Volume 5, Issue 1 – January 25, 2006

“A Newsletter Published by Bike Pittsburgh to establish Pittsburgh as a city that is increasingly safe, accessible, and friendly to bicycle transportation.”

In This Issue:

* 2005 Year In Review
* January 26th PA Transportation Public Meeting
* BikeFest! Planning Meeting And Call For Volunteers
* Wish List: Web Server, Domain Hosting, And Website Designer
* Upcoming Events

2005 YEAR IN REVIEW

2005 was Bike PGH’s busiest year by far. In this short article recap some of our recent accomplishments:

* Strengthening our partnerships with the City of Pittsburgh, Port Authority, local bicycle shops, and local businesses. Most local bike shops and a few local businesses now offer special discounts and offers for Bike PGH! members. See our website for a complete list!
* Installation of more than 100 Public Art Bike Racks in downtown and surrounding neighborhoods (with additional help from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership).
* Augmentation of the City of Pittsburgh bicycle map (available from the City of Pittsburgh Department of Planning) with additional city-sanctioned bicycle routes submitted by Bike PGH.
* Creation of a bike rack standards specification; this specification includes current “best practice” standards for bicycle racks, and will help to ensure quality bike parking as more and more racks are installed.
* Working with the City to identify and mark Pittsburgh’s first commuter-oriented bicycle lanes and/or shared-use lanes.
* Creation and installation of a new city sign “Watch for Bicyclists”; part of an ongoing effort to more effectively sign the city for both motorists and bicyclists.
* Working with the City, Port Authority, and Sustainable Pittsburgh to improve and expand the Port Authority’s Rack and Roll bikes on buses program. (Improved reliability and expanded routing should be rolled out during the first half of 2006).
* Starting with the Eliza Furnace Trail, ensuring that heavily trafficked sections of the City’s trail systems are cleared during the winter.
* BikeFest! 2005 drew more than 2000 participants to over 40 events for Pittsburgh’s first-ever 10-day bicycle festival. We’re already planning BikeFest! 2006 for next June; see article below! Thanks to the Sprout Fund for helping us kick-start BikeFest!
* Launched local online bicycle community groups as a part of MapHub Ð a geographic mapping website based in Pittsburgh and viewable at www.maphub.org
* A partnership with REI resulted in a $5,000 donation for valet parking 500 bikes during the Grand Opening last October. Thank you, REI!
* Hired a full-time Director and part-time staff to expand and improve bicycling infrastructure throughout the city, and strengthen institutional ties between the City of Pittsburgh Planning Department, the Port Authority of Allegheny County, and Bike PGH.

Much of this work could not be done without the continued support of our members, partners, and local agencies. We’re already hard at work making 2006 an even more productive year! Thank you.

JANUARY 26TH PA TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC MEETING

There will be a public meeting for the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission on Thursday, January 26 in the Regional Enterprise Tower, 31st Floor (425 Sixth Avenue, Downtown) at 9:30am. This meeting is one of four that will be held around the state. The stated purpose of this meeting is to investigate what improvements are needed for Pennsylvania’s roads, bridges, and public transit. Testimony will be given by select individuals.

More information on this public meeting can be found on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s web site. Visit: (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06022/641733.stm).

BIKEFEST! PLANNING MEETING AND CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

BikeFest! 2005 was a huge success, and we’re looking for volunteers to help us plan a bigger and better festival for BikeFest 2006! If you have interest in helping us this coming year, please let us know! We’re looking for people who can help to organize events, distribute literature, organize volunteers, work with media, create marketing and promotional materials, etc. If you want to help us, we’ll have a job for you. As we’re just in the early planning stages for next summer, we don’t have specific jobs at this time. Send us your contact information and how you might become involved, and we’ll get back to you when we have more information. Contact us at: bikefest@bike-pgh.org.

The first BikeFest! planning meeting for 2006 will be held on February 6th, 7:00pm at the Bike PGH! offices: 33 Terminal Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. All are welcome. Please RSVP to: (bikefest@bike-pgh.org) if you plan on attending.

WISH LIST: WEB SERVER, DOMAIN HOSTING, AND WEBSITE DESIGNER

Bike PGH is a small non-profit, and we want to put our limited resources towards bicycle advocacy as much as possible. We’re looking for some technology donations which will help us keep our overhead down:

* If you have a spare late-model computer that can serve as a web and email server, we want to hear from you! We would prefer a 1 Gigahertz or faster Pentium III or PowerMac G4.
* We are also looking for a reliable service willing to donate hosting our machine.
* Finally, we are looking to really take our web communication to a new level. We need our website to be a very effective way of communicating with local bicyclists, government departments, businesses, and other community organizations.

If you can help us, or know someone who can, please contact us at: (info@bike-pgh.org).

UPCOMING EVENTS

Here is a listing of upcoming cycling events in the Pittsburgh Region. For complete details, visit the Bike Pittsburgh website: www.Bike-Pgh.org and click on the “Events & Activities” section.

January 27th – Critical Mass (Steelers Themed)
February 5th – P.T.A.G. Trail Maintenance in Frick Park

Join Pittsburgh’s fun and exciting bicycling community by becoming a member of Bike PGH! Meet cool people, find out about all bike-related happenings in town, and help us transform Pittsburgh into a better and more vibrant place to live, work, and ride by becoming a member starting at only $25 per year. With your tax-deductible donation you will receive a Membership Card good for discounts with participating bike shops and organizations, priority invitations and discounts to special Bike PGH-sponsored parties and events, and the satisfaction that you are making a difference for all of us. For details, go to the Bike PGH website: http://www.Bike-Pgh.org and click on Become A Member. Join us today!

Post the miles that you ride on the Bike Pittsburgh website in the Community & Classifieds area! Just send us your monthly mileage, and if you want your name to be available as an email link to: miles@Bike-Pgh.org

“The Bike Pittsburgh eMessenger” is an electronic newsletter published about once a month. Previous issues of “The eMessenger (formerly called The Leader)” can be found on the Bike Pittsburgh website in the section called “Newsletters”. Bike Pittsburgh, Inc. does not rent, sell, or make available any personal information, including email addresses, which you may send to Bike Pittsburgh. If you would like to be removed from the distribution list, simply email: remove@Bike-Pgh.org and request to be removed. casino after royalecasino w 606 everett rd washingtonyork uion credit federal accosalamanca allegany casino motelscontruction casino station alienteoklahoma shawnee absentee tribe casinostation casino contruction alienteallegany seneca ny casino salamanca Mapcosigner without approved credit loans orprivate good education loans areare tuition good loanarizona equity ray home loans vincenttitle loans arkansasalberta artist floanbusiness asia unsecured loansvirginia assume loans in Map