BikeWalk NC is looking to better communicate statewide with our friends and supporters. We are looking for a volunteer or intern to help with our social media efforts (posting events, news, legislative alerts, etc., from across the state on our website and Facebook). Are you good at managing data? We’d love help with our membership database as we seek to grow our advocacy network. If you are a student seeking internship credit here is the BWNC internship description. We’d love your help!
News
Cyclists Discuss HB232 with Representatives
Yesterday, March 31, Bike Walk NC board members Steve Goodridge, Ed Harrison, and Executive Director Lisa Riegel along with Bike Law attorney Ann Groninger were at the legislature to give testimony on House Bill 232 entitled, “An Act to direct the Department of Transportation to study the bicycle safety laws in this State and make recommendations as to how the laws may be revised to better ensure the safety of bicyclists and motorists on the roadways.”
In short, HB232 was amended to address some of our concerns, passed the Transportation Committee and was heard a few hours later by the full House in session and after questions, it passed unanimously and is being sent to the Senate for consideration. For more details on the legislative interaction, read Bike Law’s blog.
Steve spoke on the bill with prepared comments during the debate in the House Transportation Committee meeting to convince legislators that bicyclists and particularly BikeWalk NC would be a beneficial addition to the study committee. His comments were not to debate the issues of the study. The bill was amended to address some of our concerns –
- Clarified who appoints working group – 8 by DOT, then the working group elects chair and selects remaining 3 for total of 12.
- Added language specifying representation of different operator and geographical perspectives; by operator we assume this refers to our request for recreational vs commuter cyclists and urban vs rural, etc. So this could loosely be interpreted to have operators (cyclists) on the working group.
Sadly, we could not get them to amend to include a cyclist specifically such as an LCI and/or cycling advocate. However the discussion during the bill introduction and debate was very positive and discussion indicated desire to appoint cyclists.
The group spoke again with Representative Jeter afterwards. He said he appreciated Steve’s comments on the bill and told them he plans to send DOT a letter requesting that the working group include a representative from us (cycling safety experts/advocates)
The Legislature plans to take next week off so they are rushing to hear bills. HB 232 was NOT on the calendar for House session but was heard that very afternoon. Representative Queen spoke about the importance of cycling (tourism) in his mountain community. In general people seemed very supportive of cycling and the need to make it safer. The bill passed second and third reading unanimously and will now be sent to the Senate. The Senate will introduce the bill soon and likely assign it to their Transportation Committee.
We look forward to working with NCDOT on identifying committee members. We will likely have more important bills to work on once this study is complete. We need to build relationships and build better understanding about the benefits of cycling and walking to communities (especially economically).
NC Advocates Attend National Bike Summit in DC
Approximately 15 advocates from across the state trekked to Washington, DC to attend the 2015 National Bike Summit, March 9-13. Advocates met with Congressmen to seek their support for continued funding for walking and bicycling in a federal transportation bill, support from the House (HB1274) for Vision Zero; and support from the Senate (S705) for the Transportation Alternatives Program Improvement Act (TAPIA_FAQ).
Executive Director Appointed
BikeWalk North Carolina (BWNC) is most pleased to announce the selection of its first Executive Director, Lisa Diaz Riegel, a graduate of Duke University and resident of the Town of Cary. Ms. Riegel competed against stiff competition in a national search, but her track record in North Carolina was the decisive factor in her unanimous selection by the BWNC Board of Directors.
For nine years, Ms. Riegel served as Executive Director of the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, a grant program housed in the Secretary’s Office of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR). In that role she interfaced with four state agencies and numerous non-profit organizations as they worked to identify and conserve the state’s most important natural and cultural assets. As DENR’s Interagency Sustainability Coordinator, she served on many collaborative efforts such as the steering committee for NC Department of Transportation’s statewide pedestrian and bicycle plan. As an appointed member of NC’s Climate Action Plan Advisory Group (2006-2008) she led the Transportation and Land-Use Work Group’s transit-oriented development mitigation option. In 2011 she chaired the work group looking at how the built environment impacts health as part of the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative with participation from the private sector, academia, non-profit organizations and government. Relationships built as DENR’s representative on regional planning and economic development efforts such as Piedmont Together, will continue to be important in her new role as we work to make sure that infrastructure in North Carolina is built to meet the needs of today and in the future.
Ms. Riegel is a proven collaborator and fundraiser; she is expected to raise the visibility of BikeWalk North Carolina and its message that bicycling and walking are essential to the future prosperity and quality of life in the Tar Heel state.
In Ms. Riegel’s own words: “Young and old alike want the option to walk and bike to work, school, and many other destinations. A growing number cannot afford car ownership. I’m excited to work with BikeWalk NC to help communities provide for safe, low-cost, healthy travel options and put less stress on our already over-burdened roads.”
Media Contact: Roger Henderson, President of BikeWalk North Carolina, president@bikewalknc.org
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REMINDER ! The 4th annual NC Bike Summit takes place in Charlotte NC, Oct.15-17 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte – Center City campus. BikeWalk NC is a major sponsor for this event. Registration and other information will be available via the BikeWalk NC website (www.bikewalknc.org) very soon!
NCSU Students Design Solution for School Access
Update 5/14/2015: This project is competing to win funding for construction, and you can help by voting for it.
Accessibility at Northwoods Elementary: Our Story on Vimeo.
Walking and biking to school is popular at Northwoods Elementary in Cary. Every day, scores of children and parents can be seen walking between the school and the surrounding apartments and single-family homes. A local greenway runs alongside the school property and connects to the rest of the town’s greenway system. However, a tall concrete staircase that provides the main pedestrian connection to the school grounds has been a source of frustration for kids with bikes and parents with baby strollers. The only alternative access for pedestrians and bicyclists adds a long detour to their trip and crosses the busy car pool and bus entrance to the school – an undesirable route for elementary school children.
The Northwoods Elementary PTA began exploring options for improved bike, stroller and wheelchair-friendly access when it started organizing walk to school and bike to school events. The PTA explored the Safe Routes to School program but found that the state’s SRTS program isn’t designed to assist effectively with spot engineering improvements. Staff from the Town of Cary provided some ideas, including a concept drawing for an expensive concrete wheelchair ramp, but the Town was limited in what it could do because the required improvements would be on Wake County School System property. Sensitive to the potential cost of such a project to the school system, the PTA looked for ways to get pro-bono engineering assistance in designing an affordable solution.
Dr. Daniel Findley, a senior researcher at ITRE and civil engineering professor at NCSU, offered to assign the problem as a design project for students in his CE305 Traffic Engineering course. “[This was] the opportunity to give the students a real project that is needed in a community,” says Findley. “This is a connectivity project which can facilitate other modes – a key need in our transportation system, which provides health benefits and congestion relief on adjacent roadways (among other benefits).”
In fall 2014, fifteen teams of CE305 students developed different designs for ramp and path facility improvements for the school site. They visited the site, examined the topography, researched alternatives, and developed cost estimates. On November 6, the student teams presented their designs to a group of stakeholders including Wake County Public School System facility representatives Elizabeth Sharpe and Stephen Zetts. The designs varied widely from folded wooden and concrete ramps to elongated greenway paths cut into the slope. Several teams recommended community involvement such as student art and planting projects, and one team even incorporated a slide!
Findley says the project provided “a good chance to illustrate the importance of details in engineering and design. We saw lots of great examples of the details some groups considered. This project illustrates ways to tie in other engineering disciplines – site development, structural engineering, construction engineering.”
The WCPSS and PTA stakeholders discussed the different presentations and selected the Team 5 design, a curving asphalt path, as the most appropriate for the site and traffic. Asphalt would be a relatively affordable, durable and practical material for the location. The width and bends that Team 5 incorporated would accommodate bicycle traffic effectively without encouraging excessive speed down the hill. The path layout aligned with pedestrians’ desired route without adding much distance for switchbacks. The Team incorporated all ADA requirements for slope and safety railings but avoided making the facility look wheelchair-specific; the result exemplifies the principles of Universal Design.
The Wake County facility representatives identified a few minor modifications that would be needed, and Team 5 revised the design as an extra-curricular volunteer effort. Now that the design is finalized, the school system will share the design with local contractors to get a rough order magnitude cost estimate. The stakeholders will also find a PE engineer to address any remaining issues and sign off on the design. From that point, the stakeholders will use the design and cost estimate in their search for an appropriate funding source. By having a design that is nearly shovel-ready, the stakeholders believe this school access project is much closer to becoming a reality.
Team 5_Project 3_Final-Layout1 (pdf file)
Team 5 Project 3 Final-Layout1 (DWG file)
