Latest Posts

Maintenance Update

We’re a little behind on our updates for maintenance completions:

The bridge between Millheim and Coburn opened a few weeks ago.

PennDOT’s section of Whitehall Rd. from Atherton to W. College was completed last week. That section features 6 ft wide bike lanes along its length.

Ferguson Township’s section from W. College to Tadpole Rd. featuring 4 foot shoulders and removal of blind curves, is to be completed this week (today, actually, but we don’t have confirmation of that, yet)

The bridge across Penn’s Creek near Beaver Dam Road will open Thursday, weather conditions for the week permitting.

Now, those of you who know me know I can’t pass up an opportunity for a teaching moment. ;) With the opening of Whitehall Rd in Ferguson, we now have a safer route to the southwest than ever before. This is a vast improvement of a road that had no shoulders and many washouts. The residents of Ferguson Twp were reluctant to fund even that and it’s only thanks to the supervisors’, planners’ and engineers’ perseverance that we got the four feet. However, a four foot wide shoulder is only wide enough for one cyclist. Please be good visitors to the Township and stay single file on that section. You’ll be safer and the residents will appreciate no longer having to dodge around single cyclists let alone those riding two abreast. There are plenty of miles of more suitable, quieter roadways past Tadpole where you can resume your social rides. Remember, sharing the road works both ways.

Active Commuting

Many thanks to Dr. Melissa Bopp for attending Wednesday’s CRBC meeting and presenting her findings from recent studies about active travel in Centre County. Melissa is a researcher in Penn State’s Department of Kinesiology. She discussed some of the significant influences on biking for transportation in our community and also examined some of the economic implications of active travel in downtown State College. It was a great presentation and gave us a lot to think about in terms of what we can do to further bike/ped travel in the Centre region.

You can download and view the presentation here:
biking_for_transportation_crbc_sept 2013.pdf

Meeting Minutes – August 2013

MINUTES of CRBC General Meeting

August 21, 2013

Meeting held at the State College Borough building.

Present:
• Jim Serene, President
• Brian Dempsey, Vice President
• Joan Potter, Secretary
• Paul Rito, ex officio
• Jean Bemis
• Roy Greenfield
• Geoff Wilson

The meeting was called to order by Jim Serene at 6:00 pm. A quorum was present, and the meeting was ready to proceed with business.

Can CRBC Become a Dynamic Force for Bicycling in the Centre Region:
Jim Serene referenced a recent article from Bicycle Times describing how the Central New Hampshire Bicycling Coalition went about inspiring their community to get involved to improve cycling conditions. The Coalition organized a “Biketoberfest” event that enticed 150 people to come together and become civically engaged – a fun event where cyclists connected, enjoyed some entertainment and food, and their voices were heard by city planners. Jim would like to further discuss what CRBC can do to inspire more cyclists in our community to get involved. The State College Cycling group has a very large following, but they do not appear to be particularly interested in CRBC activities. How do we capture their attention and promote CRBC’s accomplishments? Without the concerted efforts of CRBC members, roads in this area would still have rumble strips, bike paths and bike lanes would not exist, and the Centre Region would not be a recognized Bike Friendly Community. There is so much more to accomplish, but it requires the efforts of many, not just the few that have been actively involved in recent years. Proposed asking SC Cycling if CRBC can post messages to their list serve.

Suggestion made to have more speakers at CRBC meetings to encourage attendance – perhaps a presentation of the Master Plan by Trish Meek and Tom Flynn; Rail Trail information; or Melissa Bopp from Penn State’s Kinesiology Dept about her study of biking for transportation.

The 4’ rule needs to be messaged to the community. One suggestion was leasing a billboard, and another was contacting PennDOT to request the lighted message boards on the outskirts of town be used to remind motorists.

Glass on Fox Hollow Road was reported to cause several flat bike tires recently. A request to sweep the roadside will be made to College Township.

Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC):
Formation of a BAC received a “vote of confidence” from the Transportation Land Use (TLU) committee. COG agreed to dedicate some of Trish Meek’s time to the BAC, which is great news. Forming a BAC was the number one improvement recommendation that came with the Bike Friendly Community award. The BAC will serve as a liaison to bicyclists, businesses and the community, and will meet quarterly to discuss biking issues.

National Bicycle Summit representative:
The NBS will be held in March 2014 in Washington, DC, and FreezeThaw has offered to subsidize the cost of a CRBC member to attend. This must be someone who is passionate about bike advocacy and willing to share information from NBS when they return.

September 13th Bike To Work Day:
CRBC will have a table set up on the Allen Street mall to dispense information about cycling in Centre County. Volunteers are needed by the hour to staff the table.

There being no further business to come before the meeting, it adjourned at 7:05 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Joan Potter, Secretary