Jan. 30 bike sale benefits our New Standard Cycles program

Are you in the market for a new-to-you ride? On Saturday, Jan. 30, we are selling used, but fully reconditioned bicycles at the Savannah Bazaar, from 3-8 p.m. at 101 N. Fahm St.

Bikes are sold on a first come, first served basis, so if you see one you like in the gallery below, make sure to get there early. If you join the Savannah Bicycle Campaign at the time of your purchase, you’ll receive $50 off your bike. Proceeds from sales benefit our New Standard Cycles program, which provides affordable, dependable transportation to deserving people in our community. For more information about our bike sale, email Jen Colestock.

Watch inspiring films, ride your bike and maybe even win one at Mountainfilm on Tour Savannah, Jan. 20-23

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Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour returns to Savannah this month and we are pleased to be working with the festival again this year. The complete schedule is available on the Mountainfilm Savannah website.

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The annual TelluRIDE is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. The ride will start at the Kennedy Pharmacy building at 323 E. Broughton Street and end at the south end of Forsyth Park for light refreshments provided by the The Sentient Bean. Helmets are required for children and strongly encouraged for adults. The ride will travel at a leisurely pace along a five mile route. Please let us know you are riding by joining the Facebook event.

raffleitemsAt all Mountainfilm screenings on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, we’ll be selling raffle tickets for some exciting prizes including Pure Fix Arroyo city bike from Vinnie Van Go Go’s and  Perry Rubber Bike Shop, a travel set from Satchel, and a Boardworks Jetty stand up paddleboard from Savannah Canoe and Kayak.

Tickets are $1 each, three for $10 or eight for $20 and  can be purchased with cash or credit card in the lobby of Trustees Theater. Drop your ticket stubs into the bucket next to the prize(s) you want to take home. The winning tickets will be drawn at the Saturday evening, but you need not be present to win.

Have your say on the Truman Greenway! Comments must be submitted to GDOT by Dec. 14

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Thank you to everyone who attended the Dec. 3 Truman Linear Park Trail Public Information Open House at Jenkins High School. If you weren’t able to attend, you can review the plans for Phase IIA, which connects Lake Mayer Park with DeRenne Avenue on the Chatham County Department of Engineering webpage. You can also read coverage of the meeting from the Savannah Morning News. Long-awaited Truman trail unveiled anew

Please provide your comments to the Georgia Department of Transportation by Monday, Dec. 14, by using any of the following methods:

1. Online at GDOT Public Outreach website.  Follow these steps:

  1. From the menu, select the county in which the proposed project is located and click Go;
  2. Then select Truman Linear Park Trail – Phase II;
  3. Then, click Comment and follow the instructions to leave your comments.

2. Mail in your comment card to Ms. Hiral Patel, P.E., Georgia Department of Transportation, 600 West Peachtree Street NW, 16th Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30308.

3. Email your comment to: ProjectComments@dot.ga.gov. This is a general mailbox so be sure to include the County, PI Number 0007631 and meeting date in the subject line so that the email gets to the right project team.

It’s important to let GDOT know how important this project is to your family and how you plan to use it. We need strong support from the public to move forward on this important project, which has both recreational and transportation uses. If you need assistance in composing your comments, we’ll be glad to help. Just let us know!

Holiday Bike Drive will spread cheer to kids again this year

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Our New Standard Cycles volunteers are hard at work refurbishing donated bikes for our second annual Holiday Bike Drive. The bikes will go to families that cannot afford bikes on their own, through our partner Blessings in a Bookbag. Last year we were able to provide dozens of bikes to deserving kids, who would not have received bicycles otherwise. We also provide helmets to go along with the bikes.

If you are interested donating a bike, please contact jen@bicyclecampaign.org to schedule a drop-off. Please do not leave bikes unattended at our office. If you’d like to help get the bikes ready (no previous mechanical experience necessary) sign up for a volunteer shift today!

This month’s Cycle Social to be held on Tybee Island Nov. 17, following GDOT bridge replacement meeting

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This may be the first and last time we say this, but we encourage you to drive to our monthly Cycle Social. That’s because it’s on Tybee and the bridges and road to the island are unsafe for people on bikes.

Want to change that? Please attend the Georgia Department of Transportation’s public meeting on the replacement of the U.S. 80 bridges at Lazaretto Creek and Bull River, from 4-6 p.m. on Nov. 17 at Tybee Island City Hall. (Then join us for the Cycle Social after).

We need citizens to come to this meeting and express support for barrier separated bike facilities on the new bridges (not just bikeable shoulders) with connections to the McQueen’s Island Trail and other improvements that will allow people to reach the beach (safely) by bike.

After the GDOT meeting, we’ll adjourn to Tybee Island Social Club for our monthly social. We will be joined by Bill Nesper, vice president for programs at the League of American Bicyclists. Bill directs the Bicycle Friendly America℠ program with a particular focus on growing the program as a tool for new communities, businesses and universities. Bill first joined the League in 2002 and has worked in membership and managed the education programs before taking on the BFA program.

Let us know you’re coming by joining the Facebook event.

Free valet parking for bikes available at Nov. 9 Mountainfilm screening

Fire-on-the-MountainOur friends at Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour Savannah are hosting a screening of Fire on the Mountain at Service Brewing on Nov. 9. The documentary film tells the story of the heroic members of U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division during World War II. A beer tasting begins at 6 p.m. and film starts at 7 p.m.

We are offering our famous valet parking service for bicycles at the event. Ride your bike to the brewery and enjoy the movie, knowing your bicycle is safe and secure with us!

More information is available on the Mountainfilm Savannah Facebook page.

Would you like to volunteer to staff the bike valet? Select a shift and sign up today!

Nov. 12 Victory Drive Corridor Study meeting will provide update on “West End Victory”

Screen Shot 2015-10-27 at 4.14.06 PMThe public is invited to a “West End Victory” Community Update on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m.,  at A.E. Beach High School Cafeteria (3001 Hopkins St). The purpose of this event is to provide stakeholders an update of the progress made to date. A short update presentation will be followed by the opportunity for feedback and small group discussions.

In August the second phase of the Victory Drive Corridor Study began, concentrating on an approximate 0.8-mile focus area of the corridor between Ogeechee Road and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, referred to here as “West End Victory.”

The Victory Drive Corridor Study is a multi-phase planning study that aims to preserve, revitalize and maintain Victory Drive’s historic commemorative landscape and prominence as a signature boulevard. Through a public-private collaboration, this study seeks to develop an implementable plan incorporating context sensitive solutions to balance the transportation and land use demands of a contemporary street.

For more information visit the Corridor Study page on the Coastal Region Metropolitan Planning Organization website.

Second Coastal Georgia Greenway Joint Study Committee meeting set for Nov. 4

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The next meeting of the Joint House-Senate Coastal Greenway Study Committee has been scheduled for Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. at the Coastal Regional Commission office at 1181 Coastal Drive SW, in Darien. The public is invited to attend and provide input on the greenway.
The committee is charged with studying the conditions, needs, issues, and problems related to Coastal Georgia Greenway construction and to recommend any action or legislation, which the committee deems necessary or appropriate to be presented for action by the Georgia Legislature in 2016.
Read about the committee’s first meeting, held in Richmond Hill in September, in Connect Savannah: Greenway deserves the green light.

Public invited to provide input on proposed replacements for US Highway 80 bridges, Nov. 17

Screen Shot 2015-10-27 at 3.33.00 PMThe public is invited to view design proposed replacements of the existing Lazaretto Creek and Bull River bridges and provide feedback on Nov. 17, from 4-6 p.m. at Tybee Island City Hall. The event is hosted by the Georgia Department of Transportation and is informal in structure, meaning anyone interested can drop by at any time between 4 and 6 p.m.

The roadway is the only connection between Tybee Island and the mainland. US 80 is designated as a hurricane evacuation route on the Georgia Hurricane Plan, as well as a future bikeway in the Coastal Region Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Long Range Plan. From a memo announcing the meeting:

The proposed project would replace the bridges at Lazaretto Creek and Bull River with a two-lane bridge that includes bike and pedestrian improvements. Additionally, it would improve the roadway from Johnny Mercer Boulevard to Old US 80 on Tybee with paved shoulders and turn lanes. These changes have been determined to to accomplish the purpose of this project, which is to ensure the integrity of the US 80 bridges and improve travel between Savannah and Tybee Island.

The purpose of this meeting is to provide the pubic with an opportunity to view the proposed project, ask questions and comment on the project.

Written comments may be submitted until Dec. 1 to:

Andrew Cobb
Transportation Environmental Planner
Office of Environmental Services
Georgia Department of Transportation
600 W. Peachtree St., 25th Floor
Fax: 404-631-1588
Email: acobb@dot.ga.gov

For more information, visit the GDOT project page. You can also download information distributed at the meeting: PI 10560 GDOT US 80 PIOH handouts 11-17-15

Help feed the hungry on Nov. 21 with the Third Annual Savannah Cranksgiving

Cranksgiving_eventphotoOur third annual Savannah Cranksgiving Ride is coming up on Saturday, Nov. 21. stating at 1 p.m. Cranksgiving is half bike ride, half food drive and a 100 percent fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon helping others.

The Savannah Bicycle Campaign (and you!) will be helping feed hungry people at Emmaus House. Founded in 1982 by a group of downtown churches, Emmaus House provides food and day services to the homeless and needy of Savannah. Breakfast is served at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, fifty weeks each year.

Registration for the ride starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21 at SBC HQ (Corner of Henry and Lincoln streets). At registration, participants will receive a shopping list of items needed by Emmaus House. The challenge begins at 1:30 p.m. when riders roll out to shop by bike. Participants should pick up items from the shopping list without going over $15-20 price limit. This is not a race! Riders may compete by themselves or on teams. Prize packages including items generously donated by Scott,  The Bicycle Link, and other sponsors will be awarded in the following categories:

  • Most Items Carried by a Single Person
  • Most Stores Visited (receipts needed from each store)
  • Best Team Effort
  • Most Innovative Cargo Rig

All participants must return to 1301 A Lincoln St. by 4 p.m. to tally up their purchases and enjoy food and beverages.

What should you bring? First of all, you’ll need your bike and $15-20.  We also suggest a helmet. If you’re planning on carrying groceries, you should bring a backpack or other cargo solution for your bike. Register as a solo competitor or form your team today!

Have questions? Want to get involved? send us an email!