Archives For Bicycles

Bike to Work Day: Mayor announces expanded Cyclovía program for 2013

gcpvd —  May 17, 2013 — 4 Comments

Bike To Work Day: Mayor announces expanded Cyclovía program for 2013

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Photo from Mayor Taveras’ Facebook Page

Las September, Providence had it’s first Cyclovía on Broad Street. At this morning’s Bike To Work Day, the Mayor announced an expanded list of Cyclovías in Providence for 2013.

City to hold three Cyclovías this summer

Speaking at this morning’s Bike to Work Day community celebration, Mayor Angel Taveras announced the city will host an expanded schedule of Providence Cyclovía events this summer.

“Cyclovía Providence will provide an opportunity for residents from every corner of the city to come together, exercise, have fun and enjoy all that Providence has to offer,” said Mayor Taveras.

Cyclovía is an international phenomenon that reportedly began in Bogotá, Colombia and has spread to cities across the globe, including New York City, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and Cambridge, MA.

Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit planning organization, has described Cyclovía as a large-scale community building exercise that facilitates social interaction and activity between people of all ages, incomes, occupations, religions and races.

The City held its first Cyclovía in September 2012 on Broad Street. The 2013 Cyclovías will be expanded to the following dates and locations:

  • Sunday, June 30 – Broad St. in Elmwood (between Thurbers Ave. and Prairie Ave.)
  • Sunday, July 28 – Valley St. in Olneyville (between San Souci Dr. and Atwells Ave.)
  • Saturday, September 14 – Hope St. in the East Side (between Lippitt Park and Rochambeau Ave.)

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Bike to Work Day: RIPTA Rack n’ Ride

Jef Nickerson —  May 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

This morning at Bike to Work Day, Peter from RIPTA showed us how the Rack n’ Ride on the buses works.

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Bike to Work Day – May 17, 2013

Guest Post —  May 8, 2013 — 1 Comment

bikemonthThere are a lot of bicycle issues in Rhode Island including getting the shoulders of streets properly swept, providing more bike parking racks, finding funding to finish and connect various bike paths, identifying and signing appropriate bike routes, enforcing laws against dangerous driving, developing bike-share programs, and more generally creating a transportation culture that includes support and respect for bicycling. Progress is not easy on any of this.

One of the ways to help promote this agenda is the annual Bike to Work Day celebrations.

In Providence, this year Bike to Work Day festivities will be held in Burnside Park in Kennedy Plaza from 7am to 10am. If you can, stop by to call attention to, and to celebrate, this healthy, economic, environmentally friendly, and fun way to travel with fellow bicyclists and allies. There will be a free continental breakfast, vendors, bike related information and advocacy materials, and perhaps an announcement of a new bike initiative from Mayor Tavares who at last year’s event announced the formation of the Providence Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Check it out! Visit RIBike.org for updates. And don’t forget RIPTA’s bike racks can extend the range of travel.

This event is sponsored by the RI Bicycle Coalition.

Bike Newport is also celebrating the day in Newport, where Washington Square will welcome bicyclists from 6am to 9am. Later there will be a bike press conference at 3pm, a community ride at 4pm, and a mini-fair at 5pm. Visit BikeNewportri.org for more information.

Barry Schiller, a retired Rhode Island College math professor, is a long-time member of the State Planning Council’s Transportation Advisory Committee. He also was on the RIPTA Board of Directors 1995-1999.

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Tweed Ride PVD – April 28, 2013

gcpvd —  April 22, 2013 — 2 Comments

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Stylish and well-wheeled gents and ladies enjoy a leisurely bicycle parade through downtown Providence in the city’s first-ever Tweed Ride, complete with tea!

The excursion begins at Greater Kennedy Plaza and ends at the RISD Museum for an afternoon viewing of the Museum’s newest exhibition, “Artist/Rebel/Dandy: Men of Fashion.”

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Providence Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting – April 15, 2013

Jef Nickerson —  April 12, 2013 — Leave a comment

Providence Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Agenda
April 15, 2013, 4:30 PM, 444 Westminster Street, First Floor

Agenda

4:30 – Old Business:

  • Letter to Businesses Abutting Bike/Ped Facilities
  • Logo/Letterhead
  • Ordinance Changes
  • Pedestrian Cross (“Beg”) Buttons

5:00 – Downtown Circulator and Related Bike/Ped Concerns: Fountan, Sabin, etc.
5:30 – Public Comment, Additional Issues
5:50 – Reschedule or Relocate May 20 Meeting

Full disclosure: I am a member of this Commission.

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Upcoming events at The Providence Athenaeum

gcpvd —  April 10, 2013 — Leave a comment

providence-anthenaeum-catwalk

Photo from The Providence Athenaeum

Fri 4/12, 5-7pm, The Providence Athenaeum presents the weekly SALON: RI Foundation President and CEO Neil Steinberg in conversation with Kipp Bradford, Senior Design Engineer and Lecturer, School of Engineering, Brown University; the final Salon in Bradford’s 5-part series, “The Innovation Way of Life: Stories about Community, Culture, and Commerce,” looking at how RI can cultivate a sustainable ecology of innovation.

In 2012 the RI Foundation awarded its first annual RI Innovation Fellowships, designed to stimulate RI residents to create solutions to RI challenges by providing seed funding for social impact. Innovation Fellows receive up to $300,000 for up to 3 years to develop and implement ideas that aim to dramatically improve any area of life in RI. Winning ideas must have potential for big impact, and in the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation, “risk-taking is essential.” Also in 2012, the Foundation hosted a two-day summit, “Making It Happen in RI,” an economic convening of over 300 Rhode Islanders to brainstorm ways to improve the state’s economy. Join series curator and 2012 Innovation Fellowship Finalist Bradford in conversation with RI Foundation President and CEO Steinberg to learn why the Foundation has chosen to invest in innovation in these ways, what the results have been so far, and how the Foundation can best enhance the innovation potential of RI in the future. Sponsors: Michael, Anne, and Amelia Spalter.

The Salon takes place at the Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit Street in Providence; entrance is at ground floor-level door at the corner of Benefit and College Streets. Free and open to the public. More at providenceathenaeum.org.

Tues 4/16, 5:30 – 7:30pm (5:30pm reception, 6pm program), RI Public Radio and the Providence Athenaeum present: Policy & Pinot, a timely conversation series on vital issues facing our state – “Bicycling Toward Urban Renewal.”

Providence is striving to become a city where young people want to live and work. For many, having a green way to commute is vital. Join panelists Providence Mayor Angel Taveras; Cornish Associates Architect Steve Durkee; Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. Director of Bicycle Transportation Planning & Design Bill DeSantis; and RI Bicycle Coalition Board President Matt Moritz, along with RIPR Environmental Reporter Bradley Campbell for a lively discussion about how making the city an attractive place to live and bike could boost the capital city’s bottom line.

Free and open to the public, reservations required: email antonia@ripr.org or phone at 351-2800 to reserve seats. Policy & Pinot takes place at the Providence Athenaeum, 251 Benefit Street in Providence; entrance is at ground floor-level door at the corner of Benefit and College Streets. More at providenceathenaeum.org.

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News & Notes

gcpvd —  March 15, 2013 — 1 Comment

City at Dusk, Boston (seen from Cambridge), Credit: David Fox

Boston at Dusk. Photo (cc) David Fox for Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism

→ Bloomberg: Boston Booms as Workers Say No to Suburbs: Real Estate

“In the last 24 months, suburban tech firms have been looking to relocate into town,” said Andrew Hoar, president and co-managing partner at CBRE/New England, a joint venture partner with CBRE. “For many other markets it’s the other way around. The young graduates in this town don’t want to commute.”

→ The Atlantic Cities: The End of Federal Transportation Funding as We Know It

This month marks 120 years since the federal government got involved in funding road transportation. (Strange as it sounds, bicycle advocates did the bulk of the lobbying.) The original Office of Road Inquiry — today, the Federal Highway Administration — was a line item with a budget of $10,000. That was only enough money to build about three miles of road, and the office wasn’t empowered to build roads anyway, but states fought tooth and nail against giving the feds even this incredibly modest level of transport oversight.

Today the federal transportation program faces perhaps its greatest challenge since that shaky start. The most urgent problem is funding. The Highway Trust Fund that pays for America’s road and rail program is heading straight toward bankruptcy. For two decades politicians have refused to raise the 18.4-cents-per-gallon gas tax that populates the trust, even as it steadily loses purchasing power to inflation and fuel-efficient cars. The public has yet to embrace alternative funding sources — road fares or mileage fees on the user-pay side favored by economists; income taxes on the social welfare end — in part because people (mistakenly) believe they already pay a lot for transportation.

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Providence Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting – March 18, 2013

Jef Nickerson —  March 15, 2013 — Leave a comment

Providence Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Agenda
March 18, 2013, 4:30 PM, 444 Westminster Street, First Floor

Agenda

  • 4:30 – ServeRI/Dig Out RI
  • 4:45 – East Coast Greenway/US Bike Route 1 Update – Eric Weis
  • 4:55 – S. Water/Crawford St. Bridge ped crossing/disabled ramp issues – Matt Moritz
  • 5:05 – Kinsley/Promenade Bike Path concept – Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
  • 5:20 – Fountain Street bike lane considerations
  • 5:30 – Cyclovia 2013
  • 5:40 – Bike Fest RI and Bike Valet – Jenna Yu
  • 5:50 – Public comment
  • 6:00 – Adjourn.

Full disclosure: I am a member of this Commission.

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News & Notes

gcpvd —  March 7, 2013 — Leave a comment

→ The Atlantic Cities: The Great Senior Sell-Off Could Cause the Next Housing Crisis

In the 20 years between 1990 and 2010, these consumers [baby boomers] were at their peak family size and peak income. And suddenly, there was massive demand in America from the same kinds of people for the same kinds of housing: big, large-lot single-family homes (often in suburbia). In those two decades, calculates researcher Arthur C. Nelson, 77 percent of demand for new housing construction in America was driven by this trend.

“Ok, if there’s 1.5 to 2 million homes coming on the market every year at the end of this decade from senior households selling off,” Nelson asks, “who’s behind them to buy? My guess is not enough.”

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A cornucopia of highway safety bills at House Judiciary – March 5, 2013

gcpvd —  March 4, 2013 — 5 Comments

Rhode Island State House

The General Assembly House Judiciary Committee will have hearings on the following bills Tuesday, March 5th:

Subject: House Committee on Judiciary Hearing scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at the Rise in the House Lounge

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
NOTICE OF MEETING
DATE: Tuesday, March 05, 2013
TIME: Rise of the House (around 4:30pm)
PLACE: House Lounge – State House

SCHEDULED FOR HEARING AND/OR CONSIDERATION

House Bill No. 5061pdf

BY Corvese, Malik, Palangio, Ucci, Azzinaro

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES — PASSING, USING OF LANES, AND RULES OF THE ROAD {LC49/1} (would create additional penalties for motor vehicle violations at intersections and rights-of-way that cause serious bodily injury or death)

01/10/2013 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary
03/01/2013 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration

House Bill No. 5101pdf

BY Palumbo

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES – MISCELLANEOUS RULES {LC322/1} (would prohibit dogs from sitting on the lap of a motor vehicle operator. Any person in violation of such would be subject to fines)

01/16/2013 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary
03/01/2013 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration

House Bill No. 5149pdf

BY O’Neill, Gallison, Lally, Amore, Jacquard

ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES — MOTOR VEHICLE OFFENSES {LC591/1} (would grant judges and magistrates the authority to prohibit drivers adjudicated of certain motor vehicle offenses from operating a motor vehicle not equipped with an ignition interlock system)

01/23/2013 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary
03/01/2013 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration

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