Education through Creating Healthy Communities Program

Submitted by keith.webb on

We Are Traffic recently completed a project with the Lucas County Health Department through its' Creating Healthy Communities Program.

We held a Lunch N' Learn at Promedica Ebeid Institute on October 19th with an Educational Bike Ride the following day, with a goal of teaching participants "How to Ride Safely With Traffic". The classroom portion focused on law pertaining to bicyclists and motorist while the bike ride provided exposure to "real-world" examples of both good and bad infrastructure. We also introduced the GOHIO program that provides incentives for bicyclists and other who give up "single-occupancy vehicles".

The project also provided funding for new bike racks and a self-repair or "Fix-It" stand to be installed next to Promedica Market on the Green and Ebeid Institute.

There is a bike share station nearby that provides parking for bike share bikes. We hope to add bike racks near other stations to allow for routine bike parking for those who have their own ride! If you'd like to help as a volunteer or financially, please contact us!

New Bancroft Bike Lanes

Submitted by keith.webb on

Cyclists now have a new section of bike lanes on Bancroft Road near UT, between Secor and Parkside Blvd <Map>. Many thanks to the City of Toledo for including this section of Bancroft on the Toledo Bike Plan, and for including recommendation on the buffer design from We Are Traffic. We contacted the City of Toledo engineering department back in August of 2016 after a project review with the TMACOG Pedestiran & Bikeways Committee. The original design, a "Door Zone Bike Lane" or DZBL, would have placed cyclists in the path of opening car doors with the high potential of injury or death. We Are Traffic shared best practices used by other municipalities, including one that places a buffer between the bike lane and on-street parking. City engineers David Dysard and Gary Stookey were both receptive to incorporate the buffer between the on-street parking and bike lane.

Thank you City of Toledo!  Now let's complete the open segments on Bancroft to complete the corridor to Downtown Toledo!

 

Cycling Without Age Toledo

The Right To Wind In Your Hair

Donate to Cycling Without Age

Please consider making a donation to support this program! Thanks to our generous donors, we have our first bike and trailer, with hopes to add a second bike for next season. Donations are made to Maumee Valley Adventurers, a 501c3 non-profit (tax receipt available).

Cycling Without Age is a movement started in 2012 by Ole Kassow. Ole wanted to help the elderly get back on their bicycles, but he had to find a solution to their limited mobility. The answer was a trishaw and he started offering free bike rides to the local nursing home residents.

He then got in touch with a civil society consultant from the City of Copenhagen, Dorthe Pedersen (now Cycling Without Age), who was intrigued by the idea and together they bought the first 5 trishaws and launched Cycling Without Age, which has now spread to all corners of Denmark, and since 2015 to another 38 countries around the world.

We are working with Maumee Valley Adventurers and other local partners to bring this program to the greater Toledo area, for more information on how you can get involved, contact keith@WeAreTraffic.org

Michigan’s Safe Passing Law Goes into Effect 9/27/18

Submitted by keith.webb on

Starting today, Thursday September 27, drivers must give a minimum of 3-feet of room while passing bicyclists on Michigan roadways. This new Public Act was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by Governor Snyder on June, 29 2018.   

PA 279 of 2018 requires a motorist attempting to overtake a bicyclist traveling in the same direction to give at least three feet to the left of the bicyclist as they pass until they have safely passed the bicyclist. The motorist may drive to the left of the center of the highway to pass a bicyclist if it is safe to do so, regardless of if the vehicle is in a no-passing zone.

Working with our membership and in partnership with key organizational partners, LMB led the charge to enact this common-sense legislation aimed at improving bicycle safety for all. We would like to once again thank all of our members, donors, and partners for helping us make this happen.

Learn more about the new law and the excellent work of LMB:  <CLICK HERE>

Sylvania River Trail Access Improvement

Submitted by keith.webb on

Thanks to the City of Sylvania for including the new curb cuts at the entrance of the Sylvania River Trail off Main Street. This will make it much easier (and safer) for cyclists to transition from the roadway on to the trail, and trail to the roadway. Thank you for making Sylvania a safe place for cyclists!

Main Street and Monroe will be closed until August 21 as they finalize the improvements to the road and sidewalks.

Education Efforts Never End - LEO's

Submitted by keith.webb on

Thanks to the City of Sylvania Police and Sylvania Townwhip Police departments for incorporating cyclist safety related content in their officer training programs. Patrol officers will watch "Understanding Cyclists' Position in the Roadway" and We Are Traffic will field questions and comments as we work together to improve the safety of cyclists.

Both departments will help distribute 3-feet stickers to better inform the general public about the safe passing legislation that became law on March 21, 2017.

Law Enforcement: Understanding Cyclists’ Position on the Roadway

Submitted by keith.webb on

Law Enforcement: Understanding Cyclists' Position on the Roadway from CyclingSavvy on Vimeo.

This video illustrates the safety concerns of cyclists using the road, and how the bicyclist’s position on the roadway can dramatically increase or decrease the most common crash types. Very special thanks to our friends at Cycling Savvy and the American Bicycling Education Association for producing and making this video available for Law Enforcement agencies.

Sylvania River Trail Phase 2 Under Construction

Submitted by keith.webb on

Construction is underway for Phase II of the Sylvania River Trail project that will run along the north side of the Flower Hospital campus, cross the Ottawa River, run under the US-23 expressway and exit out to Monroe Street. The highly anticipated addition to this project will increase the total length of the trail to 1.5 miles and include improvements such as elevated walkways, new bridges, and landscape beautification. Phase II will cost just over $2 million with $850,000 coming from grants and $400,000 coming from ProMedica Hospital contributions over the next five years. 

Sylvania River Trail Phase 2

For more details, visit the City of Sylvania Website

Bike Share Coming to Toledo - Public Meeting

Submitted by keith.webb on

Join the Mayor, City of Toledo representatives, the biking community, Metroparks Toledo, small businesses and your neighbors in a discussion about biking in Toledo! 

Representatives from GOTCHA bike (https://thegotchagroup.com/bike-share/) will be on hand to present information out the new bike share program coning to Toledo this summer! 

How will we handle safety? What are the infrastructure plans to support biking? What do citizens and supporters want to see to be bike-friendly? 

Join us! 
May 30, 2018
4:00-5:30PM
Ward Pavilion - Wildwood Metropark

Free and open to the public.

Toledo Bike Share

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