Report: Arizona Bicycle Conference 2008, “Building Communities, Building Trails”

On Friday, in conjunction with the 17th annual El Tour de Phoenix, the Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists (CAzB) held their second annual bicycle conference at Interstake Center, near downtown Mesa. I rode my bicycle over to the event to attend as a representative for TBAG, and learned quite a bit about ongoing and developing bike-related projects that are happening on all levels of organization, from our neighboring cities to Maricopa County all the way up to the state and national level. Below is a summary of what was presented by different speakers at the conference. If you have particular questions about particular programs, please ask and I can probably provide more detail.

Dan Clevenger, Director, Mesa Department of Transportation
Dan spoke about improvements that have been/are being made to the Mesa bicycle infrastructure, and mentioned that Mesa has a new survey which the Transportation Department hopes will aid in development projects. The survey is open to both residents and non-residents, so if you’d like to have input on Mesa’s bike projects, consider completing the survey.

Paul Paonesa, Phoenix Mountain Preserve, Trail Building
Paul spoke about trail development/reconstruction within the Preserve, focusing on ideal trail design and explaining the reconstruction projects that he has overseen, mainly associated with trails connected to the Dreamy Draw path. He recommended several different books for trail design and spoke to some degree about how these concepts/projects benefit mountain bikers.

Dave Hicks, Executive Director, Arizona Trail Association
Dave described the Arizona Trail and some of its many highlights. He then talked about sections under development and the broader goal of obtaining National Scenic Trail status. Much of the trail is open to mountain bikers, although there are several exceptions (wilderness areas and the Grand Canyon).

Brian Fellows, Arizona Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Coordinator
Brian provided an overview of the purpose of this Congressional program, which is primarily to overcome barriers that have prevented kids from walking and riding bicycles to school. Tempe has not yet participated in SRTS, but applications for the next funding round are due in September. I’ll be writing a separate blog entry with more information about this program because TBAG feels strongly that it could provide incredible benefits for Tempe. The program is primarily aimed at helping with infrastructure development, although some funding can be allocated to non-infrastructure projects as well. If you know of anyone who would leap at the chance to head up a project like this, please pass word along about the program and encourage that person to contact Brian and TBAG to learn more.

Maureen DeCindis, Maricopa Association of Governments Transportation Planner
Maureen provided information about MAG’s roles in ongoing projects, which involve helping different cities in the county seamlessly implement design standards and overseeing projects that have county-wide impacts. MAG also produces the county-wide bicycle map, which will be updated again towards the end of 2008. Maureen spoke briefly about several particular projects that are underway:
1. Development of the canal pathway connecting the Tempe Town Lake area to the airport area
2. Installation of HAWK crossings at canal/street intersections to ease with street crossings (cheaper/simpler alternative to overpasses/underpasses).
3. A Bike the Back Ways interactive map project using Google’s “Avoid main streets” algorithm

Richard Moeur, AZDOT Engineer
Richard spoke about the history of the development of a US Bicycle Route System, a project which is currently in its second phase. Essentially, this has entailed the creation of a nationwide prioritized corridor plan, which highlights routes that, when completed, will span the country much as the US Interstate system does for cars.

Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Press Conference
Representatives from the Governor’s Office came to speak about their commitment to bicycling and safety, highlighting four prioritized safety concerns associated with driving behaviors (aggressive/distracted/impaired driving and safe passing) and cyclists’ knowledge (safety training and wearing helmets).

Andy Clarke, Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists
Andy spoke about the League’s role in cycling advocacy, serving as a body to promote and protect cyclists’ rights on the national level. The League designates Bicycle-Friendly Communities and is in the process of creating both a Bicycle-Friendly States and a Bicycle-Friendly Businesses program. He also spoke generally about promoting bicycling in the US, including factors that encourage people to ride bicycles and how the US compares to other countries with respect to bicycle-riding resources and behavior.

—

Altogether, it was an informative conference, and TBAG looks forward to working with all of these organizations in the promotion of bicycling.