holiday bikes for 66 kids in athens!

Thanks to our great volunteers we turned out 66 kids' bikes for the holidays this year, only two of which remain to deliver. The BRP is taking an official hiatus through February, except for a big project during the MLK Jr. Day of Service.

We call that a big success and wish you all merry christmas and happy holidays.

ukelele by bicycle tour a success

aaron lee hit Athens for a show upstairs at the Globe on November 18 and kept rolling toward Atlanta the next day for 3 shows and finished up the east coast tour in Americus, Georgia at cafe campesino. read all about it in his ukelele by bicycle blog. and yes, he biked all the way from Maine to Georgia, and all his songs contain the word ukelele...one way or another. its quite a clever and fun show.

State of the state

Wanna know where Georgia stands on bike/ped projects? Check out these slides from the inaugural bike summit for a snapshot of new policy, routes, maps, etc.
http://georgiabikes.org/images/stories/docs/summit/2010/gdot.pdf

Holiday Bikes for Kids

We're gearing up at the shop to recycle, repair, clean and put a general shine on kid-sized bike donations in order to get them ready for our holiday delivery. Check in the shed and the garage and send any small unused bikes our way, we'll make sure the refurbished bikes are then donated to local agencies and schools for distribution. Last year, the trucks were loaded up with over 60 bicycles which were presented to children in the Athens community! More info on the website.

Find the BikeAthens Bike Recycling Program repair shop in studio 6 of the Chase Street Warehouse (149 Oneta Street). The shop is open Sundays 2-4 PM and Mondays and Wednesdays 6-8 PM.

Campaign for Charities

Remember us when you fill out your Campaign for Charities form this Fall and select #194064 for BikeAthens so we can better support transportation choices. We appreciate the community support and all our volunteers.

REcycle from clunker to classy

Come join us out at the Chase Street warehouses. BRP meets 3 times weekly to recycle bikes. It's fun, rewarding, and even fulfills some folks lifelong dreams. Check it out Mon 6-830p, Wed 6-830p, or Sun 2-430p. Full details on the program located on the BikeAthens website. And read all about it in today's Red & Black campus newspaper.
If you want to sign up to volunteer, you'll find us listed on the HandsOn Volunteer Calendar every month!

SPOOKY SPOKES

8 brave souls came out for courteous mass on Halloween eve and toured downtown and normaltown and 1 even rode in the parade.
Coming up:
Ride with us in the Athens Holiday parade and starting monthly again in the spring. If you are just looking to get comfy riding about town, we take it easy and safe and hope to see more of you out there soon!

Georgia Intermodal Leadership Summit

On October 22, BikeAthens Board members Anna Gore, Tracie Sanchez, and Amy Johnson attended the Georgia Intermodal Leadership Summit in Macon on a Friday. This Summit was coordinated by the Georgians for Passenger Rail, a statewide group focused on implementing and further developing existing passenger rail plans for our entire state. Topics of special note were:

FUNDING

• US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood emphasized in his speech to a room full of state legislators "Georgia better get its act together" (feds won't give funding without local matched commitments)
• HB277 (T-SPLOST) will likely generate $714 Million its first year
• T-SPLOST is necessary to fulfill funding losses from people driving less and paying less in gas tax, and it's multi-modal!!
• Focus is on alternate funding ideas and HB277 is a certainly a start; Dubose Porter insisted the 4th penny sales tax is the way to take existing money and reallocate it to transportation funding and to show the feds we have a plan!

BIKE/PED

• Richard Mendoza, Atlanta Public Works Commissioner (like our David Clark) said priorities should be on fixing existing infrastructure and diversifying mode investment (yeah to bike/ped!!) He referenced bikes and the recent Streets Alive event in Atlanta that attracted over 5,000 folks for cicolovia afternoon festival.

RAIL

• Athens Multi-Modal Transportation Center (future passenger rail terminal) got a shout out from Dubose Porter for being ready to go!
• GA road systems are excellent, but we've passed up huge federal funding for passenger rail and other modalities
• If we get passenger rail, the Macon - Atlanta line will likely be first recipient and is a perfect first project because the Ford plant closure has left the line much freer from former heavy freight use so its a perfect time to put passengers on the line.
• NC passenger rail story is a huge success and the result of decades of vision
• Major economic development benefits from passenger rail investment referenced
• Kudos to existing infrastructure which positions us best when applying for federal funding (including Athens Multi-Modal Center)

SEA

• The intermodal family of Georgia also includes sea & air and referenced the support for the plan to deepen Savannah's port 47 feet to accommodate freight once the Panama Canal opens and is deemed as a huge coup for the state if Georgia is ready; also of note is 90% of Georgians are now 2 hours from an airport according to Carol Comer, DOT Aviation Program Mgr
  

TAKEAWAYS

• Regional commissions will need to collaborate with other regions along rail corridors
• Strategies for making it happen: POLITICAL WILL, LEADERSHIP, and COLLABORATION

Let us know your thoughts on the Discussion listserv (discussion-l@bikeathens.com), and we'll pass that on to these state leaders. We will be meeting with the Board of Georgians for Passenger Rail again soon.

Sipprelle supporting BikeAthens nonprofit

BikeAthens recently named Cara Sipprelle as its administrator. Sipprelle will be responsible for general administration, membership coordination, event planning, bike map distribution and other activities.

Sipprelle recently earned her master's degree in anthropology from the University of Georgia, and served for two years as coordinator for the Southern Seed Legacy, a local organization dedicated to preserving the cultural and biological diversity of Southern agriculture. In this capacity, she was responsible for managing membership; recruiting and supervising volunteers; planning events; and coordinating communications for the organization.

Original story here: http://onlineathens.com/stories/101710/bus_721455087.shtml

Georgia Bikes! Inaugural Summit

Georgia Bikes Summit 2010
On October 9 BikeAthens members Tracie, Amy, Mike, and Jeff attended the inaugural bike summit in Savannah over the weekend. The keynote speaker was League of American Bicyclists President Andy Clarke who gave a super pep talk about how advocacy isn't rocket science and we are doing it right...and to keep on keeping on. USDOT Sec Ray Lahood made a surprise video appearance and spoke directly to Georgia. A few of the dozen topics covered were:

• Connecting the DOTs - Working with transportation agencies and planners
• Broadening the Community of Cyclists
• State of GDOT update
• Effecting Public Policy with Multi-Use Trails
• Building a Bicycle-Friendly Community, The Case for Complete Streets
• Designing and building All-Weather Mountain Bike Trails

Attendees enjoyed a meet and greet at 2 local, bikeable establishments and a Sunday morning 10-mile bike ride/tour around downtown Savannah.
Please visit http://www.georgiabikes.org for a full recap of the event, plus powerpoint slides for most of the breakout sessions, and a photo slideshow.

FYI: BikeAthens was just selected to host the 2nd Georgia Bike Summit in fall 2011! We'll keep you posted.