Of particular interest was a great pdf they linked to, apparently published by bicycling magazine back in 2010 titled How to Drive Around Cyclists.  It’s a great one page discussion of common situations motorists will encounter when interacting with cyclists and how to deal with them.  Again, pass this around to your motoring friends.

A Federal Highway Administration pilot program designed to explore the impact of biking and walking on the transportation load reported that four communities that invested heavily in nonmotorized transportation diverted 32 million driving miles over four years.

The Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program sent roughly $25 million a year to four pilot communities to invest in alternative transportation infrastructure, education and outreach. According to a summary report released this week, the four communities saw a 49 percent increase in the number of bicyclists and a 22 percent increase in pedestrians between 2007 and 2010, as well as a boost in transit ridership.

Over the four-year program, the share of bicycling increased 36 percent, while walking was up 14 percent. Driving mode share, meanwhile, was down by 3 percent over those four years. There were also no negative safety implications, according to the report.

That outpaces the increases in biking and walking in the rest of the country and, according to the FHWA report, shows that greater investment in bike paths, bike racks and sidewalks can mean more travelers will opt for nonmotorized trips.

The change in modes also translated to a savings of 22 pounds of carbon dioxide per person in the last year of the program, the equivalent of 1 gallon of gas per person

It would be great to know what the estimated cost savings (if any) will there be over the lifetime of this infrastructure?  Take all these people out of cars and there should be a noticeable decrease in the amount of wear on road infrastructure.  This is likely the easiest way we can win support for this type of infrastructure investment.

Through the work of the Transportation Advisory Committee, it’s subcommittees and the Technical Committee the TIP for the 2013 to 2016 funding years has reached the draft phase.  At this point, Statewide Planning is holding two public hearings on April 26th and offering a comment period for submission of written comments.  Comments deadline is 4:00PM, May 29, 2012.  Hearings will be held at the 2:00PM and 6:30PM in the William E. Powers Building, Conference Room A, 2nd floor, One Capitol Hill, Providence.  Address written comments to Kevin Flynn, Secretary, Rhode Island State Planning Council, One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI 02908.

The full draft of the TIP is available from the Statewide Planning Website.  The draft covers investment in bridge replacement, mutli-use path development, public transportation enhancements, highway infrastructure maintenance and pavement management among many others.  Share your opinions regarding prioritization and investment in transportation, this is the opportunity to influence what projects are a priority for the next 4 years.

Projects not listed in the TIP will be at an extreme disadvantage for accessing funding all will most likely be postponed at least until the next TIP is developed, or beyond given fiscal constraints at both the state and federal levels.

It is one of several highway safety related bills scheduled including S2223 that bans driving while using a hand-held cell phone, increasing hit-and-run penalties (2138) and several that deal with drunk driving including the installation of an ignition-interlock device as a possible sentence.

Legislative info is available at www.rilin.state.ri.us

I hope some ribike folks can attend and speak for the bill, and the need to combat dangerous driving in general.

The National Bike Challenge is an opportunity to challenge yourself to ride more often.  Record your rides, and add up the miles you’ve ridden, the calories you’ve burned, and the gas money you’ve saved. You can connect with other riders in the challenge, or embrace the spirit of competition by winning points for your employer, your community, or your state. You also become eligible for prize drawings after you’ve logged just three days on your bike.

You’ll be part of a team of more than fifty thousand riders logging over ten million miles, demonstrating the power of the bicycle to build healthy people, healthy communities, and a healthy planet.

Participation is free, and open to anyone in the United States, or who is employed by a participating U.S.-based company.

Everybody wins when we get people riding more, but hundreds of participants will win gear in our monthly prize drawings, including:

Early Bird Prizes: Join before May 1, and you could be 1 of 12 winners of a National Bike Challenge Commuter Kits, including a National Bike Summit tote bags, a Planet Bike taillight and bell set, a Bikes Belong water bottle, League of American Bicyclist socks, and more.

Monthly Prize Drawings: With just three days of riding, you become eligible for monthly drawings, and as you ride more, the prizes get better.  Bronze level prizes include hats, water bottles, and multi-tools.   Log more miles, and you could win a helmet, jersey, or event a bike.  The Grand Prizes, drawn from the riders a the top tier, are bike trips in Napa or Moab.

Take Home a Trophy: There are National Challenge plaques for the businesses, individuals, communities, states, and teams that rack up the most points.  Compete against Facebook, Trek, Specialized, Mars, and other businesses of all sizes.

Join now, start logging your miles, and become eligible for earlybird prizes!

1. Follow the rules for cars:

• Stop at Stop signs
• Signal your intended direction
• Turn left from the rightmost lane travelling in the direction you intend to go (that means use turn lanes; don’t turn left across traffic going in your direction)

2. Ride 2-3 feet from the curbing or edge of the road and out of the band of silt and sand that is present on the roads in the spring.

3. Be predictable – ride straight and use BIG gestures to communicate your directional intentions to those with whom you are sharing the road.

4. Be visible – dress brightly and use “blinkie” lights both fore and aft.

5. Wear a helmet – PERIOD!

6. Don’t  put ANYTHING in your ears. They are your best sensory organ to alert you to a vehicle approaching from the rear.

7. Eat before you are hungry, drink before you are thirsty.

• Dehydration occurs fast – especially in cooler weather.  Hypoglycemia creeps up on you too. The effects of both are reduced mental acuity resulting in poor decision-making. Stay hydrated and fueled.  If you “bonk” on a ride, stop and find a can of Coca Cola. There aren’t many better ways to re-start your mental metabolism than that.

8. Put an emergency app in your smartphone.  It will text your location to your emergency contacts with one touch.

9. Always carry a form of identification.

10. Think, think, think!

• Road, light and weather conditions change rapidly. Good decision making is your best asset for staying safe on your bicycle.

Ride Smart! Ride Safe!

The next general advocay meeting will be on held on April 9th, 2012 @ 6:00PM.  This months meeting is being hosted by Bike Newport at Empire Tea and Coffee, 22 Broadway, Newport, RI.  Anyone interested in discussing bicycle advocacy or other issues facing cyclists in Rhode Island is welcome and encouraged to attend.

On this months agenda are the following items:

• Legislation update (Vulnerable Roadway User, Complete Streets)
• Commuter Guide Project Update
• Road Projects/Construction updates (Elmwood Ave, Washington Bridge, East Bay Bike Path, Coventry Greenway)
• Bike To Work Day Providence
• Bike To Work Day Newport
• Bike To The Beach
• Bike to America’s Cup
• Bike Tours coming through
• Discussion of working with local businesses/Chamber of Commerce

Meeting Location

Mike Strickland Memorial Ride 3/31/12 Photo by Jason Evans, Newport

On Thursday, March 22, we learned the tragic news of a cyclist’s death at the east end of Purgatory Road in Middletown. A beautiful well-traveled, oft-cycled area approaching Second Beach. The news that the cyclist was riding the steep eastbound downhill with the low sun behind him, and that the driver was turning left at a blind curve with the sun in front of him, stopped our hearts. Bad timing leading to a worst nightmare.

The official police report released one week later confirmed that the driver, Arthur Chapman of Portsmouth, never saw the cyclist, Michael Strickland of Middletown. Michael, an Australian national on a two-year assignment at NUWC, was a loving husband and father, an exceptionally kind and generous friend and an accomplished athlete. In his short time in our community, Michael made friendships that would have lasted a much longer lifetime.

Our hearts go out to the Stricklands and to their family and friends. And also to the Chapmans. We can only imagine their pain.

On Saturday, March 31, some 70 cyclists honored Mike with a 15-mile slow ride, escorted by Newport and Middletown police. The goal: to show support for Mike’s family and to bring more awareness to cycling safety.

Cyclists of all abilities rode to the site of the accident to pay respects and then to the Strickland house to offer the love and support of friends, neighbors and strangers. Tony Strickland, Mike’s father, and Miki, one of his 10-year old twin daughters, joined the ride for the final five miles. More than a dozen riders held back to follow Miki and surround her with a big bicycling hug of support as she worked her way up the hills of Paradise Road, Purgatory Road and Memorial Blvd. When she stopped for a break and a swig of chocolate milk, we all stopped with her. She stopped again near the site of her father’s accident, turning her eyes but not her head to the memorial wreath of flowers tied to a bicycle wheel. A heart wrenching but promising glimpse of one of Miki’s first brave steps forward without her dad.

I didn’t know Mike personally. Mitch Turner, Mike’s close friend and the coordinator of the ride, had asked Bike Newport to help get the word out. Emailing with Mitch and chatting with Mike’s other friends along the ride brought the emotion of the whole horrible event to the surface and my own heavy heart released tears at the site and again at Mike’s house when I assured his wife, Emma, that the community would be there for her.

It didn’t occur to me until later that Emma and the girls would be gone in two days. They were already packed for Perth. They’ll be back in Australia by the time most of you read this post. In notes of support written to the family, many of the riders promised to keep Mike’s memory alive here in Newport.

So now we have a job to do. We may not be able to stop accidents like Mike’s. A low sun will blind drivers and hide riders. And long hills will beckon experienced cyclists to ride low and fast, thrilling at the accelerating descent. Bad things happen. They happen everywhere for every reason. As they happened on Purgatory Road on March 22.

But there is a lesson and a message: Our best defense is to be prepared – as cyclists, as motorists and as a community.

Cyclists need to be visible, protected and predictable. In a car-bicycle encounter, the car will always win. Period. We have to cut our risk by wearing bright colored clothing, using lights and reflectors, wearing a helmet, signaling our intentions and following every rule of the road. We need to consider and choose the best routes for our purposes, and we need to breathe through encounters with aggressive drivers. We can be part of efforts to improve cycling by advocating for road-sharing education, for improved roads and road markings, and for dedicated recreational bicycle paths.

Motorists need to be courteous to bicyclists. Cyclists have a right to be on the road and the need to be safe. We will ride as far to the right as is safe, but we can’t ride closer than four feet from a car door that might suddenly open, and we can’t ride in roadside debris or broken pavement. If we’re 13 years or older, we can’t ride on the sidewalks. Motorists need to relax and be patient when we’re sharing a road or a busy intersection and give us a chance to get where we are going safely.

Cities and school districts need to be involved. Cyclists and motorists won’t magically understand what it means to share the road. We need signs, road markings, banners, campaigns and education. Imagine if every child learned cycling skills and safety in Phys Ed. Imagine if every Driver Ed class taught road sharing and every road test tested it.

We shouldn’t be frightened away from bicycling. But we can take this frightening moment to recommit to improvement. As Bike Newport’s mission states: we want to improve and encourage bicycling. Bicycling contributes directly to improved health, economy, ecology, historic preservation, productivity and quality of life. It’s low cost and it’s high return. It makes our kids healthier and our visitors happier. We want more people bicycling.

There are rock-solid statistics that translate to this formula: More people on bicycles = fewer accidents. Why? Because the more people on bicycles, the more aware the motorists, and the better the road sharing behavior by both.

This morning, I dropped a note to Mitch Turner to thank him. I told him he did a wonderful thing by planning yesterday’s ride to honor Mike Strickland. His answer was: “Thank you Bari, but I did nothing . . . it’s the wonderful community we live in that did a beautiful thing . . . and that is why I love living here.” I understand Mike’s answer, because I’m also a Newport Newbie, and I also love living here. We are indeed part of a wonderful and supportive community. So together let’s commit to the one thing that can prevent another accident like Mike’s. Let’s prepare.

We’re taking a big step in this direction at Bike Newport – we’re about to train 15 residents as League Certified Instructors. It’s an intensive program provided by the national League of American Bicyclists. The training is made possible by nearly 200 supporters who attended our recent Bike Newport Night fundraiser. With this training, we’ll gain a better understanding of what it means to share the road – and we’ll share that knowledge with Newport’s cyclists, motorists, tourists, businesses, schools and community leaders.

I like to refer to Newport as a “Bicycle-Friendly-Community-Waiting-to-Happen.” Let’s work together to really make it happen. Let’s do it in the best interest of our youth, our families, our visitors, our businesses, our historic properties, our natural environment and our future – and in honor of Mike Strickland.

This version of the Vulnerable Roadway User bill defines a Vulnerable Road User as essentially anyone who is not inside a vehicle, but is using a roadway in a legal manner, including construction workers and police officers.  The bill sets out a set of responses for striking one of these classes of people without exercising due care to avoid a collision that causes injury or death.  The sentencing guidelines for this bill provide that a person found guilty will complete a traffic safety training, community service, temporary license suspension and a fine from $85 to $5,000.

RIBIKE thanks Representatives Tanzi, Handy, Martin, Winfield and Tomasso for sponsoring this bill.