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;”

via www.ebaumsworld.com

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.