Streetfilms | Portland: Celebrating America’s Most Livable City
The Open Planning Project
The New York Observer has a profile of Mark Gorton, the founder of The Open Planning Project (TOPP). Gorton, who made his fortune in the hedge fund industry, has funded advocacy for livable streets in New York City. In fact, the Observer bills him as “The Man Who Closed Times Square to Traffic.” According to the article,
TOPP is a cross between a software start-up and a progressive policy think tank, and is made up of several smaller working groups. One group customizes and provides tech support for open-source mapping software that transit agencies use to keep track of their routes. Another works on applications that make it easier for people to communicate with city agencies-letting cyclists propose sites for bike racks to the city’s DOT, for example. Another group produces Streetsblog, an opinionated blog on transportation issues.
The Open Planning Project
The New York Observer has a profile of Mark Gorton, the founder of The Open Planning Project (TOPP). Gorton, who made his fortune in the hedge fund industry, has funded advocacy for livable streets in New York City. In fact, the Observer bills him as “The Man Who Closed Times Square to Traffic.” According to the article,
TOPP is a cross between a software start-up and a progressive policy think tank, and is made up of several smaller working groups. One group customizes and provides tech support for open-source mapping software that transit agencies use to keep track of their routes. Another works on applications that make it easier for people to communicate with city agencies-letting cyclists propose sites for bike racks to the city’s DOT, for example. Another group produces Streetsblog, an opinionated blog on transportation issues.
First indoor velodrome east of the Mississippi
Bicycle Retailer and Industry News reports that a new indoor velodrome (a banked track for bicycle racing) will be built in Cleveland. Not exactly our backyard, but still close enough for a weekend trip. Some details from BRAIN:
CLEVELAND, OH (BRAIN)—Fast Track Cycling, Inc., a Cleveland-based, non-profit 501(c) (3) organization, has entered into a real estate purchase option agreement with the city of Cleveland to acquire a nine-acre vacant site formerly occupied by St. Michaels Hospital in Slavic Village.Fast Track plans to develop and operate an indoor recreational facility which will include a velodrome—a custom-built, banked bicycle track—as part of its mission to support track cycling and other recreational opportunities and promote health and wellness as well as youth programming.Cleveland’s velodrome will be only the third indoor velodrome of the 25 in the United States, along with those in California and Colorado.
While looking at the Rochester-to-Cleveland route on Google Maps, I noticed that it passes right through Ashtabula, Ohio, where one-piece BMX-style cranks used to be produced in great numbers (in fact, such cranks are still often referred to as Ashtabula cranks).
First indoor velodrome east of the Mississippi
Bicycle Retailer and Industry News reports that a new indoor velodrome (a banked track for bicycle racing) will be built in Cleveland. Not exactly our backyard, but still close enough for a weekend trip. Some details from BRAIN:
CLEVELAND, OH (BRAIN)—Fast Track Cycling, Inc., a Cleveland-based, non-profit 501(c) (3) organization, has entered into a real estate purchase option agreement with the city of Cleveland to acquire a nine-acre vacant site formerly occupied by St. Michaels Hospital in Slavic Village.Fast Track plans to develop and operate an indoor recreational facility which will include a velodrome—a custom-built, banked bicycle track—as part of its mission to support track cycling and other recreational opportunities and promote health and wellness as well as youth programming.Cleveland’s velodrome will be only the third indoor velodrome of the 25 in the United States, along with those in California and Colorado.
While looking at the Rochester-to-Cleveland route on Google Maps, I noticed that it passes right through Ashtabula, Ohio, where one-piece BMX-style cranks used to be produced in great numbers (in fact, such cranks are still often referred to as Ashtabula cranks).
Towpath Trail idea really floats
http://picasaweb.google.com/JohnPucher/PortlandOregonSeptOct2007#5117211901939512034Towpath Trail idea really floats
The newest segment of the Towpath Trail in South Akron includes a floating section that runs nearly a third of a mile along Summit Lake’s southern shoreline and passes under the Kenmore Boulevard bridge.
http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/ohio_travel/56239382.html
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And then there’s these:
Alta Planning & Design – Bicycle, Pedestrian, Greenway & Trail Projects – Project Links & Resources – Research & Study Documents
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Research & Study Documents
Alta is at the forefront of nationally significant bicycle and pedestrian research to advance the fields of transportation, land-use, planning, and design. You can learn more about Alta’s research capabilities on ourResearch service page . Below you’ll find a number of our published studies for download. Documents unavailable on our website may be available upon request .
Documents for Download
Bicycling Related Documents & Studies
- Understanding Barriers to Bicycling (2009, underway)
- Bike Sharing/Public Bikes: A Summary of Programs, Vendors and Technologies (01/09)
- 2008 Oregon Bike Related Business & Economic Study (09/08)
- Bicycle Industry Growth in Portland (6/06)
- Bridging the Gaps: How the Quality and Quantity of a Connected Bikeway Network Correlates with Increasing Bicycle Use (6/05)
- San Francisco Bicycle Program Supplemental Design Guidelines (9/03)
Facilities and Infrastructure Related Documents & Studies
- Report on Bicycle Interaction with Streetcars (10/08)
- Cycle Tracks: Lessons Learned (11/08)
- From Cycletracks to Singlespeeds: A Comparison of Bicycle Facilities and Cycling Culture between North America and Europe (12/08)
- Integration of Bicycles and Transit (11/05)
- San Francisco Shared-Lane Marking Study (2/04)
Trail Related Documents & Studies
- Rails-With-Trails: Lessons Learned Federal study
- Trails in Limited Access Highway Corridors Final Report
This study documented existing conditions and developed methodologies and best practices for the design, implementation and management of Shared Use Paths in Limited Access Highway Corridors. Visit the project website - Trails and Golf Courses: Best Practices on Design and Management (7/05)
Programs and Education Related Documents & Studies
ENVIRONMENT: Cycling can boost the area's riches – Letters – Rochester City Newspaper
RCA member Scott Macrae wrote a great followup letter to City Newspaper a few weeks ago, and articulates several insights that we’ve not emphasized previously. (So they are bolded below)
I read the December 16 article on Rochester’s emerging cycling plans with great interest. We Rochesterians are fortunate to have a golden opportunity to improve our city and quality of life by completing the Genesee Valley Trail, participating in the Greater Rochester Cycling Plan, and continuing to build on our success. Rochester will see the multiple benefits of this investment in years to come.
Cities like Portland, Oregon; Minneapolis; and Copenhagen have pioneered the urban craft of improved cycling and pedestrian access with remarkable results. Copenhagen, a snowy northern European city, boasts a 37 percent cycling commuter rate and consistently is ranked one of the highest quality-of-life cities in Europe and the world. (You can see a film on Copenhagen’s cycling effort here.) Portland’s cycling commuter rate is 6.5 percent and consistently is rated, along with Minneapolis, in the upper echelon of livable cities. I lived in Portland for 17 years and saw the transformation from a downtrodden downtown to robust, youthful, and financially vibrant destination and place to live. Cycling and pedestrian development was a key element of their urban renaissance.
Here are a few compelling reasons why Rochester should kick into high gear and support a cycling and pedestrian program.
1) There are surprisingly strong economic benefits. Portland economist Joe Cartwright calculated an annual regional savings of $1.1 billion, or 1.5 percent of the region’s income. These dollars are much more likely to stay and circulate within the region than money spent on gasoline, of which at least 73 percent of its value is exported to gas producing countries.
2) Biking cities and countries are safer. Holland has one-third the motor-vehicle fatality rate compared to the US. Paradoxically, cities that have busy pedestrian-cycling cultures are safer for all motorists and for pedestrians and cyclists because people are more alert while driving.
3) Biking communities are healthier. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese. In Holland, where almost every road has a bike lane, and 27 percent of all trips are by bike, the obesity rate is one-half that of the US.
4) Bicycling communities develop a strong pedestrian and youth culture. Cities like Minneapolis, Portland, and Boulder all are attracting young adults and families that revitalize neighborhoods. I was amazed at the transformation of rundown neighborhoods in Portland that are now bustling with restaurants, shops, and small businesses.
Rochester has equivalent or better higher-education centers than Portland, but it lacks a youth culture, which promotes outdoor activity and mingling within the city. Cycling and pedestrian activities nurture these types of environments.
5) The Greater Rochester area has fantastic cycling terrain for road biking, touring, and mountain biking. Recreational cycling promotion would pay huge dividends in ecology, tourism, economic development, and improved quality of life for the region at relatively little cost. Cycle Oregon, a week-long bike ride across a different part of Oregon each year, was started 21 years ago by the Oregon State Department of Tourism and attracted 1,033 riders. Now rural communities compete heavily to have it come to their town. There is a lottery to be one of the privileged 2,200 riders from 44 states and 11 foreign countries, and it donates more than $120,000 a year to local rural communities.
Iowa has a similar ride through rural Iowa, called RAGBRAI, with 15,000 riders, which has given an enormous economic, tourism, and goodwill boost to rural Iowa. A similar ride featuring the Finger Lakes, New York’s wineries, and farmlands and bridging to the Erie Canal and 230 miles of trails along the Genesee Valley Greenway would highlight the beauty of the region.
Rochester’s citizen and politicians should seize this opportunity to finish the Genesee River Trail and also think bigger to make Rochester a high-profile bicycling mecca. Portland has done it, and people have responded to its youthful, recreational, environmentally friendly approach while boosting its economy and improving its quality of life. Now is our chance. Let’s seize it.
SCOTT MACRAE, ROCHESTER
ENVIRONMENT: Cycling can boost the area's riches – Letters – Rochester City Newspaper
RCA member Scott Macrae wrote a great followup letter to City Newspaper a few weeks ago, and articulates several insights that we’ve not emphasized previously. (So they are bolded below)
I read the December 16 article on Rochester’s emerging cycling plans with great interest. We Rochesterians are fortunate to have a golden opportunity to improve our city and quality of life by completing the Genesee Valley Trail, participating in the Greater Rochester Cycling Plan, and continuing to build on our success. Rochester will see the multiple benefits of this investment in years to come.
Cities like Portland, Oregon; Minneapolis; and Copenhagen have pioneered the urban craft of improved cycling and pedestrian access with remarkable results. Copenhagen, a snowy northern European city, boasts a 37 percent cycling commuter rate and consistently is ranked one of the highest quality-of-life cities in Europe and the world. (You can see a film on Copenhagen’s cycling effort here.) Portland’s cycling commuter rate is 6.5 percent and consistently is rated, along with Minneapolis, in the upper echelon of livable cities. I lived in Portland for 17 years and saw the transformation from a downtrodden downtown to robust, youthful, and financially vibrant destination and place to live. Cycling and pedestrian development was a key element of their urban renaissance.
Here are a few compelling reasons why Rochester should kick into high gear and support a cycling and pedestrian program.
1) There are surprisingly strong economic benefits. Portland economist Joe Cartwright calculated an annual regional savings of $1.1 billion, or 1.5 percent of the region’s income. These dollars are much more likely to stay and circulate within the region than money spent on gasoline, of which at least 73 percent of its value is exported to gas producing countries.
2) Biking cities and countries are safer. Holland has one-third the motor-vehicle fatality rate compared to the US. Paradoxically, cities that have busy pedestrian-cycling cultures are safer for all motorists and for pedestrians and cyclists because people are more alert while driving.
3) Biking communities are healthier. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese. In Holland, where almost every road has a bike lane, and 27 percent of all trips are by bike, the obesity rate is one-half that of the US.
4) Bicycling communities develop a strong pedestrian and youth culture. Cities like Minneapolis, Portland, and Boulder all are attracting young adults and families that revitalize neighborhoods. I was amazed at the transformation of rundown neighborhoods in Portland that are now bustling with restaurants, shops, and small businesses.
Rochester has equivalent or better higher-education centers than Portland, but it lacks a youth culture, which promotes outdoor activity and mingling within the city. Cycling and pedestrian activities nurture these types of environments.
5) The Greater Rochester area has fantastic cycling terrain for road biking, touring, and mountain biking. Recreational cycling promotion would pay huge dividends in ecology, tourism, economic development, and improved quality of life for the region at relatively little cost. Cycle Oregon, a week-long bike ride across a different part of Oregon each year, was started 21 years ago by the Oregon State Department of Tourism and attracted 1,033 riders. Now rural communities compete heavily to have it come to their town. There is a lottery to be one of the privileged 2,200 riders from 44 states and 11 foreign countries, and it donates more than $120,000 a year to local rural communities.
Iowa has a similar ride through rural Iowa, called RAGBRAI, with 15,000 riders, which has given an enormous economic, tourism, and goodwill boost to rural Iowa. A similar ride featuring the Finger Lakes, New York’s wineries, and farmlands and bridging to the Erie Canal and 230 miles of trails along the Genesee Valley Greenway would highlight the beauty of the region.
Rochester’s citizen and politicians should seize this opportunity to finish the Genesee River Trail and also think bigger to make Rochester a high-profile bicycling mecca. Portland has done it, and people have responded to its youthful, recreational, environmentally friendly approach while boosting its economy and improving its quality of life. Now is our chance. Let’s seize it.
SCOTT MACRAE, ROCHESTER
Culver Road Reconstruction
Public meeting for Culver Road reconstruction design- February 2, 2010, 6:00 PM at St. Ambrose Church, 25 Empire Blvd. If we can get a cyclist from that area to advocate for bike lanes it would carry more weight. Anyone from around there willing to go to this meeting with me?
Culver Road Reconstruction
Public meeting for Culver Road reconstruction design- February 2, 2010, 6:00 PM at St. Ambrose Church, 25 Empire Blvd. If we can get a cyclist from that area to advocate for bike lanes it would carry more weight. Anyone from around there willing to go to this meeting with me?
Fwd: BikeIt organizing collective!
Can anyone help organize a BikeIt contingent? (We’ll put your email address on the poster below!)
I’m trying to have RIT host the Ithaca contingent on their way to Detroit.
More info on this initiative here
This from Claire Stoscheck BikeIt National Coordinator, who visited last week.
As promised, I’ve attached the BikeIt Rochester poster. Please put a local contact in the contact box in the lower left corner as well, so Rochester folks can start organizing with each other to go to Detroit! Also attached is a template for an outreach email that you could use for your various groups/list serves/web-sites/blogs. Please modify it as you see fit!Also, if folks want to stay in the loop you can join our listserve at: http://groups.google.com/group/fingerlakesbikeit
Fwd: BikeIt organizing collective!
Can anyone help organize a BikeIt contingent? (We’ll put your email address on the poster below!)
I’m trying to have RIT host the Ithaca contingent on their way to Detroit.
More info on this initiative here
This from Claire Stoscheck BikeIt National Coordinator, who visited last week.
As promised, I’ve attached the BikeIt Rochester poster. Please put a local contact in the contact box in the lower left corner as well, so Rochester folks can start organizing with each other to go to Detroit! Also attached is a template for an outreach email that you could use for your various groups/list serves/web-sites/blogs. Please modify it as you see fit!Also, if folks want to stay in the loop you can join our listserve at: http://groups.google.com/group/fingerlakesbikeit
America's 75 Worst Commutes, Rochester NY tops Portland OR
America
by The Daily Beast
Portland, OR may be a better place for bicyclist but we have an easier commute.
Notice the quote;”As anyone who drives on Interstate 5 or listens to the traffic reports knows, I-5 and most of the
#16, I-5,
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 238
Worst bottleneck: Northbound, Marine Dr/Exit 307
Length of worst bottleneck: .76 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 23
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 14.8 mph
Commuter Buzz: “,” wrote Gerald Fox. “There are numerous choke points and frequent incidents delaying traffic throughout the region.”
66, I-490,
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 14
Worst bottleneck: Inner loop westbound, Washington St/Exit 14
Length of worst bottleneck: .27 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 9
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 18 mph
Commuter Buzz: “The closing of the
America's 75 Worst Commutes, Rochester NY tops Portland OR
America
by The Daily Beast
Portland, OR may be a better place for bicyclist but we have an easier commute.
Notice the quote;”As anyone who drives on Interstate 5 or listens to the traffic reports knows, I-5 and most of the
#16, I-5,
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 238
Worst bottleneck: Northbound, Marine Dr/Exit 307
Length of worst bottleneck: .76 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 23
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 14.8 mph
Commuter Buzz: “,” wrote Gerald Fox. “There are numerous choke points and frequent incidents delaying traffic throughout the region.”
66, I-490,
Weekly hours of bottleneck congestion: 14
Worst bottleneck: Inner loop westbound, Washington St/Exit 14
Length of worst bottleneck: .27 mi
Weekly hours of congestion on worst bottleneck: 9
Speed of worst bottleneck when congested: 18 mph
Commuter Buzz: “The closing of the
National Bike Summit 2010
National Bike Summit 2010
March 9-11, 2010
Washington, D.C.
National Bike Summit 2010 – Building on 10 Years of Progress
Bicycling has come a long way in the last 10 years. Our movement has grown larger and more effective; the number of people riding is growing in almost every community in the nation. We need more people on bikes more often, and the reasons just keep on growing. Whether it’s obesity, health care, climate change, air quality, energy independence, traffic congestion, economic development or quality of life issues – bicycling has got to be part of the solution. In 2010, Congress and our Federal agencies will be setting national targets and goals for 2020. They will be writing transportation, climate, health care, natural resources and other critical pieces of legislation that will shape our future. Bicycling must be prominently featured in these important pieces of legislation, documents, funding streams and programs.
Ten years ago, the first National Bike Summit brought just over 100 advocates and industry leaders to Washington, D.C. – this year we need to be closer to 1,000 participants to make a strong impact. Join us and speak up for bicycling; discover how your voice can truly be heard. Help the League of American Bicyclists celebrate 10 years of progress, and help us propel into a new decade of the bicycle!
Source: http://www.bikeleague.org/conferences/summit10/index.php
National Bike Summit 2010
National Bike Summit 2010
March 9-11, 2010
Washington, D.C.
National Bike Summit 2010 – Building on 10 Years of Progress
Bicycling has come a long way in the last 10 years. Our movement has grown larger and more effective; the number of people riding is growing in almost every community in the nation. We need more people on bikes more often, and the reasons just keep on growing. Whether it’s obesity, health care, climate change, air quality, energy independence, traffic congestion, economic development or quality of life issues – bicycling has got to be part of the solution. In 2010, Congress and our Federal agencies will be setting national targets and goals for 2020. They will be writing transportation, climate, health care, natural resources and other critical pieces of legislation that will shape our future. Bicycling must be prominently featured in these important pieces of legislation, documents, funding streams and programs.
Ten years ago, the first National Bike Summit brought just over 100 advocates and industry leaders to Washington, D.C. – this year we need to be closer to 1,000 participants to make a strong impact. Join us and speak up for bicycling; discover how your voice can truly be heard. Help the League of American Bicyclists celebrate 10 years of progress, and help us propel into a new decade of the bicycle!
Source: http://www.bikeleague.org/conferences/summit10/index.php
Hale and Harmful: Are the Healthful Effects of Riding a Bike on City Streets Ruined by Inhaled Pollutants?: Scientific American
Interesting article, and another reason why the Rochester Greenway could be a pace-setter!
- “Ironically, many cities that offer dedicated bike lanes often lay them out right next to busy bus lanes, unintentionally ensuring that bicyclists breathe in as much diesel exhaust as possible. “I ride along one of these high-traffic bus routes,” Housen says, “and…there was between two and five or six times more magnetic fine particulate matter along the bus route than [on less-busy streets].” Housen would like to expand his research so it could be used by urban planners to better design bike and pedestrian routes so as not to intermingle so much diesel transit and pedestrian/bicycle traffic.”
Funding Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects
APBP Webinar: Funding Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects
Posted by: “Stephen Miller” stephen@railstotrails.org stephenmrtc
Thu Jan 14, 2010 7:10 am (PST)
Many of you may be interested in this. It uses the example of a trail
project in Greenville, SC:
project in Greenville, SC:
Webinar: Funding Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects
<http://www.apbp.org/event/
1/20/2010
When:
Wednesday, January 20
3:00 to 4:00 p.m. EST
Contact:
Debra Goeks (info@apbp.org
Registration Information
Online registration is available until: 1/20/2010
* Register for this event >
<http://www.apbp.org/events/
Funding Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects
January’s webinar takes a comprehensive look at funding sources, both
familiar and nontraditional. First, we examine how Greenville County,
S.C., leveraged the power of one grant to obtain trail funding from many
different nontraditional sources. Learn how the powerful ripple effect
of a partnership between the county and the Greenville Hospital System
led to building widespread community, business, and political support
for the Swamp Rabbit Trail project, which is the flagship greenway of a
county-wide Greenways Master Plan that is currently being developed.
This outstanding example will demonstrate
* techniques to identify and approach funding sources.
* how to parlay one grant into multiple partnerships.
* the impact of creating a business plan and following through.
The Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Enhancement (TE)
Activities and Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provide funds to
develop transportation and recreation infrastructure. Gabe Rousseau and
Christopher Douwes of the FHWA will explain these and other federal
programs and offer suggestions on how to apply for funds. The
presentation will also provide information about the authorization of
the Federal Surface Transportation Program expected in 2010.TE
activities increase transportation choices and access for pedestrians
and bicyclists and enhance the built and natural environment through
scenic and historic highway programs, landscaping, historic
preservation, and environmental mitigation. The RTP provides funds to
states to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related
facilities.
Webinar presenters are Ty Houck, Director of Greenways, Natural and
Historic Resources, Greenville County Recreation District; Dr. Gabe
Rousseau, U.S. Department of Transportation and FHWA Bicycle and
Pedestrian Program Manager; and Christopher Douwes, FHWA Trails and
Enhancements Program Manager. APBP board member Tom Dodds, South
Carolina’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Engineer, will moderate the webinar
and add his insights on how state coordinators can assist local
jurisdictions in identifying and applying for funding.
APBP has applied for one CM credit from the AICP for this webinar. A
certificate of attendance for those wanting to claim Professional
Development Hours will be available.
Invite colleagues and clients to attend at your location for one very
reasonable price. Cost is $50 per site for APBP members, $75 per site
for non-APBP members. Each site license includes one phone connection
(toll charges apply, or use VoIP), one internet connection, one set of
handouts for unlimited attendees in the same location, and access to the
recording. APBP accepts Visa, MasterCard or AMEX; payment should be made
by noon on January 19. For more information, contact Debra Goeks
(262-228-7025 or deb@apbp.org
