Bike-To-Brown

Washington Bridge Bike Path

I just received an email from RIDOT and the latest on the Washington Bridge is it will be open on May 3rd.  I think the reopening calls for a party!

UW-Madison recognized as a bicycle-friendly campus

According to to UW-Madison news report,

The League of American Bicyclists has named the University of Wisconsin-Madison a silver award winner in its Bicycle Friendly Business program.

I wonder what it takes to have a university become a recipient of this award.  Can Brown match this feat?  Is anyone out there willing to take this project on and see what UW-Madison did and write a letter to Brown on behalf of B2B?

Washington Bridge Pedestrian Walkway

I’ve now heard from two different sources inside of RIDOT that work on the Washington Bridge Pedestrian Walkway should be completed any day now.  Apparently, all that remains is to lay some asphalt to cover the sand/dirt section.  This was actually scheduled for last week, but the rain held them up.  Hopefully, we will get some nice days here and they can actually finish the work and reopen the path!

Now the next trick will be to convince them to keep the section open while linear park construction is happening.

Good Semaritan Clears the Way

From Bill over at the Providence Bicycle Coalition

Just thought folks might like to know that a nice guy named “Bob” from RI Avenue in Prov was out yesterday (for hours, using broom and snow shovel) clearing off all the grit and sand from the Prov half of the Red Bridge sidewalk. I was out running and talked with him briefly, thanked him on behalf of the bikers who use that bridge, and talked about PBC as he was not aware. He’s one of the “unknown helpers” out there making it safer and better for all of us.

I contacted RIDOT towards the end of last week listing this as one of the issues currently facing us on the Henderson Bridge.  It is embarrising that RIDOT let things deteriorate to a point where a good semaritan is responsible for maintaining the conditions on a public sidewalk.  Cheers to “Bob”!

H5074 Hearing Today!

April 2, 2009

4:00 pm

Sorry for the late notice, it’s been a busy night.  The H5074 legislation will be heard today by the House Judiciary at 4pm in room 205 of the State House.  We encourage any cyclist who is able to attend, as it will be a show of stregth and support for bicycle legislation.  Over at the  Providence Bicycle Coalition blog, you can read about the proposed changes and the history of this legislation.

Advocacy Meeting – March 5th @ 6pm

March 5, 2009
6:00 pm	to	8:00 pm

Save the date: March 5th @ 6pm in MacMillan room 115

Bike-to-Brown is teaming up with Bike Providence and Brown Cycling to hold a special “town hall” type discussion of the proposed Three Foot Rule legislation.  If you are a cyclist and ride the roads, then I would strongly encourage you to attend this meeting and voice your opinion about the merits of this bill.

Keep an eye on the H5074 thread over at Bike Providence for some history about this proposed legislation and further updates.

H5074 – Three Foot Rule

I posted a while back about the Three Foot rule being considered before the RI House Judiciary.  A date has yet to be announced for the hearing.  If you are interested in this issue, and I hope you all are, I’d encourage you to follow the thread on the Bike Providence Blog.  We had a really lively discussion at their advocacy meeting last night and came to the realization that cyclist really need to gather together and talk about this bills merits before the House Judiciary committee considers it.

I’m in the process of finding a location where we can hold a “Town Hall” type meeting for cyclists.  In the meantime, I’d encourage you to start thinking about this bill and the potential benefits/harm it might cause should it become law.  Please share your comments either here or on this Bike Providence post.

Three Foot Rule

If the recent snow is keeping you off your bike, then I’d suggest you hunker down and spend a few quality minutes at your computer screen. The RI General Assembly is going to consider H5074.  It’s new language added to the RI laws requiring motorists to keep “a 3 foot passing distance when passing a bicycle”.  You can read the entire changes on the Providence Bicycle Coalition website.

I would encourage each and everyone one of you to contact your legislators and encourage them to support this bill.  You can find legislative contact information on the RI General Assembly website.

Many other states/cities already have a law like this on the books, it’s time for RI to join their ranks.  While we all know the likelihood of this law making any immediate impact on driver’s behavior is slim, it does offer a way for the RI AG to press charges, should another cyclist be struck.

Please take the time to send off a couple of emails or make a few phone calls, it could really make a difference!

Frank’s Law – A Call to Action

As many of you have probably heard by now

“On September 4th, 2007, Frank Cabral took his last bicycle ride. Frank was struck and killed by a motorist on Route 1, in Charlestown, RI.  He was 41 years young, loved life, and truly lived it.”

Starting this day, Lori DiBiasio has been working tirelessly to make some changes in Rhode Island.  She took a major step forward when the City of Warwick passed a resolution urging the RI General Assembly to pass a “3 foot” law similar to New Hampshire and Florida.  You can read the entire resolution on the Providence Bicycle Coalition.

The Town of Warwick has taken it upon themselves to send a copy of this resolution they passed to the other 39 towns and cities in Rhode Island.  I would encourage each and every one of you to approach your city/town administrators and encourage them to join Warwick in urging the RI General Assembly to enact such a law.

Bike Commuter Benefits Act

As many have probably heard by now, the Bicycle Commuter Benefits Act was signed into law by President Bush this past Friday.  A Cyclelicious article states that:

Congressman Blumenauer of Oregon included a bike commuter benefit provision in HR1424, the $700 billion Wall Street bailout package that passed the house today and was signed by President Bush shortly afterward.

I’m really not a fan of por-barrel amendments, the fact that this benefit is now law could well help increase the benefits for bicycle commuters.  From the article:

The benefit — up to $20 per month — begins with the new year in 2009. Employers may reimburse employees, tax free, for “reasonable” expenses related to their bike commute, including equipment purchases, bike purchases, repairs, and storage if the bicycle is used as a “substantial part” of the commuter’s trip to work for the month. If you already receive another commuter tax-free fringe benefit (like a Commuter Check or EcoPass), you don’t qualify, so multimodal commuters are out of luck.

I think it’s time to approach the University and ask that they support us when the law becomes a reality in 2009.