Today, city council approved the plan that has been in the works for months, which takes 2 auto travel lanes and transforms them into a parking lane, a bike lane, and an auto travel lane. City staff tell us that the plan is for completion of this now approved project by the end of 2011. Neighborhoods along Price Street have supported this project because it calms the speeding traffic that commonly resulted in numerous car vs. home crashes, provides on-street parking, and returns a sense of neighborhood to a corridor that pedestrians — families with strollers, dog walkers, anyone headed from a to b on foot — currently avoid.

Which begs the question, “Why just Price Street?” Aren’t there other neighborhoods and streets that have been needlessly overtaken by the virtue of maximizing motorized vehicle speed? We know as you do that there are, and we’ll keep working to support the city’s efforts to bring similar treatments to other neighborhoods and expand the network of dedicated facilities, especially on higher traffic through-streets. We will especially make this point clear as we discuss the future of transportation and sustainable development in Savannah at next Tuesday’s candidate forum, so be sure to join us at the Coastal Georgia Center at 6pm!

So what is the end result of a few new stripes of paint? Better neighborhoods, filled with people interacting on a human level — a safer, saner, and healthier place. We all know it — bicycles make Savannah better!

As a reminder to faithful campaigners who witnessed his most recent stop in Savannah, Ben Sollee often tours by bike, and he last joined us here for a show in December of 2009.  Video from the ride that preceded the show is below (sort of a mini-version of the Midnight Garden Ride), followed by our press release. You won’t want to miss this night – register today!

bell symphony – Ben Sollee Bike Tour from marty benson on Vimeo.

SAVANNAH — Classically trained pop cellist Ben Sollee and his band will headline a concert at the Forsyth Park Band Shell on Sept. 3 at 9 p.m., following the Savannah Bicycle Campaign’s third annual Midnight Garden Ride. The concert – a co-production of the Savannah Bicycle Campaign (SBC) and Savannah Stopover – is free. Registration is required for the ride, which is the primary fundraiser for the non-profit advocacy organization. A limited number of stage-front VIP seats will be available.

Sollee attracted national attention with his debut album “Learning to Bend” in 2008 and in with his band mates has conducted multiple tours by bicycle, one of which included a stop in Savannah organized by SBC in December 2009. Sollee also performed at the 2008 Savannah Music Festival as part of the Sparrow Quartet, featuring Bela Fleck. His latest recording, “Inclusions,” was released this year and described by Paste magazine as “exploring post-modern jazz one minute and simple folk the next, with gospel themes running up the spine. It’s a surprising and rewarding journey…”

Cheyenne Marie Mize will open the show. Mize has collaborated with Sollee in the past and will be familiar to local audiences from her performance at the 2011 Savannah Stopover Festival. Her latest recording, “Before Lately,” was released on SonaBLAST records in 2010.

“The Midnight Garden Ride has grown in size and energy every year. Expanding it to include live music from notable performers is particularly exciting for us,” said Savannah Bicycle Campaign Chairman Drew Wade. “We are grateful for the support of many wonderful sponsors, and in particular our presenting sponsor Michelob Ultra. We invite everyone to join us on the ride and for the concert in Forsyth Park.”

The Midnight Garden Ride is a casual, police-escorted ride that winds through some of Savannah’s most historic and beautiful neighborhoods. Registration is required, as are lights and helmets. The event also includes a costume contest, raffle, food and beverages. All proceeds benefit SBC, which is dedicated to making Savannah better through bicycling.

For more information visit http://midnightgardenride.com, http://bensollee.com and http://shinyplaces.com

We’re returning the love this week with a deep discount on the 2011 Midnight Garden Ride. Now through Sunday, the first 30 to register will enjoy a big discount on the much anticipated 3rd Annual MGR, starting and finishing at Forsyth Park:

SBC member price $10
Non-member price $15.

That’s a discount of $15 for members and $10 for non-members off the full preregistration price. Discount will be applied at checkout.  Get to it, though — only the first 30 will get this price!

This weekend, join one or both of two Savannah rides celebrating passage of HB 101 in the state legislature this year, defining 3 feet as a minimum safe distance for cars overtaking bicycles!

As dedicated Campaigners know, this Friday July 1, Georgia will become a safer place for cyclists as a state law that includes the 3 foot minimum takes effect. Over this Independence Day weekend, bicycling clubs and advocacy groups statewide will take to the roads on “3 Feet 2 Pass” group rides to celebrate and publicize this year’s passage by the General Assembly of HB 101, the “Better Bicycling Bill.”

Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 101, the “Better Bicycling Bill,” on May 11th and Georgia joined 17 other states with safe passing laws. The bill makes several other improvements to bicycling laws. The law now clarifies that bicycle lanes must be built according to nationally recognized minimum safety standards and that cyclists have the right of way while travelling in bicycle lanes.

Language in the bill also clarifies conditions under which a bicycle, long recognized as a vehicle under state law, may move from its legally mandated area of operation “as far right as practicable” into the center of a travel lane. “This is particularly important to the safety of cyclists,” notes SBC director Frank McIntosh, “as they oftentimes must move more into the travel lane to ensure their safety. A lot more road hazards gather in the gutter and you are not as visible.”

Savannah Bicycle Campaign partner ‘3 Feet 2 Pass’ rides include a road ride Saturday, July 2 morning ride launching from Gallery Espresso at 8 a.m., concurrent with the usual Saturday morning road ride there. Ride options range from 30 miles at 18-20 mph to 47 miles at 25mph+. For more information on the ride, contact David Udinsky at info@perryrubberbikeshop.com.

Then on Monday, July 4th, the Coastal Bicycle Touring Club will host a 25 mile ride starting from the north end of Forsyth Park at 10 a.m., proceeding around Isle of Hope and back. It is a more moderately paced ride that allows time to enjoy the scenery. For more information contact: Ed Jewell, 912-826-3657.

Full press release of rides around the state is here.

Don’t forget to register for the Midnight Garden Ride Saturday September 3! It’s going to be a sight to behold!

Kudos to Frank, and we hope you Dump the Pump with us for the rest of today and any time you can! Many thanks to our partners in this event today, the City of Savannah and Chatham Area Transit.  Tune in to WSAV and WTOC for coverage of today’s event.

Early this week a college student was involved in a bicycling crash on Montgomery Street that resulted in serious injuries. The incident and its reporting has led to increased dialogue in the community on safe bicycling. To be sure, the most important outcome after this accident is that the student regains her health, and our thoughts are with her.

Because the dialogue on safer cycling has surfaced again, I would like to offer two quick thoughts:

Bicycle education is available to interested community members and it is concentrated where the available resources are likely to have the biggest impact. SCAD now offers bicycle education as part of its First Year Experience program, reaching new college students who may not have biked before coming to SCAD. The Savannah Bicycle Campaign offers quarterly in depth Traffic Skills workshops for the general public; the next is May 21 at the Bicycle Link bike shop. The SBC also organizes Bicycle Rodeos for children and their parents once every two months, teaching kids and their parents bike skills, and their parents bike-friendly motorist behaviors.

The chief principle of bicycling education is that bicyclists fare best when they act and are treated as operators of vehicles. The recent incident is an unfortunate example of the outcome of wrong-way bicycling which puts a bicyclist in a place in the roadway where they are unexpected.

Education is also only one tool in a toolkit for bicycle safety that also contains other “Es”. Bicycle-specific engineering (e.g. bike lanes, multi use paths), enforcement targeted at dangerous motorist and cyclist encouragement that invites Savannahians to make bicycling a healthy part of their daily lives.

It is in our community’s best interests for all groups to become safer, healthier, and more generous roadway users.

Garrison Marr
Education Chair
Savannah Bicycle Campaign

Georgia Rides to the Capitol, 2011: photo by Vino Wong, AJC

So, where are we in the legislative calendar? Georgia Bikes identified 2 priorities during this session which were introduced as HB 101 and HB 180:

HB 101 clarifies multiple areas of traffic code related to bicycling, including defining bike lanes and clearly establishing that bicyclists have the right of way in bike lanes, better defining the right to take the lane when it’s too narrow to share (among other reasons) legalizing the use of a rear red light instead of a reflector as well as the sale of clipless pedals and recumbents.  HB 101 passed the full House of Representatives and has now passed the Senate Public Safety Committee.  Current version is here.  It will next be heard in the Senate Rules Committee and, if reported favorably there, will go to the Senate floor and if successful there, to the Governor’s desk to sign.

HB 180 defines safe passing of a bicycle by a motor vehicle as 3 feet or greater; this is the law now in 19 states though not yet in Georgia.  In the 2011 session, HB 180 made it out of the House Public Safety Committee but did not make it out of the Rules Committee and to the floor before crossover day.  As such, HB 180 will not be considered in the Senate this year, though the current legislature and all the bills introduced but not passed this year can restart the process in 2012 without a reintroduction of the bill.

Savannah Bicycle Campaign will continue to work with Georgia Bikes to ensure that these issues remain at the forefront.  We appreciate all of you who answered the call to contact your legislators to support these measures, and we hope you will continue to do so in the future!  If you have specific legislative concerns that are not being addressed, we want to hear about those too.

For those of you who follow us on Facebook and Twitter, you’ll know that we have been very excited about the upcoming Georgia Bike Summit, a first time event that will be held here in Georgia’s first city on Saturday, Oct 9.

Here’s the deal: through next Tuesday September 14 at noon, you can register for only $30 using this link (and you must use this link). It will be a great day of networking and learning to advance bicycling in Georgia, and it may not be in Savannah the next time around. Take advantage and save yourself $10 off the usual early bird registration cost of $40 (or $30 off the $60 late registration!)

More details of the Summit from their press release:

Safety, Improved Conditions Focus of Statewide Bike Summit

Savannah, Ga. – Sept. 4, 2010 – Georgia Bikes, a statewide advocacy organization for improved bicycling conditions is holding its first statewide bike summit on Oct. 9, 2010 in Savannah, Ga.

Guests include state and local agencies, off-road enthusiasts, commuters and non-profit organizations exploring a wide-range of bicycling related issues including safety, infrastructure, advocacy and transportation.

Demand for bicycle facilities continues to grow as the number of bicyclists using Georgia’s roads for transportation and recreation increases. Proponents of bicycling want to address Georgia’s approach and funding for bicycle projects across the state.

In 2008, Georgia ranked 49 out of 50 on the League of American Bicyclists list of bicycle-friendly states. Georgia has steadily increased its ranking to a current 35 out of 50, but advocates want to see that ranking continue moving upward.

The electronic version lacks the same impact, though it includes some great Frank factoids (in his riding, Frank has tallied 46,000 miles since his first bike to work in 1993).  One particularly fine Frankism is also found within:

It’s imperative that cyclists wear their “brain bucket” when riding, McIntosh said. “My helmet has only really hit the ground twice in all the riding I’ve done,” he said. “But I’m real glad I had my helmet on when it did.”

Y’all keep your brain buckets strapped, and let’s send up three cheers for Frank!

As we hinted, next Thursday, June 17th, the City of Savannah, CAT, and a host of community organizations including your Savannah Bicycle Campaign will hold a National Dump the Pump Event to encourage residents to use alternative forms of transportation.

The main event will be the 2nd Annual Dump the Pump Challenge; a race between a cyclist, bus commuter and car commuter from the 12 Oaks Shopping Center on Abercorn to City Hall. Each competitor must obey all applicable traffic laws in racing to City Hall, where a local elected official will crown the winner.

Savannah Bicycle Campaign Executive Director Frank McIntosh as defending champion will again represent bicyclists in the competition. “In a city as flat and bikable as Savannah, there are a huge number of trips that are as fast or faster by bike as they are by car”, said McIntosh. “As the results of last year’s race proved, this can be one of them. I’m not guaranteeing victory—our bus system is extremely fast and efficient—but I feel good about my chances.”

McIntosh and the other competitors will be joined at the finish line by participants in the Savannah Bicycle Campaign’s monthly bicycle commuter group ride, Two Wheels to Work. The group ride, which is free and open to the public, will leave from Habersham Village Shopping Center parking lot at 7:30 a.m. and end at the finish line around 8:00am.

The finish line itself will be stocked with donated fruit from Polk’s Produce, free coffee from our friends Jittery Joe’s, and will be a carbon-neutral undertaking courtesy of a tree planting by Half-Moon Outfitters. For those thinking about trying an alternative commute for the first time, all Chatham Area Transit busses will operate fare free all day.

For more information on the event, contact Garrison Marr at (912) 651-6470 or garrison_marr@savannahga.gov.  Click on the image for a printable poster you can display at work.