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Entries tagged: Virginia

By Lisa Seyfried, Contributing Writer

Last month, BikeWalk Virginia released its new Community Resources Toolkit — an online resource containing everything from case studies to expert interviews to a dictionary of terms. I had the opportunity to talk with Executive Director, Kim Perry (pictured), about the ins and outs of the toolkit.

Kim’s goal in creating the toolkit was to inspire communities through real-world examples. The toolkit can help people to learn from others’ mistakes, and build on their successes. Kim hopes that the toolkit will “give people hope that they can have a place to ride or walk and that the efforts they put forward will be successful and amount to something.”

The toolkit is easily adaptable to any area of the country. Of course, there are differences between towns and cities, but many bicycle advocates working to make their communities more bike- or pedestrian-friendly face similar obstacles. Issues such as funding and community perceptions can hinder the work of any advocate, regardless of location. This toolkit offers a framework to get beyond those issues — from advocates who have addressed those precise challenges themselves.

Kim’s favorite part of the website (and mine too!) is the ‘What that Word Means section — a dictionary of terms used in bicycle advocacy. One of the biggest, and easiest obstacles to remove, is the language barrier for new advocates. Getting everyone on the same page and speaking the same lingo is important, and gives newcomers the confidence to know how to talk about issues.

The project was created and funded through both internal and external means. BikeWalk Virginia held bicycle events, such as the Bike Virginia Tour, to raise some of the money. The organization also received a DMV Transportation Safety Grant, which went toward the man-hours needed to conduct the research and construct the website itself.

BikeWalk Virginia plans to expand the case studies section, as well as the rest of the site, as new information becomes available. The goal is to make the resource a ‘living site’ that is constantly updated to reflect changes in the biking movement as a whole. They want to make sure the site includes case studies from both urban and rural areas, as each have different challenges to face.

If you have something to share, contact BikeWalk Virginia.

Blog and new resource contributed by Alliance intern Camie Rodan

Last year Maryland and Mississippi passed laws requiring that vehicles passing bicyclists allow at least three feet of clearance to ensure safety for both parties. At present, there are 16 states with such laws in effect and now another state is one step closer to being added to that list.

Just yesterday, the Virginia Senate Transportation Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 928, which requires motor vehicles overtaking and passing bicyclists to allow at least three feet of clearance. Current Virginia law allows a two-foot cushion, which gives cyclists just a small margin in the event of an emergency. Two similar bills were shot down in the House earlier this year. As evidenced in a video shot by Bike Charlottesville, failure of these bills can be attributed to the legislators’ lack of knowledge of current law, concern that it will not allow cars to pass without moving into other lanes, and fear that it will impede traffic.

SB928 will now head to the full Senate where Virginia cycling advocates are optimistic about its success. In a recent blog post, Budl Vye of the Virginia Bicycling Federation notes that the measure has a promising champion: Delegate Glenn Oder has agreed to support the bill and will “help get it all the way through.” Stay tuned for updates on the bill on Virginia Bicycling Federation’s blog.

In the meantime, we picked up on some discussion circulating among Alliance leaders last week about which states have passed or are considering three-foot passing laws. So we put together a list that highlights:

• Which states have passed three-foot passing laws
• Which states are considering three-foot passing laws
• And advocacy contacts for the folks working to get those policies passed.
  

Check out the new resource in our Online Library.

Cyclists understand public streets more intimately than most motorists. On our regular routes, we know the precise location of every pothole and potentially wheel-swallowing sewer grate. We learn how traffic flows and explore streets that many automobiles never see.

But, when it comes to road design, many bike commuters and recreational riders are tossed into utterly unknown territory.

Advocates want to see bicycle facilities included in local transportation projects, but the agency jargon and hyper-detailed engineering schematics can be a foreign language.

Virginia advocates have come up with a handy road map that demystifies the bureaucratic maze.

In 2009, the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling — a working group of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association — received one of the very first Advocacy Advance Grants from the Alliance. In the span of a single year, the FABB turned that $9,600 award into a “Guide for Reviewing Public Road Design and Bicycling Accommodations for Virginia Bicycling Advocates.”

The 28-page resource simplifies and streamlines the confusing road design process with easy-to-follow flow charts, handy check lists and explanations that make sense to folks who don’t have a masters degree in urban planning. In a neatly designed format, FABB lays out the anatomy of road projects, from initial planning to final inspection, and provides specific advice for how bicycle advocates can get involved.

“As far as we know, no one has compiled material like this before,” said Fionnuala Quinn, the primary author of the guide, in the group’s press release last week. “I wanted to use my background in civil engineering to help demystify the road design process and to help people take advantage of occasions to incorporate bike facilities whenever roads projects are being designed. A crucial point to remember is that the earlier you provide input to the road design, the better your chances of having an effect on the final design.”

Chanda Causer, Alliance Grants Manager, said she was impressed with the content and quality of the guide, which represents an exciting, tangible product of the Advocacy Advance program. Although the agency details are specific to Virginia, the ideas and strategies in the guide are applicable to advocates across the country.

Download a copy from the Alliance Resource Library or the FABB website.

When an abandoned rail line near Richmond became an illegal dumping ground, the Virginia Bicycling Federation pitched in to clean up the trash. The PBS show, Virgina Currents, was rolling tape as volunteers hauled garbage bags and old furniture out of the woods. Soon, the debris-strewn area will be transformed into a 2.3-mile trail, luring joggers, walkers and cyclists. In the 10-minute segment, the host spoke with Champe Burnley, president of VBF.

Check out the beautiful footage of the trail site and the interview with Burnley in the video below. (Segment starts at the two-minute mark.)

“Virginia Currents” #1925 from Community Idea Stations on Vimeo.

On November 19th, the Virginia Bicycling Federation (VBF) claimed a well deserved victory for the future of the state’s active transportation network. Major funding was unanimously approved by Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board where bike and pedestrian projects will be a priority. According to VBF, funding will be focused on the following categories:

• Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety and Education
• Landscaping and Scenic Beautification along Corridors
• Preservation of Abandoned Railway Corridors for Conversion to Trails (rails to trails and rails-with-trails)
• Rehabilitation of historic transportation buildings, structures and facilities
• Acquisition of scenic or historic easements and sites, including historic battlefields

Bike advocates and VBF addressed the Board in support of these changes and will continue to be active in ensuring the implementation of these core transportation projects. To learn more about VBF and upcoming projects visit www.vabike.org

On November 5, the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB) (Fairfax County, VA) held a workshop in Sterling, VA to test materials they developed for a new engineering for advocates handbook.  According to FABB, “A small but interested audience showed up to learn how they could better comment to public officials on the design of bicycling facilities during the engineering process.  One of the things that we found was that there seemed to be demand from new advocates to learn about the very basic steps in accessing the process so we have gone back to add additional diagrams and explanations to the handbook to better address this need.”

The engineering for advocates handbook is a project funded by an Alliance for Biking & Walking Advocacy Advance Grant. For more information about this project, please visit http://www.fabb-bikes.org/index.html

http://www.fabb-bikes.org/resources.html

According to the Virginia Bicycling Federation, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones joined hundreds of riders (on May 15th) for a Bike to Work Day ride in Richmond.
According to Champe Burnley of the Federation,  “It was a great ride. Despite questionable weather forecasts, hundreds of riders from across Richmond converged on Monroe Park. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Ralph Davis commented on the benefits of bike commuting.”

For more information, click here…