A new bike advocacy group in the city of Decatur, “Bike Decatur“, recently sent a list to the Decatur city commission of ten action items they hope to see funding for in the 2010/2011 city budget.  According to member Thomas Stuart, membership is open to all Decatur residents with completion of a short survey, which can be found on their Google group site.

1. Church Street Bike Lanes – Install bike lanes on Church Street from downtown to city limits.
2. Gateway Signs – Install “Decatur Supports Bicycling” or similar signs at city limits on major arterials (e.g., Columbia, Candler, Ponce/Scott, Clairemont, Church, College, etc.).
3. Ponce de Leon Ave Bike Lanes – Completion of Ponce de Leon & W. Trinity bicycle lanes with TE grant funding.
4. Bicycle Parking – Install 25 city-funded bicycle racks throughout commercial districts;
5. Shared-Lane Markings (also known as “sharrows”) Implement a Shared-Lane Marking (“sharrows”) pilot project along a central artery used regularly by bicyclists Read the rest of this entry »

Want to do your part to support the “Safe Routes to School” program?  Dan Magee fowards this post from the 231 Sycamore blog…

As part of Decatur’s Safe Routes to School Program, the Active Living Division will be conducting it’s first ever Bicycle Safety “Train the Trainers” Session at the Decatur Recreation Center on Thursday, February 26 from 6-8 pm (no charge).

Our goal is to build up a group of trained volunteers to help with the 4th grade Bicycle Safety Training Class that SRTS conducts at Glennwood Academy every year. We want to create a core group of trainers that perhaps can help offer the training at other venues during the year.

The class will be taught by the League of American Bicyclists certified League Cycling Instructor, Jyotsna Vanapalli, who created this course and assisted with the Decatur SRTS Pilot Project.

Please let me know if you are interested. The 4th grade training session is one of the most popular parts of Glennwood’s SRTS program and we want to make educational and fun.

Gregory White
Assistant Director
City of Decatur Active Living
Greg.White@decaturga.com
678-553-6543 office

Amy Lovell and her 10-year-old son Allen arrive with his French horn on bicycles at Glennwood Academy (Washington Post)

Where do AP reporters go when they need a good example of kids walking and biking to school for a story about the Federal “Safe Routes to School” program? Decatur of course!

Washington Post

International Tribune

San Francisco Examiner

I think this “evergreen” AP story has been around for a couple weeks, since I recall seeing it in the local papers a few weeks ago. But now it seems its making the rounds amongst the big boys.