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October 15, 2007

Board and Commissions need public input

Make sure Fort Collins cyclists' are heard, please plan to attend as many of these public meetings as you possibly can:

Nov. 7 - Economic Advisory Commission 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.– CIC Room in City Hall adjacent to Council Chambers

Nov. 8 - 7:30 a.m.  Downtown Development Authority (DDA)  Home State Bank Meeting Room (Basement) 303 East Mountain Avenue

Nov. 14 - Senior Advisory Board,  1:30 p.m. at the Senior Center (we have a Bike Lunch Talk that same day – I’ll leave at 1 p.m.)
  • Seniors have special needs, concerns and interests for cycling.  Ever
    wonder why the City's Recreation Program offers hiking tours into the
    mountains (for a fee) but no escorted bike tours on the 165 miles of
    bikeways in the City?

Nov. 28 - NRA Board – to be announced.

Nov. 28 5:30-9:00 PARKS and REC, 215 N. Mason, Community Room, 1st floor
  • A recent survey conducted by the city's Natural Resource Sept. showed 1.5 million bicycle visits occur each year to the city's natural areas.  this is more than any other single means of visiting (walking, jogging, hiking, driving, etc.) .
  • Many of the funds for bike trail construction and trail maintenance in our parkscome from the Natural Areas Program.

Dec. 5 Youth Advisory Board, December 5, 7 p.m. at the Youth Activity Center

  • gathers information from local youth, other
    groups, organizations and agencies regarding youth-oriented issues and
    makes recommendations to City Council in reference to these issues.

 

 

 

Posted by Susan at 01:34 PM |

Fort Collins Now article

Erik Fried writes in Fort Collins Now,

"Fort Collins is a bicycle-friendly city. At least, that’s what the sign on the East Prospect gateway to the city says. After all, the weather is good most of the year, most of our local terrain is flat, and we have a large network of bike trails and lanes. An estimated 4-5 percent of city residents bike (or walk) to work regularly, and the number spikes during the annual Bike to Work Week."

Read more of his spirited discussion of Fort Collins city budgets and bicycling in Fort Collins Now.

Posted by Susan at 01:34 PM |

October 08, 2007

Fort Collins Bike Library and Bike Co-op

Fort Collins Bike Library (check back soon for more on the 2008 opening of the Bike Library)
222 Laporte Avenue (at the old Poudre Valley Creamery)

The Bike Library lends bicycles to residents and visitors for basic transportation in Fort Collins.  Loans are made for a short term from headquarters or other locations in Fort Collins.  These bikes will be equipped for transportation purposes (i.e. baskets, lights). 

Performance road and/or mountain bikes will not be made available, so be sure to check with one of our great local bike shops or tour operators if you need more!  See list of Fort Collins bicycle sites.

Fort Collins Bike Co-op

The Bike Co-op is a community Bike Project dedicated to keeping good bikes and parts out of the landfill, to keep our community riding, and to educate our neighbors in all things bike. 

This group is run entirely by volunteers and is dedicated to:

  • keeping the bikes in the Bike Library working. 
  • keeping bikes out of the landfill
  • refurbishing and donating bikes to a wide variety of charity events and programs which provide bicycles to those in need.
  • teach bike repair and maintenance to those who wish to learn

Questions about the Bike Co-op?  Contact coordinator@fcbikecoop.org

If you'd like to volunteer with either of these initiatives, you can send an email to Bike Fort Collins and we'll get you in touch.  contact us at:  info@bikefortcollins.org

Posted by Susan at 09:38 AM |

Safe Routes to School

 Safe Routes to School...

 is a nationwide program dedicated to getting more school children to bicycle or walk to school. Through education, encouragement, enforcement, and engineering we hope to make walking and biking to school the preferred mode of transporation for Fort Collins students!

Bike Fort Collins is working closely with the City of Fort Collins and Bicycle Colorado to provide volunteers and support to make this project a success.  A grant through CDOT is allowing the city of Fort Collins to implement the program at 5 local elementary schools.  Read more at City of Fort Collins Safe Routes.

If your school is interested in introducing bicycle and pedestrian safety, we can help you get started.  If you'd like to volunteer, please contact us at info@bikefortcollins.org

Other interesting links:

Posted by Susan at 09:38 AM |

October 07, 2007

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ-Please send your questions to info@bikefortcollins.org  

Q: What is the Fort Collins Bike Program Plan?

The FCBPP is a visionary planning document written by a group of citizen volunteers in Fort Collins in 1995. The purpose of the Plan was to propose priorities and recommend actions to "improve the bicycle system and bicycle friendly nature" of Fort Collins. Thus far, the plan has been very successful but financial constraints imposed by the city budget are jeopardizing the continuation of the Fort Collins Bicycle Program. You can view the Bike Plan document here.  You'll also want to take a look at the City of Fort Collins bicycling website, there's lots of good information, such as a reporting tool for close calls/accidents, bike maps, schedule of events, and more!

Q: What do I do with an old bike that I'd like to donate?

Contact the Bike Library or drop it by 222 Laporte Ave.  Or contact the Bike Co-op

Q: Why do the bike lanes on Horsetooth Rd.become non-existent between Landings/Stanford Dr. and College Ave?

Your question isn't exactly answered but it is addressed by the “tier 1 Hot List” of bike projects on the current bike plan revision (still in draft form but soon to go to Council for approval before the end of 2007, we hope).  Here is that list in alphabetical order (note the first one addresses your question):
Horsetooth Road – College to Stover (bicycle lanes)
Laurel St - Howes to Remington (bicycle lanes or shared)
Light Actuation at Signals – City wide priority
Mason Trail – grade separation at Harmony Rd.
Mason Trail – grade separation at Horsetooth
*Mason Trail – grade separation at Troutman
*Mason Trail – Spring Creek Trail to Lake St.
Mountain Ave. – Meldrum to Riverside (bicycle lanes or shared)
* Indicates those projects which were recently funded with a combination of Building on Basics funds which were successfully used to leverage 80% of funding from CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality) monies.  These projects will be built in the next two years.  
The problem with this list is that “little” projects like Laurel or Mountain Ave. are often pushed down the funding list while the planners go after big ticket items.  Those big ticket items, while important, can eat up available funds (time and effort as well) while the smaller projects or mid-sized projects, like Horsetooth, wait their turn.

 

For clarification of this or more details contact the City Bike Coordinator dakemp@fcgov.com

 

Posted by Susan at 09:27 PM |

BLT - "Bike Lunch Talks" The 2nd Wednesday each Month

BikeFortCollins.org sponsors monthly brown bag lunches the second Wednesday of every month.  Topics include the City’s bicycle transportation policies, bicycle education and outreach activities, fundraising for better bicycling in Fort Collins, the new Bike Library initiative, and lots more.  Please join us:
Wednesday, February 13
Wednesday, March 12

Home State Bank 12 – 1:30 p.m.

Lower Level Conference Room (enter through the parking lot on the south side of the building)

303 East Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins

Bring your own brown bag lunch (the Food Coop is right across the street)

Join us for informal discussions about better bicycling in Fort Collins.  

Sometimes there will be a focus for our discussions, sometimes not. Join us!

Posted by Jeff at 08:43 AM |

October 03, 2007

Bike Fort Collins Volunteer Opportunities

To add your name to the Bike Fort Collins volunteer list, click here: volunteer form 

Would you like to be involved in making Fort Collins the best biking town in the USA?  Then come out and volunteer, we'd love to have your help. Stay informed of volunteer opportunities by subscribing to our Google group (see the home page).  Listed below are some of the upcoming projects we'll be needing volunteers for:

  • Bike Library - By Spring, 2008, we'll need a fleet of volunteers to make this a success, mechanics, station attendants.  Learn more at http://www.FCBikeLibrary.org
  • Bike Coop - Help keep bikes out of our landfill.  Learn more at http://www.FCBikeCoop.org
  • Safe Routes to School - Educate, encourage, and promote safety to get more children walking/biking to school.
  • Bicycle Museum - Donate a bicycle, display a bicycle, or find out other ways to be invovled in educating the public about the role of "human-powered" transportation in history!
  • Bike Fort Collins - Opportunities throughout the year, such as Bike Month in June, Tour de Fat, Sustainable Living Fair, and many others.


If you'd like to be involved, complete the volunteer form or send email to our Volunteer Coordinator at info@bikefortcollins.org.  Be sure to add your name to our Google group and you'll get regular postings of upcoming Bike Fort Collins events.

Posted by Susan at 09:08 PM |