Winter Bike To Work Day is tomorrow! (Wednesday Jan. 23^rd )

Boulder is celebrating its fifth annual winter bike to work day to reward those who ride their bike all or part of the way to work, school or another destination around town.

Ride your bike and receive a FREE Breakfast at the following locations:

Alfalfas at 1651 Broadway St
Community Cycles at 2805 Wilderness place, Suite 100 
(just north of the Goose Creek path west of the Foothills Parkway underpass)
CU Bike Program at the Broadway underpass at Euclid Avenue/University Memorial Center (UMC)
Dushanbe Teahouse at 1770 13th Street
Ideal Market at 1275 Alpine Avenue
Moe’s Broadway Bagel at 2650 Broadway
Moe’s Bagels on Arapahoe at 3075 Arapahoe
Moe’s Bagels 28th Street at 3267 28th Street
Page Two at 6565 Gunpark Drive in Gunbarrel
Pedal to Properties at 1948 Pearl Street
Rally Sport Health and Fitness at 2727 29th Street

If you’re still not registered Sign Up Today!

League of American Bicyclists visit Boulder, Colorado

The Pursuit of Diamond Status: Boulder and Davis Say “I Do”

Earlier this month League President, Andy Clark, and I traveled to Boulder, Colo., and Davis, Calif. — but I was transported back to my college years in Germany.

Bicycling along the network of paths and bike lanes in these two Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Communities, I was able to comfortably ride for miles and miles without the need to bike on a high-speed road to meet up with city staff at the town hall, grab some food with local bike advocates at a downtown restaurant or attend an evening function at a museum.

In Davis, I got nearly run over by a large group of junior high school students on bikes, trying to pedal to class in time. In Boulder, we witnessed a frolicking group of young men riding around town in the evening with a boom box on the rack and lights in their wheels. These two Platinum BFCs really seem to have it all — the infrastructure, the bike culture and a compact and mixed land use that allow destinations to be quickly reached by bike.

Can it get any better than this? Well, though a good number of people bike in Davis and Boulder, more than half of the residents in cities like Copenhagen in Denmark or Utrecht in the Netherlands have adopted the bicycle as their main form of transportation. To challenge our own top cycling cities to move beyond Platinum and compete with world-class cycling cities, the League developed a new Diamond-designation. Andy and I traveled to Boulder and Davis to kick off their Diamond challenge. (Next month, we’ll pedal that challenge in the third Platinum city: Portland, Ore.

Boulder received us with overcast skies but heart-felt enthusiasm. We checked out two bright red B-cycle bikes for the duration of our stay and got quite a few miles out of them. We met with local government officials and staff, community and advocacy representatives and were treated to a three-hour tour of the city. The Diamond challenge will require the local government and the community to work together to address any remaining obstacles to cycling to encourage an additional 5 percent of commuters to bike to work or school — for Diamond designation, a 15 percent bicycle mode share among the minimum requirements.

Go Boulder Manager Kathleen Bracke is confident the city is ready to step up: “The City of Boulder/GO Boulder is excited to continue our partnership with the League and the Boulder community to advance bicycling as a way of life and look forward to working together to achieve the new Diamond level Bike Friendly Community designation.”

Mayor Matt Appelbaum agreed: “Recognition by the League energizes us to aim even higher. Boulder is looking forward to celebrating as the first Diamond-level Bicycle Friendly community in the future.”

One of the highlights of our visit in Boulder was a tour of the newly constructed 42-acre Valmont Bike Park, which is a one-of-a-kind natural-surface facility that allows residents and visitors of all ages and abilities to practice their mountain biking, BMX and cyclocross-skills. Our B-cycle bikes were unfortunately not made for this type of facility (though some have tried!), otherwise I would have taken a spin on the inviting singletrack course.

Davis greeted us with a bike light in our hotel room from Davis Bicycles! and two shiny, black city-owned bicycles. Since I arrived a day early, I got the chance to witness the installation of a new bike corral downtown, which featured a prominently displayed QR code that, when scanned with a smart phone app, takes you to the city’s bicycle website. During our stay we got to meet with Mayor Joe Krovoza, council member Brett Lee and city staff. We also caught up with local bicycle advocates, and representatives from the business community, the University of California at Davis and the Capital Corridor Joint Powers Authority. And got a great tour of the city’s bike infrastructure from Davis Bicycles! members and active transportation coordinator David Kemp.

Fortunately our rather packed schedule allowed us to stop by a city council meeting to present the City of Davis with a Silver Bicycle Friendly Business award on our way from the Bicycle Advisory Commission meeting to the holiday festivities of the Davis Bike Club. But hands down the highlight of our visit in Davis was to see the Active 4 Me program in action at a local elementary school that tracks children that walk or bike to school through bar code technology. The system also automatically informs parents that their child has arrived safely at school, addressing a real or perceived parental safety concern.

“The League’s trip to Davis truly complemented a new renaissance of pro-bicycle energy in Davis,” Kemp said. “After meeting with our elected officials, the business community, city staff, UC Davis, and bicycle advocacy groups, Andy and Nicole provided our community the positive charge and constructive feedback we needed to advance our city to the next level: Diamond! Pair this with the new, Beyond Platinum – Bicycle Action Plan and we’ll strategically propel our community, over the next five years, to work together to make Davis a world-class Bicycle Friendly Community.”

The next step for Boulder and Davis toward Diamond status will be a public survey to allow the community to chime in on the comfort and convenience of the bicycle network, perceived safety and other issues that influence people’s daily transportation and recreation choices.

“Given the City of Boulder’s ethic of ‘continuous improvement,’ we appreciate the League’s challenge for communities like Boulder to reach beyond Platinum Level to the new Diamond designation,” said Director of Public Works for Transportation Tracy Winfree. “Diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend; Diamond Designation is.”

Click here to learn more about the Beyond Platinum program.

Help us improve downtown bike parking to better serve your needs! Take the Boulder Transit Center Bike Parking Survey by Friday, Dec. 7, for a chance to win a bike pump! http://svy.mk/TspTWk

Do you currently (or want to) park your bike at the Boulder Transit Center at 14th & Walnut streets?  The City of Boulder, Boulder County and Regional Transit District (RTD) are working to improve the downtown Boulder Transit Center area.  The project goals include improving the transit riding experience, bicycle access and parking.  The Bike Parking Survey only takes a few minutes to complete and your input will help improve bike parking and the overall downtown transit rider experience.  

Take the survey online at http://svy.mk/TspTWk.    

Complete the survey on or before Dec. 7 to enter for a chance to win one of 10 Topeak mini morph frame bike pumps.  

The project team is considering a design that would provide a secure mass bike parking solution: an enclosed bike storage cage that would protect bikes from theft and weather. This bike parking area would be fenced-in and equipped with a keycard pass only available to members.  Within the shared bicycle parking storage area, patrons would be able to individually lock their bicycles to racks. This proposed design would remove some of the individual lockers for the construction of the cage. It would provide a greater number of patrons with access to secured and covered long-term bicycle parking. Bike parking racks and lockers will still be available outside of the bike cage, as well. 

Two New Boulder B-cycle Stations! 

Your bike-sharing system continues to grow with two new B-stations that will open in early November: Broadway & Iris and 33rd & Fisher (next to the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder’s Office).  

The new stations are supported by Boulder County for their employees and visitors and bring the total station count to 21. Boulder B-cycle launched in May 2011 with twelve B-stations. 

“We are very excited and proud to be opening new B-stations at two of our busiest public service locations,” Boulder County Commissioner Will Toor said. “Thousands of residents and county employees travel to these locations every week, and thanks to an excellent partnership with Boulder B-cycle, we are able to provide a fun, healthy and efficient way to get there.” 

The County Commissioners will host ribbon-cutting ceremonies at each of the locations and the public is invited:

• Broadway & Iris Avenue: Thursday November 8th at 1:30 p.m.  

• 33rd Street & Fisher Drive: Thursday, November 15th at 1:30 p.m. 

Boulder B-cycle Update

The city continues its partnership with Boulder B-cycle, a local nonprofit formed to own and operate the public bike-sharing system serving the Boulder community. Launched in May 2011 with 12 stations, the system has grown to 20 stations with one more station scheduled to be installed this month and another by the end of 2012. An additional 10 stations will be installed in 2013 as part of the Federal Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) program grant awarded to the City of Boulder. Recent happenings of interest include:  

• Last week, Boulder B-cycle announced that the system will stay open through the winter months this season to better serve patrons as well as provide on-going opportunities for sponsorships and other local fundraising efforts. Last year, Boulder B-cycle joined Denver B-cycle in shutting down for the winter season with the exception of two stations near UCAR. 
• On Tuesday, Nov. 13, the city and Boulder B-cycle are co-hosting a community workshop from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at BJ’s Restaurant at 1690 28th St. (at Canyon Boulevard).  The workshop will be a chance to work with the community on a master plan for future B-cycle station locations.  
• Boulder B-cycle is in the final stage of a national search for a new executive director to replace Elizabeth Train, who accepted another position last month.  A new executive director is anticipated to be on board by Dec. 1, 2012.  
• With two peak-cycling seasons of operation complete, the city will work with Boulder B-cycle to review and refine ongoing performance measures and develop a business plan to inform the long-term, sustainable business model for Boulder B-cycle. An information packet will be provided to City Council in the second quarter of 2013 on this topic.   

For more information about the city’s partnership with Boulder B-cycle, go to boulder.bcycle.com.   

No Winter ‘Brake’ For Boulder B-cycle! 

Boulder B-cycle is staying open all winter - Ride On!   

Last winter, we left two stations near UCAR open to test how well the stations functioned in winter weather conditions. Our system passed the test with flying colors!

“Last winter worked really well for us having two B-stations operating for our two campus locations; our employees used the red bikes all winter long without a glitch. And now that all B-stations will be open throughout the area, we have an alternative transportation system for wherever we want to go in the City; we’re thrilled!” said UCAR’s Sustainability Outreach Coordinator, Kay Gazaway.

Thus, with a lot of encouragement from our riders, sponsors, and city and county staff, we have decided to stay open all winter. Now, you can use Boulder B-cycle for the last mile of your commute, short-trips around town, errands, and fun with Boulder visitors all year long!

As the days get shorter, make sure to use proper lights and reflective gear while riding your bike in Boulder. Visit www.bouldersafestreets.com to learn more.

City of Boulder requests community proposals to improve walking and biking to school

As a part of the Colorado Safe Routes to School program, the City of Boulder is requesting community proposals for infrastructure improvements that would enable more students, parents, faculty, and staff to walk and bike to schools in Boulder. The required proposal materials are available online at www.goboulder.net.   

Completed proposal forms must be returned to GO Boulder by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, to be considered for inclusion in the city’s 2013 grant application to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). In addition, a tally sheet summarizing the number of students currently walking and biking to school is due by Thursday, Nov. 15, and letters of support are due by Friday, Nov. 30.  

Community proposals for Colorado Safe Routes to School infrastructure improvements must meet all of the requirements listed below in order to be eligible for funding. All proposals must:

• be located within a City of Boulder public right-of-way;
• involve an area within two miles of a public or private elementary or middle school;
• facilitate and increase safe biking and walking access and connectivity along school routes;
• demonstrate a partnership with the school community; and
• establish that the Boulder Valley School District will assume responsibility for promoting and evaluating the success of the improvements (if the proposed improvements are near a public school).

“Colorado Safe Routes to School offers another source of revenue to fund local projects that improve walking and biking routes near our schools,” said Bicycle/Pedestrian Transportation Planner Marni Ratzel. “We hope to receive funds through the 2013 Safe Routes program so that we can continue to make walking and biking to school safer, easier and more enjoyable.”

Since 2005, the city’s Transportation Division has been awarded more than $1 million in Safe Routes to School funding for infrastructure improvements. The city’s 2012 project, proposed by the Manhattan Middle School community, was awarded a $250,000 grant to install a traffic signal and sidewalk improvements at the intersection of South Boulder Road and Manhattan Drive. The project is anticipated to be completed in fall 2013.

This fall, a 2011 Safe Routes to School grant allowed the city to complete a sidewalk along Linden Avenue that will benefit students walking and biking to five schools in Boulder. For more information, view the Safe Routes to School in Boulder Program Update.

Detailed information about the proposal requirements and a schedule of deadlines for submitting proposal materials are available online at www.goboulder.net. Interested applicants can also contact Bicycle/Pedestrian Planner ratzelm@bouldercolorado.gov or at 303-441-4138.

For more information about the federal Safe Routes to School program, visit www.saferoutesinfo.org.

View real-time bike counts for 13th Street at Walnut Avenue:http://bit.ly/QxOOXx.

This is one of 14 permanent bike count locations that the city uses to monitor bike use and track progress towards the goals of the Transportation Master Plan. For more information, visit www.bouldertmp.net

Crosswalk safety is a priority in Boulder
Boulder residents and visitors love to bike, walk and take the bus. The community has well above the national average of walkers and cyclists. When collisions do occur, it is usually at the most trafficked areas—crosswalks.

Three new crosswalk safety laws were enacted in Boulder earlier this year. “Heads Up” is a collaborative campaign funded by the City of Boulder and a Safe Routes to School grant administered by the Boulder Valley School District. Join us in encouraging safe behavior!
Be aware; be alert; be safe.

Boulder Nites Classic! This Saturday, August 18th.

More at http://www.bouldernitesclassic.com