CAzBike Membership ANNUAL Meeting: Sat Oct 18, 2014

When: Oct 18, 2014 Lunch 12-1PM, meeting 1-4PM
Where: Boulders on Broadway, Tempe
(Boulders is bike-friendly with indoor bike parking).

The Coalition will be springing for lunch and softdrinks (cash bar available)!

All members are cordially invited and encouraged to attend. The meeting is open to the public.
For space planning purposes, please drop us a line if you can attend, or you can respond to the facebook event.

Want to get involved? Check out are-you-new-face-of-bicycling-in-arizona for more info...

TENTATIVE Meeting Agenda:

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Meet Mark Aasmundstad

 Mark Aasmundstad At AZ Time 
Trial Championships, 2013

Introducing Mark Aasmundstad, Flagstaff Representative. 

Bicycling is a good way of spending time outside every day and it makes me feel so alive.  I like the rhythm, motion, intimacy and freedom of moving through landscapes on a bike.   Bicycling is an excellent way to meet great people, and helps me stay in touch with what is happening in my community.  Commuting by bike keeps me mindful of my health and it feels right to practice a cost effective, renewable, and sustainable way to get around.  Sometimes I ride on lunch breaks too to get the blood flowing, have a rolling chat with a friend, and to invigorate my senses and mind.  On the weekends I like to go for social rides and tour places that interest me.  Occasionally I’ll train for specific events to give myself a challenge and see how far discipline, practice and love can take me.   It’s amazing the places you can go on a bike, the people you can meet, and how a small commitment through a daily practice can provide a good base for overall health and for doing longer rides.

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Triggering Traffic Signals

video detector; humantransport.org 

Triggering "demand" traffic signals by bicycles has been has been a problem for time immemorial... However it looks as though newer technology is creating the opportunity for more effective sensing. In general the best chance you have of triggering a demand signal is to pull up to the stop line in the center of the lane.

We've all been there -- a traffic light that won't change.

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Savvy Cyclist Safety Class offered in Flagstaff

Be a savvy cyclist for Bike-to-Work Week!
The Savvy Cyclist class will help any bicyclist understand the basics of on-street cycling, learn how to ride safely and legally, and bike with confidence in any traffic situation.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014 5:00 to 6:30 pm
Flagstaff Medical Center
McGee Auditorium
1200 North Beaver Street

• .. Learn to ride safely and legally 
• .. Bike with confidence in any traffic situation 
• .. Understand basic principles of on-street cycling 
• .. Discover tips and tools for bicycle commuting 

Free of charge! And there will be a raffle for various bicycle safety gear after the class For more information, call 928 773 2080.
Thanks to FMC for sponsoring this Bike-to-Work Week event for the past 5 years

League Announces Spring 2014 Bicycle Friendly Communities

League Announces Spring 2014 Bicycle Friendly Communities

There have been no changes in Arizona communities;

Arizona communities currently enjoying BFC status are

• Gold -- Tucson/East Pima Region, Scottsdale
• Silver -- Tempe, and Flagstaff
• Bronze -- Chandler, Cottenwood, Gilbert, Mesa and Sedona

Arizona ranked 15th among Bicycle Friendly States

Kicking off National Bike Month, the League of American Bicyclists has released its latest ranking of Bicycle Friendly States. In the seventh annual assessment, Arizona ranked 15th nationally, slipping from 10th last year. Visit bikeleague.org/content/ranking to see how all the states ranked and individual states' report card with more details.

The Bicycle Friendly States ranking is based on a number of key indicators, including infrastructure and funding that provide on-the-ground bicycle facilities; education and encourage programs that promote cycling; and passage and enforcement of bicycle-friendly laws that make it safe and comfortable for people of all ages to ride.

Despite ranking 15th; Arizona has the 4th highest percentage of population living in in Bicycle Friendly Communities; see here for more about cities and towns in Arizona that are ranked bicycle friendly.
...

So what makes a state bicycle friendly? The League of American Bicyclists summed it up in two pages:     Attributes Of A Bicycle Friendly State and at www.bikeleague.org/states

ReinventPHX Canals

Canal Photo courtesy of
Roadboy's Travels

There was a major series of articles in the Arizona Republic spotlighting potential upgrades to Phoenix's canal infrastructure:

Dubbed Reinvent PHX, the project includes plans to transform areas where the canal crosses rail lines, creating urban hubs that celebrate the iconic waterways. Residents who have commented on the planning effort have listed canal development and improvements as a top priority...
 Bob Jenson, an avid biker who lives near the canal, said the ride is so unpleasant that he's avoided it for years, instead taking surface streets or heading north to the more commuter-friendly and scenic Arizona Canal. But Jenson sees major potential if Phoenix moves forward with plans to create a series of highly visible, safe crossings along the Grand Canal.
"It could be taken all the way down from my house to Tempe," said Jenson, vice president of the Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists. "One of our problems is we don't really have that much in the line of east-west connections" for bicyclists. Phoenix is studying areas where the Grand Canal crosses major streets, such as Seventh Avenue, Seventh Street and Indian School Road. The Street Transportation Department wants to turn the canal into a major corridor for bike riders and pedestrians to safely travel across the city.

Meet Eric Post

Eric Post

Eric is the Coalition's legal adviser. 

Eric generously supports the Coalition both with his legal expertise as well as financially. Eric is also a LCI (League Cycling Instructor) and is very active with the Tuscon-Pima County bicycling community.

Eric runs a law practice based in Tucson, with a focus area of representing cyclists who have been injured in collisions -- please visit his new site at ericpostlaw.com. The law Offices of Eric Post have been recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a sliver-level bicycle friendly business (BFB).

Capitol Hill visits: 2014 National Bike Summit

Last week CAZBike prez Bob Beane, along with Global Bikes co-owner Brandee Lepak, and PortaPedal's Al Capello attended LAB's 2014 National Bike Summit in Washington D.C...

AZ meetings on The Hill
Visited all 9 Representative offices and Senator Flake’s. We could not get an appointment in McCain’s office, but we will try to do that here in Phoenix within the next 7-14 days.

Of the 10 office visits, we had 5 actual meeting to discuss the bills. Nobody flat out turned us down, but nobody committed to either sponsor or vote for them, and all committed to presenting key points to their Senator/Representative.
Interestingly, we found out that Kyrsten Sinema is a triathlete and was actually at Brandee Lepak’s Global Bikes shop back here in AZ the week before our visit to kick-off an event. Here are the people we met and with whom we discussed the bills and bicyclist concerns anywhere from 5-20 minutes:

1. Senator Jeff Flake’s Office – Michael Nelson, Legislative Correspondent. 
2. Representative Matt Salmon’s Office –Lliam Norrison, Legislative Assistant
3. Representative Kyrsten Sinema’s Office - Michael Brownlie, Legislative Director
4. Representative David Schweikert’s Office – Beau Brunson, Legislative Director
5. Representative Paul Gosar’s Office – Trevor Pearson, Legislative Aide

I believe that the consensus of the three of us who made these visits is that we have a lot of work to do in AZ aligning support from tourism, business and healthcare in order to make political gains. We believe that this, combined with more frequent visits to Congressional offices and, better yet, asking these folks to attend bicycling events (as honored guests) is how we will make progress toward more support for more favorable treatment in federal legislation and budgets.
We believe that the cities in Arizona are on board (we have 9 BFCs and two honorable mentions, which represent most of the largest communities in the state). It is the state legislature, federal representatives and ADOT that need more impetus to change. The Summit was helpful in prioritizing opportunities for our limited resources.

Monday, March 3 Sessions
Keynote Speakers – Phillip Darnton, Executive Director, Bicycle Association of Great Britain, and Andy Clarke, President, League of American Bicyclists

How to be successful in bicycling advocacy…

• Focus programs
• Work with the willing (rather than wasting energy on those who are not)
• Talk to people who want to listen

Keys to success

• Get a mayor (and city council or county supervisor) on board (most successes come from local leaders of change)
• Continuity of effort and communication
• Work on building resources: People, organizations, sources of funding, etc.
• Emphasize route networks and connectivity (broken and incomplete routes/networks don’t encourage people to ride)
• Have a long term strategy/plan/goal to provide a framework for shorter term projects and “asks” and to help maintain priority perspective
• Train children to ride at ages 8-12. This is the critical time when persons incorporate bicycling into their lives…or not
• Women need to feel safe bicycling…they determine whether children ride, or not, which affects the next generation’s view of bicycling

Tuesday, March 4 Sessions
Opening Plenary Mayor’s Perceptions on Bicycling: Benefits, Challenges and Opportunities

Panelists included Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Representative Albio Sires (D-NJ), Texas Senator Rodney Ellis and Pittsburgh Mayor, Bill Peduto

• Mayors can be a major ally as they are highly motivated to have vibrant, economically successful communities
• Developers are also interested…car parking lowers return on investment of real estate projects. Bike-in and walk-in retail is economically attractive
• Advocate for “multi-modal” and “quality of life”…the “one less car” approach is a losing argument and doesn’t win supporters
• We are facing a likely 30% cut in transportation funding over the next 10 years…it’s more important than ever to build alliances (other modes, health care organizations, retailers, community planners, developers, etc.)
• The country needs a national bike strategy/policy framework…be a part of developing and supporting that

March 4, 9:30 am breakout sessions Rural State Success Stories
Improving bicycling in “Rural” states often requires different strategies and tactics than in more urban areas…
 Panelists: Dick Norford, Executive Director, Bicycle South Central Pennsylvania Shane Marshall, Deputy Director, Utah DOT Melinda Barnes, Executive Director, Bike Walk Montana Martin Shukert, RDG Planning and Design

• Solicit community priorities and opinions, first, to see where support might come from. Then, look for projects that can tap into that support.
• In smaller communities, identify key destinations first (library, community/retail center, schools) then explore connecting route options (e.g Hay Kansas Bicycle Master Plan)
• Pick a project that is grant-eligible and pursue a specific goal (e.g. a trail-building grant from the Alliance for Biking and Walking for a Montana trail project to a local lake)
• Engage local businesses and tourism officials in support for projects that will draw visitors and economic benefit (e.g. In Utah, this developed broad support for a DOT shift to an “active transportation” policy that supports bicycling infrastructure INCLUDING off-road paths in some areas)
• Emphasize “quality of life” benefits that support tourism and property values
• Work through others (e.g. engaged with a mountain bike group to connect with an effort to provide MTB access for inner city kids…this created support for bicycling and related infrastructure funding)