Bike Pittsburgh

Monday, September 01, 2008, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Alan W. Petrucelli

Let’s chew the fat.

Actually, that’s the problem.

I do chew the fat.

Then I swallow it.

No wonder I’ve gained 35 pounds since I moved here 10 months ago. All those drive-through windows have led me straight into the fat fast lane.

It’s fun looking like the Pillsbury Doughboy for a week or so, but when Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade officials came knocking on my door the other night asking my availability, I knew I was in deep cookie-dough doo-doo.

I was having it my way too often and had no idea where I was going to find the break I deserved.

And then … the answer, or at least an answer that will help begin the slow shedding process, came from loyal reader Lisa Pawelski. She sent me an e-mail suggesting I join her and her husband, Ken, one weekend for a bicycle ride. The six-mile trek from Millvale to the Carnegie Science Center would offer, she promised, “lots of great cross-river views.” Read more»

Cyclists Happy Hour Today, Thursday, August 28 at Buffalo Blues

Meet other Pittsburgh cyclists at Buffalo Blues for a monthly Happy Hour. Bring your Bike Pittsburgh Membership card for a half price appetizer! FREE Hot Dogs (kosher or vegan). $1 off all draft beer from 5-7 pm. 30 beers on tap.

This event helps kicks off Bike Pittsburgh’s new partnership program with Pittsburgh’s employers and businesses!

Buffalo Blues
216 S Highland Ave
Shadyside

By Justin Vellucci
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Anup Aryal knows how disorienting Oakland crosswalks can seem: the throngs of students crossing at red lights, the alternate-direction bus lane, the impulse to drive faster on straight stretches dampened by the presence of so many pedestrians.

“As a driver, it creates a little bit of confusion for you,” Aryal, 33, of Mt. Lebanon said Monday as he prepared to walk across Fifth Avenue. “(An upgrade) is helpful, both from a pedestrian’s point of view and a driver’s point of view.”

Oakland-based groups and PennDOT have some upgrades in mind for Fifth and Forbes avenues. By late next spring, they hope to complete improvements at 11 intersections. They include extending curbs into the roadway, timing crosswalk signals for pedestrians and adding new handicapped ramps.

Read More»

By David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, August 25, 2008

While finishing up work on his bachelor’s degree in art history, Chris Beech wasn’t quite sure what career to pursue.

A desk job in an office didn’t fit. He wanted a way to express artistic instincts and liked working with his hands. After graduating from Trinity College in Connecticut, he enrolled in a welding school.

“I knew I wanted to design and be creative in some sort of tangible way,” said Beech, 38, of the South Side, where he found a good match for his talent and skills working with metal objects he’s loved since he was a boy: Bicycles. Read more»

Monday, August 25, 2008
By Ruth Ann Dailey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

No doubt Pittsburgh, like any city, has its sprinkling of rude, aggressive cyclists who unnerve motorists with their unpredictable moves.

But when the Ravenstahl administration announced the creation and naming of a “bicycle czar” — a visionary move — some motorists’ reactions were a little bizarre, their vehement complaints about cyclists’ behavior far out of proportion to the threat those cyclists pose.

Although thousands of oblivious motorists barrel through our streets every day, I’ve never observed a “clueless” cyclist working his way around town. Occasionally risk-taking? Yes. Clueless? No.

People maneuvering spindly 20-pound bicycles past 2-ton piles of metal, vinyl and glass tend to be hyper-aware of their surroundings. They have to be. It’s a matter of life and death. Read more»

Press Release

Contact: Thomas Baxter, Executive Director
Phone: (412) 488-0212 x3 August 22, 2008

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Friends of the Riverfront solicits Request for Proposals for the Community Trails Initiative; a public/private multi-municipal project to complete a feasibility study and trail development plan encompassing 17 municipalities (City of Pittsburgh, Millvale, Shaler, Etna, Sharpsburg, Aspinwall, Fox Chapel, O’Hara Township, Blawnox, Harmar, Cheswick, Springdale, Springdale Township, Frazer, Tarentum, Brackenridge and Harrison) along the right bank of the Allegheny River.

The main purpose of this connection is to link the existing Three Rivers Heritage Trail with the Armstrong Trail. This connection is an important part of the Allegheny County Riverfronts Project, the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail Network and also the Pittsburgh to Harrisburg Mainline Canal Greenway. The project is made possible through a partnership between Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Friends of the Riverfront. The Township of O’Hara and the Fox Chapel District Association are also key partners assisting with community outreach and fiscal responsibilities.

In a simple manner of statement, the Community Trails Initiative’s goal is to play a role in the successful expansion of the current Three Rivers Heritage Trail along the Allegheny Riverfront, create community connections, and provide public access to recreational opportunities along the riverfronts. The project is funded thought the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Allegheny County, Allegheny Rivertown Enterprise Zone, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Friends of the Riverfront and through generous financial support from the 17 riverfront municipalities within the corridor.

This study will show several sets of information upon its completion, including general demographics of potential trail users based on existing Three Rivers Heritage Trail, potential demand and use of the trail, it will identify and evaluate potential trail linkages/connectors including possible connections to neighboring developments, and compatibility of trail development with adjacent land uses.

Agencies interested in participating in the Community Trails Initiative should contact Thomas Baxter with Friends of the Riverfront for a copy of the Request for Proposal.

Background on Friends of the Riverfront

Friends of the Riverfront is the developers and stewards of the 21-mile Three Rivers Heritage Trail which runs along both sides of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. We have been involved with the Southside Trail as well as the bridge to Washington’s Landing. Parallel to the Community Trails Initiative, Friends of the Riverfront is currently at work filling in gaps along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, as well as along the Great Allegheny Passage, which runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD, before continuing on to Washington, D.C.

Bike Pittsburgh host a bike valet at The Sprout Fund’s annual HotHouse fund-raiser extravaganza from 6pm till midnight on Saturday, August 23rd.

The MGR Foundation Youth Cycling: Positive Spin

Positive Spin needs adult cyclists to mentor Pittsburgh Public High School students during the 2008-2009 school year. Positive Spin is an exciting health,
wellness, and mentoring program offered by the MGR Foundation to Pittsburgh’s urban youth.

Information sessions will be held:
Thursday, August 28th @ 7:00 PM
at Kiva Han on Craig St. in Oakland
and
Saturday, September 6th at 10:30 AM at Tazza D’Oro in Highland Park.

If you are interested in learning more about the program, please attend one of the information sessions listed above or
join the mailing list at:

http://www.mgrf.org/AboutUs/JoinYouthCycling.asp

LINK TO THE CITY WEBSITE
The Department of City Planning provides a number of for credit/for experience unpaid internships for both graduate and undergraduate students. These internships are designed to be part time with flexible time frames so that students can combine them with a class or work schedule. They are available throughout the year.

City Bicycle Plan Implementation

Requirements:
The intern must have experience working on community projects. They must be experienced in working with computers including Word and Excel. A solid background in computers and course in the use of ESRI/Arcview software.

Interested students should send a resume to:

Stephen Patchan
Department of City Planning
200 Ross Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Stephen.Patchan@city.pittsburgh.pa.us

Friday, August 01, 2008

Pittsburgh, PA – As part of a sustainable living initiative, Port Authority is pleased to announce bicyclists may now bring folding bicycles onto Port Authority buses, light-rail cars and the Monongahela Incline during both peak and non-peak hours.

Folding bike users riding buses with bike racks are required to use the racks to secure their bicycles.

Port Authority and local cycling advocates, Bike Pittsburgh, are encouraging people to combine modes of transportation in an effort to reduce the dependence on automobiles, which will help decrease traffic congestion, decrease carbon emissions, relieve the parking crunch and allow for easier use of bicycles all over Pittsburgh.

“Combining the transportation modes of Port Authority and bicycles makes leaving the car at home an easier choice,” Bike Pittsburgh Executive Director Scott Bricker said. “We are really pleased that Port Authority now allows those using folding bikes to bring their bikes on board the bus or T regardless of time of day. It is a great opportunity for those commuting to work seeking ways to beat the skyrocketing cost of fuel.”

Monday, August 18, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A.J. DeMartino admires cyclists for reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, but she wasn’t too keen on the one who zoomed off the Clemente Bridge through a red light, and cut in front of her car on Fort Duquesne Boulevard a few days ago.

“I had to slam on my brakes,” said Ms. DeMartino, a Downtown resident. “He could’ve ended up dead. … I’m really angry at the people who don’t follow the rules.”

The city’s announcement last Monday of the hiring of Stephen Patchan as its first bicycle and pedestrian coordinator drew cheers from the pedaling crowd, but inflamed some motorists who resent cyclists who flout the laws.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl pledged to improve enforcement of traffic laws near bike lanes — one step in making Pittsburgh “the most bike- and pedestrian-friendly community in America.”

Now, though, motorists and cyclists aren’t always chummy.

“[Recently] I was coming back from Penn Hills,” said Gerald Cefola, an Oakland resident and retired mechanical engineer. At Bayard and North Neville streets, he said, “here’s a bicycle, goes right through a red light.”

He said the cyclist cut in front of him one foot in front of his car, which had not yet started moving though the light was green.

“If I was a hot rod,” he said, “that person would’ve had it.”

The Pittsburgh Police Bureau does not have statistics on car-on-bike accidents. Mr. Ravenstahl said it will start tracking such incidents.

Mr. Patchan said it wouldn’t be right to characterize cyclists as scofflaws, any more than it would be to say “that all motorists break the law.”

Scott Bricker, executive director of Bike Pittsburgh, said that cyclists should “ride predictably and obey the law.”

But he said the onus to avoid collisions rests most heavily on motorists.

“The real concerns are people driving 4,000-pound machines that have the ability to kill pedestrians, cyclists and people in wheelchairs,” he said. Read more»

The city’s plans to encourage walking/cycling deserve support

Monday, August 18, 2008, Post-Gazette
By Scott Bricker

Biking has never looked so good to so many people, and with good reason. Filling up the gas tank puts a big dent in the household budget, while running errands or commuting on a bike gives everyone a chance to burn calories instead of fossil fuels.

Pedaling is an opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint while improving our health, quality of life and the quality of our air. And rolling around on two wheels creates a connection to city neighborhoods that’s impossible from the confines of a car.

Biking looks good to city leadership, too. Last week Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, city Councilman Patrick Dowd and Port Authority CEO Steve Bland addressed a packed coffeehouse in Highland Park to pledge their commitment to making Pittsburgh a better place for cyclists and pedestrians. For the first time there’s talk of investing in bike infrastructure and paying greater attention to everyone’s safety on our streets. With the help of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the city has hired its first-ever full-time bike/pedestrian coordinator who is charged with heading up these efforts.

We at Bike Pittsburgh could not be happier. We applaud the city for its vision and commitment. High gas prices, climate change and competition to attract residents demand that we rethink our transportation system. Read more»

Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It’s time for Pittsburgh to get moving. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Councilman Patrick Dowd and the cycling community agree, so they’ve put together a timely initiative to increase bicycling and walking in the city.

Key to the plan’s success will be the city’s new bike-pedestrian coordinator, Stephen Patchan, whose duty is to pave the way for friendlier cycling conditions and more enticements to walking. The first two years of his salary will be covered by the Richard King Mellon Foundation, with the city budget picking up the cost thereafter.

Among the city’s plans are having a complete system of marked bike routes in place by 2010, using tax credits to encourage companies to provide bike facilities, stepping up the repair of broken city steps, upgrading pedestrian crosswalks and sponsoring events to encourage more biking and walking. Although a bicyclist himself, Mr. Patchan doesn’t profess to have all the answers, so he’s eager for biker/walker feedback via e-mail (Stephen.Patchan@city.pittsburgh.pa.us).

With obesity an unfortunate fact of American life and gasoline prices hitting new heights each year, the plan to get Pittsburghers off their duffs and out of their cars could pay dividends through better health, lower fuel costs and lighter traffic. But that will take enterprise and creativity from the bike-ped coordinator, dedicated follow-through from the mayor and council and steady input from people eager to get more out of their own two legs.