Rhode Island Feeds

Recycle-A-Bike, a non-profit bike cooperative based out of The Steelyard in Providence is looking to upgrade their facilities from a bare patch of paving and a trailer to a permanent facility and community bike shop.  In order to do so, they need the assistance of the community to raise $15,000 by the end of July in order to build their permanent structure.   I recommend visiting the Recycle-A-Bike website, their Kickstarter site and their space at 27 Sims if you have a chance. If you are unfamiliar with what Recycle-A-Bike does, read on for an introduction from Emily Lindberg, the current director: Recycle-A-Bike is an incorporated non-profit in Providence, RI that has been based at The Steel Yard for five years. We offer a number of Bike Maintenance courses including a monthly class for refugees in Providence, a monthly open enrollment class, and seasonal youth Earn-A-Bike courses. Our most popular programs, Open Shop and Volunteer Day, occur every week. Open Shop (Tuesdays 6-9 pm) serves community members who wish to fix bikes with a mechanic, and Volunteer Day (Saturdays 12-4) is a forum for RAB volunteers to work in the shop, meet fellow bicyclists, and learn new things. We take donated bikes and parts, and rely on volunteers to restore them to safe riding condition. The bikes are then purchased, earned by volunteers, or donated. We are always excited to introduce new volunteers or teachers to the program We also recently started a fundraising campaign for the construction of a larger shop space on the Steel Yard property. The space will help us to organize, expand our programs, and greater serve the community. We are in need of funds to buy materials for this structure, and would greatly appreciate any assistance! Donations can be made via a paypal button on our website (www.recycleabike.org) or to our Kickstarter fund by clicking here. Likewise, we are recruiting volunteers to help with construction.

As many are likely aware, the RIPTA bus system enables cyclists to expand their area of travel through their Rack n’ Ride system.  Each RIPTA bus is able to carry two bikes and there is no additional charge.  Many people have been eased into bicycle commuting by putting their bike on the bus into work and then enjoying a ride home, it is a great way to reduce the perceived challenge.

Unfortunately, the following story recently came across the Bike-to-Brown email list:

This is to warn those who use the bus bike racks.  This morning by bike went flying off the rack while going over rough pavement on Rt 95.  Luckily it didn’t make the big leap but got hung up in the rack and stayed there.

I’ve taken the bus and bike many times, but this was the first time I noticed the rack bouncing WAY up and down, from my seat near the front, when we hit potholes. and then it was gone.

When we got to Kennedy Plaza the driver told me I had it on the rack wrong and claimed the FRONT wheel should be hooked in.  He called his supervisor who said, no, I was correct.

They’re saying “your bike looks fine” but I tell them to hold on, I need to check the rims and derailleur.  I spin the wheels and look at everything and it does seem to be OK.  I tried to tell the supervisor there may be something going on with the rack, doing that huge bouncing on the road, he didn’t want to hear it.  I said all seems well with my bike but suppose there does turn out to be a problem, what should I do?  At that point he says “you spun the wheels, you’re fine”.  They both turn their backs on me and walk away.

How would you handle this situation?

Some tasks I think RIBike should take on and report back to the community on are:

• How should someone contact RIPTA when a rider notices a bike rack is in disrepair?
• What is the maintenance or replacement schedule for the racks on the buses?
• Who assumes liability for a bicycle on the bus?  Is it completely placed upon the rider?  RIPTA?  What if the rack is in disrepair?

Please contact us if you are interested in approaching RIPTA on these matters and we will put you in touch with some contacts who can point you in the right direction.

July 20, 2010

While this is not an official RIBike event, it might be more fun to go with a group of RI bicyclists to ride the Charles River bike paths in Boston, they are on both sides of the river. Since many of us bicyclists also like trains, my plan on Tuesday, July 20 is to take the MBTA commuter train that leaves Providence Station at 9:43am. This is the earliest train that allows bikes aboard (no extra charge for them) The Back Bay station in the Copley Square area is just few blocks from the river and the bike path.

I envision a possibility of lunch in Harvard Square, and coming back to Copley by 6pm when the beautiful main public library there has a (free) tour of its architectural and art features, and at the same time, the library is also featuing a film about Hank Aaron.

The trains back to Providence leave Back Bay at 6:55pm and at 8:15pm. I encourage anyone wishing to join me to call me at 353-6536. Rain cancels it for me.

Reminder, our monthly meeting is this evening @ 6pm.

There is a conflict at the Brown Bookstore for this evenings meeting.  To accommodate them, we are moving our meeting the the upstairs of the bookstore, near the faculty author section.  There is a comfortable couch and TV in the vicinity.  The bookstore staff will have extra chairs in the area for us.  If you need directions, please as a book store employee.

July 12, 20106:00 pmto8:00 pm

The next RIBike monthly meeting will be held on July 12th @ 6pm in the Brown University Bookstore by the faculty author section (2nd floor).  Come find out what’s happening with:

RI VeloSprints summer sessions
Our Citizen’s grant request
Our official board meeting as RIBike

… and more.

On its last day the General Assembly approved “safe passing” bills H7243A (sponsor: Gemma) and S2706A (Connors) which the Governor has allowed to become law without his signature.

Al Gemma took the leadership to get something passed and so it was basically his version of 3 similar bills that essentially calls for motorists to pass on the left with “a distace that is sufficient to prevent contact with the person operating the bicycle if the person were to fall over into the driver’s lane of traffic.” This applies only if the driver is going over 15mph The fine for a violation is the standard $85.

Some in the RIBike leadership felt this language gave a better visual clue than the more usual “3 foot passing” criterion in the original Connors bill and was in a similar bill (H7933 sponsored by Rep. McNamara.

Rep. Gemma’s original bill called for applying this only to motorists travelling over 35mph. We had testified to remove that speed restriction entirely, but on the last day it was changed to 15mph without opportunity for public comment as the Assembly was amending and passing many many bills then in a mad rush to adjourn. Rep Gemma also amended his orignal bill to call it “Frank’s Law.”

Evidently Senator Connors went along with this, and he agreed to drop the possibity of penalties of 10 days of community service and/or 10 day license suspension for violations.

TheRIBike Coalition felt this law,though somewhat disappointing, was better than nothing, noting the penalty of $85 remains woefully inadequate if the bicyclist is actually injured or killed. However, it can be useful in driver education, and perhaps if deliberate harassment is actually observed.

We had asked for a “vulnerable road user” bill to enhance penalties when a biker or other vulnerable road user (such as pedestrians, police, highway workers, wheelchair users, first responders) are actually struck by a motorist not taking due care. But apparently that was too different from the passing guidelines in the bills filed, and no such amendments were formally offerred. But now that the safe passing distance issue is settled, RIBike hopes to find a sponsor in the next session for such a vulnerable road user bill, and work to find allies with the others users affected.

June 26, 201011:59 pm

This Saturday, June 26th, is the Full Moon. That means Saturday night at 11:59pm, folks are going to meet on the Point Street Bridge on their bicycles for an awesome bike ride around the Providence area.

See the Facebook page for full details and to RSVP.

June 23, 20106:00 pmto8:00 pm

The Sierra Club is hosting a community meeting on Wednesday, June 23rd, from 6-8pm at their office on 17 Gordon Ave in Providence.

This meeting is part of the Chapter’s complete street component of its Transportation Choices 2020 campaign and will provide an opportunity for providence community members to get involved in the process of making city streets more safe for cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users as part of the broader goal of getting people out of their cars.

There will be refreshments, a discussion about Complete Streets, and a chance to vote on which streets in Rhode Island need the most attention. You do not have to be a Sierra Club member to attend.

RSVP online.

As you might have heard already, RIDOT will have crews out on the East Bay Bike Path doing a video survey of the path next Monday, June 28th. Both the Projo and WPRI have stories about what will be happening.  The entire path will remain open during the survey, however there will be

a vehicle 7 feet, 2 inches wide will be traveling slowly down the bicycle path in the northbound or eastbound direction as it performs its video inventory.

Cyclists will need to either stay behind the vehicle or find a way around.  The articles note that the start time will be 8:30am.  I just got off the phone with the engineer in charge of the project and he said the work will commence from the Bristol side of the path and a more realistic start time is 8:45am or 9am.  The articles noted that similar work is scheduled for other state bike paths and I suggested they might want to have their start time be 9:30am instead, to ensure commuters have completed their rides before running into the workers.  He told me they would adjust their schedules for future work.

June 29, 20106:30 pmto8:00 pm

The Cranston REI is offering an upcoming clinic which may be of interest to some:

• Date: 6/29/2010
• Event Location: Cranston REI
• Event Fee: Free
• Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (EDT)
• Presenter: John Freidah
• Group Size: 35

Description: Bike tour guide and photographer John Freidah of Coastal Biking Adventures shares his favorite picture-perfect routes exploring the areas of Newport, Narragansett, Watch Hill, Mystic and Montauk Point. He talks about the unique opportunity to explore Block Island, Conanicut Island (Jamestown) and Shelter Island with bike and ferry. Road condition, terrain and equipment are discussed along with side trips through wildlife refuges, nature preserves and state parks. If you’re an avid cyclist or just getting started, this presentation is for you!

June 14, 20106:00 pmto8:00 pm

The next RIBike monthly meeting will be held on June 14th @ 6pm in the Brown University Bookstore Community Meeting Room.  Come find out what’s happening with:

• The George Redman Linear Park
• The RI 3-foot law
• A bicycle book reading and signing

… and more.

June 9, 20101:30 pm

The latest RI bike path addition is scheduled to be dedicated tomorrow.

David S. Frerichs
Town Council President
Town of Warren, Rhode Island

and

Michael P. Lewis
Director
Rhode Island Department of Transportation

Cordially invite you to attend

A ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the

Warren Bike Path

Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 1:30 p.m.

Event to take place adjacent to the path at Warren Recreation Park, next to Hugh Cole School, 50 Asylum Road, Warren, R.I.

It would be great if we could get some cyclists at the dedication.

Rember that linear park which is supposed to be worked on?  I finally received an update from RIDOT about the tentative timetable:

At this time we expect that the construction of the Washington Pedestrian Bridge will start in the spring of 2011.  We expect the duration of the construction to take two years.  Also, we suspect that the bridge will be closed during construction because the Contractor will want access to the entire structure.

Obviously, the combination of a two year long project and having it be entirely closed is unacceptable.  We are in discussions with RIDOT to see what can be done to keep it open during the contstruction or what accomodations can be made for cyclists and pedestrians.  As the discussion progresses, we will provide you with further udpates.

Like most cyclists, during many conversations I’ve had with non-cycling motorists we end up discussing the “fact” that cyclists are all law breakers.  If you know me, you will already know that I’m one of the first to admit that some cyclists do blatently disobey the rules of the road (blow through stop signs, run read lights, ride the wrong way up a one-way street, etc.).  However, the vast majority of the cyclists I know have more respect for others and themselves to ride in such a manner.

The Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition tries to stand up and remind cyclists that they are subject to vehicular code under current Rhode Island law, which means we must obey traffic control devices.  I’m sometimes able to catch a motorist off guard, by asking them who on the automobile side of the fence is doing the same thing?  Aside from the police, what organization dedicated to motoring rights, stands up and reminds motorists that they shouldn’t be running stop signs, blowing through red lights, they legally have to use turn indicators, they can’t park wherever they want, that they must yield for pedestrians in crosswalks, etc.  More often than not, this line of reasoning is met with some sort shrug and a comment that there are just too many motorists to control.  This isn’t a valid explanation, it just means the need is even more pressing.

Over the past few weeks, as I’ve been walking around work, I’ve managed to snap the photos you see on this post.  In every case, these are emergency personnel, not responding to a call, breaking the law.  No, they aren’t major violations, but any normal citizen would at least get a ticket for doing the exact same thing.  For me, the real crux of the situation is that these people are the ones who should be setting the example.  If regular people see our emergency personal parking illegally, rolling through stop signs, failing to use turn indicators, etc. what message does this send?  Shouldn’t they be leading by example?

In the case of the RISD officers, they noticed me taking a picture of their vehicle.  One officer went back to the car while the other, after taking a picture of me, came over to talk.  He asked me what I was doing and I explained I was getting a picture of an illegally parked car.  He tried to convince me that it was within the law for them to park as such, to which I asked him to show me where in RI law it states this?  I also added that I drove an ambulance for 4.5 years, granted not in RI, so I had a pretty good handle on what was legal for an emergency vehicle to do when not responding to an incident.  We finished the conversation peacefully and I couldn’t help but notice that the other officer had returned to the vehicle and moved it to a legal spot while we were having our little discussion.  They, or at least the officer who was driving, knew they had parked illegally, they were just being lazy.

Just as I try to remind cyclists both verbally and through my actions that we are required to ride within the law, I think it’s high time drivers do the same.

As bike month slowly winds down, I want to take a few minutes and post about part of my Bike-to-Work Day speech.  I’m often asked by fellow cyclists the question “what can I do?”.  They work during the day and don’t have time to attend legislative or governmental meetings, they are busy with work and when not working trying to raise kids, etc.  As I presented during my speech, you can R. I. B. I. K. E.:

• R – Ride: Get out on the roads with your bike.  The more cyclists out on the roads, the more accustomed motorists will become with driving around cyclists and the safer conditions will become for all cyclists.
• I – Insist on your rights to use the roadways and transportation infrastructure.  It is within your rights to take an entire travel lane when necessary to avoid objects in the roadway.  Yes, we need to be courteous  of other road users and when possible stay out of the way of faster moving traffic, but this doesn’t mean doing so when it would be dangerous.
• B - Behave:  Under RI law, bicycles are considered vehicles.  Like it or not, this means cyclists must obey traffic rules, just like a motorist.  Don’t blow through stop signs, red lights, or generally take an action which you know will infuriate motorists.  It does nothing to advance our cause and you must always remember they are safe within their metal cage
• I – Inquire: Any time you hear about a city or state improvement project or transportation funding meeting, ask what they are doing to support cycling.  Tell them about RIBIKE and let them know there is an organization dedicated to making cycling safer and we stand willing to help governments discuss what can be done to improve conditions for cyclist.
• K – Kindle:  Share your love of cycling with others.  Make sure friends, co-workers, and other associates know you commute by bicycle.  Ask them if they would consider bicycle commuting and offer to help them get started.
• E – Empower: We need to empower our state and city governments to make changes.  It’s tough for a politician these days to stick their neck out and push against the automotive tide, to make change happen.  As cyclists, we need to be ready to stand up and support those that make the effort to try and successfully affect change.  It won’t be easy, but with hard work, I’m confident we can turn this ship.

Today at 12pm, The Alliance for Biking and Walking are leading a parade of advocates on a bike ride down Pennsylvania Avenue to personally deliver a thank-you note to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  The letter conveys the support of many grassroots organizations for Secretary’s recent policy statement on bike/ped accommodations.  For those that can’t join the actual bike ride, they are asking each and every cyclists to tell our Members of Congress to co-sponsort the Complete Streets Act of 2009.  They have even prepared an online form to make the process really easy.  Please take a minute and do it now!

If you would prefer to contact your representative directly, then here is a letter template they are offering to get you started

Dear [[Representatives  Title and  Name]]

Today, the National Complete Streets Coalition is thrilled to join with Transportation for America, America Bikes, and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership to bicycle down Pennsylvania Avenue, America’s main street, and publicly express our thanks to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for all his hard work to make sure that walking and biking are on equal footing with other modes for safety, convenience, and accessibility.

DOT’s new policy is a step forward, but if we’re going to make our streets safer for all users, we need Congress to change federal law to make complete streets the standard — not the exception. Only through a strong federal complete streets policy can we end the project-by-project fight for safer roads for people who are bicycling, walking, and taking public transportation.

The Complete Streets Act would ensure that future federally funded transportation projects take into account the needs of everyone using the roads – old and young, bicycle riders and drivers, pedestrians and public transportation users.

[[Your Name or Organization’s Name Here]]

It’s time to act, let’s make a big splash at the end of Bike Month 2010!

Dig this: The RI Department of Health and the RI Department of Transportation are working together to solicit “proposals from community-based, public or not-for-profit organizations to change the social, political, and physical environment to active living an easier choice for all residents.”

From Angela Ankoma, RI Dept of Health:

Hello everyone,

I’m attaching information about Active Transportation Projects RFP and a LOI for a Safe and Active Commuting Consultant. PDF’s of both are attached and you can also check out at the website below.

Website:
http://www.purchasing.ri.gov/RIVIP/PublicBidding.asp

Safe and Active Commuting Consultant
LOI# 7353674

Active Transportation Community Projects
RFP# 7353679

Angie

Angela Bannerman Ankoma MPH, MSW
Physical Activity Coordinator, Initiative for Healthy Weight
Rhode Island Department of Health
3 Capitol Hill
Providence, RI 02908

401-222-7630 (phone)
401-222-4415 (fax)

The two files mentioned can be downloaded here (RFP) and here (LOI).

Just a quick thank you to those who spoke at last Friday’s Bike-to-Work Day here in Providence including two opportunistic Providence Mayoral candidates who saw an open microphone and wasted no time getting to it.  Thanks to you all:

Mayor David Cicilline

John Robitaille – Candidate for Governor

Ken Block – Candidate for Governor

David Gifford – Head of RI Department of Health

Angel Tavares – Candidate for Mayor of Providence

John Lombardi – Candidate for Mayor of Providence

Mark Dieterich – Executive Director of RI Bicycle Coalition

Be well,

Richard Durishin

Yesterday, during a meeting at RIDOT hq, Mike Lewis (RIDOT director) explained that state roads aren’t swept during the winter for two basic reasons: (1) the equipment involved includes a water sprayer; that component freezes up in the winter, so the department basically mothballs the street sweepers between fall and spring, and (2) budget constraints mean that the workers that operate the sweepers (and mowers, etc) in the summer are operating snow removal equipment (and other winter road maintenance stuff) during the winter, so there is no staff available.  Yes, it is all about the benjamins.

RIDOT does acknowledge that winter is the time of year that cyclists most need the streets swept, due to the purposeful application of sand to the roads. Taking a step toward our needs, Director Lewis asked that we assemble a list of state roads that should receive priority for sweeping once spring comes.

Please help us with this by providing your suggestions. I’ll start with one: Allens Ave. What would you add?

This special bike lane sweeper in Copenhagen is fitted with a plow in winter for snow removal. Ah, aspirations...

We are heading into the last week of our month long challenge.  If you haven’t been consistent in logging your miles, it’s not too late!

The random winners for this week of the Commuter Challenge are Deirdre B, Jef N, and Josh K.  They have all won a commuter kit including: Manhattan Portage messenger bag, bike basket, umbrella, and some cool reflectors.  Winners will be contacted personally to arrange for prize delivery.