1. Call to order. Around 2:10pm.
2. Introductions. It was just Steve and myself.
3. Old business.
3.1 Mission Statement. Steve also brought a hand-written Vision Statement/Mission Statement. Kari will conglomerate the two, send it back to Steve for his approval, and then we’ll post it on the site.
… continued after the jump…
3.2 Upcoming events. Rolling Forward Conference, Dump the Pump Ride. We’ll be at both of these events. We’ll have business cards and flyers (BFW general meeting poster 5×8.5”) made up to hand out. Kari will take care of this. Steve’s has to miss the beginning of the conference, so he’s going to ask if it’ll be recorded. If it is, maybe we can get a copy and post it on the site.
3.3 Past events. Bike To Work Week- went well… what’s being done with all the survey results? Kari will email Jason and see what’s up.
We made some cash at the Veer screening- 30% goes back to the Veer folks, and the rest we will… put into the bank? Need a bank account. Kari will look into what’s involved in doing that. Steve’s partner Jessica said she’d be willing to act as treasurer, and she has experience.
3.4 Final approval of the BFW General Meeting poster. Slight tweak to the logo, which Steve was ok with. Kari will post it up in the bike shops.
3.5 Choose a lane to lobby for. Connecting route from train station to Greenway Trail? Wyandotte connecting route?
We decided to focus our efforts on the upcoming capital budget meeting (June 28th?). There will be a preparatory meeting before the actual budget meeting, and Alan Halberstaft is supposed to let Steve know when that is. We need to learn the numbers from previous years. How much was cut this year from last, and why? Kari will email Karen Kadour (city committee coordinator) and ask where to look for this info. Kari has some numbers at home, too (she’ll scan and email those to Steve). Steve hates to say it, but if the city is debating whether or a not a new pool facility should be built, costing millions to maintain… then cyclist’s should have their fair share!
3.6 Getting more people involved. We’ve got a couple more opportunities to get the name out there, so we’ll try and recruit. If we don’t get many more volunteers out, we’ll just focus on creating a board of directors (6 dedicated people), rather than trying to get lots of occasional members together.
3.7 The website. Kari is having problems with WordPress again. Not sure what’s going on there… Steve mentioned that by October we should register bikefriendlywindsor.com with WP, since bikewindsor.com runs out in November.
4. New business.
4.1 Cycling trail and route map and the updated cycling accident map. Steve wondered why there were so many less points on the updated version, and is going to ask Darren about it. Otherwise, the map is very useful in visualizing accident occurrences in relation to current bike lane/trail placement, and confirms the findings the city’s map showed us. Why lobby for a section of Riverside, where there’s only been a couple of accidents, over another location that’s apparently way more dangerous?
4.2 More involvement on the Facebook page. Too bad it only let me invite 10 people to today’s meeting (this is something other BF groups are experiencing, as well). Cross post more on other Windsor cycling group pages (East Side Riders, etc.), and maybe create an individual BFW Facebook identity so that blog posts are automatically syndicated into the Facebook group’s feed. Steve will look into this. Steve will also post on the Bicycle World forum about the Rolling Forward Conference, and about the Dump the Pump Ride.
4.3 We talked briefly about the classy sign up at the bike shop at Riverside and Lesperance. Seems like needless negativity, and beyond being commercial rivals, can’t we all just get along? We talked about how there’s now a GIANT HOLE in Central/East/South Windsor when it comes to bike shops.
5. Date of next meeting.
July 4th? That’s the Environmental Coalition event. The week after? Steve can’t do the 11th. July 18th… the next BFW meeting will take place on July 18th. We figured it’d be nice to get together and ride for a bit. So, the next “meeting” will actually be a community ride, starting at Boardwalk Bike Rentals on the riverfront (across from the casino). We’ll meet there at 1pm, and then end up back there (or at some other similar refreshment-serving location), relax and chat. A Ride and Meet!
6. Adjourn. Around 3:30pm.
The reason there’s fewer points on the updated accident map is because it’s not zoomed in all the way. So points that overlap are only seen as one point. It’s just meant as a visual guide to go with the other map and spreadsheet.
A reason to lobby for Riverside is because it’s a heavily used route. I met with Rob recently and he was saying how BFW should try to get some sort of traffic totals for the route in terms of cyclists, and compare it to other roads which have a higher accident ratio.
This sort of study was recently done by Joe T. in Toronto:
http://bikingtoronto.com/counting-bikes-on-the-bloor-viaduct-with-photos-and-video/
I would highly recommend creating a page, not an individual identity. Hunt me down at Milk some day and I’ll show you the benefits and help you get one setup. You’ll be amazed at the capabilities. Groups are good for one off, short term projects or events, pages are perfect for long-term/organizations.
A ride and meeting might bring more people out. Have you ever considered earlier meetings? I know for me that I have a lot of family obligations on the weekend but later in the day so I enjoy activities that get me up early.
That’s a good idea Victoria. I might even have a bike by then! Another way is to hold it in conjunction with another event like the Downtown Farmer’s Market. Many are already biking there. Try for something like 10 or 11am on a Saturday at the market. People can bike there, attend a meeting and then get their shopping done.
Hey…..I know I dont sell fancy bikes but I am Bike Shop and I am located in South Windsor, BFW meeting notes says that there is a lack of bike shops in south windsor? what’s up with that?
I actually didn’t know that you sold bikes at all Jason, I thought you just did repairs! Bicycle World is also in South Windsor, so I don’t know why the notes say South Windsor at all.
Oh Yes! I sell second hand bikes, whenever I can get them through recycling. I never really know when I will have one or two to work with,so i dont advertise . But as a majority its is mostly Bicycle repairs that are done here at One Good Earth. (so does that mean if i dont sell bikes, i am not a bike shop?) Being on Howard Ave helps to sell them quick. I chain them up in front of the house and they sell within a few days. On the note of Bicycle World, I believe they have moved to Lasalle. Or they were getting ready to. Also, The Bicycle Shop closed its doors. All those upscale cyclist in that end of town couldnt support a bike shop? I dont understand how that could be? I heard reports of 40 riders or more driving to his parking lot, to get in on a eastside ride. anyway……back to work. 🙂
I’m with Vicky & Paul on the DTFM. And it’s a great place to recruit new members. Lots of picnic tables to sit a small group off to the side.
Meeting at the market would rock. Just don’t know if Saturdays work for you as meetings seem to be Sundays? Lots of cyclists there, good variety of snacks/drinks, plenty of seating. 🙂
I think this is a great idea. The next idea was scheduled for Sunday the 18th, but maybe we should move it to the 17th at the DTFM, and hopefully see you all there!
As it happens Steve, for once I am available on the Sunday but not on the Saturday as I have an art gig on both Friday and Saturday. I’ll watch the site and whatever happens happens. Regardless I think just getting out there and riding and getting more folks riding is one of the best things a bike advocacy group can do – reaching that “B” group we heard about at the Rolling Forward Conference.