Recently, BYU launched bike.byu.edu, a website that informs students, faculty, and staff of how to stay safe and have fun while riding your bike to, from, and on campus.
The site lists suggested routes to and from campus, ways to keep your bike in good shape, and even ways to get involved in bike advocacy.
Check out the website right now!
BYU has taken a very promising step forward and we hope that it will continue to do so!
Provo Bicycle Committee Meeting Minutes: August 2, 2018
Provo Bicycle Collective’s Safe Urban Cycling course starts in two weeks. Register today!
Brian Henrie gave a presentation entitled “Finding the Soul of Provo”. We will share it here as soon as we get a digital copy of it.
Mountainland Association of Governments held a transportation summit a few months ago at which they asked public employees their opinions on transportation issues. The central valley staff (Orem/Provo/Springville) showed that they are much more accepting of density and urbanization than those in surrounding cities.
Of note: our staff stated that they welcome toll roads, free public transit, and quickening the pace of bike lane implementation as part of future transportation improvements.
Keep this forward momentum going by following our posts and acting when invited!
Funding for the TIGER program–which funds biking and walking infrastructure–is being debated in congress right now. If fully funded, this program will fund project like the pedestrian bridge over 600 S in Provo that connects to UTA’s central station.
We need this money set aside for active transportation projects or else it will be swallowed up in the vast sums of money that go to highway and road widening projects.
On Tuesday, June 26, a group of interested people hopped on their bikes to join Bike Provo activists on an active transportation tour throughout the city. On the tour, we examined current biking and walking infrastructure, visualized planned infrastructure, and talked about improvements that could be made.
Thank you to all who attended! We hope to do this again next year.
Hey all,
Austin Taylor here.
I’ve written something I think you all will enjoy.
This week, I graduate from BYU. Since my senior thesis is about bicycle advocacy, I thought I would share it with you all. It focuses on how the quality of our communication makes all the difference in advocacy. My paper contains thoughts from my own experience and from urbanists like Jane Jacobs, Janette Sadik-Khan, and Mikael Colville-Anderson. Because of the type of person you, as a reader of BikeProvo.org, probably are–engaged, involved, maybe even WOKE–the paper will contain strategies that you can immediately apply in your own activism.
After 193 college credits, two majors, and two minors, I’ve finally graduated. I’m surprised it only took four years. Thank you to my mentors along the way like Dr. Aaron Skabelund of the history department, Dr. Brough and Dr. Coleman of the percussion studio, and Dr. Shumway of Latin American Studies. Thanks also to my wife who has let me be a workaholic for the duration of our marriage so far.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this paper!
The following are a few excerpts from the Project Concept Report, which the Regional Planning Committee used to approve $3 million of MAG funds for the project. If the project deviates significantly from the Project Scope it will have to go back through the Technical Advisory Committee and be re-approved by the Regional Planning Committee, which consists of all the mayors and county commissioners in Utah County. If they do not accept changes made to the project the $3 million will be allocated to the next eligible project (Springville 1200 W or Mapleton Lateral Canal Trail).
For more information, see this detailed report from Mountainlands Association of Governments
A month or two ago, we told you about the major improvements that were being planned for Bulldog Boulevard. These improvements would dramatically improve safety for a road that is seven times more deadly than average, beautify this ugly street, and, as council member Dave Sewell put it, save lives. However, those improvements may not happen without your voice.
Sadly, many residents intend to keep this street the high-speed, wide-open road is now is. This would maintain the high level of traffic crashes–more than seven times the state average–and continue to discourage cycling. These people have already blasted the city council with messaging in opposition of the project. What do they oppose? An increased car travel time of only four seconds in one direction and forty seconds in the other during peak traffic hours. That’s a small price to pay for safety.
Because of that opposition, the council is split on the decision to fund the project. Currently, three of the seven council members are opposed to the project and one is still undecided. This is too close to call.
We need your voice!
Tomorrow, the city council will be discussing this project and potentially making a decision on wether it should go through or not. Here’s what you can do:
Don’t wait!Your inaction could cause this project to fail. Join us in voicing your support today!
As you are probably aware, the Bulldog project, which will improve safety for all users on this important corridor, is slated to be completed next spring. Yesterday the Campus Bicycle Committee participated in a meeting between Provo City Public Works and BYU’s Physical Facilities about how to make sure there is a safe and seamless transition across Canyon Road and onto campus. To do that will probably require BYU to widen the road slightly at the entrance to campus at 1230 North.
The administration has asked our committee to gather some bike usage data and we agreed that complementing that with some anecdotal evidence, specifically student voices sharing their experiences riding on Bulldog and up 1230 North would help us better make the case to the BYU Campus Planning Committee.
Could you please by next Monday share a paragraph or two about your experience as a bicyclist on Bulldog and 1230 North? (Did you, for example, feel safe riding on the shoulder began before the bike lane began near the entrance to the RB?) Also, if you know of any other students or former students who took that route, despite how dangerous it is, could you please ask them to share their experiences with me by next Monday?
BTW, some opposition to the project has emerged within Provo among those who can’t countenance the thought of an auto lane becoming a protected bike lane so if you could please complete this four-question, one-minute city survey I’d be very appreciative. (Please use your Provo address and please share with others.)
Many thanks,
Aaron Skabelund
Associate Professor
Department of History
Brigham Young University