Bike Walk Alliance for Missoula

Posts Tagged ‘Bicycle Friendly’

Missoula: a great walk and bike friendly place to live and visit.  That’s our vision.  That’s what we are working towards in Missoula.  Thankfully we are well on our way.  But a lot needs to be done to keep making progress.  This year in particular there are many ways, small and large, that you can help keep Missoula moving in the right direction.  BWAM needs your help.

Of course, the mission of BWAM is to promote better facilities and programs to “make Missoula one of the best cities in North America for biking and walking”. BWAM grew out of a community interest to mobilize and focus community energies and efforts to make a real difference.

It is interesting, rewarding and fun to work on an issue or concern and positively impact it.  BWAM makes it easy for you to have that experience and find a way to help through its Advocacy Committee.   Check us out Wednesday, February 1, at 4:30-6 PM at the Liquid Planet. We meet once a month on the first Wednesday.  Learn about what is hot, the current status of activities, and what needs help.  We can match your interests and time with great volunteering that will be manageable and satisfying for you.

This year there are high profile issues such as the Russell St project and the sidewalk funding alternative.   New proposals like a treatment of the Van Buren Interstate 90 intersection or new trail sections are already in the design stage and there will be more. Read the rest of this entry »

Any and all interested in making Missoula and the five valley region a great place to walk and bike should plan to join BWAM for a great afternoon and evening filled with informative and inspiring information!

Friday will start with a free workshop on cutting edge bicycle facility design followed by the Annual Members Meeting complete with inspiring presentations, end-of-year review and board elections.

Friday will start with a free workshop on cutting edge bicycle facility design followed by the Annual Members Meeting complete with inspiring presentations, end-of-year review and board elections.

Both the Annual Meeting and workshop will feature Joe Gilpin of Alta Planning and Design. Alta was the lead agency for the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Urban Bikeway Design Guide and Joe is one of Alta’s leading experts in bicycle facility design and has worked both as a project designer and as a planner analyzing network connectivity and corridor planning. He also has a past career in bicycle advocacy in California.

Workshop:  The NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide – a Tour of Cutting Edge Design
Where: City Council Chambers, 140 West Pine Street
When: 2:00-4:30 pm
This workshop is free and is open to all BWAM members, city county officials, staff and all relevant organizations,  agencies, and citizens interested in making the Missoula region the best place to live! Invite your friends and associates by sending them a link to this page!

RSVP for the workshop on-line!

74 are attending the Workshop!

This presentation will introduce atendees to the ins and outs of the recently released NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, a design tool for state-of-the-art practice bikeways by and for cities throughout the United States. Participants will learn how the need for the NACTO Guide was identified, get a tour of its contents, and review further needs in design guidance for bicycle and pedestrian professionals. This overview will include a preview of enhancements and additions for the 2012 version of the Guide.

BWAM Annual Members Meeting: What does Bike Culture Look Like?
Where: Downtown Dance Collective, 121 West Main Street
When:

• 5:00 pm appetizers & beverages;
• 6:00 pm Presentation;
• 7:00 pm Board Business

The Annual Meeting is open to all BWAM members and non-members! Invite your friends and associates by sending them a link to this page!

RSVP for the Annual Meeting on-line!

59 are attending the BWAM Meeting!

This presentation will focus on what bike culture looks like and what makes a community bicycle friendly. Joe looks at top-notch bicycle friendly communities and shows what can work for cities big and small.

The Bicycle Friendly State program has again ranked all 50 states on their bike-friendliness. Montana has ranked 46 for 2011 with an overall grade of F. The rankings are based on overall scores to the ranking questionnaire that was sent to your state?s Bike Coordinator, and that you assisted in verifying many of the responses.

In response to the feedback we?ve received from many of you, as well as our Bicycle Friendly America advisory board, the category grade level was created to recognize efforts in a more categorized manner your work to improve conditions for bicycling that go unrecognized in the more dynamic and competitive ranking. Our hope is that this provides yet another tool within the program to explain the strengths and weaknesses of bicycling in your state. The category grades for Montana are:

• F in Legislation
• F in Policies & Programs
• F in Infrastructure
• F in Education & Encouragement
• F in Evaluation & Planning
• F in Enforcement

As with the previous years, the overall scoring was very close, with the separation of many states being the difference of just a few items. Passage of key legislation, updated traffic code, increased education programs or accurate funding reporting can lead to a significant impact on your state?s ranking. Within the next few weeks I will be sharing feedback with you and your coordinator on items that Montana did not score points on. Our hope is that you can use this feedback to form an action plan to address these items to further accommodate and encourage bicycling in your state.

For more information about “Bike Friendly” categories visit The League of American Bicyclists web page.