“Streets are not just for cars.” — Jim Licinski, Google

At the National Bike Summit today, Peter Birch from Google announced the debut of bicycling directions for Google Maps. Cyclists can enter their starting point and destination, select “bicycling,” and get a route favoring bike-friendly roads and paths.

A partnership with the Rails to Trails Conservancy will help gather the best trail and path information. But crowdsourcing will be vital in keeping the maps and routes accurate. Cyclists can submit their own corrections and suggestions.

We must mention the Google Maps Bike There blog and petition, the rallying point for getting Google to provide this service. Apparently their job is done, but they have plenty of other stuff worth reading. We hope they will continue.

Try Google Maps bike directions for yourself. You may be surprised how well it works, even at this early stage. It will only get better and better, as more and more cyclists add their tweaks and suggestions.

VBF is at the Bike Summit every year, and this year will be no exception. So far, I’ve heard that Champe, Bud, Barbara, Sheryl, and Allen will be present, though maybe not all of them for the whole thing.

The Summit’s “main event” is meeting with Virginia’s senators and congressmen, and VBF arranges these visits. So if you’re coming to the Summit from Virginia, please Active Community Transportation Act, just introduced by Earl Blumenaur, along with other bike legislation on the League’s list. Stay tuned for more.

Of particular interest to me is the social media session at 2:30 pm on Wednesday. As bike advocates, communication is the essence of what we do. But we can all do better in getter our message out. Join the folks behind StreetsBlog.org, BikePortland.org, social media consultant Paul Miser and others to learn how.

See the agenda for more of what’s going on.

Bring your bike, ride to the days’ events, ride with all the rides that will crop up, and ride with the Congressional Bike Caucus, Friday March 12, 8:30-11:00 am.

We hope to see you there!

Rueben Williams was a talented young artist from Roanoke, tragically killed this Tuesday while riding his bike home from work. This video tells the story, with additional commentary by our own Barbara Duerk:

Please see the accompanying page at WDBJ, with additional video and photos; and especially the Roanoke Times article that tells more of Williams’ story. Note that he was featured for his art while he was still in high school — on WDBJ, and by the Roanoke Times.

An unfinished life indeed.

Aaron Dykstra of Six-Eleven Bicycle Co. - photo by NAHBS

Roanoker Aaron Dykstra was awarded the “Rookie of the Year” prize at last weekend’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Richmond, Virginia.

Aaron, the owner of the Six-Eleven Bicycle Company, designed and hand built a beautiful Tuscan red and black track bike featuring design references to the famous 611 steam locomotive the Norfolk & Western railroad designed and built in Roanoke in the late 1940’s.

The NAHBS is the annual showcase for North America’s most highly regarded hand builders to display their best works for the public and the media. Over seven thousand spectators attended the three day show and 125 exhibitors showed everything from cycling apparel to five figure hand built bicycles.

Take action now: write to the Fairfax Board of Supervisors.

In a flurry of budget-cutting and who-knows-what other politics, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors wants to eliminate, permanently, the bike coordinator position, and all County bicycle programs. This is at odds with recent efforts to develop a bike master plan, to improve quality of life and transportation options, and make Fairfax a more desirable location for businesses.

30% of Fairfax residents do not drive motor vehicles. To simply stop development of other options is a big step backward indeed.

Politicians need to hear from their constituents. Kate Schwartz of the Potomac Pedalers Touring Club asks all cyclists in Fairfax County to write to their Board of Supervisors, and provides some language for doing so:

“Please act now to write to the FFX county board of supervisors and spread the word since bicycling programs are at risk of permanent elimination. This proposed budget cut will create a lasting loss of future cycling & pedestrian facilities, trails, equipment and resources.

I urge you to sustain Fairfax’s bicycling programs since the county’s future business viability depends upon these programs. Creating new and maintaining existing cycling and pedestrian facilities must remain permanent pillars of the county; they are essential to fostering more innovative transportation solutions in an area that’s desperate for transportation alternatives. The Board has always emphasized that Fairfax County must preserve its national reputation as an attractive location for businesses and their employees. Bicycling programs, such as trails and on-road bike accommodation directly improve businesses’, residents’ and visitors’ quality of life by reducing traffic congestion, pollution and obesity, boosting employee productivity, and increasing cardiovascular health & fitness. What other county programs and facilities can claim these wide-reaching benefits?

How can the Board of Supervisors reconcile Supervisor Cook’s position (“bicycles are not transportation devices”) with the Board’s December 7 meeting, where the board discussed the need for the county to explore new and innovative approaches to transportation?

Dedicated bicycle and environment facilities and staff partnered with private- and public-sector employers can formulate and execute new transportation solutions, as we witness today with Tysons Corner’s new multi-modal transportation solutions plus walking and bicycling facilities integrated into the replacement bridges during the Beltway HOT lane construction. Eliminating bicycling programs will only increase congestion, pollution and obesity, while slashing employee/employer productivity. Fairfax County’s future business viability depends upon having a dedicated & permanent bicycling program.“

Washington Area Bicyclist Association and Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling are on top of this story. Check with them for updates, and follow them on Twitter (@WABADC, @BikeFairfax).

Please help spread the word. Use the Share This link below to forward this to your mailing lists, and share it in social media.

Projects funded by TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) are getting lots of press lately. But with transit and high-speed rail getting most of the attention, the bike-ped projects are being overlooked.

America Bikes to the rescue, with a list of TIGER-funded bicycle and pedestrian projects (PDF). Also read their press release (PDF).

Online voting is now open for the People Powered Movement Photo Contest by the Alliance for Biking and Walking. Cast your vote now for the best photos of people using bike-ped infrastructure, and enjoying the benefits of biking and walking.

The purpose of the contest is to help build the Alliance’s online photo library, a repository of free, high-quality images for grassroots organizations to use on their websites, etc. Anyone who produces good communications materials knows how hard it is to find exactly the right picture to illustrate their web articles, newsletters, flyers, etc. Flickr and Creative Commons licensing are great, but unless photos are created with a purpose in mind, they’re rarely optimal for serving that purpose.

Need a great photo of some properly placed sharrows? A road diet treatment of an arterial road? A well-designed, well-lit crosswalk? Some kids walking to school in a “walking school bus?” Hopefully you’ll be able to find it here. Cast your vote, and help The Alliance pick the best ones.

The League of American Bicyclists (aka Bikeleague, LAB) has announced the addition of Jeffrey Lynne of Boca Raton, FL, to its board of directors. We assume this is to replace Region 3 representative Bruce Rosar of Cary, NC, who died tragically in a bike crash last July. Region 3 includes AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, PR, SC, TN, and VA. (That’s us!)

From today’s Bikeleague newsletter:

The League is excited to introduce Jeffrey Lynne to the League of American Bicyclists Board of Directors. Lynne is a native South Floridian and currently lives in Boca Raton, Fla. Lynne is a Shareholder in the national law firm Akerman Senterfitt, where he practices land use law as part of the firm’s Green & Sustainable Development Practice Group. He also serves as the Executive Director of the South Florida Bike Coalition and is an active member of the Florida Bicycle Association, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Urban Land Institute. Lynne was recently recognized by the Florida Bicycle Association as its 2008 Citizen Advocate for the Year for his pro bono litigation work on behalf of the League and the Boca Raton Bicycle Club to secure the state’s legal obligation to include multi-modal transportation facilities in all of Florida’s state roadway reconstruction projects.

The League also congratulates Lynn for being selected as a finalist for the Daily Business Review’s most effective lawyers award, in the public interest category.

Virginia bicyclists scored a major win for the future of active transportation in the state.  Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board, the organization responsible for approving and funding transportation projects in Virginia, voted yesterday to prioritize federal transportation  funds for “core transportation functions”.   Bike and pedestrian projects are a major part of this focus. 

The unanimous vote was  important victory for VBF.

Transportation Enhancements are an important funding source for bike projects.  States receive these funds as part of their federal highway allotment.  Federal guidelines allow states to allocate these funds to twelve different categories of projects, including facilities for bicycles and pedestrians; and safety, landscaping, removal of outdoor signs, etc.

In these tight economic times, the board felt it best to focus these funds 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; and,
• Acquisition of scenic or historic easements and sites, including historic battlefields.

The Board indicated that they want to fund fewer projects, but make sure that they support these core transportation functions, and insure funded projects are completed.  

Since 1993, approximately $270 M has been spent on a total of 817 projects.

Bike advocates from across Virginia addressed the Board in support of these changes.  

With a focus on core transportation, this move could help create a number of important new bike facilities and trails across Virginia.

RABA volunteers assemble and distribute new bikes for needy children

Thanks to the charitable efforts of the Richmond Area Bicycling Association, over 150 needy children in central Virginia will be getting new bikes for Christmas, through RABA’s Bikes for Kids program.

RABA raised over $9000 to purchase 158 new bikes for local children.  The club works with local Christmas mothers to distribute the bikes to kids in 7 different localities. 

This is the eighth year that Suzanne and Dee Nuckols have organized the assembly at their farm near Oilville, Virginia.

The Nuckols provide a staging area at their farm

In eight years, RABA has given away over 500 bicycles to community kids.

Around 4o RABA members spent the morning assembling and tuning the bikes.  They will distribute them in early December.

For more information, see www.raba.org