I meant to do that...

Bikes+14 : Cars-1

Kudos to Carvers Restaurant and the City of Durango who recently collaborated to replace one downtown parking spot with a bike rack that holds 14 bikes. Seeing as the City of Durango is funded primarily by revenue from sales tax, this will allow more tax-paying customers to conveniently park their bikes in front of this and other downtown businesses - all while reducing dependency on fossil fuels, alleviating congestion, reducing wear and tear on local roads, and promoting a healthy lifestyle!

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From the Durango Herald - Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Cyclists +14, Car Parking -1

Rack in front of Carver's will hold 14 two-wheelers at cost of 1 parking spot

Photo by STEVE LEWIS/Herald

Sean McLain grabs his bike from the new bike rack in front of Carver Brewing Co. after getting off work at the restaurant Tuesday afternoon. The rack was installed by the city of Durango and takes up a single parking space. "I think it's fantastic," he said. The number of bikes on the sidewalk "was kind of a cluster, and this offers a lot more space," he said.

The city of Durango's first on-street bicycle rack took its place Tuesday in front of Carver Brewing Co. Instead of the U-shaped pipes sunk into the sidewalk at various spots around town that accommodate a handful of two-wheelers, the gleaming galvanized-steel frame at Carver's can easily handle 14 bikes. The frame occupies one parking place.

"I just love it," said Aaron Seitz, one of five partners in Carver's. "Cars that park here generally have one person. We can get 14 bikes in the same space. "People will say, 'It takes up a parking space,'" Seitz said. "But, really, we gained 13 parking spots."

Mike Hurst, another Carver's partner, recalled the literal stacks of bicycles - 15 wide maybe - that occasionally clutter the sidewalk and pose a liability if they fell against the front window of the establishment. "I hatched the idea and talked to Amber Blake, the city's multi-modal coordinator, about a bike rack months ago," Hurst said. "If we take a progressive approach and accommodate more bicycles, there will be more space for vehicles."

The city will hold a ribbon- cutting at 5 p.m. Friday, Blake said. Mayor Michael Rendon will do the honors. The public is invited, she said. The bike parking project was a joint effort between Carver's and the city, Blake said. Each put up half of the $2,500 cost. A parking space produces $1,500 a year in revenue, Blake said. Because the 14-space rack is scheduled to come out before the snow flies, the city will be out about $1,000 in revenue. The rack will be installed again in the spring.

"This was a pilot project, but there could be other such projects," Blake said. "The city could devise a bicycle-parking guide or a business with heavy bike traffic could propose something similar to Carver's." The city will never force such an agreement on a business, Blake said.

Durango's Bike to Work Day

Dear Durango Bicycling Enthusiast --

We know you all do a lot to support bicycling in our community - attend meetings, petition for bicycle-friendly accommodations and more - but nothing does more to show you support a cycling future than getting on your bike every day and using it to get to work, do your shopping and spend time with your family. What if you can't do it everyday? Well, at least show your support by signing up for Bike to Work Day. It's FREE, fun and will have 3 convenient locations on Wednesday, June 23rd - Buckley Park, The Transit Center and Diggs in Three Springs - where you can enjoy a cup of coffee, pick up a free t-shirt, enter to win prizes, and more!

Since MultiModal Transportation is the newest, bestest thing - now that the City of Durango has hired a MultiModal Director, Amber Blake - this year's event has expanded to include transit, walking and carpooling, in addition to biking. On-line registration is now Live (link below). When registering for free, you'll be asked to choose one of the 3 pit stops and select your tee shirt size. Just don't forget to register by June 3rd to ensure that a free tee shirt is waiting for you that morning.

What if you can't participate that morning, but still support bicycle commuting or other alternative forms of transportation? We still recommend supporting the Clean Commute Week Mission Statement (below) by registering! The more registrants there are this year, the more our voices will be heard next year. And please forward this information to any and all people you know who may be interested in participating and/or showing their support this year.

Check out the website (http://www.getarounddurango.com/clean-commute-week/ ) for the latest information on events.

And if you have any questions or need any advice on getting started, please contact Amber Blake at blakeak@ci.durango.co.us or call 375-4949.

Happy Commuting,

Drew Bourey and Wade Moore

Bouré Bicycle Clothing & Safe Roads Coalition

REGISTER NOW

Mission Statement for Clean Commute Week

Clean Commute Week is an effort by the City of Durango to encourage a shift in the way our citizens think about transportation. Our goal is to promote the use of alternative modes of transportation to benefit people’s health, the health of our community and the environment. By promoting bicycling, walking, carpooling, and public transportation as environmentally responsible and practical options, we hope to excite people about the benefits of clean commuting and get them to take a break from their single occupancy vehicles. We hope that through our events, people will learn that commuting cleanly can be easy, cost effective, and fun.

Tulip Mania

Tulip mania was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed. At the peak of tulip mania in February 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. It is generally considered the first recorded speculative bubble. The term "tulip mania" is now often used metaphorically to refer to any large economic bubble.

These fine examples (and more) were recently on display at the LB Botanical Gardens.

Estella Rijnveld Tulip

This one is quite similar to the most expensive tulip of the Dutch Golden Age.

Fringed Tulip 'Blue Heron'

Tulipa pulchella 'Tete-a-Tete'

Tulip Batalinii 'Apricot Jewel' (species tulip)

Tulip batalinii 'Red Gem'

Tulip Batalinii 'Apricot Jewel' (species tulip)

Tulip gregii 'juan'

Tulip whittallii

Lily flowered Tulip 'Marriett'

Lily flowered Tulip

Tulip Photos Courtesy of Lisa Bourey

Cruiser Crew Takes Flight

The Durango Cruiser Photography Club hit the streets and trails of Durango one recent evening and delighted us by swooping through the esteemed Lisa Bourey Botanical Gardens like a family of happy magpies. Click HERE for a closer look at these great photos by DCPC member Alan Kahler. Personally, I recommend the Slideshow.

Hard Cash for Safe Routes

Park Elementary Awarded Safe Routes to School Grant of $208,000!

Heathly Lifestyles of La Plata County (an active member of the Safe Roads Coalition!) has successfully written a Safe Routes to School grant application in collaboration with the City of Durango for Park Elementary School. This will enable the City of Durango to make much-needed upgrades to the infrastructure around the school and adjoining city park. The money will be used to add bulb-outs at Crosswalks, widen sidewalks, paint new striping, add signage, upgrade and add kid-sized bike racks, install a new bus stop for middle and high school students who catch the bus there, replace the fence around the city park, and install electronic flashing speed signs along the busy and adjacent College Avenue. All of the infrastructure changes will be done by the City of Durango’s Public Works Department and are scheduled to be completed by the start of school in the Fall of 2010. Park Elementary will function as a pilot school for the Durango School District for the purpose of encouraging more kids and parents to walk and bike to school in a safe and secure setting. Safe Routes to School grants are provided to promote physical activity in our children's daily lives, and give families more time to enjoy and connect with their neighborhoods and communities!

One For the Road

Stainless Steel Flask Holder by Ron Andrews Design, aka King Cage

Chromoly Steel Down Tube by Ernesto Colnago