Tag Archives: protected bike lanes

AWESOME PROJECT: Protected Bike Lanes Coming to the Mile-High City… Sooner Than You Think

Oh hey, people who want to bike safely to work, and people who hate traffic, and people who like clean air, and people who want our coastal cities not to be underwater in 100 years:

Would it surprise you to know that Copenhagen itself, that shining eco mecca of robust and teeming protected bike lanes – bike highways, really – was not always so? That up to the 1960’s, Copenhagen, too, according to People for Bikes, was just as jam-packed with smelly cars as the rest of the developed world is?

Well, yes. It was that late in the game that the bike-heaven of the world turned it around, creating vast networks of protected bike lanes and clearing public squares of cars. Think we can do it, too?

Signs point to yes. In fact, lots of the cool kids already are. New York is doing it, Chicago’s doing it, Minneapolis is doing it. Memphis, a city particularly dear to our hearts, is doing it. And here’s some very exciting news: up next to the plate is a city that for many of us probably still calls up images of SUV’s packed with outdoorsy gear, rather than of bicycles. Time to throw out your old ideas about the mile-high city; cyclists, meet the new Denver.

Aprapahoe - 2v rendering

By this summer, two major protected bike lanes will have opened, with many more to follow.

The imminent changes are thanks in part to Aylene McCallum, Transportation & Research Manager at non-profit Downtown Denver Partnership, and her D.D.P. colleagues. About a year ago, McCallum and her boss approached the city of Denver to say that they planned to crowd-resource money to design some protected bike lanes for downtown. City officials immediately jumped in to partner on the project, and to greatly expand its scope.

“The city said, well, wait a second. Why don’t you let us do a protected bike lane plan. We’ll fund it,” says McCallum. “We’ll focus on downtown, but we’ll do it for the entire city. And how about you use the money that you raise to accelerate the implementation of one of the corridors that we identify in this bike lane plan? So we said ok, we’ll do that.”

In an incredibly streamlined and speedy fundraising push, McCallum personally approached local businesses that stood to benefit from the increased bike and foot traffic the protected lane would bring them. She approached, in other words, people who were already stakeholders in the project, but didn’t know it yet.

“You can’t just get a story on a blog or just get a story even in the newspaper or just get a story on TV,” says McCallum. “That’s not going to bring you to your goal. You have to set aside some time to send out personal emails and personal phone calls, and that’s really what makes the difference. We pulled lists of companies that were directly on the route, on Arapahoe Street and on the adjacent corridors, and did the majority of our outreach to those companies.”

The money was raised in no time, at which point a community meeting was held, and a straw poll taken to determine which major roads residents wanted to tackle first. McCallum says it was the most fun she’s ever had at a public meeting; the poll was a hit. Arapahoe Street won, and a summer 2015 opening is slated for the new protected lane, along with it’s sister lane, which will run on a parallel street, in the opposite direction.

McCallum is herself exactly the kind of Denver resident and hopeful cyclist that she wishes were out pedaling on the roads. She’s what she calls an “interested but concerned” cyclist. She’d like to bike to her work in downtown Denver, but with two young children and a husband at home, it simply isn’t worth the risk. The city still doesn’t quite feel safely broken in for cyclists.

“I’m a mom now, I have two kids,” says McCallum. “A lot of people that work in downtown have families and are really worried about their safety, but they want to ride bikes because they’re active people and they want to use active transportation more. They’re concerned about their safety in Downtown with the high volumes of traffic, and distracted drivers. You want a little bit more protection.”

Looks like McCallum and her many interested but concerned peers won’t have to wait long; maybe we’re not as far behind Copenhagen as it seems. For a map of the new protected lane site, and lots more info, check out the Arapahoe Street Protected Bike Lane ioby campaign page.

For Immediate Release: Memphis is on the cusp of building the most innovative bicycle infrastructure in the United States

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Public Fundraising Campaign Launched to Complete Build of Hampline

Memphis is on the cusp of building the most innovative bicycle infrastructure in the United States. Broad Avenue Arts District and Livable Memphis launch public campaign to complete required funding.

Contact:
Pat Brown
Broad Avenue Arts District
tcliftonart@comcast.net
901-481-7157

Sarah Newstok
Livable Memphis Funding Coordinator
sarah@livablemempis.org
901-338-2280

Sara Studdard
studdardsara@gmail.com
901-356-2090

Memphis, Tennessee (October 14, 2013). Recognizing the growing interest for bicycling in Memphis, a public fundraising campaign has been launched to close the gap in funding required to provide a safe route for bicycle riders to go between Overton Park and Shelby Farms Greenline.

Coupled with the launch of the fundraising campaign is the announcement of the permanent name for the connector – “The Hampline.” The name was chosen to honor the nickname longer-term residents of the Binghampton community use when referencing their neighborhood. The Hampline is located in the center of the Binghampton community.

Once completed, The Hampline will be the most innovative bicycle infrastructure project to occur within the United States. New York City has a few similar cycle tracks, as does Montreal and Vancouver, B.C., but The Hampline will be the gold standard for other cities to follow.

The goal of the campaign is to raise $75,000 from the public. The remaining funds required to begin the build (approximately $175,000) will be raised via private contributions and foundations.

The public campaign will utilize ioby, a crowd-resourcing platform for citizen-led neighborhood projects. ioby’s platform is similar to Kickstarter, but is specifically for grassroots-based civic projects. ioby fondly stands for “In Our Backyards.” Those interested in contributing to the campaign may visit https://ioby.org/project/hampline for more information. Any size donation is greatly appreciated. For the project to stay on schedule and the build to be completed, funding must be secured by November 23.

Since ioby focuses on community-led, neighbor-funded projects, the planning team felt it was an ideal fit to close the funding gap. The project to create a bicycle connector linking Overton Park and the Greenline was launched in 2010 during Broad Avenue’s “New Face for an Old Broad” event. The event showcased the power of grassroots efforts to revitalize a neighborhood and the positive impact reconfiguring streets to support all methods of transportation can have in improving livability and neighborhood redevelopment.

The Hampline is designed to be a cycle track designed for all levels of bicyclists. It will showcase best practices with regards to protected cycle tracks, considered best-in-class design for green lanes (protected bicycle lanes). This design provides greater safety for bike riders because it is physically separated from automobile traffic by a physical barrier. The project, which incorporates leading standards for on-road cycle track design, signalization, and storm water engineering, was designed and engineered by pioneers in the field (Fuss & O’Neill, Inc., Alta Planning and Design, and the GreenLane Project) in partnership with the City of Memphis Engineering. Livable Memphis and Broad Avenue Arts District provided project leadership.

The total cost for the project is estimated at $4.5 million, which includes construction ($2.6m), planning and design ($600k), sidewalk accessibility improvements ($500k) and art enhancements ($800k). To date, over $1.2m has been raised privately via foundations and grants to fund the initial phases of the project. The City of Memphis secured funding for the majority of the build via Congestion Mitigation Grant Air Quality funding.

In addition to showcasing engineering innovation with the street design, the Hampline will feature two miles of public art murals and sculptures, an amphitheater and numerous art galleries, this bicycle and walking track is located in the Binghampton Community (“The Hamp”) and links Overton Park and the Shelby Farms Greenline via a state of the art, two-way protected cycle track.

Additional contacts and information:

To make a contribution: https://ioby.org/project/hampline
For campaign updates: https://www.facebook.com/broadavearts or
https://www.facebook.com/livablememphis

ioby – contact Erin Barnes, Co-Founder, 917-464-4515 x2, erin@ioby.org
ioby’s mission is to deepen civic engagement in cities by connecting individuals directly to community-led, neighbor-funded projects in their neighborhoods.

Broad Avenue Arts District
The Broad Avenue Arts District is located in Memphis along historic Broad Avenue between Hollywood Street and the L&N Railroad track. Recognized as Memphis’ second arts district by the Memphis City Council in 2009, the business owners, property owners and residents have worked together to activate all public spaces and store fronts along Broad Avenue. Key partners are the Binghampton Development Corporation, Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team and Community LIFT. Their efforts have achieved great progress in revitalizing the Binghampton community. To date, more than $20 million in private reinvestment has occurred in the form of new business openings and property renovations. In addition, the District recently was awarded ArtPlace America and National Endowment of the Arts grants to support the development of creative placemaking and public art adjacent to The Hampline. www.BroadAveArts.com

Livable Memphis supports the development and redevelopment of healthy, vibrant and economically sustainable communities throughout Memphis. It is a coalition of active citizens, neighborhood organizations, educational institutions, non-profit and faith-based community groups, private and community developers, business partners, government officials, and departmental staff. Representing over 125 neighborhoods in 32 zip codes, Livable Memphis provides a grassroots voice for communities in the ongoing community conversation about development trends and challenges to neighborhood revitalization.