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Highlights of Dec. BBC
Meeting:
Field Bike Coordinator discussion
BBC was pleased to have Councilwoman Lisa
Morzel and City Manager Ron Secrist attend the December 20th,
1999 general meeting. A lively discussion addressed BBC’s
concerns and proposed ‘Field Bike Coordinator’ position. The
following outline assisted in the discussion of the position and
it’s potential responsibilities.
- Bikeway Maintenance and Inspection:
- Report hazards, place work orders for
repair and recommend reconstruction, path and lane cleaning,
signage.
- Coordinate and Review Inter-Department
Planning with respect to Bicycle issues and regulations
- Monitor construction process and
progress
- Maintain detour and route signage
- Remain abreast of National and State
Design Standards, Practices and Recommendations.
- Coordination with Local and Regional
citizen groups and governmental agencies.
- Safety and Education programs
- Public and School outreach
- Promote and advocate existing City
policies and priorities with respect to bicyclists and
pedestrians.
- Qualifications should include:
extensive and active urban riding experience, previous
involvement in bicycle ‘advocacy programs.’
Here are a few comments solicited from
bicyclists regarding BBC’s proposed "Field Bicycle Coordinator"
prior to the Dec 20th meeting:
"SAFETY -- there is effectively NO
safety promotion on behalf of cyclists by the police, in my
opinion. Certainly, it would require an explicit effort to
monitor and effectively enforce lane space, yield signs, and
even stop signs -- now generally regarded as "slow down"
signs.
"..to help with public education
campaigns, advertising the real meaning of signs, etc. --
motorists are provided with disproportionate services for
safety, while cyclists are getting almost nothing but the
occasional accident report. I wouldn't underestimate cyclist
education either -- my theorem is that the proportion of
irresponsible cyclists is the same as the proportion of
irresponsible drivers -- high. Biking cops have disappeared,
and the students do seem worse every year. Coordinator can be
given responsibility for video surveying of bad intersections,
news items and announcements, and so forth.
- Inter-Department project review and
coordination:
"City regulations are regularly
overlooked during project review and construction. For example
bicycle parking is routinely ‘minimized’ during reconstruction
such as with Table-Mesa King Soopers remodeling in 1999. Part
of this can be attributed to the lack of project review and
coordination between different City Departments. "
If you are interested in supporting the
Field Bicycle Coordinator proposal:
- Write a single brief letter to Boulder
City Council, PO Box 791, Boulder, CO 80306.
- Send a single e-mail to Council's group
address: "council@ci.boulder.co.us".
- Send a fax to Boulder City Council at
303-441-4478.
Phone your Council members
independently.
Return to January 2000 Newsletter |
