Bike01810

Rails to Trails could use your help for TE funding

2009-02-10T11:02:00.001-08:00

From an email I received regarding transportation funding, "Along with others, like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who offered an amendment to prohibit funding for walking and bicycling, Sen. Ensign does not realize that more trails means people walk and bike more and drive less. This translates into less congestion, healthier people, a healthier planet, more money available to our communities, and much, much more.

Moments ago, the U.S. Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. Unlike the House of Representatives’ version of the bill, the Senate did not explicitly fund Transportation Enhancements (TE), the nation’s primary funding source for active transportation.

However, the Senate and House will work to reconcile their differences “in conference” over the next few days.

We must convince the Senate to protect TE in conference.

Please go here to get started.

This is exciting, because we know we can make an impact: After more than 15,000 of us signed Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC) petition to Congress and the president to explicitly fund active transportation in the recovery package, the House allocated $1.35 billion for TE.

Please give a few minutes of your time—I promise, together we can make a difference.

Thank you so much.

Kevin Mills,
Vice-President of Policy,
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy"

2009, A new year for bicyclists

2009-02-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

The start of the new year has seen some major developments.
On the federal level there is the potential for bicycle commuters to benefit from the increased transportation funding. It will be a battle between funding for traditional road building and alternative transportation including bike paths, etc.

In the good news during bad news category, a bicycle commuter $20 per month credit was added to the bank bailout bill.

At the state level, after years of effort a bicycle bill of rights has been enacted. This law is worth reading as it does change how bikes and cars are supposed to interact.

And in Andover, I think you will see a more formal bike committee formed. More to come on this,

August Rambles

2008-08-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Wow, This blog has not been updated for while. But that does not mean that all is quiet in commuter bicycling. I've been riding regularly but not to my office which was relocated to Topsfield. I could do it, but it is about 30 miles up Route 133 and there are no showers to be found in the little office park where I am now located. Anyways, interest in biking has escalated along with the price of gasoline. Once you get involved in biking, it starts to seem as if biking would ease everything: banish the obesity epidemic with biking, cut your carbon footprint, save money, make the town a nice place to travel instead of getting stuck in traffic on Main Street. It really doesn't work that way. Let me know is you are new or renewed in your bike efforts.

Bruce Freeman trail

2008-02-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

The Bruce Freeman trail is a 25 mile rail/trail that will eventually go from Lowell to Framingham. These trails take a lot of time to develop and fund. The Lowell Junction area of Andover was once a major hub for rail lines headed north. Maybe someday Andover will have trails of its own, but right now it is probably wiser to think about how to connect to trails such as the Freeman, a North Andover trail on the old Essex railroad line down through Middleton and the 104 mile Massachusets central rail trail.

On a cold New England Day, think London cycling

2008-02-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

Too cold for me to be out biking today. I draw the line when the temps hit the teens. Here is an article about the mayor of London's plans to spend nearly $1 billion on cycling infrastructure in London over the next ten years.

Let Us Now Praise Famous (Bike) Men

2008-02-10T10:46:00.002-08:00

Bike women too for that matter. But the recent passing of Sheldon Brown who worked at Harris Cycle shop in West Newton. Anyone, and I mean anyone, that wanted to use the web to find the history of bikes, how bikes work or were simply looking for some great advice eventually ended up at Sheldon's site. He was fearless in offering unbiased advice and fearless in taking on any bicycle fix up project including delving into the gearing structure of English Sturmey Archer three speed repairs.
He died recently at 61-years-old. You can read his Globe obit which does a good job at honoring him. In my opinion, Sheldon Brown for his huge enthusiastic knowledge of bikes and Paul Dudley White for his early advocacy of cycling in Boston are the two people who have so far contributed the most to the Massachusetts bicycle culture.

2008: Year of the Bike

2008-02-10T10:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know it is the year of the rat, but I'll take a bike instead. I've been attending a couple meetings of the transportation advisory board to talk about a bike to work day for the businesses along River Road. I'm excited that I'll be taking a four week bike maintenance course down at Broadway Bikes in Cambridge along with my son's fiancee. I've been out riding a few times since the start of the year, but I don't think I will ride regularly until the end of Feb.
Here is a quick rundown of national, state and local bike activities. On the national scale, the League of American Bicyclists has named fifteen new cities across the U.S. to the status of bicycle friendly communities, alas none in Massachusetts. The 2008 Federal Transportation bill is still way overweighted to expanding automobile travel. I guess this is to be expected. In the Massachusetts area, there are some signs of encouragement particularly in Boston where Mayor Menino has become a biking advocate. The big city mayors, taking a cue perhaps from bike friendly projects in London and Paris, have become some of the biggest biking advocates. Locally, Andover is up to vote on Community Preservation Act . Andover has left a lot of money on the community development table by not taking part in this state matching program. If you look at the town budget, you'll see a couple million gap between costs and expenses. The current thinking seems to be that an override can get us on course for the next couple years. I don't see how. Too many employee contracts remain unsigned, too many capital expenditure projects (capping the landfills, road maintenance) remain to be funded and -- the big elephant in the closet -- declining housing valuations will stymie any quick budget fix. What this means to me is that bike lane etc funding will have to be found elsewhere.

Last ride of the year?

2007-12-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

Maybe, I made it out yesterday to do ten miles from Ballardvale up to River Road and back. I'm still riding my Schwinn with the thin tires so there were a few spots that were a bit tricky. However, it is winter in New England and with the sun out, the ride was a joy.

Boston Globe Talks Bikepaths

2007-10-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Globe had an article this morning on an $82 million bikepath program for Massachusetts. The article included a graphic which I'll reproduce here (it is from the Globe) on present and planned projects. You'll see Andover has none. North Andover has a project that has been in the planning stage for several years and Lawrence has a riverwalk project.

Help Get Bicyclist Safety Bill Out of Committee!

2007-10-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

Update: A Bike rights law was passed in 2008. Three cheers for all involved.

Action Alert: Help Get Bicyclist Safety Bill Out of Committee!

We need your help to get the Bicyclist Safety Bill out of the Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. This is essentially the same bill that was passed by both houses of the Legislature last December, and then vetoed by the outgoing administration, forcing us to start over. The bill, Senate 1414, called “An Act Relative to Bicyclist Safety”, can be viewed here.

The key provisions of the bill are: police training on bicycle law; clarification of how to safely pass a bicycle; clarification of how to safely make turns in front of bicycles; “dooring” subject to ticket and fine; riding two abreast permitted when it does not impede cars from passing; improved enforcement of bicycle law for both motorists and bicyclists; and additional legal protections for bicyclists who choose to ride to the right of other traffic.

The Public Safety Committee held a hearing on this bill in June, and MassBike and others testified in support of it. Now we need the Committee to report favorably on the bill, so that it can move to the next step in the legislative process. We are still a few steps away from getting the bill passed again.

Here is what we need you to do:

1. Email the co-chairs of the Public Safety Committee, Senator James Timilty (James.Timilty@state.ma.us) and Representative Michael Costello (Rep.MichaelCostello@hou.state.ma.us) to ask that S1414, An Act Relative to Bicyclist Safety, be reported favorably.

2. Call or email your state representative and your state senator and ask each of them to contact the co-chairs of the Public Safety Committee to say they want S1414, An Act Relative to Bicyclist Safety, reported favorably.

Your participation counts – don’t assume that everyone else will do it!

Off to the Bike Committe Workshop

2007-10-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

I'm headed into Boston on Oct. 13 for MassBike's first community bike group meeting. I have been biking a lot around Andover (I'm the one on the silver Schwinn with the fluorescent orange helmet), but haven't done too much on the blog. Anyways, there is a lot going on in Boston and Massachusetts regarding biking and now it is time to increase our attention to the topic in Andover. Please join in the conversation. Send me an email or give me a call and we'll set up a meeting in person.

Massachusetts Bike Committee Workshop
Saturday, October 13, 2007
10 AM - 2 PM
Boston, MA

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.

Bridge at High Plain Road over Route 93

2007-06-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

Well, half of it is done, that is the good news. Half to go is the bad news. It is a very tight squeeze over the construction. Be alert, be seen and hope that it is not you and two SUVs all trying to cross at the same time.

San Francisco

2007-06-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

I had a couple of extra hours to kill before flying home from San Francisco. I headed down to Fisherman's Wharf, stopped at Blazing Saddles on Pier 41, rented a nice Marin hybrid for $28 and headed out to the Golden Gate Bridge. What a nice ride. It was a San Francisco cool and windy summer day, but even with a few hills it was a great two hour ride up across the bridge and back. With a little more time, you can ride from the Wharf, across the bridge, down to Sausilto and take the ferry back to the pier. You are mostly on a combined bike and walking trail. You'll meet lots of other tourists. When you are done you can buy a "I biked the bridge" T shirt if you are so inclined.

The Abbot St. Railroad Bridge Intersection

2007-05-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

There may be no solution to this one. If you drive in Andover, you know this intersection where Andover Street, Red Spring Road, Reservation Road and Central Street all converge, where the railroad tracks passing above Central makes a very narrow passage, where the Shawsheen river flows under Central and lots of cars going to and from the high school adds to the congestion. Bike riders are particularly challenged as there is not enough space to for a big SUV and a bike to both squeeze through the bridge, there is no light and the white lines marking Andover St. are squeezed right to the sides of the road. Looking for suggestions here.

Andover Street and Dascomb Road

2007-04-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

This is a tough intersection if you are heading towards Ballardvale from Andover center. As you ride down the right side of the road you face a difficult choice. You can try to keep looking over your shoulder or in your mirror as you cross the curve where cars bearing right onto Dascomb tend to be moving really fast. The other alternative is to stop and walk your bike across the road. You might have the right of way, but that doesn't mean too much in a car/bike matchup. If it is a quiet Sunday ride, I'll do the over the shoulder check. At busy times, I stop and cross.

Ride Safe

2007-04-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Somewhere along the line, bicycles have become treated like toys rather than vehicles. Right now riding a bicycle is not always a safe experience. Some of the fault for the lack of safety resides in the roads, some of the fault lies in the inexperience of drivers and, yes, some of the fault resides with riders who take chances beyond their abilities and ride in a manner that only makes problems worse. Here is a link to the best overall description I've seen on bike safety.

Introduction to Bike 01810

2007-04-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

Do you remember learning to ride a bike? I do and I bet the memories are similar to lots of your experiences. With one of your parents guiding you, you wobbled around the driveway a few times until you finally got the hang of peddling, steering and staying upright. It was quite an accomplishment.

I'm starting this blog with that early riding experience in mind and hoping that this is the start of a new riding and bicycle experience for Andover. Certainly the time is right for considering the bicycle as an equal partner to all those cars and trucks now on our roads. Andover is a great town and has done an outstanding job of preserving open space, providing walking paths and showing an environmental concern while maintaining growth. Wouldn't it be great for us to build on those efforts and make the town a community tied together through safe, comprehensive bicycle paths, clearly marked roadways used by responsible and educated bicycle riders.

I'm looking for suggestions, comments and (maybe) a commitment on how to make this concept a reality.