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.
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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 – Sunday Sep 13th

Join a bevy of other folks, both new and experienced cyclists, for another Cycle in the City

When: Sun, September 13, 10am – 12:00 pm

Where: Creekwalk Trailhead, Jefferson St., at the west end of the Armory, Downtown, Syracuse, NY (map)

CYCLE IN THE CITY is a series of FREE guided bicycle rides through Syracuse on various Sundays throughout the year. The last two for 2015 are this coming Sunday, September 13, and Sunday October 4. Please note the new location. The Rides this Sunday start at 10:00 a.m. No registration is required. The Basic ride is 13 miles, but there is also an 18 mile route.

Helmets are required! Riders must be age 12 or older. Questions? Call 435-3280.

Here is a link to the ride maps for this Sunday.

http://www.ongov.net/health/documents/Sept2015Routes.pdf

Routes will be posted the week before each ride at ongov.net/health

Just Added: NY Bicycling Laws Page

Please refer to the page menu up top.

Daily Orange article about Euclid Bike Lanes

Check it out.

Street parking on Euclid Avenue may potentially be replaced with bike lanes

Euclid Bike Ride Cold and Fun

Gathering Before the Ride

Despite the 18 degree temperature, 16 brave soles (hah hah, I meant “souls”, though our soles were brave, too), including 2 children!, came out for Saturday morning’s (3/21) ride in support of bike lanes on Euclid Ave.  That’s only slightly less than 1 cyclist per degree fahrenheit!  Wait until it gets warmer. Starting at the corner of Euclid and Westcott, we rode west on Euclid, following the cycle track that begins at Comstock down Waverly and University, and continuing on the bike lanes on E. Genesee to Almond St., where we turned around and retraced our path back to the start.  Some of us then joyfully commiserated over hot drinks and snacks at the Mello Velo Cafe. Members of BikeCNY were among riders from BikeEuclid, SEUNA, WNA, and ESF who also came out to show their support.

Press Release: Free the Cycle Track

FREE THE CYCLE TRACK

One block of the state-of-the-art cycle track on University Avenue has been covered over and blocked off for nearly a year, creating dangerous conditions for pedestrians, motorists, as well as cyclists. With construction halted and now stalled in litigation, there is little hope for it opening soon.

The first phase of the Connective Corridor was completed in 2012. The new bike infrastructure included a 2-lane cycle track on the East Side of University Avenue from East Genesee Street to Waverly Avenue. This first phase of the Connective Corridor cost millions of mostly-federal dollars.

In the spring of 2014, Cameron Hill Construction LLC, the developer of what was to be the new SU bookstore, covered and fenced off one block of the cycle track between Adams Street and Marshall Street. Orange signs now direct cyclists to dismount their bicycles and walk on the sidewalk on the west side of University Avenue, essentially destroying the functionality of the entire cycle track. It is unsafe, not only for bicyclists and pedestrians, but also for motorists, who must now contend with unexpected and somewhat unpredictable movement by these other users.

In June 2014, SU attempted to end their contract with Cameron due to lack of progress in construction. In July 2014, Cameron sued to block SU from doing so; and in August, the State Supreme Court granted a temporary injunction prohibiting SU from ending the agreement, simultaneously barring the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency from canceling a payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement with Cameron pending the outcome of Cameron’s lawsuit against the university.

Since then, there has been no obvious progress. Seven months have passed while the cycle track has remained closed. This is unacceptable.

BikeCNY is a newly-resurrected Bicycle Advocacy Group in Greater Syracuse that advocates for the safety of bicyclists and the installation of new bicycle infrastructure.

BikeCNY calls on city leaders to step up and resolve this issue so that the cycle track is functional in time for bicyclists to use it when spring weather arrives.

The developer has a permit from the city to close the cycle track. That permit should be revoked and the developer given a deadline to restore the cycle track and remove the fence.

There are a lot of smart, well-paid people involved with this issue from the City, the developer, and the University. BikeCNY requests that they work together to resolve this issue so the people who helped to pay for the cycle track can again use it.