Whimsy for the Cold & Copenhagen: Errol Morris on the High Life

The cold snap and the holidays brings to mind an old favorite.





And to remind us of spring and summer, a poster from the Victory Garden of Tomorrow.

3 Great Ways to Help Bicycling this Month

Here are three ways to donate time or money to helping bicycling in Salem!

Kidical Mass started in Eugene a couple of years ago. Shane Rhodes, who manages a Safe Routes to Schools program, wanted to get more kids and families excited about riding. They say

Kidical Mass is a legal, safe and FUN bike ride for kids, kids at heart, and their families. All types of bikes, trailers, trail-a-bikes, Xtracycles, longtails, bakfiets, Long Johns, tandems, folders, trikes, and whatever rolls are welcome! Come hoot it up with us.

Why do the ride? To celebrate the fact that Kids are Traffic Too. For family fun on vehicles that don’t hurt the future! Another excuse to pedal with your family.

Not long after Eugene started, Portland followed.

And now Salem will join the Kidical Mass movement! Kat Franken, a local Americorps volunteer, is starting a Salem ride. She's just starting the planning, so if you'd like to volunteer or to be a part of it, email her at kidicalmasssalem at gmail dot com (that's three-s's!).

Another way to help out is to assist with a maternity leave for Michelle Darr of the Salem Bicycle Taxi service. Michelle's needs to take a break to welcome her new one into the world! She's interested in organizing shifts for a month or two. If you'd like to help out, email her at micheledarr at rocketmail dot com.

Finally, Kate Tarter of Resource Connections of Oregon, and former City Councilor, is looking for donations to support trikes for adult clients. If you have old trikes or would like otherwise to help, please contact Kate at ktarter at resourceconnections dot org.

Winter's Almost Here, but Planning for Bikes Moves on

It's cold, the days are short, and it's the bicycling off-season. But you'd never know it this week. Instead of going into hibernation, bicyclists and planners have held several promising meetings in the last few days.

Downtown Vision 2020, the Kroc Center, and a Salem Community Energy Strategy process each held meetings and advanced projects helpful for bicycling.

Wednesday the Vision 2020 Bike/Ped group met, and the group mapped out its projects for the next year. There's lots of work! Courtney Knox summarized the projects:

Priorities for future effort (in no particular order):
- Review and comment on bike/ped project list for $1.6M (January meeting)
- Develop communication plan re: sharrows (February meeting)
- Develop Winter Street as preferred bicycle and pedestrian route (as part of Transportation System Plan (TSP) update)
- Develop a better Union Street Connection from RR Bridge to Capitol (as part of TSP)
- Look at methods for reducing double right turn lanes
- Engage developers in collaborative discussion around planning for bike/ped access and treatment (continually)
- Promote increased awareness of bike facilities (to include mapping)
- Provide input in development of streetscape standards
- Develop codes/standards/requirements to A) include bike parking in new buildings and B) ensure future developments address bike and ped connections appropriately
- Include consideration of bike facilities in repaving projects
- Include bicycle and pedestrian representatives on advisory boards

A subgroup also gave a presentation on the junction of South Commercial and Liberty. They had combined site visits and meetings and developed a list of prospective solutions for getting south-bound bicyclists across the dual right-turns (onto Liberty) and back onto Commercial. The presenters stressed that "the solution matrix and list of prioritized solutions has not been refined. The solutions presented have not gone though City staff to determine feasibility." Even so, it's an amazing list of ideas.

In its first draft form, the preferred solution stops motorized traffic and, though there is no separate signal, effectively gives bicycle traffic a green light to cross the dual turns. The red arrows here show stopped traffic, the green arrows show moving traffic, and the green dots the bicycle movement.

The goal is to find a solution that can be coordinated with the rebuild of Commercial that is scheduled for next summer as part of the Keep Salem Moving bond.



Also on Wednesday, a large group met at the Kroc center to talk about the proposal to conduct a Salem-Parkway / Kroc Center Access Study. Participants from Congressman Schrader, Oregon Department of Transportation, Marion County, Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study, City of Keizer, and City of Salem, agreed to start planning a study of alternative projects and alignments, including potential overpasses and/or underpasses of Salem Parkway and the Portland and Western rail line, to improve access and safety to the new Salvation Army Kroc Center. City of Salem will take the lead on the process.

Conversation focussed on getting kids from Keizer across the Parkway and to the Kroc, since using the signalized crossings at Cherry or Hyacinth requires more than a mile of out-of-direction travel for all modes, and is unattractive for walking and biking.

Less time was spent on the barriers of Salem Industrial Drive and Portland Boulevard. Representatives from the City of Salem noted that the study was timed well, as it would coincide with the updates to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Elements of the Transportation System Plan, and that this would result in coordinated planning for improved access from all directions.

One of the representatives from ODOT underscored, however, that the process will not be fast. Even in the best case, a crossing over the parkway was a 5-10 year project. The TSP update is nearly a 2 year project. Improving access to the Kroc will not happen soon.

On Tuesday, the City of Salem held a Community Energy Strategy forum.

In May 2009, the City of Salem became the recipient of a $1,521,000 formula grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. Development of an Energy Strategy is the first grant requirement.

After a morning context briefing, the audience broke up into smaller groups. One of the sections of the strategy will concern transportation and about 10 community members discussed the draft goal to "encourage resident and employee use of alternative modes." The group agreed that "transportation options" focussed the matter on individual choice and cultivating a robust system-wide flexibility better than the "alt modes" moniker, which risks relegating non-drive-alone auto trips to fringe behavior. The group also drilled into a number of specific actions and sought to make them more aspirational and substantive.

It will be interesting to follow this. Perhaps focusing on energy use will be a better way to focus transportation planning on real change. In Portland and in Salem ODOT is planning two megabridges. Governor Kulongoski spent yesterday plugging the I-5 megabridge. Yet, again, ODOT says that to meet the Governor's own greenhouse gas goals

Reducing on-road vehicle GHG emissions by 75 percent from 1990 levels would be equivalent to reducing Oregonian’s per capita annual consumption of petroleum fuels from 567 gallons to 68 gallons.

The disconnect between road-building and greenhouse gas goals is staggering.

All in all, though, three meetings, a real list of projects, and some progress. A good week for bicycling in winter!

Boys and Girls Club Asks for Volunteers to Plan Family-Friendly Bicycle Event Ride

Help plan the biggest Salem-Keizer family-friendly event ride ever!

As many know, the Salem Bicycle Club decided to focus on the Monster Cookie and Peach rides. The Watermelon ride was kindof a "tweener," and together the SBC and Boys and Girls Club are creating a new event. The first planning meeting is next week, and the Boys and Girls Club sent out a call for volunteers.

The Boys and Girls Club of Marion and Polk County is recruiting cyclists and non-cyclists to come join our steering committee to support our future cycling fundraiser and the youth bicycling team.

The Club is planning to host its first Cycling Committee meeting to discuss the June 2010 Boys & Girls Club Cycling Challenge fundraiser. This event will benefit the local Boys & Girls Clubs, our new youth cycling development team "Flow Riders" and the regional cycling community. The only way to make this event successful is to develop a diverse group of volunteers to steer this event toward success.

2010 Boys & Girls Club Cycling Planning Committee Meeting
Date: December 7, 2009
Location: Boys & Girls Club - 1395 Summer St. NE - Salem 97301
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Refreshments: Pizza and soft drinks

Below are some of the general volunteer opportunities available. Meetings would be monthly, with a small amount support work being done between each meeting. Therefore this would be a 6 month commitment requiring about 1-3 hours of your time per month.

Volunteer Opportunities

Event Chair
Event Co-Chair
Marketing & Communications Committee
Corporate, Team & Underwriting Sponsors Committee
Rider Recruitment Committee
Volunteer Committee
Event Day Operations Committee

(All committees will have the full support of the Boys & Girls Clubs Resource Development Department) If you are interested in attending this meeting and possibly joining our committee please RSVP to Rosie Nash at rnash@bgc-salem.org

Bike Drill Team Practice Next Friday; Assistance League Seeks Bikes

The bike drill team and parade float wants you! Fancy bike, plain bike, unicycle, rollerskates - any human-powered wheel!

The next practice for the PGE Festival of Lights Holiday Parade will be next Friday, December 4th, from 5pm - 7pm, in Columbia Hall, which is next to the Jackman Long Building. This time it will be indoors!

It's not necessary attend a practice to participate in the parade, but it will add to the fun!

For a map of the fairgrounds and location of Columbia Hall click here.

Also, next Saturday, December 5th from 10am - noon, the Assistance League of Salem, Willamette Valley Auxiliary is asking for bikes and bike-related donations at The Bike Peddler, 174 Commercial Street NE. They are looking to outfit young adults who have transitioned out of foster care. They seek: Bikes, helmets, locks, and accessories. For more information, please contact Becky Willhite at solesisters503@yahoo.com.

Thanks to our Sponsors this Holiday Season!

Breakfast on Bikes couldn't happen without the support of businesses who look forward to creating a sustainable transportation system. Thank you!

During the holidays please support those who support us!

Check out their holiday breads like Stollen, Julekage, and nut bread!



LifeSource Natural Foods.


and
Coffee House Cafe.

For their support we also thank the
Salem Bicycle Club
Willamette University Sustainability Council

(Remember, no B on B tomorrow morning - it's Dec 11th!)

SKATS adds Projects to Funding List; Includes Study of Kroc Center Access

Today the Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study Policy Committee voted to add seven projects (and perhaps an 8th) to the Regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) as well as the Regional Transportation System Plan (RTSP).

Two of the projects were necessary to add because HB 2001 has specified funding for them, and any Federal funding requires that they be included in the regional TSP and TIP.

Widen Aumsville Highway at the Mill Creek Corporate Center from a two-lane street with roadside ditches to a three-lane section (minor arterial standards) with center turn lane, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes. The intersection at Kuebler Boulevard will be widened, including modifications to the traffic signal. ($4M from ODOT via HB 2001)

Enlarge I-5 at Kuebler Interchange by adding a westbound-to-southbound loop ramp, modifying the existing southbound off-ramp, and modifying eastbound-to-southbound on-ramp. ($15M from ODOT via HB 2001)

The other additions included:

Conducting a Salem-Parkway / Kroc Center Access Study. Fund a study of alternative projects and alignments, including potential overpasses and/or underpasses of Salem Parkway and the Portland and Western rail line, to improve access and safety to the new Salvation Army Kroc Center. (SKATS-STP-U funds)

Complete 12th Street Promenade at Mill Street: Improve pedestrian crossing at the intersections of 12th Street SE and Mill Street and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks at Mill Street.

Widen Gaffin Road SE to minor arterial standards from Cordon Road east to western border of the Salem Renewable Energy and Technology Center, including a new signal at Cordon Road with a left turn pocket on Gaffin Road.

Construct a roundabout at the Chemawa Road and Verda Lane intersection. Add turn lanes on 14th at Lockhaven.

In Turner, from the Union Pacific RR tracks west to 7th Street, widen Delany Street from 24' to 36' to include sidewalks, bike lanes, and storm water culverts.

The Kroc Center piece is particularly interesting, and there will be a meeting in early December to start the discussion. Earlier this year, when the center opened, we observed that getting to the center is very difficult for bicyclists, especially kids. Hopefully the project will focus on getting kids to the center via active forms of transportation, not on adults driving to the center. We'll be sure to follow this!

The inclusion of the 12th & Mill project suggests the City does not plan to fund it with the "Keep Salem Moving" road bond bike/ped funds.

By placing these projects in the RTSP and TIP, the project become eligible for Federal funding. Their inclusion does not mean they are necessarily funded.

The comment period for the RTSP and TIP updates will close on January 23, 2010. I don't believe they have published formally the process for comment.