BikeAthens Update

October 2, 2005

• Celebrate Walk & Bike to School Day Wednesday
• October 13 Prince forum scheduled
• Projects open to input in October
• M&C approve rail-trail land deal
• BikeAthens in the news

CELEBRATE WALK & BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY WEDNESDAY

Barrow Elementary School will be joining schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk and Bike to School Day on Wednesday, October 5.

International Walk and Bike to School Day officially launches the BikeAthens Safe Routes Athens campaign, a Safe Routes to School program aimed at improving the health and well-being of children by enabling and encouraging them to walk and bicycle to school.

Approximately 100 students from Barrow Elementary will be walking and biking to school that day, along with parents, teachers and community leaders from the police force, the Clarke County Board of Education, the Athens-Clarke County Commission, the Safe Routes Athens Task Force, BikeAthens, and other community and neighborhood organizations.

Now in its ninth year, International Walk and Bike to School Day is expected to include 3,000 schools from all 50 states. The idea is to walk and bicycle to school together to promote health, safety, physical activity and concern for the environment. School kids and adults from the U.S. will join children and adults in 36 countries around the world. The Wednesday event is part of a week of festivities celebrating International Walk to School Week (October 3-7).

At 1:30 p.m. Barrow will hold a special event to recognize Safe Routes Athens and International Walk and Bike to School Day. Parents, children, teachers, school administrators and special guests will learn about Safe Routes to School and Barrow Elementary’s involvement in the program. Special events will include proclamations issued by the Clarke County School District and the Athens-Clarke County Mayor’s Office. Winners of Barrow Elementary Safe Routes essay and poster contests will be announced, and there will be a dedication of the school’s Community Bike Program.

Visit www.saferoutesathens.com for further details and volunteer information.

OCTOBER 13 PRINCE FORUM SCHEDULED

Mayor Heidi Davison has placed the proposed reconfiguration of Prince Avenue from Milledge to Pulaski for consideration on the November 1 voting agenda.

A community meeting to discuss plans for Prince is scheduled for October 13, at 7 p.m., in the ARMC Medical Services building 3rd floor auditorium.

A few weeks ago BikeAthens launched the “Make Prince Safe Now!” campaign, designed to rally public support behind implementing long-awaited traffic-calming measures on Prince Avenue when the street is repaved in early October. As it stands, Prince from downtown to Milledge will be repaved and striped as it appears today: four lanes for cars, no new safety measures for people. However, BikeAthens has learned that new striping on the road will be temporary, and can readily be changed to a safer design depending on the outcome of the commission vote.

The October 13 forum and upcoming commission vote represent major victories for advocates of expanded transportation options on Prince. As of last week, the decision to keep Prince “as is” from downtown to Milledge was to be carried out with no public input and no vote by the commission.

Thanks to Mayor Davison, the public now has a chance to speak up again in favor of a safer Prince Avenue. Therefore, it is extremely important that ALL who support people-friendly streets attend the October 13 forum.

Prince serves many neighborhoods in many ways and its design should not be limited to accommodate one mode of transportation to the exclusion of others. The public has repeatedly asked the ACC government to expand transportation options on Prince over the last several years, and the October repaving represents the best chance for Athenians to see their vision become reality.

The October 13 forum is just one of several opportunities to show support for a safer Prince:

• October 20: Mayor and commission agenda setting session. City Hall at 7 p.m. Public input will be accepted. • November 1: Mayor and commission regular session. City Hall at 7 p.m. Public input will be accepted. • Call, write or e-mail the mayor and your commissioners: (http://www.athensclarkecounty.com/commission/). • Look for a bright green pre-stamped "Make Prince Safe Now!" postcard at your favorite neighborhood business, sign and mail it to City Hall. If you can't find a card, Make Prince Safe Now! materials are available to print from the BikeAthens web site.

Let’s make Prince safe - now!

PROJECTS OPEN TO INPUT IN OCTOBER

Though it is the most prominent, the reconfiguration of Prince Avenue is just one of several projects open to public comment over the coming month. Here’s the schedule, including the Research Drive forum set for *Monday, October 3*.

Research Drive Bicycle Lane TE Project Monday, October 3. 7 - 8:30 p.m. Fire Station No. 7 - 2350 Barnett Shoals Road

Lexington Rd/Gaines School Rd/Cherokee Rd Intersection Improvement Project Monday, October 10. 7 - 8:30 p.m. Fire Station No. 7 - 2350 Barnett Shoals Road

Prince Avenue 3-Lane Conversion Thursday, October 13. 7 - 8:30 p.m. ARMC Medical Services Building, 3rd Floor Auditorium

Old Lexington Rd/Barnett Shoals Road Intersection Improvement Project Monday, October 17. 7 - 8:30 p.m. Fire Station No. 7 - 2350 Barnett Shoals Road

M&C APPROVE RAIL-TRAIL LAND DEAL

In a recent special called session, the mayor and commission wrestled with a difficult decision to determine the best means of obtaining some critical right-of-way for the East Athens rail-trail project. The property in question is owned by Tailgate Station LLC, which operates a condominium-style parking lot for football revelers (individual parking spaces - for cars and trucks only - are purchased and annual property taxes and maintenance fees are paid by owners, but the use is strictly limited to a few days a year surrounding home football games). The commission approved the swap of two nearby parcels of land that will allow some expansion of Tailgate Station. In return, they are to gain the elevated rail bed between Poplar and Peter Streets, and with that, the critical connection to the historic wooden trestle spanning Trail Creek that is the centerpiece of the planned rail-trail.

Several options for obtaining the right-of-way were presented to the commission, although each appeared to be laden with potential difficulties. Commissioner Elton Dodson ultimately proposed a compromise that gave Tailgate Station owner Chris Cupples fewer lots than he had requested, but nevertheless had an equivalent appraised value to the property that Tailgate would relinquish in trade to ACC. Dodson’s motion was supported by commissioners States McCarter, Alice Kinman, and David Lynn, and Mayor Davison broke a 4-4 tie vote to favor the motion.

The completion of the deal is based on several contingencies, however, one being that Cupples must still prove that he has clear title to the property that he offers in trade. He had moved ahead this past spring to develop this property as Phase II of Tailgate Station, in the process partially dismantling the elevated rail bed in violation of his approved site plan. He was forced by ACC in late August to rebuild the rail bed in order to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy so that Phase II parking spaces could be offered for sale in time for football season.

BIKEATHENS IN THE NEWS

"Three For Free," Flagpole, 9/28/05,
http://www.flagpole.com/articles.php?fp=5631

"3-laning Prince gains new momentum," Athens Banner-Herald, 9/30/05, http://onlineathens.com/stories/093005/new_20050930056.shtml