1. Call to Order. 2:15pm
2. Adoption of minutes from the May 23, 2010 meeting (emailed out by Steve).
3. Guest Speakers – Jessica and Melissa from the Odette Business School, talking about the survey and its results. They answered some of our questions, and explained how the cross tabulations worked.
– We’ll put the survey on the website, and pass it out at events, since new numbers won’t contaminate the initial survey’s results. We just have to figure out how to include the new results with the original data. Jessica said we could email her anytime to ask for help.
– How did they choose which people were surveyed? Classmates each took one of the five wards, and went house to house knocking on doors. Cycling folks were glad to help out, non-cycling folks were apathetic and unhelpful.
– We’ll compare the results from this survey with others in Windsor, and in other regions.
– The survey results will give us clout when requesting action from City Council.
– Another possible survey in the future could be focusing on motorists.
– We found it interesting that many students don’t use their bike, either for recreation or commuting. Jessica explained that was most likely because most of the students surveyed live on campus.
– Survey results confirm the fact that more bike lanes in South and East Windsor are needed.
4. Business arising from the minutes.
(continued after the jump…)
4.1 – Talk about meeting places… is the WWAC too politically hot? Is Milk too loud?
– Andrew likes the idea of using a more public place, so we can reach out to people who don’t know yet about the group/meeting. The WWAC isn’t too politically charged, though, and it is a nice quiet space, with lots of room for seated guests. We decided to have one meeting a month at the WWAC, more for business items, and one meeting a month at Milk, for a more casual setting.
– The next meeting will be at the WWAC, though, as we’re hoping to get a larger crowd out (after talking up the group at upcoming events).
4.2 – Upcoming Events (change of venue for Veer screening, Bike to Work Week, Rediscover Your Bike, Bike the Bridge, Rolling Forward Conference, etc.)
– We talked about how someone should wait outside of Chanoso’s on the night of the Veer screening, to direct people to Milk (in case they didn’t know the venue had been changed). Starting at 8:30pm, Kari will wait at Chanoso’s. Steve and Andrew (?) will be at Milk at 8pm to set up for the screening.
– Steve and Kari spoke earlier of the mistake in the Windsor Star article concerning the address of Xtreme Motions. The Bike To Work Week breakfast planned for Thursday, June 10th will take place at 3880 Tecumseh Road East, and Complete Chiropractic will be helping out with the breakfast. This info was incorrect in the media release sent out by the city.
– Andrew spoke about his discussions with Kelly Campbell from the Environmental Coalition. They want to organize a group ride from Boardwalk Rentals to Ojibway Park (?), for July 4th, playing on the independence theme (from cars). They’re hoping to have refreshments stops along the way, as well as a picnic at Ojibway.
4.3 – Update from Andrew on the bike repair warehouse project, we’ve already got someone interested in a free bike.
– The space Andrew looked at on Riverside Drive West would be suitable for a repair studio only (not as a meeting place for the group). He’s looking into some other locations on University Ave. West, as well as the Pelissier Street shops (after Broken City Lab’s Storefront Residencies for Social Innovation project). We talked about how it’s important we establish ourselves as a non-profit before making requests for a space.
– Steve received an email from someone wanting to donate a bike, so we’ll ensure it is road-safe, and then Andrew can pass it along to someone in need.
4.4 – Talk about possibly establishing a Board of Directors, in order to become a non-profit organization?
– We decided to table this discussion until July, when hopefully we’ll have more dedicated people helping out with the group. We need six people to sit on the Board.
4.5 – Discuss ideas to get more people involved in BFW.
– BFW BBQ? For the entire community, or just for members (to lure new members)? This might be an idea to incorporate into the Environmental Coalition group ride they want to plan for July 4th.
– Sunday Morning Leisure Rides. These will be weekly casual rides, and anybody can join. We’re still working on getting together a group for the inaugural ride; Kari will send out an email when the first date is set.
– Business Cards. Vistaprint offers 250 free business cards (we’ll just have to pay for shipping and processing). They only offer set designs, so Kari will choose a simple one and add the BFW logo, website and email, and the phrase, “A voice for Windsor cyclists,” if possible.
– We talked about collaborating with other sporting, environmental and health-related organizations that would be willing to let us talk about BFW, and maybe hand out some information (a simple flyer, or the business card).
4.6 – Discuss ways to ensure respect among members, and maintaining BFW’s public image as a friendly group.
– We didn’t really get into this, as they were only three of us present.
4.7 – BFW General Meeting poster, to go up at bike shops, etc. Keep static dates (1st and 3rd Sunday of the month), or keep up with the bi-weekly meetings?
– Kari will take out the line “first and third Sunday of the month”, and replace it with “twice monthly”. She’ll also make the flyer less wordy, and once the finished flyer is approved by the group, she’ll distribute it to local bike shops and other sympathetic retail stores and bars/restaurants.
5. New Business.
5.1 – Mission Statement ideas.
– This is the example Kari came up with:
“Bike Friendly Windsor believes that cycling is an important aspect of any forward-thinking city, and sees cycling as a solution to the health problems of the region (by promoting an active lifestyle), the traffic and environmental issues we experience (by not emitting exhaust and doing less damage to city streets), and poverty (cycling is a low-cost transportation alternative).
BFW seeks to make our city a more bicycle friendly region. They propose to accomplish this through:
- Researching, Analysing and Implementing recommendations
- Lobbying for Better Cycling Infrastructure at City Council
- Organizing Events that Promote Fun and Safe Cycling
- Acting as a Liaison For and Representing all Cyclists in Windsor
- Providing Aid for those people who cannot afford a bike, or who do not feel safe riding on the City’s streets”
Other ideas: Working to increase public opinion of cycling, Showing cycling as a viable transportation option, Spreading awareness of cycling by-laws, Educating motorists that bikes belong on the road.
– Andrew would like to see a paragraph included, inviting new members in, and using the term “community”. Once we have this finalized, we’ll add it to the website. Steve said he’ll feel better representing the group once we have a solid mission statement in place; something he can refer to when speaking with the media.
5.2 – Website Theme Change
– Kari would like to see a 3-column layout, so newcomers to the site can see everything available at first glance. The Digg 3 template for WordPress was shown as an example, and both Steve and Andrew agreed it looked good. Kari said she’ll work on this later at night, as to not interrupt daily views.
– Also, we’ll soon be reversing the backend reroute- instead of bikefriendlywindsor.com rerouting to bikewindsor.com, it’ll be vice versa.
5.3 – BFW in the media (see attached article)… anyone want to be in the A-Channel TV spot, 6:15 on Monday evening?
– A-Channel wants to do a news spot about Bike Month, and they would like to have a group of cyclists riding by in the background. Steve sent out a message to the Facebook group, but didn’t receive any responses. He’s going to write on the BFW group wall to see if anyone’s interested. Steve and Kari will be interviewed for the story, at Xtreme Motions/Complete Chiropractic.
5.4 – Take a look at the route map and pinpoint an area where we think bike lanes should be (connecting two existing lanes, or covering an area that isn’t already).This can be a starting point for lobbying council? http://www.lmb.org/index.php/Education-Toolkit/bikeability-assessment-guide-for-communities.html (Bikeability Assessment Guide for Communities).
– Steve mentioned that the money donated to the city, designated specifically for bikeways, should be used to put pressure on the city. We decided that we should compile a list of problem areas in the current bike lane system (accident prone, incomplete lanes, or non-existent), and have a group vote to see which spot we should focus our attention on. Each of us will study the bike lane map (as seen on bikefriendlywindsor.com) and the bicycle accident map (also on bikefriendlywindsor.com) and come up with a list of areas we think should be addressed.
6. Communications.
Windsor Star article about BFW and Bike To Work Week (attached).
7. Date of next meeting.
June 20th, 2010, 2pm at the WWAC.
8. Adjournment. Roughly 4:30pm.