It Is Happening! Cape Coral Bike-Ped

Two biking routes are ready for signage as a result of Cape Coral Bike-Ped's successful campaign.  Kudos to our CCBP partner!

CONTACT:  Carolyn E. Conant (239) 851-9737 or info@CapeCoralBikePed.org.

For Immediate Release: May 26, 2013

Cape Coral, FL. (May 26, 2013) – The Cape Coral Construction Industry Association (CCCIA) and the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce are hard at work raising the funds to create the “CCCIA Route” and the “Chamber Route.”  It’s your chance to Step Up and help these community-oriented organizations by sponsoring route signs at $300 per route sign or 10 signs for $2500 with your businesses or loved ones name on the lower Sponsor sign for a minimum of two years. Visit www.CapeCoralBikePed.org to see route maps!

It’s a competition!  Who will be the first to get Route signs in the ground? 

Chamber Route: The southern section of what has been called the Great Circle Route will become the Chamber Route with support from the community.  If you are interested in helping to create the Chamber Route, contact Beverly Black at Beverly@BlackBusinessSolutions.com, Cindy Gallagher at cgallagher@newspress.com or Diane Everhart at  diane.p.everhart@nm.com for more information.  

The CCCIA Route:  The CCCIA Board unanimously approved sponsoring Diplomat north and south routes and renaming them the “CCCIA Route.”  Now it’s your chance to help them reach their goal.  For more information, contact Maureen “Moe” Beneke at moe@cccia.org.

The ultimate goal is for Cape Coral to become a premier cycling destination.  Help these organizations take the first steps to make that vision a reality!  There is pride in our community coming together to create routes that can increase tourism in our community and improve the quality of life for many of its citizens, including that of our children.  

Tourism is big business in Florida. Let’s put Cape Coral on the map as a premier bicycle community. 

This is Happening!

You can also send your tax-deductible contribution in any amount.  Go to www.CapeCoralBikePed.org to donate on line or send your check made out to “Cape Coral Bike Ped” to:

Carolyn Conant - Cape Coral Bike-Ped

2616 SW 51^st Street, Cape Coral, FL. 33914

If you have any questions, you can call (239) 851-9737 or email us at info@CapeCoralBikePed.org

Here's your chance to order BikeWalkLee biking jerseys!

Cycling buddies, Kelly and Darla, in new BWL biking jerseys

In February, BikeWalkLee won an Alliance for Biking and Walking contest--custom designed biking jerseys by the Alliance's partner Primal Wear.  A friend (Kent Van Slyke) created the design for our Primal jerseys.  Now that the BWL steering group is sporting these jerseys around town, we're getting requests about how people can order their jersey.  

So, we've arranged with Primal to have a short-term "team store" created to provide you with the opportunity to order your own shirt.  So, mark your calendars, starting June 19th, the "team store" will be open for two week--from June 19-July 3rd--and go online and order your shirt.  See the instructions and info below.  Don't miss this one-time opportunity!  You can go online now and create your account and then come back on June 19th to place your order.  Note that the shirts have to be produced after the orders are in, so shirts won't arrive until September...just in time for cooler riding weather.

The shirts cost $70, plus a $10 shipping fee.  In terms of sizes, they are essentially all men sizes (but a great fit for women), so the medium worked well for both Kelly and I (see above).  For the guys, if you're trying to decide between a large and x-large, I'd go with x-large (several guys on our team ordered large and they're a bit too small).

Order Instructions:

Hello,

Your team has elected to utilize the team store feature on Primal Custom Pro to place your custom apparel order. The team store allows you to login and place an order for the team apparel you would like to receive and pay for your order individually with a personal credit card. To login and place an order, please follow the link below to create an account.

Create an account at Primal Custom Pro

If you already have an account with Primal Custom Pro, no need to create another. Follow this link to login.
Log into Primal Custom Pro

Please note that all custom team store products are PREORDERS. All orders will be put into production once the store closes and will be delivered approximately 10-12 weeks after. You must place your order before the store closes. Your team store will close on: July 3^rd 2013. If you have any questions please contact your Team Manager or customer service at 800-275-6953.

Thank you!
The Primal Custom Team

Here's BWL's Ann Pierce wearing her shirt BACKWARDS on the Tour de Parks 5/18 ride!

County Commissioners consider deep budget cuts in park and transit services

 Now is the time for citizens to tell their elected officials what they think about proposed service cuts in transit and parks.  Make your voices heard before the June 24th BoCC budget workshop.

 It's that time of year again...budget season.
In March, BoCC asked staff to say how they'd cut $14 M from the General Fund budget and these are the cuts that staff proposed on May 16th:
Human Services:  $5.4 M
Public Safety:        4.6 M
Transit:                  3.2 M
Parks & Rec         2.2 M
Total:               $15.4 M
For transit, they would eliminate Route 60 (FGCU/San Carlos Park); Route 160 (Pine Island); Route 595 (NFM-Cape); Route 40 (Cape); eliminate all Sunday bus service; Eliminate Saturday evening service; and increase fares from $1.25 to $1.50.

For Parks & Rec, they would close the following parks:
City of Palms
Caloosahatchee Regional Park
Hickey's Creek Preserve
Manatee Park
Six Mile Cypress Interpretive Center
Six Mile Cypress Slough
And would discontinue the UF Extension Service Program

 On Monday, June 24th (1:30 p.m.) the Commissioners will instruct staff on whether these proposals should be incorporated into the budget.  There is no opportunity for public comment at the workshop but it can be viewed on Ch. 97, on their website, or in Commission Chambers. Take the time to communicate with your elected officials before the June 24th meeting. 

  

See news articles about the proposals:

News-Press: 5/21

News-Press: 5/20
Naples Daily News:  5/20
Naples Daily News:  5/16

Lee MPO Peer Exchange--25 Year Vision for Transportation in the Greater Nashville Area, June 21st

Mark your calendars and plan to attend the June 21st MPO Board meeting to learn from Nashville, TN MPO officials about how they developed and are now implementing an award-winning visionary transportation plan.

The Lee MPO Board will soon embark on the process of updating its 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP).  In order to learn from other communities' experiences, the MPO Board is planning a series of "Peer Exchanges".  The first "Peer Exchange" is scheduled for June 21st and will feature Michael Skipper, Executive Director of the Nashville Area MPO along with one of the MPO Board members.  The Lee MPO Board meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the Cape Coral City Council Chambers (1015 Cultural Park Blvd., Cape Coral).

It is fitting that Nashville is the kick-off presentation because their award-winning Regional Transportation Plan, adopted in 2010, has much to offer Lee County, a similarly sprawled out region. By integrating land use and transportation planning, adopting a bold vision for a sustainable future which included mass transit, support for active transportation and walkable communities, and the preservation and enhancement of strategic roadway corridors, right-sizing projects and focusing on a "fix-it-first" approach, they have reduced the cost of their LRTP by about 50%.  Their collaboration with local universities and businesses to an impressive degree, both in formulating the plan and now in its implementation.

Here's the link to a short video about the Nashville Regional Transportation Plan.

The Nashville MPO Director sums up the significance of the 2010 Regional Transportation when it was adopted on December 15, 2010:

 “The MPO mayors, working in partnership with their constituents, the business community, state and local agencies, transit authorities, and planning experts from across the region, have accomplished something remarkable in today’s adoption of this Plan,” said MPO Director Michael Skipper. “We’re now better prepared to absorb the population growth that accompanies continued efforts to grow our local economies –bringing us new jobs and additional prosperity–without sacrificing Middle Tennessee as we know it today. Diversifying our transportation investment strategies –to more seriously support alternative modes, such as transit, walking and biking– will help us to conserve open space and fuel, manage congestion, and connect people with the places they want to go: work, school, shopping, or entertainment.”

This is an important opportunity for the MPO Board, as well as other local elected officials, agencies, staff and MPO and County committee members, and citizens, to learn how another community has shifted to a new transportation paradigm.  In help Board members be prepared to engage in an in-depth discussion of how we can take lessons from their experiences and apply them to Lee County, below are links to a series of articles and reports on the Nashville approach. 

Once the MPO agenda package is posted online (around June 14th), there will be another blog post alerting you to the specifics of the agenda and any additional background information on the speakers and their presentations.

Future "MPO Peer Exchanges" will feature Broward County MPO officials (Sept. 20th), and Hillsborough County MPO officials (TBA), among others, so stay tuned!

Background Reading

Nashville: 
1.      Can Nashville Shake Its Sprawling Past? The Atlantic Cities Blog,2/15/12

2.  Nashville, TN plan: 2035 Regional Plan Documents

3.       New analysis of Nashville area development reveals opportunity for public savings, Smart Growth America, April 23, 2013

4.      Building Better Budgets quantifies average savings and revenue ofsmart growth development, Smart Growth America, May 21, 2013

(Nashville, TN is one of 17 case studies in national report)

TN Department of Transportation:

5.      TennesseeDOT Moves Past Road-Widening as a Congestion Reduction Strategy    DC.Streetsblog.org, August30, 2012.

6.      State DOTs,Smart Growth Group Highlight How to Stretch Transportation Funds, GoverningMagazine Sept. 11, 2012

By Darla Letourneau