Advocacy

Our mission is to develop a network of safe cycling routes along city streets to destinations such as recreation areas, employment centers, educational facilities, and shopping centers.

Objectives

To be an advocate for area cyclists;
To educate cyclists and motorists on how to Share The Road;
To be a catalyst for improving on street cycling routes;
And to be a resource to city and county governments to assist in planning and development

Reminder, our meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 4/15/09. 319 N. Main Springfield, MO 65806 3rd Floor Community Room Bring a few snacks and / or beverage of your choice Soft drinks available on location See you there!

NOTES FROM SEPTEMBER MEETING:

Bike Springfield – Valerie reported that planning for this event will not begin in earnest until Tour De Bass is complete. But the date is set, April 25th 2009.

Tour De Bass – Valerie and Dave Ritchey have need for some volunteers for this event which is on October 25th

OTO Activities – Tim reported that their purchase of a ‘Ride Share’ software service was being finalized, and that sometime later this fall we can expect the debut of www.ozarkscommute.com which will match up ride partners for carpooling, and track energy saved from carpooling or cycling to work.

Center City (Urban Districts Alliance) – Rusty Worley is interested in promoting the bike routes to bring people downtown. There is discussion of developing a self guided bike tour of historic sites and routes in the area. Terry Whaley reported on a promotional program whereby merchants offer discounts to people who come in on bicycle. A good way to start pulling local businesses in to the mix.

Missouri Bicycle Federation – Coy is working with Natasha on the Community Report Card and is also looking for some volunteers to help with some bike traffic counts to set a base line. Coy was going to do a little more research to find out exactly what needs to be done. Also, MoBikeFed had a booth at ALL Tour of Missouri host cities, and he manned them all getting signatures of people who support MoBikeFed efforts.

MoDOT – Terry reported that Dawne Gardner is working on identification of the Trans America Route within District 8 boundaries, which may move on to all affected MoDOT districts as well. The idea here is simply to let cyclists on the route know that they are on the right road, and that MoDOT cared enough to welcome them to the state, or district. Possible other ideas would include signs indicating off-route services? David Hutchison noted that the national highway commission is also looking into marking the entire route.

Ozark Greenways – Terry reported that the 2009 membership meeting is coming up in late Jan / early Feb and will likely have as a speaker Rebecca Anderson – who is the Trek representative for 1 World 2 Wheels, Treks bicycle advocacy effort. He also reported that in Green County, FR 182 from Battlefield to Republic is getting planned for share the road signs. Hats of to Greene county folks – take the opportunity to thank your local commissioner if you can.

City of Springfield – Lots of discussion about the 1/8 cent Bike / Ped sales tax allocation. David Hutchison encouraged us all to look for small projects that that will help city routes and greenway trails to connect up with neighborhoods and services.
We also discussed a possible ‘high visibility’ project along one of the city bike routes – Holland from South Creek Greenway Holland Elementary, (and by side connections to St. Johns and Bass pro) then on to Phelps grove Park, MSU and with a little more effort right on to Walnut and downtown. That route gets a lot of traffic and has some room for improvement. Please let me know if I missed anything, or have any inaccuracies. See you all next month! --Bruce Send mail to Bruce

Ozarks Regional Bike Summit
February 8, 2008

Guys and gals, this was truly a momentous event. We will look back in 5 years and remember that this was the event that triggered some major strides forward. Thanks for all of your hard work, dedication, and Wednesday evening meetings. Following are three categories of notes:

1 - Follow Up Tasks from the meeting
2 - Notes on what we did well, and what we could improve on
3 - Some overall goals and objectives

Follow Up Tasks:
Terry Whaley
·         Lunch or visit to Susan Wade at CVB to make sure she understands the possible impact of making Springfield / Greene county a bicycling destination in the Midwest. Paved county roads, rolling terrain, light traffic, terrific scenery, small towns with places to eat pie, etc.
·         Find out what the timeline is on the CFO grant - $$ could be used to fund further definition of the two major ‘Bike / Ped Boulevards’; bring Bike League folks to Springfield for BFC training session; startup of new 501-c-3; etc.
·         Follow up with Bob Keyes

David Hutchison
·         Work on ‘re-framing’ $58 million cost into various breakdowns – Phased work; only x% needed to get matching funding from state or fed; % of total public works budget; etc.
·         Talk with Earl about going to KC May 21 / 22
·         Check with CU on using training center for Bike Springfield April 26th
·         Work with Coy on presentation for Bike Springfield

Dawne
·         Summarize notes from summit meeting
·         Follow up with Joel Keller on his thoughts

Natasha
·         Send out thank you letters – we need something to make this thank you memorable. We need to mail the books to those who did not get one, as well as Mo Bike Fed t-shirt

Bruce
·         Thank you summary – sent to Natasha and Terry for review
·         Set up next meeting – how about Wednesday February the 27th?
·         Confirm Feb 26 trip to Jeff City with David Ritchey

Terry / Bruce A
·         Follow up with County Commission, City Council and Mayors Council – TW see if you can set up the dates

Brent
·         Get contact info for BFC folks (done)
·         Get info on Commuter Challenge

Valerie
·         Work on developing another signature bike event in May – you mentioned the progressive dinner, maybe find places that are ALL on (or very close to) bike routes. Logistics include timing, number of participants, bike parking, etc.
·         At Traffic Advisory board, bring up the idea of requiring Bike-Ed class as a result of bicycle traffic enforcement

Coy
·         You and David review the Bike Ed Class format and get one scheduled for April, or May
·         Look at developing a 30-45 minute presentation on ‘Rules of the Road’ and appropriate Bike-Ed info for Bike Springfield

All
·         Continue to work toward Bike Month Events and planning
·         Plan on meeting to go through summit notes and tasks
·         Find a representative that can go to National Bike Summit

Meeting Summary
Good Things that Happened
·         List of attendees is like finding gold.
·         We did not miss inviting the key players, although a few did not show
·         Credibility of Jim Anderson and Brent Hugh was great, closing comments by Gary were also very good
·         The presentation was great – not too long, good information
·         Earl developed our implementation plan while he was there
·         Marc T said ‘when we do this’ not ‘if we do this’
·         Dan Compass’ idea of the two major axis
·         The food

Could have Done Better
·         Pre-printed name tags
·         Kept early audience longer
·         More discussion among participants – u shaped table arrangement with name plaques
·         More specific results from breakout sessions

Overall Goals / Objectives (I added some possible timelines)
·         Become Bicycle Friendly Community Designation by end of 2009
·         Gold or Platinum Status by end of 2012 (5 years)
·         Permanent sustainable funding source for Bike / Ped improvements by end of 2009
·         Get a Bike Ped Coordinator position at City by end of 2010
·         Form a new 501c3 for advocacy – alternative transportation, sustainable planning, promotion and education. By end of 2008?
·         Become a recreational cycling destination for the Midwest by end 2012

Bruce.

Goals of the Cycling Advocacy Group

Scale – We need to develop a larger network, with a purpose – The routes need to lead to destinations such as outlying Residential Communities, (SW residential developments) Employment Centers (like hospitals, industrial parks, etc.), Recreation Areas (such as Greenways, Parks, etc.) Educational Facilities (such as colleges, public schools etc.) County Roads (for cyclists looking to get out of town) and Shopping Centers (like Battlefield Mall, Glenstone / James River, etc.)

Safety – Safety is going to be achieved through a combination of better visibility, education, and courtesy. We should learn from our neighbors across the oceans – Europe and Asia – who have large populations of bicycle commuters. Bike and cars share the road, and are respectful of each other. There are also more defined physical improvements such as designated lanes.

Visibility – We want to increase the visibility of the system – physically, and socially. This can be accomplished through markings on pavement, better signage (With posted maps) more outreach, and education. Both motorists and cyclists need to be educated on the availability of the system, and of their role on the road.

Greenway Trails – Greenway trails are an excellent place for recreational cyclists to enjoy a safe casual ride without the hazards of vehicles, busy roads and intersections. Walkers and joggers also use the trail. We want to work to provide safe routes to and from the Greenways.

Resource Links (there are more links on the Links page.)

City of Springfield Designated Bicycle Routes	Ozark Greenways Trails
St. Louis Bicycle Federation	Missouri Bicycle Federation

Advocacy Committee: Bruce Adib-Yazdi
881-8510
Send mail to Bruce