Tweed Ride! Coming to Newport!

Inspired by the Tweed Run in London and similar rides in San Francisco, Chicago and Boston, Newport is throwing its own woolen cap into the ring by hosting an inaugural Tweed Ride on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. The ride departs at 2:00 p.m. from the Reser Bicycle Outfitters/Fusion Studio Building at 648 Monmouth Street in downtown Newport.

A leisurely six-mile course will take riders through the fair streets of Newport, Covington and Cincinnati in the most dapper attire followed by friendly banter, nibbles and libations at Claddagh Irish Pub at Newport on the Levee.

Riders are asked to leave their Lycra at home and dress in British period pieces. Organizers will make awards for the best costumes, and a suggested $5 donation helps fund bike racks in city parks. Possible attired includes woolen plus fours, tweed jackets, ties, flat caps, merino team jerseys, knitted jumpers, etc.

Need help putting your outfit together visit Newport’s Costume Gallery at 638 Monmouth St. (859) 655-9419

For more information about the Tweed Ride, visit www.bikenewport.org.

Honorable Mention for Hamilton County/City/First Suburbs

An application for Bike Friendly Community status submitted jointly by Hamilton County, the City of Cincinnati, and the Hamilton County First Suburbs received an Honorable Mention from the League of American Bicyclists in this year's awards.

The Bike Friendly Community program recognizes communities for their efforts to promote all varieties of bicycling. An extensive application covers five different areas, known as the "Five E's": Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation and Planning.

The Steering Committee was convened by Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper and Cincinnati City Council Member Jeff Berding. The committee was made up of bike advocates and officials from local governments across the county and oversaw the application process, which was managed by Andy Dobson from the Hamilton County Planning Commission.

According to Council Member Berding, “Receiving an honorable mention does exactly what we had hoped – it highlights the resources we already have for bicycling and tells us where we need to improve. We’re a big step closer to making Cincinnati bicycle friendly – and momentum is on our side.”

County Commissioner David Pepper added, “The Honorable Mention is a great start for Hamilton County and is a tribute to the hard work of all our wonderful partners, including the First Suburb Consortium, and the incredible energy out there among the cycling community. Going forward, there is a lot more work to be done in making Hamilton County ever more bicycle friendly, and we are committed to improve our standing every year.”

The committee will be reviewing comments provided by the League of American Bicycles to help identify the action steps that the community needs to take to improve. Columbus is currently the only Bike Friendly Community in Ohio. Indianapolis, Carmel, and Bloomington have been recognized in Indiana, as have Louisville and Lexington, Ky.

There is still time for your input!

If you are not in one of these pictures from the first public meeting on the Cincinnati Bike Plan on October 8, there are two on-line tools that are available to you to provide your input right now.

1) Please take this short survey about why you bicycle and where, and what it would take to get you to ride more. Ask your friends to fill it out, too, especially people who you think would ride more if some things were a bit better out there.

2) Show us on this map where in your neighborhood or on your route you would like to see changes made. Plus, you can see what other people have said. You must login to comment. The userid and password are posted to the left of the map window.

The input only you can provide is critical to making city riding better for everyone, racer and relaxed rider alike.

The survey and website will be up for just a few weeks, so don't delay! The full schedule for the plan is available on the City of Cincinnati's Bike Master Plan web page.

Photos courtesy of Ray Owens, Event Photography, Cincinnati, OH
http://www.unrelated.net/homefrnt/eventpics.html

Mill Creek Greenway Trail and Harrison Bikeway Grants Announced

See below for good news on additional funding for the Mill Creek Greenway Trail and for the Greater Harrison Bikeway West from State Senator Eric Kearney.

The Mill Creek Greenway Trail Grant is for a 3.4 mile multi-purpose, off-road hiking and bike trail that will connect with existing streets, on-road bike lanes, METRO and Access bus stops and pedestrian side walks. The first .6 mile of the trail through Solway Park in Northside/Spring Grove Village will be dedicated in November. Construction of an additional .9 mile will begin this spring.

Long-term plans are for a total of 13.5 miles of trail in the Mill Creek corridor from the Hamilton County Fairgrounds in Carthage, through Winton Hills, Clifton, Spring Grove Village, Northside, South Cumminsville, Millvale, English Woods, North Fairmount, Lower Price Hill, and to the Ohio River, where it will connect to a future Central Riverfront Park and Ohio River Trail, according to an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The Greater Harrison Bikeway West grant is for construction of a paved multi-use trail, 10ft wide and 3800 feet long starting at the Miami Whitewater Forest (Shaker Trace Trail) and continuing to Hickory Flats Drive.



From: Senator Kearney
Date: Thu, Oct 8, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Subject: Kearney Announces Mill Creek Greenway Trail Grant
To: Senator Kearney

For Immediate Release: Contact: Nick Torres

Thursday October 8, 2009 (614) 466-5980

Kearney Announces Mill Creek Greenway Trail Grant

(Columbus)—Ohio State Senator Eric H. Kearney (D- Cincinnati) announced today that the Clean Ohio Trail Fund (COTF) has awarded a maximum $500,000 grant to the nonprofit Mill Creek Restoration Project for the City of Cincinnati’s Mill Creek Greenway Trail Program.

“The Mill Creek program is a worthy investment of state funds. Cincinnatians certainly have a love for recreation and parks, and this grant is part of a great initiative to improve on the area’s natural beauty,” said Kearney.

Funds provided by the grant will be used to construct the second phase of the multi-purpose Mill Creek Greenway Trail. The plan includes improvements to water quality and wildlife rejuvenation in the areas surrounding Mill Creek as well as a floodplain management program. The Mill Creek grant is one of 26 COTF grants awarded in 2009, and one of two in Hamilton County. The City of Harrison is receiving a $173,215 grant for the Greater Harrison Bikeway-West.

“This grant will have wide ranging benefits. From immediate job creation to recreation and health benefits and even increased property values in the long term, the Mill Creek Greenway Trail Program is a natural winner,” Kearney said.

Senator Eric H. Kearney represents parts of Cincinnati, St. Bernard, Elmwood Place, Cleves, Cheviot, Norwood, Golf Manor, Columbia Township, Deer Park, Silverton, Springfield Township, North Bend and Addyston.

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Bike Plan Meeting Draws Standing-Room-Only Crowd

Click the link below for a video from the event.

Cincinnati Holds Informative Meeting To Make City More Bicycle Friendly

More information to come on how you can help create a new cycling culture in Cincinnati!

Bike Plan Ride, Sat. Oct 10

Do you ride Spring Grove Avenue between downtown and Northside/Spring Grove Village, or anywhere in Clifton?

Join us on Saturday, Oct. 10, for a ride with planners from Toole Design Group and the City to let them know how your routes and neighborhoods can be improved for bicyclists of all ages and skill levels.

You can join us for part or all of the ride, or just come by Hoffner Park for lunch. The purpose of this ride is to share our street knowledge with the people who are helping to develop our new bike plan. We will not be riding far or fast.

Here are places and times where you can meet us:

10 a.m. - Depart Coffee Emporium, 110 E. Central Pkwy, Downtown 12 p.m. - 1 pm Hoffner Park, Northside for lunch. 1:15 p.m. - Fountain at corner of Clifton and Ludlow, Clifton

Bike Plan Meeting Tonight, Oct. 8! It's the Talk of the Town

Reminder: The first public meeting to get your input on what the City of Cincinnati can do to make bicycling a bigger part of everyday life in the city is tonight!

Thurs. Oct. 8
7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
McKie Rec Center
1655 Chase, Northside

Who is talking about this? Every rider in town, and The Cincinnati Business Courier, Metro, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Soapbox Media, CityBeat, WCPO, WLWT...



Be there, and join us for more this weekend.