May 1999 Newsletter
Sat., 5/15/99 – Pot Luck
From 3-7 PM. See Announcements below. Please RSVP to Pat/John Militzer at 494-8219. Food and drink permitted!
Monday, 6/14/99 – June General Meeting
From 7-9 pm, at George Reynolds Library, 3595 Table Mesa Drive, Boulder. No food or drink is permitted.
Monday, 7/12/99 – July General Meeting
From 7-9 pm, at the Boulder Public Library, 11 th and Arapahoe. No food or drink is permitted.
Monday, 8/9/99 – Aug. General Meeting
From 7-9 pm, at the Boulder Public Library, 11 th and Arapahoe. No food or drink is permitted.
BICYCLE POT-LUCK GET-TOGETHER
SATURDAY, May 15, 1999
You are invited to our informal bicyclists' pot luck get-together from 3 to 7 PM.
At the home of John and Pat Militzer
1190 Marshall Road, south of Boulder
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO INVITE YOUR BICYCLING FRIENDS!
John and Pat are courteously extending an invitation to members of Bolder Bicycle Commuters, Boulder Off-road Alliance, and other interested cyclists. Please come to a casual pot-luck and social get-together at their rural place off of South Broadway, south of the Boulder city limits. John sez: "This is not a business meeting!"
Please bring something to grill for yourself and a small dish to share and any 'specialized' drink for yourself. The Militzers will provide a couple of salads and standard drinks (water, basic soda, basic juice, some beer).
Bike parking free. John is hoping to arrange to have his spray washer out, bike stand, compressor and some tools if anyone has a mind to do some tune-ups on their bike. Otherwise activities are open: darts available, llama spitting contests, chicken chasing, greenhouse gazing, spud-gun shooting…
Note for those who are interested, the 'Rolling Rock' trail was opened last year and it makes a nice loop from Marshall Road, connecting with the Bob-o-link Trail, onto Gapter Road and the 'east' end of the Boulder Creek Path at Arapahoe.
Otherwise the best route is to take Broadway or the Broadway path south, then onto Marshall Road. Look for the radio tower and rock wall and blue barn.
Please No Dogs!
Please RSVP for a head count! John and Pat, 303-494-8219.
Local News and Get-Involved Opportunities
If you are interested in any of the following, please contact the City Transportation Dept. at 441-3266, to get maps and other relevant information.
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Glenwood/Iris bikeway proposed:
OPINIONS SOUGHT:
There is a proposed bikeway between Glenwood and Iris west of 28th.
This would be located just west of the current KMart site - future home of Safeway. There is a floodway there and it would run east of that channel.
There are currently some meetings and discussions as to how useful this bikeway would be and though it is in the Greenways Plan it might not be built soon unless interest is expressed by bicyclists.
I have proposed maps of the park and bikeway and hope you can share your views on the building of this bikeway. BCNU Monday.
Ride On! Premena
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Tantra Drive Pedestrian Medians :
From a notice sent to residents of the Tantra Drive area. Bill Cowern asked for our consideration on this. Comments early this month should be helpful:
Dear Resident:
In 1997, the City of Boulder constructed two temporary pedestrian crossing medians on Tantra Drive, adjacent to the Majestic Heights Elementary School. The purpose of these medians was to slow vehicle
speeds on Tantra Drive and to help facilitate pedestrian crossing to the school area. City staff has evaluated the effectiveness of these devices and found that they have adequately accomplished both of these goals.
In addition, we have confirmed with the City Fire Department that the medians do not impede emergency response times to the surrounding neighborhood. As a result, the City plans to construct these medians in a permanent fashion during the construction season this summer.
We are requesting that you provide City staff with any comments or concerns that you may have about the proposal to make these medians permanent. We are interested in whether you support this proposal and why you do or do not. We would also welcome any comments on how we might improve upon the design or provide any other safety improvements in the Tantra Drive corridor
You can provide comments in writing or you can contact me directly at (303) 441-3266. You may also provide comments via E-mail to my address at CowernB@ci.boulder.co.us.
Sincerely, Bill Cowern
Transportation Operations Engineer
[City of Boulder]
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Transportation Master Plan Prioritization:
BBC prepared a page of requested projects at our March meeting, and submitted them to TAB. In addition, the Bicycle/Pedestrian
Subcommittee, which I (Dave A.) sat on, prepared a list of proposed high-priority
bike projects which were in the current TMP.
I propose to BBC that you consider endorsing the entire high-priority list from the Bicycle/Pedestrian Subcommittee. This is called the "Scenario 1" list. This list was published two months ago as part of the TAB board packet, and several of you already have a copy.
If you wish to make changes in your recommendation for "Scenario 1" high-priority projects, I suggest that you do so on a line item basis so that it will be easy for TAB to deal with your recommendations. The usual line-item categories are priority 1 (highest), 2, 3, or No Build.
It's also legitimate to take projects that are listed in the TMP and NOT on the Scenario 1 list, and ask that they be increased to priority 1, 2, or 3.
I would also suggest a general recommendation to TAB that the funding shares to bike and pedestrian modes not be reduced below current levels, or better yet increased.
--Dave Allured
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BBC Actions and Concerns:
By Bill Doub, for BBC:
Recently BBC and some neighbors in the area defeated a developer's request for several angle parking spaces at 8th and Pearl. According to city staffer Judith Sanders, this decision will very likely hold up. Is this our first victory ever over a developer who wanted more parking?
Also, our efforts have been partly responsible for the plan to reinstall some of the bike parking that was taken out around the downtown post office a few months ago. In addition, some months ago about half the bike racks in the shopping center at Broadway and Quince were trashed. We have been pressuring the owner for months, and he has now told Noreen Walsh of the city that he will replace the racks with better ones.
The city has announced that a year-long process will result in changes along 28th St. from Baseline to Iris. Bob Whitson and Stephanie Westhusin are staffers assigned to this and the Pearl St. (see below) projects. They can be reached at 441-3266, and everybody should call them since business opposition to the on-street bike lanes we want on 28th is very strong. BBC is also asking for off-street multiple -use paths on 28th.
Finally, Stephanie Westhusin tells me that the plan is to build on-street bike lanes and widened sidewalks on Pearl from Folsom to 28 th this fall. BBC is also asking for off-street multiple-use paths on 28th."
Bill Doub
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New Broadway Underpass at Skunk Creek:
Noreen Walsh of the Transportation Dept. has asked for BBC to consider plans for a new bike/ped underpass under Broadway. This underpass has a lot of interest from the neighbors west of Broadway, as a safe connector into the Basemar Shopping Center.
Sunnyside Lane, otherwise known as the Broadway frontage road, will need some changes, possibly including being closed off to cars, or converted to one-way. (Bikes and peds would of course retain two-way access.)
The plan is also considering building a short bike/ped path segment behind Basemar buildings, close to Skunk Creek. This would connect over to the Moorhead/27th Way intersection. You can bike through there now on the driveway system, and I'm not sure that a separate path is needed.
Apparently the plans will NOT involve building a path up Skunk Creek through the back yards behind houses on Mariposa and Bluebell.
Other Announcements
Dyer Bicycle Safety Bill SB-41 Defeated
Dear Cyclists,
Early this week, the House killed Senate Bill 41, the Dyer Bicycle Safety Bill. They voted 30 to 34 against it, even though the contentious right-hand turn language had been removed. The defeat of the bill must be credited to the efforts of Representative Mark Larson of Cortez. A more detailed write-up about the death of SB-41 can be found at our website <www.bicyclecolo.org>.
So now we regroup for next year. We built a strong network of cyclists (you all were wonderful!). We need to find more allies, and perhaps wage a more public campaign. Maybe we revisit the basics of SB-41, maybe we tackle an issue like bicycle safety education.
BC is planning a wake for SB-41 and a strategy session for the next legislative session. Stay tuned for details and let me know if you want to help plan these events.
Big thanks,
Martha Roskowski
Executive Director, Bicycle Colorado
PO Box 698, Salida CO 81201
719-530-0051 ph
martha@bicyclecolo.org
www.bicyclecolo.org