The League of American Bicyclists recently released their bike-friendly state status rankings and … drum roll please… ARIZONA MADE IT! Arizona is No. 10 in the rankings, meaning that we’ve climbed our way up the ranks thanks to statewide infrastructure and funding, education and encouragement, evaluation and planning and policies and programs!

The sunny state of Arizona ranks behind (in order of ranking) Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Delaware, Massachusetts, New jersey, Wisconsin and Illinois.

To see the league’s comments on Arizona’s rank in the top ten reviewed states, go to their website www.bikeleague.org, or click here to be directed to the Arizona fact sheet. For more about the rankings structure and to see how other states fared, click here.

While we’ve broken into the top ten, Arizona still has a long way to go especially with integrating biking into all of the state’s transportation plans. Tempe Bicycle Action Group is a great place to start making those changes. Want to see your state climb the ranks? Get involved with our many education and activism programs and activities.

Read up on our activism board member’s recent work with the Arizona Department of Transportation on our blog biketempe.org or by clicking here.

Join a national movement that promotes literacy and bicycles!

Ride for Reading, a nonprofit that delivers books to schools via bicycles, is coming to Tempe on Friday May 10th. Gather at 9 a.m. at Pivot Cycles (1807 West Drake Drive) in south Tempe and deliver books by bike to Frank School in Guadalupe (8409 S. Avenida del Yaqu). It’s a mile ride that could mean a world of difference for a local school.

We need your pedaling power and your book-lugging abilities for this labor of love; backpacks, baskets, trailers or cargo bikes will be instrumental as we haul books to kids who need them.

Join your friends from TBAG, MBAA and the Tempe Police Department Bike Squad to support this great cause: Sign Up Here

About Ride For Reading: Ride For Reading’s mission is to promote literacy and healthy living through the distribution of books via bicycle to children from low-income neighborhoods. In low-income neighborhoods, the ratio of books per child is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children. *Reading is an integral part of education, and without books it is hard to build a strong academic base. Our children need materials to read at home and it is our goal to provide the means. Fore more, visit rideforreading.com.

Tempe is giving you another chance to tell them you want to keep seeing bikes on the streets.

Grab your friends and head to the Tempe General Plan Citizen’s Workshop Wednesday April 24 from 6-7 p.m. at the Tempe Library on Southern and Rural.

This working group needs community input – so be sure to drop by and tell them that the city of Tempe needs to continue funding bike infrastructure to support you, me and all the other two-wheeled gearheads out there!

Love bikes and want to join, but not sure what to talk about? Here are some starting points:

• Complete Tempe’s streets
• Expanding the bike network – both dedicated lanes and bike-friendly streets
• Create more bike boulevard systems
  

Join in and let your friends know you’re going to be there at the TBAG Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/570553759643281/#

The 3rd annual Tempe Bike Count takes place in just three weeks, on March 26-28.  Training meetings are in just two weeks.  Each of 50 intersections has an AM shift and a PM shift.  76 of those 100 shifts are still available.  You can sign up for just one 2 hour shift, or more shifts on more days if you want.

If you think you can make it, please sign up now to reserve your intersection, and so that I know that we’re going to have enough people, but do let me (scrottie@biketempe.org) know if you have to cancel or switch days.

RSVPs for training dates are used to figure out how much pizza to order.  Local comedian Tim Tagtmeyer will introduce the Bike Count and all of the ways to get confused that you never even thought of.

When:

The count will take place over three days. Each volunteer counts during commuting hours, with morning (7:00am to 9:00am) or afternoon (4:00pm to 6:00pm) shifts (or both).

• Tuesday, March 26th
• Wednesday, March 27th
• Thursday, March 28th

For full details on the Tempe Bike Count and to sign up please go to: http://www.biketempe.org/events/bike-count/

Why:

Traffic Engineering responds well to serious safety problems.  People ride bikes even where safe infrastructure doesn’t exist.  Often, the only way through is on roads like Southern, McClintock, or Rural, where bicycles were not taken into consideration.  The Bike Count lets us show the city where cyclists overwhelmingly feel they have to ride on the sidewalk, something that the city knows is not safe.  It also shows the City of Tempe how many bicycles do come out where safe facilities do exist, which helps them with their goals of smug reduction and congestion reduction.  The raw data has been requested by environmental engineering firms, traffic engineering grad students, and others.  The Bike Count is a fantastic way to encourage making Tempe bicycle friendly, and to quantify progress.  It helps the city help us!

Afterparty:

We’re throwing an appreciation party at Boulders on Broadway for our volunteers!  Come turn in your count sheets, have a beer, and tell tales of the craziness you saw out there on the streets of Tempe.

UPDATED: email your city council

Support proposed local bike infrastructure such as green bike lanes and traffic slowing medians by emailing the Tempe City Council at councilcommunicator@tempe.gov

Businesses hoping to dissuade the council from going forward with some of these changes have been meeting with your city leaders. Make sure their voices aren’t the only ones heard.

Online public comment on the city’s forum has closed, but you still have time to contact your city leaders directly by emailing councilcommunicator@tempe.gov.

Want to post your support but don’t know what to say? Here’s a few lines you can simply copy and paste;

• Thank you for adding green bike lanes to Tempe, they are greatly needed!

• Please continue to go forward with all median plans. They will help keep traffic from colliding with cyclists on the roadways.

• Please install a stoplight at Roosevelt and Farmer, this will help cars, bikes and pedestrians safely cross, rather than forcing us to play frogger in traffic.

(From previous TBAG post)

The city of Tempe is introducing plans that help you and your fellow two-wheeled friends to more easily and safely commute through Tempe. These plans could have a great impact not only on the safety of the roadways, but also in the beautification of our city… that is, if the city continues to hear from YOU!

Bike lane modifications, medians and other proposed changes are being fought by some who may not understand what it’s like to cycle in traffic with little to no bike infrastructure. Don’t let the proposed plans fall by the wayside. Join in on meetings, email your city leaders and let Tempe know that the growing bike community demands safer, bike-friendly streets.

Thanks to those of you who joined the University/Hardy Drive Screetscape Project open house, the Broadway Road Screetscape meeting and every one who has been submitting comments and statements on behalf of bike Tempe cyclists.

Be seen. Be heard. Be a bike champion in Tempe!

Please share this on your wall:

The University Drive Streetscape project is in danger of being drastically scaled back. Please go to this site http://www.tempe.gov/index.aspx?page=1418 and click on University Drive Streetscape Project. Post your support for ALL aspects of the project including traffic calming, median islands with turn pockets, improved bike lanes and sidewalks, and street crossings at Roosevelt and Farmer. Help improve University Drive for all types of traffic, and make Tempe a better place to live!

TBAG will host the third annual Tempe Bike Count between March 26-28 2013. We need volunteers to help count bikes! You can sign up for just one shift on a single day, or more if you want. Sign up! Bring a friend!

Our goals for the bike count:

• Document the number of people currently cycling and monitor how the number changes over time
• Publish a report of findings from the bike count
• Use the information to help prioritize infrastructure improvements and traffic safety
• Share bike count data with the public, other organizations, governmental groups, and individuals

When:

The count will take place over three days. Each volunteer will count during commuting hours, one morning (7:00am to 9:00am) or one afternoon (4:00pm to 6:00pm). The same location can be covered over the span of the three days.

• Tuesday, March 26th
• Wednesday, March 27th
• Thursday, March 28th

Training:
Volunteers are asked to attend one of the training meetings at the Tempe Transit Center 200 E. Fifth Street (near Forest and College avenues near the light rail station) in the Cassano Room on the second floor.

• Wednesday, March 20th
• Saturday, March 23rd

For full details on the Tempe Bike Count and to sign up please go to: http://www.biketempe.org/events/bike-count/

Afterparty:

We’re throwing an appreciation party at Boulders on Broadway for our volunteers!  Come turn in your count sheets, have a beer, and tell tales of the craziness you saw out there on the streets of Tempe.

In April 2012, the second annual city-wide bike count in Tempe was conducted as a way of understanding cycling habits and to identify routes and intersections that are problematic or dangerous.  In total, 6,563 bicyclists were counted from a total of 28 different locations, with 26 locations common between 2011 and 2012.

Get the report here [pdf]: Tempe_Bike_Count_Report_2012

Most cities in the United States create “general plans” to guide future development and investment in their cities. These plans cover issues such housing, parks, and transportation. The City of Tempe is launching its general plan updating process – called “General Plan 2040.” You can learn more here, and to see the last general plan for 2030, visit here. The city will host a variety of public meetings to get feedback from residents about the plan. They will also post draft chapters for public feedback. The city’s bicyclists and pedestrians need a voice in this process.

The first public meetings are being held at the Tempe History Museum – 809 E. Southern Ave, Tempe 85282 on:

September 24th, 5-7pm
January 22, 5-7pm

If you’re interested in joining the TBAG advocacy team, please email me. We will need help to follow the process, attend all of the meetings and review draft documents to insure that the general plan includes a strong emphasis on making the city more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. We will have a meeting (details to come shortly) before the 24th to discuss our TBAG vision and priorities.

Don’t let the summer heat get you down! Here are some tips for riding throughout the summer:

1. Plan: Plan trips well ahead of time, and give yourself enough time to ride and recover. Try to locate and follow shaded routes or routes traveling through cooler areas (i.e. flood-irrigated  neighborhoods). Check for public pools, stores, malls, or other potential cooling points along your route. Carry emergency bus money, and research where and when bus routes are available.

2. Acclimate: Start out riding slowly and avoid the hottest parts of the day (10 am to 4 pm). If you’re just getting started with commuting by bicycle, you might want to make the switch gradually instead of trying to dive in during the summer heat. Dress strategically: consider whether dry-wicking clothing and sunscreen work best for you, or if you’d prefer light, loose, long-sleeved cotton for sun coverage.

3. Hydrate: Drink lots of water before, during, and after riding, beginning up to a day ahead of your ride. Always carry plenty of water and don’t be afraid to ask businesses to refill water bottles. If you wait until you’re thirsty, you are usually not drinking enough and it may already be too late to avoid heat exhaustion. A good indicator of good hydration is the need to urinate once an hour.

4. Avoid Heat Exhaustion: Learn to recognize your body’s signs of heat exhaustion, which are similar to signs of fever. Initial signs can be subtle, so know them and pay attention. At the first signs of heat exhaustion: back off. Relax your pace, and increase your fluid intake, especially if you have stopped feeling thirsty. If you do not recover within 10-20 minutes, immediately find air conditioning or shade, and be prepared to call 911. Heat stroke can occur quickly and it is potentially fatal, so don’t try to tough it out, even if you only need to travel a short remaining distance. Lastly, if you get a flat tire or have mechanical problems, be sure to seek out shade or a place indoors
for repairs.