Pedaling Bikeability

Group wants to make Boone a cyclist’s paradise

By Scott Nicholson

A new organization is hoping to put Boone on two wheels by making bicycling easier and safer.
The Boone Bicycle Initiative grew out of a talk a couple of friends had last December.

Alan Watts, a group spokesperson, said a friend of his worked with a similar initiative in Georgia, so they put together a proposal for a grant.

Watts heard in July that the group was one of 40 to have their ideas accepted for an Environmental Protection Agency program.

The group got $10,000 to put its plan into action, and now the group is trying to make “the rubber meet the road.”

The group’s first task was drafting a “bikeability map” for the town, informally collecting various favorite routes from local riders. “That was the first stab at it,” Watts said. “A bunch of cyclists got together and color-coded the roads, which ones were fastest and straightest and which ones to avoid if possible. We tried to find the calmest routes to get you where you’re going.”

Watts asked the Boone Town Council for support during Thursday’s meeting and the council passed a proclamation recognizing the effort. The council set Oct. 27 as “Bicycle Appreciation Day” in the town and the group is hosting Biketoberfest 2007 that day.

The event will be held from noon until 4 p.m. It will be held at the covered bridge on the town’s greenway trail, featuring live music, bike repairs and a bike-costume contest, as well as a number of family activities.
Watts said while the initiative was started by a group of students at Appalachian State University, it was designed to benefit the entire community. Watts said the group had received a shop space at the bottom of the Turchin Center and will refurbish bikes and train volunteers there.

Watts also asked the town council to help with educational efforts. The group recently printed the bikeability map and wants to distribute it in conjunction with awareness signs, hoping more people will pedal instead of pollute.

“We feel like we’ve got a good team of dedicated students,” Watts said. Local bike shops have become partners in the program and the group has received about a thousand dollars’ worth of donated equipment. The town council’s proclamation encouraged the use of bicycles and Watts said more volunteers and donations of bikes, parts and tools were welcome.

“We’re going to try different things and see what works,” Watts said. “We’ll build a fleet of commuter and donor bikes, and we’re hoping to add odometers so we can check the mileage.”

Measuring how much the bikes are used could help the group in the second phase of its project. The EPA will be selecting groups to further their original proposals, this time offering $75,000 in grants. Watts said matching research with a community effort would be unique and give the group a downhill run toward winning another grant. “Being able to calculate the environmental benefits is part of what makes this special,” he said.

Watts said this idea is different from one tried a few years ago in town, where bikes were painted yellow and scattered around for free transportation. The idea was to pick up the bike, ride it to a destination, and then leave it for the next rider.

“A lot got vandalized and stolen,” Watts said. “They had a bunch of bikes but they didn’t have the resources we have. We have a shop to maintain the bikes and we want riders to feel ownership of the bikes.”

To that end, the bikes will not be for quick rides, but rather for commuters. Participants will take the bikes home with them and use them for shopping, recreation and riding to school or work. The group of about a dozen people meets monthly to plan the initiative, and another goal is to continue gathering spare parts and extra bicycles. The group also wants to formalize its biking map in conjunction with the awareness signs and educational efforts.

“If you take a group of bikers, everyone has their own routes they’re comfortable with,’ Watts said. By sharing information, cyclists should have a safer and simpler experience getting around.

The group’s stated goals are to encourage the use of bicycles instead of cars for commuting, reducing the town and university’s “carbon footprint,” reducing traffic congestion and parking problems and creating a model program that can be used by other communities.

“The biggest way to promote bicycling is to make it as easy as possible,” Watts said. “We’ll be giving a bike to people that don’t have one and make people feel as comfortable as possible. We’ll spread education about the benefits of bicycling and get people more motivated to use them.”

On the Web: www.Bikeboone.org