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FALL 2013
bikecarrboro.com
EVENT CALENDAR
Cyclicious
TUE., Aug. 20, 11am-2pm in the Pit at UNC
Bike info, free maintenance, bike giveaway!
ReCYCLEry swap and sale
SAT., Aug. 24, 10 am to 3 pm
Come to the ReCYCLEry 108 N. Graham St.
Find great deals, support the ReCYCLEry’s
great work. Bring your own stuff for sale or
trade, if you’d like.
Fix-a-Flat workshop
SAT., Aug. 24, Kingswood Apts. 3:00 pm
Just what it says. Learn to fix a flat tire! Tools
provided.
Thursday Cruiser Rides
Starting Aug. 22
In addition to joining our friends in the
legendary First Tuesday Cruiser Ride (https://
www.facebook.com/pages/Cruiser-Tuesday/102750543116118), the ReCYCLEry will
hold weekly Thursday night fun rides from our
workshop at the back of 108 N Graham Street
in Chapel Hill.
Arrive at 7pm. Riders of all shapes, sizes and
skill levels are encouraged to attend. Check the
ReCYCLEry FB page for ride updates at https://
www.facebook.com/groups/9471439213/.
NC BIKE SUMMIT
Oct. 17–20, Hampton Inn in Carrboro.
The statewide bike summit is being held right
here in Carr­boro. Volunteers Needed! (see
article on p. 2)
Outdoor Movie Night
FRI., Oct. 18, 7:30 pm, Town Commons
Outdoor movie night with food trucks on the
Town Commons. We’ll be showing Ride the
Divide (www.ridethedividemovie.com/) Local
resident and Tour Divide legend Matt Lee will
be at the film. BRING A BLANKET.
Kidical Mass Cruiser Ride
FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES
SUN., Oct. 20, 3:00 pm
Meet at Carrboro Elementary bus circle at 3:00
pm. Helmets required. The most popular ride
in town! Everybody smiles, even people in
their cars waiting for us! Giveaways & prizes.
Bike to the Future 2
THU., October 24, time and place TBD
Draft of the Chapel Hill bike plan. Details will
be posted on our Facebook page.
S i l ve r L e ve l
building a network of cyclists in the greater Carrboro region
MAKING OUR TOWNS
MORE BICYCLE FRIENDLY
Bicycle Friendly Businesses Help Create a Bicycle Friendly Community
The Carrboro Bicycle Coalition rolled out a Bicycle Friendly Business program in
Chapel Hill and Carrboro this year to recognize local businesses that promote bicycling, and to increase awareness of the benefits cyclists bring to local businesses.
Bicycle Friendly Businesses (BFBs) provide parking for bicycles, welcome cyclists,
take steps to encourage their employees to commute by bike and public transit, and
acknowledge the value of cycling in the community in other ways large and small.
As these businesses have discovered, Bicycle Friendly is good for business. Two
recent studies from Portland, Oregon and New York City have shown that cyclists
tend to spend their money locally, even outspending customers who drive. That’s
logical—a cyclist in Carrboro or Chapel Hill isn’t likely to ride out to Walmart or
Southpoint for goods and services he can purchase nearby. And studies by the
American Journal of Preventive Medicine and TNO, a Dutch economic think tank,
have shown that BFBs employees have higher job satisfaction ratings, take fewer
sick days, and are more productive than their counterparts in non-BFBs.
Having businesses that are friendly to cycling has other benefits for our town.
Support for cycling is easily expanded to encourage people to arrive by bus as well
(a website can encourage arrival by bike, by foot, or can state “we are located on the
X route of Chapel Hill Transit’s fare free bus system”). More people arriving by bike,
on foot, and by bus means fewer cars on already congested downtown streets. Since
ten bicycle customers can park in the same size parking space as one car, not only
can increased bicycle parking bring more customers, it can also reduce pressure on
scarce and costly car parking resources, And it means cleaner air for all of us.
The inaugural round of the Carrboro-Chapel Hill Bicycle Friendly Business program was funded in part by a grant from Strowd Roses and a donation from the
Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership. Applicants were surveyed about bicycle parking as well as their activities promoting the use of bicycles for transportation. A total
of 21 businesses applied, and 12 of them
were designated as Bicycle Friendly.
You will soon be able to spot these businesses by the green and white Bicycle
Friendly decals in their windows. The
businesses that have been awarded BFB
status are Back Alley Bikes, The Clean
Machine, Open Eye Café, The Bicycle
Chain-Chapel Hill, 300 East Main,
Steel String Craft Brewery, University United Methodist Church, Chapel
Hill Transit, Bread & Butter Bakery,
Southeastern Camera, Looking Glass
Café, and the PTA Thrift Shop. From
this group of businesses, the Open Eye
Café was chosen as the recipient of a
custom bicycle rack crafted by local
metalsmith Leo Gaev. It will be unveiled
within the next month.
As the BFB program grows and more
Carrboro
Chapel Hill
(continued on p. 2)
2013–2016
On the horizon
Before we consider what lies beyond the horizon, let’s look back for a minute.
In the 70’s the general consensus among traffic engineers, planners, and elected officials was that growing tides of car traffic would eventually plague several
of Carrboro’s key roadways. Therefore, NCDOT (the Department of Transportation) argued, they needed to widen West Main Street and Jones Ferry
Road, as well as Greensboro and Hillsborough Roads. Imagine four four-lane
highways running through the heart of our Town for a moment. Not exactly
pretty is it? Mercifully, neither Greensboro nor Hillsborough were widened as
planned. Certain portions of W. Main and Jones Ferry, on the other hand, were
expanded to accommodate a deluge of car traffic that never materialized.
That said, it’s about time we put W. Main and Jones Ferry on a “road diet”.
If you’ve recently traveled on W. Main St. in a sober state, hopefully you’ve
noticed that the street’s been repaved, and that it now has bike lanes. The segment of W. Main between Jones Ferry Rd. and Hillsborough Rd. was put on
what is often referred to as a “classic road diet.” That is, this stretch of W. Main
went from four car lanes to two car lanes, a center turn lane and two bike lanes.
Come this fall, you’ll notice that Jones Ferry, between the 54 on-ramp and the
entrance of Ridgewood Apartments, will also appear to slim down. The project, formally known as the “Jones Ferry Road Safety Improvements” project,
will feature lane reductions, just like W. Main, yet unlike W. Main, will come
with concrete medians and the extension of a sidewalk along its northern edge.
No doubt you are well aware of the changes being made on Smith Level
Road also; addition of bike lanes and sidewalks. Construction has been taking
place over the summer and will continue into 2014.
A little later this year—this winter to be more precise—expect to see inpavement bike detection loops at five intersections throughout downtown. Be
the first to locate all five! These bike detectors will arrive on the heels of the
Town of Carrboro’s decision to set aside $5,000 to expand bike parking downtown, giving us greater flexibility in where we lock our chosen form of transportation and hopefully making that form of transportation more appealing to
all. Take a moment this fall to pause and appreciate the steps that the Town and
all of you are taking to make Carrboro a more livable, bikeable place. Seth
Carrboro’s West Main Street’s road diet reduced the number of travel lanes from four to two
lanes with a turn lane, and added bike lanes. Lookin’ good, Main Street!
(continued from p. 1)
businesses are recognized, the CBC
hopes that business support can start to
shift people’s thoughts on transportation options. Some businesses might offer monetary incentives for cycling employees, since the business doesn’t have
to provide expensive car parking. Or
they might offer discounts to customers
who arrive by bike, or support for bicycle
programs such as Open Streets, Bike to
Work week activities, or bicycle education events (e.g., bike rodeos, bike light
installations). All applicants receive customized suggestions for how to be more
bike friendly.
The next round of applications for the
Bicycle Friendly Business program will
be announced in January. If you would
like to learn more, or would like to find
out how your business can become bike
friendly, go to bikecarrboro.com (under “what we do”).
In the meantime, congratulations
to this first round of businesses. Please
show them your support! Heidi
2013
OCTOBER 17–20
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!
We were thrilled when Carrboro was
chosen as host for the 2nd annual
Statewide Bike Summit last fall. Now
it is almost here, and we are sending
out the call for volunteers. We need
people to staff the registration table,
be sure food is delivered on time to the
right places, clean up meeting rooms
at the end of the sessions, help with
the movie showing on Friday, help
with Kidical Mass on Sunday, serve as
host families, and much, much more.
This is going to one of the first conferences in Carrboro and we want to do
it right! Be a part of making this statewide summit a success. If you would
like to volunteer, please send an email
to [email protected] with
VOLUNTEER in the subject line. Just
let us know when you are available to
help, and we’ll get back to you.
To learn more about the sessions
at the summit, or to register, go to
ncbikesummit.org.
CARRBORO OPEN STREETS
Tamara Sanders. Photo by Ben Shirley
The Carrboro Bicycle Coalition put on the first ever Carr­boro Open Streets
event on April 13th, 2013. This wildly successful event was seeded by a $3000
grant from Performance Bicycle and included participation and sponsorship
from over 20 local businesses and non- profits, over 50 volunteers, and coordination with the Carrboro Farmer’s Market, UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and the Town of Carrboro. The main purpose of
Carrboro Open Streets was to recreate the street and encourage community
building through a variety of activities. Held on West Weaver Street, an estimated 1500 people danced, did yoga, rode their bikes, climbed a rock wall,
made smoothies on a bike blender, listened to the Bulltown Strutters make
music, and participated in many other activities in a public space that not many
ever thought of as a place to partake in recreation. The weather was perfect,
the people were energetic and everyone reported that the event was a wonderful thing for Carrboro. Given the success of this inaugural event and the positive effect on local businesses, the Carrboro Board of Alderman approved the
continuation of future Open Streets in Carrboro and it will now be incorporated into the Recreation and Parks Department with guidance of a volunteer
steering committee. The Carrboro Bicycle Coalition hope future events will be
as popular and can continue to grow with the support and guidance of cycling
advocates and other dedicated citizens.
Interested in helping with the 2014 Carrboro Open Street? Email Eric Allman
at [email protected] or Julie Collins at [email protected]. Eric
Jackson Passafaro. Photo by Dionne Liles.
RECYCLERY
BIKE PORTRAIT PROJECT
The ReCYCLEry is currently taking
portraits of riders and their bikes for
the Bike Portrait Project. This project
seeks to capture the essence of cycling
in and around our community. There
are many different types of riders and
many different types of bikes, and this
project will emphasize the fact that all
cyclists are great cyclists.
Professional photographers will be
available at all events to capture you
and your favorite bicycle (or bicycles!)
in all your glory.
For more information, or to be part
of an upcoming shoot, visit and like
the ReCYCLEry Bike Portrait Project on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/RecycleryBikePortraitProject) or send an email to bikes@
recyclery.org to get on the mailing
list for upcoming shoots.
The Carrboro Bicycle Coalition (CBC) is an advocacy group that seeks to create a bicycle friendly community through cycling awareness, education, safety
advocacy and promotion of bicycling for transportation, recreation, fitness, and a livable future.
Photos from Carrboro’s Open
Streets event. Photos by SpokenRev.
Look for Carrboro’s first Bike
Corral on Weaver Street soon!
Carrboro will be installing its first bike
parking corral on Weaver St. in the next
few weeks. The corral was donated by
Performance Bike. Thanks to Performance, and to all of you who helped by
signing up to do counts–the data really
helped convince the Board of Aldermen
to try this, but it is on a trial basis! Please
use the corral frequently, and patronize
the nearby shops.
Chapel Hill and UNC are
getting master bike plans!
Help in the process. Both of our neighbors are going to be reviewing draft
plans in the fall (they are using the same
consulting company, which should result in a nice cohesive plan). Sign up for
notices at bikechapelhill.com for chapel
hill, and “like” Carolina Bicycle Coalition on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarolinaBicycleCoalition.
Your voice can make a difference!
Cyclist Spotlight: Dane Hupman
Local cyclist Dane Hupman may not consider himself “high
profile” but his red, three-wheeled trike is one of the most
distinctive vehicles around. You’ve probably seen him cruising to and from work at Breadman’s restaurant in downtown
Chapel Hill. Dane has epilepsy and has never learned how
to drive a car – he has been riding a trike ever since he was
a kid.
Dane doesn’t hem and haw about whether or not he will
bike commute each day—he just always does. “I do what I’ve
got to do,“ he says, “it is my only means of transportation.”
He occasionally uses buses for longer distances and during
extreme weather, but prefers the independence of his trike.
His sturdy trike is manufactured by Worksman Cycles
and weighs a hefty 95 pounds. He has had his current trike
for five years, but he had another Worksman for the 10 years
prior, until the frame started to rust from heavy all-weather
use. He relies on the mechanics at the Clean Machine to
keep it road ready.
Dane moved to Chapel Hill in 1984 to be near friends
after college. Now he is seen nodding to neighbors on Pleasant Drive in Carrboro each day. He considers Carrboro
more bike-friendly than Chapel Hill and has observed the
conditions for local cyclists getting better over the years, especially in the last 5 to 10. “It’s always been ok, but now it’s
better.”
Dane’s approach to road courtesy is straightforward, “I
respect motorists, so they respect me.” He finds that drivers
in this area are generally courteous. Years ago some cyclists
tried to get him to join Critical Mass rides, but he didn’t
think their tactics made sense. He was pleased learn that the
Carrboro Bike Coalition has started a number of programs
and collaborations to advocate for local cyclists. Ginger
Carrboro cyclist Dane Hupman gives his neighbor Velo Guidry a lift for the camera (yes, if it were a real ride, Velo would definitely be wearing his helmet!)
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