great topic ken, and great replies everyone!
to give you an idea what the agenda entails, this years:
http://www.bikeleague.org/conferences/summit08/2008_summit_program.pdf
and a recap of last years summit that I attended with Wally and Frank:
http://www.jorba.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=519
cherry picking some issues mentioned:
regarding national park access:
agenda said:
Keynote Speaker
The Honorable Mary A. Bomar, Director of the National Park Service, will speak at the 2008 National Bike Summit opening dinner on March 4. Director Bomar was sworn into office as the 17th Director of the National Park Service (NPS) on October 16, 2006. She has been a leader in moving forward with the Department’s Centennial Initiative, which proposes $3 billion in new funds for the National Park Service over the next ten years. As the NPS continues to organize for its centennial in 2016, we look forward to working with the Director and the NPS to ensure that bicycling is a part of the vision for our National Parks and public lands.
her keynote is a good sign. supporting IMBA appears to be making in-roads with the NPS. i know for a fact that jenn dice spends about 90% of her time working on issues with NPS, BLM and issues of a federal nature. considering the keynote, plus 2 NPS related agenda items, pilot projects in a couple of national parks, i think the NPS is ready to embrace mtb soon.
agenda said:
The 100-year Vision for National Parks: Creating Bicycle Friendly Parks
National Parks represent the best places in America where millions
travel to experience nature, learn about cultural resources
and celebrate historic places. Many bring their bicycles. But
when people look for safe areas to ride or want to explore their
parks on roads, paths, and dirt trails, they have very few options.
As the National Park Service organizes for its centennial
in 2016, what is our vision for bicycling? How can we be part of
the recreation and transportation mix? This panel will explore the
opportunities and challenges of creating bicycle-friendly National
Parks and other Federal Land Programs.
agenda said:
Creating Bicycle Friendly National Parks and Public Lands – Legislative Roundtable
The ISTEA revolution that brought bicycling into the State
transportation programs has somehow skipped over many
of our federal land agencies, and there is a growing concern
that qualified non-motorized transportation systems are not
being fairly considered for funding under both the National
Parks transportation programs and the 2016 Centennial
Initiative. This roundtable discussion will identify what
legislative actions should be taken over the course of the
next two years to involve bicycling more in federal lands
transportation programs and lay out opportunities to include
bicycle projects in our country’s broader NPS Centennial vision.
regarding
safe routes to schools:
agenda said:
Safe Routes to Schools
What has happened in the two and a half years since the Federal
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program was created? Discover
what Congress is hearing about the program, and get the latest
news on state programs. Learn how to form a state SRTS network,
and how school siting decisions affect the ability of students to
walk and bicycle to school. Get the latest evaluation tools and
guidelines for gathering success stories.
more:
http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/.
bj, i agree with you. 1 mile away and you have to take a bus. ridiculous. that's narrow-minded thinking.
regarding
"Complete Streets" (the concept that bike/ped lanes should be planned into road infrastructure up front, rather than ignored or as an lame afterthought. example: the west milford town center project being planned now should incorporate complete streets.
agenda said:
Changing Outcomes with Complete Streets
This session will highlight lessons learned from some of
the most recent successful policy campaigns to change
the outcome of transportation investment. Panelists will
discuss the new law in Illinois to include safe bicycling and
walking facilities in all projects in urbanized area and the
comprehensive complete streets ordinance in Seattle. We
will also discuss federal complete streets legislation.