Green

Primary choice

Senate candidate Patricia Spearman defeated fellow Democratic candidate John Lee in last week’s Democratic primary. Despite Sen. Harry Reid’s endorsement of Lee, Spearman has gathered support for her stances on environmental issues, including the endorsement of the Nevada Conservation League. Spearman is also backed by other interest groups for her advocacy of reproductive health and gay rights. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, she is expected to lead in Democraticdominated districts.

All of the candidates endorsed by NCL defeated their opponents in the primary, including Peggy Pierce, assembly district 3; Heidi Swank, assembly district 15; Justin Jones, senate district 6; Elliot Anderson, assembly district 15; and several others. For a full list, visit www.nvgreenvote.org.

Lovebirds

Scientists from the University of Nevada, Reno published a study in a recent issue of Behavioral Ecology about the relationships of black brant, also known as Pacific Brent Geese. The study, led by researchers Jim Sedinger and Chris Nicolai, found that the lifespan of female brants was significantly reduced after the loss of a mate. The team studied more than 2,000 birds, and is part of a longitudinal study on brant.

“Mate loss increases the vulnerability of females to harvest and natural mortality because females need protection by males during feeding, nesting, and migration,” said Nicolai in a statement.“It may take an especially fit female to survive mate loss, re-pair with a new mate, and continue reproducing in the future.”

The findings may help scientists evaluate other bird species for similar patterns. According to the university, “The study is the first to characterize health effects of mate loss to female geese, and its conclusions have implications for wildlife population management.”

—AshleyHennefer

ashleyh@newsreview.com

ECO-EVENT

Rail City Garden Center and MacLean Financial Group will host the Water & Rails Pond & Garden Railroad Tour. The tour will lead visitors to more than 30 ponds and garden railroads—miniature model railroads that run throughout gardens—in Northern Nevada. Participants will also learn how to create their own pond or garden railroad. June 30-July 1. $15 per person or $25 per couple for a self-guided tour. Visit www.railcitygardencenter.com for more information.

Got an eco-event? Contact ashleyh@newsreview.com. Visit www.facebook.com/RNRGreen for more.

Column note

PHOTO/ASHLEY HENNEFER

“It’s good progress for bikers,” said Reno Bike Project cofounder Noah Silverman.

Changing lanes

Fourth Street Corridor

More than 30 cyclists and bicycle lane advocates turned out for an RTC meeting on

by Ashley Hennefer ashleyh@ newsreview.com

June 14, which determined the future of bike lanes in the Fourth Street thoroughfare (“Positively Fourth Street,” May 10).

“A lot of people showed up and talked to the RTC,” said Noah Silverman, co-founder and director of the Reno Bike Project. “This caused the RTC to reevaluate and make a new plan based on suggestions from the public.”

“All of the cyclists who came to the meeting gave public comment during the public comment time,” said RBP program manager Jeff Mitchell. “It was cool because there wasn’t a single person there who was against bike lanes. We spoke with a really unified voice.”

RTC director of planning Amy McAbee Cummings agreed. “There was a lot of great public comment. The input was helpful in determining these lanes.”

And it worked. According to Mitchell, bike lanes will be installed “from Keystone, all the way to Vista Boulevard in Sparks, with the exception of a small downtown strip of the corridor.”

“The plan is to install 6.7 miles of new bike lane from Keystone to the east end of Sparks,” said Cummings. “The segment between Evans and Sutro Street is being looked at for other options like a road diet, which reduces four lanes to two.” Other plans include marking it as a green, shared road lane to allow for cyclists to have the right of way. A portion of the road diet is in a school zone.

Currently, RTC is waiting to hear back about the Transportation Investment Grant for Economic Recovery (TIGER). The grant would provide $60 million to adding bike lanes to the corridor, and construction would begin in fall of 2013, according to Mitchell.

The lane decisions were made based off of the results of the Fourth Street/Prater Way Corridor Study conducted by RTC and Wood Rogers, which was released to the public on June 14. Besides breaking the corridor down by district, the study also highlights goals, including “Create safer streets that are more inviting for families, pedestrians, and bicycles … slow traffic down to encourage people to spend time at businesses, events, and restaurants in the corridor … increase and improve street lighting … coordinate on and off-street parking … increase connectivity between Sparks, Reno and the Truckee River … improve bicycle facilities, including bicycle storage … where possible, provide wider sidewalks … create an identity for the entire corridor with coordinated individual themes for Reno and Sparks … incorporate the corridor’s historical significance and the arts in theming and streetscape elements … [and] all travel modes moving smoothly and safely; good lighting, amenities, and cultural and historical landmarks that have been preserved.” View the entire report at http://bit.ly/KN2IjA.

Mitchell, Silverman and other local bike enthusiasts are looking forward to the increase of lanes on Fourth Street.

“It worked out pretty well for us,” said Silverman. “It’s good progress for bikers.” Ω