Tempe Bicycle Action Group

Jeremy, a TBAG regular and a co-organizer of TBAG’s social events, is organizing a team for an upcoming bowling fund raiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona. Contribute to his fund raising efforts, or better yet, join his team!

Here’s more information from Jeremy:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona is a non-profit group and they do an annual fundraising event here called Bowl For Kids Sake. Bowlmania is on Saturday, June 7th at the AMF Squaw Peak Lanes located at 32nd Street and Indian School Road.

I’d love to see you out there throwing gutter balls with me! I’m looking for enough interested participants to create at least one team of 5 bowlers. (That is, four complete stooges and maybe one ringer!) We’ll all get 2 games, shoes, pizza, drinks and maybe some other cool stuff!

So join my team “Pedal Scrapers” as an individual and then ask around to see if you can recruit some friends, family, or significant others and everyone can join under my team. Since this is a fundraiser, they’re asking each participant to collect donations. Come on, it’s for the kids! Try to go for at least $100.

There’s a website where you can register to join and collect donations online. Just look for “Pedal Scrapers”, create a user ID and you’re ready to go. You send out an email right from your page to all of your contacts.

For those that can participate, click here for a pledge form, so if you want, you can gather donations the good old fashioned way, banging on doors, pumping paws, and kissin’ babies. Just collect the cash and bring it with you to the bowling alley.

If you can’t make it on June 7th, you can still make a donation… every single dollar counts… $5, $10, $25! More info can be found here: http://bbbsaz.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=265784&u=265784-218343577.

Eco-Economy Indicator – BICYCLES
May 12, 2008

Eco-Economy Indicators are twelve trends that the Earth Policy Institute tracks to measure progress in building an eco-economy. Bicycle production measures our ability to provide affordable transportation, reduce traffic congestion, lower air pollution, increase mobility, and provide exercise to the world’s growing population.

BICYCLES PEDALING INTO THE SPOTLIGHT
http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Bike/2008.htm

by J. Matthew Roney

The world produced an estimated 130 million bicycles in 2007 — more than twice the 52 million cars produced. Bicycle and car production tracked each other closely in the mid-to-late 1960s, but bike output separated sharply from that of cars in 1970, beginning its steep climb to 105 million in 1988. Following a slowdown between 1989 and 2001, bike production has regained steam, increasing in each of the last six years. Much of the recent growth has been driven by the rise in electric, or “e-bike” production, which has doubled since 2004 to 21 million units in 2007. Overall, since 1970, bicycle output has nearly quadrupled, while car production has roughly doubled.

Promoting the bike as a clean and efficient alternative to the personal automobile is a practical way for cities to reduce traffic congestion and smog. To simultaneously confront those problems as well as climate change and an emerging obesity epidemic, government leaders and advocacy groups are working to bring cycling back to prominence in the urban transport mix.

A number of European cities have set the standard for bicycle use and promotion, via pro-bike transportation and land use policies, as well as heavy funding for bicycle infrastructure and public education. In Copenhagen, for example, 36 percent of commuters bike to work…

For entire text see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Bike/2008.htm
For data see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Bike/2008_data.htm

For an index of Earth Policy Institute resources related to Bicycles and Transportation see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/Bike/index.htm

And for more thoughts on “Designing Cities for People” (not cars), see Chapter 10 of Lester Brown’s Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, at http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/index.htm.

Tom wrote us to let us know that a group of folks from Mesa will be hosting a Ride of Silence on May 21st at 7pm as one of the many locations around the globe riding that day in honor of cyclists who have been killed or injured on public roadways:

On May 21, 2008, at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways….The Ride Of Silence is a free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. There is no brochure, no sponsors, no registration fees and no t-shirt. The ride, which is held during Bike Safety month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

The route of the ride will start in Mesa and cross into Tempe:

The ride is 10 miles long and rides at 12 miles per hour. It starts at Alma and Guadalupe and goes west thru Kiwanis park across the Tempe border and then back to the start along the same route.

We are coordinating with Mesa and Tempe police for possible assistance and may possibly have media coverage.

They’ve also got a Google Group setup for more details and discussion about the ride: http://groups.google.com/group/rideofsilencemesa

Full info on the Mesa/Tempe ride as well as other rides in Arizona (and around the world) can be found here

I will be leading another ride to First Fridays tomorrow at 6 pm. We will meet up at the northeast corner of Mill and 5th Street to ride on over as a group. I think this time we will take Washington Street up until we reach the Grand Canal at 40th, and then we’ll hop onto Roosevelt from the Grand Canal. I’m not sure how long I will be staying, so you’re welcome to hang out with me and ride back fairly early, or make other plans for the return trip (the Red Line bus is often a nice option, but keep in mind that it runs until midnight). As usual, if you’re interested in co-leading this ride in the future, let me know!

Just a reminder that there are two TBAG-sponsored rides/activities going on this weekend:

Friday, April 25: Bike-in Movie at Scottsdale 6. See below for details.

Saturday, April 26: Cupcake Ride 3: The Cupcake Returns. We’ll meet at 10 am at the entrance to Tempe Beach Park (NW corner of Mill and Rio Salado) for the 4-mile easy ride up the greenbelt to Lulu’s Cupcakes. This is a great ride for kids and those who are new to bicycling and group-riding.

Please note there will be no bike polo today. Polo will resume as planned next Friday, May 2nd. See you all then.

Finally, this weekend is Silent Sunday at South Mountain.

Hope to see you on a bike this weekend!

This is rather entertaining - A month or two ago Slate went looking for America’s Stupidest Bike Lane. Now, they report back on the submissions they received in response to the initial video. Can we beat these submissions with a bike lane from the Valley of the Sun? Leave a comment.

Thanks to Doug for the heads up.

Today was the public hearing on the privatization of Valle Vista Road on the south side of Camelback Mountain. Apparently the city denied the resident’s request to gate Valle Vista:

On Wednesday, the city of Phoenix denied a request to privatize Valle Vista Road, which runs east and west along the south side of the mountain and forms a loop connecting 56th Street and Arcadia Drive. The street is a popular destination for drivers, hikers and bikers.

Full article is HERE

Supporters of the road closure have seven days to appeal the decision. If you attended the hearing this morning, we’d love to hear a report - tell us about it in the comments below.

2008 Green Living Conference
Saturaday May 3rd, 2008
@ PHX Zoo – Stonehouse Pavilion 9am-5pm

Green & Bikes Come Together Naturally
The folks at Your Guide to Green are giving a huge discount for ASU students and Tempe Bicycle Action Group (TBAG) - just $22 (includes lunch)
CONFERENCE FEATURES:
- 6 Great Speakers
- Eco Friendly Vendors
- Raffle for Green Prizes
- Lunch included
(from That’s a Wrap & GREEN Vegetarian)
* When Registering - Use Promotional Code: Student (to get the dicount $22 rate) See comments for new registration info!
more info: www.GreenLivingConference.com

I’d like to pull together group ride with if anyone else is planning to go to this event at the Phx Zoo. If interested call Sam: (602) 316-6536 OR samisavage2001@yahoo.com

Ride your bike and raise money for a good cause on Saturday May 3rd with rides of 12, 30, or 62 miles. Registration is $40. There’s also a pledge/sponsor a rider component. More information is available here. The ride is a fundraiser for the Beatitudes Center DOAR. They are a worthy cause, and the ride should be great.

For those of you that follow Valley news closely, you’ve probably seen the recent articles in the Arizona Republic about attempts by residents of Valle Vista Road on the south side of Camelback Mountain to privatize their road and thereby block access to all automotive traffic except that of residents. Since Valle Vista is one of the highest roads in the Valley and offers stunning views, it tends to draw people out to enjoy the view - as well as public drinking and drug use, and increased crime the residents claim. The road is also a popular cycling route for riders looking for challenging terrain amid the urban sprawl. The request by residents to close the road has been very controversial (check out the comments on this article) and has set off a battle over the road closure.

Currently, supporters of the road closure have stated that cyclists will not be impacted:

“Walkers and bikers still would be able to access the street, residents say”

However, there is some concern among cyclists who ride regularly on Valle Vista and surrounding streets that if the residents successfully obtain the privatization of the road, non-motorized users would soon lose their access to the roads as well.

If you are concerned about this effort to privatize access to Valle Vista Rd. and the potential impact it may have on cyclists who ride this excellent and challenging terrain, there will be a public hearing on Wednesday where you can have your voice heard:

Hearing on Wednesday
What: Hearing on abandonment of Valle Vista Road.
When: 10 a.m. Wednesday
Where: Conference Room C, Phoenix City Hall, 200 W. Washington St.

A resident who lives above the potential point of road closure has also started a petition against the closure - if you wish to sign the petition you can do so at the Bike Barn