Tempe Bicycle Action Group

From Eric Iwersen:

The bicycling community came together recently to honor two cyclists killed in separate, unrelated accidents in Tempe during May. Chris Volpe was killed May 10 when he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike at University Drive and Ash Avenue. A week later, bicyclist Jay Fretz was struck and killed at the intersection of McClintock and Alameda drives.

Memorials for each of the cyclists included installation of a “ghost bike” – a bicycle that has been painted solid white – near each of the accident locations. A well-known practice by cycling communities internationally, the ghost bike serves as both a memorial and a reminder of the potential dangers bike riders face.

City of Tempe staff have been working together with the bicycling community for decades to make Tempe a bicycle-friendly community. Following these two accidents, members of the Tempe Bicycle Action Group and other bicycling advocates have contacted city staff and elected officials to express concern and advocate for continued efforts to increase bicycle safety.

Tempe encourages community members to participate in planning bicycle facilities and outreach efforts, and has a number of ways people can be involved, including the Transportation Commission, which is comprised of Tempe residents (several of whom are bicyclists), and the Commission’s Multi-modal Planning Committee to facilitate community dialogue and input on bicycle/pedestrian projects and issues.

Over the last 14 years – since passage of Tempe’s transit tax – the city has emphasized multi-modalism and creating a balanced transportation system with connectivity between transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Improvements include on-street bicycle lanes, multi-use paths, streetscape and traffic calming projects. Tempe now has more than 170 miles of bikeways throughout the city.

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This is somewhat late notice for tonight’s meeting, but better late than never, right?

There are two important upcoming public meetings for transportation projects in Tempe. The more people who attend these meetings and provide public comment, the more clear it becomes that the City should keep supporting bicycling projects. The one tonight is a big one, for a road for which many people have asked over the years, “Why doesn’t it have a bike lane?” Well, it’s getting one, that’s right, it’s BROADWAY, from Rural all the way to Priest. That’s right, you will soon be able to ride your bike down a bike lane on Broadway to get to Boulders on Broadway.

Main info page here: http://www.tempe.gov/tim/Traffic/broadwayroad.htm (LOTS of info, plus a public comment form, too!)
Meeting: TONIGHT (June 7), 6 pm, Don Cassano Community Room, Tempe Transportation Center, 200 E. Fifth Street

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Also, there will be public meetings for another huge project, called the “Tempe South” project. This is part of the general regional project that brought us the light rail. It doesn’t stop there, oh no it doesn’t! That’s right, there will be some sort of link down to the south, to bring mass transit to even more of the masses. A lot of Tempe residents should be getting postcards and door hangers from the City to encourage participation.

Valley Metro has the scoop on their website: http://www.valleymetro.org/metro_light_rail/future_extensions/tempe/

The Tempe public meeting will be Wednesday, June 16, 2010
6:00–8:00 p.m
Pyle Adult Recreation Center (that’s by the library)
655 E. Southern Ave., Tempe

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Thanks to all of the volunteers that helped with April Bike Month. We had five successful events thanks to all of your help: Bike Saviours/REI Bike Drive, Mariposa Elementary Bike Rodeo, 1st Annual TBAG Bike to BBQ, Bike to Work and School Day, and the Great Bike Chase. We also saw the launch of PHXBAG(or BikePHX, or PHXBike, help decide the name!) with a First Fridays Bike Valet at the beginning of the month, and Bicycle Awareness Party at the end of the month.

Bike Saviours and Rusty Spoke collected over 75 used bikes with the help of both Valley REI locations. Both organizations would like to thank those who donated, and REI for supporting and hosting the event.

The Mariposa Elementary Bike Rodeo was also a big success with lots of kids in attendance learning to ride safely. Click here for a full recap.

It was great seeing everyone at the BBQ, we had a great turnout for our first event of this kind. We had families riding around the town lake in the morning, mountain bike rides throughout the day, and then the bike polo crew showed up in the afternoon to help us finish off the burgers and kegs. This event replaced Tempe’s Bike-a-Palooza event that was canceled due to budget cuts. TBAG will be taking a larger role hosting grassroots cycling events like this to get people to come out and have fun on their bikes.

Bike to Work and School Day gets better every year. This year we had volunteers at 7 free breakfast locations around Tempe talking to fellow bike commuters. The volunteers from each location also led rides to the Tempe Transit Center. Mariposa Elementary also promoted bike to school day for their students, there were over 100 kids that biked to school that day and we had volunteers on hand to promote cycling, safety, and fun.

The Great Bike Chase is a long standing Valley Metro event, but budget cuts increase the need for volunteer help. TBAG volunteers set up a DIY screen printing booth at Hance Park and helped people print their own bike and bike month t-shirts. Volunteers also helped with ride marshaling and bike valet parking at a Diamondbacks game. You’ll see the DIY screen printing at many of our upcoming events.

Thanks again to the volunteers, you are what makes TBAG a successful organization helping to promote cycling in Tempe and around the Valley.

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Sun 4/25: The Great Bike Chase
4.3 mile ride from Hance Park (3rd Ave. & Culver in Central Phx to the D’backs game at Chase Field. Free Bike Parking provided at Jefferson ST. Garage (Jefferson & 1st Ave., just south of Chase Field).
Pre-Event @ Hance Park (9-11a) features DIY silkscreen t-shirts, so remember to bring an old shirt to print on.
We still need volunteers for this event.
- GBC Ride Leaders (10:30a – 1:15pm)
- Bike Valet (12-4pm)
- Bike Valet Set-up (9a-12noon)
Event Info, Ticket Pricing & Route Map:
Or volunteer with us & get in to see the D’backs game for FREE.

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As described in an earlier update, the City of Tempe has been wrapping up construction along the Western Canal. Part of the Canal development has included the installation of two HAWK signals, the first such signals in Tempe. HAWK stands for High-Intensity Activated CrossWalk, and is a style of road crossing developed in Tucson. See this page for information about HAWKs, as well as the other specialized crossings found in Tucson.

The two crossings in Tempe are located on Rural Road at the Western Canal, and on McClintock Drive at the canal. The City is providing a pamphlet that describes how the HAWK signals work, available through the Tempe In Motion website, and wants to spread the word as much as possible. If you have had experiences with either of these crossings and would like to share, feel free to leave comments here. We’d love to hear if these seem like an effective system for making canal crossings safer and more efficient, and if we should be encouraging more Phoenix-area municipalities to install them.

From a bicyclist or pedestrian standpoint, the crossings change to a “walk” signal within a few seconds of pressing the button, and are designed to force cars to slow down and stop whenever someone needs to cross the street. At other times, they allow cars to pass through freely.

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Spring is well underway, so it’s time for another expedition to the farmer’s market! This will be a leisurely ride down to the Phoenix Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning. Let me know if you think you’ll be there.

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With all of the budgetary problems faced by cities and the state of Arizona, it’s often easy to lose track of good things that are still happening. As you may know, members of TBAG sit in on Tempe’s Multi-Modal Transportation Planning and Project Review Committee, where we learn about the Capital Improvement Projects happening in Tempe. These projects tend to take a long time to go from initial ideas to construction (years!), but they represent Tempe’s long-term investment in bicycling infrastructure. They also tend to receive a lot of federal funding, including funds from the Economic Stimulus Bill, so they have not been as severely impacted by budgetary cuts as a lot of the city’s operations. Stay tuned for news about the budget cut impacts, as they are going to have a huge effect on public transit in Tempe, and direct public involvement will be valuable for what the changes will look like.

To give you an idea of what’s going on behind-the-scenes, here’s a brief summary list of some of the current projects, and what’s going on with them:

1. College Ave. Streetscape: this project is getting close to construction. There were some design challenges that cropped up not too long ago, that mean more construction than originally intended, but you can expect to see construction beginning sometime around June.
2. Broadway Road Streetscape: This project was initially going to involve renovation of the section of Broadway Road between Mill and Rural, to decrease the number of vehicular traffic lanes so the road would have 4 car lanes (2 in either direction), a center turn lane, and a bike lanes. Then the idea of expanding the streetscape all the way to Priest came up, and further studies have indicated that the expansion is feasible and will happen. We don’t have exact dates yet, but you can spread the word: Broadway is getting bike lanes.
3. Western Canal: This one’s really exciting, and perhaps you’ve already been riding along the freshly constructed portions of the Western Canal. Tempe is just about ready to officially open the newly paved canal, which features some really cool covered pathways that provide protection from nearby golf courses, and which will feature two HAWK crossings. Here’s some more information about the crossings from Tempe In Motion. TBAG is really excited about this canal development, and will be organizing some rides to check it out in the upcoming months. You will notice, if you ride this canal, that there’s currently no way to get across I-10 on the western edge, or across the 101 on the eastern edge. If we want to be able to cross the freeways, we are going to have to speak up about that.
4. Crosscut Canal: Not a lot of people actually know where this canal runs, but it’s a canal that runs north-south through Papago Park. The north end of the canal is currently paved, and connects up to the Arizona Canal. The second phase of this project will involve paving the southern stretch so the canal will link up to the Mill Avenue/Washington intersection. That’s right, a connection that runs northeast across the park, taking you from downtown Tempe almost all the way to downtown Scottsdale. You can check out maps of the project, and provide feedback/support, here. Currently, the details for the bridge crossings are getting straightened out, and so soon you should start to see construction happening.
5. Tempe Town Lake Bike/Ped Bridge: Rio Salado Operations is overseeing the construction of a bicycle and pedestrian bridge that will run across the western dam of Tempe Town Lake. We got to check out some of the artist concept drawings (pretty!), and it sounds like this project is going to move ahead in the next couple of months as well.

Tempe has also assembled a map of all of the projects in progress. Check it out!

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From the Tempe Newsroom listserve:

For Immediate Release
10/6/2009

Tempe residents are encouraged to attend one of three public meetings to learn more about potential route changes to the existing Orbit neighborhood circulator and fixed route arterial bus systems. The purpose of these meetings is to gather ideas from neighbors and get input on potential route changes that may occur in January and/or July 2010.

The scope of the proposed route changes has been expanded to include the majority of the arterial bus route system in Tempe. These proposed changes are due in large part to the slowing economy. The Tempe transit system is funded primarily by a half cent sales tax, which has dramatically decreased causing Tempe to reevaluate the transit system to make it more efficient in order to reduce costs. Passengers and residents are able to comment online beginning Oct. 28. at www.tempe.gov/tim. The same information will be presented at all three meetings. Meetings will occur:

Oct. 28 at 6 p.m.
Pyle Adult Recreation Center
655 E. Southern Ave., Tempe

Nov. 4 at 6 p.m.
Tempe Transportation Center
Don Cassano Community Room
200 E. Fifth St., Tempe

Nov. 7 at 10 a.m.
Tempe Transportation Center
Don Cassano Community Room
200 E. Fifth St., Tempe

For information call (480) 350-2775 or visit www.tempe.gov/tim

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Just a reminder that BikeTown USA visits Phoenix tomorrow. The event, which is coordinated by Valley Metro and Bicycling Magazine’s BikeTownUSA, is being held at the Tempe Transportation Center at 5th and Forrest at Tempe’s main light rail stop just west of Sun Devil Stadium. The event begins at 9am and runs til 11am. In addition to announcing the 30 bike giveaways, a Bike Rodeo will be held at a nearby park. Families with children are encouraged to attend the bike rodeo. Arrive by bike, or bring your bikes (parents, too) and you can learn how to ride safely. The Bike Rodeo is an obstacle course set up to mimic real world situations. Children and parents navigate the course (under instruction) to learn rules of the road and road safety. While you’re at the Transportation Center, take a tour of the new Bicycle Cellar.

Attendees are encouraged to use alternative transportation to get to the event. The light rail stops right at Tempe Transportation Center. Many free Orbit Circulator buses and Valley Metro buses also stop at the TTC. Bikes are allowed on the light rail and all buses have bike racks on the front. Parking is available across the street in the new 5th Street Garage. Visit ValleyMetro.org for bus & light rail information including automatic route planning.

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I had the opportunity to stop by The Bicycle Cellar and talk with John Romero about how things have been going the first week. 17 folks have signed up for a membership in the first 7 days. John’s been doing some improvements to the facility including installation of a lockable retail display, two large work tables, a dual bike workstand, air compressor and a self serve beverage cooler that will work on the honor system. I mentioned to him that it would be a good idea to talk with the City of Tempe about installing an air hose to the outside of the facility so there’s air available for free, 24 hours a day. You can learn more about The Bicycle Cellar at their website or read a recent AZ Central article here.

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