April 2013
Your participation is needed to build a more bikeable South Snohomish County
Look Twice for Bikes by Serena Lehman, Community Outreach Manager
S
pring’s fair weather inevitably brings an influx of new bicyclists out on the road. Many people have pulled their bicycles out after a long winter and are enthusiastic after a hiatus from riding. Now is as good of time as any for all of us to brush up on our skills as drivers of cars and as drivers of bicycles. In March, we unveiled a new roadway safety campaign, Look Twice for Bikes. Why Look Twice for Bikes? Some of the most common collisions between cars and bikes are preventable by the operators looking out for each other. Let’s look out for each other and make our communities safer. We created a reflective teal sticker for your car, your bike bags or wherever you’d like to send the message that you Look Twice for Bikes. It’s a similar format to the popular Give 3 Feet stickers. A bumper sticker on a car is an easy way to spread the word that you Look Twice for Bikes and to encourage other drivers to follow your lead. We also created a small window cling for inside a car. The cling is a reminder to vehicle occupants to look twice before opening the car door into traffic. Do you have young people in your household who are learning to drive? This may be a useful tool for reminding them to Look Twice for Bikes when they’re driving.
by Tessa Greegor, Principal Planner
A Key places to look twice? When: • Opening your car door • Making a turn • Approaching a crosswalk Visit www.cascade.org/look for information about roadway positioning, roadway safety and courtesy and applicable traffic laws.
Look Twice for Bikes is easy to remember and to put into practice. Check out www. cascade.org/look to get more information as well as find out how to get some stickers of your very own.
Chuck Ayers to step down continued from page 1
I’ll be wrapping things up and helping the board set up interim leadership. I’m not leaving Seattle, so even if I’m not in the second office on the right, I’ll still be out there on my bike. Please look for me and say hello. The following is from Daniel Weise, president of the board of directors: On behalf of my colleagues on the board, please join me in wishing Chuck all the best in his next chapter. His departure is truly a loss for the organization. Chuck has tremendous institutional wisdom and deep community networks. We welcome his continued involvement with Cascade in some capacity in the future. The board is committed to the programs
and activities in place, and to the strategic direction of the organization. Our job at this point is to celebrate Chuck’s achievements and to ensure organizational stability during the transition to a new executive director. I want to personally thank Chuck for all that he has done for Cascade, and for building it into the powerhouse that it is today. I hold nothing but admiration for his legacy, and I’m proud to have served on the board during his tenure. The organization has tremendous, dedicated staff and is well-positioned to bring a new person on board and to achieve even greater success in pursuit of our mission.
SOUTH SNOHOMISH BIKES SURVEY
M.J. Kelly, Editor Diane English, Editorial Assistant; Susan Hiles, Photography; April contributors: Jenny Anderson, Chuck Ayers, Ryann Child, Mary Collins, Susan Hiles, Tessa Greegor, Liz Johnson, Serena Lehman, Hanna McFall, Robin Randels, Anne-Marije Rook, Peter Verbrugge, Daniel Weise The contents of this newspaper do not necessarily represent the views of the Club or any of its members. The views expressed are those of the individual contributors. Submissions guidelines: Article ideas should be discussed with the Editor in advance as the publication calendar is planned two months prior to publication. Final materials are due the first Tuesday of the month, though earlier is appreciated. Articles submitted after that will be considered on a space-available basis. Queries can be emailed to. m.j.kelly@cascadebicycleclub.org. If you send text attachments, please format files as native MS Word files or .RTF. For line art please use an .eps format and for photos please use .jpg or .tiff format. The Courier is printed at 300 dpi, so a small 72 dpi photo will not reproduce. If you attach your name and phone number, I will do my best (conditions permitting) to discuss any major changes with you. All submissions are subject to editing for comprehension, grammar or space requirements. Please be concise!
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s you may recall reading in the February Courier, Cascade was awarded funding through the Verdant Health Commission to build on the great work underway in South Snohomish County to establish bicycling as a safe and attractive transportation and recreation option for families, commuters and tourists alike. With the Commission’s support, over the next two years, Cascade will work with city planners, elected leaders, businesses and the community to lay the foundation for each jurisdiction to make bicycling available to people of all ages and abilities throughout South Snohomish County. We’ve officially kicked off our work in South Snohomish County, specifically in Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood and Bothell. We’ve met with city staff to learn about the efforts in each jurisdiction to improve people’s ability to travel by bike, and we’ve been impressed with what we’ve learned. In Edmonds, for example, the City is working to create a safe bicycle route connecting from the Interurban Trail into the heart of downtown Edmonds with key projects underway to realize this connection. Meanwhile, among other bicycle projects, the city of Mountlake Terrace (recent adopters of a Complete Streets ordinance) is working to complete the Lakeview Trail, connecting to the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center and future light rail station. While progress is taking place, there’s still work to be done to realize the potential bicycling has to offer in communities like Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Bothell and Lynnwood. The first phase of our Verdant work is focused on building relationships with city staff, community organizations and the business community in addition to learning from the community about key barriers to bicycling and opportunities for improvement. So, if you live, work or play in South Snohomish County, we wanted to let you know about upcoming opportunities for you to get involved in helping to build a more bikeable community.
Inserts: We have room for 6 single sheet qualifying inserts in each issue. Please contact Leah Pistorius, (913) 579-7629 leah.pistorius@cascadebicycleclub.org, for a copy of our insert policy and request form. The request and fee are due by the first of the month prior to the desired month. Advertising: Advertising: Display ads can be placed in the Courier. To check availability and reserve space, contact Leah Pistorius, (913) 579-7629 leah.pistorius@ cascadebicycleclub.org Reprints: Articles may be reprinted or abstracted in publications of nonprofit groups provided that the author and Club are credited. Please send us a copy of the reprinted material. Membership Information: Club records and finances are available to members upon request from the club office at 206-522-3222.
First, in an effort to better understand the bicycling environment, we have launched an online survey to learn from you about barriers to bicycling, important bike routes and destinations, and the types of bicycle improvements that would encourage you to
bicycle more. If you have ten minutes, we’d love your insight: http://tinyurl.com/southsnohomishbikes
BIKEABILITY TOURS & ADVOCACY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE In addition to the online survey, this summer we will be conducting community bikeability tours in Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood, offering family-friendly bike rides to evaluate existing bicycle routes and identify future opportunities for bicycle improvements. The bikeability tours will be followed by a discussion focused on bicycle infrastructure and opportunities to help advance bicycling as community members. The bikeability tours will provide a foundation for Cascade’s two-day Advocacy Leadership Institute offered this summer to community members in South Snohomish County interested in building bicycle advocacy skills. Stay tuned for additional information about each of these events.
POLICY WORKSHOPS We are also in the process of developing a workshop series focusing on bike-friendly transportation planning, policy and design for elected leaders, city staff, and community stakeholders, which will kick off this summer.
SUPPORTING EMPLOYERS And last but definitely not least, we are continuing our work with employers throughout South Snohomish County to elevate the importance of bicycle commuting as key to a better business and bottom line. If you work in South Snohomish County and would like your business to increase its level of support for bicycling, please respond to the survey linked above and contact Stephanie Frans, Cascade’s Commute Programs Manager: stephanie.frans@cascadebicycleclub.org. As we move forward with each element of our Verdant work, we want to emphasize the importance of community involvement in helping to advance bicycling in the communities of South Snohomish County. We have a number of exciting opportunities coming up this summer and hope you can be involved! We will provide additional information about events like the bikeability tours and our two-day Advocacy Leadership Institute through upcoming email communications.
Executive director search continued from page 1 help find the best leader we can. Cascade will have no problem attracting a fantastic group of candidates from which to choose. I suspect our most difficult task will be to choose from wonderful options. This is an interim full-time position; I’m not applying for the permanent position. I will be on leave from the boards of both Cascade and Bicycle Alliance of Washington while I’m on as ED. I expect to leave most big decisions to the next ED, but I will be fully engaged in the operations of the club, and one can expect changes as are usual with any transition. I’m looking forward to engaging with all of the staff; I’d welcome as many conversations as possible to be on bikes on coffee shop runs.
Executive director search process A search committee has been formed, comprised of deputy director Kathy McCabe, and board members George Durham, Mo McBroom, Joe Platzner, Charles Ruthford and Don Volta. Finding the best leader for Cascade is a significant responsibility. We will conduct a national search to attract the best talent possible. We expect to open the position for application within a few weeks. We will circulate it through all our communication channels, including the website, blog, Braking News, social media and Cascade Courier. Members who would like to recommend candidates for consideration should send information to CBCEDSearch@cascadebicycleclub.org.
www.cascade.org