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Leonard Conly | 1 Apr 2009 22:48
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[Ebbc-Talk] U.S. DEPT. OF ENERGY GRANTS CAN FUND BIKE/PED PROJECTS March 26, 2009

U.S. DEPT. OF ENERGY GRANTS CAN FUND BIKE/PED PROJECTS

In a Mar. 30th note, Gabe Rousseau, the FHWA Bicycle and Pedestrian  
Program Manager, wrote, "I wanted to let you know of a new funding  
opportunity that includes walking and bicycling facilities as an  
eligible activity. It's the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency  
and Conservation Block Grant program. The DOE Block Grant funds are  
available 'to assist State, local, territorial and Tribal governments  
in implementing strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions, total  
energy use, and improve energy efficiency in all sectors.'

"'Eligible activities' include 'Development of infrastructure such as  
bike lanes and pathways and pedestrian walkways.'"

Here's a link to the program press release: http://tinyurl.com/dzmaeh  
Here's the website for the program: http://tinyurl.com/ckbpec

To see the Funding Announcement, follow these instructions:
1. Go here: http://tinyurl.com/dh4fuf
2. Click on "Search Public Opportunities and Awards"
3. Search on reference number DE-FOA-0000013
4. Click on the title ("Recovery Act - EECBG Program")
5. This takes you to the "Opportunity Summary"
6. Check out the documentation on the right side of the screen and  
the overview on the left.
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Michelle DeRobertis | 2 Apr 2009 04:40
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[Ebbc-Talk] Bike Karaoke Again for real!!

Let's try this again!!!
Please come even if only to listen and clap at the end!!
The place is pretty empty, so  if  6 of us showed up we can really 
dominate!

When  2nd Thursday of April - April  9th

What is it??
Bike Songs Karaoke & Lip-Synching!!!   and even instrument playing!!!
Where?
  at The Vibe Lounge 2272 Telegraph in Uptown Oakland
Why?
To practice for all the bike-to-work-day partying you are going to do.
and to recruit musicians and singers for the next recording

How?
well for   lip synch: Bring your own song on a CD to lip-synch or use 
songs from
Music for the Velorution, which I will bring.

(Lora:  i sure wish we had more songs to LIP Sinc  to, hint hint!)

For karaoke:  Bring your own words to songs, they have the 
karaoke  machine,
or use those that are already written.

Which ones?
Just a sampling:
Pedestrian Girl
Oops They Did It Again
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Leonard Conly | 3 Apr 2009 09:12
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[Ebbc-Talk] Detours due to Cal Cycling Club Bicycle Race (Item #: 1124)


  Subscriber Bulletin

Due to the Cal Cycling Club Bicycle Race, lines 7, 51, and 52L will  
have detours between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Sunday, April 5.

Lines 7, 51, and 52L will not operate on Durant Ave. between Dana St.  
and College Ave. Board all three lines along Bancroft Way or lines 7  
and 51 at Durant Ave and Dana St.

Thank you for riding AC Transit.

AC Transit Marketing

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RBishop747 | 3 Apr 2009 23:33
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[Ebbc-Talk] Cuban Bicycling Culture

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and its subsidies for oil nearly two  
decades ago, Cubans were forced to find new methods of transportation. And 
what  do you think they found? The bicycle! The bicycle, in its many forms, is 
the  most reliable and accessible form of transportation for Cubans today.  
Locals have found creative ways to conjure up bicycles by fixing many broken  
ones, using hybrid parts and creating interesting modifications like brake  
levers tied on with string, (I hope they tied it on tight!), or homemade wooden 
 child seats attached to the top. Other homemade parts have been added for 
towing  goods: front and back carts, extended bike racks and more. Large 
tricycles are  used for hauling the heaviest loads 
Everyone in Cuba rides bikes. Men and women and children, people dressed in  
office suits, carrying huge loads, selling fruit—anything you can imagine a  
bicycle being used for, Cubans are doing it. There are "bici-taxis" to replace  
automobile taxis, complete with bells and horns, customized hand-painted  
designs, and seat upholstery. To get to the beach, Havaneros can take the  
"ciclobus", which is a bus modified to take 30 passengers with bikes they board  on 
a ramp. 
At first the bike accident rate was high for Havana, a city not used to bike  
transportation. But that changed quickly, as infrastructure changed to 
reserve  lanes just for bicyclists and yellow concrete bumps called turtle backs 
were  installed which separate bike paths from cars. 
As for commuting to work, a system was introduced that allowed people to  
exchange a faraway job for one closer to home. Thousands of people have taken  
advantage of this system. And Poncheros, or quick-fix roadside mechanic shops,  
have opened up all over Cuba. 
I envision that more countries will use successful aspects of the Cuban  
model, expanding their own bike culture, after oil becomes scarcer  everywhere. 
_http://www.actionspark.com/pg/blog/eileen/read/1015/cubanbikeculture_ 
(http://www.actionspark.com/pg/blog/eileen/read/1015/cubanbikeculture)  
Ron Bishop
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Kevin Dalley | 4 Apr 2009 20:31

[Ebbc-Talk] Oregon bike registration bill

The Oregon state legislature is considering a bill requiring state-wide
bicycle registration.  Bike Portland has an interview with the bill's
chief architect, who seems to dislike bicycles.

http://bikeportland.org/2009/03/06/a-conversation-with-rep-krieger-about-his-bike-registration-bill/#more-15795

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Leonard Conly | 5 Apr 2009 02:43
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[Ebbc-Talk] Bcycle.com

Is anyone familiar with Bcycle?  Are they being used anywhere in the  
U.S.?

Len Conly

http://www.bcycle.com/

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Jon Spangler | 5 Apr 2009 07:37
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[Ebbc-Talk] Fwd: getting dusty bikes out of garages-Alameda Earth Day, 4/25/2009

Dear fellow bikies,

The BikeAlameda Board has endorsed doing a "Get Your Dusty Bike Out  
of the Garage" program at Earth Day, pending official approval from  
Maria DiMeglio and Planet Alameda/Public Works, and pending the  
gathering of sufficient volunteer staffing (2-5 people) and supply  
resources (basic bike tools, 2-3 shop stands, rags, lubricant, etc.)

The goal is to get people to bring their unused bikes over to Earth  
Day for a free basic safety check, get air in their tires, and  
otherwise get their bikes and helmets adjusted, dusted off, and on  
the road. (Referrals to local bike shops would be made for bikes  
needing more than basic adjustments.) I have invited Cycles of Change  
to join this effort.

Would you be willing to help out with this new offering for 1-4  
hours? Alameda's Earth Day is on Saturday, April 25, 10 AM - 3 PM at  
Upper Washington Park (8th & Central).

Please contact me via phone or email if you can help or have any  
suggestions.

Thanks much,

Jon Spangler
H 510-864-0370
CEL    846-5356
hudsonspangler@...

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Mike Jones | 5 Apr 2009 17:58
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[Ebbc-Talk] How wide the shoulder?

Hi all,

One area where Caltrans engineers and bicyclists' interests appear to
coincide is shoulders. Engineers, given the option and the funding, will
always go for 8ft shoulders- after all that is the standard. Myself, a
Caltrans Planner, I have thought shoulders (from a highway perspective)
something of an extravagance. Building the roadway continuously 16ft. wider
than it needs to be, just in case a car needs to pull off, strikes me as
somewhat excessive. 

As a bicyclist, though, I'm more ambivalent.  On a busy highway a shoulder
can keep you nicely clear  of passing traffic, but they add a comfort zone
for cars which is usually expressed as speed and bad driving. Certainly,
when highway speeds get excessive a nice wide (8ft.) shoulder is a refuge
from trucks blasting past, but generally I'm happy with a smaller or no
shoulder. I'm wondering what others think? Not only from the perspective of
safety, but of aesthetics and cost too. Providing 8ft. shoulders is not
cheap, especially when the topography or landuse is more complex. In our
current budget crisis are shoulders a good investment of scarce funds?

An example, of what I call shoulder madness, is a project in Sonoma County
on SR.116 south of Sebastopol (Gravenstein Highway) ,  that wants to put in
standard shoulders and turn pockets. The road is currently  2-lane and lined
with barns,  antique stores and old property fences. It has a narrow
intermittent shoulders. It is a busy but pleasant road to ride. My own view
is that the project would kill the charm of the road and actually make it
less safe to ride on. But I would concede that putting in a narrow 2-3ft.
shoulder for bikers would be nice. This is a $70M project. Nearby Santa Rosa
currently has bus renewal program of 0.5 buses per year for its city buses.
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Eric McCaughrin | 5 Apr 2009 18:30
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Re: [Ebbc-Talk] How wide the shoulder?


--- On Sun, 4/5/09, Mike Jones <mkjcal@...> wrote:
> 
> An example, of what I call shoulder madness, is a project
> in Sonoma County on SR.116 south of Sebastopol (Gravenstein Highway) , 
> that wants to put in standard shoulders and turn pockets. The road is
> currently  2-lane and lined with barns,  antique stores and old property 
> fences. It has a narrow intermittent shoulders. 

That does sound like madness. My recollection is that (except
for a few locations) the shoulders are already quite generous 
for bikes. I saw a similar project in Mendocino county (Hwy 20 
I believe), where the impact on the neighboring residential 
properties was extreme.

> It is a busy but pleasant road to ride. My own view
> is that the project would kill the charm of the road and
> actually make it less safe to ride on. 

Sounds like the goal is to increase vehicle speeds,
which reduces everyone's overall safety. Note that two 
8' shoulders == 16' overall ROW. If there is 
spare 16' ROW (and $70 million), it allows for this type of 
road treatment:

http://www.ebbc2.ebbc.org/france/cannes2.JPG

Alas, Caltrans has different priorities.
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Michelle DeRobertis | 5 Apr 2009 23:28
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Re: [Ebbc-Talk] How wide the shoulder?

Clearly depends on traffic volume, posted speed, % trucks,  topography, 
   in short: context, even Caltrans has "Context Sensitive" guidelines
Unfortunately  Caltrans also has "by the Book" engineers.
but for example  Highway  1 in most locations will never have 8 foot 
shoulders.
Also lane width is  a pertinent factor:  in some locations it is better 
to have 11  or even 10 foot lanes and 3 foot shoulders than two 12 or 
13 foot lanes.

Google Florida's red shoulder experiment, where the state DOT wanted to 
build shoulders where there were none before but they did not want to 
increase vehicle speeds

On Apr 5, 2009, at 9:30 AM, Eric McCaughrin wrote:

>
> --- On Sun, 4/5/09, Mike Jones <mkjcal@...> wrote:
>>
>> An example, of what I call shoulder madness, is a project
>> in Sonoma County on SR.116 south of Sebastopol (Gravenstein Highway) 
>> , 
>> that wants to put in standard shoulders and turn pockets. The road is
>> currently  2-lane and lined with barns,  antique stores and old 
>> property
>> fences. It has a narrow intermittent shoulders.
>
> That does sound like madness. My recollection is that (except
> for a few locations) the shoulders are already quite generous
> for bikes. I saw a similar project in Mendocino county (Hwy 20
> I believe), where the impact on the neighboring residential
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