Bike Milwaukie May Ride

Hi Folks,

This Sunday, May 19th is our next Bike Milwaukie ride.  On this ride we will head out to the I-205 Bike path via Lake Rd and surface streets. We will then take the path south to Gladstone.  From there we will loop back to Milwaukie using the Trolley Trail.  Our route this month is 14-15 miles long.  Here is a rough map of the route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/208046847/

We will leave City Hall at 9:30am and our ride should last around 2.5-3 hours, ending back at City Hall. Please bring water, a spare inner-tube/tools for unforeseen bike repairs, and a helmet.

Please forward this along to anyone who might be interested.

Hope to see you there.
--
Greg Baartz-Bowman & Matt Menely
Bike Milwaukie Co-Organizers

Building community and encouraging advocacy in Milwaukie on self propelled wheels.
We have monthly or semi-monthly rides in and around Milwaukie.
Keep informed about Bike Milwaukie events on Facebook

Bike Milwaukie Ride Sunday

Hi Folks,

This Sunday is our April Bike Milwaukie ride.  On this ride we will head out to the 3 Creeks Natural Area for a short walking tour of the area. We will learn about the habitat restoration projects that have been done and the proposed road project that the County wants to build.

If you want a little back story on the area and the road project you can watch Greg's documentary from last year. http://vimeopro.com/strawbalefilms/straw-bale-films/video/40703419

We will leave City Hall at 9:30am and our ride should last around 2.5-3 hours, end ing back at City Hall. Please bring water and consider wearing a helmet.

We posted this ride on our facebook page a few weeks ago.  Greg and I have both been really busy (and sick in my case).  Sorry that we have not emailed details earlier.

Please forward this along to anyone who might be interested.

Hope to see you there.

--
Greg Baartz-Bowman & Matt Menely
Bike Milwaukie Co-Organizers

Building community and encouraging advocacy in Milwaukie on self propelled wheels.
We have monthly or semi-monthly rides in and around Milwaukie.
Keep informed about Bike Milwaukie events on Facebook

Bike Milwaukie- 2 events in March!!

Hello Everyone,

Bike Milwaukie returns from our winter break with 2 events scheduled for this month.

On Saturday March 23rd we will be hosting a Bike Film Night at the Masonic Lodge.  We will have an evening of short films all related to cycling.  Doors open at 6:30pm with films starting at 7:00pm.  This is an all ages, free show.  Donations to help us offset the cost of renting the building gladly accepted.

The next morning, Sunday March 24th, we will have our first monthly ride of 2013.  Come join fellow neighbors for a leisurely ride around town (a loop). We'll roll through multiple Milwaukie neighborhoods, over bridges and along hidden paths.
The ride starts at 9:30AM and we'll finish by noon. We will meet in front of City Hall.

It will be great to see you!

Please feel free to forward this email along to your friends and neighbors.

Thank you,

--
Greg Baartz-Bowman & Matt Menely
Bike Milwaukie Co-Organizers

Building community and encouraging advocacy in Milwaukie on self propelled wheels.
We have monthly or semi-monthly rides in and around Milwaukie.
Keep informed about Bike Milwaukie events on Facebook

City Council Goal Setting

Happy Sunday Folks!

On Feb 19th our City Council will likely pass a resolution which outlines their goals for the coming year. This set of goals will direct the actions of the city staff. We made some progress, as Council did include the Monroe Street Bike Boulevard (also called a Neighborhood Greenway) project on their goals at their last work session; however we feel that the wording of the goal is not clear or direct enough. So, we are asking you once again to write to the council, or better yet, show up at the council meeting on Feb 19th at 7pm and testify.

#6c of their goal list says 'Consider making Monroe Street a bike boulevard'. Monroe has already been 'considered' in our 2007 Transportation System Plan (TSP), and it stands out as the top priority of the many residents who worked on the bike chapter of the TSP. We want Council to decide that it is a priority on their agenda moving forward. Unfortunately, there are many other pressing issues in town, and it seems that only 2 of the 5 Councilors are currently interested in pursuing the Monroe project. To get this project done, it is going to take as many people as possible providing testimony in City Council meetings, writing letters, and sharing the idea with our community members (so that everyone understands how the project will help to make neighborhoods along this corridor nicer places to live and increase safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and automobiles). We need all of the City Councilors and the City Manager to understand why this project is important and to commit to moving the project forward.

We ask you to encourage City Council to direct City Staff to actively prepare for, and apply for grants that will allow Milwaukie to complete projects (like Monroe) that we would otherwise be unable to do on our own due to lack of funds. We have missed, and will continue to miss grant opportunities, unless and until City Council allows City Staff to allocate time to seeking out these opportunities. Here is the email address for City Council: ocr@ci.milwaukie.or.us. Please send them a message and ask them not just to 'consider' the Monroe project, but instead to 'direct staff to actively pursue funding for the Monroe project'. Speak from your personal experience as a pedestrian or cyclist in Milwaukie and how these kinds of projects will directly affect you. Thank you for working together to make our neighborhoods more livable and increasing bicycling accessibility in Milwaukie!

If you are not up to speed on what the Monroe project could look like, here is a short video showing an example in SE Portland.

http://www.streetfilms.org/portland-or-bicycle-boulevards/

Thanks for your time and consideration!
--
Greg Baartz-Bowman & Matt Menely
Bike Milwaukie Co-Organizers

Building community and encouraging advocacy in Milwaukie on self propelled wheels.
We have monthly or semi-monthly rides in and around Milwaukie.
Keep informed about Bike Milwaukie events on Facebook

City Council Goals for 2013??

Tell our City Council to make Monroe and other Bike/Pedestrian improvements from the 2007 TSP a priority in the coming year.

Please take a look at this from some background.
http://btaoregon.org/2013/01/tell-milwaukie-city-council-to-make-monroe-a-priority/


Tell the the City Council in person at their upcoming goal setting meeting on Jan. 22nd. You can also contact them here anytime: ocr@ci.milwaukie.or.us

City Council Goals?

Dear Milwaukie Bicyclists,
For the last year and a half we have been quietly showing you around Milwaukie and the surrounding area, hoping to inspire you and your neighbors into getting on you bikes more.

In 2007 the City developed it's most recent Transportation System Plan (TSP). In this plan is a road map to a better bike-way network for cyclists in Milwaukie. Since our City Council approved the TSP at the end of 2007, the City has installed bike-route signage throughout the City, and part of Lake road has been repaved and bike lane markings laid down, but other than that not too much has happened in terms of evolving the safety and quality of our cycling infrastructure.

 We've been quietly asking for further development of the Monroe Street Bike Boulevard and Bike Milwaukie even jointly applied for a grant with the City to obtain funding to install Sharrows on Monroe (which we did not receive). Monroe Street was highlighted as part of the recent New Year's Day ride of over 100 cyclists, lead by the The Bicycle Transportation Alliance, and graciously supported by some of our fellow community members including the Mayor of Milwaukie.

So we ask, would you like better bike infrastructure in Milwaukie? Would you like to see Monroe as the primary East/West bike route as laid out in the 2007 TSP?  If so, please contact City Council, and ask them to consider making bicycling infrastructure improvements (especially on Monroe Street) a priority in their upcoming goal setting meeting on Jan. 22nd.
You can contact them here anytime: ocr@ci.milwaukie.or.us

Bike Milwaukie Farm Tour Ride- Sunday

Hello Everyone,

This Sunday, Aug 19th is the next Bike Milwaukie ride.  This month's ride is a tour of small local farms and community gardens.  Starting at 9:00 am at City Hall  The ride will take approx 3 hours and cover approx 8-10 miles, and end back at City Hall.  When we finish the Farmers Market will be in full swing so you can do some shopping or grab a bite to eat!

At each farm we will stop for 10-20 minutes and learn a little about each farm
Wear shoes that you are comfortable walking in the dirt and gravel with.
Please bring water and consider wearing a helmet. 

We hope to see you there! 

Thanks,
--
Greg Baartz-Bowman & Matt Menely
Bike Milwaukie Co-Organizers

Building community and encouraging advocacy in Milwaukie on self propelled wheels.
We have monthly or semi-monthly rides in and around Milwaukie.
Keep informed about Bike Milwaukie events on Facebook