It’s Bike Month and you’re ready to get your pedal on. We are too, and very psyched about a new offering coming this Saturday — the first ever Savannah Bicycle College.
More bikes than books, this 3 hour course will give you the confidence to perform basic maintenance and operate your bicycle safely on the road. No bike is required. Cost is $10 for SBC members or $20 for nonmembers, which includes the League of American Bicyclists Traffic Skills 101 manual. The course will be taught by certified League Cycling Instructors at the Bicycle Link on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
The follow-up on-bike course, Ride Savannah, will be offered the following Saturday, May 15, and completing both will earn you a Traffic Skills 101 certificate.
A few spaces remain! If you are interested, RSVP to info@bicyclecampaign.org.
May is National Bike Month. Many things to celebrate, including the new Smart Cycling Savannah program! May 8: Savannah Bicycle College. 12-3pm. More bikes than books, this three hour class teaches the in’s and out’s of bicycle maintenance, bicycle safety, and “vehicular bicycling.” No bicycle required. Taught by Certified League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructors at the Bicycle Link on MLK Blvd. $10 for SBC members/$20 for non-SBC members. Preregister by email to info@bicyclecampaign.org
(May edition of 2Wheels 2Work will be held on Friday May 21 instead of the usual first Friday date, to correspond with National Bike to Work Day) May 15: Ride Savannah. 12-3pm, class will meet at the Savannah Bicycle Campaign tent at the Forsyth Park Farmer’s Market to begin class which also includes on-bike travel through Historic Downtown Savannah. This course is provided at no charge. Students who complete both Savannah Bicycle College and Ride Savannah will be eligible to receive the Traffic Skills 101 certificate, the prerequisite for LCI certification.
May 21: 2Wheels 2Work, National Bike to Work Day edition. Join SBC and partner for the May edition, the Chatham Environmental Forum for a ride and breakfast starting at 7:30 at Habersham Village and proceeding to Ellis Square. May 22: Washington Avenue bike lane opening and Kids’ Ciclovia! 12-3pm. More to come on this outstanding event, celebrating the opening of the Washington Avenue bike lanes between Bull and Waters. The roads around Tiedemann Park across from Savannah Arts Academy will be closed to car traffic for the event. May 30: Bike to Worship. So far only committed at Wesley Monumental United Methodist on Calhoun Square, this final Sunday in May will be a day for churchgoers to pedal to service.
Questions? Events we have forgotten? Contact us at info@bicyclecampaign.org or drop us a line on our facebook page at facebook.com/savbikecampaign.
Mayor Otis Johnson had a heart attack 4 years ago today. On the heels of that, he has been pushing a consortium of groups organized together as the Healthy Savannah initiative. Healthy Savannah goes beyond what you might typically think of in terms of affecting health outcomes for our community. Sure, there are areas looking at nutrition and curbing smoking, but also a look at deeper and more lasting changes (though potentially more difficult problems) through civic master planning and transportation.
This focus on how the built environment can contribute to a healthy community is of course right up our alley, so when they asked us to be a part of tonight’s community forum at the Civic Center, it made perfect sense. Come on by and see us, and also take a look at what the City of Savannah and other groups are doing to change our built environment to make it more bikable and walkable in the transportation and civic master planning sections of the forum.
What: Healthy Savannah Community Forum
Where: Civic Center
When: Today, Thu 4/29 at 6-8pm
Why: Learn about how the built environment affects the health of our community.
Well, we couldn’t ask for a better day this past Saturday for the third Earth Day Wheelie. Many thanks to Lee Burbage for recording the joy of a beautiful day with bikes filling the streets. See below or this link for a slideshow – if you have photos you’d like to share, add them to our facebook page!
Speaking of campaigners’ photos, many of you may have seen this yesterday on our facebook fan page, and it was gone for a little while but has triumphantly returned. Andy Young (thanks Andy!) did a very cool 2 frame per second capture of Saturday’s Earth Day Wheelie and put it up on vimeo, reproduced for your viewing pleasure here. (Incidentally, he also has an amazing series on the Ellis Square project that comes up right after, so check that out too!)
Our own vimeo page also includes the video board member and Ben Allen took at Saturday’s Wheelie, along with last summer’s PSA he produced along with Eric Breen and Paul Razza. For kicks, both are below. Enjoy!
Hey all. It’s a great time to ride a bike in Savannah, undoubtedly. In the most perfect time of year, by chance we and the City of Savannah are conducting the second annual Savannah Bike Census. It’s happening this Saturday, next Monday and Wednesday, and there are still slots open for volunteers. Like the federal census, this bike census is important to be sure our decision makers understand how many of us are out there! Please, join us if you can… if you play your cards right (join SBCand volunteer), there’s a sweet T-shirt in it for you. Please fill out the form below (or at this link if you can’t see it) if you are interested and we’ll be in touch.
Thanks for Wheeliing with us
Aloha, all! Thanks again to all of our members and all of our other great friends in Savannah for joining us on the third annual Earth Day Wheelie! It was a huge success again, and we were pleased to be joined this year by Tybee city councilman Paul Wolff and Tybee City Manager Diane Schleicher along with a host of other exceptionally fine bicycle folk. Those who stayed for the Post Wheelie Dealie enjoyed some sumptuous vittles from Blowin’ Smoke and a few walked away with some shiny prizes courtesy of our excellent sponsors Quality Bike and Bicycle Link.
The project awaits only a resolution at City Council this Thursday. SBC will be there to say thank you to the city for the fine work they are doing to live up to the commitment they made in their first Bicycle Friendly Community application and following up on the recommendations there, including addition of East-West bicycle facilities and, potentially given the will and favorable neighborhood approval, a southbound bike lane on Price Street in the coming months!
Next up, every other street!
The process of updating the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Long Range Transportation Plan has begun, and they are soliciting comments on bicycle and pedestrian projects in the county. They specifically want to know where people are currently walking and bicycling and where they might if given the appropriate facilities. Mapping exercise is this Thursday April 22 at 5pm at the MPC building (see below), and an online version should be available soon.
Development of the Non-Motorized Plan element of the Total Mobility Plan MPO staff encourages public participation through the any of the methods listed below. With the
exception of the online survey, these mostly are multiple ways to do the same thing; it is not necessary to participate in more than one mapping option unless you want to. The online survey will include some questions that are not as location-focused as the mapping options.
Mapping exercises at the CORE MPO Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) meetings
o Apr. 22, 2010, 6:15pm, in the MPC Hearing Room, 112 E. State Street, Savannah, GA. CAC meeting begins at 5pm and will include additional information between 5 and 6:15pm which may be of interest but will not be directly related to this process.
Mapping exercise at the CORE MPO Advisory Committee on Accessible Transportation (ACAT) meeting
o Apr. 26, 2010, 1pm. Meeting begins at 1pm and mapping exercise will be at the end of the meeting, some time before 3pm. MPO staff will announce the availability of an online survey and an online, interactive map soon.
Contact staff directly anytime:
Jane Love, Transportation Planner
912-651-1443
lovej@thempc.org
Where would you go? Everywhere? Us too — that is why we will be pushing again for adoption of Complete Streets policies for the MPO and all its included governmental entities. That’s why we will stress the importance of developing safe bike access on bridges that are the only points of access to the islands in particular. That’s why we’ll be there and that’s why you should too (or at least fill out the survey when we let y’all know about it).
Earth Day Wheelie rolls again this Sat Apr 17 at 4pm! A police escorted 5.3 mile spin around the downtown springtime splendor, hundreds of bikes and their happy occupants taking it in, 80 degrees and sunny with a mild southerly breeze. You won’t even get hot in your helmet.
I’m not sure how you could ask for more, but we’re bringing it. Join us at the City of Savannah’s Earth Day Festival before the ride to sign our ride waiver and to find out what we’re up to. You can also pick up the new 2010 SBC shirt (so hot, they’re radioactive!) and join or renew your membership.
We want you as a member because we want you to enjoy the afternoon Post Wheelie Dealie to follow at Blowin’ Smoke. Food, drink, music and bikes, not to mention sweet door prizes to current members courtesy of our sponsors. Must be present to win, so BE PRESENT. and win.
We love you, and your bike loves you. Bring all the love together this Saturday starting at 4pm.
As previously noted, Local Government on the Move is this month’s theme for 2Wheels 2Work. Employees and elected officials from the City of Savannah, Savannah-Chatham MPC, and Chatham County will join our bicycle commuting convoy leaving from the Habersham Village Shopping Center at 7:30 a.m., bound for Johnson Square in Downtown Savannah, and we hope you will too.
Mayor Otis Johnson promotes safety in helmet at the September 2009 2Wheels 2Work with Savannah Public Information Director Bret Bell. The mayor will join us again tomorrow, April 2.
Bicycle commuters can join in from anywhere on or off the route. Everyone arriving in Johnson Square on a bike can enjoy free coffee from our loyal sponsor Jittery Joe’s and refreshments. As always, helmets are strongly encouraged.
Click here to download the route map. See you tomorrow!
In its first 2 years, this ride has drawn hundreds Savannahians from all walks of life. For the third year running we bring back the mobile party through Savannah’s downtown streets to celebrate the joy and possibilities of bicycling. Bring yourself, bring your friends, bring your kids — the Wheelie welcomes all!
The Wheelie will set off from the south end of Forsyth Park immediately after the closing of the Earth Day Festival at 4 p.m. We will be joined again by the elected officials for the ride that will include a police escort. Helmets are strongly encouraged.
Savannah’s favorite (and only) bicycle commuting event returns on Friday, April 2. Last month we were joined by local legal professionals. In April our focus is reflected by the the title “Local Government on the Move.” We welcome everyone to ride with us, but will be especially happy to see City of Savannah, Chatham County and Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission employees and elected officials getting to work in a more economical, more sustainable and healthier way.
A bicycle commuting convoy will leave from the Habersham Village Shopping Center at 7:30 a.m., bound for Johnson Square in Downtown Savannah. Bicycle commuters can join in from anywhere on or off the route. Everyone who arrives in Johnson Square on a bike (please dismount before entering the square) can enjoy free coffee from our loyal sponsor Jittery Joe’s and refreshments. As always, helmets are strongly encouraged.
Click here to download the route map or here to download a poster to print and display in your workplace.
