One more Master Plan meeting added - District C East Bank

Hey East Bank District C residents (aka, my neighbors), we have a Master Plan meeting to attend this week!

When: Wednesday March 31st, 6-8pm
Where: Musicians Union Hall, 2041 Esplanade Ave.
Why: Community input is VITAL to successful planning efforts. Let your voice be heard!

Tonight I'm going over the Lower 9th Ward for their meeting. I've been kicking around the idea of moving to Holy Cross this summer since it's home to nice folks, awesome community projects, and it's about as close to country living as I can get in the city without going way out in East. Here's the 411 on that meeting.

When: TONIGHT 6:30-8:30pm
Where: New Israel Baptist Church, 6322 St. Claude Avenue
Why: Because you love the Lower 9th Ward too. Show your support to projects to help revitalize this unique and historic neighborhood.

Yay, urban planning!

Please sign the online petition Keep New Orleans' Bicycle Registration Fees Reasonableo

New Orleans City Council is currently considering increasing the city's bicycle registration fees. Before Katrina, residents were required to pay $3 to register their bike with NOPD. Bicycle registration was supposed to help the police return stolen bikes to their rightful (and registered) owners. Since the storm, NOPD has not be registering bicycles, but legally, residents are still required to do so.

The current city ordinance on bicycle registration:

Sec. 154-1403. Registration required.

No person who resides in the city shall ride or propel a bicycle upon any street unless such bicycle has been registered and a registration plate is attached thereto. This section shall be applicable to new residents of the parish at the expiration of 90 days.

(Code 1956, § 38-192)

Sec. 154-1404. Registration application and fee.

(a) Application for a bicycle registration shall be made upon the form provided by and shall be made to the superintendent of police. There shall be a registration fee of $3.00 for all bicycles with a 20-inch wheel size or larger. The dealer shall collect such fee at the time of sale, issue bicycle registration decal, and remit the fee to the superintendent of police along with the application for registration.

(b) This charge becomes effective as of February 1, 1987.

(c) Exemption for the payment of fees shall be for all bicycles under the cost of $100.00.

(Code 1956, § 38-193)

Sec. 154-1405. Issuance of registration; record.

(a) The superintendent of police or any police officer assigned such duty by him, or the superintendent of fire or any employee of the department of fire when assigned such duty in writing by the mayor, upon receiving proper application therefor, may issue a bicycle registration plate to the owner thereof. Each new owner shall register such bicycle in accordance with the provisions of this article. They shall not register any bicycle when they know or have reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant is not the owner of or entitled to the possession of such bicycle.

(b) The superintendent of police and the superintendent of fire shall keep a record of the number of each registration, the date issued, the name and address of the person to whom issued and the number on the frame of the bicycle for which issued and a record of all bicycle registration fees collected by them.

(c) It shall be the duty of the superintendent of fire to forward a true copy of the record of each registration made by him, or any employee of the department of fire, to the superintendent of police.

(d) The superintendent of police may authorize bicycle dealers to register and attach registration plates to bicycles. All such persons authorized to register and attach registration plates to bicycles shall forward immediately to the superintendent of police true copies of such registration. It shall be a misdemeanor to fail to furnish such copies or to furnish false or fraudulent records to the superintendent of police.

(Code 1956, § 38-194)

Sec. 154-1406. Attachment of registration plate.

The superintendent of police or other authorized person upon issuing a bicycle registration shall also issue a registration plate bearing the registration number assigned to the bicycle, and the name of the city. The superintendent of police or other authorized person shall cause such registration plate to be firmly attached to the frame of the bicycle for which it has been issued in such a position as to be plainly visible. No person shall remove a registration plate from a bicycle during the period of ownership for which it is issued except in the event the bicycle is dismantled and no longer operated upon any street in the city.

(Code 1956, § 38-195)

City Council does need to address the issue, because police should not legally be able to issue a ticket for a registration sticker residents cannot obtain, but Councilman Carter's proposal to raise fees to $15 a bike for non-commercial use and $75 for commercial use has not been completely hashed-out. Where is the registration money going? How will the new registration system help deter theft? What considerations have been made for the thousands of low-income residents who use a bicycle as their main form of transportation? A lot of questions remain unanswered.

NolaCycle, Metro Bicycle Coalition, N.O. Bike Polo, and 311 individual cyclists (as of 3/28) would like you to sign the online petition encouraging well thought-out and financially reasonable bicycle registration laws in New Orleans.

Petition text:

To: New Orleans City Council

We, the undersigned, request the City Council examine our concerns about Councilman Carter's proposed Bicycle Registration Fee hike to $75 for commercial use and $15 for non-commercial use (amendments to Sections 154-1403 through 154-1406 of the Code of the City of New Orleans). While an effective bicycle registration program can be a valuable resource, the magnitude of this increase (500% for non-commercial and 2500% for commercial) will be a hardship for some cyclists and feel like a punishment to others. The following outlines our primary concerns:

- The ordinance does not specify how the collected fees will be used by the city

- An increase of this scope should involve greater public participation to insure an effective registration program

- Low registration fees will encourage citizens to participate in the program, which will in turn discourage theft and promote ridership.

We appreciate your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Another round of Master Plan meetings - March 18-30

Via City-Works:

City Council Holds Community Meetings to Engage Citizens and Encourage Public Input on Master Plan

In the next few weeks, the City Council, in coordination with the City Planning Commission, will hold public meetings in each Council District in an effort to inform and engage the public on the Master Plan.

The public meetings will be held throughout New Orleans in each Council District:

District A

Tuesday, March 30th, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

City Park - Timken Center (old casino building) on Dreyfous Dr.

Parkview Terrace 2nd floor

District B

Wednesday, March 24th, 6 p.m.

Dining Hall of the Academy of the Sacred Heart

4301 St. Charles Ave.

District C

Thursday, March 18th, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Alice Harte Elementary Charter School

5300 Berkley Dr.

District D

Tuesday, March 23rd, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Gentilly Presbyterian Church

3708 Gentilly Blvd.

District E

Eastern New Orleans

Monday, March 22nd, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Household of Faith Church
9300 I- 10 Service Rd.

Lower Ninth Ward
Monday, March 29th, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
New Israel Baptist Church
6322 St. Claude Ave.

NolaCycle needs bikes!

So far, 2010 has brought a lot of out-of-town volunteers to NolaCycle. We've been working with some awesome AmeriCorps NCCC folks and were starting weekly volunteer days with Contemplatives in Action. But with all these great visiting volunteers, we've run into a big problem between all the NolaCycle organizers, we don't have enough bikes!

If you have a bicycle you would like to long-term lend to NolaCycle or donate to Contemplatives in Action, please e-mail info@nolacycle.com.

We're not picky about type or size, but it would be best if the bike were in working condition. We can replace a chain or fix a flat tire, but we are a little too short on time and money to do major repairs.

Ideally, NolaCycle would like up to 6 bikes to borrow through the spring. Contemplatives in Action could greatly benefit from a few donated bikes as they help provide volunteers to a number of projects serving New Orleans. You can learn more about them at http://www.contemplativesinaction.org/.

Also, if you're a skilled bike mechanic, NolaCycle could also greatly benefit from donated repair services. Lauren and Scott have a couple of bikes that need minor repairs but neither of us have time to tinker at Plan B or money pay for professional repairs in the next couple weeks. If you could help us out by fixing those bikes this weekend, we would have up to 3 bikes to loan to volunteers.

Thanks for your ongoing support!

Lauren & the rest of the NolaCycle team

Party on the Greenway tomorrow (2/25) evening

Re-posted from Friends of Lafitte Corridor:

As part of the Urban Pathways conference, on Thursday, February 25th, Rails to Trails Conservancy, Friends of Lafitte Corridor, the Urban Conservancy and Catholic Charities/Sojourner Truth Neighborhood Center are hosting the first ever Party on the Greenway! The event will run from 5:30 to 7:30 at Sojourner Truth (2200 Lafitte St.) and will feature music by the Treme Brass Band, food from Dooky Chase, a raffle for a children’s bicycle and free bike helmets for the first 20 kids who arrive with parents. Everything at the event is free and is open to all. Please come and help us celebrate!

For more information, contact Ethan Ellestad @ 504-383-5249.

NolaCycle Events Sunday and Tuesday & Service Learning with Loyola

Winter holiday season is over, the city is warming up, and Mardi Gras is right around the corner. NolaCycle is going to squeeze in two events before things start getting crazy again - a mapping event on Sunday and a digital map working session on Tuesday.

Mapping Meet-ups:
Sunday January 31, 2pm - Meet at the covered pavilion near Bayou Oaks golf course in City Park. 1040 Filmore Ave. We will be filling in the gaps around Gentilly, Filmore, St. Anthony, and City Park. Just bring your bike and something to carry a clipboard in.

Planning & Design Meetings:
Tuesday February 2, 6:30-9pm - Meet at Flora's Coffee Shop. 2600 Royal St in the Marigny. Bring a laptop or e-mail us if you need to borrow one.

*******************

NolaCycle is partnering with Loyola's Service Learning program this spring. We're really excited to get students involved in route design, helping us move closer to the final map. So between the kick off of the service learning project on February 9th and the end of Carnival season (plus a few days to recover), NolaCycle organizers will be focusing on helping students with their service learning project. But come the week after Mardi Gras, we'll be holding bi-weekly digital working session and weekly mapping meet-ups to finish things up.

Current status of mapped areas

NolaCycle has mapped a lot of New Orleans since we started in July 2008. Here's the newest image showing the areas we've collected data for. The section and labels relate to the dimensions and file name of the each map section volunteers have filled out. New Orleans south of I-610 and Florida Avenue, has been mapped with the exception of a few areas that were not completed due to rain or bike trouble (it's hard to map with a flat tire).

More events will be taking place in 2010 to map the rest of the 9th Ward, Lakeview, the greater Gentilly area, Algiers, and parts of Jefferson Parish and New Orleans East. As always, the more volunteers interested in mapping, organizing, and promoting, the more we can do.


As you can see when you look at our Bike Map website, not every map section has been added to the online map. We still need help from volunteers to get the data from the paper sheets (or the online scans) onto the website. This is really easy to do, and anyone with a computer and internet access can help. NolaCycle will be holding a couple "working session" where we gather together to enter data in January. If you'd like to help, keep an eye posted for events or e-mail us so we can explain the process and get you a login to enter data.

NolaCycle Events for this Thursday and Sunday

NolaCycle has two upcoming events where volunteers can get involved with creating the bicycle map of New Orleans.

Digital Map Working Session: Introducing the New Bike Map Website
This Thursday, 6-9pm, Loyola University's Monroe Library Multimedia Room 2
NolaCycle will be formally introducing the new data entry and bike map website to our volunteers. Everyone interested in helping with the data entry process is encourage to attend. NolaCycle will explain how to use the website, create data entry accounts for volunteers, and gather feedback on how to improve the site. Bring a laptop if you have one, or contact us to reserve a lender laptop. Free pizza (meat, vegetarian, and vegan options will be available) and soda will be provided.


View Larger Map

NolaCycle Bike Mapping Ride with HandsOn New Orleans
This Sunday, 10am-12:30pm, Parking lot of Bayou Oaks in City Park (1040 Filmore Ave)
With help from HandsOn New Orleans, NolaCycle will be mapping more of the city north of I-610. Everyone is welcome to come, and the more help the better. Volunteers need only to bring a bicycling and something to carry a clipboard in (like a bike basket or shoulder bag). We will be meeting in the parking lot of Bayou Oaks at 10am. Volunteers will work in pairs to map sections of the neighborhoods for suitability for cycling. We will be meet back at Bayou Oaks at between noon and 12:30 to return maps and materials. Volunteers are welcome to join organizers on a ride to the 9th Ward to catch up with the Super 9 Social Aid and Pleasure Club second line parade.


View NolaCycle Bike Mapping Ride - Sunday Dec. 20 in a larger map

Two Upcoming NolaCycle Events - December 17th and 20th

Mark your calendars - NolaCycle has two events in the next couple weeks. More details will be posted soon.

Mapping Meet-ups:
Sunday Dec. 20 - Fillmore, Milneburg, and Lakefront neighborhoods mapping ride with HandsOn New Orleans. 10am-12:30pm, meeting at the Bayou Oaks parking lot in City Park, 1040 Filmore Ave.

Planning & Design Meetings:
Thursday Dec. 17 - Digital working session to introduce the new data entry and bike map website! Please bring a laptop or let us know you need to borrow one. 6-9pm, Loyola University Monroe Library, multimedia room 2. Pizza and soda will be provided to volunteers!

Routes to and from Rome Park

Meet us at 10 am tommorrow! allow for 45 minutes travel time if you're unfamiliar with the route.

Call us if you need directions: Scott 504 237 0323


View NolaCycle Mapping Ride 11/22 in a larger map

TONIGHT - NOLA Bike Bash Opening Party & Goldsprints at Handsome Willy's

$2 to race per round, FREE to watch!

What are Goldsprints, you ask. Well check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldsprint for answers.

Here's a video from YouTube. We'll probably be racing one-on-one though.



Meet other guys and gals that like to put the fun between their legs as we kick-off a great weekend of bike fun in New Orleans. Come out to Handsome Willy’s and cheer on your friends that choose to race the Goldsprints. But what are Goldsprints, you say? Well, you know how way back in the 70’s, everyone had stationary bikes that turned into clothes hangers in the 80’s? Then everyone wanted to go spinning at the gym. Well, it’s kind of like that, except, with a big projection screen behind the stationary bike, and the faster you peddle, the faster the scene changes behind you. Oh, and to make it better, you’re competing with your friends lined up next to you, and you have screaming crowds cheering you on to victory. Sounds fun, doesn’t it. It is. We have drinks specials, too, just be careful drinking and racing.


View Larger Map

Detailed Bike Bash Schedule of Events

Here's the details on all the events happening this weekend.

FRIDAY:

Bike Bash Opening Party with GOLDSPRINTS @ HANDSOME WILLY’S
10pm-12am…218 s Robertson
$2 to race per round, FREE to watch! What are Goldsprints, you ask. Well check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldsprint for answers.
Meet other guys and gals that like to put the fun between their legs as we kick-off a great weekend of bike fun in New Orleans. Come out to Handsome Willy’s and cheer on your friends that choose to race the Goldsprints. But what are Goldsprints, you say? Well, you know how way back in the 70’s, everyone had stationary bikes that turned into clothes hangers in the 80’s? Then everyone wanted to go spinning at the gym. Well, it’s kind of like that, except, with a big projection screen behind the stationary bike, and the faster you peddle, the faster the scene changes behind you. Oh, and to make it better, you’re competing with your friends lined up next to you, and you have screaming crowds cheering you on to victory. Sounds fun, doesn’t it. It is. We have drinks specials, too, just be careful drinking and racing.

SATURDAY:

VIEUX CARRE RIDE
10am…esplanade and royal
FREE!!!
Participate in an awareness ride highlighting bicycle safety in the French Quarter. This ride will take you on a scenic tour of the historic Vieux Carre (French Quarter), while showing the importance of bike safety in shared spaces with motorized vehicles and pedestrians. Afterwards, the tour will continue north to RampART along North Rampart Street and then up the Lafitte Corridor, a planned greenway which will feature a trail from the French Quarter through Treme, Mid-City and ending at Canal Blvd. The ride will terminate halfway up the corridor where it intersects Bayou St. John, a natural inlet from Lake Pontchartrain, and also another established bike route the Jefferson davis and Wisner Trails) stretching from Uptown all the way to the lake: very much the future bicycle cross-roads in the middle of New Orleans.

N.O. BIKE POLO OPEN
10am-6pm…canal and villere
FREE to watch!
Come out and watch talented players from all over the world (literally) with impressive maneuvering skills battle it out in a 2 day tournament. Teams are flying in from all over to show off their skills during the N.O. Bike Polo Open. It’s tough, it’s rough, it’s gritty, and dirty. And it’s loads of fun. Want to participate? Go to www.nopolo.org.

BAYOU BBQ & VOLLEYBALL
12pm-2pm…moss and toulouse
FREE!!!
Ride your bike to end of Bayou St. John (near Lafitte) and enjoy some BBQ and volleyball. Mid-City Volleyball is a very active organization in helping get the Lafitte Corridor plan approved along with the Friends of Lafitte Corridor organization. So Mid-City Volleyball will be setting up volleyball nets for a nice social afternoon to be accompanied by some grilled foods provided by the Metro Bicycle Coalition (omnivores, carnivores, and herbivores are all welcome). This is a great opportunity to get off the bike, socialize with fellow enthusiasts, and refill with some much needed calories to finish your day on the bike.

BIKE RODEO 4 KIDS
1:30pm-4pm…n. tonti & gallier (RUBARB)
FREE!!!
Bike Rodeo for kids of all ages. Learn how to ride safely and be more predictable around motorists and pedestrians. You’ll learn about which way to ride down the street (with traffic or against), the way to signal when you’re making turns left and right, and a lot more. This is a great training for anyone unfamiliar with what the laws really say, and to help parents teach their children correctly, as well. We’ll have a prizes, too!!

VEER MOVIE SCREENINGS @ NOLA CANDLE FACTORY
Two showings @ 5pm & 8pm…4537 n robertson (Candle Factory)
$8
There is limited seating, so feel free to bring your own chair. Enjoy New Orleans’ first screening of Veer, the movie. Veer explores America’s fast-growing bicycling culture by profiling five people whose lives are inextricably tied to bicycling and the bike-centric social groups they belong to. The film follows these characters over the course of a year, offering a behind-the-scenes look at their personal struggles and triumphs. Veer examines what it means to be part of a community, and how social movements are formed.
Recognized as an official selection for the Lincoln Center New York Film Society Green Screens Series, Victoria Film Festival, Winner of Best Documentary at the Calgary Underground Film Festival, Nominated for Best Documentary at the San Joaquin International Film Festival, this screening should not be missed. Watch the trailer: http://www.veerthemovie.com/trailer.asp
There will also be beverages available for purchase and popcorn.

SUNDAY:

AUDUBON ZOO BIKE RIDE 4 KIDS (AND THEIR FAMILIES!)
8:30am-9:30am…6500 Magazine (Audubon Zoo)
$4 per bike (Children in Safety seats or pulled in bike trailers free)
Early morning bike-ride through the Audubon Zoo for children. Register ahead of time with Monica Pasos (mpasos@auduboninstitute.org ) at Audubon Zoo, so you can be one of the 50 bikes to ride through. The ride will last one hour, with several stops to see the animals along the way. This is a great opportunity to get into Audubon Zoo before it opens when it’s quiet, animals are out, and the crowds have not yet arrived. When the ride is over, you can go back to the zoo a little longer to sight-see some of the animals you missed, or browse the shops.

NOLACYCLE MAPPING RIDE IN PONTILLY
@ ROME PARK PLAYGROUND
10am-12pm…robert e lee and st roch
FREE!!!
Help complete NolaCycle’s mapping project while enjoying a ride in Pontilly. NolaCycle is a grassroots organization that recently joined forces with the Metro Bicycle Coalition. Led by Lauren Sullivan, the group has ridden all over New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to grade the roads of the city by width, quality, and speed of motor vehicles. You’ll be given a small quadrant map and a few markers so you and your team can graphically illustrate block-by-block what the conditions of the roads are from a cyclist’s perspective. When this data is completely collected, a GIS map will be created and distributed showing the best blocks to ride on, in order to inform a cyclist’s route across the city. What’s better is that Acorns of Hope, an organization set out to replant trees along coastal Louisiana after Hurricane Rita, will be making their annual bike ride to plant trees, and end up in New Orleans on this day to help with the mapping. We welcome our tree-planting-cousins from Southwest Louisiana, and are glad they can be here to help make New Orleans a more sustainable city. We’re especially excited that they’re biking the whole way here!

N.O. BIKE POLO OPEN
10am-6pm…canal and villere
FREE to watch!

BIKE DRAWING & RACK INSTALLATIONS & SPONSORSHIPS @ PO BOY FESTIVAL
11am-6pm…Oak St.
Where Ya’ Rack? is the latest Young Leadership Council project to come out of the Leadership Development Series in the fall of 2008. The purpose of the project is to have plentiful, safe and secure bike parking installed all over New Orleans. There will be a raffle for a bike at the Po Boy Festival, as well as information for individuals and businesses to learn how to sponsor one or more racks for installation, and tell us where it is you live, work, and play, so Where Ya’ Rack? can install racks where demand is greatest.

METRO BICYCLE COALITION BBQ @ N.O. BIKE POLO OPEN
12pm-2pm…canal and villere
FREE!!!
Chow on some BBQ while watching Bike Polo. This will be the end of the internationally attended New Orleans Bike Polo Tournament. Come by, have some food (again, all omnivores, carnivores, and herbivores are welcome), and see which teams come out on top.

BIKE BASH AFTER PARTY @ ALL-WAYS LOUNGE
9pm-?…2240 St. Claude
$8
Fund-raiser for Plan B at the All-Ways Lounge (formerly Cowpokes). Will have 3 bands and 2 DJ’s. More info forthcoming.

NolaCycle Mapping event this SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!! Come out and map the streets!

On Sunday November 22nd, as part of the city-wide NOLA Bike Bash festival, NolaCycle will be organizing volunteers to map the greater Gentilly/Lakefront/Pontchartrain Park area. Riders will meet at Rome Park playground (at St. Roch and Robert E Lee) at 10am.

People of all ages and cycling experience are encouraged to attend. Riders will be given a map to record information on road conditions that will take approximately one hour to complete. Since we survey conditions block-by-block, NolaCycle rides are slow paced and relaxed. Even middle school children have helped out! Acorns of Hope, a group riding across southern Louisiana replanting trees, will be joining us along with a number of Metro Bicycle Coalition members.

Volunteers need to only bring a bicycle (actually, skateboards work well too) and something to carry a clipboard with such as a basket or messenger bag. NolaCycle organizers will explain the process, assign areas to pairs of riders to map, and hand about materials. The mapping event will end at noon at the parking lot on Canal and Villere for the FREE Metro Bicycle Coalition BBQ and the N.O. Bike Polo Tournament. Riders who don’t want to join us for the lunch can return materials to NolaCycle organizers at Rome Park by 11:45am.

The more people who attend, the more data we can collect, and the closer we get to completing the first comprehensive, city-wide bike map of New Orleans! Hope to see you Sunday!

The Bike Bash is Almost Here!!!!!

It's going to be awesome. Check out all the details on MBC's Bike Bash website.

NolaCycle's event is going to be on Sunday from 10am-noon. We're going to do a mapping ride like that ones we were doing last summer until this spring, but we're taking it above I-610 this time! Bring your bike, friends, and a basket or bag to carry a clip board and meet us at Rome Park. After the mapping ride, we'll go down to the BBQ at the Bike Polo Tournament.


View Larger Map