| ------------------------------------------------------------ C-E-N-T-E-R-L-I-N-E-S ------------------------------------------------------------ #185 Wednesday, October 3, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------ CenterLines is the bi-weekly e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking. CenterLines is our way of quickly delivering news and information you can use to create more walkable and bicycle-friendly communities.
FEATURES SUE KNAUP DEPARTS THE THUNDERHEAD ALLIANCE On Friday, September 21, CenterLines staff learned that Sue Knaup, who has been at the helm of the Thunderhead Alliance since 2002, was leaving Thunderhead effective immediately. "With immeasurable sorrow I have yielded to the Board's decision to terminate me as executive director of the Thunderhead Alliance," Sue wrote. "The Board informed me on August 31st that they plan to take Thunderhead in a new direction that does not include me. In spite of all my efforts, the Board is set on their new plan and direction." In a letter distributed to the Thunderhead list-serve, Noah Budnick, chair of the Thunderhead board of directors, wrote: "The Board of Directors of the Thunderhead Alliance, the national coalition of state and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations, announces that it is in search of an executive director to lead this growing and dynamic organization. The Board...is moving the organization in a new direction that will boost its stature, and the stature of its member-advocates, and importance of biking and walking at the national level, while maintaining Thunderhead's role as a resource for advocates." Reaction to the announcement from member organizations and others in the field was immediate. Tim Young, Executive Director of Friends of Pathways in Jackson, Wyoming, wrote "The Thunderhead Alliance has played a crucial role in helping enhance our communities through state and local bicycle advocacy. Sue Knaup is one of the reasons so much has been accomplished. I am deeply indebted to Sue for her tireless hard work, her ready helping hand and great compassion for those new to the hard work of advocacy, and for her vision for bicycling in North America." "Back in the mid-90s, when the NCBW was 'incubating' the Thunderhead Alliance, we had many hopes for an organization that would be a real force in the advocacy community," said NCBW's executive director Bill Wilkinson. "Sue took the reins --yee-haw!!! -- in 2002 and never looked back. She took Thunderhead from a struggling, largely volunteer-based workgroup to a nationally recognized organization staffed with professionals and an annual budget exceeding $300,000.00. Sue's impact can't be overstated." What's next for Sue? "I plan to launch a new international organization that will hold at its core the principle of respect and kindness for leaders of advocacy organizations and carry on the capacity building efforts I held so dear at Thunderhead," Sue wrote. "...And I will carry with great pride the accomplishments I achieved with all of you during my years at Thunderhead." Sue can be reached at sue.knaup@gmail.com, or 928-541-9841. Questions to Thunderhead can be directed to Noah Budnick, noah@transalt.org. RECOGNIZING BARRIERS: AN ALRC ON-LINE SEMINAR -> On Tuesday, October 16th at 2p.m. EDT, the Active Living Resource Center (ALRC) will offer it's third on-line seminar: "Increasing Awareness of Barriers to Walking and Bicycling." Mark Plotz, program director at the National Center for Bicycling & Walking, will present ideas about what kinds of barriers can stop a community from becoming a more physically active environment. The intended audience for this seminar is comprised of new advocates and community members who are just starting their efforts at making their towns and neighborhoods more bicycle friendly and walkable. Seats in the seminar will be limited. Participants must sign up for the seminar prior to October 12th, using an on-line registration form. For more information or to register for the seminar, go to: MASS. BIKE COALITION HOSTS COMMITTEE WORKSHOP -> According to the 9/28 edition of MassBike newsletter, "The Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition is proud to announce its first ever Bike Committee Workshop, to be held Saturday, October 13, in Boston. The workshop will convene bicycle advocates from around the state: current bicycle committee members will share strategies, best practices; former bicycle committee members will offer experience and encouragement; and potential bicycle committee members, those interested in forming a committee in their city or town, will be given the tools they need to begin advocating. "For pre-existing bike committees, attendance is limited to two members. An RSVP is required. If you are interested or would like more details, email <Nadav@MassBike.org> or call us at 617-542-2453. If you can't make it due to your location, please also let us know; if there is enough demand, we'd like to hold a workshop in Western MA as well. A bicycle committee is one of the most direct ways for bicycle advocates to offer input to their municipalities on programs, policies, and infrastructure, and for MassBike to keep informed about issues on the ground." For more info on the workshop, go to: For more info on bicycle committees, see MassBike's "Guide to Forming a Bike Advisory Committee" here: ALRC's CITY-SRTS WORKSHOP MARATHON CenterLines recently caught up with Mark Plotz of the Active Living Resource Center in Seat 37C on DC-bound Flight 2476. The interview, which will be hosted on the new and improved (and soon to be launched) CenterLines podcast, lasted until all portable electronic devices had to be turned off for landing. Here are some highlights from that interview. CL: You're a tough person to find. Where have you just been? For more on the City SRTS project check out the Active Living Resource Center City-SRTS pages at: http://tinyurl.com/ytcpmb, and watch CenterLines for updates. UK BIKE GROUP WEIGHS QUESTION OF VALUE FOR MONEY -> In an Oct. 1st Cycling News article, the UK bike advocacy group, Life Cycle, noted, "Life Cycle has had the occasional success in squeezing a few quid out of the Department for Transport (most recently for the Bike Guru project) but generally getting money for cycling out the Her Majesty's Government is like getting blood out of a stone. "How much easier life would be if we built motorways! 'The Guardian' recently reported how the widening of the M6 motorway along a 51-mile stretch between Birmingham and Manchester is scheduled to cost 2.9 billion pounds. That's a shade under 1,000 pounds an inch! Is this good value, we wonder? (While on the back of an envelope we worked out that for 2.9 billion pounds, Life Cycle could provide high quality cycle training for the entire adult population)..." For more about Life Cycle and their programs (including the Bike Guru), go to: SEEKING NIGHT-TIME, IMPAIRED PED CRASH RESEARCH -> In a Sept. 27th note, Dr. Ron Van Houten asked, "If you are aware of any ongoing research or projects to reduce night time pedestrians crashes or crashes that involve impaired pedestrians please send me an e-mail with information on an individual I can contact to learn more about the project. Thanks. Ron" Dr. Ron Van Houten SAFE ROUTES PARTNERSHIP RELEASES NATIONAL REPORT -> According to an article in the October 1st issue of Safe Routes to School E-News, "On October 1st, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership released a national report titled, 'Safe Routes to School: 2007 State of the States.' [The report] includes an executive summary, program needs, early success stories, observations, and resources. An exciting feature of the report is a one-page 'State of the States' matrix, featuring how all states are doing with respect to the following: hiring a full time state SRTS coordinator, developing an advisory committee, releasing application guidelines, and selecting projects for SRTS funds. "The report was sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is being presented on October 1st, the first day of International Walk to School Month, as a progress report on the implementation of the $612 million federal SRTS program that was included by Congress in the 2005 federal transportation bill SAFETEA-LU. The federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program provides funding to all 50 states and the District of Columbia to help communities improve infrastructure such as building sidewalks and bike paths, and to support education, encouragement and enforcement programs that make it safer and easier for children to walk and bicycle to schools. "Deb Hubsmith, Director of the SRTS National Partnership, is presenting Safe Routes to School: 2007 State of the States at a press conference with Congressman Oberstar, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on Monday October 1, 2007 at 12:30 pm Eastern Time on the Cannon Terrace at Capitol Hill in Washington, DC..." For more on the National Partnership, go to: To download the report (775k pdf) go to: For more on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, go to: VICTORIA (BC) BIKE/WALK GROUP RELEASES SHARROWS STUDY For more information, contact Luton at <johnluton@shaw.ca> NEW YORK (NY) GETS ITS FIRST SEPARATED BIKE PATH -> According to a Sept. 22nd Streetsblog article, "The Department of Transportation revealed plans for New York City's first-ever physically-separated bike lane, or 'cycle track,' at a Manhattan Community Board 4 meeting last night. The new bike path will run southbound on Ninth Avenue from W. 23rd to W. 16th Street in Manhattan. Unlike the typical Class II on-street bike lane in which cyclists mix with motor vehicle traffic, this new design will create an exclusive path for bicycles between the sidewalk and parked cars. "DOT's plan also includes traffic signals for bicyclists, greenery-filled refuge areas for pedestrians, a new curbside parking plan, and signalized left-turn lanes for motor vehicles. 'The left turn lane will be immediately adjacent to the bike lane,' DOT Bicycle Program Director Josh Benson explained to CB4 members. 'As a cyclist you'll know that if there's a car next to you, that car is turning left.' Likewise, left-turning drivers' view of cyclists will be completely unobscured. The bike lane is 10-feet wide to accommodate street cleaning and emergency vehicles. "DOT planners consulted with Danish urban designer Jan Gehl on the plan, according to Transportation Alternatives Deputy Director Noah Budnick. 'They are drawing from international best-practice and being smart about talking to other engineers and planners who have implemented these types of designs,' Budnick said. 'They really thought holistically about everything that is going on on the street.'..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/3d4jwq THUNDERHEAD BENCHMARKING GIVES ADVOCATES A BOOST -> In a Sept. 28th Weather Report article, Kristen Steele wrote, "Since [The Thunderhead Alliance] released it's first biennial Benchmarking Report on August 29, 2007, advocates nationwide have added new tools to their belt. Mary Dzieweczynski, Program Director, Community Cycling Center writes, 'I just read the Benchmark Report cover to cover and am so grateful for access to this level of professional and comprehensive data. This is excellent. Thank you.' Charley Weeth, Executive Director of Wisconsin Walks says, 'My first impression of the Benchmarking Report is it is very comprehensive and will be extremely helpful to all bike/ped advocates across the country.' Sabrina Merlo, Regional Advocacy Director at the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition couldn't agree more. 'Very comprehensive! Thanks for all your work. It will be very helpful to all of us!' Check out these three models from Thunderhead members: For more on the Benchmarking report, go to: CYCLING SCOTLAND PHOTO LIBRARY IS ONLINE In a brief note, Tom Bertulis, of Cycling Scotland, wrote to say that the organization has just launched a Photo Library. Tom said, "It contains plenty of good practice cycle infrastructure pics from all over the UK and Europe and Centerlines readers are welcome to use the photos." Check it out here: RESCISSIONS' INCREASING IMPACT ON STATE TRANS. BUDGETS "But in FY 2002, Congress began rescinding portions of the balances. Although many states have not felt a negative effect from that practice, other states' officials are concerned that may be about to change because of the major rescission slated for FY 2009 under the provisions of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the current surface-transportation finance act. There is also concern that Congress is moving to restrict states' ability to choose the categories of spending from which the rescissions will be taken..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/wpdpy WANTED: CROSS COUNTRY CYCLISTS & LOGISTICS TEAM In a recent request, Jackie Green asked: "Wanted: Logistics support for protest bicycle ride focusing on the inter-relatedness of oil dependency, war and global warming. This is a slow cross-country bicycle tour seeking national media attention and thousands of riders along the way. We need to put together the team of riders & the logistics team. We leave Louisville KY ASAP and head south to New Orleans by way of the Natchez Trace. The plan is to meander slowly thru the winter along the Gulf eastward to the tip of Florida, turning northward up the Atlantic. By March 1 we want to leave Savannah GA, heading north at a faster pace -- we have to be on the west coast before winter of 2008. (We can hope the war will be over by then, but our oil dependencies will not.) Then, down the Pacific, across the desert, back to New Orleans, and back to Louisville. Wow!!! If you are interested in participating on either team or supporting the effort in other ways, please contact Jackie Green -- 502 583 2232 (Bike Couriers Bike Shop <j@bikecourier.org> QUOTES R US -> "We need to get more people to take the bike around. It's good for their health, it's good for the environment, and there's less congestion on our streets. It's time for this issue to come to the forefront." STATS R US -> "Researchers at the University of Utah found that drivers that are talking on a cell phone are only really paying attention to 50% of the road in front of them. They also found that drivers talking on a cell phone took 20% longer to brake when they needed to, even though they were driving slower." IN
THE NEWS REI OUTDOOR RETAILER CHIEF: TV IS OUR COMPETITION -> According to an Oct. 2nd Missoulian article, "You might think that when REI, the national outdoor equipment retailer, thinks about competition in a place like Missoula, other outdoor gear shops come to mind. Bob Ward and Sons, the Trailhead, Pipestone Mountaineering. But other outdoor stores are barely even on REI's radar. The real competition is the video screen, be it the computer, television or video games. Sally Jewell, REI's president and chief executive officer, was at the University of Montana on Monday to speak at the Harold and Priscilla Gilkey Lecture Series, and she recounted a conversation she had with a top official at Best Buy. "'He asked me, "Who's your competition?" and I said, "You are, and right now you're thumping us."' Think of it this way. American children now spend 47 hours a week in front of a screen of some sort -- watching TV, cruising Facebook and MySpace, and playing 'Halo' and 'Madden NFL.' Compare that with the 30 minutes they spend outdoors in unstructured play. 'That's our competition,' said Jewell, who came to REI after stints in petroleum engineering and banking. 'That's what we're up against.' "If you sell outdoor gear, you need people to go outside. And that's why REI is heavily involved in the 91 communities where it does business, she said. 'We need to find a way to bring people to a connection with the outdoors, a way to breed an ethic in regards to nature,' Jewell said. That, she said, is good not just for business but for communities and countries. 'As a society, we need a way to bridge the disconnect between people and nature, between children and nature,' she said. REI has been a pioneer in the philanthropic art of giving back to its communities. In the last year, the company, a cooperative that is owned by its membership, gave back 3 percent of its operating income in grants. That's $4 million, a portion of which was spent here in Missoula. 'We're really trying to create healthy communities,' Jewell said..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/yo9b6e INDIANA KIDS JOIN INT'L WALK TO SCHOOL DAY -> According to an Oct. 2nd Daily News article, "The Indiana Department of Transportation is encouraging Hoosier schools, parents and students to participate in International Walk to School Day on Oct. 3 and reminding motorists to be on the lookout for children walking and biking to school. "Walkers from the U.S. will join children and adults in 40 countries around the world. Walk to School events help create safer routes for walking and bicycling. They also emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between family, schools and the broader community. "Walk to School Day activities tie in closely with Indiana's Safe Routes to School program. Federal legislation is providing funding to Indiana schools, school districts and communities to establish Safe Routes to School programs. These funds are distributed by INDOT using a project application process with reviews by a multi-agency advisory committee. INDOT will soon be awarding more than $2 million to fund Safe Routes to School programs and projects in Indiana this year..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/yusudr HYBRID CARS TOO QUIET FOR BLIND PEDESTRIANS -> According to an Oct. 3rd Business Week article, "Gas-electric hybrid vehicles, the status symbol for the environmentally conscientious, are coming under attack from a constituency that doesn't drive: the blind. Because hybrids make virtually no noise at slower speeds when they run solely on electric power, blind people say they pose a hazard to those who rely on their ears to determine whether it's safe to cross the street or walk through a parking lot. "'I'm used to being able to get sound cues from my environment and negotiate accordingly. I hadn't imagined there was anything I really wouldn't be able to hear,' said Deborah Kent Stein, chairwoman of the National Federation of the Blind's Committee on Automotive and Pedestrian Safety. "'We did a test, and I discovered, to my great dismay, that I couldn't hear it.' The tests -- admittedly unscientific -- involved people standing in parking lots or on sidewalks who were asked to signal when they heard several different hybrid models drive by. 'People were making comments like, "When are they going to start the test?" And it would turn out that the vehicle had already done two or three laps around the parking lot,' Stein said..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/yrrkh5 DAVID SUZUKI TO WALK21: "WALK TO SAVE PLANET" -> According to an Oct. 2nd Toronto Star article, "The simple act of putting one foot in front of the other is an important part of the solution to climate change, environmentalist David Suzuki told an international conference on walking in Toronto today. 'We evolved to walk,' he told about 300 delegates at Walk21, a conference dedicated to making streets friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists. 'We have contorted our cities, our homes, our wallets to serve the car,' he added. "'We think we're so sophisticated we've forgotten our biological roots.' Suzuki received a standing ovation for his hour-long speech warning that humans are at a tipping point in terms of destroying the planet. 'The good news,' he concluded, 'is there are lots of answers out there, which is what you are all about.' Toronto experts at the conference referred to this as an exciting time for pedestrians in the city..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/yurpqk FORT WORTH (TX) WANTS BICYCLISTS IDEAS -> A Sept. 6th Star-Telegram article suggests, "Bicycle riders get ready. City leaders want to know what you think -- when and why you ride and what would make you ride more. These are just some of the questions in an online bicycle survey city officials hope to use to help them develop a comprehensive bicycle transportation plan. 'We hope to gather the opinions of residents of Fort Worth regarding their current bicycling behavior, what improvements would be needed for them to cycle more and what particular locations in the city they view as problematic or dangerous for bicycling,' said Don Koski, a senior planner in the city's transportation and public works department. They especially want to find out what prevents people from riding bicycles in the city -- whether for health reasons, concerns about aggressive drivers or hazardous road conditions. "The survey is also geared to find out what will get people to ride more: new paths, more designated bike lanes, better maps, slower traffic, more bicycle racks? City officials say the feedback will be used to create a plan that will set policies, inventory current bicycle facilities and set some guidelines for future bicycle improvements. The new plan will replace a 1999 Bicycle Blueprint Plan that proposed on-street bike routes citywide, Koski said. 'We're going beyond that,' Koski said. 'We need to identify what we want the bike network to be.' The goal is to get people to respond to the survey by Nov. 9, so those who participate in Fort Worth's Oct. 28 fifth annual Clean Air Bike Rally will have plenty of time to learn about the survey and respond..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/23b6ay LAWRENCE (KS) KIDS JOIN INT'L WALK TO SCHOOL DAY -> According to an Oct. 2nd Journal-World article, "Small children and their parents plan to take to the streets Wednesday morning. Several area elementary schools have organized activities to coincide with International Walk to School Day, originally established by the Partnership for a Walkable America. Douglas County's top prosecutor says the day is a chance to promote safety for children, parents and drivers. 'This gives us an opportunity not only to participate in a very important event that improves the health and welfare of our kids, but to also have an opportunity to talk with kids about safety and to be able to talk to kids about safe routes to school, Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson said. "He plans to walk his own children to school Wednesday, and his office also sent out information about the event to community groups. Branson said traffic safety around Lawrence schools has been a hot topic since the Jan. 31, 2006, death of 6-year-old Bryce Olsen, who was not wearing a helmet and was struck by a minivan while riding his scooter to Prairie Park School. The motorist's vision was obscured by a shrub at the intersection, and police concluded he was not at fault in the accident..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/yt7m24 RALEIGH (NC) HILLSBOROUGH STREET GOES "PED-FRIENDLY" -> According to an Oct. 2nd WRAL story, "The Raleigh City Council voted 5-2 Tuesday evening to approve the design of improvements to Raleigh's Hillsborough Street, including roundabouts. The topic is not new. The city has been talking about improving Hillsborough Street for years. The question has been how to best do it. Hillsborough Street is a corridor of history. It's been around as long as Raleigh's been the state capital, but city planners have said it is time for Hillsborough to be updated. "Proponents want the main thoroughfare through N.C. State University to be more walkable. The idea is to encourage people to mill around and spend money in local businesses. To make that happen, planners say, the city needs to slow things down. The plan approved Tuesday involves Hillsborough between Oberlin Road and Gardner Street. That section would have more parking and a raised median to help students cross the street safely. The city is also planning two roundabouts. One would go at Hillsborough and Pullen Road . A smaller roundabout would be just north of Hillsborough on Oberlin at Groveland Avenue..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/2e6bze SITELINE INSTITUTE ON CONGESTION IMPACT -> According to a Sept. 20th Daily Score blog, Clark Williams-Derry wrote, "The big story yesterday was congestion: the Texas Transportation Institute released its annual Urban Mobility Study (see CenterLines #184) to the typical fanfare...The headlines, as always, are gloomy: congestion's on the rise just about everywhere, and is wasting our time, gas, and money. The word from the researchers isn't particularly hopeful either. Sure, there are things that can be done to slow the increase in congestion. But they can be expensive -- and, worse, there's no guarantee that they'll actually work. I dipped into the numbers a bit today. And to the extent that the TTI estimates are actually accurate (which, as we've written about before, and as this LA Times story mentions, is a big question), it seems to me that there could be a silver lining in all of the wailing. You see, depending on how you look at things, congestion may not be as big a deal as the headlines make it out to be. Take, for example, the Seattle P-I headline pointing out that rush hour drivers in greater Seattle waste about 45 hours stuck in traffic every year. "Obviously, that's not a great thing. But barely half of Seattle residents actually travel during rush hour. So when you stretch out the hours wasted over the entire population and over a course of a full year, it looks as if rush-hour congestion wastes only about 4 minutes per person, per day. No fun, certainly, especially for the people stuck in gridlock who drive up the average. But not a catastrophe either, especially considering that Americans spend over an hour a day, on average, getting from place to place. Portland does a bit better than Seattle, with daily delays totaling a little over 3 minutes per person. Eugene and Salem face delays of about a minute and a quarter per person per day; and Spokane barely registers, with a mere 42 seconds of daily congestion delays per capita. I'm not trying to downplay the annoyance of frustration experienced by people stuck in gridlock. (My wife and I probably waste 10, maybe 15 minutes a day stuck in congestion every weekday afternoon, and it's a huge pain -- especially since it cuts into family time.) Still, when you take a bigger look, congestion seems to be a minor factor in society's overall time budget..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/yr2ugl NAPLES (FL) WEIGHS MASTER BIKE PATH PLAN -> According to an Oct. 2nd Daily News article, "Naples City Council is taking steps to begin improvements on the sidewalks and bike paths throughout the city. Council is expected to adopt citywide sidewalk and bike path master plans during Wednesday's council meeting. The master plan will take effect immediately after adoption. The plan outlines priority projects for the city, including improvements to sidewalks in school zones and constructing a sidewalk down a popular Naples street. According to the project recommendations, the city needs to provide 'proper school signage' and approve a plan, with costs, that would provide sidewalks to schools. There are five schools within the city limits. "Under the master plan's recommendations, the city would pay for signage improvements, while improvements to sidewalks at Gulfview Middle School, Lake Park Elementary, St. Ann's School, Sea Gate Elementary and Naples High School could be financed with money from the Florida Department of Transportation. In addition to improving the sidewalks in school zones, the master plan includes recommendations to build a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on the west side of Gulf Shore Boulevard from Fifth Avenue South to the Naples Pier. Council already took steps toward building the Gulf Shore sidewalk. In September, City Council approved plans to begin work on building a sidewalk from Fifth Avenue South to 12th Street South. The city hopes to complete the $184,000 project by December..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/26axsj BOSTON (MA) MAYOR WANTS TO MAKE CITY A BICYCLIST'S DREAM -> According to a Sept. 20th Boston Globe article, "Potholes, narrow roads, mean drivers. Riding a bicycle in Boston is something akin to combat. Cyclists routinely rank the city America's worst. Stung by national criticism and hoping to take a bite out of traffic and air pollution, Mayor Thomas M. Menino is vowing to change that. A newly converted cyclist himself, Menino will announce today the hiring of a bike czar, former Olympic cyclist Nicole Freedman, and a first phase of improvements to include 250 new bike racks across Boston and an online map system. "In the next several years, Menino said, he plans to create a network of bike lanes on roads such as Massachusetts Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue in the Back Bay and the Fenway. Paths could also be constructed to connect the Emerald Necklace system of parks, and the mayor is looking at facilities like showers, bike storage areas, and automated bike rental systems that make wheels instantly available to anyone with a credit card..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/28e5co JCDECAUX, CLEAR CHANNEL BATTLE OVER URBAN BIKE-SCHEMES -> According to a Sept. 20th Economist article, "Outdoor advertising has become fiercely competitive and highly political. America's Clear Channel Outdoor and France's JCDecaux fought for months in negotiations with the office of the mayor of Paris, and in court, to snap up the contract for panneaux contre velos --setting up a bicycle-rental scheme in Paris in exchange for exclusive rights to the French capital's 1,628 billboards. Although Clear Channel claims to have won 'technically', the French firm, whose founder, Jean-Claude Decaux, has close ties to the political establishment, emerged as the victor in practice this spring. JCDecaux set up the bike-rental system in record time and launched it on July 15th. "Velib' (for velo, or bicycle, and liberte, or freedom) has since taken Paris by storm. More than 10,000 bikes have been installed at 750 docking stations, which is half of the scheme's eventual capacity, says Jean-Francois Decaux, the son of the founder and co-chief executive of the family-controlled firm along with his brother, Jean-Charles. The bicycles have been used by 4m people so far, who have clocked up 100,000 rides a day. Last week Jean-Francois was in Moscow for talks with the mayor, who is keen to introduce a similar scheme there. The mayor of Chicago also expressed interest in importing Velib' during a recent visit to Paris. "JCDecaux neither invented nor pioneered urban bike-operations. But Velib' is on a different scale from any of its predecessors. Smaller schemes launched over the past four decades mostly failed because the bikes were vandalised or stolen. More recently both JCDecaux and Clear Channel Outdoor have launched urban bike-rental schemes in which users pay with their credit cards -- which means they can be tracked down in case of abuse. Such schemes are now working well in more than a dozen cities including Vienna, Lyon, Brussels, Seville and Cordoba (run by the French), and Barcelona, Oslo, Stockholm and Rennes (run by the Americans)..." Source: http://tinyurl.com/2fzgfv AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT... POPSUGAR Who's more famous? Britney or Paris? QUICK HITS IL GOVERNOR SHOCKS COMPLETE STREETS SUPPORTERS AASHTO PICKED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE CENTER LANGFORD (BC) WEIGHS WESTBROOK MALL OVERHAUL BLAINE CO (ID) CELEBRATES $312K SAFE ROUTES GRANT SIX STATES TO TEST "PAY-BY-MILE" DRIVING FEE SEATTLE (WA) LEADERS EYE NEW WAY TO "SEE," SOLVE PROBLEMS NO FINES YET FOR HAARETZ (IL) CYCLISTS SANS HELMETS GREENWOOD (SC) STREET GETS PED-FRIENDLY UPDATE
RESOURCES -> "PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST INTERSECTION SAFETY..." -> "PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST INTERSECTION SAFETY..." -> "AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT: A COMPENDIUM OF WORLDWIDE..." -> "NEWSLETTER OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY CENTER" CALENDAR Additional training
opportunities are available on the National Center for Bicycling &
Walking web site. Add your own items to the on-line calendar...it's quick
and easy. Please be sure your calendar items pertain to training and workshops
in the bicycle, pedestrian, or livable community fields. Go to: HEY, YOU! SEND US YOUR CALENDAR ITEMS -- PRONTO! -> October
1-4, 2007, Walk21 International Conference, Toronto, ON, Canada. Info: -> October
5-7, 2007, Thunderhead Training, plus lobby training Oct. 8 and Hill visits
Oct. 9, 2007, Washington, DC. Info: -> October 17, 2007, Moving Together 2007, The Annual Massachusetts
Bicycling & Walking Conference, Boston, MA. Info: The Baystate Roads
Program at (413) 545-2604; -> October 21, 2006, 9:15 am - 12:30, Smart Growth Tour and Program, Georgetown, CT. Info: Sierra Club office; phone: (860) 236-4405; email: <connecticut.chapter@sierraclub.org> -> November
5-7, 2007. 1st National Safe Routes to School Conference: Creating, Building
and Sustaining Momentum, Dearborn, MI. Info: -> November 7-10, 2007, Atlanta on the Cutting Edge: New Models for Growth and Renewal, Atlanta GA. Info: Leslie Pickel, Event Management Consultant, The Seaside Institute, PO Box 4875, Seaside Branch, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459; voice: (850) 231-2421; email: <lpickel@theseasideinstitute.org> -> December
9-12, 2007, Mid America Trails & Greenways Conference, Chicago, IL.
Info: phone: (312) 427-4256 -> December 13-14, 2007, Building and Rebuilding Traditional Neighborhoods: with Andres Duany, New Orleans, LA. Info: The Seaside Institute, P.O. Box 4875, Seaside, Florida 32459; phone: (850) 231-2421. -> January 13-17, 2008, TRB 87th Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. Info: Transportation Research Board -> May 18-21,
2008, National Roundabout Conference, Kansas City, MO. Info: Richard Pain;
email: <RPain@nas.edu>. -> September 2-5, 2008, Pro Walk/Pro Bike Conference, Seattle, WA; hosted at the Westin Seattle. Watch for info at: http://www.bikewalk.org/conference.php JOBS GRANTS AND RFPS -> JOB -- EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR -- THUNDERHEAD ALLIANCE Thunderhead's Board of Directors announced last week that it is in search of an executive director to lead this growing and dynamic organization. Application information is also available online. If you have any questions about the position or the transition, please contact: Noah Budnick, board chair, at noah@transalt.org -> JOB -- PROGRAM MANAGER -- BIKEWALK VIRGINIA BikeWalk Virginia seeks a FT Program Manager for an exciting new project in Martinsville/Henry County. The Program Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive model program for integrating biking and walking into the community. Salary $60k. Full job description and application details can be found at: -> JOB -- SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM DIRECTOR -- IOWA B.C. Do you want more kids walking or bicycling to school? The Iowa Bicycle Coalition is hiring a Safe Routes To School program director to run an encouragement and education program directed at elementary and middle schools across the state. In-state travel required. Full-time position with health/dental insurance. Please send resume to Iowa Bicycle Coalition, P.O. Box 572, North Liberty, IA 52317. For more info, go to: -> RFP -- 2 CONTEXT-SENSITIVE TRANS. SOLUTIONS GUIDES -- TRB The Transportation Research Board's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for proposals to develop two context-sensitive solutions guides, one for citizens and one for discipline-specific professionals. The term "discipline-specific professionals" refers to individuals who participate in collaborative transportation decision-making by providing specialized information and analyses in their fields of expertise. The guides will explain roles, responsibilities, and opportunities in transportation decision-making from long-range transportation planning through operations and maintenance. PROPOSALS DUE NOVEMBER 5, 2007. For more info, go to: -> JOB -- PROJECT DIRECTOR -- PARKS & TRAILS NEW YORK Parks & Trails New York, a statewide non-profit based in Albany, New York, seeks a Project Director to join a team of committed, enthusiastic professionals working to improve the quality of life of all New Yorkers through the expansion, protection, and promotion of a network of parks, trails, and open spaces throughout New York State. The Project Director helps communities develop a common vision and provides technical assistance in designing, developing, and promoting trail systems; organizes and serves as liaison to a statewide trails coalition; advocates for trail and park funding and stewardship at the local and state levels; and develops and writes print and electronic newsletters, reports, and other publications related to planning, organizing and outreach. The Project Director is an important member of our team and has the opportunity to manage a variety of projects and develop new program directions. Competitive salary and excellent benefits package. Submit letter of interest and resume to: Project Director Search, Parks & Trails New York, 29 Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207, careers@ptny.org. The position is open until filled. Full job description can be found at:
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statewide, and regional training events on NCBW's National Training Calendar: COPYING: We encourage you to copy our content as long as you identify the source in this way: "from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking." Contributors: John Williams, Bill Wilkinson, Gary MacFadden, Mark Plotz, Sharon Roerty, Bob Chauncey, Chris Jordan, Anne Villacres, Ross Trethewey, Linda Tracy, Harrison Marshall, Don Koski, Deb Hubsmith, Russell Houston, Kristen Steele, Ronald Van Houten, John Luton, John Cinatl, Lindsay Walker, Tom Bertulis, and John Mayer. Editor:
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