discussion-l Mailing List: BikeAthens Discussion: BikeAthens announcement: Weekly Announcements: 1/27/11

[Weekly announcements for BikeAthens (announcements-l]

Weekly Announcements 1/27/11

1. Help make Athens an official Bike Friendly Community- take a quick
survey! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MMB25FY
2. BRP back on Sundays
3. The Sanford Drive Snafu: UGA riders read on to avoid a costly ticket
4. On the Horizon

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Help make Athens an official Bike Friendly Community- take a quick survey!

As you have been hearing in previous weekly emails, we are in the process
of trying to get Athens designated an official Bike Friendly Community
through the League of American Bicyclists. Just in case you forgot, this
has all sorts of great benefits including promotion of our community on a
national level,  benchmarking and technical assistance for the local
government, and feedback on what we can do to enhance the cycling
environment (for more details you can go to this website:
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/communities/index.php

Weâve already got an awesome group of volunteers working on counting all
the bike racks in Athens (thanks folks!! and if this piques anyone elseâs
interest or volunteer spirit shoot us an email at admin [at] bikeathens.com),
and now we are hoping to get some feedback from a larger pool in order to
fill out the rest of the application. Part of this is describing both why
Athens is a great place to bike and where we could use improvement. And
what better way to get an accurate answer than to listen to you folks,
some of the most active (and proactive!) cyclists in the community. The
survey is just two open ended questions long so it can be as short or as
long as you would like. We need responses by January 27 in order to
include them, so donât procrastinate!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MMB25FY
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BRP back on Sundays

As you all have been reading, the Bicycle Recycling Program has been
taking a short break after working overtime on the Holiday Bikes for Kids.
However, we are opening back up for business on Sundays only from 2-4:30
at the usual spot at the Chase Street warehouses.

As usual, volunteers need not have any knowledge of bicycle maintenance;
just be willing to get their hands dirty repairing, tuning up, cleaning,
and outfitting bikes. Feel free to bring your own repair stands and tools
although it is not necessary that you have these items to participate.

BikeAthens' Bicycle Recycling program, a cooperative venture with local
social support agencies, distributes reconditioned bikes to individuals in
the Athens community who are underserved by private and public
transportation. We rely exclusively on volunteers to recondition the
bikes.
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The Sanford Drive Snafu: UGA riders read on to avoid a costly ticket

Jason Perry, the BikeAthens-UGA Liaison, recently spoke with UGAPD Chief
Jimmy Williamson about cyclists in the area of the intersection of Sanford
Drive and Baldwin St. For some background, see this Red and Black article
from September:
http://www.redandblack.com/2010/09/23/rules-of-the-road-officers-urge-bikers-to-go-the-right-way/

BikeAthens has been contacted by a number of members of the UGA community
who have been ticketed or given warnings for various infractions in this
area. According to Chief Williamson, there were about 16 citations and 200
warnings issued last year. Here's the skinny for those of you who would
like to avoid getting on the wrong side of the law:

    * Sanford Drive is one-way (northbound) between Hooper St. and Baldwin
St. Bikes are subject to the same laws as motor vehicles, so you will
be given a ticket without exception and without warning for riding
southbound on Sanford Dr. anywhere between Baldwin and Hooper.
    * Where the above gets confusing is the short section of what appears
to be a southbound bike lane that starts at a curb cut and crosswalk
just north of Hooper (see the white line on the road between the UGAPD
officers and the cyclist in this photo:
http://www.redandblack.com/media/2010/09/CRB_bikers.jpg). According to
Chief Williamson this is a vestige from when Sanford Drive was two-way
all the way up to Baldwin.
    * So, even if you ride down the driveway between the Military Building
and Fine Arts (which is posted "Bike Route") and ride on the sidewalk
north of the MLC over to Sanford, you must not enter the road until
you've cleared Hooper Street.
    * When in doubt, get off and walk your bike.


Chief Williamson said that UGAPD is reacting to complaints from
pedestrians as well as UGA Transit and Athens Transit bus drivers. The bus
complaints are of course due to the unsafe condition caused by a cyclist
riding the wrong way in a bus lane. The pedestrian complaints stem from
cyclists who ride aggressively on the sidewalks regardless of pedestrian
traffic congestion. While Chief Williamson pointed out that they rarely
enforce the state law that bikes must not ride on sidewalks, if there are
enough complaints from pedestrians in this high-traffic area then he will
have no choice but to ban bike riding from the area completely.

BikeAthens is actively working with UGA's planners and the Office of
Sustainability to reconfigure this very confusing area to the benefit of
not only cyclists but also pedestrians and transit drivers/riders. For
now, responsible cyclists in the area need to lead by example and ride
courteously and under control on the pathways, and enter Sanford Drive
going south only below Hooper Street.
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On the Horizon

March 22- Georgia Rides to the Capital
During the sixth annual "Georgia Rides to the Capitol" event, cyclists
will embark on rides to the Capitol in order to raise support for improved
conditions for cycling, including the development of regional systems of
both on-road bicycling facilities and multi-use-trails. The event will
clearly demonstrate the widespread support in our state for better
bicycling laws! For more information, check out the website:
http://www.georgiaridestothecapitol.org/index.php
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Keep in touch at our blog http://bikeathens.blogspot.com/ and facebook
page http://www.facebook.com/pages/BikeAthens/126325948567


-- 
BikeAthens appreciates your continued support towards its mission of
improving transportation options in Athens-Clarke County. Get more info,
join, renew your membership, or volunteer at at www.bikeathens.com
_________________________________________________________________
- BikeAthens appreciates your continued support towards its mission of 
improving transportation options in Athens-Clarke County. Get more info,join, 
renew your membership, or volunteer at at www.bikeathens.com

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