In case you haven’t heard, May is National Bike Month. To celebrate, Revolutions Community Bicycle Shop is hosting a series of events to get people pedaling!

Classes titled “Bicycle Safety in the Streets” are being held in numerous locations throughout the community. Midtowners can catch the course at the Church Health Center Wellness (1115 Union Ave) on May 2 or at Revolutions (1000 S. Cooper) on May 23. Dates, times, and details can be found at revolutionsmemphis.wordpress.com/classes/.

Group bike rides will be held every Sunday at 5:30pm around Midtown. These leisurely bike rides are slow-paced and perfect for beginning and young riders. The best part – the ride will include a stop at YoLo (6 S. Cooper St.) for a cool treat. Dates, times, and details for all group bike rides can be found at revolutionsmemphis.wordpress.com/bike-tours/.

May 20 is the official Bike to Work Day. Make sure you register, review the resources at downtownmemphis.com/biketowork/, and plan to join in the fun!

By Kyle Wagenschutz

It seems that bicycle and pedestrian issues are on everyone’s mind these days. Hardly a day goes by without a newspaper article, editorial, or TV spot related to the vast improvements we have seen in the Memphis bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure over the last 12 months.

I’d like to thank everyone who completed the Bicycle and Pedestrian Survey in November and December. We had an outstanding response with over 2,100 different perspectives that we can use to help guide the update of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Completing the survey brings us to the end of Phase 1 of the update process where we identified existing conditions.

We are now gearing up for Phase 2: recommended improvements. During this process we will be getting public input on the most important part of the plan – describing what our region wants to accomplish in terms of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and support programs.

The Memphis MPO will hold three public meetings over the next quarter to help us gain your perspective on how the plan should be updated. Each of the meetings will be held at the Church Health Center Wellness Center, at 1115 Union Avenue, in Conference Rooms A and B. The first meeting took place on January 19. At this meeting we introduced Phase 2 of the process and discussed multi-use paths, such as greenways and greenlines. The times and topics of the other 2 meetings are as follows:

February 9 – Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities – 5:30-7:30pm
March 2 – Review and Revise Phase 2 Findings – 5:30-7:30pm

Please make sure to mark these dates on your calendar and plan to attend. We need to hear from you about how we can advance our efforts in formulating a regional bicycle and pedestrian network.

Kyle Wagenschutz is the Memphis MPO Bikeway/Pedestrian Coordinator. You may contact him at kyle.wagenschutz@shelbycountytn.gov.

BY TAMARA WALKER

On July 14th, 2008, the Cooper-Young Business Association initiated talks with Mary Baker of the Office of Planning and Development and Bill Schaffer of the Memphis City Engineering Office to discuss ways to slow down traffic on Cooper Street. After meeting with Mary and Bill, we asked the ETI Corporation, an Engineering Planning Company, in March of 2009 to design different possible configurations of Cooper Street that would help us make the street more pedestrian friendly and easier for patrons of our area to access, as well.

At first, we thought that we could reduce the four traffic lanes to two traffic lanes and install a median down the middle. The median would act as a landing spot for the patrons between the traffic lanes. Diagonal parking along Cooper Street was another consideration during this first phase. We thought that if we could increase street parking and make it more accessible than we would effectively eliminate some of the residential parking that occurs during the weekends and on weeknights. The diagonal parking would also help slow down traffic because vehicles would be backing into the street.

The Memphis City Engineering Office determined that diagonal parking was not possible, however, due to all the curb cuts along Cooper Street. In addition, the Engineering office wanted to install parking meters, which we thought would drive business to areas of town where parking is more convenient and free (i.e. East Memphis). At this time, we had ETI Corporation design several mock-ups to include existing parallel parking, a median, two traffic lanes, bike lanes and a turn lane down the whole of Cooper Street from Central to Young. This design would slow down traffic, keep a place in the middle where a pedestrian could land, add bike lanes to connect Midtown, and still maintain the current required parallel parking spaces that exist and are needed by business owners.

We were then faced with the physical limitations of Cooper Street starting at the Young intersection. At the intersection, Cooper Street’s width narrows to 40 feet wide as it goes south toward Southern. This made a real challenge opposed to the 60 foot width that runs from the Trestle Art to Young. At this point, it only made sense that the bike lanes would go from dedicated lanes to ride-share lanes at the Young intersection. These ride-share lanes are common all over the Memphis area and certainly the 2 blocks from Young to Southern shouldn’t be a problem. The last design had two traffic lanes, bike lanes (3/4 dedicated, 1/4 shared), a middle turn lane and parallel parking. It was submitted to Engineering in December of 2009, and it is a win-win for all.

I wanted to provide a background on the modification of Cooper Street that has been on our table for the last several years. The Cooper-Young business district with its thriving retail shops, service locations, antique stores and restaurants is in a delicate position when it comes to losing even one parking space, let alone two whole blocks of parking. In this economy, we must do everything to protect the limited parking that we have otherwise we lose our patrons. If we lose our patrons, we lose our shops.

This opportunity to improve Cooper Street will be a positive for our neighborhood. I hope that the all or nothing attitude of some doesn’t put a negative spin on the whole process. It will be a benefit for our residents, our business owners and our patrons regardless of their mode of transportation.

Tamara Walker is the Executive Director for the Cooper-Young Business Association.

By Alona Lerman

Back in Memphis for its second year May 21–22nd, the Festival aims to raise and reinforce the positive profile of cyclists and celebrate bicycling in its myriad forms. This year’s festivities include film screenings at the Brooks Museum, a Bikes Rock! show at the Hi-Tone, a block party at First Congregational Church, and Roller Races at the Young Avenue Deli.

Bicycles play different roles in each of the films selected this year, but they always take center stage. Enjoying its Memphis premiere is the feature-length documentary “Where Are You Go,” which chronicles a four-month expedition with the Tour d’Afrique, an epic bicycle race across the African continent from Cairo to Cape Town. The physically daunting trip sets the stage for sharing the universal love of the bicycle with Africa’s roadside mechanics, sporting racers, and innumerable curious strangers. It’s not to be missed!

From its roots in New York City, the BFF has grown exponentially into a multi-faceted, international event that visits nearly every continent and has become a major catalyst for the spread of urban bike culture internationally. In 2001, the Festival’s founder and director, Brendt Barbur, was compelled to respond positively after being hit by a bus while riding his bike in New York City. Instead of being deterred by the experience—with the characteristic New Yorkers’ tenacity—it inspired him to create a festival that celebrates the bicycle through music, art, and film.

Now in its tenth year, the Festival is held in nearly 40 cities worldwide. It has featured work from internationally respected artists, including Tom Sachs, Shephard Fairey, Swoon, Geoff McFetridge, Michel Gondry, and Kenny Scharf, and performances by Blonde Redhead, Dan Deacon, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and Matt and Kim, as well as many others.

Last year, cyclists from all over the South descended upon Memphis for the BFF, representing Nashville, Huntsville, Little Rock, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. The Festival organizers anticipate an even larger turnout this year.

About the Bicycle Film Festival

The BFF brings together many creative communities, including fashion, music, and art, as well as various bicycling communities, including road racing, mountain biking, fixed gear, BMX, and bike polo—all over a shared passion for bike riding.

Brendt Barbur Says

According to Barbur, “The energy of the Festival is contagious. The BFF is a big family whose members are filmmakers, artists, musicians, and designers, making innovative and creative things happen for their own community. People love being a part of something that reaches beyond what they are doing in their own community. Through their participation in the Festival, they are able to contribute to the bicycle culture on an international level.” Barbur says, “Bikers are some of the most creative people in the world. You can always count on the bikers to make things happen.”

It’s kind of a dreary day and I wanted to ride my bike to work today but the forecast calls for rain all afternoon. Hopefully I can bring it to work tomorrow but until then I want to share a video that has continued to inspire me since I first saw it a few years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o

This is Danny MacAskill doing what’s called trials riding. More often its done in natural environments and on rocky areas but obviously it works in the city. What I didn’t expect after seeing such amazing talent is that even though he is sponsored Danny isn’t pro. Despite the incredible amount of talent and dedication he has he still works a day job as a bicycle mechanic at a shop.

Anyway I just wanted to share this little gem with everyone. Short of a good Kung Fu movie nothing gets me more amped to start moving than this video.