Cycle in the City Ride – September 10th

The September 10th bike rides, as usual, start at 9 am from the Creekwalk trailhead near the M.O.S.T. on Jefferson Street.

This month’s ride repeats last year’s September ride and goes through many of the city’s parks. Since many of the parks are located on hills, there will be hills on this ride, although nothing that is long and steep. The parks included are Sunnycrest, Lincoln, Schiller, and Thornden (only on the long ride). The rides are about 11 miles and 16 miles long.

(You might be able to find a map of the route here: http://healthyliving.ongov.net/cycle-in-the-city/ , but last time I looked, it listed the August ride and no map was connected to the link.)

But you can find an article about these rides in the Daily Orange.

Cycle in the City Ride this Sunday 7/16

A message from John Allen: Sorry to be a little late this month – things are crazy at home.

This months ride repeats one from last year. The short ride (10.5 miles) is primarily and intentionally in bike lanes. It goes through the university area, which means that it goes up the hill on University Avenue and then up more hill on Comstock. There is one more hill coming back on E Genesee Street. I would not describe it has particularly hilly but there were some people last year who considered it hillier than they liked.

The longer ride (14.5 miles) follows the same route but includes a loop along Nottingham Road, which involves some uphill and then a good downhill to Jamesville Road. Good brakes are needed. We will pass the future location of the DeWitt Library, which is on Jamesville Road.

The rides begin at 9 am from the Creek Walk trailhead in Armory Square. Jefferson Street next to the M.O.S.T.

Sorry that I missed the June ride. My back has pretty much recovered, even surviving a solo drive to North Carolina and back last week. I may be a little slower than usual, having done a total of 18 miles in the past five weeks.

Please come to a DPW Committee meeting to give support to the proposed Euclid Bike Lane plan. The meeting is this Tuesday, July 11th at 5pm in the Common Council Chambers, on the third floor of City Hall, 233 East Washington St. 13202

Members of BikeCNY were given an opportunity to review the current plan and were pleased. We believe it will create a much safer cycling experience and is an acceptable compromise with those who believe that parking must be maintained.

We can expect that there will members of the loyal opposition in attendance, making their position known.  A strong presence by bike lane supporters will help the plan move forward.  

 

Cycle in the City

The June Cycle in the City rides will be on Father’s Day, June 18th, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Creek Walk trailhead on Jefferson Street near the M.O.S.T.

The rides are a variation of a ride we did last year that, for the long ride, includes the Bear Trap Creek trail that runs next to 81N. While there are some hills on the routes there are no steep hills.

In May we had enough people on the longer ride that it would have been better to have divided into two separate groups. If anyone is interested in leading a group on the upcoming long ride, let John Allen (john.allen1@verizon.net) know and he will send the map so that you have time to become familiar with it. He expects that he would lead the second group and probably ride a little slower than the first group.
=

A Bike Lane for Euclid? from Jessica Suarez on Vimeo.

Governor Cuomo Proposes 750-Mile “Empire State Trail”

Elevating Erie is thrilled.  So are we.  Read about it here:

http://www.elevatingerie.com/from-us/2017/1/17/governor-cuomo-proposes-750-mile-empire-state-trail?ct=t(RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)

Cycle in the City 10/2

Wow! It is almost October.

The next, and last for the year, ride will be next Sunday, October 2nd, beginning around 9 am at the Creek Walk trailhead in Armory Square (Jefferson Street on the circle around the M.O.S.T.)

The short route (10 miles) is relatively flat with the major hill being on Summit Avenue going to Upper Onondaga Park.

The long route (16 miles) follows the short route but with a 6 mile loop that has significant hills since it passes by the lower entrance to Onondaga Community College.

The maps can be found at http://www.ongov.net/health/documents/October2016Routes.pdf

On the long route, John Allen plans to lead the loop in the opposite direction than indicated on the map. This means that the uphills will be steeper and the downhills less steep but longer. It is safer because it avoids speeding down Glenwood Avenue past the Bellevue Country Club and having to stop to check the traffic on Bellevue and it avoids the steep downhill on McDonald Rd that, to him, could result in a serious accident, and having to stop at Velasko Rd. Anyway, we have done the route in the map direction twice, but never in this direction. Walking part of the hill is permitted.

Hope to see you for the rides.

Funds Available for Extending Lake Trail and Creekwalk, and enhance the Connective Corridor

From an article by Mark Weiner in today’s Post-Standard:

The federal government will provide almost $10 million to extend the Onondaga Creekwalk in Syracuse and build a new section of the recreation trail looping around Onondaga Lake.

The grant money also will pay for $475,000 worth of additions to the Connective Corridor linking Syracuse University to downtown, New York’s two U.S. senators said Wednesday.

The $10 million had been earmarked for other Syracuse-area transportation projects in 2005, but for unexplained reasons it was never spent. Federal rules blocked the grants from being used for other projects.

U.S. senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand backed legislation that gave the Federal Highway Administration and state Department of Transportation the flexibility to repurpose the money. The grants will help pay for:

› An extension of the Onondaga Lake recreation trail for 2.8 miles from the New York State Fair area to the southern shore in Syracuse. The federal government would provide $5 million toward the $13.3 million project. When complete, it would connect the lake trail with the Onondaga Creekwalk and Erie Canal trail.

› An extension of the Onondaga Creekwalk from Armory Square south for 2.2 miles to West Colvin Street. The federal government would provide $4 million for the pedestrian and bike trail along Onondaga Creek.

› About $475,000 worth of improvements on East Genesee Street as part of the Syracuse Connective Corridor. The corridor provides bike paths and other infrastructure to link Syracuse University with downtown Syracuse.

Under new federal rules, the Federal Highway Administration can now redirect federal funds earmarked for specific projects if the money remains unspent for more than 10 years.

Schumer had previously supported Onondaga County’s application for a $10 million competitive federal grant for the lake trail project, but the county did not make the final cut for funding. Contact Mark Weiner by email or at 571-970-3751.

Cyclists pedal along the west shore trail around Onondaga Lake last year. Money will go to make improvements and extend the trail. Michael Greenlar/mgreenlar@syracuse.com

The Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council will host a public meeting this Thursday, December 3 at 5:30 p.m. to share potential permanent route options for connecting the Erie Canalway Trail between Camillus and DeWitt, as well as conceptual ideas for transforming specific locations along these routes.

The meeting will take place at the Museum of Science & Technology (500 South Franklin Street) in Syracuse (use entrance across from Sound Garden).

Crucial DPW Committee Meeting on Monday

THE CITY OF SYRACUSE COMMON COUNCIL DPW COMMITTEE MEETS MONDAY NOVEMBER 30TH AT 5:00 PM in Common Council Chambers to Discuss the University Bike Plan.

The Council has been asked to approve funds for designing and implementing this project and there are many questions about it and there is also opposition to it.

If you want to have improved bike infrastructure in the University Area, then please come to this meeting and demonstrate and voice your support.