,

Annual General Meeting and notice of special resolution

,
IMG_20170811_205117.jpg

The Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society Annual General Meeting (AGM) is Sunday, October 15, 2017, from 1-3pm at the Downtown Edmonton Community League (10042 103 St NW). Everyone is welcome to attend. Our Board of Directors and executive director will present the annual report and membership will vote on our annual budget. We will also be having elections to fill several positions on the Board of Directors. EBC members will also vote on the special resolution, below.

If you are interested in helping to set the direction of our growing organization, or know someone that can lead us towards a better city for cycling and walking, please visit our nominations page. Candidates can also be nominated from the floor at the AGM. Directors will be elected by our membership at the AGM.

Notice of special resolution: proposed changes to the Official Name of the Society

Notice is hereby given to all EBC members that there is intention to propose the following resolution to be passed as a special resolution during the EBC Annual General Meeting on October 15, 2017.

WHEREAS the Board of Directors of the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society recommends amendments to the Society’s Bylaws;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Bylaws be amended as follows:

• The Official Name of the Society be changed from: EDMONTON BICYCLE COMMUTERS' SOCIETY to BIKE EDMONTON SOCIETY. • All other instances of the phrase "the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters' Society" be replaced with "the Society".

For any questions or concerns, please contact us.

For background on the reasons for this proposal, please review our name change background document.

,

EPCOR RiverFest Ride the Bridges: Thirteen Bridges Tour

,
bridges.jpg

Celebrate Edmonton's river valley by riding 13 of its bridges! Ride begins at 10:30am from 112 St and Saddleback Road. Ride your bike, take the train to Century Park, or park on the street in the area.

Ride to Victoria Park (24 km) and have a picnic break (bring your own lunch). You can head home from there, or continue on the ride. You can also join the ride here at 1pm.

We will depart from Victoria Park at about 1:15pm, and make our way to the Strathcona Science Park before returning to BikeWorks North (9305 111 Ave) for about 3:30pm. (29km from Victoria Park, 53 km total.)

The ride is free, but you must:

  • register and sign waivers
  • bring your own snacks and/or lunch
  • bring water, ideally enough for the entire ride (refill opportunities are limited)
  • bring your own bike in good working order
    • your chain should not fall off while riding (if it does, take your bike in for servicing: chains should never fall off)
    • inflate your tires to the recommend pressure (check the sidewalls of your tires)
    • lubricate your chain
    • ensure your shifting works, as there will be several hill climbs
  • wear a helmet if you are under 18
  • have the ability to ride the distance at a leisurely pace (~20 km/hr)

The 24-hour weather forecast is sunny and clear, with a high of 15°C and potential wind of 20 km/h (gusts up to 40 km/h). Please dress appropriately with layers for cool weather, and be prepared if the forecast includes a chance of precipitation.

All participants are required to register and sign the following waiver.

A live map will be shared with registrants so they can track the progress of the ride in real-time.

,

Join the 2017 Community Garden Bicycle Tour

,
Garden-Bike-Tour-thumbnail2Fbanner-1.jpg

The 6th year of Sustainable Food Edmonton & Edmonton Bicycle Commuters community garden bicycle tours is happening Saturday August 19, 2017! Discover the people power and plants production in some community gardens in north-central Edmonton. Each garden will have a host to share the stories of their garden – how the garden operates, how it came to be, and its impact on the local community.

This year's tour will be approximately 10 km of leisurely riding. You must be comfortable with on-road cycling (light traffic only). Experienced cyclists will lead and tail the tour.

Please bring your own:

  • well-maintained bicycle
  • helmet (mandatory for under 18; recommended for 18+)
  • bike lock
  • appropriate clothing (tour runs rain or shine!)
  • sun protection & bug protection
  • water

Registration is FREE but required and you will be asked to sign a waiver and photo permission form before participating.

Register at: sustainablefoodedmonton.org/events/2017/8/19/community-garden-bike-tour

Saturday August 19, 2017 10 am – 12:30 pm

Meet at Westmount Community League Hall, 10970 127 Street.

Tour route map goo.gl/3zPJ8M (subject to change) is approx 9 km with the following garden tours:

Registration: sustainablefoodedmonton.org/events/2017/8/19/community-garden-bike-tour

 

Please help! Heritage Days volunteers needed this weekend

1200px-Heritage_Festival_Edmonton_Scandinavia_Pavilion.jpg

Please help EBC! We are still short volunteers this weekend for monitoring bike parking at Heritage Festival in Hawrelak Park. Sign up here to volunteer.

Help thousands of cyclists! No experience necessary!

Volunteers are especially needed on Sunday afternoon & evening, and Monday. Your job will be to monitor locked bikes at one of the EBC bike compounds.

This festival has been one of our most effective outreach and fundraising events in the past, with tens of thousands of people arriving on bicycles over the course of the weekend. We receive a large amount of donations at the festival, which helps run our programs.

Volunteers get to relax, enjoy the festival, and sample some of the amazing food offerings (patrons often donate food tickets to our volunteers!).

,

Volunteers needed

,
DSC_0584.jpg

We need volunteers! We are in great need of volunteers to help out with monitoring the bicycle parking compounds at Heritage Festival. We've been invited back this year to help secure the bikes for the thousands of people who ride to the festival, and we need many more volunteers. No experience necessary! We receive a large amount of donations at the festival, which supports the work that we do and the services we offer, and volunteers mostly get to relax, enjoy the festival, and sample some of the great tastes of the festival (patrons often donate food tickets to our volunteers!).

We also need many more volunteers for Sunday night at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, helping to shepherd taxis to the cab stand at the end of the night. Again, no experience is necessary, and your volunteering gets you a free day pass into the festival (on a day of your choice--it can be Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday), and also supports EBC financially.

For more information about the roles, the volunteer perks, and to sign up to volunteer, follow these links:

  • August 5-7: Heritage Festival — Sit next to a field of bicycles while eating food.
  • August 10-13: Edmonton Folk Music Festival — Tell taxis to go. Tell taxis to stop. No experience necessary. Get a free day pass.
  • August 17 and 25: Edmonton International Fringe Festival — Tune up bicycles. Mechanical experience required.
  • August 31 to September 3: Symphony Under the Sky — Listen to fantastic music from the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra while sitting next to a field of bicycles. Get free ESO tickets.
  • September 6-7: Casino (fundraising via AGLC casino event) — Earn $$$ thousands in just a few hours! For EBC. Really. Your time at our casino events works out to a donation to EBC of about $315 per hour of your volunteer time, or about $2200 a shift.

Bike to the Symphony on June 1, 2017

Join EBC and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra for our eighth annual Bike to the Symphony next Thursday, June 1! Ride with the ESO’s Artist in Residence Lucas Waldin from BikeWorks South, or District Cafe if you prefer to meet the ride downtown, to the Winspear. The ride itself is always free, and everyone is welcome to join. Tickets to the concert are available through the Winspear Box Office. If you have a current EBC membership, you can use your promo code to access $24 tickets for the best seats in the Winspear.

From Debussy's Clair de lune to Ian Tyson's Four Strong Winds, from Rimsky-Korsakov to Star Trek to Mack the Knife: the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra will display the breadth of its talent in this performance.

For more information about Bike to the Symphony, including ride details and times, visit http://edmontonbikes.ca/symphony

,

Edmonton Bike Swap

,
ABS-bike-5w-web.png

The Edmonton Bike Swap returns to Northlands this year! Buy a bike in a safe environment with volunteer mechanics to check over your new ride, or sell your old bikes by just dropping them off without having to stay or haggle. Sat, May 13, 2017, 8am-4pm Northlands Expo Centre – Hall A, 7515 118 Ave

Read all the details about selling and buying at http://albertabikeswap.ca/info and the location/time details at http://www.northlands.com/events/bike-swap/

Downtown Bike Network map

2017-04-19-map.png

If you head downtown, you will see the downtown bike network of physically separated bike lanes under construction, with a completion target of June/July. These lanes use a combination of large planters, concrete barriers and bollards to create a physical separation between bicycles and other traffic. New signal controls are being installed at intersections as well, including bike traffic lights, and other treatments will also be used to improve safety at intersections.

 

The map of the planned grid looks like this:

  • 103 St north of 103 Ave won't be complete this year because of ongoing construction related to the Ice District scheduled to continue until 2019.
  • 102 Ave east of 103 St also won't be complete this year, due to Valley Line LRT construction targeted for 2020.
  • 99 St south of 102A Ave will also be completed later.

A more detailed map showing the roadway placement of the bike lanes should be released in the next few weeks; if you have any specific concerns about how the bike lanes will work, please contact us so we can share your feedback with the City of Edmonton. Most of the feedback and subsequent changes are planned to happen after the bike network has been constructed and opened for use, following Calgary's model, which allows for people to truly use and interact with the network in order to get the most useful feedback. Calgary made over 100 adjustments in the first few months of its bike network.

Running Road Race Helps Children with Disabilities Ride Bikes!

cropped-artboard-1.png

Volunteer to support You Can Ride 2 (YCR2) and a great outdoor running adventure: the 2017 Landrex St. Albert Road Race on April 23, 2017! The race is raising funds for YCR2, and we need volunteers to help marshal, flag, or be at a station where people pick up supplies. You will be trained on-site on the event day.

You can support YCR2 and the children we help. E-mail [email protected] to volunteer!

An Exciting little ride at the St Albert Road Race!

Parents in our Borrow A Bike program: be part of a ride to start the runners off.

If you’re borrowing a YCR2 bike this summer, you and your child could come out for a short ride this Sunday! To start a few of the running races that day, the organizers of the race have set aside a space beside the running track, so that YCR2 kids and families can ride or walk beside the runners to give them a great encouraging start!

Parking is available across the street from the start line. Meet at the YCR2 table at 8:30am. Running start times are 9am and 9:15am.

Contact us if you’re interested in participating.

,

Birds and Bikes

,
Traditional-owl-beep-bicycle-bell-goRide-600w.jpg

On May 5, EBC presents the Beaverhill Bird Observatory (BBO) with a special presentation on bird conservation, & biking and interacting with birds in the city. A live owl will be joining us, so it’s sure to be a “hoot” of a time!

The presentation is Friday, May 5, at 7pm, at BikeWorks South (8001 102 St). Admission is free; donations gratefully accepted.

Established in 1984, the BBO is the second oldest migration monitoring observatory in Canada. The BBO's extensive long-term datasets enable the BBO to track changes in bird populations, migratory routes, breeding success, and survivorship.

The BBO is a registered charity.

Mill Creek Closure: April 13, 2017

mill-creek.jpg

The shared-use path in Mill Creek near 88 Avenue will be closed for approximately 5 hours some time on April 13, 2017.

In preparation for the construction site of the new overflow tunnel along the alignment of 88 Avenue, west of Mill Creek, the City of Edmonton’s crew will conduct hydro excavation work from the surface down to expose and verify the location of buried utilities close to the site of the shaft that will be used for construction.

This work will take five hours to complete on April 13th, 2017, and will interrupt the bike lane at the work site location as indicated on the map in the attached notice.

,

MEC/EBC Club Night - Spring 2017

,
South-Edmonton-16-x640.jpg

Join us April 11, 2017 between 6pm-9pm at the MEC South Edmonton Common location (1624 99 Street NW) for club night. 10% discount for EBC members on all regular-price items, including bikes and boats. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the night!

Please note that you must be a member of MEC ($5 lifetime membership) and EBC ($15-$20 annual membership) to take advantage of this discount. Both memberships will be available for purchase the night of this event.

You can also purchase or renew your EBC membership online, or check the status of your current membership.

All regular priced merchandise is 10% off – even bikes and boats. Products on clearance or marked down or products that get a discount from packages are not eligible for the 10% discount. Discount applies only to items that are in stock in the store at the time of the club night. No store transfers or web purchases. Blundstone footwear is exempt from this discount.

Cycling the City: The Mainstreaming of Urban Biking

SUST201_Cycling-Cities_Social_1.jpg

Please attend tonight's free presentation, Cycling the City: The Mainstreaming of Urban Biking, Tuesday, Apr 4 2017, from 7pm-8:15pm at the CN Theatre (Room 5-142), City Centre Campus, MacEwan University (the first floor of the the 105 St building on 104 Avenue). Presented by Tom Babin and hosted by the MacEwan University Office of Sustainability as part of their Sustainability Speaker Series.

Cycling is rapidly growing in popularity as a means of getting around North American cities, even winter cities. More and more places are introducing cycling-specific infrastructure to provide safer dedicated routes for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.

This summer, Edmonton launches its downtown grid of separated bike lanes. Calgary author, journalist, and blogger Tom Babin looks at recent trends and infrastructure developments in urban cycling in Calgary, Edmonton, and around the world.

Presented by: Tom Babin Tom is a Calgary-based author, journalist, and blogger who has written for the Los Angeles Times, National Post and Explore, and has spoken about cycling all over the world. He is also the author of Frostbike: The Joy, Pain, and Numbness of Winter Cycling.

In partnership with Paths for People and the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society.

,

EBC is hiring: bicycle assembler

,

EBC is hiring a Bicycle Assembler. This position will help EBC provide bicycles to the public by building a steady supply of refurbished bikes for sale, maintaining and repairing EBC's rental bike fleet, and sharing knowledge and experience with EBC's volunteer mechanics. If you have strong bicycle mechanic skills, the ability to work independently, and a desire to support our non-profit in helping more people to ride bikes, please consider applying.

Application deadline is February 17, 2017. Please submit applications and inquiries to [email protected].

View the full job description here.

MEC/EBC Club Night Fall 2016

Join us for our fall MEC/EBC Club Night at the downtown MEC (12328 102 Ave) on Tuesday, November 29 from 7-9pm! EBC members can purchase regular priced merchandise at 10% off – even bikes and boats. Products on clearance or marked down or products that get a discount from packages are not eligible for the 10% discount.

Door prizes will be awarded throughout the night!

Please note that you must be a member of MEC ($5 lifetime membership) and EBC ($15-$20 annual membership) to take advantage of this discount. Both memberships will be available for purchase the night of this event.

You can also purchase or renew your EBC membership online.

Iif you have your EBC membership card, please bring it, though it is not required. As long as you are a current member of EBC, we can verify your membership online and/or issue you a new card on the evening of the event.

Discount applies only to items that are in stock in the store at the time of the club night. No store transfers or web purchases.

Blundstone footwear is exempt from this discount.

Edmonton approves downtown bike network for summer 2017

Following in Calgary's footsteps, Edmonton City Council has unanimously approved building a network of protected bike lanes through downtown Edmonton, to open summer 2017. Thank you for sending us your stories, and for writing to your councillors, and a huge thanks to Paths for People for their work to make this happen. Please join Paths for People if you haven't already, and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

“We have been just inundated with demand from people who want to cycle and just don’t feel safe,” said Coun. Scott McKeen, urging his colleagues to vote for the plan.

Please write to your councillor one more time: to join us in thanking them for their leadership and for supporting this decision. 

You can also send a tweet to Keith Shillington, Senior VP at Stantec, @shillington_k thanking him and Stantec for their initiative and the donation of their resources in developing this plan.

Edmonton's Downtown Grid

Stantec donated resources to develop a downtown bike network plan. The City of Edmonton has already started more detailed design work. The current plan is to open the grid by the summer of 2017; city administration has agreed that this is feasible, though an aggressive schedule. You can read a summary of the plan here.

Councillor Scott McKeen brought forward the original motion to study a minimum grid in July, with Coun. Ben Henderson amending it to consider a minimum grid including the entire core, including Old Strathcona. Due to constricted resources and timelines, Stantec's report only studied the downtown, but Mayor Don Iveson added a motion on Tuesday to look at using provincial or federal grants to help expand the grid to the University/Strathcona area in 2018.

You can watch video of the vote and view the bike grid reports by clicking on agenda item 6.12.

Contact your provincial and federal representatives

Federal Transportation Minister Amarjeet Sohi has responded, "We are seriously exploring how do we support municipalities to build the sustainable modes of transportation, dedicated cycling infrastructure, or other ways to reduce our dependency on the personal automobile.”

Edmonton-Centre MLA David Shepherd also expressed his support of the downtown grid.

You can contact your provincial and federal representatives to ask them to support active transportation funding for municipalities, which will help Edmonton to expand the grid to Strathcona:

Learning from Calgary's success

Edmonton's bike grid is specifically designed for Edmonton, with very careful analysis of each road, but the concept is modelled after Calgary's downtown bike grid, which was also designed by Stantec. Their grid, which only opened in 2015, has been hugely popular.

In 2011, there were just six communities in Calgary where at least four per cent of respondents reported commuting by bike. In 2016, that had risen to 43 communities. Ridership on some stretches of their network has doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in two years.

calgary-modesplit-bike-2016

Next steps

As Edmonton pushes forward with its bike network, two priorities emerge:

  • Secure bike parking: Are there enough places downtown for commuters to secure their bikes? If you are concerned about the facilities in your workplace, please talk to your building manager, or get in touch with us. The Oxford Cycle Centre in Edmonton City Centre Mall, provided exclusively for staff in that building and tower complex and easily accessed through an attached parkade, includes lockers, showers, towel service, a bike washing station, and a bike repair stand with pump and tools:

  • Strathcona/University area: Contact your provincial and federal representatives to express support for providing funding to municipalities for active transportation projects, so that Edmonton can expand the grid in 2018. Also tell Brian Mason that you support a High Level Park across the upper deck of the High Level Bridge, so that we can properly connect the north and south sides.

    • Thank you again to the Mayor, City Council, Paths for People, Stantec and everyone that wrote in support of the downtown grid. We are excited to celebrate this momentous turning point for Edmonton.