Decatur City Commissioner Fred Boykin sends in this request…

The Decatur Bicycle Map is very popular and supplies are nearly gone. The City would like to hear from residents and map users about any changes you would like to see in the new map. So far the following updates have been noted:

• The newest bike lanes on Commerce.
• Adding water fountain locations.
• Any new sharrows that were put down.
• Also the new city limits to include Parkwood.

Your comments are welcome! Feel free to post to Decatur Metro or contact Fred Boykin. Fred.Boykin@decaturga.com

Gina wrote in late last week…

On Thursday evening on our way home we saw a bicyclist lying in the road on College Ave at the Commerce/Columbia intersection (In front of what was Citgo)

People were around him and calling for help… It looked pretty bad but I think it had just happened moments before.

This was approximately 8:45. I’m curious to know if the guy was alright. I have googled various phrases. What is interesting is that the intersections of College / Candler etc turn up as very dangerous to cyclists. As your blog has often hosted discussions around bicycle lanes, and safety for cyclists… I also think its interesting that we only hear about those individuals who unfortunately don’t make it and may not be seeing all the incidents of injury to cyclists.

We followed up with DPD.  Sgt. Ross reported back…

There was a vehicle/cyclist accident at East College Avenue at Commerce Drive Thursday evening. The cyclist received non-life threatening injuries and was treated at a local hospital. The driver was cited for failure to yield while turning left.

My wife and I noticed these new bike sharrows (share + arrows) all the way up Ponce de Leon Ave in downtown Decatur yesterday morning.  Dave says in a FFAF comment that he saw them being painted early Saturday morning.

Sharrows generally indicate that bikes may use the full lane where marked.

Join Mayor Bill Floyd and City Commissioner Fred Boykin at Decatur’s East Lake MARTA station on Tuesday morning for the 5th annual “Georgia Rides to the Capitol”.  The 2010 event is in support of “House Bill House Bill 988 — a 3 foot safe passing bill.”

Fred provides a few more details on the morning ride…

This is the 5th annual ride and we’re hoping for over 1,000 cyclists to participate. There are two rides – one leaves from Roswell at 9:45 a.m. and the other leaves from Decatur (E. Lake MARTA station) at 10:45 a.m. Both rides are police escorted to the Capitol; riders are on their own for the trip back.

The Decatur route is an easy one and will be led by Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd. We also expect over 40 other metro area mayors and elected officials to ride the event as well!

We’ve had Glennwood students particpate and lots of Decatur folks join in too.

It’s a great way to show support for cycling in Georgia.

Even more event details HERE.

Cities are products of the state.  And don’t the cities know it.

Decisions by local municipalities may have the largest impact on our day-to-day lives, but in many cases the state still has the last say.  And sometimes cities have to hold their breath a very long time waiting for the state to say ANYthing.

Especially when that state entity is the Georgia Department of Transportation.

One such Decatur bond project, which has been sitting patiently in the queue since 2006, is the construction of the West Ponce de Leon/West Trinity bike lanes.  It’s original, optimistic construction date was October 2008-March 2009.  But as you may have noticed, when you venture out on Ponce or Trinity, there is no mini-lane for our two-wheeled friends; much to the chagrin of Decatur’s new bike advocacy group.

However, it looks like the city may finally be making some progress.  Amongst the items on the docket for tomorrow’s city commission meeting: a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with GDOT for the West Ponce/West Trinity bike lanes.  Under the agreement, the city would provide $65,465 to match the $261,860 in federal transportation enhancement funding to be put up by GDOT.

As for next steps:  according to a note from City Manager Peggy Merriss, “Once the agreement is executed by the Department of Transportation, the city will receive its authorization to advertise for bids and proceed with construction.”

The “hurry up and wait” period for this particular project may almost be over.