Pop-up bike lanes and Sharrows happening in Montpelier

From Streetsblog Vermont

For tomorrows Bike Safety Rally in Montpelier from the State House at 5.30pm there is a bunch of new Sharrows and a pop-up separated bike lane being installed today and tomorrow! Thanks for the volunteer help and DPW for cooperating this. Hopefully see lots of folks tomorrow.

Final Meeting for the VTrans On-Road Bike Plan - 12/1

From Local Motion via StreetsblogVermont

From Local Motion

On Tuesday, December 1st from 6pm to 8pm, join the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) for a final public meeting about the VTrans On-Road Bike Plan (Phase 1). We will be there and hope you will will too!

The goal of the plan is to identify opportunities to enhance bicycle conditions on state roads designated as high-use priority bicycle corridors with the intent of making Vermont roads work better and be safer for everyone -- families, commuters and recreational riders. Phase 1 categorized state roads into high-, moderate- and low-use corridors based on their current and potential use.  At the public meeting you will be able to: See results of phase 1 of the project: the VTrans Bicycle Corridor Priority map, which thousands of people from around the state participated in crafting. Learn more about the next phases of the project: VTrans' assessment of safety and other deficiencies and identification of projects to address those gaps along high priority corridors.  The meeting will use Vermont Interactive Technologies (VIT) to broadcast to locations around the state. You can attend the meeting at a VIT site to participate in the meeting in real time or participate via webcast at home. Look for emails from Local Motion and check the VTrans On-Road Bike Plan website in the near future for details.

Montpelier awarded Bronze level Bike-friendly cities

 This is an attempt to bring this blog back to life, with new materials, recent developments and discussions about a better bicycle infrastructure in Montpelier, VT! Recently awarded the Bronze level of Bicycle-friendly Cities by the League of American Bicyclists, Montpelier has a long ways to go when it comes to taking this to the next level!

Bicycling on City Council Agenda - June 10

Please come to Montpelier City Council to support bicycling - this Wednesday at 7 pm!
Montpelier City Council will discuss bicycling infrastructure, possible bike lanes, and a bicycle network.

Bicyclists are strongly encouraged to attend the meeting @ 7 pm this Wednesday at City Hall - this is the first agenda item. Montpelier Bikes (www.montpelierbikes.org) will present on potential addition of bike lanes to the Route 2/302 paving being done this summer, and preliminary support for funding a bicycle network, to include bicycle lanes, shared lane markings, bicycle shelters, bicycle lockers, and improving a few key missing links.

Citizen turn out for this meeting will help to propel bicycle improvements in Montpelier. Please bring your bike helmet into the meeting, or get a bicycle lapel sticker on the way in, to show your support (you need not speak, but your presence will make a difference.) For more information, please see: www.montpelierbikes.org

New Website

www.montpelierbikes.org

This blog site maintained for archival purposes; please see the above link for current news.

Montpelier Bikes @ Montpelier Planning Commission • 1/26/09

With input from many of you, and the combined thinking power of the Montpelier Bikes steering committee -- Montpelier Bikes is taking recommendations to improve conditions for bicycling before the Montpelier Planning Commission on Monday, January 26, at 7 pm, in the City Council Chambers - Montpelier City Hall. Becka Roolf of Going Green will make a presentation.

We encourage you to attend the meeting if you can, to learn more about these initiatives, and provide your additional public comment, input, and support. Here are our handouts for the meeting.

1. Bicycle Parking Recommendations
Our presentation will summarize a recent bicycle parking survey and our recommendations. Thanks to all on this list who participated in the survey. We had 42 responses. Here's two spreadsheets summarizing the results:

• Sidewalk/2-bike rack locations (PDF) - hopefully to be installed this spring!
  
• Bike shelters / bike lockers (PDF)
  

2. Complete Streets Resolution
A complete streets resolution would direct city staff to routinely accommodate all modes of transportation in all construction projects and planning. Currently, specific bicycle accommodation is rarely considered. Specific wording for Montpelier would need to be developed; the Montpelier Bikes group would like to initiate the discussion.

3. Bicycle Master Plan
The creation of a bicycle master plan was recommended in the city's transportation plan drafted in 2005. Montpelier Bikes would like the planning commission to make this a priority in 2009, and to subsequently seek funding for implementation.

4. Sidewalk Riding Ordinances
Possible revisions to the restriction to bicycles on sidewalks, to reduce the area in which sidewalk bicycle riding is prohibited to just the core business area (which is where police currently enforce it). See last page of handout, linked above.

Note: at this time we are not addressing specific streets or hot spots. We received some comments on streets as part of our bike parking survey. We did hear you, and we will take your input into account as our initiative moves in that direction in the coming year.

Montpelier Bikes Completes Bicycle Parking Inventory; Seeks Public Input on New Racks

The Montpelier Bikes project is recommending that the City add bicycle parking, including:

• Additional two-bicycle racks in the downtown business district.
• Covered racks or bike shelters in key commuter locations.
• Bicycle lockers where security is a concern, such as at the Montpelier Park & Ride.
• Upgraded bicycle racks (to get away from wheelbending!) at key locations.

We want your input! What locations should get top priority for new racks?
Please take our online survey - which takes about 5-10 minutes. Click HERE to take the survey.

Currently, Montpelier has bicycle parking, much of which is unfortunately poor or outdated in design.

Volunteers from the Montpelier Bikes project recently completed an inventory of existing bicycle parking in the capital city. The good news - Montpelier has a fair amount of bicycle parking in the form of bike racks.

Here's a map of Montpelier's current bike racks - with thanks to Dave Blumenthal, Carolyn Grodinsky, Bill Merrylees, Heather Pipino, and Gwen Roolf for their assistance in completing the inventory. Click on the map to see more detail.



Now for the bad news - most of Montpelier's current racks are of an outdated "wheelbender" style that can actually cause damage to bicycles -- and although these racks may look like adequate parking, few are located directly on the street/sidewalk, where bicyclists want to park. Almost none of the racks are under cover to protect bicycles from rain/snow, and many racks are poorly located too close to buildings, rendering them partly unusable. Many bicyclists instead lock to wastebaskets, tree cages, and parking meters.

Current national guidelines recommend bicycle racks that provide two points of contact with the bicycle frame, to keep the bicycle from tipping over. The old-fashioned "wheelbender" racks are no longer recommended. Bicycle parking should be distributed throughout an area, rather than concentrated in a single multi-bicycle rack.

Please take the survey and let us know where you think new bike racks should be!