March 13, 2017

Meeting held at the State College Borough Building

Present:

• Tristan Avelis, President
• Andrew Artz, Vice President
• Joan Potter, Secretary/Treasurer
• Mark Davison
• Cliff Kanz
• Paul Rito
• James Read
• Cecily Zhu
• Will Gowan
• Peter Koby
• Michele Chernega
• Leanne Martin
• Jeff Martin

The meeting was called to order by Tristan Avelis at 5:30 pm.

Updates

• International Winter Bike to Work Day was Feb 10^th. Seven CentreBike members met at the “We Are” sculpture by the IM building at 8:00am for a photo. As usual, it was a bitter cold morning for the event. Next year’s meeting place will be the Lion Shrine.

• On Feb 13^th, 25 volunteers from CentreBike, NMBA and PSU Comm473 class distributed almost 100 free bicycle lights to non-illuminated cyclists during CentreBike’s “Light up the Night” campaign with the goal to make cycling safer in the Centre Region. During the event, volunteers also collected data related to travel behaviors of bicyclists and pedestrians. The results were summarized and distributed for meeting attendees to review.

• The draft designs for two “tail wraps” to be posted on CATA buses during National May Bike Month were presented for comment. One design promotes the 4’ rule and the other promotes May Bike Month. Suggestions were noted and final designs will be completed by Apr 3^rd to be ready to install on two buses in May. Funding for the tail wraps was approved by the Executive Committee at the January meeting.

• Andrew Artz mentioned that he met with transportation planners to learn about usage of bicycle racks on CATA buses. More than 14,000 bus riders used the racks in 2016, and the greatest usage was during the fall months on routes which serve student areas.

• Two more used bike racks were purchased from PSU Salvage in January and donated to Centre Region Parks & Rec and the office of the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society. The State College Friends School has expressed interest in receiving a rack when another one becomes available in the spring.

• There are two bicycle classes this month: “How to pick a bike” will be Mar 15^th from 6:00-8:00 at The Bicycle Shop, and the “Basics of Bike Touring” is Mar 16^th from 6:00-8:00 at Millbrook Marsh.

• Patton Township voted to approve a new master plan for the Bernel Road Park, which includes two pump tracks. The tracks are part of the park’s phase one expansion and with the right support could break ground sometime before 2020. It was suggested that CentreBike send a letter of support to Patton Township acknowledging our appreciation for the bicycle facilities in the proposed expansion. The letter will be drafted for approval at the next meeting.

• Peter Koby described his work with bicycle map designs and discussion followed on what would be important to include in a new Centre Region bicycle map.

• Michelle Chernega suggested posting links to bicycling-related podcasts on the website. She recently heard one about women and bicycling and thought it would be great to share. Discussion followed on what members might be interested in seeing on the website and how often.

Treasurers Report

The current cash balance is $5,748.18. Upcoming expenses include the $75 annual membership dues for the League of American Bicyclists and $700 for the CATA bus tail wraps. CentreBike’s annual membership drive will be held during the month of May.

Volunteer Opportunities

• Because bicycling issues are important to our membership, it was suggested to find a volunteer willing to interview candidates running for local office this year to collect their thoughts on bicycling and share with CentreBike members before the May 16^th primary election. Members could submit questions for the interviewer to use.

• On Sunday, Apr 9^th, Millbrook Marsh is celebrating “Earth Day Birthday” and CentreBike will have an information table. Two volunteers are needed from 2:00-5:00p to distribute information.

• The Sierra Club Moshannon Group is hosting the Banff Mountain Film Festival on April 14^th & 15^th at the State Theatre, and offered free table space in the lobby for local environmental groups to distribute information before the show. If CentreBike has a table, one volunteer will be needed each night between 5:30-7:00. Note that this doesn’t include complimentary tickets for the show, but volunteers are welcome to purchase a ticket and stay to watch it.

• CentreBike is tentatively scheduled to have an information table at Allen Street Gates on April 28^th to kick-off May Bike month. Many volunteers will be needed to staff the table in shifts throughout the day.

• The 28^th annual Adult Health & Lifestyle Expo will be held at the Nittany Mall on May 18^th from 9:00a-2:00p. There is a fee of $50 for non-profit organizations to participate, which includes a skirted table, 2 chairs and signage. A motion to approve the $50 expense for a display table was made by Paul Rito and seconded by Andrew Artz; all in favor. Several volunteers will be needed to staff the table in shifts.

• Doodle-type polls will be shared with the listserv to gather volunteer interest and availability to help with these events.

Announcements

• The South Central PA’s Regional Bike Summit will be Mar 18^th at the Harrisburg Area Community College. http://bicyclesouthcentralpa.org/. Mark Davison is planning to attend and offered a ride to anyone wanting to carpool.
• The Nittany Classic’s Criterium is Sunday, Mar 26^th from 8:00a-5:00p in State College at Locust Lane and Nittany Avenue. It will be a great spectator race!

• May 17^th is the date of the 14^th annual International Ride of Silence, and Mark Davison suggested we organize a local ride to honor those who have been killed or injured while riding a bike in the Centre Region. More information will be forthcoming.

• The next CentreBike general membership meeting will be Apr 10^th at 5:30p in Room 241 at the Borough Building.

 

There being no further business to come before the meeting, it adjourned at 6:35 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Joan Potter, Secretary/Treasurer