Cycling Savvy makes front page news in Orlando Sentinel
Can’t we all get get along on the roads? Cycling Savvy creator Keri Caffrey was featured in a recent issue of the Orlando Sentinel including this video. Reporter Dan Tracy was pleasantly surprised with his experience of riding in traffic with Keri last Monday.
Don’t miss the opportunity to complete the entire 3-part course with the following schedule:
Saturday 7/31, 8-11AM
Train Your Bike (bike handling class)
in the South parking lot of the Orlando Arena
a la carte price: $30
Wednesday 8/11, 6-9PM
Truth & Techniques of Traffic Cycling (classroom session)
Hosted by VHB MillerSellen
225 E. Robinson Street, Suite 300, Landmark Center Two, Orlando, FL 32801
a la carte price: $30
Saturday 8/14, 9AM-12:30PM
Tour of Orlando (experiential on-road session)
We meet in Colonialtown for a 12 mile route to College Park, Downtown Orlando and back.
The other two sessions are required to sign up for this one.
Package price for all 3 sessions: $75
Sign-up here:
http://cyclingsavvy.org/2010/07/full-course-upcoming-schedule/
TRAFFIC SKILLS 101 AUGUST 28, 2010
Cycling is inherently safe. Based on crash data in Freedom from Fear, by expert vehicular cyclist Mighk Wilson, for comparable time periods of activity, travel by bicycle is 2.1 times safer than by auto, for cyclists of all ages, levels of training and skill levels. Airlines are 3.1 times safer. A vehicular cyclist in the daytime, obeying all traffic laws is 47 times safer. Road cyclists with solid basics fall somewhere in between 2.1 and 47. Improve your odds by registering for this course. I teach this course for the satisfaction of knowing I might have saved a life and at least given people the opportunity to have more fun on their bicycle.
Registration is open through Tuesday, August 24th. To request a registration package, click to contact Jeff Hohlstein at (904) 291-8664 or email him at Jeff@FBAfirstcoast.org
To find out more about the course, Click here to see the flyer.
ProBike/ProWalk Florida Conference sessions available online
If you were unable to attend the 2010 ProBike/ProWalk Florida conference in Lakeland, you can still take advantage of the terrific sessions. And for those of you who did and had to make tough choices regarding which sessions to attend, now you can enjoy all of them. All sessions are available to download by visiting the site.
Take Action: Help the River of Grass Greenway in South Florida
http://community.railstotrails.org/blogs/trailblog/archive/2010/07/01/help-the-river-of-grass-greenway-in-south-florida.aspx
Summer FBA Board Meeting
Interested in attending the next FBA Board meeting or perhaps even considering a Board position? Now’s your chance since the summer meeting will be held Saturday, July 17, from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, in West Palm Beach at the office of the Downtown Development Authority, 301 Clematis Street. The Meet & Greet gathering precedes the meeting, Friday, July 16, from 6:00-8:00 pm at Grease Burger Bar, 213 Clematis Street (yes, they have vegi options). Your voice counts and the best way to make a difference is to get involved as an Advisory or Board member.
For out of town guests, housing options include (in increasing cost order):
*Hotel Biba http://www.hotelbiba.com/ [the rates are ridiculously low, and it’s a local business!]
*WPB Best Western http://www.bestwesternflorida.com/hotels/best-western-palm-beach-lakes
*WPB Comfort Inn http://www.comfortinn.com/hotel-west_palm_beach-florida-FL838?promo=gglocal
*WPB Hampton Inn http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml;jsessionid=SZD0VQ1LDWXQOCSGBJNMVCQ?ctyhocn=PBICAHX
*WPB Crowne Plaza http://www.cpwestpalmbeach.com/
All are within a few miles of downtown, and you could ride from each of them (though most safely from Biba).
Thank you advisory member Raphael Clemente for hosting the meeting and board member Stephanie Striefel for handling other logistics.
Cycling Savvy has arrived
Bicycle safety eduction comes in more than one flavor. Check out FBA’s newest cycling education program – Cycling Savvy – developed by Keri Caffrey and Mighk Wilson. FBA also offers Traffic Skills 101 classes, but this 9-hour course is divided into three segments which may be taken “ala carte” or as a package:
3-hour classroom segment: covers the rules of the road, how traffic works from the bicyclist perspective, avoidance strategies for the most common types of crashes, and route selection strategies.
3-hour skills drills: progressively improves the bicyclist’s handling skills both to increase confidence in the student’s use of the vehicle, and to train them in essential skills for crash avoidance.
3-hour on-road course: students are taken through a real-world route with a variety of roadway and intersection types; the class stops before selected intersections to discuss the layout, potential conflicts, and strategies.
Classes are currently been offered in Orlando, but once more instructors are trained, opportunities will be available in other parts of Florida.
Federal Safe Routes Program Under Attack
Take Action!
Urge Your Representative to Support Safe Routes To Schools
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) has targeted the federal Safe Routes to School program established under the 2005 Federal Surface Transportation Bill (SAFETEA-LU) as wasteful government spending in his weekly “YouCut program”.
Each week representative Cantor asks people to vote for which of five options they would cut from the federal budget. Republicans then hold a floor vote in the House of Representatives to try to eliminate the program that gets the most votes.
This week, the federal Safe Routes to School program is one of Rep. Cantor’s targets. He argues that SRTS duplicates other bicycling and walking programs, and that bicycling and walking infrastructure is a local government responsibility. We need your help making sure that Members of Congress understand the value of Safe Routes to School and support it.
Please take a few minutes to send a message to your Member of Congress to ask them to vote against any effort to cut Safe Routes to School.
The passing of HB 971 generates press
There has been plenty of press about the passing of HB 971 including this article in the Orlando Sentinel. FBA board vice president Mighk Wilson was quoted: “Bike lanes might not be all that we thought they were cracked up to be,” said Mighk Wilson, a smart-growth planner and bike advocate at MetroPlan Orlando.
Wilson said he thinks riding in the midst of traffic is safer than bike lanes or the side of the road because bicyclists are more visible to motorists. Bike lanes, he said, often run too close to parking spaces, making riders vulnerable to people who open their car doors without looking.
He also contends that drivers who are turning often fail to see bikers because they are too far off to the side.
Wilson said he would like to launch a study looking at the effectiveness of bike lanes, specifically whether they lead to fewer accidents between motorists and cyclists. He doubts they are safer, and he would not miss the lanes if they were gone.
“It’s not that you would take the width [of the road] away, just the stripes,” said Wilson, who regularly commutes to work by bike.
Governor Crist signs HB 971 into law
Yesterday afternoon, Governor Crist signed HB 971, among many other bills into law. Thanks to all of you who expressed your concerns over this bill encouraging it to be vetoed. Yes, this is a defeat, but now we must rally together to plan our strategy for the 2011 Legislative Session.
HB 971 isn’t all bad. At 81 pages, there are many good things in the bill and unfortunately the mandatory bike lane use was slipped in late in the Session, along with other pedestrian issues. This process is not unusual, but now FBA will be planning for it.
FBA’s Legislative Committee will be meeting in the next few weeks to develop strategies and set priorities. The results will be shared via a survey for review by FBA members and other interested parties. Your input is very important. If you are not an FBA member, please join now to support our legislative efforts. Membership fees will help fund a legislative staff position.
In the mean time, now is the time to develop relationships with your elected officials in the district. Invite them for a bike ride. Let them know you are a local expert regarding bicycling issues.
It is up to all of us to make something good come out of HB 971. We will not go away empty-handed but will come back strong in 2011.
Memorial Day knifer to be prosecuted
Here is an update on the knifing incident that took place at the Kent University, Jacksonville, FL. on Memorial Day. Here is a link to the Sheriff’s report. It is the most complete and accurate account of the incident.
The alleged knifer is 25 year old Matt Salmons. He is charged with two counts of aggravated battery and one count of simple battery. There may be some of you who will want to observe the legal proceedings and maybe even attend the trial. Here is what we know so far:
The defendant is Matt Salmons. The State Attorney case number is 2010-CF-047910 and the Attorney for the State assigned to this case is Theresa Simak. The Clerk case number is 2010-CF-005975. The defendant will be arraigned on June 23rd 2010 at 9AM in Courtroom 9 which is located on the 2nd floor of the Duval County Courthouse. I have left a message for Ms. Simak to call me. I want to make sure she knows the cycling community is very interested in this case.
Pass this info on to anyone interested.
Scott A. Wilson, Assistant to Don Redman, Jacksonville City Council
Both cyclists are expected to make a full recovery.
One way we cyclists could show solidarity with the injured cyclists would be for abot 20 cyclists to sit quietly at the back of the courtroom each day of the proceedings, and observe. This was done last year in California and the offending driver received serious jail time. After the case, the prosecutor stated that the presence of the cyclists made a big difference.
As we receive additional information I will make it available to you.
In addition to being the FBA First Coast Chapter Director, I am the President of the North Florida Bicycle Club and we will be working closely with the City of Jacksonville to find solutions for this kind of behavior.
