Fourth annual Pedal Medal Award celebration honors people who make Savannah better for bicycling

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The fourth annual Pedal Medal Award Celebration, presented by SouthCoast Health, will be held on Thursday, Feb. 19 from 5-7:30 p.m. at ThincSavannah.

The Pedal Medal Award honors individuals who are working to make Savannah better for bicycling. Past winners are Sean Brandon of the City of Savannah, Connect Savannah editor Jim Morekis and Jane Love of the Coastal Region Metropolitan Planning Organization.

This year’s Pedal Medal honoree is John Pinkerton of Moon River Brewing Company. John is the originator and driving force behind our annual Matt’s Moon River Cruise event. The event is held in memory of Matt Kohler and aims to educate drivers on safely sharing the road with people who ride bikes.

Louisa Winsor Williams and John Wesley Norvell will be recognized as SBC’s volunteers of the year. Dr. Daniel Piatkowski, assistant professor of urban studies and planning at Savannah State University, will give the keynote address. Beverages and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.

A silent auction will feature exciting items including a beach cruiser from Tim’s Beach Gear, a stay at Ocean Lodge on St. Simons Island, a Club at Savannah Harbor golf package and more!

Purchase your tickets today!

City of Savannah adopts Complete Streets ordinance

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We have been working in partnership with Healthy Savannah toward an important goal.
On Jan. 22, 2015 we achieved it.

The Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah unanimously adopted a Complete Streets ordinance that will help make our city’s streets safe and appealing for people of all ages and abilities.

The purpose of the ordinance is to “to encourage healthy active living, reduce traffic congestion and fossil fuel use and improve the safety and quality of life of residents of the City of Savannah by providing safe, convenient and comfortable routes for walking, bicycling and public transportation.”

Under the ordinance, all street improvement and new construction projects will be designed to meet the needs of people who walk, ride bikes and use transit, unless specific circumstances prevent inclusion. Among the bicycle-related Complete Streets components listed in the ordinance are shared use paths, bicycle lanes and bicycle parking facilities.

We thank Mayor Edna Jackson and Savannah City Council for adopting this ordinance, which will provide economic, public safety and public health benefits to our community. We are especially grateful to District 4 Alderman Mary Ellen Sprague for endorsing an amendment that significantly strengthened the ordinance.

On the same day that our city’s leaders acted, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx launched the Mayors’ Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets, which calls on mayors and other local elected officials to take significant action to improve the safety of their constituents who walk or bicycle by implementing Complete Streets practices.

We are grateful to Healthy Savannah, YMCA of Coastal Georgia, Safe Routes to School Resource Center, Savannah Chatham Public School System, Transport Studio, Coastal Region Metropolitan Planning Organization, Chatham Area Transit, Healthcare Georgia Foundation, Georgia Bikes, City of Savannah staff, and other partner organizations for their dedication to achieving this goal.

Savannah State professor seeks participants for “Scofflaw Biking Survey”

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Daniel Piatkowski, an assistant professor at Savannah State University, along with his colleagues  at the University of Colorado Denver are conducting a study about bicyclist behavior. The study was referenced in the Washington Post’s Wonkblog in a Jan. 9 piece called “Let’s talk seriously about why cyclists break traffic laws.”

“As cycling grows more common in a city, does peer pressure to obey the law follow? As cities build more bike infrastructure, does that make cyclists less likely to run red lights?”

Dr. Piatkowski and his fellow researchers are seeking participants for a survey, which will take about 10 or 15 minutes to complete. It asks questions about respondents’ travel patterns and experiences as bicyclists under various situations. The survey is part of a larger study intending to better understand our transportation system and what factors might correlate with different behavior patterns.

Take the survey now!

 

Bikes 101 on Jan. 13: It’s gonna get wheel!

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Bikes 101 is an ongoing series of workshops intended to teach basic bicycle maintenance skills in a fun and relaxed environment. This month’s installment, on Jan. 13 from 7-9 p.m., focuses on wheels, including: tires, tubes, rim strips, and axle bearing adjustments.

Bikes 101 workshops are held in our New Standard Cycles space at 1301 A Lincoln St.

Bikes 101 is free and no previous bicycle repair experience is required. For more information, email jen@bicyclecampaign.org. Let us know you’re coming by joining the Facebook event.

Green Truck Pub and New Belgium Brewing host Jan. 20 tap takeover to benefit SBC

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Our friends at Green Truck Pub and New Belgium Brewing are hosting another Pint Night for SBC on Tuesday, Jan. 20 from 5-11 p.m. During the tap takeover, uring the tap takeover, New Belgium and Green Truck Pub will donate $1 for every draft sold, plus match personal donations made to SBC that night.

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Ride your bike and park it at the SBC Bike Valet for a chance to win free New Belgium goodies! Don’t forget your lights and helmet.

Let us know you plan to attend by joining the Facebook event.

Join us for the annual TelluRIDE on Jan. 24

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Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour in Savannah, a nonprofit film festival designed to educate and inspire audiences about critical issues, will be held at the Trustees theater on Jan. 23 and 24.

mountainfilm2015The Savannah Bicycle Campaign is sponsoring a ride in conjunction with the festival again this year on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 11 a.m. We 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 Sentient Bean.

All ages welcome but you must have a bike and helmets are strongly recommended! Let us know you plan to attend by joining the Facebook event.

 

SBC receives $26,600 grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety

GOHS LogoThe Savannah Bicycle Campaign has received a $26,600 grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to fund programs aimed at reducing bicycle-related injuries and fatalities in Chatham County.

The grant, which will continue through September of 2014, will help finance education programs for bicyclists and drivers, dissemination of information on roadway safety, and efforts to encourage best practices for safe cycling.

“The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is committed to keeping everyone safe on our roads and highways, from the smallest precious cargo to the most seasoned drivers,” said GOHS Director Harris Blackwood. “This grant will help the Savannah Bicycle Campaign reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities on Georgia roadways.”

“We are grateful for the support of GOHS as it allows us continue and expand the beneficial programs we’ve been offering, with the goal of improving safety for people who ride bicycles for recreation or transportation in Chatham County,” said John Bennett, executive director of the Savannah Bicycle Campaign

For more information on this grant program, contact GOHS at 404-656-6996. For more information on GOHS and its highway safety programs, visit www.gahighwaysafety.org.

Web-based tool aids in identifying potential greenways in Chatham County

Chatham County Greenway Plan

Chatham County recently received Coastal Incentive Grant to develop a countywide Greenway Implementation Plan. The goal is to recommend the development of multi-use trails and pathways associated with Chatham County’s drainage canal network. In addition, this effort will include potential greenway links along retired railway beds and unopened road right-of-way.

Here’s how Chatham County describes greenways:

“Greenways are defined within this project as natural pathways and multi-use trails that provide for alternative transportation modes (walking, biking, etc.) and create connections between civic and public interest points. Greenways are an integral part of a sustainable approach to transportation, provide valuable community amenities, and support local access to our coastal environment.”

A stakeholder committee held its first meeting earlier this month and Ecological Planning Group, a Savannah-based natural resources consulting firm, has developed a web-based GIS viewer for assessing potential greenway projects.

Try it out and let us know if you see potential greenways in your neighborhood.

 

 

Bikes 101: Learn about derailleur adjustment, winter weather riding on Dec. 17

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The final installment of this year’s Bikes 101 educational series (Don’t worry, it continues next year!) is scheduled for Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. This month’s session  will focus on derailleurs and riding in winter weather. Bikes 101 is free and open to the public and held in our New Standard Cycles space at 1301 A Lincoln St.

Email Jen Colestock for more information or join the Facebook event.

Make the holiday season brighter for families in Savannah! Help us refurbish donated bikes

kidsbikerefurbOur New Standard Cycles program is organizing its first Holiday Bike Drive, in cooperation with Blessings in a Book Bag. We’ve received generous donations of bicycles that will be reconditioned and given to children who would not otherwise receive bicycles this Christmas.

Now we need extra hands to get the bikes ready. Volunteers are needed on at the following times:

Saturday, Dec. 6, 1-3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 7-9:30 p.m.

Previous bicycle repair experience is not required. To volunteer, email jen@bicyclecampaign.org. We’ll be working in the New Standard Cycles area at 1301 Lincoln St.