The sunny state of Arizona ranks behind (in order of ranking) Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Delaware, Massachusetts, New jersey, Wisconsin and Illinois.

To see the league’s comments on Arizona’s rank in the top ten reviewed states, go to their website www.bikeleague.org, or click here to be directed to the Arizona fact sheet. For more about the rankings structure and to see how other states fared, click here.

While we’ve broken into the top ten, Arizona still has a long way to go especially with integrating biking into all of the state’s transportation plans. Tempe Bicycle Action Group is a great place to start making those changes. Want to see your state climb the ranks? Get involved with our many education and activism programs and activities.

Read up on our activism board member’s recent work with the Arizona Department of Transportation on our blog biketempe.org or by clicking here.

Ride for Reading, a nonprofit that delivers books to schools via bicycles, is coming to Tempe on Friday May 10th. Gather at 9 a.m. at Pivot Cycles (1807 West Drake Drive) in south Tempe and deliver books by bike to Frank School in Guadalupe (8409 S. Avenida del Yaqu). It’s a mile ride that could mean a world of difference for a local school.

We need your pedaling power and your book-lugging abilities for this labor of love; backpacks, baskets, trailers or cargo bikes will be instrumental as we haul books to kids who need them.

Join your friends from TBAG, MBAA and the Tempe Police Department Bike Squad to support this great cause: Sign Up Here

About Ride For Reading: Ride For Reading’s mission is to promote literacy and healthy living through the distribution of books via bicycle to children from low-income neighborhoods. In low-income neighborhoods, the ratio of books per child is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children. *Reading is an integral part of education, and without books it is hard to build a strong academic base. Our children need materials to read at home and it is our goal to provide the means. Fore more, visit rideforreading.com.

Whether you ride for the sake of health, transportation, or to support a deeper belief in a sustainable lifestyle it’s likely that you, as a cyclist, don’t favor the prospect of getting hit by a car, riding over cracked and bumpy pavement, or finding yourself in a bike UN-friendly neighborhood. Let your local leaders know!

As a cyclist your voice will be heard. TBAG Board Member and advocacy leader Scrottie recently went to Tucson to speak in a Arizona Department of Transportation meeting and the amazing thing is – they respected and heard his comments. For a complete account of Scrottie’s travels, view his blog post: http://www.biketempe.org/adot-loves-you/ ‎

Want to stay on top of bike issues and opportunities to become involved? Update your contact information with biketempe.org to receive advocacy alerts in the future:

http://www.biketempe.org/join-us/update-your-tbag-contact-info/ and get registered for advocacy alerts.

Cost: $25 gets you a SanTan beer at each stop and food at Kelly’s. Purchase tickets in advance at http://bit.ly/YNdBbh! Get yer tickets soon – these rides are hot! – and RSVP at the Facebook page here.

Route:
Meet at 3 p.m. at Kelly’s at SouthBridge (7117 E. 6th Ave., Scottsdale, AZ 85250) –ride to–; Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn (5532 N. Palo Cristi Rd., Paradise Valley, AZ 85253) –ride to–; O.H.S.O. (4900 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85018) –ride to/ends at–; Dos Gringos in Old Town (4209 N. Craftsman Ct., Scottsdale, AZ 85251)

TBAG is providing ride leadership for this ride, all of the SanTan rides, and other cruiser rides around the Valley. If you are interested in joining the team please email info@biketempe.org Ride leaders always get free tickets to the rides which include free beer and food.

Get your friends together for a mid-week bash Wednesday May 15 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the new patio bar, Tempe’s Front Porch, just outside of Monti’s La Casa Vieja on Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue. For a donation at the door, you get two free drinks, free appetizers and some good karma. All donation proceeds will be given to TBAG!

While there come say hi to your favorite Tempe bike nonprofit – TBAGgers will be manning a table at the bar all night.

To get in you’ll need to RSVP in one of two ways:

• “Join” the TBAG Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/376871832423658/ 
• Email our PR pal, RSVP@RoseMoserAllynPR.com

For more information on Tempe’s Front Porch including location, hours and menus, visit www.tempesfrontporch.com on twitter @TempePorch or facebook.com/tempesfrontporch or call 480.967.7594.

Your blanket doubles as a cape on the ride and a seat at the movies, after we meander our way to Spokes on Southern, where we can get grub at the pub and catch a film shown by one of our newest collaborators, Cycle-In Cinema.

Meet at 7:30 p.m. May 11 in Tempe Beach Park (the northwest corner of Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue) and we’ll be on our merry way!

Ride: Free
Movie: Free
A night on your bike with friends: Priceless

RSVP at the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/159369884232081/

Grab your friends and head to the Tempe General Plan Citizen’s Workshop Wednesday April 24 from 6-7 p.m. at the Tempe Library on Southern and Rural.

This working group needs community input – so be sure to drop by and tell them that the city of Tempe needs to continue funding bike infrastructure to support you, me and all the other two-wheeled gearheads out there!

Love bikes and want to join, but not sure what to talk about? Here are some starting points:

• Complete Tempe’s streets
• Expanding the bike network – both dedicated lanes and bike-friendly streets
• Create more bike boulevard systems
  

Join in and let your friends know you’re going to be there at the TBAG Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/570553759643281/#

Two meetings were being held:  a general meeting, and a meeting for the 5 Year Plan.  I filled out a yellow card to speak during the 5 Year Plan portion of the meeting then staked out a seat in the front row.  In the front of the small auditorium, about 8 or 10 people sat behind tables.  Their names and positions (board member, directory, and so forth) were old style wooden widgets like people used to all have on their desks.  They talked among themselves, thanking their hosts, the Pascua Yaqui tribe, for their hospitality and thanked them for the accommodations.

The comment portion of the 5 Year Plan meeting happened second.  I had made some notes the night before of what I wanted to say, but I rewrote them while I waited to be called.  There were no shortage of speakers.  Owners of construction companies stood up and spoke in their three piece suits.  A board member from the Nogales Tourist Association spoke.  A mayor from a local small city spoke; then it was the director of a regional airport, a representative of Southwest Gas, someone from an association of local businesses, PAG (Pima Association of Governments, the regional organization that handles efforts such as public transit that span cities) had their interium director there.  A Mexican consulate spoke about the importance of ground transportation between the US and Mexico, and about how our manufacturing is now so intertwined that goods cross the boarder multiple times before being assembled into a finished project.  There were others.

Some people asked for help with specific dangerous intersections that have had a lot of accidents.  Many, such as the mayor and construction companies, had no particular agenda except to re-affirm their ongoing working relationship with ADOT, and were essentially saying “hello, good to see you”.

I was called, so I stood up, walked over, said good morning to the board and chairman, introduce myself as Scott Walters, with Tempe Bicycle Action Group, and said, approximately:  We work closely with the City of Tempe and with the Maricopa Association of Governments, for example conducting the Tempe Bike Count and helping with Bike to Work Day.  Last year in the Bike Count, we counted 28 locations, for 4 hours, and tallied near 7,000 cyclists.  I’m here to ask for alternatives to highways, such as light rail and bike paths.  Young professionals increasingly want to live near city centers, not in suburbs, and to spend their money on entertainment, not on car ownership.  Safety is the number one reason people don’t ride bikes.  Often roads have 45mph limits with no other way through.  Many people ride anyway, and often the wrong way, or on the sidewalk, which are more dangerous for cyclists.  By DOTs statistics, there was a drop from 37,000 to 32,000 road fatalities from 2008 to 2011, but pedestrian and cyclist deaths rose from 12% to 16% of those fatalities.  Please include bicycles and pedestrians in the 5 Year Plan.  Thank you for your time and attention.

And then I sat down again, and other people continued to speak.  In all, these three minute addresses to the board amounted to an hour.

After the public comments period, the 5 Year Plan meeting was had.  It was a meeting conducted entirely for the benefit of the observing public.  None of the ADOT staff or board present made any motions or reported anything new to each other, but there was still some formality, with the chief engineer re-presenting the three alternative plans (A, B, and C) and giving background on them.

ADOT is facing a budget reduction from 2.6 billion to 1.9 billion.  As part of dealing with that, the engineering staff was asked to prepare three different plans, one maximizing new development, one maximizing maintenance, and another serving as a compromise.  The road projects considered are various highway corridors and connections, highway on ramps, bridge work, and so forth.

1.9 billion sounds like a lot of money, but ADOT, like state transportation departments across the country, has worked year after year to expand the road network, and in doing so has created a serious maintenance obligation.  Being able to do new development in the next five years amounts to neglecting maintenance in the hopes that there is a surplus later to catch it up.

The meeting started with a presentation as a sort of report by the chief engineer, with pretty graphs of funds allocation, maps of projects, and background on the projects.  The two projects being carried forward are ones that primarily have money coming from external sources.  Then the board talked about things amongst themselves for the benefit of the audience.

Arizona is a rare state that does not fund road projects with gas taxes.  Reportedly, each cent of gas tax would give them another 30 million dollars a year.  I strongly suspect that you could make some friends in ADOT if you become a major advocate for the gas tax.

Here are some quotes from the 5 Year Plan meeting:

We really do want comments – we’d like you to encourage your friends to file formal comments  – Scott, the lead traffic engineer

Thank you all for being respectful concerning the budget shortfall when making comments.

In the past, 76% [of the budget] was spent on expansion.

Approximately 600 comments were filed.  300 of them spoke in support of alternate transportation.  300 spoke in support of Plan A, B, or C.

Your input is very import to us and does affect how transportation funds are spent. – Chairman Victor Flores.  [This was spoken very earnestly, almost as a plea, as if the audience possessed a voice of reason that would spare him from a consuming madness.]

A lot of these organizations want to be at the table but in my opinion, they need to take the lead.  We’re viewed skeptically. – Council Member Joe La Rue [I knew it!]

ADOT cannot make these decisions alone.  Economic development is a wise place to put money. – Board Member John S Halikowski

Individual contribution [to roadways] comes to about $288 a year. – Board Member Joe La Rue.

People who spoke here today – you’ve got to get fired up! – Joe La Rue

That’s it for the direct quotes.

I think I learned a lot about how politics works today, and the stereotype is wrong.  The more people I meet working in the city, state, and in organizations like MAG, the more I realize that these guys are trying really, really hard to do a good job, and they want help and friends as badly as we do.

Then, a reporter from KVOA snuck up to the front row and asked for an interview, so, hey, maybe I’m on TV in Tucson.

I’d like to make the Flagstaff meeting on May 10 as well.  It seems fitting that I would go to Tucson to talk about Tempe and then go to Flagstaff to talk about Tucson.  I want to stand up for my three minutes and tell the ADOT board and engineers about how my friends and I rode our bikes all over southern Arizona over and over again, and then went to France to do a long distance ride with people from all over the country.  I want to thank them for re-paving Mission road, and tell them how, prior to that, we had decided that it was maintained by the Beirut Road Department, and they would teaspoon asphalt into the craters every day after using it for shelling practice.  Arizona is also full of wonderful roads with great shoulders.  It seems fitting that since I got to know them a lot better, they should get to know some of their friends from TBAG a lot better.  TBAG, and people on bikes in Arizona aren’t just me, though.  If you’d like to join me in thanking the people working for us and make some friends, please go to http://www.biketempe.org/join-us/update-your-tbag-contact-info/ and get registered for advocacy alerts.

Interested in getting involved? Stay tuned for event posts and the call for volunteers on our blog, biketempe.org, and our Facebook Page. Most rides are short, and we’re always looking for ride leaders.

 Upcoming event:

Roll with the art crew and grab some brew while you’re at it today, Friday April 12 at 5:45 p.m. in Tempe Beach Park . From there we will head out to the Phoenix Ale Brewery in downtown Phoenix.

This ride is a part of Arbitrary Arts’ two-day “Artsy & Ales”  series April 12-13.

To RSVP for the ride, led by your favorite TBAGgers, visit the Ales & Artsy TBAG Ride event here.

For more information about the Artsy & Ales two-day event, visit the Arbitrary events page here.