to go on the bottom of the rear view mirror on the driver’s side of your car, the City has decided to put them on the windshield just below the oil change sticker. So far we’ve delivered 1200 stickers to the City motor pool.
At the CSU Smart transportation fair two weeks ago three campus agencies requested stickers and we ended up giving out 3,000 to the CSU motor pool, parking services, and the CSU Police Department. Parking services intends to distribute a sticker to anyone who gets a parking permit to park on campus.
Finally, the County motor pool called and requested 600 stickers for the smaller county vehicles. Hopefully they’ll find them valuable on every single county vehicle.
The stickers are popular among school kids (any sticker is) and they don’t last long on foreheads or the backs of hands. But they last on bike helmets and on bikes where a lot of them have ended up. They also look great on bathroom mirrors in middle schools and Old Town bars.
If you know of a business with a lot of vehicles that might make use of these, write Click For Email and we’ll see that they get a few hundred!

First published in the Fort Collins Coloradoan March 7, 2011

City Council adopted the new Bicycle Safety Education Plan on Tuesday, paving the way for a bicycle program where before we had just a plan.

That plan for the past 15 years was to build bicycle infrastructure. We’ve done a great job at that and continue to do so. The plan included encouragement initiatives like Bike to Work Day, Winter Bike to Work, Light up the Night, Commuter Incentives, Bike Library and others. There was very little education in the plan, though, besides pamphlets, a website and marketing initiatives tied to our encouragement efforts. And there was even less enforcement in the plan, as our police really didn’t know where to begin to reign in the scofflaws.

I am hopeful that we are on the edge of a big change.

What happened in the process of writing the Bicycle Safety Education Plan is that we saw transportation planners talking with traffic engineers, educators and law enforcement officers about how to make this a safer bicycle community. They began asking questions about where and why bike/car crashes happen and how we can prevent them through engineering solutions, serious educational outreach and enforcement with an eye to educating all road users. This important change lays the groundwork for the development of a city bicycle program.

In its 2005 report, “Blueprint for Better Bicycling: 40 Ways to Get There,” Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) identified several categories of cyclists. That report has been getting a lot of traction. We should make use of it as we roll out our new bicycle program.

BTA noted that 33 percent of people won’t pedal, period. Either they are too young and their mother won’t let them, or they are too old, too busy or just not interested. Another 1 percent are wild-eyed cyclists who will ride any time and 7 percent are “enthused and confident” (that’s me and many of you, I presume). The important number here, though, is the remaining 59 percent of the population described as “interested” but “concerned.” Call them a huge pool of potential bicycle riders.

If you talk with this group in Fort Collins, you will find people who express concerns such as “I don’t know what to do when the bike lane finishes,” or “I’m uncomfortable with the traffic in Fort Collins,” or even, “it is simply not safe to bicycle in this town.”

Portland addressed similar concerns by developing bicycle boulevards – think of them as bicycle thoroughfares – on neighborhood streets. They also hold frequent special bicycle events during which they close streets to automobiles to let residents experience riding without fear of cars and to help them create new mental maps of how to get around the community. And they adopted innovative techniques to slow traffic, educate motorists and bicyclists and promote bicycling.

Education is a big part of this new direction. Let me know if you or your business would like to help.

Experimental share the road arrows or "sharrows" on Laurel in 2006 were replaced with simple share the road signs.

As a result of its community “listening sessions” in April and May, the Co-op submitted the following recommendations to the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) at the May 2010 meeting. We are happy to report that the BAC adopted the recommendations in their entirety and submitted them to City Council!

The Bike Co-op held its final listening session Wednesday, May 5th. This meeting served to summarize citizens’ comments made during eight previous sessions held throughout the City and to prioritize action items for referral to City Planners, Transportation Planners and citizen’s boards and commissions.

There was unanimous consent to offer the following recommendation:

“The community should take steps to improve bicycle safety and efficiency through a comprehensive bicycle safety education program and through enhanced engineering efforts. The education should target motorists, cyclist, K-12 children, and CSU students while the engineering enhancements should include:

The creation of bicycle boulevards ( like Vine, Swallow, Stover, Canyon, Stuart, etc.) for efficient long distance movement of bikes between and among “activity centers,” across town and between existing corridors, including the Mason Trail, the Powerline Trail, the Poudre Trail and the Spring Creek Trail;

Installation of additional signal actuation devices at stop lights, including the use of default modes to facilitate bicycle travel;

The use of sharrows (shared lane arrows) and improved “Share the Road” signs that include the secondary sign “Bikes use full lane.”

The group reviewed the list of 120 items from the previous meetings and prioritized seventeen items (in random order):

More grade separated crossings at intersections and along major trails;
“Share-the-Road” signs should include “Bikes Use Full Lane” secondary sign;
Increase bike/ped accessibility on and across College in “mid-town;”
Add/improve bicycle lanes along North Shields, North College, Gregory, Lemay and others;
Decrease speed limits near campus to 25 mph;
Add “scramble intersections” (also called diagonal crossings and nicknamed the “Barnes Dance”) for Henry Barnes, an innovative traffic engineer at College and Mountain, Laurel and College, and Shields and Elizabeth for bikes and pedestrians;
Add lighting on trails for safety (including use of motion detectors with lights);
Make broader use of sharrows now that they are approved by the MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Code Devices);
Utilize more PR campaigns such as the “Coexist” campaign;
Target scofflaw cyclists for education;
Improve east-west access to, from and between the Mason and Powerline trails;
Enforce laws consistently;
Create more bicycle boulevards;
Improve signal actuation for bicycles or have signals default to green for cyclists;
Educate motorists about the rights of cyclists and the benefits of bicycling;
Educate K-12 children on bicycle safety;
Educate CSU students on bicycle safety;”

Help Keep Colorado Roads Open for Bicycles!

Black Hawk’s Board of Aldermen has made it clear they don’t want bicyclists or bicycle events in town. The Board approved an ordinance banning bicycle riding on almost every street in Black Hawk. This includes the only paved street (Gregory Street-formerly State Highway 279) connecting the Peak to Peak Highway with the Central City Parkway.

Black Hawk police are now issuing a ticket to anyone “caught riding” through town.

Bicycle Colorado formally asked Black Hawk City Council to lift the ban during the June 9th City Council Meeting.  Council made it clear that they had no intention of changing their ordinance. Now we need the help of the Colorado bicycling community to get their attention.

Bicycle Colorado doesn’t think this is right or legal. We are working diligently on the legal side but here is how you can help today:

1. Rally to End Bike Bans on June 29th

Join other Colorado cyclists on the west steps of the State Capitol on Tuesday, June 29 for a rally to keep roads open for bicycling!  Be there from 5:30 – 6:00 p.m. and arrive early to help make signs.

Adventure Cycling has updated their route alert for riders using their Great Parks Route. The Black Hawk Bike Ban severs the route and the nearest detour is over Berthoud Pass.

2. Email or Call the Black Hawk City Council
CityClerk@CityofBlackHawk.org Council phone: 303-582-2212

To: Mayor David D. Spellman and Aldermen Linda Armbright, Paul G. Bennett, Diane Cales, Kathleen Doles, Tom Kerr, Greg Moates

Please restore bicycle access to Gregory Street and all Black Hawk streets. Your ban is closing a major cross-state route to bicyclists preventing residents and tourists from biking.

3. Donate to the legal efforts
We are in the midst of a legal and legislative campaign to overturn this ban and prevent it from spreading to other cities in Colorado. Your donation is the only way we can afford to do this.

Please join our campaign or make an extra financial gift today!

4. Spread the Word
Get the latest news by subscribing to our eNews and fan our Facebook page.

See a map of banned streets by clicking on “Press Releases” on Black Hawk’s website.

Image Credit: Bicycle Colorado

The Bike Co-op held its final listening session on Wednesday, May 5th.  This meeting served to summarize citizens’ comments made during eight previous sessions held throughout the City and to prioritize action items for referral to City Planners, Transportation Planners and citizen’s boards and commissions.

There was unanimous consent to offer the following recommendation:

“The community should take steps to improve bicycle safety and efficiency through a comprehensive bicycle safety education program and through enhanced engineering efforts.  The education should target motorists, cyclist, K-12 children, and CSU students while the engineering enhancements should include:

1. The creation of bicycle boulevards ( like Vine, Swallow, Stover, Canyon, Stuart, etc.) for efficient long distance movement of bikes between and among “activity centers,” across town and between existing corridors, including the Mason Trail, the Powerline Trail, the Poudre Trail and the Spring Creek Trail;

2. Installation of  additional signal actuation devices at stop lights, including the use of default modes to facilitate bicycle travel;

3.  The use of sharrows (shared lane arrows) and improved “Share the Road” signs that include the secondary sign “Bikes use full lane.”

Although the group reviewed approx. 120 recommendations gathered from the Listening Sessions, 17 additional items emerged as priorities for the City, including:

• More grade separated crossings at intersections and along major trails;
• Increase bike/ped accessibility on and across College in “mid-town”
• Add/improve bicycle lanes along North Shields, North College, Gregory, Lemay and others
• Decrease speed limits near campus to 25 mph
• Add “scramble intersections” (also called diagonal crossings and nicknamed the “Barnes Dance”) for Henry Barnes, an innovative traffic engineer at College and Mountain, Laurel and College, and Shields and Elizabeth for bikes and pedestrians
• Add lighting on trails for safety (including use of motion detectors with lights)
• Utilize more PR campaigns such as the “Coexist” campaign
• Target scofflaw cyclists for education
• Improve east-west access to, from and between the Mason and Powerline trails
• Consistent law enforcement
• Create more bicycle boulevards

While many of these ideas are familiar and easy to imagine, a few suggestions will likely raise eyebrows as they are quite innovative.

The idea of  “scramble” crossings, for example will “require some thought,” said Rick Price, Chairman of the BAC and a proponent of such crossings.  “Scramble” crossings are also known as diagonal crossings.  They require all motor vehicle traffic to stop while pedestrians and cyclists may cross anywhere in the four-way intersection.  “Just stand and watch the bicycles and pedestrians negotiating for crossing space at Laurel or Elizabeth some day,” said Price, “and you’ll see how useful diagonal crossings might be there.”

Citizens wishing to comment on the above or those who wish to express further concerns should send them via e-mail to the Bicycle Advisory Committee:  Click For Email

Did you know that the Colorado State Police have a hotline for bicyclists to report aggressive driving if they see a motorist putting a bicyclist at risk?

The phone number is Star CSP (*277) when dialed from a mobile phone. Thanks to a State Patrol partnership with mobile phone companies calls to this hotline are free.

This is not like a normal phone number; you do not need to dial an area code. Simply press the * key (usually the lowest left key on a phone pad) and then 277. This number only works on mobile phones. If you are calling from a non-mobile phone dial 303-239-4501 or any State Patrol Communication Center.

When dialing Star CSP bicyclists should be prepared to communicate:

• Vehicle license plate number – this is mandatory
• Location and direction of travel
• Vehicle and driver description, if possible
• The aggressive driving behavior being demonstrated

The license plate number is the key. This allows the State Patrol to identify the vehicle owner’s name, driving record, and address. Without the license plate number, identifying the vehicle is impossible.

According to the State Patrol website, the information is entered into an aggressive driver database and police will send a warning letter after receiving three complaints. If the State Patrol receives additional complaints they send a trooper to make personal contact with the registered owner of the vehicle to take appropriate enforcement action.

Image Credit: Flickr Creative Commons

In 2006, Anne Feely was diagnosed with brain cancer and told that she didn’t have long to live.

Instead of resigning herself to this fate, she got educated and fought back. In less than a week’s time, she will cycle across America from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. with her friend Gundy and her dog Walter to raise awareness and funds to fight brain cancer.

Learn more about the Brains On Bikes campaign, and learn how to get involved with local support events at BrainsOnBikes.org.

Image: Brain cancer survivor Anne Feeley and her friend Gundala Hennig train for Brains on Bikes, a ride across the USA to raise money and awareness for brain cancer research. (Photo by Animal Monday – All Rights Reserved)

Classes begin at 7 p.m. at the Bike Co-op at 331 North College Avenue and run an hour and a half.

This class brings forty years of Smart Cycling curriculum developed by the League of American Bicyclists to both novice and experienced riders.  There is something for everyone here.

You may attend only the classes that interest you although, if you wish to receive a certificate for completing the class you must attend all sessions and take an exam.

There is no charge for the class unless you wish to receive the certificate.  In that case the fee is $60 ($30 for students and educators).

Description: This is a “sampler” class for those curious about Smart Cycling classes taught at the Co-op. The first 8 classes are 1 hour and 15 minutes each on Thursday nights at the Fort Collins Bike Co-op. There will be no class during Spring Break (March 18) The last class is a three hour on-road class Saturday, April 17th.

Call to let us know you are coming and then just show up!

Feb. 25 – Vehicular Cycling Philosophy and Practice (What this class can do for youth, adults, beginning cyclists, educators, commuters, and motorists);

March 4 – Picking a bike : what kind of bike should I buy ?

March 11 – Bike Maintenance Basics;

March 18 – Spring Break – NO CLASS;

March 25 – Safety equipment, Bike Clothing, accessories, & on-the-bike tools;

April 1 – Principles of Traffic Law (in general and in Colorado);

April 8 – How crashes happen and how to avoid them;

April 15 – Riding basics (classroom); April 17 (Saturday) Bike Handling basics – Parking lot drills (1.5 hours) On-the-road practice (1.5 hours)

To register for this course, contact:

Rick Price
Phone: 970-310-5238
Contact Email: Click For Email

Anyone is welcome to just drop in last minute as well.

Equipment required: A bicycle only on April 17.