Bike/Walk Alliance for Missoula

7th Annual Ride of Silence

UPDATE: Thanks to the 20 cyclists who attended the 2nd Missoula Ride of Silence. We consider the ride very successful with great cooperation from most of the motor vehicle drivers who passed us during the ride.  Most drivers allowed a significant safety space as they went by.

BWAM is organizing the Ride of Silence in Missoula for the second year. The Ride Of Silence is an International free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph and remain silent during the ride. There is no brochure, no sponsors and no registration fees. The ride, which is held during Bike Safety month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

The Missoula Ride of Silence will begin in Caras Park at 7:00 PM. Please arrive by 6:45 PM. The ride will last approximately 1 hour. For more details click to MIM Social Network Events.

Click for more information about the world wide Ride of Silence.

Liquid Planet Supports BWAM during National Bike Month with "Velo Valencia" Special

For the second year Liquid Planet has agreed to donate $.50 from each sale of the Velo Valencia, a special white chocolate mocha with orange zest and a dash of cinnamon and sugar, to BWAM during the month of May. This special drink will be available at all Liquid Planet locations in Missoula for the month of May, which is National Bike Month. Please support Liquid Planet and BWAM by purchasing the Velo Valencia today! See Liquid Planet's official Velo Valencia advertisement here.

Bill & Mary Muse Concert to Benefit Karen Kempel Jones Bike Trail

A concert to raise money to complete the portion of the City Bike Trail between Russell Street and Reserve Street will take place Saturday, May 9, 2009, at the University of Montana Recital Hall in the UM Music Building. Bill and Mary Muse, who toured as professional musicians for seven years before moving to Missoula in 2001, have agreed to a one-time-only Missoula concert to benefit the bike trail and to honor Karen Kempel Jones, for whom the trail is to be named. The Muses will be joined by Doug Wintch and Bill Ward in their first-ever reunion concert.

Bill Muse is a singer-songwriter whose music and lyrics make you recall a home you never had, smell a country breakfast, long for an old love or jump up to dance on the table. The Muses make Bill’s songs come alive with their ringing harmonies, Mary’s keyboard and Bill’s guitar. Ward and Wintch add color and depth with keyboard, guitar, harmonica, and harmony vocals. Call it Singer/Songwriter, Roots, Americana, Original, or Acoustic. Their style defies a single label. Whatever it is, it is real – and the obvious connection and love these four have for each other and the music they share intertwines for a sound that is sure to strike a chord in everyone.

This concert will help the Missoula Rotary Club raise a portion of the $60,000 needed to complete construction on a one-mile portion of the bike trail which runs through Missoula from east to west. The section chosen for this project will be dedicated as a tribute to Karen Kempel Jones, a long-time Missoula resident who died last spring. Karen touched the lives of many Missoulians through her work with local not-for-profit agencies, by mentoring and otherwise supporting young women, and in her work as a real estate agent.

Tickets for the concert go on sale April 1, at A Carousel for Missoula. Prices are $10 for balcony seating, $15 for general admission and $20 for reserved seating in the center floor area. For more information, contact Dolores Bandow at dmbandow@aol.com.

The Missoula Greater Downtown Master Plan is nearing completion.

Working together, Bike-Ped advocates achieved a small goal at the Missoula Redevelopment Agency board meeting on Wednesday, March 18! Representatives from BWAM, MIST, MAST, Bike-Ped Board and UM Transportation voiced their concerns about the Broadway Street language in the Greater Missoula Downtown Plan to the MRA board and were heard! After an extended discussion, the MRA board members passed a resolution to support the Downtown Plan with the exception that the Broadway Street language be changed from the specific 4-lane option to a continued public discussion provision. Thanks to the MRA board members for listening to our concerns and taking appropriate action. The public comment meeting previously scheduled for April 7 has been moved up to probably May. Keep informed on developments, and plan to come.

BWAM Member goes CarLESS!

Lewis Kelley has committed to being without a car for the next year. Follow his blog to see how he navigates Missoula via biking, walking, and transit.

Bike Lanes: Orange Street

As many of us know, Missoula has some bike lane issues. There are critical gaps in the system and at times maintenance could be better. There’s one gap BWAM is trying to close on Orange Street, between the bridge over the Clark Fork River and 6th Street (where bike lanes resume on Stephens). With prodding from BWAM and others, the city and Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) have painted a "fog line" 4 feet from the face of the curb on Orange Street. This has created a symbolic division for cyclists. While this is better than nothing, we continue to advocate for 5 foot bike lanes, especially when more permanent lanes are striped later this year. BWAM just sent a letter to MDT. You can add your voice to the chorus by contacting Doug Moeller, MDT district administrator. Let him know that bicyclists deserve safe bike lanes on Orange Street.

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