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The May 2008 eMessenger is sponsored by Game Snake
Reach thousands of bicyclists in and around the city by advertising with Bike Pittsburgh. Contact info@bike-pgh.org for rates.
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BikeFest Is Nearly Here: Save the Dates and Participate!
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BikeFest is only a month away!
 Mark your calendars, June 27 to July 6th is the fourth annual Bike Pittsburgh BikeFest! BikeFest is a 10-day festival organized by and for cyclists. This is the last call to spearhead and organize some fun rides, lectures, movies, and scavenger hunts! The last day to get events on the official schedule is Friday, June 6th. Contact us to learn more or to submit an event. We need lots of help for our BikeFest Kickoff & Fundraiser Party on June 27th in Downtown Pittsburgh. Please contact Ryan at Restorative Events if you can lend a hand. Click here To look at our schedule to date, and find out about BikeFest (*be sure to click "Look for More" on the Calendar to see all the events on the schedule so far) Click here to join the discussion on BikeFest 08 Email us if you would like to donate to our silent auction. This is Bike Pittsburgh's flagship event and fundraiser and we need your help to make it a success! Please visit and support our BikeFest sponsors and advertisers!
Peloton Level:
Planet Bike, UPMC Sports Medicine, Whole Foods Market, City Paper, and East End BrewingCommuter Level:Big Bang Bikes and Trek of PittsburghCyclotouriste Level:Dirt Rag Magazine, Dirty Harry's, GoCycling, Iron City Bikes, Port Authority of Allegheny County, and REIAdvertisers: Golden Triangle Bike and Blade and Urban Velo |
Region's Transportation Planning Forum seeking public Comments
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| Opportunity to encourage bicycle-friendly transportation projects The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
(SPC) is the region's forum for collaboration, planning, and public
decision-making, and is responsible for planning and prioritizing the
use of all state and federal transportation funds allocated
to the region. The Commission has the authority and responsibility to
make decisions affecting the 10-county region.
One of the ways that they prioritize what projects will happen is
through a document called the Transportation Improvement
Program or TIP. Currently, there is a draft of this document that is in need
of public comment, according to federal law. This draft 2009-2012 TIP identifies
the priority highway and transit improvements programmed for
advancement over the next four years.
Basically, if a project ain't on the TIP, it ain't gonna get built.
This is where you as a cyclist and member of the public come in.
Many of the projects on this document are bridge related and are also heavily used by cyclists, like the Three Sisters Bridges for instance.
Click here to view the TIP and to find out what you can do to make sure bicycles are accommodated. Take action and submit comments today!
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Point State Park Re-opens
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After a year and a half, the Mon and the Al are again connected by trail
23 acres of the 36 acre park opens on Friday May 30. This also means that the Bike/ped path on the Fort Duquene and Fort Pitt Bridges and the path connecting them will be open, re-connecting the Mon and the Al by bike trail.
The rest of the park, known as the Woodlands, will be off limits to
the public until this fall while trees and shrubs are planted.
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| City to Hire Bike/Ped Coordinator Soon |
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Planning professional will oversee safety and help improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure
Last year, Bike Pittsburgh worked with the City of Pittsburgh to obtain funding through the Richard King Mellon Foundation to fund the City and state's first full-time, municipal Bike/Ped Coordinator.
The City conducted a nationwide search, received dozens of applications and interviewed a short-list of the most professionally qualified applicants.
This critically important position will be overseeing the safety of Pittsburgh's cyclists and pedestrians, essential to anyone who lives, works and visits within the city limits. She or he will also be working on creating, expanding and implementing the City of Pittsburgh Bicycling Plan and cycling infrastructure, thus requiring a degree and/or expertise in planning, engineering, or a related field.
Stay tuned to the Bike Pittsburgh website for the latest updates on this important development. This position is a key to creating a safer and more bicycle-friendly environment for Pittsburghers and our guests.
As soon as we find out who gets picked, all 3,000 of you will also know.
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DEP plans another hearing for strip mine near Yough River Trail
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Large turnout to the first hearing prompts second one
 The state Department of Environmental Protection is planning a
second opportunity for the public to voice concern about a proposed
strip mine near Ohiopyle State Park.
A controversial hearing on April 16 packed dozens of people into a
small meeting room at the Dunbar Township municipal building. Those
providing testimony were taken to a separate room to speak into a tape
recorder.
"We decided to have another one," said Thomas Kovalchuk, chief of
permits and technical services at the Greensburg District Mining
Office. "The size of the room was insufficient."
The proposed mine is near several high-quality cold water fisheries,
including Morgan Run, Indian Creek, Johnson Run and the Youghiogheny
River as well as a very natural part of the Yough River Trail, a section of the Great Allegheny Passage. Stay tuned to the Bike Pittsburgh website for updates on this important hearing. Click here to find out more about the issues.
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Comment on the Port Authority service overhaul
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Soliciting comments and open houses scheduled through June
The Port Authority is soliciting input from the public on its plans to overhaul its bus routes. Their tag line
for the open houses is "Tell us where to go!" But where to go isn't the
only thing worth telling them. This is a perfect chance to make sure
that more is done to accommodate bikes at their stations (secure,
covered bike parking), on their trains (vertical bike racks on train
cars, folding bikes during peak times), and on buses (all buses that
can accept bike racks should have them installed). Bikes and transit go
hand in hand. Bikes have an incredible ability to increase ridership on
transit - something the Port Authority is very interested in achieving.
Click here to find out more and to see the open house schedule
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250 Bike Tour with Venture Outdoors
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 Washington DC to Pittsburgh on 2 Wheels
Celebrate 250 years of history with this unforgettable 8-day bike tour following George Washington's footsteps from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, PA. We're putting on the ritz for this fully supported, catered camping trip featuring breathtaking scenery, evening entertainment and outstanding meals.
Limited to 250 riders, you will become part of history which began with our nation's first president and finishes with a Pittsburgh 250 celebration at Point State Park.
Cost: Early Bird $785 After June 15 $875
For more information contact:
biketour@ventureoutdoors.org
www.ventureoutdoors.org/biketour.asp
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Call for BikePool Leaders
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Help Get New Bike Commuters On the Road to Riding Every Day!
CommuteInfo.org and Bike Pittsburgh have partnered on a BikePooling initiative to help get new bike commuters on the road. What we need are BikePool leaders in neighborhoods all over the region who are willing to devote anywhere from one to five days a week to helping others get started in riding into work. If you're interested in volunteering to be a BikePool leader, please contact commuteinfo@spcregion.org. In a brief email tell them what neighborhood you begin and end your commute in, a meeting place, and what time you leave. Once we have enough leaders in the system, new and potential bike commuters can go to the site and choose the BikePool closest to them. One of the things we hear at Bike Pittsburgh often is, "I'd love to start biking to work, but I'm nervous and would like someone to show me how to ride on the street and the best route to take." By volunteering to be a BikePool leader, you could make a big difference in the region by helping introduce more people to bike commuting!
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Pittsburgh Bike Map Now Online
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 Routes, Bridges, Notes, Terrain, Landmarks and More!
Pittsburgh can seem like a daunting place to ride a bicycle for a new cyclist or a newcomer to the city. But it doesn't have to be.
That is our philosophy behind our print and online
Pittsburgh Bike Maps. Our city's beauty, in many ways, stems from our
lack of a traditional street-grid pattern, our rivers, and our many
hills - three elements that also make riding in the city challenging at
times, especially since these geographic components provide most of our
neighborhood connections.
Our maps are designed with the commuter and
urban explorer in mind, in hope that folks can learn the easiest and
safest routes to traverse our landscape, as well as explore some new
territory. More »
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Pittsburgh Cycling Calendar
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All Things Cycling and More!
 Click here
to view the Pittsburgh Cycling Events Calendar For
details click on the individual events. If you have a Google Calendar you can easily subscribe to our events listing.
If you have a
bike event or ride you'd like to submit, simply contact us. Be sure to answer all the typical questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how much.
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The Bike Pittsburgh Blog
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 Keep up with and comment on cycling news, events, action alerts, industry recalls, and more
We use our blog to post cool videos, cycling news, action alerts, and stories to inform and inspire your. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do. We think you'll be surprised at the wealth and depth of information covered. Feel free to sign up for an account and start commenting!
Like most other blogs we make it easy to share our posts via email, Facebook, Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon and others.
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Get Linked-in with the Pittsburgh Cycling Community
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Visit our message board!
Find out about fun Pittsburgh cycling events, meet other cyclists, peddle your wares, ask questions, or just hang out and have a laugh on our message board.
It's FREE, fun, and a great way to get involved.
Click here to get connected today!
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Save the Polar Bears. Ride a Bike!
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You want to do something that will really impact the environment? Help fund better bike facilities!
Climate Change got you down? Worried about our future generations? Well, donate to Bike Pittsburgh and help cut the overall carbon footprint of Pittsburgh!
Transportation choice is one of the most important environmental decisions one can make in life.
The
work we do makes our streets safer for nonmotorized transportation and recreation so that folks can feel safer riding, and surround themselves with a supportive cycling community. As the city becomes safer and easier it is to get around by bike, fewer people will opt to drive thus saving the atmosphere from tons of pollutants and CO2.
Show your support and donate today!*(*it's tax deductible and you get discounts at local shops!)
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Bike Pittsburgh gratefully acknowledges the
Richard King Mellon Foundation, Heinz Endowments, The Benter Foundation and our members for their generous support.
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