I’ll wait…

It’s National Bicycle Month – what does that actually mean, and why should you care?

I’m glad you asked.

Because this month there are so many ways for you to not only get out and see Cary and our community on your bike, but you will also notice that lots of folks are already doing so – and we all want to be safe out there.

My Bike History  (a short tale, like me)

I’m kinda a bike nerd.  I didn’t start that way. I took easy rides with the family and enjoyed just getting out there with the kids.

My family – many years ago

Then, I had this friend, Wayne, who first got me on a road bike.  (Let’s all blame him. OK?)  I started taking my hybrid on the road, but I found it so very heavy to do longer rides.  I moved up to a road bike, so much lighter and easier to maneuver.  But I was scared – mostly about all the spandex that folks wear, but also about the vulnerability of being on the road, next to vehicles that could easily bump or hit me.  I know that I’m no threat to a car – but I also know how easily it is to be distracted as a driver, and miss seeing a cyclist. It’s something I think about all the time when I’m on the road.  

I started my first rides with the goal of eventually riding a Century (100 miles – yes, in a day) at the Multiple Sclerosis BikeMS ride.

I began with short rides – 5, 10 miles, then another at 20.  I was motivated by the safety of some of the fundraising rides, with a pack of cyclists, roads that are closed and flanked by police officers – and also the lure of ice cream at the end of the best rides.  My first long ride was a metric century with my friend Donna – who coaxed and cajoled me when I didn’t have the energy to keep going.  She’s also the one who got me over the finish line of my first 100 mile ride —- singing horrible songs to keep me going the last 10 miles.  Yes, I was trying to bike away from that. You would too if you heard her.

Eventually I brought in my mom and daughter into the biking family.  We even did the BikeMS ride together – not a lot of 3 generations out there in Spandex.  Trust me on that one.  (And yes, I’m still scared of Spandex.)  And yes, my daughter DID beat me over the finish line at 75 miles that day.

75 mi BikeMS ride with my amazing daughter

And now, I’m a fan of my Elf.  I wrote about it before, here, but it gives me a commuter and errand vehicle, that’s safer, more visible, and easy to use for those types of trips.

Bike to School 2016

(Yes, I take it to Town Hall, and to the grocery store and for coffee.)  All of my bikes have a purpose and use, and I’m a fan of each one of them.

National Bike Month

Enough about me.  This is about May being National Bike Month.

I wanted to share my experience because biking has really changed my world view in so many ways.

– It’s given me a new way to get exercise while commuting and running errands.
– I’ve connected to a whole new group of people in the community.
– I found ways to combine my passion for finding an end to MS, with my love of cycling through MS Rides.
– I feel like I help the environment everytime I choose NOT to drive, and to ride my bike instead
– I’ve found new ways to connect with my family through cycling – it’s an activity for all ages (ask my 70+ year old mom, she’s out there riding all the time!)

Biking does more than help you stay fit, connect with the community, and help the environment, it can help reduce traffic, stress and slow you down.  A recent CNNTech article says that bikes will eventually rule the roads.

Bike Interest Grows

Interest in cycling is growing.  Raleigh has a new BikeShare program. Wake County is looking at the possibility of a Cycling center at RDU. And I’ve talked about finding ways to make cycling safer – such as separate biking lanes for the future.

Cary is Committed to Bike and Ped Safety

The Town of Cary continues to prioritize bicycling as a major mode of transportation and has finalized the implementation of transportation bond bicycle improvements. These improvements include the installation of 14 miles of bicycle pavement markings, the installation of 4 bike lockers at the downtown Cary Depot, installation of bicycle and pedestrian counting devices, development of a Bike/Hike mobile application and the construction of the New Hope Road and Reedy Creek Road Trailheads.

C’mon Out and Bike

There are a number of events and activities to celebrate Bike Month.

Check out Cary’s Bike Month page, and Raleigh’s and Durham’s.

– Bike to School Day – Wed, May 10^th
 – Bike to Work Week – May 15-19^th
 – Bike to Work Day – May 19^th
 – Ride of Silence – May 17^th – a silent bike ride to honor those who have been injured or killed while bicycling on public roads to raise awareness.

Be Safe

Let’s face it – we’ve had it tough in Cary over the last year when it comes to cycling accidents in the news.  My heart is heavy with the impact that these events have had on two of my co-workers and their families – one from the Town and one at Cisco.  Nothing can mend the pain we feel when something so tragic happens, we need to look at what we can all do to be safe, moving forward.

1. Just remember, that a bicycle is a vehicle, and NC traffic laws treat cyclists as drivers of a vehicle. Because of that, a bicyclist is allowed to travel on all public roadways except fully controlled access highways (freeways) such as interstates. And follow the rules of the road – obey all traffic signs, signals and lane markings.
2. NC law requires that any person under the age of 16 riding a bicyle as an operator OR passenger, must wear a Helmet.
3. Vehicles must provide at least 4 feet of space while passing a bicyclist or completely enter the left lane like they would for any other vehicle.
4. Go with the traffic flow – not against it.

But there is more that we can do. 

I’d like to see Town Council add a Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission in place, similar to Raleigh and Durham. I suggested it over a year ago, and will bring it up again as we continue to review our boards and commissions. I believe that we could leverage the amazing intellectual capital and experience of the cycling community and the walking fans, to give us THEIR TAKE on what we need to be doing.

With 80 miles of greenways – and access to the American Tobacco Trail in our back yard, there’s no reason not to jump on a bike and explore.  Be safe, and I hope to see you out there!

What is it?

StreetMix is an online interactive tool that allows anyone to build a street, section by section. It is designed to help folks create mock-ups of streets allowing them to see and engage with the design. Many citizens and governments have used this tool as a way to connect with their community about future road changes, and to gather feedback and comments.

Why I like it

As a visual person, the thing that struck me about this was the way all of the technical details of a street can be translated into a picture, truly demonstrating to a citizen the way a street will “feel” based on proposed changes.

Also, because it’s so easy to use, anyone can play around with it, adding width to a sidewalk, moving bike lanes, or if you are so inclined, creating your own little “dream street.”

Streetmix Uses

There were a number of case studies presented at Code for America about the use of StreetMix with citizens and local governments. (You can also read more at their Blog.)  

Here are my favorites:

Used by BikeWalkKC – creating visual representations of streets to demonstrate how they could improve biking in their Midtown, by adding dedicated bike lanes and safer parking. Using Streetmix they were able to provide a ‘before” (with four cars lanes and sharrows and parallel parking, to a optional “road diet”, to their proposed “green lane cycletrack.”

Carrboro, NC – Folks used Streetmix to show the impact of the their Main Street “road diet.”

Just for fun – check out some of the crazy “dream streets” created by some of the users.

I think Councilman Don Frantz will like these.  (Just kidding Don.)
(Click on the Names of the Streets in the captions to see a larger and interactive image.)

Car Town & NASCAR Oval (from StreetMix)

Of course, these are some of my favorites.

Super Bike Lane & Pedal Street (from Streetmix)

Have some fun

This tool has some great applications – but mostly, its goal is to allow people to have the power of visualization in their hands, without the need for expensive CAD tools that the Urban Planners have and use. And, most importantly, it allows you to have fun while doing it.

Below is the demo given by the Streetmix team at the Code for America Summit last year.

So, try it out, and start posting your own streets. Can’t wait to see what you all come up with!

As always, thanks for listening and please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns.

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Featured photo created by me using Streetmix

It’s a hard question to answer. Not because there is little to “like” but rather, the contrary. There is so much I enjoy.

Overall though, I enjoy taking ideas I have to improve the town and bringing those ideas to fruition. Sometimes that means taking problems or issues, often brought up by citizens, and then finding various workable solutions. Or, taking suggestions from community leaders, advocates, or Town Staff, and finding new and innovative ways to implement them, all with the goal of improving our collective quality of life, and making the Town an EVEN better place to live.

There have been successes, for sure. (I’d like to think that the Technology Task Force is one of those, and I’ll write another blog post about that, this week.) But there have also been times where things haven’t gone as I had hoped. And, it wouldn’t be a “real life blog” if I overlooked those. So, here goes.

A Bike and Walkable Champion

About two years ago, I brought up the idea to council that we should be looking at ways to make our town more bike and pedestrian friendly.

As an avid walker and cyclist, I see opportunities for improving our activities, ordinances, and vision when it comes to supporting folks that use our roads, sidewalks and greenways – not just for recreation, but for commuting as well. (I just hit my 1000 mile mark with my FitBit! Woo hoo!)

Council agreed that it was worth looking into and discussing, along with several other potential areas – such as Historic Preservation, our Senior Community, Persons with Disabilities, and a number of others.  We put them all to the side, to have a larger brainstorming session – with the goal of determining which areas we’d like to have more “citizen input.”

Fast Forward a Year

About a year later, October 2012, we had that brainstorming session, and sure enough, Pedestrian and Mobility issues bubbled up near the top.  I was glad to see that my fellow council members were looking for more citizen input, guidance and feedback.   I was hopeful.

Time to Share my Thoughts

Finally last week (more than two years after the original discussion), we had a work session on the potential of adding four new boards and commissions – a Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Council (BPAC), one for Historic Preservation, a Senior related board, and a committee for persons with disabilities.

I couldn’t wait any longer – so I made my pitch.

I had talked with cycling advocates, walkers and citizens about this idea.  I had reached out to the former head of the Durham BPAC and members of the Raleigh BPAC.  I consulted with folks that have worked with Cary staff on improving bicycle and pedestrian safety.  And I brought all that to the table.  Here’s what I said…

Why Does Cary Need a BPAC?

It’s a movement – and more and more of us are walking and riding.

There is a growing movement and population that like to to walk and bike – we should continue to find ways to make it safe to do so

• Greenways are one of our “highest rated” and used resources in Cary
• We need to do more to find ways to connect the Greenways, and get people to feel safe and comfortable walking and riding.
• We need the expertise in the community to weigh in, additional advise from real users
• Issues and concerns have been raised in the community about sidewalks that are missing on various sides of key roads
• We need a holistic and COMPREHENSIVE review of Bicycle and Pedestrian access across all of Cary, not just NEW developments, or sidewalks.  That is, full integration of biking and walking into community transportation policies and practices
• BPACs can review development plans and site plans which may have a significant impact on bike mobility and  transportation
• BPACs can facilitate citizen participation with biking community

Cary is now a “bicycle friendly” area – but we can do so much more to engage citizens.

• we could create safety programs for kids/seniors (as done in other BPACs)
• Programs can directly attack the obesity issue: finding better ways to get kids to walk and bike to schools, safely
• Studies show that children living near an extra-wide walking and biking trail were 3 times more likely to get vigorous exercise than kids in a similar low-income neighborhood with regular sidewalks. In other words: if you build it, they will walk, run, bike and skate-board
• Education to the greater community – promoting bike and pedestrian education and safety initiatives – partnering with certified bike instructors, and law enforcement, and other interested groups in the community, and promote bike safety education on the “rules of the road” and “sharing the road” for motorist and bicyclists of all ages.

Outcomes from these Goals

The economic, environmental and community benefits of cycling and walking deserve our attention, and should be a vital part of our processes. Let’s face it,there are great reasons to do it – the reduction of air and noise pollution (enhancing our sustainability goals) , reducing our traffic congestion, helping to alleviate our vehicular parking demands – all while saving energy, using land and road space more efficiently, and in turn, saving our citizens money.   

BPACs have proven to be worthwhile

I shared my conversations with the BPAC members from the various municipalities, and the staff as well.  Both Durham and Raleigh have netted great results from these programs, and feel that the organizations are an important addition to their boards and commissions.

BPACS for Raleigh & Durham

The cost for this additional advisory board is negligible; just the Town of Cary staff time to create agendas, take minutes, and to interview and bring on additional citizens to the boards and commissions process.

The End of the Meeting

As much data as I brought, I just wasn’t successful in convincing my fellow council members that this was an additional board or commission to add to our slate.  (Yes, it’s tough to lose a good fight.)

But at the end of the day, this is a democracy, and I needed a majority of council members to be on what I will call the “right side” of this idea.  

I hope my colleagues will think about it, and maybe they will hear from other citizens that think this was a good idea, or not.  But, until that time, this idea will still sit on the back burner of my list, and maybe, when the time is right, I’ll bring it out again for discussion.

On a happier note, my other two ideas – asking staff to investigate ways to increase enforcement and proactive tree buffer protection zones, and getting Accessible Pedestrian signals at Walnut Street DID pass. 

American Tobacco Trail photo by NMNC

What I do know is that this area is one of the absolutely best places to ride. We have easy access to the gorgeous rural roads in Chatham County, nice quiet roads near Shearon Harris, wonderful greenways and the American Tobacco Trail. Whether you are a recreational rider, a die-hard commuter, or somewhere in between, you can find something that works for you.

Cary – Bicycle Friendly

Cary has worked hard to ensure that our bicyclists have a safe mode of transportation, and has won an award as a Bicycle-Friendly Community.   No doubt due to the hard work of many folks on Town staff as well as so many active citizens that got us here.

When I was on the Planning and Zoning board, (before I rode that much) I met a gentleman passionate about cycling and bike safety.  Steven Goodridge (read articles by Steven, here) would review the plans that came before us with a keen eye to multi-modal transportation, always thinking about how cyclists could stay safe and share the road. So much of how I look at multi-modal transportation started by listening to Steven.  And then, I got on a bike.

Navigating on a Road Bike

A very good friend started me (and another novice) on a road bike – convincing me that I could ride the 150 miles (over 2 days) in the Multiple Sclerosis Bike MS ride in New Bern, NC.  He taught me all the “rules of the road” – from ways to stay safe and defensively ride, to hand signals and pace line riding.  We started slow, and yes, eventually I could ride well enough not to kill myself, or anyone near me. I finally rode enough to join my friends on a number of rides throughout the triangle, and then, on the full first day ride of 75 miles – and lived to tell about it.  Riding in a group to raise money (especially for a cause so close to me) was exhilarating!  I soon convinced my daughter and mother to join me, and we’ve all ridden in the Bike MS ride.

Family Biking

So, keeping Cary a great place to ride a bike is important to me, and judging by the huge number of bike riders out on a gorgeous day, to so many people in Cary.  That’s why it is discouraging for me to read about the House Transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act.  Although there are some cost cutting measures that are at the crux of the bill, it’s disappointing to see the impact that the bill will have on biking and walking.

I think the American Bikes.org website says it best:

This long-awaited multi year transportation bill eliminates the two largest programs that fund biking and walking infrastructure—Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Without these programs, communities all over the country will lose resources to build the sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that make biking and walking safe and accessible in communities across the country

Impact to Cary

The Safe Routes to School has funded critical sidewalks, crosswalks and safety infrastructure to prevent unnecessary deaths across the country.  Cary has taken measures over the years, to prioritize sidewalk build outs, especially where they are used by children going to and from school.  But our budget for sidewalks doesn’t begin to meet the needs.  Some of the funding that will be missing pays for the Rails to Trails projects – of which our own 22 mile American Tobacco Trail is one.

It’s important that as a town, we continue to support multi-modal transportation initiatives.  Since biking and walking make up 12% of all trips – it’s important to have safe avenues to get around.  We also need to continue to support the initiatives that help build “healthier places for healthier people,” as the Rails to Trails folks say.  When choose to bike or walk, those are less cars on the road, less congestion, and better air quality.  And, of course, less wear and tear on our cars and roads.

If you want to learn more, check out America Bikes.  Or, just get on your bike, and I’ll see you out there!

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Featured photo by Hakan Dahlstrom