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This Thursday's BB agenda
by Frank Gmeindl 05 Jun '07

05 Jun '07

Bike Board members, Please find attached, a zip folder that contains the agenda for this Thursday's 7-June, Bike Board meeting and documents to read-ahead to get prepared. (To open any of the files in the zip folder, just double click on the folder and then double click on any file in the folder. If you've never used WinZip before, a window will probably open asking if you want to download a free application to enable you to open the folder and the files. Downloading and installing that is probably safe since WinZip is pretty ubiquitous. If you can't open the folder or read the files, please reply just to me and I'll send the files to you in separate e-mail messages.) Much has been happening since our last (April) indoor meeting. Several of us had a fun May meeting riding around most of the city's 7 wards to pioneer a route for "Bicycle Morgantown". For this Thursday, Topic 5 on the agenda involves Sam Stone's request of Dan Boroff to install Share-the-Road signs on the rail-trail and certain local roadways. After the last Traffic Commission (TC) meeting, Terry Hough, City Engineer and TC member asked me to arrange for the BB to provide a response to his request. His request, and a comparison to our Infrastructure Goal #1 Pilot Project #1 are included in the read-aheads. I've asked Sam to join us for Thursday's meeting but haven't received his response yet. I put this on the top of the agenda because I think it presents a great opportunity to get more commitment by the TC and the community to our recommendations. Topic 6 on the agenda is the status of our Education committee recommendations. As you know, I've twice offered to the TC to teach them the LAB Road I course but failed to get commitment both times. A couple TC members also objected to my collecting money for the course. After the last TC meeting, Terry Hough told me to arrange with Ralph Larue at BOPARC to have BOPARC arrange the course and collect the money. I'll fill you in more on the details at our meeting but the outcome is that I'm planning to deliver Road I once/month through BOPARC starting this month. Tentative dates are: June 9-10, July 23-24, Aug 11-12, Sep 8-9 and Oct 13-14. (If I get more than 4 participants in any delivery, I'll need some help from you Road I graduates and our other LCI;) Also, I'm developing a 1-hour lecture for public officials. Hough said the TC will probably attend either before or after their regular monthly meeting. I attached a preliminary draft, called Intro to Safe Cycling and welcome your critique. We also have to replace our dearly departed members and I'd like to discuss changing our meeting day as well as discuss where we are on completing the LAB Bicycle Friendly Community award application. It's going to be a busy meeting! I hope you'll all be there. Frank

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Re: [Bikeboard] Bike lane
by Frank Gmeindl 04 Jun '07

04 Jun '07

All, Please view the attached in slide show view (otherwise, it's harder to comprehend). It is a presentation by Fred Oswald, LCI #947, on bicycle integration vs. separation. It also adds a few cautions and design considerations for the bike-under-chevron recommendations that we're recommending to the Traffic Commission. Particularly, where in the lane to put them, which we have yet to address (see slides 13-14). The Traffic Commission is expecting us to deliver at it 13-June meeting, a detailed step-by-step implementation plan for our Bike-Under-Chevron on-road sign recommendation. With just about every roadway "improvement" being considered in the county and city planning to get cyclists out of the traffic flow, knowledge of the issues and our action is imperative. Frank Greg Good wrote: > Hi all, it may surprise you all, but I agree that most cyclists are safer on the road than coming to the road from a path. There are, however, specific engineering guidelines readily available for the safest ways to bring bike paths up to auto traffic. For example, the intersection of the Deckers Creek Trail with old Rt 7 behind the Dominion Post is a poster child for an accident waiting to happen. > > We do have a SERIOUS issue to stay alert to. As Nick and others have pointed out, a part of WV code says cyclists must use a path if it is available. Right? Well, watch out as Beechurst is re-designed. We need to be STRONG, VOCAL ADVOCATES for bike lanes on Beechurst. The alternative will be signs saying we must ride on the trail. > > See this web link to Cambridge England, where cyclists are about to have major impediments of this sort thrown at them. http://www.camcycle.org.uk/campaigning/issues/highwaycode/ > > Greg > > >>>> "Don Spencer" <dspencer36(a)comcast.net> 5/16/2007 10:45 PM >>> >>>> > Frank - I do feel that there is a big difference in this case between a bike > path and a bike lane. If the rider was in the pavement area (with or without > a bike lane dividing line) with the truck then the truck driver would have > had to be aware of him. If he were on a path or sidewalk, it is plausible to > think that the rider would stop. > > > > Don > > > > _____ > > From: Frank Gmeindl [mailto:fgmeindl@verizon.net] > Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 6:31 AM > To: Don Spencer; Greg Good; Jim Rye; John Lozier > Cc: Nick Hein > Subject: Bike lane > > > > Don, et al, > > Did you see the article, "Helmut protects as truck runs over man's head" in > the lower right corner of today's (5/16) Dominion Post? A cyclist riding > down a bike path (other renditions of the article say bike lane). As he > approached an INTERSECTION, he saw that a truck was going to turn right in > front of him. So, he hauled on the breaks, fell down and the truck ran over > his head. > > I'm addressing this message to proponents of bike paths and bike lanes to > illustrate that they can be more dangerous than the road. The truck driver > was probably paying no attention to what was going on in the path/lane. We > all know that most bike/motor vehicle accidents occur in intersections. As > long as cyclists aren't visible and predictable, they will continue to get > hit in the intersections. To increase visibility and predictability, we > must design our roads properly and educate our cyclists and motorists. > > Frank > > Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles > > > > >

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FWD: [Thunderhead] TIME article on secure bike parking!
by director 31 May '07

31 May '07

Good afternoon, Just heard about this article. Does anyone get Time magazine? I'd like to photocopy the article and put it up on the bulletin board at Positive Spin. Nick http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1625309,00.html?xid=rss-world

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Bicycle Morgantown
by Frank Gmeindl 04 May '07

04 May '07

Bike Board, Six Bike Board members: Tyler Pearson, Greg Good, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jim Rye, Nick Hein and Frank Gmeindl showed up at the Courthouse for the preliminary Bicycle Morgantown route definition ride. I found the maps of the wards on the City Council web site illegible but I think we succeeded in riding through wards 3, 1, 2, 6, 5 and 4 in that order and logging about 12 miles. Our route was quite fun but will probably require some optimization before it's ready to roll out to the general population. I will supplement these minutes with the exact route and wards when I can get a map that I can read. Frank

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Criteria for membership
by Greg Good 03 May '07

03 May '07

Hi all, I attended the Traffic Commission meeting last night, too. But we can all chat about that this evening on our ride. Great weather beckons! I vote for simple criteria: 1) we must maintain the 10 in-city, 5 "greater Morgantown" mix 2) a real willingness to be active in improving cycling for all in Morgantown & area 3) a diversity of types and levels of riders I think the last criterion is the one that we will tend to forget. Some of us are very "hard core", others moderately. But we need someone there to remind us that our charge is to improve cycling for everyone. Anyone know any cyclists in Wards 1, 4, and 6? We have 2 city gaps and 2 county gaps in our roster. Greg Dr. Gregory A. Good History Department West Virginia University Morgantown WV 26506-6303 fax at university: 304-293-3616 When a dog runs at you, whistle for him. Henry David Thoreau

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Re: [Bikeboard] [monbikeclub] road rules
by Frank Gmeindl 03 May '07

03 May '07

Please allow me to weigh in on this. Particularly the issue about "take the lane". I recently completed 33 hours training and became a League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructor. Now, I really don't like the LAB. I think it's run by a bunch of bicycle sellers and people who think we should be riding on bike paths and bike lanes. But, the League Certified Instructor course is based on the book /Effective Cycling/ by John Forrester and is based on more than 25 years of data and experience ( http://www.johnforester.com/ ). The reason I took this course is to get people out of cars and on bikes. The fundamental principle of Effective Cycling is: "*Cyclists Fare Best when They Act and Are Treated as Drivers of Vehicles*". We all know that state and city law gives us the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicles. To maintain those rights as well as our safety, we must obey the law and be visible, predictable, assertive and courteous. The law says we must ride as far as to the right as practicable. That doesn't mean we have to ride through potholes, glass, storm grates and car doors, or the edge of the road... even when there's a car behind us. We must look ahead, choose a safe line and ride it. "Take the lane" means to ride near the center of the lane so that cars can't pass without crossing the center line of the road. Of course, taking the lane also makes sense when you're going as fast as the cars:) We should also take the lane when we determine that it is too dangerous for the car to pass us. Moving over to the extreme right signals motorists that we are encouraging them to pass. We should only do this when we can see far enough ahead to ensure ourselves that it is safe. However, I have observed that if I take the lane, most motorists will go completely on the other side of the road when they pass me but when I move to the right edge of the road, they often pass me so close that I can feel the heat from their engine. So, now, even when it's safe for them to pass, I don't ride much to the right of their passenger-side tire track. Except on steep uphills when I and the motorist(s) are going slow, then I might ride the edge or even exit to a driveway to let them pass. Two situations in which it doesn't make sense to take the lane are just after you've crested a hill and after you've entered a tight right hand turn. Anyone know why? Some relevant national statistics that I got from LAB are that 83% of bicycle crashes don't involve autos and less than 1% of crashes involve a motor vehicle overtaking a cyclist. The 83% number indicates that our bike handling skills and environmental factors are our biggest risk. The <1% number indicates that our biggest worry: getting hit from behind, is almost an insignificant cause of bike crashes. If anybody on this yahoo group would be interested in learning more about Effective Cycling, I will help you learn. Just let me know. Frank Sage Seifert wrote: > Geff, > I couldn't have said it better myself. It's the few on both sides of that equation that give the rest of us a bad rap. > Sage > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: Mountaineer Cycling <wvucycling(a)yahoo.com> > To: mon bikeclub <monbikeclub(a)yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Wednesday, May 2, 2007 9:44:42 PM > Subject: [monbikeclub] road rules > > As riders we all realize that sharing the road with > cars is an everyday occurrence. We know that cars > don¢t like to share most of the time, as we get stuff > thrown at us, run off the road, yelled at, and various > other things that drivers do from the safety of their > cars. While this is the case, there is no excuse for > us to ride rampantly without safety concerns or > without being respectful to other vehicles on the > road. > I¢ve noticed, mostly on the fast Tuesday night ride, > that some rules of the road aren¢t being observed. > Mainly the yellow line rule is being ignored, as any > racer knows this is a big one in most races. While > the other lane might be open during a hotly contested > sprint for the PA line, the yellow line shouldn¢t be > crossed if it can be helped. > This leads to a specific occurrence that happened a > few weeks ago. A car was turning left with their > signal on as the Tuesday fast group came up behind it. > One rider went to the right, the rest went left, > impeding it¢s turn. This was a highly dangerous move, > a highly illegal move, and a very dumb move. The > driver had the right of way to turn, and it¢s not > going to provide a positive image for cycling to ride > recklessly. > Also, after our race, concerned citizens has a place > to outlet their frustrations as we provided a contact > prior to the race if residents on the race course had > any complaints. The most common complain, and it > wasn¢t specific to the day we had our race, was when > riders don¢t give room for a car to pass. While I > know most people most of the time will single up when > there is a car back, sometimes there is the oblivious > cyclist who rides the middle of the lane and don¢t > help to let the motorist pass. > The main point I¢m trying to make is to share the > road. If we don¢t respect motorists, we can¢t expect > them to respect us. This email doesn¢t apply to > everybody, since most are very courteous cyclists, but > when you see unsafe riding, remind the rider about > safe cycling. So ride responsibly, help give all > cyclist a positive image, and remember, bicycles will > save the world. > > Ride on, > Geffrey Moy > VP WVU Cycling club > > ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ __ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail. yahoo.com > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monbikeclub/ > > <*> Your email settings: > Individual Email | Traditional > > <*> To change settings online go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/monbikeclub/join > (Yahoo! ID required) > > <*> To change settings via email: > mailto:monbikeclub-digest@yahoogroups.com > mailto:monbikeclub-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com > > <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > monbikeclub-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com > > <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > >

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Commuting committee recommendation
by director 03 May '07

03 May '07

Good evening, My apologies for doing this last-minute, but it was the only minute I had left. I've attached my modified presentation on bike parking for downtown, in advance of the meeting tomorrow evening. Since we're (probably) riding, I only plan to bring a single copy to pass around. Below are my comments from the meeting with Dave Bruffy. 1.If your community has transit service: a. Are buses equipped with bike racks? (ALL) (Most) (Some) (Few) (None) (N/A) b. Can bikes be brought inside transit vehicles? Yes, if special arrangements are made in advance. Usually approved when racks are filled, but passenger load is light. The buses have had bike racks on all scheduled routes (35 vehicles) since their purchase in 2000 (?). Recently the bus line has been promoting their bike connections more vigorously on their website and in print brochures. When I met with the director of the bus line he made recommended changes to the website immediately. He was very responsive and interested in getting the best bike parking accomodations at park/ride lots. See you tomorrow at 6:30. Nick

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2-May TC meeting
by Frank Gmeindl 03 May '07

03 May '07

Sorry, This time the report to the TC is attached. Frank Bike Board Members, Within the next two weeks, please send me nominees to replace our 4 Bike Board vacancies. Please also send me criteria that you think we should use to prioritize candidates, e.g. residential address, cycling experience, level of cycling activism, type of cycling they do, connections they have to power, etc. Attached is a report of Bike Board status that I read to the Traffic Commission at tonight's TC meeting. We discussed replacing Bike Board membership vacancies. You may recall that originally, the Traffic Commission formed the Bike Board from a list of names that they gathered somehow and that they had a list of alternates. You may also recall that we added Alice Vernon to the list of alternates and prioritized it. Now, the TC says that they want a list of recommended replacement members from us and we can add more names to the list that we provided them last time. One constraint is that 2 of the members must be from within the city limits and the other two can be from "greater Morgantown". Frank

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2-May TC meeting
by Frank Gmeindl 03 May '07

03 May '07

Bike Board Members, Within the next two weeks, please send me nominees to replace our 4 Bike Board vacancies. Please also send me criteria that you think we should use to prioritize candidates, e.g. residential address, cycling experience, level of cycling activism, type of cycling they do, connections they have to power, etc. Attached is a report of Bike Board status that I read to the Traffic Commission at tonight's TC meeting. We discussed replacing Bike Board membership vacancies. You may recall that originally, the Traffic Commission formed the Bike Board from a list of names that they gathered somehow and that they had a list of alternates. You may also recall that we added Alice Vernon to the list of alternates and prioritized it. Now, the TC says that they want a list of recommended replacement members from us and we can add more names to the list that we provided them last time. One constraint is that 2 of the members must be from within the city limits and the other two can be from "greater Morgantown". Frank

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3-May Bike Board Agenda
by Frank Gmeindl 02 May '07

02 May '07

Bike Board Members, Since we've laid down a big gap on the Traffic Commission and some of us are getting burned out on all this Bike Board business, for this Thursday's meeting, I propose a somewhat alternative agenda. Please see attached. For this meeting, I propose we develop a preliminary route for Bicycle Morgantown. I propose we do this by GOING FOR A RIDE. Theoretically, we have representation of each ward of Morgantown. I propose that we ride through each of the wards starting with first, then second, third, etc. In preparation, please think up something noteworthy in your ward and a route to/by it. If you know a cool route through your ward to the next ward, that would be good too. (Don't worry if you don't know the layout of the wards. I don't know them either:) In summary: 1. Bring your bike (and maybe lights) to the Courthouse Square on Thursday, 6:30 PM. 2. We'll ride from the Courthouse to First ward and then each ward in succession. 3. During the ride, we'll discuss cool features of it (Betsy will be excused from recording on paper;) 4. We'll end up at a mutually agreed upon refreshment stop to recap Bicycle Morgantown. See your Thursday! Frank P.S. Also attached are the minutes from our last meeting. Betsy recently distributed them but for consistency with past practice, I'm including them with the agenda for Thursday's meeting/ride.

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