Email Newsletter 02/14/01

Contents:

UPCOMING MEETINGS:
* Next MB/PV meeting Wed. 2/14 -- Smith College, Northampton
* Bike Week 2001 volunteer org. meeting: Wed. 2/28, Northampton
* Franklin County Bikes! 3/5 (Greenfield)

NEWS:
* Matching funds for Manhan RT (Easthampton) raised
* Northampton extension of Norwottuck RT inches forward
* MassHighway promises to restripe Route 9 in Northampton
* UMass Bicycle Advisory Committee aims to help campus planning
* Bicycle Pavillion enjoys open house
* Jami Fisher on MassBike Board

OTHER EVENTS:
* Critical Mass ride Friday 2/23
* Manhan RT Ice Skating Fundraiser Monday 2/19

Dear Pioneer Valley MassBikers,

UPCOMING MEETINGS:

* Next MB/PV meeting Wed. 2/14 -- Smith College, Northampton

MassBike/Pioneer Valley meets on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 7:00 pm.
Place: Room 304, Seelye Hall, Smith College, Northampton
Date: Wed. Feb. 12
Time: 7:00-9:00 pm

Agenda:
-- Rail-Trail updates (Easthampton, Northampton, Amherst)
-- Bike Week 2001
-- Chapter Charter
-- UMass Bicycle Advisory Committee update
-- PV Joint Transportation Committee
-- Bike parking status

Bring some munchies for Valentine's Day!

Following meetings: Wed. Mar. 14, Wed. April 11...

Bike Week 2001 volunteer org. meeting: Wed. 2/28, Northampton

This is the BIG meeting where we try to recruit as many warm bodies as possible to help out with Bike Week, including people who don't want leadership roles but might agree to do some postering or help staff the breakfast tables. YOUR warm body is needed for this important event, possibly the most visible and fun-filled bike advocacy event all year. Spread the word!

Place: Unitarian Society of Northampton, Social Room, 220 Main St.
Date: Wed. Feb 28
Time: 6:30 - 8:00

Refreshments will be served.

Franklin County Bikes! 3/5 (Greenfield)

From Mark Skinder (mskinder@nesea.org) Tue Feb 13:
First Monday of the month at 6:00pm is our planned regular meeting time.
Next Meeting will be March 5, at 6:00pm
NESEA Bldg, 50 miles St, Greenfield
Refreshments provided
Call Mark at 774-6051 ext 12 for info

NEWS:

Matching funds for Manhan RT (Easthampton) raised

Wow! Those Manhan RT folks are amazing. Spurred to ever greater action by the generous offer of a $25,000 matching grant from Florence Savings Bank, they managed to raise $21,000 in cash (including an $8,000 grant from the Williston Northampton School) plus $4,000 in in-kind contributions to support the purchase, clearing, and construction of the Easthampton/Northampton/Southampton Rail-Trail dream project. We should all be so successful!

Northampton extension of Norwottuck RT inches forward

[Adapated from an article by Abby Schoneboom in the MB Newsletter]

On Feb. 7, MassBike/Pioneer Valley members Jami Albro Fisher and Jim Desmond met with Northampton's Mayor, Clare Higgins, and Acting Director of the Department of Public Works, George Andrikidis, to identify possibilities for moving forward with the long-delayed Northampton Extension of the Norwottuck RT. The Mayor and DPW head both agreed that the City would fully support the project with an at-grade (street-level) crossing of Damon Rd. as long as bike traffic doesn't significantly increase auto congestion.

MBPV firmly believes that the priorities are reversed here, and that the City ought to be promoting bicycle travel even if it causes a slight increase in congestion [but when's the last time YOU were held up by bicycle traffic?]. However, we appreciate the City's conditional support for this important project, and we are convinced that the effects on auto traffic will be minimal.

MBPV has agreed to seek around $1,500 to fund a study (Signal Warrant Analysis) to analyze existing Pioneer Valley Planning Commission data and address traffic congestion concerns. The study will look into optimal positioning of the crossing, as well as the possibility of synchronizing the crosswalk signal with the traffic lights at the Route 9 intersection, south of the crossing. MBPV would like to hear from any bike-friendly planners who are interested in carrying out the study.

See http://www.massbike.org/mbpv/involve/norwottuck.html for more info.

MassHighway promises to restripe Route 9 in Northampton

Anyone who bikes on Route 9 between downtown Northampton and Damon Rd., where the Coolidge Bridge and the Norwottuck Rail-Trail both touch down, knows that the state highway stretch is a death-trap: four narrow lanes of high-speed traffic with no shoulders.

Following letters written by Robert Shycon and James Lowenthal to MassHighway and Secretary Kevin Sullivan of its parent agency, the Executive Office of Transportation and Construction, about that sub-standard and dangerous stretch, Sullivan replied that he has instructed MassHighway District 2 to restripe the section to ONE lane in each direction with a broad shoulder -- a great improvement for cyclist safety and comfort along this important corridor. Thank Secretary Sullivan's office for their commitment to encouraging bicycle transportation in the Commonwealth by writing to feedback@eotc.org.

UMass Bicycle Advisory Committee aims to help campus planning

The UMBAC has been officially approved by the UMass Parking and Transportation Advisory Board. UMass RideShare Coordinator Rob Hendry is the PTAB/UMBAC contact, and has already begun to implement several tasks and programs approved by the UMBAC, such as a web-based Bike Commute program. The UMBAC will also be helping advise the IBI Group as it develops the UMass Transportation Plan over the next year.

Contact Rob Hendry, rhendry@admin.umass.edu, for more information or to join the UMBAC.

Bicycle Pavillion enjoys open house

Open House a Sensational Success!
To: Friends of The Bicycle Pavilion, Inc.
From: Vicki Elson, President, (413) 369-4900 vickielson@yahoo.com

The Open House we held at the Great Falls Discovery Center Meeting Room on January 25, 2001 demonstrated how much support we have in Turner's Falls and in Franklin County. And it was a really fun day.

We brought three bicycles from our collection (an 1860's velocipede or "boneshaker," an 1880's high-wheel Ordinary, and the inimitable undulating 1930's Ingobike) along with an assortment of bicycle artifacts and antique photographs.
[...]
With the exception of one five-minute interval, people streamed through ALL DAY LONG. We estimate that about a hundred and fifty people came by, checked out the displays, and expressed their delight and enthusiasm for the museum.
[...]
The press coverage was great, too. We were on the Channel 22 TV News, and there were lovely pictures and coverage in both the Recorder and the Union News.

Jami Fisher on MassBike Board
Our very own Jami Fisher of Northampton (are you a dad yet, Jami?) now represents the Pioneer Valley on the MassBike Board of Directors. Thanks for all the hard work, Jami!

OTHER EVENTS:

Critical Mass ride Friday 2/23

Date: Friday, 2/23 (next ride Friday 3/30)
Place: Amherst Common
Time: 5:15 (meet)/5:30 (ride)
Route: Route 9 over the Coolidge Bridge to Northampton

Manhan RT Ice Skating Fundraiser Monday 2/19

From the Manhan RailTrail website
(http://manhanrailtrail.tripod.com/):
In response to overwhelming demand, we will be holding another ice skating fundraiser at the Williston-Northampton School in Easthampton. It will be held on President's Day, February 19 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Bring the entire family for some wholesome fun on a school holiday. Don't forget to bring your skates!