Category: advocacy

CAzBike working for you! 2010 accomplishments; year in review

The Coalition works hard all year round to improve conditions for Arizona’s cyclists. Our year conceptually ends in September, President Bob Beane noted these Activities & Accomplishments of the past year

Organizational/Membership:

  • Drafted the first written set of annual goals and objectives for the CAzB.
  • Added Sterling Baer and Wayne Cullop to Advisory Board.
  • Added or renewed these organizations as members: PBAA, PMBC, ABC, Bullshifters, Bicycle Vibe, Bike Barn, Bike Den, Fair Wheel Bikes, Trek Bicycles, and Parrish Insurance.

Fundraising/Events:

  • Received $72,392 from donations, including the Gorter Family of The Netherlands, the Wells Fargo Community Support Campaign, United Way and several individuals. 
  • Received $2,895 from memberships and events (Ride for Safety, Bike Swap Meet). 
  • Received support from Trek Bicycle Corporation for membership drive. 
  • Received sufficient funds to hire an Executive Director for a year. 

Advocacy:

  • Pima, Pinal and Maricopa County advocates meeting, February, 2010.
  • Met with Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition leaders and participated in “Celebrate the Red Rock Road” event in August, 2010.
  • Established initial connection with Flagstaff bicycle advocates.
  • MAG Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee and City of Phoenix Environmental Quality Commission participation (monthly).
  • Participated in the national bicycling summit in Washington, D.C., in March, 2010.
  • El Tour de Phoenix Expo booth, April, 2010.
  • Meeting with new ADOT District Engineer, Todd Emory, and Pima County bicycling advocates, December, 2009.
  • Letter to Pima County Sheriff’s Department regarding enforcement in Saguaro National Park (Gates Pass area) west of Tucson.
  • Presentation, letters and e-mails in District 3 (Phoenix) in defense of multi-modal bridge over 19th Avenue near Greenway.
  • Provided feedback on Pinal County and City of Chandler transportation master plans.
  • Multiple letters in giving feedback on designs and/or supporting TIP projects in various Valley communities (e.g. Highline Canal in Phoenix, planned Chandler multi-use bridge over Hwy 101 at Galveston St. and new path in Glendale).
  • Presentation of LAB Bicycle Friendly Community award to the City of Chandler, December, 2009.
  • Communication with Somerton PD regarding need to cite motorist in head-on collision with bicyclist.
  • Partnered with Mesa cyclists to help have an offensive display removed from a business.
  • Participated in evaluation of Arizona for LAB Bicycle Friendly State program.

Education:

  • Regular bicyclist education classes throughout the year.
  • Participation in City of Chandler TV program regarding Bicycle Friendly Community status, places to ride and safe bicycling techniques in February, 2010.
  • Program of distributing educational and bike safety materials to bike shops for Valley Metro and ADOT.
  • Proposal is pending at MAG to implement a law enforcement education program for Valley communities with CAzB having a pivotal role in development of curriculum and providing course materials and instruction.

Media/Public Relations:

  • Clear Channel radio interview/PSAs regarding Bike Month and bicycle safety.
  • Publication in Arizona Republic, Tailwinds and Ahwatukee Foothills News regarding AZ laws, motorist education and defense of bicycling and bicyclists’ right to the road.
  • Article for League of American Bicyclists’ American Bicyclist magazine covering the Red Rock Road (Sedona/Village of Oak Creek) advocacy effort and completion celebration.
  • Participated in MAG’s “I Ride” video production, speaking about ARS 28-735 (safe passing distance law) and safe driving around bicyclists.
  • Nominated Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club for LAB regional Club of the Year, for which they were a co-winner in our region with the New Mexico Touring Society.

Outreach:

  • Assistance to family of James Parsons who was hit/killed on Hunt Highway.
  • Partnership with Sterling Baer’s Not One More Cyclist on outreach.

Legislative/Legal:

  • Vulnerable user proposals are in development, as is a list of potential allies in the AZ Legislature.

Price/Hwy 101 Frontage roads Edge lines are back!

Due to the involvement of the CAzB and a number of other concerned individuals, ADOT was persuaded to re-stripe the Price/Hwy101 frontage roads with edgelines to reconstitute the “bike lanes” (striped but not marked as bicycle lanes) that were previously marked prior to the recent re-paving project. Many bicyclists who live and ride in the area weighed in on this…which illustrates the value of the bicycling community coming together to create a strong, unified voice.

Proposed Phoenix Bike Ped bridge needs your support

The proposed bike/ped bridge 19th Ave & Greenway is in danger of being killed, please plan to attend to support and speak (simulated bridge pictured at right),

ESPECIALLY if you live in Phoenix Council District 3 (Councilman Gates) or use the Cave Creek wash trails. Bicycle projects get done when bicyclists show up and support. (email addresses for Phoenix officials are below).
Message from President Bob Beane;
In April of this year, several of us from the bicycling advocacy community attended a meeting in Phoenix District 3, hosted by Councilman Bill Gates, during which community input was gathered by Gates relative to this project. The project has been previously approved and funding allocated, and it is part of both the regional bike plan and the Gold Circle Trail plan. We spoke to the reasons why we believe the project should go forward, which included the points put in letter form to Joseph Perez (copy below), as well as other expected benefits such as commuter safety, health benefits of recreational users and expected increased property values (based on studies of other pathway/greenway-adjacent areas around the country).

As there was some vocal non-cycling local resident opposition to spending the funds to complete the project and connect the Cave Creek Wash path, which would then run from the AZ Canal path to Union Hills (where there are bike lanes), Councilman Gates has managed to put this project on hold. The project is significantly funded by federal and arts sources, so this is utilizing funds that AZ cyclists have paid in taxes to the federal government, along with local funding. If we don’t complete the project, those funds go back to our government to be used elsewhere ( Phoenix has no guarantee or claim on the money for an alternative project).

What we need from your Phoenix members, customers and other cyclists and pedestrians who either utilize the Cave Creek Wash path (or would like to) and/or wish to have their our fair share of tax dollars spent on alternative transportation and recreational paths, is to send an appropriate e-mail to Bill Gates as well as their respective City Council member and Mayor Phil Gordon, requesting that the project be completed. Please feel free to write your own impassioned argument…or copy/paste the letter below and simply say “I support the completion of this project for the reasons outlined in the letter below.”

Please get the word out and request that our cyclists raise their collective voice in support of this project and our hard fought plans to have a connected network of bike routes throughout the Valley. Thx! Bob Beane

council.district.1@phoenix.gov – Thelda Williams
council.district.2@phoenix.gov – Peggy Neely
council.district.3@phoenix.gov – Bill Gates
council.district.4@phoenix.gov – Tom Simplot
council.district.5@phoenix.gov – Claude Mattox
council.district.6@phoenix.gov – Sal DiCiccio
council.district.7@phoenix.gov – Michael Nowakowski (Vice Mayor)
council.district.8@phoenix.gov – Michael Johnson
mayor.gordon@phoenix.gov – Phil Gordon

Suggested/Draft Communication and talking points:

Re: 19th Avenue Bikeway-Pedestrian Bridge and Multi-use Path
Dear _______________,

The Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists is the statewide bicycling advocacy and education representing thousands of bicyclists in the Valley and across the state of Arizona . We support the above named project, as designed, for a number of reasons. I’d like to offer just a few of the major points/arguments in favor of this project:

  • This project is sorely needed in order to safely connect a significant alternative mode transportation corridor which is part of the Phoenix Bikeway System. Currently, the Cave Creek Wash path is interrupted at this point for over 1/3 mile.
  • This project is greatly preferred to an at-grade crossing of 19th Avenue , due to safety benefits that it will provide to bicyclists and pedestrians, and is preferred to a below-grade crossing because a below-grade option is subject to flooding and lack of visibility creates more of a personal safety concern.
  • This project will benefit motorists as well as alternative mode users, as construction of an above-grade bridge means that all users can cross this point without interruption. An alternative such as a HAWK crossing on such a busy arterial would cause frequent stoppages of vehicular traffic, and would likely increase frictions between motorists and bicyclists. That is something the bicycling community would like to avoid.
  • A good portion of this project has been funded with Federal assistance. We believe that our community deserves our “fair share” of such funding, and the bicycling/alternative mode transportation community expects to be included in transportation enhancements (on a relatively very small scale) along with motorists. This project has been planned and approved since 2006. We believe it is essential to complete the project and not discard the planning, time and federal funding that the community has invested.

Thank you for the opportunity to register our support for this project!

Sincerely,

(CAzB Member and/or concerned bicyclist)

Story about the project in the Arizona Republic Advocate fears loss of funding for N. Phoenix pedestrian bridge. Strangely, there is nothing in this story about the bridge being needed to provide continuity for the trail/bikeway.

Please visit the following this site for more detailed information related to the bridge project.

To: Joseph Perez, City of Phoenix, Street Transportation Department
200 W. Washington Street, 6th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85003

Re: 19th Avenue Bikeway-Pedestrian Bridge and Multi-use Path

Dear Mr. Perez,

The Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists is the statewide bicycling advocacy and education representing thousands of bicyclists in the Valley and across the state of Arizona. We support the above named project, as designed, for a number of reasons. I’d like to offer just a few of the major points/arguments in favor of this project:

  • This project is sorely needed in order to safely connect a significant alternative mode transportation corridor which is part of the Phoenix Bikeway System. Currently, the Cave Creek Wash path is interrupted at this point for over 1/3 mile.
  • This project is greatly preferred to an at-grade crossing of 19th Avenue, due to safety benefits that it will provide to bicyclists and pedestrians, and is preferred to a below-grade crossing because a below-grade option is subject to flooding and lack of visibility creates more of a personal safety concern.
  • This project will benefit motorists as well as alternative mode users, as construction of an above-grade bridge means that all users can cross this point without interruption. An alternative such as a HAWK crossing on such a busy arterial would cause frequent stoppages of vehicular traffic, and would likely increase frictions between motorists and bicyclists. That is something the bicycling community would like to avoid.
  • A good portion of this project has been funded with Federal assistance. We believe that our community deserves our “fair share” of such funding, and the bicycling/alternative mode transportation community expects to be included in transportation enhancements (on a relatively very small scale) along with motorists. This project has been planned and approved since 2006. We believe it is essential to complete the project and not discard the planning, time and federal funding that the community has invested.

Thank you for the opportunity to register our support for this project!

Sincerely,

Robert A. Beane, President
Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists
PO Box 54488
Phoenix, AZ 85078-4488

Right to the Road

Your rights as a cyclist are under constant assault all around the state. Over-zealous law enforcement officers, mis-applying laws, along with sometimes compliant courts can have a chilling effect. [Flagstaff][Tempe][Pima County]

One way you can support efforts to make cycling safer and more enjoyable throughout Arizona is by joining the Coalition. There’s still time to get in on the 2010 Membership Drive, until August 31 anyone joining or renewing will be entered to win.

Help us make our voice in the fight for bicycling rights a little stronger!

[update] Enforcement at Tucson Mountain Park

[UPDATE: click here to read a reply from Priscilla Cornelio, Director Pima County DOT]

The following letter was sent regarding enforcement of traffic safety at Tucson Mountain Park:

Dear Chairman Valadez, Supervisors Elias, Bronson, Carroll, and Day; and Sheriff Dupnik:

The purpose of this letter is to thank Pima County for the excellent work you have been doing in support of bicyclist access and safety throughout the County and to request balanced education and enforcement of drivers and bicyclists to help everyone safely share the road.

We understand that Pima County has recently been requested to increase enforcement related to bicyclists in the Tucson Mountain Park regarding various concerns, including speeding, riding more than two abreast, slowing traffic, and other issues. We understand concerns about the Park safety and we support reasonable education of bicyclists as appropriate.

But, we also understand that according to information presented at the March 10th meeting of the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee, 98 percent of recorded traffic crashes within Tucson Mountain Park over the past decade were caused by drivers. Only 8 crashes out of a total of 337 in an 11-year period involved bicycles.

It was reported that of the 337 crashes from 1999 through 2009, there were 325 that were the driver’s fault, with a small additional number involving drivers hitting wild animals within the Park. Only two of the crashes out of 337 were the fault of bicyclists. Another crash was due to the mechanical failure of a bicycle, and one was joint-fault of both a driver and a bicyclist.

It was also reported that 52 percent of the driver crashes were due to speeding, with the remainder being primarily due to driver inattention, failure to yield, failure to obey stop signs, and other driver-caused infractions.

We therefore respectfully request that a majority of the education and enforcement in Tucson Mountain Park be focused on those drivers who are the primary cause of traffic crashes, property damage, injuries, and deaths. In addition to enforcement related to speeding drivers, we would also like to specifically request enforcement of the 3-foot safe passing law (ARS 28-735), vehicular harassment of cyclists, and failure to stop or to yield when making turns.

We understand that the Pima County Sheriff’s Office has limited ability to educate and enforce, and that the Sheriff’s Department does an excellent job with traffic safety with limited resources.
Thank you very much for your ongoing concern for safely sharing the roads and for considering the bicyclists’ view of the above factual data. For any further discussion of this matter, we may be contacted at the above address.

Sincerely,

Robert Beane
President, Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists

Projects funded for Safe Routes

Bill Lazenby represents the Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists on the Safe Routes To School (SRTS) Advisory Committee, and participates in funding and project selections.

The following projects and amounts were recommended by the SRTS Advisory Committee and approved by the State Transportation Board for funding in Cycle 4.
Infrastructure
Gilbert School Crossings and Sidewalk Safety Improvements
Gilbert
$300,000
Joe Carlson Safe Routes To School
Douglas
$300,000
Wilson Primary School Sidewalks
Phoenix
$298,724
CHAMP Sidewalk Improvement Program
Pinetop – Lakeside
$296,022
SRTS in Prescott — Lincoln Elementary School
Prescott
$285,515
Total Infrastructure Projects
$1,480,261
Non-Infrastructure
Apache Junction Safe and Fit: Year 2
Apache Junction
$34,175
Walk. Bike. Get Fit.
Flagstaff
$117,000
Wilson Walk-n-Rollers
Phoenix
$120,000
Cottonwood Safe Routes To School Program
Cottonwood
$45,000
Williams Safe Routes To School
Williams
$45,000
Nogales SRTS Initiative
Nogales
$45,000
Safe Routes To School in Prescott
Prescott
$44,004
Bringing Schools & Neighborhoods Together for Safety
Tucson
$42,682
Round Valley in Motion
Springerville
$14,196
Sells-Indian Oasis Baboquivari USD SRTS Project
Sells
$2,082
Walking Wednesdays / Crossing Guard Kits
Maricopa
$10,150
Casa Grande Walk-n and Roll-n
Casa Grande
$5,460
Total Non-Infrastructure
$524,749
Materials and Regional Support
Pima Region Safe Routes To Schools
Tucson
$27,300

CAzBike Report from 2010 National Bike Summit

CAzBike Board Memeber Gene Holmerud reports from the Summit:
I was an attendee, representing the Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists. It was a thrill and I believe we had an impact on Capitol Hill. We visited the Transportation Legislative Assistants for both AZ Senators and for Representatives Franks, Giffords, Pastor and Shadegg. Congressman Flake meet with us directly. Detailed information is at bikeleague.org (See the “Download the pdf or click on the interactive version below” phrase, under heading “National Bike Summit 2010 Detailed Program”.
I made sure to mention in each meeting that Arizona has joined teams from Transportation, HUD and EPA, just as the Federal Administration has. Namely how smart a move that is! Of course, mentioning the First Lady’s program to improve youth health fit in just as well.
I have also uploaded Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood’s remarks at the ending reception to YouTube His closing remark: “you have a full partner in Ray LaHood, and many full partners (at DOT)”.
Also see Secretary LaHood and the new…

ACT Act Introduced

Representative Earl Blumenauer introduced the Active Community Transportation Act, H.R.4722, on 3/2/10. This groundbreaking bill creates a competitive grant program with $2 Billion to help communities build bicycling and walking networks. Read more & TAKE ACTION…
The accompanying chart shows the underfunded position of bike/pedestrian travel relative to the trips and percentage of fatalities. $2 billion sounds like a lot of money, but with these statistics in mind and the obesity problem in this country, it might be some of the best “economic stimulus” and “healthcare reform” spending we could do.