FLCC> Improving Ithaca's winter cycling

[Wayne Gottlieb]

 I like this idea.  I can see it nestled between the
hangar theater and the marina or out in the dog run
area next to the lake.  I'll chip in a few bucks. 
Wayne



 --- Brian Lawney <bpl27 at cornell.edu> wrote:

> In short, we want a velodrome in Ithaca.
> 
> Note:  This is NOT a joke.  We (the interested
> parties) are actually
> serious about proposing this project to the City of
> Ithaca.  We have
> received a lot of skepticism and laughs, but we feel
> this is a worthwhile
> idea that should be heard.  Feel free to laugh at
> this yourself, but also
> give it some careful consideration.  Beyond simply
> getting the idea out
> there, we're looking for any criticism/support/ideas
> from the
> cycling community.
> 
> >The idea:
> An indoor velodrome/recreation center.  A 250m
> regulation wooden track
> surrounding a multi-use sports facility (indoor
> soccer / lacrosse /
> basketball / volleyball / etc).  Think Cornell's
> Barton Hall with a banked
> track instead of a running track.  Certainly not on
> the large scale as
> Barton, however.  Enclosed in an inflatable sports
> dome, or perhaps a more
> "robust" installation like the skating rink in Cass
> Park.
> 
> As an idea of other indoor velodromes- Manchester
> and Newport,
> respectively:
>
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/features/2003/track/tracks/manchester_ex_01.jpg
>
http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/features/2003/track/tracks/newport_ex_00.jpg
> (Note:  Manchester just hosted the world
> championships, so it's quite
> elaborate and certainly more than we had in mind)
> 
> 
> >The benefit:
> A place for the Ithaca community (especially
> cyclists) to recreate in the
> winter (and other) months that is independent of
> CU/IC.  We realize there
> are the existing facilities in Cass Park, but this
> would largely provide
> services/activities not currently available.  Also,
> only the second indoor
> velodrome in the United States (the other is in Los
> Angeles).  Talk about
> dominance in the market!  We're certain this would
> draw some serious
> attention from cyclists all over the northeast.
> 
> >Additional considerations:
> 1.  In its ideal realization, we'd like to have a
> "green" facility-
> perhaps through the use of ambient solar lighting,
> photovoltaic cells,
> passive solar space/water heating, geothermal heat
> pumps...whatever is
> deemed the most efficient use of resources for its
> location.
> 
> 2.  We originally conceived (last year) that we
> could locate the project
> on the Gun Hill site as part of usable space
> reclamation, but it seems
> that the location has since seen other plans for
> development.  However, in
> light of the perceived opposition to the apartment
> complexes, could this
> be something the city would be more in favor of?
> 
> 3.  Perhaps we could garner help from the Cornell/IC
> community by selling
> it as an interdisciplinary "real world" project.  It
> could essentially be
> like the Formula SAE or any of the other engineering
> project teams,
> provided there's any interest from the
> students/faculty.  (E.g. have
> Environmental engineering students perform the
> detailed green energy
> analysis, civil engineering/architecture students
> design the
> building/aesthetics/space usage, have business
> students perform
> operational cost analysis...you get the idea.)
> 
> Is anyone out there familiar with the kind of things
> the City would look
> for in terms of a proposal?  We're appealing to the
> wisdom and expertise
> of those who have been involved in similar endeavors
> or know anything at
> all about the process.  Specifically, are they
> looking for the bottom line
> in terms of construction, operating costs, etc.  We
> didn't want to get too
> involved in the details if this idea would be
> rejected outright,
> regardless of financial projections.
> 
> Thoughts, ideas? (beyond "You guys are nuts..." 
> although I know we'd
> enjoy any sort of response to this)
> 
> Thanks for reading,
> Ithaca Velodrome Investigation Committee
> (aka Brian, Steve, Jake)
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> FLCC mailing list
> FLCC at icycle.org
> http://icycle.org/mailman/listinfo/flcc_icycle.org
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com