Welcome to Cycle Tracks, RIBike’s somewhat-biweekly bike advocacy email newsletter.
If you haven’t seen 12-yr-old Ella Boyan’s video & petition yet to encourage Providence to provide kid-friendly bike facilities, you should check it out right now. The mayor liked it so much he gave her a city pin. Here’s hoping he likes it enough to make these bike connections happen!
This Wednesday 3/23, 6-8pm, the City of Providence is organizing a forum on the replacement of the 6/10 Connector. This project is one of the biggest opportunities Rhode Island will have in our lifetime to show the world we can make innovative 21st Century transportation decisions. Here’s the Facebook event. Please attend. If you want to help out with bike valet during the event, let us know.
A new community-based bike group is forming in Smithfield! Bike Smithfield is having its second meeting at Greenville Public Library this Thursday, 3/24, at 6:00pm. If you live in Smithfield, come see how you can get involved in making the town more bikeable! Also see coverage in the Valley Breeze.
The Governor’s budget included a proposal for $35 million Green Economy bond referendum, including $10 million for bike paths! This is what the Paths to Progress coalition has been fighting for. Now we need the House to keep that $35 million in there despite powerful voices calling to reduce it. Contact your State Rep or write a letter to the Projotelling them how important this bond is!
Providence is rocking it in terms of improving their bike network! Last week, at a meeting of the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission, Mayor Elorza signed an executive order expanding the size & power of the commission. Basically any major road project has to go before the commission now for input. It’s a big step. In addition, there will be multiple “neighborhood listening sessions” in the coming months to get input on the city’s reboot of its bike plan.
The first Wednesday of every month, Recycle-a-Bike hosts the WTF Wrenching Wednesday Nights. It’s an open-shop-style space available to people who identify as female, trans, femme, genderqueer, or feels that their socialization or treatment as a woman/transperson/femme has impeded their participation in bicycle mechanics. If you do not identify with one of these identities then you are kindly asked not to attend during this shop time. Bring your own bike project to work on, pick out a project to volunteer your help with at the shop, or just tinker and practice working with the tools. You do not need to have any mechanical knowledge or experience to come, just an interest in learning!
RIBike is working to get a training in Rhode Island this summer to certify participants as bicycling instructors via the League of American Bicyclists Smart Cycling curriculum. Interested in getting certified? Let us know!
The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC) is ready for the 4th year of Red Shed Bike Camp. Bike Camp offers eight week-long summer camp sessions in Riverside Park. ALL CAMPERS receive a bike, lock and helmet to keep so that they can enjoy safe riding and practice repairs even when camp is over. 2016 Bike Camp starts on June 27. All kids between 8 and 14 are welcome. Visit http://wrwc.org/gwybikecamp.
Do you want a Bike To Work Day (May 20) event to happen in your town? So do we! And you can help make it happen. We’re trying to get Bike To Work Day breakfast events happening in as many cities & towns in RI as possible, and to do that we need volunteer point-people in each town. If that sounds interesting to you, let us know here!