FLCC> Commuting and Climate Change

Tue May 6 16:45:18 EDT 2008

As part of the bid for the eastern collegiate championships in 2009 (we
hosted in 2006), the CU club will most likely be hosting a downtown Ithaca
criterium, among other events.  I am imagining that we will incorporate
USCF races into it as well as the collegiate races.  So look forward to
that in very late April/early May of next year.  Naturally all very
preliminary, but the thought and (hopefully) manpower is there to pull it
off.

Brian

> This is actually a much bigger endeavor than
> Hollenbecks due to all the permits you'd need
> from all the various parties in Ithaca since it
> would be held in such a public area and you would
> have to close the roads for the day to all
> traffic. I would not be able to run such an event
> alone and we would have to hire a company to do
> electronic finish timing for the day which can be
> quite expensive, pay officials, etc. We're also
> talking about a much higher entry fee to cover
> some of these expenses. There are a lot of other
> details that would be different and more
> involved. I would certainly be willing to discuss
> this with interested parties as it's always been
> an interesting idea and would be fun for Ithaca
> for sure, but would not be game for promoting it
> myself. Someone without a full time job would need to step up to the
> plate.
>
> Cheers,
> Sara
>
> At 08:32 PM 4/27/2008, Wayne Gottlieb wrote:
>>Wow!  the Ithaca Criterium.    When I lived in Davis,
>>CA, we had the Davis Criterium.  It was a big day.
>>(We also had the Davis Double Century).  Merchants
>>loved it because people from all over would pour into
>>town and buy stuff.  Even non-bikers loved the day
>>because they could always count on a little blood.  I
>>love this idea, but the real question is, does Sarah
>>like it?  Seems like a pretty easy race to put on.
>>More ambulances and band-aides, but fewer corner
>>marshals.
>>
>>Another idea that I've seen around is closing off some
>>roads to cars for bike only traffic.   Wayne
>>
>>
>>--- Todd Roswech <todd.roswech at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > To follow up on some comments from Wayne and others,
>> > I agree that visibility
>> > of the local cycling community is very important
>> > (so, get out and ride).
>> >  Additionally, though, relationships between cycling
>> > groups and the city and
>> > town are also important.  Getting to know planning
>> > officers and local gov't
>> > reps is important. These are the people that we are
>> > looking to to make
>> > changes on our behalf.  One way to start to "work
>> > together" might be to
>> > organize an event.  If there is support from the
>> > city, a downtown circuit
>> > race (just one example chosen from numerous
>> > possibilities) might be a good
>> > way to raise visibility and work together to
>> > identify and address some
>> > issues as part of planning for the logistics of the
>> > race (ie road conditions
>> > and hazards, traffic).  The one-on-one time with
>> > city and town planners and
>> > others in organizing an event may help when you are
>> > going to the city or
>> > town looking for changes in traffic patterns, road
>> > improvements, etc.  Race
>> > day also provides a forum to present cycling issues
>> > to a non-cycling crowd.
>> > Todd
>> >
>> > On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 4:47 PM, Kent Johnson
>> > <kjohnson at cityofithaca.org>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> > > Hello -
>> > >
>> > > Thanks for the comments regarding bicycling
>> > issues! Feedback such as
>> > > this helps to identify problem areas and issues,
>> > and helps to show that
>> > > there is broad community interest in reducing
>> > those problems.
>> > >
>> > > I look forward to continuing this discussion and
>> > have signed-up to
>> > > participate on the FLCC email list. Often,
>> > however, these issues defy
>> > > brief email replies - so a phone call may be
>> > better (I can be reached at
>> > > 274-6528 - you can leave a message outside of work
>> > hours). (and, did you
>> > > know that the City of Ithaca has a "Potholes"
>> > listing in the phonebook?
>> > > - 272-1718 - just tell them where the pothole is
>> > and they will patch it
>> > > relatively soon, really).
>> > >
>> > > At this point, I am trying to brainstorm about the
>> > best way to move
>> > > forward to improve conditions for bicyclists (and
>> > pedestrians, transit
>> > > users, motorists, etc.) and I invite your input.
>> > >
>> > > Thanks,
>> > > Kent
>> > >
>> > > PS - I work in the City's Engineering Office,
>> > Transportation Division
>> > > addressing all types of transportation-related
>> > issues. In particular, I
>> > > have been trying to focus extra attention on
>> > bicycling issues since this
>> > > is a topic that is seldom specifically addressed
>> > and bicycling in Ithaca
>> > > seems to be greatly undeveloped as compared to
>> > other travel modes.
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > Kent Johnson
>> > > Transportation Engineering Technician
>> > > Office of the City Engineer
>> > > City of Ithaca
>> > > 108 E. Green St.
>> > > Ithaca, New York 14850
>> > > (607) 274-6528, (607) 327-0316 (cell)
>> > > kjohnson at cityofithaca.org
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > >>> jim eagen <jeplus3 at yahoo.com> 4/20/2008 10:29
>> > AM >>>
>> > > Thought this was an interesting blurb, maybe some
>> > of you saw it, from
>> > > the NY Times Magazine this weekend:
>> > >
>> > > "BIKETOWN MELLOW: Johnny, a play on maillot jaune,
>> > French for "yellow
>> > > jersey," was Lance Armstrong's nickname during his
>> > Tour de France
>> > > days. Next month, Mellow Johnny's will be the name
>> > of a multiuse
>> > > facility Armstrong is backing in Austin, Tex.,
>> > that features bicycle
>> > > sales and repairs, a cafe, bicycle parking for
>> > downtown residents and
>> > > commuters, spin classes and showers. The old
>> > 18,000-square-foot,
>> > > yellow-and-red-brick building was, in previous
>> > incarnations, a Pearl
>> > > beer distributorship and a homeless center.
>> > Armstrong and his general
>> > > partner, Bart Knaggs, say they wanted to use as
>> > much of the existing
>> > > infrastructure as possible. The showers from the
>> > shelter days seemed
>> > > like an ideal incentive for bike commuters in a
>> > city that experiences
>> > > spring and summer temperatures for much of the
>> > year. "If you want
>> > > people to ride an hour to work, and their
>> > workplace doesn't have a gym
>> > > and it's 100 in summer," Armstrong says, "you
>> > can't go to
>> > >  work that way." While Mellow Johnny's is a
>> > for-profit endeavor,
>> > > Knaggs says he hopes that offering "one bazillion"
>> > bicycle-parking
>> > > spaces at a nominal fee will have a positive
>> > environmental impact.
>> > > "It's more about shifting a local mind-set about
>> > alternative
>> > > transportation," he says, a nod to the fact that
>> > Texans — even those
>> > > in this, the most liberal, eco-conscious city in
>> > the state — often
>> > > feel dutybound to drive even to the corner store.
>> > And how does Mellow
>> > > Johnny's propose to meet its own energy needs?
>> > With conventional
>> > > sources, though pedal power may put a little
>> > energy into the grid.
>> > > "We're looking for ways to use pedal power so that
>> > we can charge
>> > > up the building a little bit," says Armstrong,
>> > who, while he has no
>> > > immediate plans to work the register, might be the
>> > one whose r.p.m. runs
>> > > the espresso machine."
>> > >
>> > > Jim Eagen
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > ----- Original Message ----
>> > > From: Daniel Kidney <daniel.kidney at gmail.com>
>> > > To: Peter Ozolins <peter at peterozolins.com>;
>> > flcc at icycle.org
>> > > Cc: kjohnson at cityofithaca.org
>> > > Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2008 11:02:41 PM
>> > > Subject: Re: FLCC> Commuting and Climate Change
>> > >
>> > > Kent, maybe you could read the below messages,
>> > also part of our
>> > > conversation among the FLCC.
>> > >
>> > > Peter, I absolutely agree. A few times I've had my
>> > lack of a car
>> > > clearly looked down upon when applying for jobs,
>> > and several times I've
>> > > just refrained from
>> > > applying as it was clearly stated in the job
>> > > description that car ownership was a necessity. I
>> > understand the motives
>> > > of employers in seeking people with reliable
>> > transportation, but it sure
>> > > would be nice if employers actually looked
>> > positively on bike commuters
>> > > (or other non-personal-car commuting). Perhaps
>> > city businesses could be
>> > > offered incentives to encourage their employees to
>> > get to work on bikes!
>> > > (And help them out with some of the down sides
>> > Peter mentioned).
>> > >
>> > > That's my final plug for the moment as I'm off for
>> > a little interstate
>> > > bike commuting to go check out a college I might
>> > go to this fall in
>> > > Pennsylvania. See you all next week!
>> > >
>> > > Daniel
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > On Fri, Apr 18, 2008 at 5:07 PM, Peter Ozolins
>> > <peter at peterozolins.com>
>> > > wrote:
>> > >
>> > > What about approaching it from the employer end?
>> > For
>>=== message truncated ===>
>>_______________________________________________
>> > FLCC mailing list
>> > FLCC at icycle.org
>> > http://icycle.org/mailman/listinfo/flcc_icycle.org
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>____________________________________________________________________________________
>>Be a better friend, newshound, and
>>know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it
>>now.  http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>FLCC mailing list
>>FLCC at icycle.org
>>http://icycle.org/mailman/listinfo/flcc_icycle.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> FLCC mailing list
> FLCC at icycle.org
> http://icycle.org/mailman/listinfo/flcc_icycle.org
>