November Meeting

by Carla Gramlich

November is a good time to start
thinking about the upcoming ski
season. Cross country skiing is a
perfect exercise to keep those legs
in shape for bicycling. Our Club
meeting on Tuesday, November
19th, will give you information on
another place to ski.

The Mt. Tahoma Scenic Ski Trails Association (MTSSTA) is a volunteer organization that has put hut to hut skiing right in our backyard. A speaker from MTSSTA will present updated information on their trails and hut system. MTSSTA is also looking for a group to help maintain the trails and huts for mountain biking.

This program will follow regular Club business. Our meetings are held at the Oakland Community Center, 4020 South 3ist Street, Tacoma, WA., near the corner of Center and Tyler Streets. Meetings start at 7:00 p.m.

TWC Officers will have a board
meeting on Tuesday, November 5,
1991, at Joyce Clifford’s home, 3811
North Madison, Tacoma, WA. Time is
7:00 p.m. Members are invited to at-
tend.

TWC
NEWSLETTER

TACOMA WHEELMEN’S CLUB
P.O. BOX 112078
TACOMA, WA 98411

Mileage Log Update

The end of the year is approach-
ing, so turn-in your Club bicycle
mileage total for recognition at the
Annual Banquet. Awards will be
given for several levels of achieve-
ment, so do not count yourself out.

The date for mailing your total
miles is November 1, with rides
from last November through this
October counting for the year.

Credited miles can come from
rides listed in this Newsletter, Ride
Line, the L.A.W. Calendar, and

Vote “Yes” On Referendum 91-3
November Sth
Save The Trail!

NW Cyclist Magazine.

If you cannot find some of the
information for your total, call the
Touring Captain, Jon Turnipseed,
at 565-8654.

Send your record to the Tacoma
Wheelmen’s Club, P.O. Box 112-
078, Tacoma, WA 98411, Attn:
Touring Captain.

Annual Banquet
Committee Meeting
An Annual Banquet committee

Page One

Op ,

November, 1991

meeting is scheduled for Thursday,
November 7, 1991, at Bob My-
rick’s home at 6015 Pacific Ave-
nue, Tacoma, WA.

Club members interested in
helping or making suggestions are
invited to attend.

Elements which help make the
Banquet a success are photographic
slides and anecdotes from rides this
past year. If you can contribute
some slides or stories please call
Jan Wieser at 833-6346.

Mini-Minutes —
Board Meeting

The Board of Directors met

on October 1, 1991 at 7:00

p.m. Present were Bob My-

rick, presiding; Carla Gramlich,

Joyce Clifford, Jon Turnipseed,

William Hoehne, and Cynthia
Hammer.

General meeting minutes were
reviewed and approved with no
changes. These minutes will be
available at the next Club meeting.

Possible candidates for the re-_
maining committees were discus-
sed. Cynthia Hammer accepted the
Peninsula Metric position. Carla
will contact Jim Davis to see if he
is interested in hosting this year’s

(Continued on page 3)

November, 1991

Tacoma Wheelmen’s Club

Board of Directors
PRESIDENT
Bob Myrick - 473-7455
VICE-PRESIDENT
Carla Gramlich - 941-3752
SECRETARY
Sylvia Russell - 862-3288
TREASURER
Joyce Clifford - 759-2393

Staff
TOURING CAPTAIN
Jon Turnipseed - 565-8654
MEMBERSHIP
Phyllis Lay - 759-1816
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Bob Myrick - 473-7455
PUBLICITY
Cynthia Hammer - 752-0801
‘Sylvia Russell - 862-3288
L.A.W. REPRESENTATIVE
Sue Given - 565-0535
B.F.W. COORDINATOR
Diane Lister « 752-8636
SAFETY & EDUCATION
Jim Davis - 759-5616
Jan Wieser - 833-6346
EQUIPMENT MANAGERS
Tom Cornell - 582-0903
Louis Boitano - 922-6156
RIDE LINE
Steve Lay - 759-1816

Annual Committees
DAFFODIL CLASSIC

PENINSULA METRIC
Cynthia Hammer - 752-0801
BICYCLE SHOW BOOTH

Sylvia Russell - 862-3288

Karen Whitney - 938-3706
BANQUET COMMITTEE
Jan Wieser - 833-6346
ANNUAL PICNIC
Diane Taylor - 759-4971

Newsletter
EDITOR
William Hoehne - 759-4464
MAILING
Don Izenman - 565-2720

Any Club member interested in serving
in an open position, or creating a new
position, is encouraged to call Carla
Gramlich or Bob Myrick.

For correspondence, indicate
appropriate officer, and send to: Tacoma
Wheelmen’s Club, P.O. Box 112078,
Tacoma, WA 98411.

Mini-Minutes—

(Continued from page 1)

Christmas party.

The Club’s reputation for safe
and courteous riding was discussed.
One suggestion was to have ride
leaders talk to each ride group
about safety. Club meetings de-
voted to safety, and articles for the
Newsletter are possibilities.

All present agreed the October
meeting will help inform our mem-
bers on what BFW is doing.

Ellensburg is the location for the L.A.W. Calendar planning session on November 9th. The Club pres- ident has gone in the past with one or two others. A decision will be made on how many will go over when more details concerning costs are available.

Club ride mileage for awards
was discussed. The position expres-
sed by those present is that credit
mileage should be available to all
members.

The Touring Captain is working
on a Ride Leader Enhancement
Program.

Meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.

Letter To The Editor:

Greetings:

On behalf of the steering com- mittee for the L.A.W. National Rally and Probike Northwest ’91, I want to thank the TWC for it’s strong support of these events. Nearly everyone left feeling that the combination of the two events was a positive experience, and that (food aside), the event was ex- tremely well coordinated.

The TWC’s generous donation

Page Three

of the fully catered Life Member Reception was positively stunning. From Washington wines, to North- west Microbrews, to the Salmon Pate, everything was just perfect. We also appreciated the use of your safety signs. With so many cyclists on the roads near The Evergreen State College for a week, it was helpful to be able to increase the margin of safety for our participants.

I particularly want to thank
Diane Lister, TWC member and
Bicycle Federation of Washington
President, for her hard work on
this event. She even managed to
have the reception so well organ-
ized that all she had to do was sip
her wine and talk with the L.A.W.
Board, Staff, and Life Members!

Needless to say, this was too big
an undertaking for a small club
such as ours, and the help we re-
ceived from our cousin to the north
helped make it a much better e-

vent. Thanks to all.
Jim Lazar, Chairman
L.A.W. 1991 National Rally
Olympia, WA

Newsletter Articles—

Articles, information, and letters to the
editor are welcome for our Newsletter.
Deadline for copy is the third Tuesday of
each month for the following month’s
Newsletter. This is also our regular Club
meeting day.

Copy can be given to the editor at the
meeting or mailed to: William F. Hoehne,
5702 N. 33rd, Apt. 17B, Tacoma, WA

98407.

November, 1991

Special Reports Special Reports Special Reports
Tacoma Wheelmen’s Club November, 1991
Report by the President State Transportation

Bob Myrick. (President and Gov't Relations Chair)

I attended a symposium, Choices - Transportation for Washington's Environment, on behalf of the Tacoma Wheelmen from October 21 to 23. The program, held at the Tacoma-Sheraton Hotel downtown, was sponsored by the Department of Transportation and the Department of Ecology. The message we all came away with is that the field of transportation is definitely changing. It is my pleasure to report that bicycle and walking are once again being discussed as part of our state's transportation strategy. Here are some selected statements and thoughts from the symposium.

1. Live close to work. Seven units per acre are needed to make transit and walking feasible.

2 Education will be a high priority to encourage
living close to work and using alternatives to the
single occupant vehicle. The approach is similar to
local energy conservation and recycling programs.
3. House Bill 1674 (Transportation Demand
Management) demands 35% fewer commuter miles
during this decade. This means more biking,
walking, transit and carpooling.

4. We need better relationships between single purpose agencies. Land use, transportation, air and water quality & energy need to be coordinated. 5. Travelling on a cold engine causes the majority of air pollution. People should be encouraged to walk or bike to the Park and Ride lot, transit locations and local shopping.

6. Gasoline should be priced higher to
discourage driving and to pay for real engineering,
social and environmental costs of cars.

7. The City and County should require bike
parking and smaller parking lots.

8. At the conference, I advocated providing at
least 5% of the gas tax monies be spent for paths,
trails, shoulders, and motorist education. Current
funding is only 1/2%.

I was very pleased that Governor Gardner, Duane
Berentson, Secretary of Transportation and
Christine Gregoire, Secretary of Ecology spoke at
the symposium. The event was very well attended
by more than 250 transportation and environmental
professionals. Z

The Wheelmen will be getting more and more
involved in the political and government planning
side of bicycling. We need to prepare ourselves to
accept the coming challenges.

Policy Plan
Wants Your Input

The Washington Department of Transportation (WashDOT) is currently undertaking a major policy shift with its proposed State Transportation Policy Plan. It has developed, as part of a larger planning effort, four recommendations with accompanying action strategies. The Department is now taking written comment until its public hearing.

PUBLIC HEARING
State Transportation Policy Plan
November 20 at 3 to 6pm
Transportation Building, Maple Park Drive
Olympia
If you can, please attend the hearing. A large
presence of bikers shows that we care. What

would the WashDOT think if everyone came?
Please attend with a friend.

If you would like to carpool to the hearing, please
contact Cynthia Hammer at 752-0801. Meet her at
the El Toro Restaurant/Paint Pot in Westgate
Shopping Center at 26th and Pearl at 2:00 pm
(beige and white chevy van).

If you can’t go to the hearing, please write. The WashDOT will consider written comments received by November 20 in its report to the legislature: State Transportation Policy Plan Transportation Planning Office Transportation Building KF 01 Olympia, WA 98504 To receive a complete discussion of the recommendations, please write to the address above or call the Department of Transportation in Olympia at 206-753-1791. The recommendations relating to bicycling and a summary of a few action strategies follows: State Transportation Policy Plan.

Recommendation 1

The roadway system should continue to
form the basis for the bicycle facility
network. The roadway system should be
maintained and improved to ensure safe
access by bicyclists. Bicyclists should have

Clean Air Act

Special Reports
Tacoma Wheelmen’s Club

Special

Reports Special Reports

November, 1991

access to other modes of transportation to
ensure smooth intermodal connections.
Selected Action Strategies

Class I, separated paths are appropriate for
transportation purposes....

Design future ferries to safely accommodate
bicycles.

Designate touring highway routes that connect
with urban bicycle systems and target
improvements for these routes.

Recommendation 2

Safety education programs and legal
enforcement mechanisms should be
implemented as integral parts of the
Washington State Bicycle Program
Selected Action Strategy

Investigate accident data to identify ways to

improve bicycle safety programs
Recommendation 3

Promote bicycle commuting, especially in
urban areas, as a Transportation Demand
Management Strategy designed to reduce
traffic congestion, air pollution, water
pollution, and energy usage.

Promote bicycling to enhance statewide
tourism and special events activities that
benefit the economy of Washington State.
Selected Action Strategies
Produce a state bicycle map and sign routes.
Sponsor workshops for local governments in

conjunction with local bicycling clubs, on
Planning special bicycling events and facilities
to promote economic development and
tourism. Develop guidelines for permitting of
bicycle special events.

Recommendation 4.

Roadway funding should be used to build
roadways that accommodate bicycles.
Dedicated bicycle funding should be used
for specific bicycle-related facility
improvements (such as _ spot
improvements, and completing missing
links in the. system) and for non-facility

Bic y clin ¢ is 2

bicycle programs
education).
Selected Action Strategies

New and rehabilitated transportation facilities
along designated bike routes should be
designed with consideration of bike usage.
Increase the minimum expenditure for paths
and trails to the minimum amount required by
the Federal Surface Transportation Assistance
Act when enacted by Congress.
Can you find anything missing here? Think of all
of the ways you enjoy bicycling: commuting,
racing, aerobics, long rides, night rides, riding
alone and in groups. Should the state’s workshops
in recommendation 3 be limited to economic
development and tourism? What about commuting
or other topics? In recommendation 4, where is the
mention of NEW links in the system instead of just
completing missing links? What about getting
across those freeways that years ago cut
neighborhoods in two? Will we always be forced
onto arterials such as South 38th Street for lack of
better connections? Should there be an explicit
recommendation or action strategy on improving
the design standards of roadways and separated
trails? Notice that recommendation 4 says that
“roads should accommodate bicycles” but omitted
that bike facilities that are provided should be safe
for bicyclists and along convenient and logical
routes. For example, that free right turn from SR
16 to Tyler is a bicycle trap for bikers on Tyler
Street. The proposed SR-509 across the tideflats
appears to have five bicycle traps as_ standard
design just on the bridge over the spur. Will
shoulders be cluttered with warning bumps and
turtles? How are railroad crossings addressed in
the design standards? The current level of 3/10 of
1% of state and federal funding and split between
pedestrians, equestrians and bicyclists is too low.
The action strategy to go for the minimum required
by Congress could be increased to more than the
minimum such as 25% more than the minimum or
it could be based on a percentage goal for bike
commuters. You probably have more concerns.

Despite the detailed concerns that we might have, we can be very pleased that State agencies (several agencies have been involved in this effort) are providing needed leadership in bicycle and environmental planning. The state deserves much credit. Letters of praise and concern will help them to continue in their efforts. These efforts will reap great rewards for all bicyclists in the coming years.

(such as safety

Clean Air Act

Tacoma Wheelmen’s Club

Board of Directors
PRESIDENT
Bob Myrick - 473-7455
VICE-PRESIDENT
Carla Gramllich - 941-3752
SECRETARY
Sylvia Russell - 862-3288
TREASURER
Joyce Clifford - 759-2393

Staff
TOURING CAPTAIN
Jon Turnipseed - 565-8654
MEMBERSHIP
Phyllis Lay - 759-1816
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Bob Myrick - 473-7455
PUBLICITY
Cynthia Hammer - 752-0801
Sylvia Russell - 862-3288
L.A.W. REPRESENTATIVE
Sue Given - 565-0535
B.F.W. COORDINATOR
Diane Lister « 752-8636
SAFETY & EDUCATION
Jim Davis - 759-5616
Jan Wieser - 833-6346
EQUIPMENT MANAGERS
Tom Cornell - 582-0903
Louis Boitano - 922-6156
RIDE LINE
Steve Lay - 759-1816

Annual Committees
DAFFODIL CLASSIC

PENINSULA METRIC
Cynthia Hammer - 752-0801
BICYCLE SHOW BOOTH

Sylvia Russell - 862-3288

Karen Whitney - 938-3706
BANQUET COMMITTEE
Jan Wieser - 833-6346
ANNUAL PICNIC
Diane Taylor - 759-4971

Newsletter
EDITOR
William Hoehne - 759-4464
MAILING
Don Izenman - 565-2720

Any Club member interested in serving
in an open position, or creating a new
position, is encouraged to call Carla
Gramlich or Bob Myrick.

For correspondence, indicate
appropriate officer, and send to: Tacoma
Wheelmen’s Club, P.O. Box 112078,
Tacoma, WA 98411.

Mini-Minutes—

(Continued from page 1)

Christmas party.

The Club’s reputation for safe
and courteous riding was discussed.
One suggestion was to have ride
leaders talk to each ride group
about safety. Club meetings de-
voted to safety, and articles for the
Newsletter are possibilities.

All present agreed the October
meeting will help inform our mem-
bers on what BFW is doing.

Ellensburg is the location for the L.A.W. Calendar planning session on November 9th. The Club pres- ident has gone in the past with one or two others. A decision will be made on how many will go over when more details concerning costs are available.

Club ride mileage for awards
was discussed. The position expres-
sed by those present is that credit
mileage should be available to all
members.

The Touring Captain is working
on a Ride Leader Enhancement
Program.

Meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.

Letter To The Editor:

Greetings:

On behalf of the steering com- mittee for the L.A.W. National Rally and Probike Northwest °91, I want to thank the TWC for it’s strong support of these events. Nearly everyone left feeling that the combination of the two events was a positive experience, and that (food aside), the event was ex- tremely well coordinated.

The TWC’s generous donation

Page Three

of the fully catered Life Member Reception was positively stunning. From Washington wines, to North- west Microbrews, to the Salmon Pate, everything was just perfect. We also appreciated the use of your safety signs. With so many cyclists on the roads near The Evergreen State College for a week, it was helpful to be able to increase the margin of safety for our participants.

I particularly want to thank
Diane Lister, TWC member and
Bicycle Federation of Washington
President, for her hard work on
this event. She even managed to
have the reception so well organ-
ized that all she had to do was sip
her wine and talk with the L.A.W.
Board, Staff, and Life Members!

Needless to say, this was too big
an undertaking for a small club
such as ours, and the help we re-
ceived from our cousin to the north
helped make it a much better e-

vent. Thanks to all.
Jim Lazar, Chairman
L.A.W. 1991 National Rally
Olympia, WA

Newsletter Articles—

Articles, information, and letters to the
editor are welcome for our Newsletter.
Deadline for copy is the third Tuesday of
each month for the following month’s
Newsletter. This is also our regular Club
meeting day.

Copy can be given to the editor at the
meeting or mailed to: William F. Hoehne,
5702 N. 33rd, Apt. 17B, Tacoma, WA

= =

November, 1991