Fresno County Bicycle Coalition

Archive for February, 2009

Once again we will be following the lead of the League of American Bicyclists. Bike Month is May, and Bike Week is May 11th to 15th. The two most special events on the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition Calendar will be the Manchester Mall to Downtown Coffee ride, meeting at Manchester Mall at 8:00 AM, rolling towards the Fulton Mall at 8:30 AM on Wednesday morning, May 13th, and the Corporate Challenge Bike to Work Day, on Thursday May 14th.

High-speed train is coming to Clovis! No, not the rail kind, silly.
http://tracker.amgentourofcalifornia.com

Gotta go–Levi is turning the big gears RIGHT NOW.

http://www.kmph.com/Global/story.asp?S=9852200&nav=menu612_2_7

Wondering where you can get a good view of the race on Wednesday? Here
are five good ideas.

Greetings All,
The February, 2009, meeting of the Bike Work Group is scheduled
for Monday, 9 February 2009, at 2:00pm in room 4020 of City Hall.

1. Updates on Ongoing Projects
a. Improvements to the First Street corridor–I believe that
by the time of our meeting this project will be completed. I note
that considerable work has already been accomplished. I have already
seen one email expressing gratitude to whomever was involved in this
project for the increased safety of bicycle travel along this
corridor. Once the project has been closed out, I would like to know
how much it finally cost. How many funds from which sources (CMAQ,
BTA, Measure C, or local funding) were used. In particular I would
like to know whether there will be any remaining CMAQ funds available
for transfer to other bicycle projects.

b. Fruit Avenue Bicycle Lanes–has a selection of a
contractor been made and when might the construction contract be
awarded? What is the schedule for completing this project?

c. Cedar Avenue Bicycle Lanes–this is a state Bicycle
Transportation Account grant project. I understand that the contract
between the city and Caltrans has been completed. Thus the city has
three years to finish the project. What is the schedule for
completing this project?

2. First Street, Shaw Avenue to Barstow Avenue
Installation of a bicycle lane on the west side of First Street
in this half mile was not included in the First Street improvement
project listed above. At the January Bike Work Group meeting I was
told that if all required No Parking signs had been installed and if
weather permitted the bicycle lane should be delineated prior to the
February meeting. Has the bicycle lane been installed?

3. West Avenue Gap Filling
The updated List of Bicycle Transportation Projects – Bicycle
Lanes adopted by the City Counci on 18 November 2008 listed four gaps
in the bicycle lanes on West Avenue that need to be filled. At the
January meeting I was informed that a bike lane could only be
installed on a small portion of the most northerly gap south of Shaw
Avenue due to right of way restrictions. On the other three gaps the
staff will study the feasibility of building parking bays and/or
prohibiting on-street parking. What is the status of those reviews or
studies, and when might bicycle lanes be delineated?

4. Expenditure of PW0080 – Miscellaneous Bike Routes Funds
Through my membership on the Measure C Citizens Oversight
Committee I learned that nearly $19,000 of the Measure C Bicycle
Facilities earmark for FY 07/08 were held in reserve but not
designated for specific projects. I consider these to be carry-over
funds that can be allocated to PW0080 in this fiscal year. I also
learned that the city allocated nearly $118,000 of the Measure C
Bicycle Facilities earmark for FY 08/09 to PW0080, Miscellaneous Bike
Routes. I would like to use these funds to complete additional
bicycle lane projects on the updated List of Bicycle Transportation
Projects. Could we please begin to identify these additional projects
at this meeting?

I hope to see many people at the meeting on Monday, 9 February,
at 2:00pm in room 4020 of City Hall.

Nick Paladino