Bicycling news

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October 11, 2011

Fat Tire Festival provides family fun, bike safety
Joy Hampton
The Norman Transcript The Norman Transcript Tue Oct 11, 2011, 01:54 AM CDT

NORMAN — While the Norman Bicycle Advisory Committee moved forward with plans to update the 1996 Norman Bike Plan, the upcoming Fat Tire Festival was at the top of the discussion at Monday night’s meeting.

The free, family friendly event at Lake Thunderbird State Park will introduce children and other riders to the mountain bike trails at the Clear Bay area just off Highway 9, 14 miles east of Interstate 35.

Participants will be able to come and go. There will be guided trail rides for all ages and abilities, starting with pre-school/beginners through adult/expert mountain bikers.

Additional entertainment will be provided with inflatable amusements, snacks and door prizes.

Parents can take advantage of the educational component of the event with family cycling rides, bike-to-school safety tips, helmet fitting and a bike safety check.

In addition, fun bike activities such as barrel racing, log pull, an obstacle course and a training wheel area will provide activities for a variety of ages, abilities and interest levels.

Helmets will be required and a parent or legal guardian will have to sign permission forms for minors.

Committee member Allicia Boscarelli reported that the Bicycle League of Norman’s Sooner Stampede was post-poned until Oct. 30 because of the heavy rainfall this weekend.
City engineer Angelo Lombardo said he will attend the Oklahoma City Bike Summit coming up Nov. 4-5. Other Bicycle Advisory Committee members will attend at least some of the Summit. Put on by the Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition, the Summit provides an opportunity for urban planners, engineers, elected officials, bicyclists and other interested parties and agencies to exchange ideas and examine best practices. Three nationally recognized speakers involved with community planning to improve bicycling facilities will speak on how to improve safety and create a cycling friendly environment.

In other committee news, discussion continued on lane striping, e-bike use, and urban trail possibilities.

Joy Hampton 366-3539 jhampton@normantranscript.com



http://normantranscript.com/local/x7...un-bike-safety

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Oklahoma Bike Summit!!

Save the date: November 4 & 5, 2011


On Friday John LaPlante will lead a day-long seminar on bicycle facility design concepts. Mr. LaPlante is Vice President and Director of Traffic Engineering at T.Y. Lin International with over 45 years of professional traffic engineering and transportation planning experience. He is involved in several national committees and was principal author of the 1999 AASHTO Bike Guide. His seminar will benefit professional engineers, city traffic planners, architects, and anyone who is involved with redesigning the urban landscape on a human scale.This session has been approved for 8 CM credits from the American Institute of Certified Planners.

On Saturday the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation, along with Adventure Cycling Association, will discuss the Oklahoma Historic Route 66 Bike Trail, the US Bike Route system, and bicycle tourism's benefit for the economy of Oklahoma. Ultra-cyclist Lon Haldeman, RAAM champion and owner of PAC Tour Adventure Touring will be our featured speaker on Saturday morning.

The Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition will hold its Annual Meeting at Noon on Saturday, November 5 during the Oklahoma Bicycle Summit. Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists will be the featured speaker. All Oklahoma bicyclists and clubs will want to attend!!

Additional sessions will focus on Safe Routes to School, bicycle education, and planned bicycling legislation.

The Oklahoma Bike Summit will be held at the Chesapeake Boathouse in Oklahoma City.

For registration and more details about the agenda, speakers, special events, and the really fabulous "offical" hotel, visit http://okbikesummit2011.eventbrite.com/



http://obc1voice.org/index.php?optio...=123&Itemid=76

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Oklahoma City Council Approves Bicyclists Use Of Full Lane
Written by Pete Kramer
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
On May 24, the Oklahoma City council approved changes to city ordinances relating to the operation of bicycles upon roadways. The vote, originally scheduled for May 31, was put on today's agenda due to a clerical error, according to Randy Entz, Oklahoma City Bicycling Coordinator.

Enacted is a new law allowing bicyclists full use of the travel lane when riding on designated bike routes. By the end of summer over 70 miles of bike routes will be marked with signs such as Bicycles May Use Full Lane , Change Lanes To Pass, and sharrows, Entz said. Motorists passing bicycles on the marked bike routes are required to completely change lanes or wait until it is safe to pass. On all other streets bicyclists are still required to ride as close as is safe to the right edge of the road, and motorists are still required to pass only when it is safe with no less than 3 feet of distance from the bicyclist.

Other amendments don't change existing laws, but do clarify those laws which should make them easier to enforce.

Those changes define a recumbent bicycle, limit the height of handlebars to 12" (recumbent bicycles are specifically excluded), and permit bicycle parking on sidewalks. Because Oklahoma City's Project 180 is adding bike lanes to downtown, when bicyclists are required to use a bike lane is also clarified, with certain exceptions listed in the revised ordinance.

The changes were previously approved unanimously by the Traffic Commission. The principal change relates to full lane usage by bicyclists on designated Bike Routes. In 2007 OKC voters approved a bond issue which included over 200 miles of designated bike routes. In 2010 "sharrow" road markings and "Bicycles May Use Full Lane" signs began to appear on those routes. Motorists and police expressed concern that the signs presented a confusing message since state and city laws required bicyclists to travel as "far to the right as is safe." The new ordinance corrects that issue.
On all other streets state and city law currently grant bicyclists the right to take the full lane for safety if the lane is too narrow for a motor vehicle and bicycle to safely share the lane.

The changes to Oklahoma City Ordinances approved today can be downloaded HERE. http://www.okc.gov/AgendaPub/view.as...fileid=1225323

The Oklahoma City Bicycle Transportation Plan containing a map of routes can be downloaded HERE. http://www.okc.gov/planning/okcbicyc...%20adopted.pdf


http://obc1voice.org/index.php?optio...d=126&Itemid=1

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