League of American Bicyclists Newsletter - September 14, 2009

National News

League Invited To Distracted Driving Summit
Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists, will join other safety advocates, senior transportation officials, law enforcement representatives, elected officials and academics at the Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 30 and October 1, 2009. The Summit, convened by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, will focus on determining the best ways to reduce the number of crashes and deaths due to distracted driving. Clarke will take this opportunity to highlight some personal stories from League Members who have been directly affected by crashes caused by distracted drivers. If you have a personal story you would like to share, respond to communications@bikeleague.org by Monday, September 21. For updates on Summit and to view the proceedings please click here.

Safe Routes to School Dear Congress Campaign
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has launched a Dear Congress: Why Safe Routes to School is Important campaign. They need your help. They are striving to generate letters from children, parents, program staff and volunteers, and school and city leaders talking about why Safe Routes to School matters to individuals and communities. They will bundle your letters and share them with members of the House and Senate so that they know how many people in their states and districts value Safe Routes to School. Click here for more information on how you can join the letter-writing campaign. Please pass this message along to your own state and local list-servs. The deadline for the campaign is September 24, 2009.

State & Local News
Bike Sharing in the Twin Cities
The nonprofit Nice Ride Minnesota plans to inaugurate a $3.7 million system of 1,000 heavy-duty bikes and 80 locking kiosks in and around downtown Minneapolis next May. For an annual fee of $60 or a daily charge of $5, you'll be able to take unlimited free rides of up to half an hour between the computerized locking stations. The bike share program is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Read more at Minnesota 2020.

Pittsburgh Works Towards Better Bike Parking
Pittsburgh's Planning Commission unanimously passed a proposedBicycle Parking Ordinance on September 1. Currently, there are no city zoning rules that deal with bike parking. What this proposed ordinance states is that anytime a new building is built, or there is a change or expansion in use, building owners must put in bike parking. There is also an incentive component to the ordinance, whereby a developer can replace up to 30 percent of their car parking requirement with bicycle parking. If you are a Pittsburgh resident, write or email your councilperson and ask them to support the proposed ordinance when it comes through.

Capitol Corridor Train Car Retrofit Accommodates Cyclists
Hot on the heals of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's success to getting better bike access on Caltrain comes news of improved bike access to another critical rail corridor. The September 10 report on Capital Corridor bike access reports that due to the growing trend of bikes on board Capitol Corridor trains, Caltrans and the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) retrofitted 14 train cab cars-increasing on-board bike storage by 34%. Nearly 9% of Capitol Corridor's 1.7 million annual passengers use a bicycle to gain access to the Capitol Corridor intercity passenger rail service.

League News

D.C Forum: Demark Cycle Chic
The cool factor of the bicycle has come a long way in the U.S., but nowhere is it as mainstream to bike in your suit and tie or your fashionable dress as it is in European cities like Copenhagen. Danish bike culture, often called cycle chic, is central to the Danes' approach to sustainable living, and one of the key factors in their ability to remain energy independent. This supportive culture combines with supportive transportation infrastructure to make biking the mode of choice for nearly 33 percent of local trips in Denmark, compared to just 1 percent of local trips in the United States. What have the Danish done to make biking a national habit?

Join us for a lecture and discussion with Mikael Colville-Andersen with an introduction by Andy Clarke, League President. Check outwww.copenhagencyclechic.com; www.copenhagenize.com for more information.

RSVP for the forum here.

Become a League Board Member
If you are interested in serving on the League Board of Directors, or if you know someone who would be a good representative for cyclists, the Nominating Committee is now soliciting recommendations for candidates for the 2010 board appointments. The deadline is this Friday, September 18. The 12 Directors on the board are responsible for setting broad policy and direction for the League. Six represent specific regions and are elected by League members. One seat is an at-large position, elected by members. The board selects the remaining five seats. Four of the board-selected, at-large seats are open in 2010. Read more.

Other News
Ride 2 Recovery eBay Charity Auction
Ride 2 Recovery is holding an eBay Charity Auction. It began September 8 but will run to September 18 at 5 PM. The money raised from this effort will go to support the participation of wounded heroes in the R2R program and events, purchase bikes, helmets and other technical equipment required for the wounded heroes. R2R has 10 auction items to choose from, including a dinner with Sarah Palin. The other items offered include a lunch with Karl Rove. Please go toeBay.com/Ride2Recovery for all of the auction details.

World News

Light Electric Vehicle Industry Meeting
Last week the first steps were made to lobby for better European regulations for 2 and 3-wheeled Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs) at Eurobike. The Light Electric Vehicle Association (LEVA),is organizing a parallel meeting for the American and Canadian industry on Friday, September 25 at the upcoming Interbike Show in Las Vegas, Nev. while a meeting for the Chinese industry could take place in Beijing, China mid October.

North American companies that would like to participate in the meeting at Interbike are requested to register in advance with the ETRA-secretariat: tel. +32 9 233 60 05, E-mail etra@pandora.be.

CPH Bike Share Competition
In 1995, Copenhagen was the first city to introduce a modern bike share system - Bycyklen - or The City Bike. Much has happened since this Bike Share v. 1.0 was launched and, over the past ten years, many large cities now enjoy exciting, new bike share systems. Copenhagen is searching for a bike share system that reflects their city's unique, world-class cycling city culture. Therefore The City of Copenhagen is pleased to launch an open design competition in order to determine how a bike share system v. 3.0 would look and work in the city in the future. Click here for further details.

The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of America's 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information or to support the League, visitwww.bikeleague.org.
People, not speed.

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