What shall I tell Mr. Watson?
Begin forwarded message:
From: Matthew Watson mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com Date: August 19, 2012 10:25:07 PM EDT To: "frank.gmeindl@comcast.net" frank.gmeindl@comcast.net Subject: Bike Rack at Suncrest Middle School Reply-To: Matthew Watson mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com
Dear Mr. Gmeindle,
My name is Matthew Watson. I am an 8th grader at Suncrest Middle School here in Morgantown, WV. I have a strong interest in riding my bike to school, but my school does not have a bicycle rack for me to lock my bicycle to when I get there. I have already written a petition to have my classmates sign to show their interest in getting this bicycle rack at our school, and hope that this will show the administration the interest in getting one. To this point, my petition has approximately 70 signatures, but I am sure that I will have many more in the days to come. In fact, many students and their parents have approached me to say that they are really excited about the idea of getting a bicycle rack so that they can ride to school. I have also approached the school Parent-Teacher-Group to ask that I be allowed to talk at their next meeting about getting this bicycle rack. I have been placed on the agenda for the next meeting in early September.
My father works at the Coliseum with Dr. Christiaan Abildso and was talking with him about my push to get a bicycle rack at my school. Dr. Abildso mentioned your name and the Bike Morgantown initiative. He also indicated that you might have a budget or grant program that might allow me to secure the funds to purchase a bicycle rack for my school. I would love to talk with you more about this opportunity. I am very excited about this possibility given the mission of your group as I read more about it on your website ("....advocate for the provision of bicycle travel opportunities to and from locations such as residential, employment, commercial, education, recreation and transit centers; promote the development of safe bicycle routes to schools;"). Based upon what I have read, I feel as if your group is the perfect group for me to ask for help from. If you are unable to help me, do you have any ideas where I might go for help?
Thank you very much for any help that you might be able to give me. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future. You may contact me at this e-mail address, or call my father on his cell phone at 304-692-1454
Sincerely,
Matthew Watson
Frank,
Since we do not have a budget, you could provide him with some information (ie. cost, type, manufactures, etc...) about bicycle racks and also any grant programs you know of. Safe Routes to School has a mini-grant program but there website says they do not anticipate funding any additional mini-grants until 2013 at the earliest.
Here is a link to the SRTS website discussing 2012's mini-grant programs.
http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/funding-portal/mini-grants/previous-recipients...
J. Damien Davis, PE, CFM Assistant City Engineer City of Morgantown Public Works Department - Engineering Division 389 Spruce Street Morgantown , WV 26505 Office: 304.284.7398 Fax: 304.284.7409 www.morgantown.com ----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Gmeindl" fgmeindl@gmail.com To: bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 7:31:28 AM Subject: [Bikeboard] Fwd: Bike Rack at Suncrest Middle School
What shall I tell Mr. Watson?
Begin forwarded message:
From: Matthew Watson < mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com >
Date: August 19, 2012 10:25:07 PM EDT
To: " frank.gmeindl@comcast.net " < frank.gmeindl@comcast.net >
Subject: Bike Rack at Suncrest Middle School
Reply-To: Matthew Watson < mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com >
Dear Mr. Gmeindle,
My name is Matthew Watson. I am an 8th grader at Suncrest Middle School here in Morgantown, WV. I have a strong interest in riding my bike to school, but my school does not have a bicycle rack for me to lock my bicycle to when I get there. I have already written a petition to have my classmates sign to show their interest in getting this bicycle rack at our school, and hope that this will show the administration the interest in getting one. To this point, my petition has approximately 70 signatures, but I am sure that I will have many more in the days to come. In fact, many students and their parents have approached me to say that they are really excited about the idea of getting a bicycle rack so that they can ride to school. I have also approached the school Parent-Teacher-Group to ask that I be allowed to talk at their next meeting about getting this bicycle rack. I have been placed on the agenda for the next meeting in early September.
My father works at the Coliseum with Dr. Christiaan Abildso and was talking with him about my push to get a bicycle rack at my school. Dr. Abildso mentioned your name and the Bike Morgantown initiative. He also indicated that you might have a budget or grant program that might allow me to secure the funds to purchase a bicycle rack for my school. I would love to talk with you more about this opportunity. I am very excited about this possibility given the mission of your group as I read more about it on your website ("....advocate for the provision of bicycle travel opportunities to and from locations such as residential, employment, commercial, education, recreation and transit centers; promote the development of safe bicycle routes to schools;"). Based upon what I have read, I feel as if your group is the perfect group for me to ask for help from. If you are unable to help me, do you have any ideas where I might go for help?
Thank you very much for any help that you might be able to give me. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future. You may contact me at this e-mail address, or call my father on his cell phone at 304-692-1454
Sincerely,
Matthew Watson
_______________________________________________ Bikeboard mailing list Bikeboard@bikemorgantown.org http://wvcompletestreets.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard
Also, here is a link to frequently asked questions about SRTS's mini-grant program.
http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/funding-portal/mini-grants/FAQs
J. Damien Davis, PE, CFM Assistant City Engineer City of Morgantown Public Works Department - Engineering Division 389 Spruce Street Morgantown , WV 26505 Office: 304.284.7398 Fax: 304.284.7409 www.morgantown.com ----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Gmeindl" fgmeindl@gmail.com To: bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 7:31:28 AM Subject: [Bikeboard] Fwd: Bike Rack at Suncrest Middle School
What shall I tell Mr. Watson?
Begin forwarded message:
From: Matthew Watson < mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com >
Date: August 19, 2012 10:25:07 PM EDT
To: " frank.gmeindl@comcast.net " < frank.gmeindl@comcast.net >
Subject: Bike Rack at Suncrest Middle School
Reply-To: Matthew Watson < mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com >
Dear Mr. Gmeindle,
My name is Matthew Watson. I am an 8th grader at Suncrest Middle School here in Morgantown, WV. I have a strong interest in riding my bike to school, but my school does not have a bicycle rack for me to lock my bicycle to when I get there. I have already written a petition to have my classmates sign to show their interest in getting this bicycle rack at our school, and hope that this will show the administration the interest in getting one. To this point, my petition has approximately 70 signatures, but I am sure that I will have many more in the days to come. In fact, many students and their parents have approached me to say that they are really excited about the idea of getting a bicycle rack so that they can ride to school. I have also approached the school Parent-Teacher-Group to ask that I be allowed to talk at their next meeting about getting this bicycle rack. I have been placed on the agenda for the next meeting in early September.
My father works at the Coliseum with Dr. Christiaan Abildso and was talking with him about my push to get a bicycle rack at my school. Dr. Abildso mentioned your name and the Bike Morgantown initiative. He also indicated that you might have a budget or grant program that might allow me to secure the funds to purchase a bicycle rack for my school. I would love to talk with you more about this opportunity. I am very excited about this possibility given the mission of your group as I read more about it on your website ("....advocate for the provision of bicycle travel opportunities to and from locations such as residential, employment, commercial, education, recreation and transit centers; promote the development of safe bicycle routes to schools;"). Based upon what I have read, I feel as if your group is the perfect group for me to ask for help from. If you are unable to help me, do you have any ideas where I might go for help?
Thank you very much for any help that you might be able to give me. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future. You may contact me at this e-mail address, or call my father on his cell phone at 304-692-1454
Sincerely,
Matthew Watson
_______________________________________________ Bikeboard mailing list Bikeboard@bikemorgantown.org http://wvcompletestreets.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard
Frank,
Maybe the Bike Board could partner with the School or the School Board and apply for a Bikes Belong grant to get bike rack for more than one school.
J. Damien Davis, PE, CFM Assistant City Engineer City of Morgantown Public Works Department - Engineering Division 389 Spruce Street Morgantown , WV 26505 Office: 304.284.7398 Fax: 304.284.7409 www.morgantown.com ----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Gmeindl" fgmeindl@gmail.com To: bikeboard@bikemorgantown.com Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 7:31:28 AM Subject: [Bikeboard] Fwd: Bike Rack at Suncrest Middle School
What shall I tell Mr. Watson?
Begin forwarded message:
From: Matthew Watson < mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com >
Date: August 19, 2012 10:25:07 PM EDT
To: " frank.gmeindl@comcast.net " < frank.gmeindl@comcast.net >
Subject: Bike Rack at Suncrest Middle School
Reply-To: Matthew Watson < mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com >
Dear Mr. Gmeindle,
My name is Matthew Watson. I am an 8th grader at Suncrest Middle School here in Morgantown, WV. I have a strong interest in riding my bike to school, but my school does not have a bicycle rack for me to lock my bicycle to when I get there. I have already written a petition to have my classmates sign to show their interest in getting this bicycle rack at our school, and hope that this will show the administration the interest in getting one. To this point, my petition has approximately 70 signatures, but I am sure that I will have many more in the days to come. In fact, many students and their parents have approached me to say that they are really excited about the idea of getting a bicycle rack so that they can ride to school. I have also approached the school Parent-Teacher-Group to ask that I be allowed to talk at their next meeting about getting this bicycle rack. I have been placed on the agenda for the next meeting in early September.
My father works at the Coliseum with Dr. Christiaan Abildso and was talking with him about my push to get a bicycle rack at my school. Dr. Abildso mentioned your name and the Bike Morgantown initiative. He also indicated that you might have a budget or grant program that might allow me to secure the funds to purchase a bicycle rack for my school. I would love to talk with you more about this opportunity. I am very excited about this possibility given the mission of your group as I read more about it on your website ("....advocate for the provision of bicycle travel opportunities to and from locations such as residential, employment, commercial, education, recreation and transit centers; promote the development of safe bicycle routes to schools;"). Based upon what I have read, I feel as if your group is the perfect group for me to ask for help from. If you are unable to help me, do you have any ideas where I might go for help?
Thank you very much for any help that you might be able to give me. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future. You may contact me at this e-mail address, or call my father on his cell phone at 304-692-1454
Sincerely,
Matthew Watson
_______________________________________________ Bikeboard mailing list Bikeboard@bikemorgantown.org http://wvcompletestreets.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard
It might be worthwhile for someone with some creativity and knowledge of bike parking to ride over and see if there's currently something that will suffice as a rack/parking area now. A railing or something, even chain link fencing works. At a recent bike race I notice that a single piece of the metal crowd control railing looks a lot like the comb style racks [ http://goo.gl/M8ZA3 ] . Simply set one of those somewhere and better yet, lock it to something would provide a quick temporary solution.
My worry is that 1) Funding won't be available to purchase a real rack and installation 2) the process is going to take 3months, then it'll be winter, then interest will be lost by Spring
I don't think it would take much to get a local machine shop to make one for cheap/free considering its a school.
Also, just getting permission for the kid to use a light pole in the meantime. Does he even need permission if the school currently doesn't offer anything, provided hes not parking in the way?
Ryan
On Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 7:31 AM, Frank Gmeindl fgmeindl@gmail.com wrote:
What shall I tell Mr. Watson?
Begin forwarded message:
*From: *Matthew Watson mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com *Date: *August 19, 2012 10:25:07 PM EDT *To: *"frank.gmeindl@comcast.net" frank.gmeindl@comcast.net *Subject: **Bike Rack at Suncrest Middle School* *Reply-To: *Matthew Watson mwlittlejeter2@yahoo.com
Dear Mr. Gmeindle,
My name is Matthew Watson. I am an 8th grader at Suncrest Middle School here in Morgantown, WV. I have a strong interest in riding my bike to school, but my school does not have a bicycle rack for me to lock my bicycle to when I get there. I have already written a petition to have my classmates sign to show their interest in getting this bicycle rack at our school, and hope that this will show the administration the interest in getting one. To this point, my petition has approximately 70 signatures, but I am sure that I will have many more in the days to come. In fact, many students and their parents have approached me to say that they are really excited about the idea of getting a bicycle rack so that they can ride to school. I have also approached the school Parent-Teacher-Group to ask that I be allowed to talk at their next meeting about getting this bicycle rack. I have been placed on the agenda for the next meeting in early September.
My father works at the Coliseum with Dr. Christiaan Abildso and was talking with him about my push to get a bicycle rack at my school. Dr. Abildso mentioned your name and the Bike Morgantown initiative. He also indicated that you might have a budget or grant program that might allow me to secure the funds to purchase a bicycle rack for my school. I would love to talk with you more about this opportunity. I am very excited about this possibility given the mission of your group as I read more about it on your website ("....advocate for the provision of bicycle travel opportunities to and from locations such as residential, employment, commercial, education, recreation and transit centers; promote the development of safe bicycle routes to schools;"). Based upon what I have read, I feel as if your group is the perfect group for me to ask for help from. If you are unable to help me, do you have any ideas where I might go for help?
Thank you very much for any help that you might be able to give me. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future. You may contact me at this e-mail address, or call my father on his cell phone at 304-692-1454*
Sincerely,
Matthew Watson
Bikeboard mailing list Bikeboard@bikemorgantown.org http://wvcompletestreets.org/mailman/listinfo/bikeboard
-
Damien Davis -
Frank Gmeindl -
Ryan Post