1. The 11th Street Bridge EIS is still in it's public comment period. About 20 feet will be set aside for bikes/peds. Right now there's about 6 feet on the southbound side and 4 on the northbound (the north side involves carrying your bike up/down stairs). The new bridge plans include either a 14 ft northbound - 6 ft southbound mix or a 12ft/8ft mix. It seems that capacity increases immensely at 12 feet and drops at 10 feet. So why not add 2 feet for a 12ft/10ft mix?
2. This Wednesday
the Transportation and the Environment Committee of the Montgomery County Council will review the recommendations and give design guidance to the Department of Public Works and Transportation on their preferred option [for the Met Branch Trail].
WABA wants you to support Option 1.
3. The Marvin Gaye Park Trail groundbreaking is this Saturday.
Kick-off Parade: 10:30 am
Beginning at Watts Branch Recreation Center
6201 Banks St., NE
Groundbreaking Ceremony: 12:00 noon
Heritage Green
(Corner of Division Ave. NE and Foote St. NE)
For more information, please call Washington Parks and People at (202) 462-7275.
4. The 2006 Itz fair is this Thursday.
Zipcar, North America’s largest Carsharing company is bringing together public and private transportation organizations from around Metro Washington D.C. for the second annual ITZ! Innovation In Transportation Fair on June 22nd from 3-8 PM on 8th St. between D and E Streets, NW. From the GM Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicle to GEM electric cars to displays from local transportation leaders, the event will provide local businesses and residents with a fun and exciting opportunity to learn more about cost-effective, viable transportation alternatives, and experience first-hand the newest and most innovative ways to get around.
- Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA) and Capitol Hill Bikes will have bikes at the event to promote bicycling as an alternative way to get around town.
5. Bush went on a bike ride with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
"He's very fast," Anders Fogh Rasmussen observed afterward. "I consider myself a skilled mountain biker, but it was challenging."
And it was covered here too.
6. Bicycling magazine's website gets an upgrade, including a new Mountain Bike section.
7. Former Virginia Lt. Governor Don Beyer - now a car dealer - is offering a free bike, free dogwood tree and 2 tickets to "An Inconvenient Truth" to anyone who buys a new car.
"Simply a car, a tree and a bike don't add up to zero . . . but at least it's moving in the right direction," Beyer said.
Of course the deal is good on an SUV too and not everyone is impressed.
Christopher C. Horner, senior fellow and counsel to the Cooler Heads Coalition of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, says: "If only we all drove Volvos, apparently. Somehow, I don't think Don Beyer has seen the movie."
8. Britain is in the middle of a cycling boom.
The growth has been led by London, where the July 7 bomb attacks generated a 20 per cent increase in cycling as commuters abandoned the Tube.
That "spike" has turned out to be a temporary blip, with most returning to public transport. But it has been replaced by a steady growth after investment in cycling increased from £5.5m in 2000 to £24m in 2006-07. The projected budget for 2009-2010 is £30m, by which time there will be 560 miles of dedicated cycle paths across the capital, compared to 310 miles currently.
9. The Lincoln Memorial traffic project that has created so many detours for cyclists is almost complete.
Once $5 million in improvements to the grounds are complete, park service officials say, it will be easier for people to get to the memorial on foot or by bicycle or bus.
10. Yoram Kaufman's obituary ran in the Post recently
He was seriously injured May 26 when he was struck by an automobile while riding his bicycle near the Goddard center's campus in Greenbelt. He died one day before his 58th birthday.
The American Meteorological Society selected Dr. Kaufman to receive its prestigious Verner E. Suomi Award for achievement in atmospheric sciences days before his fatal accident. He did not learn of the award before his death.
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