Bike Calgary

01Dec 2020 by Pete Spearing No Comments

12 days to the Calgary Bicycle Film Festival!

Events

The 20th Anniversary of Bicycle Film Festival is going virtual and is arriving in Calgary virtually on December 12-20, hosted by Ridley's Cycle. Bicycle Film Festival has been celebrating bicycles through art, film and music the last 20 years. The physical BFF spanned the world in over 90 cities worldwide to an audience of over one million people. The festival has an incredible history of working with the most important artists, filmmakers, venues, and institutions around the world. BFF Calgary is presenting an international selection of short films. BFF Select Shorts Select Shorts appeal to a wide audience from film connoisseurs to avid cyclists and everything in between. Let the BFF curated collection of select shorts take you on a journey around the world as we learn about a charismatic…

26Nov 2020 by laurashutiak No Comments

Donors kick-start Bike to School Program

Advocacy, Education

Boxes of bike gear arrived from HLC, with a nice note. Thanks! “Textbooks are heavy.” “I hate cold weather.” How do I carry a tuba on a bike?” This is just some of the feedback we’ve received from students at EP Scarlett High School. Bike Calgary is doing a pilot project at the school with the goal of getting more kids out of cars and onto bikes. We’ll do this by breaking down the barriers that the kids say are preventing active modes of transportation. To do that, we’ve been fortunate to receive some great donations – that we’ll be working to get into the hands of kids that will use them. HLC sent us a couple big boxes – including racks and panier bags. We know the kids will…

24Nov 2020 by Pete Spearing No Comments

Strategic Review Feedback – Have your say!

Research

You are invited to participate in our survey to review the Bike Calgary 2018-2020 Strategic Plan. In this survey Bike Calgary members and YYC riders are asked to answer questions that discuss the progress of our previous goals and objectives in order to help us make necessary adjustments for our 2021-2023 plan. It will take approximately 10 -15 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The focus of this survey is on strategic priorities, i.e. our big picture strategy and not on operational priorities. The survey can be accessed here If you wish to review the 2018-2020 Strategic Plan, this can be found here: https://bikecalgary.org/strategic-plan/ The survey will close on the 14th December 2020 and thank you for your feedback and input.

23Nov 2020 by Pete Spearing No Comments

City sidewalk and pathway budget to be cut by 56%!

#sharedstreets, Advocacy

We all realize that the current economic situation is difficult, but these are also times for progressive change. Calgary's very own Council approved transportation plan states that pedestrians and those on two wheels should be prioritized in all future transport / infrastructure spending, yet the 56% cut to sidewalks and pathways for 2021 is the 4th deepest cut across the 36 categories. So how does this compare? Under the budget allocations for "A City That Moves", the following is proposed: Parking, No Reduction (2021 Budget $13.9m) Public Transit, a reduction of -13% (2021 Budget $368m)Sidewalks and Pathways a reduction of - 56% (2021 Budget $25m)Specialist Transit, No Reduction (2021 Budget $90k)Streets, a reduction of only 15% (2021 Budget $194m)Taxi, Limousine & Vehicles-for-hire, No Reduction (2021 budget ($330k) Lets remind ourselves…

22Nov 2020 by Pete Spearing No Comments

Parking Upgrades Promote Active Transportation

Advocacy

An Example of What Can be Achieved with a Limited Budget, as experienced by one of our members. At a downtown office building, nearly forty years old, the building owner was planning to renovate the underground parkade. Here, an informal bike parking setup had been in place for many years to accommodate a small number of bike commuters. Buildings of this age didn't consider any significant bike amenities at the time of construction, especially compared to modern building requirements. With the renovation planning started, a group of riders approached the building manager to explore the feasibility of improving the bike parking facility. This was timely with the increasing popularity of bike commuting and the improved and growing cycling infrastructure downtown. The building owner was receptive to the ideas. The discussion…

20Nov 2020 by Pete Spearing No Comments

Its budget time…….so how are we funding our mobility learning from 2020?

#sharedstreets, Uncategorized

Its without doubt been a hard year and we all need to adjust and contribute to any budget reductions. But will the reductions be equitable in relation to mobility, and will they apply to our changing mobility modes that we've seen in 2020? We know from the city's own statistics that mobility pathway use is up over 469%. So will the budget reflect this? You would think so! From what we know, about 21% is the average budget reduction requirement, (including essential services which cannot operate below their current allocation (e.g. 311). News is.......it doesn't! In fact the pathway budget is planned to be hit by over 50% in 2021 AND even lower in 2022! Around the world we see cities adapting. Here is an article that not only shows…

19Nov 2020 by WheelsofFortune 1 Comment

North Hill Area – Bikeway Traffic Calming Survey

Infrastructure

As part of their Neighbourhood Streets Project, the City of Calgary has implemented some temporary traffic calming measures in the communities of Crescent Heights, Mount Pleasant, and Tuxedo Park. These changes divert traffic with the intention of lowering cut-through traffic volumes on 2 Street NW and 1 Street NE. Diagonal Diverter for motor vehicles at 2 St NW and 22 St NW 2 Street NW and 1 Street NE are well-used neighbourhood bikeways in these communities and Bike Calgary is reviewing community feedback and looking to learn more about this pilot, which has the potential to increase user safety and comfort. Have you had a chance to walk, cycle, or drive through this area since lately? The City is looking for feedback on the Engage website: https://engage.calgary.ca/northhillarea Closure of Balmoral…

16Nov 2020 by laurashutiak No Comments

Launching the Bike to School Project

Education

Bike Calgary is very excited to launch our Bike to School Pilot Project at Dr. EP Scarlett High School. Thanks to a number of Bike Calgary volunteers, we installed new bike racks at the school last week. (Just before the snow!). We're hoping that with some education, support and perhaps a few useful swag items, we can get a few more of students to think about bikes as a mode of transportation. Volunteers Bill and Doug secure loaner bike racks at Dr. EP Scarlett Scarlett is a natural place to start our program. With over 1,500 students, only 10 students ride bikes regularly. This despite that the fact that about half the student population lives within 6kms of the school. The location of the school, with a single main access…

15Nov 2020 by Pete Spearing No Comments

November Newsletter is here!

Uncategorized

In our normal sharing way we've issued our November newsletter and want to make sure we spread the news across the YYC and beyond! Click the link here to read our update: https://mailchi.mp/d8e9b0276203/bike-calgary-newsletter-budget-events-and-new-board-members-3271978?e=b145e69ea1 Some teasers......... We announce the new board for 2020/2021Winter cycling? More tips!Our #sharedstreets and #ridetoremembrance updatesWhere you can find us on social mediae-bikes - Well there's a catalogue to go through from the eBIKES International team

14Nov 2020 by Pete Spearing 3 Comments

Learning from a near-miss

Infrastructure

Article by Nigel Swytink-Binnema A near-miss can be frightening and sometime result in an altercation between those involved. Bike Calgary received an email from a motorist about such an incident involving one of our downtown intersections. Our Intersection Design Team (part of our Infrastructure group) immediately jumped into action and visited the location at 12th and 9th. Here's our review: Have you ever come up to an intersection like this on your bike and been surprised by a left-turning motorist? 12th Ave S intersection with 9 St W where motorists cross the bike lane while turning left. Have you ever come up to an intersection like this in your car intending to turn left and been surprised by a cyclist who seems to come out of nowhere? Both of these…