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What do raised intersections, painted crosswalks, buffered bicycle lanes, signage, and bulb outs have to do with creating a safer street?
Find out for yourself by taking a look at the temporary 500 North Pilot Project, organized by neighborhood volunteers. The project will be up for a couple weeks (although the paint is freshest now!) until the city is ready to re-pave the street and will give the public a chance to try out potential new road features.
Come to the Complete Street Celebration and BBQ on Saturday, July 29th from 7-8:30 in front of the Rec Center. Also, stop by any time with your family and friends to take a look, snap some photos, and give the street a try.
Here’s a quick glimpse and what you’ll find:
Thanks to Christopher Wiltsie for snapping these early morning shots!
You may have noticed something unusual on 500 North this Friday night.
Neighbors, police officers, city employees, the Provo Bicycle Committee, and people from all over the city joined together to paint the town. Literally.
Come to the family-friendly 500 North Celebration (7pm on 500 N by the Rec Center) tomorrow (July 29th) for free KirbyQ BBQ and the chance to see the pilot and share your own ideas.
In the mean time, here’s a tiny sneak-peak of the fun we had in the middle of the night:
Photo credit: the good ones were taken by Christopher Wiltsie and I took the not-so-great ones.
For the past six years, Provo Bicycle Committee has been recognizing outstanding bicycle commuters for their contributions to Provo by awarding the Golden Spoke Award. We believe in cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation that can help create a cleaner, healthier, and safer society.
Two years ago, we began recognizing winter bicycle commuters with the help of Canyon Bicycles, the sponsor of the winter award.
After a nomination and unanimous approval from the Provo Bicycle Committee, Josh Gubler has been chosen as the winner of the 2017 Golden Spoke Winter Bicycle Commuter Award.
Josh and his two daughters ready to embark to work and school, respectively. December 2016
One afternoon in January, while riding around town, I spotted Josh riding his bike home from work. It was probably the coldest day of the year and Josh was decked out in a full ski mask and lobster mitt gloves. Not even the snow and freezing temperatures stopped him from biking!
Since December 3, 2015, Josh has commuted by bicycle to work, often dropping his kids off at school, also on their bikes. In his nearly 15 months of bicycle commuting, Josh has saved over 1.5 tons of C02 emissions that he would have created by driving and likely burned over 90,000 calories.
After I presented the award to Josh during a city council meeting in February 2017, he told the council he started biking to save money but has found that it offers him time to relax and see the city. He encouraged citizens to help make the city a friendlier place by choosing to bike instead of drive. Doing so, he said, would reduce pollution and increase a sense of community within our neighborhoods.
The Provo Bicycle Committee would like to congratulate Josh on winning this award and showing all of us that it’s still possible –and fun–to bicycle commute during winter.
Don’t miss the 2015 Bike-to-School Week, September 8-11th.
Check with your school to see how they are participating.
Through the Bike-to-School Challenge, students who bike to school will be entered to win daily prizes and a grand prize at the end of the week at each participating school. Prizes are generously donated by Provo’s bike shops – Krueg’s, Canyon Bicycles, Racers, Mad Dog, Taylors, Outdoors Unlimited, and the Provo Bicycle Collective.
Help your school win the Rad Riders Award! The School with the most bicycles during the week will win an awesome award.
The Utah County Health Department has teamed up with a new online health tracking platform/organization called Health Movement to track to help residents track their bicycling, exercise, nutrition, and other elements of a healthy lifestyle. Learn more here or check out the details in the flyer below:
A Week of Prizes, Bike-In Movies, Tune-Up Workshops, and More
For Provo students, school is in full swing. And now is the perfect time to get in the habit of riding as a family. Kids that ride their bike to school start the day with exercise, become more aware of their community, and are better able to concentrate on their studies.
During Provo Bike-to-School Week, our local elementary, middle, and high schools will offer a variety of programs to help kids get in the habit of riding to school.
Students who bicycle to school will have the opportunity to win daily prizes and a weekly grand prize from Mad Dog Cycles, Taylor’s Bike Shop, Racers Cycle Services, Canyon Bicycles, and Outdoors Unlimited. Several schools will offer bike safety checks and group “bike buses” of students riding together. You can also compete against other participating Provo Schools for the Rad Riders’ Award.
Come to the Provo Bicycle Collective (49 North 1100 West Unit 2) on Wednesday, September 10th from 6-8 p.m. for a free tune-up workshop where you can learn how to do basic maintenance on your own bicycle.
On Friday, September 12th, don’t miss the Bike-In Movie ET, sponsored by Provo Parks and Rec. This classic will begin showing at dark.
Check back here (and be on the lookout for updates from your school) to find out more about Bike-to-School Week. Happy riding!
The Provo Bicycle Collective is hosting their second Basic Bicycle Maintenance Class of the year! Now’s a perfect time to pull your bike out of the garage and make sure it’s running before spring hits!
The details:
Basic Bicycle Maintenance Class
Thursday February 20th, 6pm
Provo Bicycle Collective: 1100 W 49 N Unit 2, Provo UT 84601
5$ gets you into the class. 2$ patch kits will also be available and hot chocolate is free!
The class will cover some of the basics, such as:
– Changing a flat
– How to lubricate a chain
– Basic brake adjustment
– Correct tire inflation tips
Check out the event on facebook or just show up! E-mail us at provobicyclecollective@gmail.com if you have questions.
Bring your friends to the Provo Bicycle Collective to learn the basics of bicycle maintenance on Thursday January 30th at 7pm!
The class will cover:
-Fixing a flat
-Chain care and lubrication
-Brake adjustment
-Tips on proper tire inflation
The class costs 5$ and hot chocolate will be included!
You can RSVP to the event on facebook, or just show up at the Collective’s Bike Shop located at 1100 W, 49 N, Provo UT 84601
The Provo Bicycle Collective is a non-profit volunteer run bicycle shop where mechanics teach visitors how to fix their own bicycles. The collective also sells used bicycles and parts and are always looking for volunteers to help them organize, run events, tear down/fix up bicycles or teach classes. They also accept donations. Drop by during their open hours to check them out, or send them an e-mail! provobicyclecollective@gmail.com
Join lots of costumed cyclists this Thursday at 7pm for the Provo Bicycle Collective‘s 3rd Annual Glo-in-the-Dark Halloween Bike ride! Decorate your bike with lights and ride around Provo for about an hour, then enjoy hot chocolate and treats at the Collective’s Community Bike Shop on 1100 W 49 N. The ride starts at University Ave and Center st and Glo-sticks will be available for a small donation. There will be prizes for best lit bicycle and best costume! You can check out the details on facebook.
If you aren’t familiar with the Provo Bicycle Collective, check out our previous post. They are entering the toughest season of the year financially and appreciate your support! All donations will go towards keeping their doors open and serving the community!
“If we build it, they will come.” These prophetic words of a little girl about constructing a ballpark in a cornfield are also proving true for creating bike lanes around schools in Provo. This fall, parent volunteers at nearly a dozen K-12 schools, with the support of all of Provo’s bike shops, organized Bike-to-School Week activities and hundreds of students rode and continue to ride to school, many of them taking advantage of Provo’s expanding network of bike lanes and paths.
During the week of September 9-13, Provo High, Centennial Junior High, Lakeview, Provost, Sunset View, Timpanogos, Westridge, and Wasatch Elementary held Bike-to-School Week. Parent volunteers passed out tickets to students who rode to school that entered them into drawings for daily prizes and grand prize that were provided by local bike shops. Collectively that week, several hundred students rode to school, many for the first time, and many are continuing to ride. At many schools, bike racks were overflowing. The daughter of one PTO president was not confident on a bike and had never ridden to school, but after a week of riding during Bike-to-School Week she now loves to ride. Thanks to Bingham, Mad Dog, Outdoors Unlimited, Racer’s, and Taylor’s for their generous support of Bike-to-School Week by providing the prizes, which included an array of large and small bike-related items such as locks, helmets, bike messenger bags, and bicycles.
From September 30-October 4, two more schools—Timpview High and Canyon Crest—held their own Bike-to-School Week.
At a few schools, parents provided free bike safety checks and simple tune-ups. At Lakeridge Elementary, for example, three parents and an older sibling provided repairs in conjunction with a bike rodeo. They worked non-stop for two hours fixing tires and making sure bikes were road-worthy. The kids, they said, “lined up seemingly forever.” And they went away with safer bikes.
Thanks to all the parent volunteers who helped organize these events, to each of the bike shops, and most of all to all the students who rode and continue to ride. As we as a community continue to build an interconnected bike lane and trail system and culture that makes it safer to ride, people—young and old—will come and ride and Provo will be a healthier, happier, and more livable community.
Post submitted by Aaron Skabelund – Provo Bicycle Committee Chair & Organizer of this year’s bike-to-school week
