PA CLEAN UP

WalkBikeBerks

Earth Day

Trail Cleaning

RACC
8:00 AM
Saturday, April 19th

To pick up supplies, meet us at
City of Reading Tent
Yocum Library
Reading Area Community College

Ten South Second Street, P.O. Box 1706

Reading, PA 19603-1706

Agenda, March 29, 2008*

*Subject to Change without notice

9:00-10:30 -- Board Meeting
10:30 – 11:30 -- General Membership

Holy Cross Church
329 North 5th Street
Reading, PA 19606
Facilitator: Michele Barrett

9:00 Board will meet to discuss:

• By-laws
• Committee Chairmanship
• Open discussion on old and new issues

10:30 Welcome – Recognize new board members

• Minutes
• Treasurer’s Report
• Board Member Reports
• New Business
• Other
• Bylaws
• Open Forum

11:30 -- Adjourn

Walkable and Bikable Communities

Dear Friends,

Here is an opportunity to participate in making walkable and bikable communities a part of the larger conversation on progressive development. The list of panelists are brilliant! Your evening will be well spent. I hope to see you there.

~Michele


CONFERENCE ON SUBURBAN SPRAWL AND URBAN RENEWAL TO BE HELD IN READING
Here is some news on an important event:
Attention all concerned citizens and organizations! Join representatives from all of Southeastern PA for the Conference on Suburban Sprawl and Urban Renewal, free and open to the public. Have you had difficulties preventing sprawl in your area? Do you tire of your long commutes? Has your old neighborhood changed beyond recognition? If so, this conference is for you. Questions are to be asked by the audience during the presentations. The presenting panelists are:
Bob Behling, a director from RiverPlace of the Schuylkill's renewal program
http://www.riverplacepa.com/
Tom Hylton, author of the film Save Our Land, Save Our Towns(to be shown)http://www.saveourlandsaveourtowns.org/tomhylton.html
Bill Cluck, an environmental lawyer from Harrisburg
http://www.billcluck.com/
Thomas Trachte, a rural family practicioner
Guadalupe Kasper, an urban education expert and a member of GACLA
Ken McCrea, an ecologist and Pennsylvania German historian
Peter Tulay, a member of the Reading (Railroad) Historical and Technical Society

The conference will be held 7pm to 10pm on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at PennState Berks(Reading) in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room, on the opposite side of the building as the auditorium. Free DVDs of Save Our Land, Save Our Towns will be given out to 30 people. For more information contact the coordinator, Chris Trachte at ctt115@psu.edu or 717-606-5678

A Borrowed Blog -- Thanks BCGP!

Friday, March 14, 2008

National Bike Summit Wrap Up
Along with first-timers Freedom Valley event planner Jill Minick, Philadelphia Advocacy Consultant Sarah Clark Stuart, Delco Chair David Bennett and Walk Bike Berks founder Michele Barrett, veterans Hans, Alex, Fuji's Pat Cunnane and Yours Truly attended the entire three-day National Bike Summit.
Rep. Earl Blumenaur and House Transportation Chair James Oberstar led the Congressional charge with their uplifting speeches. No Floyd Landis, Linda Armstrong or Greg Lemond to wow the crowd but we got along with record attendance (500 participants).
This year's summit focused on laying the groundwork for the 2009 Transportation Reauthorization Bill (GREENTEA?). Sarah Clark Stuart attended the Rails to Trails 2010 campaign for active transportation session. The most exciting component of the campaign is the expansion of the non-motorized pilot program which injects $25 million dollars per community to upgrade bicycle and pedestrian networks and shift towards bicycling and walking. Currently four cities are involved and RTC plans to push this for more than 50 communities.
Two bills were introduced on Capitol Hill specific to bicycling before the Summit. In the Senate a Complete Streets Bill that will require Complete Streets Policies for all MPO's was introduced by Senator's Tom Harkin and Delaware's Tom Carper. Rep. Blumenaur has also put a resolution to the floor supporting the importance of bicycling. A Wheels For Wellness Bike Sharing Program was also announced at the AM Capitol Hill rally by Dan Beard, the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Alex, John and Sarah attended a big cities bike coalition meeting to discuss common goals among our peers in cities such as San Francisco, Portland, Chicago, Washington, DC Seattle and New York. Like BCGP, these organizations are well established and have respectable membership numbers. Discussion was preliminary but an urban bicycling agenda will be developed at conference in June of 2008.
The BCGP mobilized an impressive team on Capitol Hill Day, with representatives from all of our Pennsylvania districts and three of our New Jersey Districts gave us better coverage than ever. We were armed with leave behind sheets from the National Summit as well as local issues, such as the East Coast Greenway and Ben Franklin Bridge. We will be following up with each representative over the next few weeks.
The Bike Portland Blog provided full coverage of the 2008 Bike Summit
Finally as usual Sarah Clark Stuart took some excellent photos

Please consider joining us next year - it's the year of the transportation bill plus Washington DC's and Capitol Hill's Bike Sharing programs will be in full swing.

John Boyle, Advocacy Director
Posted by Alex Doty at 11:03 AM 1 comments Links to this post

Meet the Reading Trail Blazers

Their mission is to build, maintain, and utilize Berks County's trail systems and green spaces for recreational purposes while increasing public awareness of environmental initiatives. They want to revitalize our ailing natural infrastruture and renew interest in outdoor living. While visiting the site, be sure to check out the Antietam Lake photo album. They worked hard on clearing the trail for others to appreciate.

http://readingtrailblazers.com/

PennDOT BIKE SAFE

Here is an excellent online children's page from PennDOT. Check it out:
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/BIKE/WEB/INDEX.htm

Of course, there is lots more. Here is some information an bicycling that you might find useful:

Safe Road RidingShare The Road Sign - Used through-out Pennsylvania
PA Bicycle Drivers Manual - PUB 380
Exception Application Process - ACT 47 Design
Bicycle/Pedestrian Checklist - Checklist
TouringBicycle Directory of Pennsylvania-PUB 316
Pike to Bike Trail - Partnership Links
Bicycling the Alleghenies- Off/On road cycling
The Great Allegheny Passage-152 mile bicycle/walking trail
Bicycle PA-Pennyslvania Bike Routes
Philadelphia Bicycle MapGreater Philadelphia Regional Bicycle Map

Children's Page BikeSafe-Entertaining, interactive childrens web site

More Bicycle LinksFederal Highway Administration - bicycling information
For a listing of regionial bike clubs, please check Bicycle Directory of PA- PUB 316

Bike Freedom Valley

June 15, 2008

Benefits the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia:

Registration: 7AM 1 Boathouse Row: Kelly Dr. @ Sedgely Dr
Mass Start: 7:45 AM

Routes: 8 mile River Drives path flat loop
22 mile Schuykill RiverTrail, flat
44 mile Schuykill River Trail into Valley Forge, flat
35, 50 & 68 mile loops with hills, which return on the trail

Information and Registration:
http://bikefreedomvalley.blogspot.com/
or registration at: www.bicyclecoaltion.org

Questions: jill@bicyclecoaltion.org or 215 BICYCLE