Cycling Advocacy

[beckyl]

I have become active in Wheel Movement and want to pass along some important information. Both the House and Senate are moving early next week to vote on their transportation bills. Both bills remove dedicated funding for Safe Routes to School, bicycling and walking. If you want more info on how to respond to this you can access the WM FB page even if you are not a FB member. Please see the links below for more info about Wheel Movement's goals:

www.facebook.com/WheelMovement
wheelmovement.blogspot.com/
www.wheelmovementcsra.org/

Also, GHSU periodically sponsors ride to work days where we have folks leading rides from the Hill, towpath, and Greeneway. We have another one coming up in May so if anyone is interested, you can check the GHSU FB page for updates (you don't have to have a FB account for this):
www.facebook.com/pages/Bike-to-GHSU/205384486159616

We are so fortunate to have some of the best cycling in the country (both mtn and road) right here in our backyard. Let's work to ensure it stays this way and gets even better. It's good for the body, the soul and the economy! Ride on!

[Ted S.]

This petition needs signatures

www.bikeleague.org/petition/

[Angela]

Join the North Augusta Greeneway Trust Advisory Board on Tuesday evening, February 21 (8:00 pm - 9:00 pm) as they host a presentation of the Ride America for Safe Routes (RASR) team during their visit to metro-Augusta. The presentation will be held in the Riverview Park Activities Center (Crafts Room), 100 Riverview Park Drive, North Augusta, SC.

What is Ride America for Safe Routes? Four ambitious women are undertaking a cross country endurance ride that kicked off in Key West on February 5, 2012 and culminates in San Francisco in late April. Two sisters, Jeanie and Chelsea Ward-Waller, their mother, Jane, and close friend Stephanie Palmer are riding across America to benefit the bicycle safety advocacy efforts of the League of American Bicyclists and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

Dubbed Ride America for Safe Routes (RASR), their ride follows a route traversing 13 southern states and 20 major cities, logging over 5,000 miles between Florida and California. The mission of RASR is to raise $50,000 for the League’s Bike Friendly America program and for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs in local communities. In addition, the RASR Team will advocate the critical need for bike safety and promote the public health benefits of bicycling through events with local bicycle groups and SRTS programs in communities along their route.

What does RASR mean for metro-Augusta? The RASR team's visit to metro-Augusta is a great opportunity to bring local attention to the need for our elected officials to make decisions on transportation facilities and land use policies that promote more compact development patterns and greater accessibility to our schools by means of walking and biking.

How can I help? Locally, you help create awareness simply by attending the February 21st presentation. Numbers matter. For a broader impact, see more details about Ride America for Safe Routes – including how you can donate to the cause - by visiting the RASR website at rideforsaferoutes.blogspot.com or contacting [e-mail].

How else can I participate? Can I join the ladies on their ride? The RASR team rolls into the CSRA in the late-afternoon on Tuesday, February 21, and Wheel Movement is asking for your support in welcoming them to the metro-Augusta area. In addition to the Tuesday evening presentation, there are many opportunities to join the RASR ladies and Wheel Movement ride escorts on the road as they traverse the CSRA on February 21 and 22. For all the details on the RASR team's CSRA itinerary - including times and route maps - visit: www.wheelmovement.blogspot.com/.

Questions? Need more information? Contact Martin (Gator) Cochran at: [e-mail].

[beckyl]

Region’s Biking and Walking Plan Unveiled ~ Public Workshops: March 22 & 28, 2012
Join the Augusta Regional Transportation Study (ARTS) team to review the region’s bicycle and pedestrian plan updates and to provide your input! The ARTS will present the draft updated regional bicycle and pedestrian plan outlining programs, policies, and new network recommendations for safe and inviting bicycle and pedestrian facilities the Georgia and South Carolina metropolitan region!

Thursday, March 22, 2012 (5 - 7 pm)
Evans Government Center Complex Auditorium (Free Parking)
630 Ronald Reagan Drive, Evans, GA

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 (5 - 7 pm)
Aiken Technical College,
Building #700 in the Amphitheater (Free Parking)
2276 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Graniteville, SC

Learn about and offer your input on proposed improvements to biking and walking infrastructure (paths, sidewalks, wide outside lanes on roadways, among thers) and proposed education, enforcement, and encouragement programs for he region!

The ARTS area includes: AugustaRichmond County, part of Columbia County, part of Aiken and Edgefield Counties in South Carolina. The Georgia cities: Augusta, Blythe, Grovetown, & Hephzibah. South Carolina cities: Aiken, Burnettown, & North Augusta.

Want to know more? 706‐821‐1796 in GA; 803‐642‐1520 in SC
Persons with special needs related to handicapped accessibility or foreign language may contact the Aiken County or Augusta Planning & Development Departments for assistance.

[Angela]

Enough people stepped forward with their calls, letters, etc to ensure that the RTP (Recreational Trails Program) was reauthorized. This is a victory but it will need the attention of bicycling advocacy groups going forward to keep it alive!

For more details - www.imba.com/alerts/rtp-protected