Please join us there – it will be essential for cyclists’ concerns to be heard.

METRO invites you to attend a public meeting to review and comment on the Urban Design Guidelines (UDG) for the 2.6-mile Tempe Streetcar project that will serve the downtown and Central Tempe community.

The UDG is a document that will provide the future project designers with guidelines for how the streetcar stops should look, including concepts for seating, lighting, platform paving treatments, canopies, etc.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
6 – 8 p.m.; presentation at 6:15 p.m.
Tempe Transportation Center, Don Cassano Room
200 E. 5th St., Tempe, 85281

For more information, see: http://www.valleymetro.org/metro_projects_planning/tempe_streetcar/

and http://www.tempe.gov/tim/TempeStreetcar.htm

The city of Tempe is soliciting feedback from residents, businesses and organizations about a project to improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities, enhance the streetscape and calm traffic on University Drive

between the Union Pacific Railroad just east of Farmer Avenue and Priest Drive. This project is funded with $1.1 million in federal grant money. If you would like to add your comments and/or see the current project status please visit: http://www.tempe.gov/tim/Traffic/UniversityDr.htm

Some TBAG board members attended the initial meeting on January 12th, and we are very excited about this project and its positive impact on the downtown Tempe area. Let us and the City of Tempe know your ideas. The next public meeting is in March where City officials will present design concepts based on the feedback they have received.

For many Americans, the bicycle is a choice. An expensive toy. An eco-conscious mode of transportation. For countless others across the globe, it is much more.
For Fred, a health worker in Zambia, the bicycle is a means of reaching twice as many patients.
For Bharati, a teenager in India, it provides access to education.
For Mirriam, a disabled Ghanaian woman, working on bicycles is an escape from the stigma attached to disabled people in her community.
For Carlos, a farmer in Guatemala, pedal power is a way to help neighbors reduce their impact on the environment.
For Sharkey, a young man in California, the bicycle is an escape from the gangs that consume so many of his peers. With My Own Two Wheels weaves together the experiences of five individuals into a single story about how the bicycle can change the world—one pedal stroke at a time.
44 mins.
Here’s the trailer: http://vimeo.com/19734902
Co-Director Jacob Siegel-Boettner will be present to answer questions after the show.

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Contested Streets is a Transportation Alternatives produced, Cicala Filmworks made documentary that explores the rich diversity of New York City street life before the introduction of automobiles and shows how New York can follow the example of other modern cities that have reclaimed their streets as vibrant public spaces.

Contested Streets features new footage of reclaimed streets in London, Paris and Copenhagen and interviews with New York savvy notables such as Ken Jackson, Mike Wallace, Bob Kiley, Majora Carter, Kathryn Wylde, Enrique Peñalosa, James Howard Kunstler and many more.
57 mins.
Here’s the trailer: http://www.transalt.org/files/campaigns/sensible/contestedstreets/trailer.html

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November 7 @ 8 pm, FilmBar in Phoenix 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149225378506884

November 9 @ 6:30 pm ASU Tempe SCOB  

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=129988823771797   

FTA Issues Policy on Funding Eligibility For Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements

A final policy statement providing guidance on federal funding eligibility of pedestrian and bicycle improvements near public transportation facilities was issued by the Federal Transit Administration in the Aug. 19 Federal Register.

Under federal transit law, funding administered by FTA can be used to construct bicycle and pedestrian improvements in and around transit facilities when there is a “functional relationship” to the facility. To further the USDOT policy of making communities livable, the notice said, the FTA policy statement provides that projects within the one-half mile pedestrian “catchment area” or the three-mile bicycle “catchment area” have a de facto physical and functional relationship to the transit facility, and therefore are eligible for federal funding.

According to the notice, pedestrians generally are willing to walk at least one-half mile to train stations and other public transportation facilities when in a safe and well-designed streetscape. This half-mile radius around a transit facility is considered the pedestrian “catchment area.” Similarly, the bicycle “catchment area” is determined to extend three miles from the transit facility. Design features for these catchment areas should include adequate sidewalks, pathways, and roadway crossings as well as amenities such as benches, shelters, and lighting.

Pedestrian and bicycle improvements beyond the one-half-mile and three-mile distances may be eligible for FTA funding by demonstrating that the improvement is within the distance that people will travel by foot or by bicycle to use a particular stop or station, the notice said.

The statement received overwhelming support from stakeholders and commenters during the proposal comment period. Commenters included the American Public Transit Association, the National Complete Streets Coalition, Smart Growth America, and various state departments of transportation and local transit authorities.

According to the 2009 notice of the proposed policy statement, grantees previously lacked guidance on how to meet the “related physically or functionally” condition, since FTA had “made no determination of the specific distances pedestrians or bicyclists can be expected to travel to access a public transportation stop or station.” The relationship has been determined case by case, based on a narrative set of criteria.

The new policy statement simplifies the process of determining whether pedestrian and bicycle improvements are eligible for funding, according to the notice.

By providing improved pedestrian and bicycle access to transit, there are additional benefits to the community, including reduced traffic congestion, safer streets, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and increased transportation choices, according to FTA. “The success of public transportation can often be limited by poor ‘first and last mile’ access to the system,” the notice said.

For the text of the policy statement and additional information, link to the Federal Register notice.

TBAG will have a bike themed booth at this year’s ASU Family Fun Day on Saturday July 10th.

You can read about it here and the summary is below.

Saturday Jul 10, 2010
Location: ASU Art Museum
Cost: Free

What moves you? How do you get from one place to another? Walking, driving a car, riding a bike and traveling by train are all ways to move from here to there. This exhibition highlights these and other modes of transportation in paintings, sculpture and prints. Hands-on activities throughout the exhibition will get your imagination moving, too!

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

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

Tempe to host public meetings about Orbit and bus systems

TEMPE, Ariz. – 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 Sept. 9. at http://www.tempe.gov/tim. The same information will be presented at all three meetings. Meetings will occur:

Sept. 9 at 6 p.m.
Tempe Transportation Center
Don Cassano Community Room
200 E. Fifth St., Tempe

Sept. 12 at 10 a.m.
Tempe Transportation Center
Don Cassano Community Room
200 E. Fifth St., Tempe

Sept. 14 at 6 p.m.
Pyle Adult Recreation Center

655 E. Southern Ave., Tempe
For information call (480) 350-2775 or visit http://www.tempe.gov/tim

Shauna Warner
Neighborhood Services Director
City of Tempe
31 E. 5th Street
Tempe, AZ 85281

480-350-8883
480-350-8996 (fax)
shau...@tempe.gov

Much of the meeting this month was spent attempting to reorganize the committee so that committee rules, membership, and process for reporting to the City of Tempe Transportation Commission are clarified. Some progress was made in defining the committee’s mission and certain operating rules. TBAG, among other groups, has a “seat” on the committee and we’ll try and make sure this remains the case after membership is defined. This discussion will be continued next month.

We heard reports about bikes on Light Rail (LRT), which seems to be going ok. Apparently, there is updated language regarding how to use LRT with bikes. For more info, see:
www.valleymetro.org/metro_light_rail/how_to_ride/light_rail_and_bicycles/

We heard an update on the South Tempe Corridor Study. Some options, such as LRT on Mill and Rural were eliminated because of technical constraints. The most promising options which still stand are bus rapid transit (buses in exclusive lanes which act like LRT) on Rural and/or Mill, a “modern streetcar” (lighter-weight LRT) on Mill, and LRT on Rural but in a shared lane with traffic. Obviously, my description here leaves a lot to the imagination. Please check out www.valleymetro.org/metro_light_rail/future_extensions/tempe/ for more accurate information and to make comments online. More community meetings will take place as more analysis is being performed.

We heard an update on the Broadway Road Streetscape improvement project. Several lane/landscaping configuration options exist, and they will be subject to more discussion and analysis in the coming months. To see options and make comments online, go to: http://www.tempe.gov/TIM/Traffic/broadwayroad.htm

As always, please send TBAG anything you want us to bring up at the committee meeting.

If you live along Apache bordering the light rail line, you may wish to take extra measures in locking up or otherwise securing your bicycle as well as other valuables. I was recently offered a fairly nice bicycle for $100 on one of the light rail platforms as well as some other questionably priced items from questionable looking individuals. I’ve heard of several bike thefts along Apache recently. My thoughts are that criminals are using the light rail route to move stolen goods to other parts of the valley. I’ve emailed these concerns to several Tempe Police officers within the Crime Prevention Unit for beats bordering the light rail. Hopefully they’ll take note of it, but in the meantime here are some entertaining video shorts from NYC Bicycle Habitat’s Hal Ruzal on proper locking technique from streetfilms.org