The Decatur Active Living department and the Bike Decatur advocacy group have finalized the new bike map for Decatur, which color-codes the city’s streets based on their respective conditions for cycling.  Green = “best conditions for cycling”, yellow = “medium conditions for cycling” and red = “most difficult conditions”.  Also included are other items cyclists might be interested in like drinking fountains, bike lanes, challenging intersections, bike shops and bike parking.

You can download and print out the PDF version HERE, or pick up a copy at one of many Decatur businesses in coming days.

Spotted today on the Square was this band of merry gentlemen installing what appears to be new bike racks. A quick check with the city’s Amanda Thompson (yes, she belongs to each and every one of us) confirms. Sez Amanda:

“The bicycle rack installation is a project in partnership with Bike Decatur to install more bicycle parking on the Square. Four racks are being installed at the Decatur MARTA Station near Squash Blossom with two more located on East Court Square. Four racks have already been installed on East Ponce de Leon in front of the historic DeKalb County courthouse. A total of 10 bicycle racks are being installed through the Bike Decatur program.”

There may be reasonable objections to public/private partnerships in certain contexts but Decatur doesn’t seem to be one of them. Time and time again, it seems our tax dollars get stretched further when involving the passions of the community. Bike on!

The Be Active Decatur blog just posted this “Decatur Bicycle Suitability Map” developed by the Bike Decatur folks indicating the “suitability” of different roads and intersections for bikes inside the city limits.   According to the Be Active blog, this draft will be updated with the location of bike racks and water fountains before its finalized and published.

Take a look and send your suggestions and edits to [email protected] .

Decatur City Commissioner and Bicycle South owner Fred Boykin sends this along…

Bike Decatur members presented a check for $500.00 to Mayor Floyd at the April 18th City Commission meeting as their matching contribution to provide bicycle parking racks in downtown Decatur. The City agreed to match the amount so $1,000.00 will be spent on parking racks at locations scouted out by the cyclists. Bike Decatur secured the $500.00 from a grant from Georgia Bikes!, the statewide bicycle advocacy orgainzation. The funds come from a $385,000.00, 3 year grant that Georgia Bikes received from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety who administers the tag fees received from the sale of Share The Road license tags.

Bike Decatur spokesman, Henry Slack, presented the check to the Mayor and other members also thanked the City for its efforts to make Decatur more bike friendly.

Bike Decatur members are also working with the City’s Active Living Division to develop a bicycle suitability map for Decatur and the plan is to have a draft map available for local cyclists to test ride and make comments on over the summer.

My recent ramblings about neighborhood connectivity, reminded Decatur resident Neil Norton of a 10-mile Decatur bike loop that he created a few years ago.

Click on the map above to open the full PDF.

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 »