November 2005

WHEEL PEOPLE

NEWSLETTER OF THE HUMBOLDT BAY BICYCLE COMMUTERS ASSOCIATION

P. O. BOX 9054   EUREKA CA 95502

VOL. 24   NO.  6  NOVEMBER 2005

Website: http://www.humbike.org/

Email: info@humbike.org

THANKS TO THE NEW AND

RENEWED MEMBERS FOR 2005

The HBBCA thanks the following new members and renewed members for 2005. 

New Members:

Brian Acord, Arcata
Ron Hartman, Eureka**

Renewed Members:

Lorraine Dillon, Eureka

A special thanks to those who gave  donations to the HBBCA, noted by **.

Those with a *** gave $25 or more.

NEXT  REGULAR MEETING IN ARCATA ON NOVEMBER 28 – GUEST SPEAKER

The next regular HBBCA meeting will be held at Luzmilla’s  Mexican Restaurant at 13^th and G Streets on Monday, November 28th.  It will be a dinner meeting (dinner optional), starting at 6:00 p.m.  The meeting itself will begin at 6:30.   The

meeting is open to the public.  Those who attend help set the agenda.   There will be a guest speaker, Tom Mattson, the new Director of Public Work for Humboldt County.   Plan to attend to hear his plans for meeting the needs of bicyclists; and to give him your ideas.

PLEASE RENEW YOUR DUES NOW

Please consider renewing your membership in the HBBCA for 2006.   See the application at the end of the newsletter.   Your membership card is accepted for discounts at two of the local bike shops: 15% on parts and accessories from Sport and Cycle; and 10% from Henderson Center Bicycles.   Be sure to ask for your discounts.

GOVERNOR VETOS RENEWAL OF THE BICYCLE TRANSPORTATION ACCOUNT PROGRAM

The California Bicycle Transportation Account provided over $5 million per year for bikeway and other bike-related improvements in California each year.   Funding was from the local government share of gas tax funds placed in a separate account that funded bike projects. In his veto message, the Governor said that he wanted to provide flexibility to local government to use the funds as they see fit. 

BIKE LANES UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON WALNUT DRIVE IN SOUTH EUREKA

A $700,000 federal Transportation Enhancement project to add bike lanes to Walnut Drive south of Eureka is nearing completion. The project extends from Avalon (top of the hill) two miles north to Cypress (at CuttenSchool)  The project is being constructed by RAO Construction under the direction of Humboldt County Public Works Department.  Bike lanes will be a minimum of 5 feet in width.

RICK KNAPP SPEAKS TO EHS CYCLING CLASS

Rick Knapp was invited by Ron Hartman, coach and teacher to speak to a class enrolled in Cycling at Eureka High.    Rick was there to talk about the many benefits of bike commuting and to help participants better understand the rules of the road and how to operate a bicycle responsibly and defensively.   The class has one day a week of classroom work and three days where they ride the streets of Eureka.

SPEAKERS IN EUREKA TO TALK ABOUT HEALTHY COMMUNITY DESIGN

On the evening of Wednesday, December 7, two experts on active transportation and multi-modal transportation planning will speak at the Wharfinger Building in Eureka. Todd Litman is the Executive Director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute (http://www.vtpi.org/), and will address the economics of healthy community design. Jeff Hobson, Policy Director of the Transportation & Land Use Coalition of the San Francisco Bay area (http://www.transcoalition.org/), will address lessons learned from attempts to coordinate land use and transportation planning in the bay area. This event is sponsored by the Humboldt Partnership for Active Living with a grant from the California Endowment, and by the Redwood Community Action Agency, Healthy Humboldt, Danco Builders and the Arcata Economic Development Commission. For more information about this event (details pending) or to help get the word out, email the Humboldt Partnership for Active Living athumpal2004@excite.com or call Dana Dickman at  269-2055.

AIR QUALITY DISTRICT CONSIDERS FUNDING BICYCLING SKILLS GUIDE

HBBCA supported a proposal by Redwood Community Action Agency to develop bicycling skills guides for the north coast that would separately target youth and adults. The North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District received more proposals than it has funding to provide, and is currently negotiating with RCAA about a reduced funding level for the guides, which are based on an existing template system that is viewable athttp://www.wordspacepress.com/. RCAA is seeking matching funds and sponsors to be able to produce 5,000 of each booklet, even with reduced funding from the Air Quality District. If you, your business or organization wants to learn more about this program and how you can contribute, contact Dana Dickman at 269-2055 or Jen Rice at 269-2060.

HBBCA PROVIDES TRAINING TO COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

On November 1^st, Rick Knapp began training staff and volunteers of the County Mental Health Department.  These staff and volunteers intend to use bicycles to seek out “street people” who need assistance to overcome their dependency on alcohol and drugs.   Management was supportive of the idea as long as those on bicycles were properly trained.  Training will consist of verbal instruction on the rules of the road, bike maintenance and repair, as well as on-street training to help participants learn how to ride responsibly and defensively.

WHO TO CALL WHEN YOU SEE A SAFETY CONCERN (Revised 9/05)

The HBBCA has checked with agencies in the Humboldt Bay region to determine whom to contact if you see a condition that needs to be corrected in order to improve the safety or convenience for cyclists.  This might include a pothole in the bike lane, accumulated debris on a roadway shoulder, the need to re-stripe a bike lane, or the need to clear vegetation encroaching on the shoulder.

Of course, if you see a condition that requires immediate emergency action, call 9-1-1.  For other conditions, the following is provided:

Caltrans

Mark Suchanek, Deputy District Director
445-6393  Mark_Suchanek@dot.ca.gov

County of Humboldt

Wendy Meeks, Dispatcher

445-7491 wmeeks@co.humboldt.ca.us

City of Arcata

Monica Campbell,

Public Works Administrative Assistant

822-5957 pubworks@arcatacityhall.org

City of Eureka

Susan Hutchison

Public Works Administrative Assistant

441-4192 shutchison@ci.eureka.ca.gov

HBBCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President------------------------Scott Kelly

839-3614(h); 839-4336(w)

Email: info@humbike.org

Vice-President/Treasurer----Rick Knapp

445-1097(h)

Director of Publicity-----------Will Dvorak

445-4229(h)-before 8pm; 441-8809(w)

Director of Planning-----------Jennifer Rice

442-4630(h); 269-2060(w)

BICYCLING CALENDAR ATTACHED

A new and improved bicycling mileage chart has been developed by Rick Knapp’s wife, Jean Hawthorne.   He calls her, among other nicknames, the Spreadsheet Queen.    Unlike previous ones, this is a  perpetual calendar—if you keep a copy of the original. Use it to keep track of your daily, monthly and annual bike miles.  In addition to including it with this newsletter, it will be placed on our website.

JOIN THE HBBCA TODAY OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2006

The HBBCA is working to improve and encourage bicycle commuting.   Help make it happen by joining now or renewing your dues for 2006.  Your $5.00 annual dues, paid on a calendar year basis, will help pay for helmets, this newsletter, our website, promotions, postage, etc.  And, it will help demonstrate your commitment to our goal.  If you prefer to receive your bi-monthly newsletter by email, please note below.

Enclosed: $_____dues    $_____donation

Name____________________________________

Address__________________________________

__________________________________________         

____I’d rather receive my newsletter by email

email:­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________

Phone_______________(h)_________________(w)

Mail to HBBCA, P.O. Box 9054 Eureka CA 95502-9054