[BVC-CHAT] We ARE the advocates for bike friendly community action

[Thomas Woodfin]

It is VERY heartening to read the responses of persons interested in appearing before the CS City Council.  The procedure is to arrive by ~6:45 pm before the meeting, sign in just outside the door and then be recognized during the Citizens Speak portion at the beginning of the meeting.  Each citizen has 3 minutes to address issues of concern and to provide suggestions to Council as to steps that can be taken.  I always make a few notes so I can stay on topic(s) since I'm invariably a little nervous when I get up to speak.  The best part is that our city council listens. 

The Bicycle Master Plan has not been updated since 2003.  College Station has annexed 1500+ acres since then.  The update of the Comprehensive Plan has been ongoing for over a year and will reinforce multimodal street design.  A new transportation planner started work on city staff last week.  Extension of the cycling master plan into the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) would be one specific action that could be promoted/suggested - this will require discussions with the Brazos County Commissioners Court and County Engineer.  

For example, Jones-Butler Road is indicated on the bicycle master plan (BMP) as a (future) major bike route but there has not been followup to pursue this nor any discussion with the county (so far as I know) as to how the road should be treated.  New subdivisions are going to be built along Jones-Butler which has no shoulders, no sidewalks, and a 55 mph speed limit, etc.  The same on Rock Prairie west of Wellborn Road and east of Blue Ridge.  Same for Greens Prairie west of Hwy 6.  Ensuring that north-south connectivity is maintained in the developments proposed for the NW corner of Wm D. Fitch Parkwa at Hwy 6 can be mentioned, etc etc.  

Discussions with the council and county could include initiating a program to install Share the Road signs along some of the many routes that both commuters and recreational cyclists ride through our city and around the county.  

Jean Marie's suggestion is very timely. 

An interested participant and cycling advocate,

Tom




----- Original Message ----
From: Rudy Dunlap <rudydunlap at gmail.com>
To: Brazos Valley Cyclists <bvc-chat at philebus.tamu.edu>
Sent: Friday, September 5, 2008 3:03:47 PM
Subject: Re: [BVC-CHAT] Fwd: Bicycle Friendly State Rankings Released


I'm definitely interested in the city council meeting. Be sure to let us know when it is. 

Rudy Dunlap


On Fri, Sep 5, 2008 at 7:03 AM, Jean Marie Linhart <jmlinhart at gmail.com> wrote:

Just means it is time to plan a march on the state capitol.  Maybe one
on both Bryan and College Station city councils this semester as well.

Speaking of which, we should probably head to City Council (in CS at
least) and let our presence be known again sometime soon.  I'll have
to look up the next meeting date (or maybe Skip will be kind enough to
just tell me).  Who will go with?

Jean Marie

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