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
