| UPCOMING PHILADELPHIA EVENTS |
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June 22
Bicycle Coalition membership table, Navy Yard Farmers Market
June 23
Active Transportation Summit
June 23
Commuter Challenge Pit Stop, Green Line Cafe West Philly
June 27
Schuylkill River Park Connector Bridge public meeting
June 29
Bicycling Dreams, World Cafe Live
July 6
Bike-In Movie, Whole Foods Parking Garage, South St. Philly
July 9
Bike Mural Arts Tours
July 20
Safe Routes Philly Community-Based Workshop
All Summer
Bicycle education classes at Philly rec centers
Full calendar with details |
Pennsylvania Environment Ride
Cycle Bucks County June 29NJ Transportation Improvement Program Public Meeting
Bike Delaware Meeting
Iron Hill Twilight Criterium
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| BICYCLE COALITION IN THE NEWS |
Philly Weekly's June 15th cover story was "The Five Best (And Five Worst) Places to Bike in Philly." The Bicycle Coalition featured prominently in the article.
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Greetings!
Yesterday, I got to ride a new bike lane in the morning (13th Street south of Market) and spent the evening making plans for still more. Our board met to discuss our strategic plan to make biking safer and more convenient in Philadelphia and the suburbs over the next three years.
The plan includes innovative designs for South Philly streets and one-day bike summits in each suburban county. There are a few steps left for us to finalize the plan but I look forward to sharing it with you at the end of the summer.
While you wait with baited breath for the release of our strategic plan, there are plenty of things to get involved in. You can join the 650 people who have signed up for the Commuter Challenge. Or join me for a morning in Center City with zero cars, 8,000 wheels and sign up for Bike Philly. As a Cyclegram reader, you even get a discount (see below). Or join in on one of the other eight events listed in the calendar this month.
Alex Doty
Executive Director
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| COMPLETE THE TRAIL UPDATE |
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 Complete the Trail Campaign
The design of the trail on top of the Manayunk Bridge is moving forward. A public meeting was held in early June and the consulting team designing the trail is seeking public input. This trail will connect Lower Merion's Cynwyd Heritage Trail to the on-road section of the Schuylkill River Trail on Umbria Street and the Canal Tow Path.
Meanwhile, below the Art Museum dam, the Connector Bridge (to be built over the CSX tracks to connect Schuylkill River Park to Schuylkill Banks) will be the first TIGER project to start construction this month. A public meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 27 to meet the construction team. The bridge is part of the settlement agreement that the City of Philadelphia signed in 2007 with CSX Corporation which preserved the two grade crossings at Locust and Race Street. The gates and fencing for these two crossings are in the midst of being installed and will be completed in a few weeks.
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BIKE PHILLY REGISTRATION IS OPEN! |
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 Bike Philly registration is open!
Bike Philly is happening Sunday, Sept. 11th. Enjoy Philadelphia's best family-friendly bicycle ride with a 10 or 20-mile, car-free ride through Philadelphia. Experienced riders can opt for a 35-mile shared road trek into the suburbs.
Bike Philly is our biggest fundraiser, supporting our Complete The Trail campaign.
As a Cyclegram reader, we are offering you a discount on early registration. Use the code SPOKE5 when registering and receive $5 off an adult registration. This code is good until June 30th.
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| ADVOCACY: BICYCLE COALITION IN THE STREETS |
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Defeating The 'Red Tape Lanes' City Council Bill 
Several weeks ago, Philadelphia City Councilman Bill Greenlee proposed legislation which would require City Council approval for all new bike lanes installed in the city. We opposed this legislation for a variety of reasons, and lobbied hard against the bill.
Our efforts, plus the hard work of our members, friends, and allies, culminated on June 2nd with the bill being held pending future review. More than 70 bike lane supporters attended the Streets & Services Committee meeting, a terrific show of community involvement. This is a big victory for bicycling in Philadelphia, and we are grateful to everyone who took action on the issue. A recap of the bill and the meeting is available on our blog.
Center City Philly Bike Lanes
 The Streets Department are installing new North-South bike lanes on 13th and 10th streets in Center City Philadelphia. We are conducting bike counts before the lanes open to get a baseline of bicycle usage, and will do future counts once the lanes are installed.
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On Thursday, June 24th, the Active Transportation Summit: Building our Regional Trail Network will be held at the HUB at the CIRA center (next to 30th Street Station). Pennsylvania Environmental Council and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission are sponsoring this one day event, featuring Mayor Michael Nutter, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, Portland, Oregon's Mia Birk and Jackie Epping from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, among others. Registration is required and scholarships are available.
The William Penn Foundation's $10 million grant for a Regional Trails Grant program being administered by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission launched in early June. The goal of the program is to provide funding for targeted priority trails to promote a connected regional network of multi-use trails. The first phase of grants will be selected from design and construction proposals that are due by July 8th. A second phase of funding will be made available in the fall for feasibility studies. A third phase of additional capital funding will be made available in summer 2012.
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| BICYCLE COALITION EDUCATION UPDATE |
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 This June our Safe Routes Philly program finished a terrific first school year. Since November 2nd, our pedestrian safety lessons reached more than 4,100 second graders. More than 2,500 fifth graders received our bicycle safety lessons. Our direct-teaching program taught over 2,000 private and charter school students since January. A huge step in bringing active transportation to Philadelphia's school system!
Community-Based Workshop We will be teaching a workshop for parents and community members on improving active transportation in local schools. The workshop is free and open to the public, and taking place July 20th in South Philly. For more info or to RSVP, visit our Safe Routes Philly events calendar.
Rec Center Bike Lessons
Safe Routes Philly will be visiting summer camps and 26 Philadelphia rec centers this summer offering free bicycle safety lessons. Children ages 8-12 learn two-wheeled safety, skills, and confidence, and they don't need to bring their own bike. Upcoming dates are listed on our education events calendar. If you are interested in bringing a lesson to a summer camp, please contact Cy@bicyclecoalition.org. |
WORK AND VOLUNTEER AT THE BICYCLE COALITION
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We are hiring a part-time paid research intern. See our website for details.
Interested in volunteering for the Bicycle Coalition? We are gearing up for Bike Philly on September 11, and looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help with Philly's best family-friendly ride. Interested? Email caroline@bicyclecoalition.org.
Bike Philly Food Captain
The Food Captain coordinates all Rest Stop Captains and food at Expo before and after the ride.
Bike Philly Rest Stop Captain
The Rest Stop Captain coordinates the distribution of food and beverage on the day of the ride at a designated rest stop location. The Rest Stop Captain will also be responsible for getting rest stop material from the loading location in the morning on Saturday, September 10 and returning materials to Eakins Oval after rest stop closes.
Bike Philly Registration Captain
The Registration Captain coordinates the pre-ride packet pick-ups (September 6- September 10), Day of Packet Pick-up, and Day of Registration. The Registration Captain does not need to attend all weekday packet pick-ups, but must be present on Sunday, September 11.
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