TheWashCycle

Bike and Walk to School Day and the Youth Bike Summit are this week

Wednesday is Bike and Walk to School Day and I know that quite a few schools will be participating this year. For example, the Capitol Hill Public School Parent Organization is planning an event at Lincoln Park with Mayor Bowser, Council member Charles Allen and Civil Rights Icon Rep. John Lewis (yeah, I know) from 7:30-8:30am. Arlington Schools are also promoting the day, at least they are for faculty.

Then on Friday through Sunday the National Youth Bike Summit will be held in Arlington. Lots of local speakers and presenters including Phoenix Bikes, Gearin' Up Bikes, LAB, FABB, Black Women Bike, Tech Shop DC, DDOT, Rails to Trails, Bike Arlington and more! They're looking for volunteers and volunteers get to go for free. 

 

Montgomery County schedules five meetings about biking, bikeway recommendations and the Bicycle Master Plan

As part of it's ongoing Bicycle Master Plan update, Montgomery county has scheduled five meetings this summer to discuss preliminary bikeway recommendations and more.

The meetings will be held in five different locations so that county residents can pick the one that is most convenient for them to attend.

Each event will consist of an open house and informal discussion from 4 to 7 p.m. when attendees can meet with Planning Department staff to discuss cycling issues and concerns. That session will be followed by a Bicycle Master Plan presentation by project manager David Anspacher and a question-and-answer session, held from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m.

Attendees will also have the chance to contribute their comments about bicycling safety and facilities on an interactive digital “feedback map.” These community comments will be used to guide the planners during their work.

Bicycle Master Plan Meeting Schedule:
All meetings will be held from 4 to 9 pm.

Tuesday, June 6 – Meeting 1 at the Planning Department Headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD). RSVP for Meeting 1.

Thursday, June 8 – Meeting 2 at the Bethesda Regional Services Center (4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD). RSVP for Meeting 2.

Monday, June 12 – Meeting 3 at the Olney Library (3500 Olney Laytonsville Rd, Olney, MD 20832). RSVP for Meeting 3.

Wednesday, June 14 – Meeting 4 at the UpCounty Regional Services Center (12900 Middlebrook Road, Germantown, MD).  RSVP for Meeting 4.

Thursday, June 22 – Meeting 5 at the Marilyn J. Praisner Library (14910 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD. RSVP for Meeting 5.

I think the last time I wrote about the master plan, they had just put out the working draft of the Framework Report. That has since been finalized along with new bicycle parking guidelines, and an award-winning stress map. Montgomery County cyclists should plan to attend. 

Coal Rolling bill needs help in Maryland

This might be too late, but Bike Maryland issued an action alert last week.

Your help is needed for one last push

With just over a week left in the General Assembly Session, we have one last push

HB 11 -- Vehicle Laws - Causing Diesel Emissions to Discharge Onto Another - Prohibition -- aka coal rolling -- is in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and has not been scheduled for a vote.

Please email Chairman Zirkin -- [email protected] with the following message:

As chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, I encourage you to bring HB 11 to a favorable vote. Intentionally discharging diesel emissions onto to cyclists is dangerous. The resulting black cloud is blinding and can go deep into our lungs causing serious respiratory problems. I strongly urge you to pass HB 11 and prohibit this abhorrent practice.

WABA Trail Ranger Coffee Hour on Friday

March 10, 2017 7:00 AM
Metropolitan Branch Trail at 4th and S St NE.
Stop by on the way to work for a free coffee, a high five, and a chat with fellow riders!

Free Webinar on Jan 5 - "Active Transportation in the New Congress and Trump Administration."

Webinar Title:  Moving Forward in 2017: Active Transportation in the New Congress and Trump Administration

Webinar Date/Time: January 5th, 2017 at 2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific

Register Here

About this Webinar

Join America Walks and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy on January 5, 2017 at 2 p.m. Eastern for a policy briefing, “Moving Forward in 2017: Active Transportation in the New Congress and Trump Administration.” The briefing will explore what’s anticipated in federal trail, walking and biking policy as the new Congress and Trump administration prepare to take office. Experts in transportation and public health policy and former Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI) will share their intelligence and unique insights about what the new political climate will bring for active transportation. Participants will be invited to ask questions at the end of the briefing.

Participants will:

• Share the latest intelligence from federal decision-makers regarding transportation and health policy

• Provide insights regarding actions Congress and the Trump Administration may take relating to active transportation

• Learn of the new policy agenda developed by the Partnership for Active Transportation

• Discuss how supporters of the Partnership for Active Transportation and Every Body Walk! Collaborative can engage in federal advocacy

Presenters will be Kevin Mills, Senior Vice President of Policy at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, and former Congress member Thomas Petri (R-WI). The Trump cabinet would be far better with a Secretary of Transportation Petri. 

Complete the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority's Fall Survey by November 28

Good news everybody...

Due to an overwhelming response, the deadline to participate in the NVTA’s fall survey has been extended to November 28th! Last spring, the NVTA gained insights from individuals on their transportation issues and what changes they would like to see in the future. Using this initial round of outreach and an evaluation of current and future travel patterns, the NVTA has identified a broad range of transportation needs. As part of its second wave of outreach, the NVTA launched a survey to learn how you think we should prioritize different ways of addressing these needs. Please click here to take the survey and share the link with other Northern Virginians.

For more information, visit nvtatransaction.org.

National Youth Bike Summit comes to DC area in 2017

Phoenix Bikes in Arlington has announced that it is hosting the 2017 National Youth Bike Summit in Arlington, VA and Washington, DC. It will occur Oct 6-8. The 2016 summit was last May at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN (you can see the schedule here). 

This is the first I've heard of the National Youth Bike Summit, but what's not to like. Here's an RTC write-up of the 2016 Summit in case you want to know more.

Del. Norton hosting roundtable on bicycle and pedestrian funding tonight

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is hosting a round table discussion tonight on “How New Federal Funds Can Help Residents Bike and Walk with Less Risk and More Pleasure”

The roundtable will hear from local bike and pedestrian leaders and D.C. residents on the best ways to use new federal funding for bike and pedestrian projects that she got included in the new surface transportation bill.  Norton was one of the “Big Four” House Transportation leaders who wrote the FAST Act.  As Ranking Member of the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee, Norton developed a strategy to overcome Republican resistance to bike and pedestrian funding in the FAST Act that they wanted devoted solely to roads.  Norton has invited officials from the District Department of Transportation Office and the National Park Service (NPS) to sit on a panel with her to hear testimony from the D.C. bicycle and pedestrian community.

WABA appears to be approaching this differently. Instead a discussion about how to spend money, they're calling for a discussion of bicycle and pedestrian issues in relation to the federal government. That discussion is probably more useful, since a discussion of how to best spend money is a bit wonky when it works, and contentious when it doesn't. The issues they list are

• How are National Park Police, Secret Service, Capitol Police and other federal policing agencies interacting with bicyclists around Washington DC?
• How are Federal agencies headquartered in the District helping or hindering the District's goal of Vision Zero?
• How is NPS managing trails on national park land that serve as significant transportation corridors for bicyclists?

I'd even add some to that. Not only asking how are federal agencies hindering Vision Zero, but hindering efforts to make biking better. Things like allowing CaBi docks on the Capital grounds, reopening E Street south of the White House to cyclists, allowing bike commuters to use Arlington Cemetery, expanding the bicycle commuter benefit and allowing its use to pay for bikeshare fees, allowing a cash-out option for federal employees who currently get free parking, etc..will make biking better, even if maybe they don't help with Vision Zero. 

Invited panelists: 

Leif Dormsjo, Director, District Department of Transportation 
Bob Vogel, Regional Director, National Park Service
Greg Billing, Executive Director, WABA
Representatives from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Councils

Audience members will have a chance to participate by asking questions of the panel.

Date: Thursday October 27, 2016
Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Location: 2167 Rayburn House Office Building Washington DC 20515

Capitol Trails Coalition introductory video

This video, about the Metropolitan Branch Trail, produced by the newly formed Capitol Trails Coalition, makes me say "Oh, I want one of those in my city." And then I remember that I already do.

Bicycle Awareness Motor Vehicle License Plate Amendment Act Of 2016 hearing on Monday

The Committee on Transportation and the Environment is holding a hearing on Monday at 11:35 am on the Bicycle Awareness Motor Vehicle License Plate Amendment Act Of 2016.

This bill will increase safety for bicyclists on the road by allowing motorists to buy specialty automobile license plates that emphasize the 3-foot minimum passing law and by assigning the $25 application fee and annual $20 display fee for these specialty plates to the Vision Zero Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Fund.

The Committee invites the public to testify or to submit written testimony, which will be made a part of the official record. Anyone wishing to testify should contact Ms. Aukima Benjamin, staff assistant to the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, at (202) 724-8062 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Persons representing organizations will have five minutes to present their testimony. Individuals will have three minutes to present their testimony. Witnesses should bring 5 copies of their written testimony and should submit a copy of their testimony electronically to [email protected].

I suspect the plate will be similar to this one, but for DC, but the design will come after the bill.