Dump the Pump Returns
Whatever happened to Dump the Pump? Well, we took a small hiatus to reorganize and reenergize. Rest assured that we are back in force and are restarting the Dump the Pump Bike Convoys every first Friday of the month (rain date second Friday) starting Fri March 6 at 8am.
Come out every month to Baldwin Park (Atlantic and 41st) or Habersham Village to join Mayor Otis Johnson, City Manager Michael Brown, other elected officials and fellow Savannahians on a short ride to downtown (<3 miles). Rides will be led by experienced bike commuters, and we will finish at Davant Park (the south end of Colonial Cemetery) for treats from Jittery Joe’s, which is located in the Ex Libris Bookstore.
Mayor Johnson will continue his participation in the Dump the Pump Bike Convoys.
If you go to StimulusWatch.org you can see all of the “Shovel Ready” projects submitted by the City. I was hoping to see Bike lanes in our little chunk of the “Spendulus” bill. I have been waiting for a safe way to dump my vehicle and ride my bike to work. Could someone enlighten me on where in the political chess game this project currently resides?
Good question. We were present at some meetings at the MPC this week where projects from the city, county and GDOT in our area were approved to our TIP (Transporation Improvement Program), for some of which the county and city will seek stimulus funding.
One project approved was $600,000 in stimulus money to provide the additional funding needed for completion of the Truman Linear Park phase II which would link Daffin and Lake Mayer Park along the Truman Parkway. The city also will be asking for stimulus funding for their President Street makeover, some of which will likely include bike facilities.
The short answer, unfortunately, though, is that precious little of the money spent in this area will go to these types of projects, since they are nice soundbites but generally not priorities. We hope to change that by persistent presence at planning meetings, and also through the update of our long range transporation plan that will start this year.
An outrageously long answer, I know. The bottom line is that it will require constant pressure and attention to keep these issues in the minds of our elected officials.
[...] bicycle enthusiasts and coffee purveyors located in the Ex Libris Bookstore. Check out the Savannah Bicycle Campaign Web site for all the [...]
[...] Dump the Pump has been on hiatus, but returns this week with a focus on bicycle commuting. This time the Savannah Bicycle Campaign and the City of Savannah have teamed up with Jittery Joe’s Coffee (conveniently located in SCAD’s Ex Libris Bookstore) to organize a group commute and coffee break in Davant Park. Full details are available here. [...]
[...] it out: http://bicyclecampaign.org/2009/02/24/dump-the-pump-returns/ This entry was posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 11:17 am and is filed under Events…. You [...]
A little coverage on this: http://tinyurl.com/csu8nd. Lots of nice footage from WSAV.