact us at outreach@fcbikecoop.org for more information or we’ll see you on the 14th! Spread the word - pass this information on!
Come and see how our pile of bikes for Ghana has grown! More importantly, come and see what a pile of 500 bikes looks like!
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