BikeAthens Update

November 15, 2005

• Federal employees give to BikeAthens
• Baxter street forum Wednesday
• Transportation items on M&C agenda
• "Share The Road" license plate on sale soon

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES GIVE TO BIKEATHENS

Employees of the EPA, USDA, USFS, USGS and other federal agencies with offices in and around Athens may now give to BikeAthens through their payroll contribution programs.

Look for BikeAthens in the latest payroll contribution materials, and please encourage any federal employees you know who may want to name BikeAthens as a beneficiary.

This is an easy way to support expanded transportation options in Athens. Thanks for your consideration!

BAXTER STREET FORUM WEDNESDAY

From Athens-Clarke County

A meeting for business owners in the Baxter Street corridor regarding improvements to the area will take place on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 from 5:30 p.m. until 6:45 p.m. at the Athens Regional Library located at 2025 Baxter Street.

The purpose of the meeting is to present design concepts for the streetscape along Baxter Street roughly from West Hancock Avenue to Alps Road.

Improvements to the Baxter Street corridor began in 2003 and have included installation of storm water lines, widened sidewalks, a planted median, crosswalks, pedestrian lighting, landscape improvements, and a reduced number of curb cuts. The streetscape improvements will be continued along the West Hancock to Alps Road section of Baxter Street. Due to the length of this section of Baxter Street, construction will be scheduled over the next two summers.

Citizens are invited to intend this public meeting to give input to Unified Government staff as the Baxter Street improvements continue. For more information, contact Gary Grice in the Central Services Department at 706-613-3530.

TRANSPORTATION ITEMS ON M&C AGENDA

Three transportation related items will be considered by the mayor and commission at their upcoming agenda setting session this Thursday, November 16.

Preliminary construction plans for bike lanes on Research Drive, intersection work at Gaines School Road and Cherokee Road, and the Athens Transit Development Plan are all set to be discussed. Public comment will be accepted on all three items. The commission is scheduled to vote on them at the December 6 regular session.

Follow the link below to view the five-year Transit Development plan on the BikeAthens web site (see Chapter 4 for specifics on proposed route changes), and to read about it in a recent story from the Athens Banner-Herald.

"SHARE THE ROAD" LICENSE PLATE ON SALE SOON

From Georgia Bikes!

The Georgia SHARE THE ROAD specialty license plate is really going to happen... once the state receives 1,000 applications of $25 each in 2006. So let’s make it quick and fun. Let’s turn it into a race. The challenge is a friendly, unofficial, competition with the new NASCAR plates to be the first to the 1,000 point line.

On Tuesday, January 3, go to the local “tag office” in your county of residence. Take your identification and $25 directly to the counter staff asking to apply for the Georgia SHARE THE ROAD specialty license plate. Be sure to get and save your receipt.

Once there are at least 1,000 applications (hopefully we will have won the race with NASCAR), the state will begin manufacturing the plates and distributing them to those county tag offices where applications were submitted. You will have the option of getting the plate then or waiting for your normal tag renewal date. The fees will be a one-time, $25, plate manufacturing fee (which will be credited if you provide your application fee receipt) and the annual, $25, specialty license plate fee. You are still responsible for your standard annual $20 registration fee and any applicable ad valorem taxes.

Note that all of the $25 annual SHARE THE ROAD specialty license plate fee, and $14.75 of the NASCAR plate's annual $25 fee, is intended to go to the Governor's Office Of Highway Safety (pending the state's yearly general appropriations process) for use in motorist and cyclist safety, education, and awareness projects and programs. Note also that the $25 application fee will be refundable in the unlikely event that 1,000 are not received by the end of 2007.

Help secure the future of this specialty license plate. Be part of the winning team in the little race with NASCAR. And assist in getting of these important tags out “on the road” as soon as possible.

Please go to www.georgiabikes.org for more information and to register on-line for automatic updates. We will be sending information on a forthcoming apply-by-mail option.

Thanks for helping make Georgia great for cycling!

GEORGIA BIKES! - www.georgiabikes.org