The primary purpose of the open house is to provide an opportunity for community members to learn more about the proposed Complete Streets Policy developed by the Public Works Engineering Division and citizen Transportation Advisory Board (TAB). Additionally, attendees will be invited to provide feedback on the proposed policy during the open house. The input provided during this event will be important to the Town Board of Trustees as they consider adoption of the proposed policy.

According to the National Complete Streets Coalition website, a Complete Streets approach integrates people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of our transportation networks. This helps ensure streets are safe for people of all ages and abilities, balance the needs of different modes, and support local land uses, economies, cultures, and natural environments. Complete Streets make it easy and enjoyable to cross the street, walk to shops, and bicycle for work, play, shopping and recreation.

The TAB spearheaded the development of the proposed Complete Streets Policy to establish a long-term vision for the future of our transportation network. A Complete Streets Policy allows planners and designers to understand and consider the mobility needs of every community member however they travel – by foot, bicycle, scooter, skateboard, shuttle or automobile. A Complete Street ultimately encourages all community members to utilize mobility options to access destinations such as schools, places of employment, downtown businesses, neighborhoods and recreation areas. Increased utilization of mobility options can lead to reduced traffic congestion, making it easier for shuttles to run on time and people to safely walk to and from parking areas.

For individuals who cannot attend the March 20 meeting, the meeting materials are available at www.estes.org/transportationstudies. Written comments may be mailed to Town of Estes Park Public Works, RE: Complete Streets Policy, P.O. Box 1200, Estes Park, CO 80517 or emailed to publicworks@estes.org.

Kate Rusch
Public Information Officer
krusch@estes.org
970-577-3701

Please join the Estes Park Cycling Coalition for our March meeting. The meeting will be held at the Twin Owls Steakhouse on March 13 at 7pm. Our featured guest will be Dave Kemp, Senior Transportation Planner, City of Boulder Public Works.
Mr Kemp has a long career improving cycling and multi-modal transportation infrastructure starting in 2006 as the Bicycle Coordinator for the City of Fort Collins. In 2012 he became the Active Transportation Planner for the City of Davis CA until he moved back to Boulder for his current job. Mr. Kemp will provide insight to his career of planning and development of bike friendly communities.

In addition to our guest speaker, we will provide updates on on-going projects and coming events such as the new proposed “Jump Line” at the Bike Park, and planning efforts for “Bike Estes Day” which includes the Bike to Work and Bike Parade festivities.

The Estes Park Cycling Coalition is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose Mission is to promote and increase cycling of all kinds in the Estes Valley, through advocacy, education, partnerships and community building. Now in its fourth year, the Coalition strives to cultivate a biking culture in the community and make the Estes area a destination for cyclists. Please join us on Wednesday evening and be a part of the Estes Valley Biking culture.
For more information on the Estes Park Cycling Coalition, please contact president Mike Lewelling at board@bikeestes.org

May 18, 2016, 7:00 p.m. at Via Bicycle Café

1. Stanley Bike Park updates
2. Sign-ups for Ride the Rockies (June 16 & 17) and Hermit Park trail building day (August 6)
3. Bike to Work Day (June 22) information, updates, and discussion. Does anyone else have other ideas of what to incorporate?
4. Memberships for sale
5. T-shirt update
6. Group rides
7. Updates about the Estes Park Mountain Bike Team
8. Other comments?

1. Erica Goad presented on how to vote on-line for the nine nominees for the five positions on the EPCC board. Voting ended on Sunday 11.22.15. Members who were voted in to be board members are: Thad Eggen, Erica Goad, Mike Lewelling ,Todd Plumber and Alicia Rochambeau.

2. Alicia Rochambeau requested that anyone who is not receiving EPCC emails send her their email address. Please send her an email at alicia@bikeestes.org or sign up at http://www.bikeestes.org/newsletter-archive/

3. Erica Goad updated us on the Tom Carosello, the new executive director of the Estes Valley Recreation District, enthusiasm to develop trails. There will be another group of public meetings in January and February to gather input for the next ten years of the trails master plan. We will keep you posted on dates and times for these meetings.

4. Todd Plummer and Randy Biddle updated the group on the current status of the proposed bike park. The Rec district did not win the first grant that it applied for and the grant writing committee is waiting on direction from Tom Carosello to apply for other grants. Tom has received the maps and plans for a potential bike park. Good news is that there is $5,000 from a silent donor to pay a professional bike park designer to draft plans. Families for Estes is still willing to donate $10,000 for design and creation. A professional designed bike park plan seems to be an essential piece for the grant application process. A caveat to the bike park is that the Rec District would like EPCC to maintain the bike park (we got that )

5. Steven Wens, aka Mr. Speed, presented on Cross of the North. Steven has presented the idea of Estes Park hosting the Cross of the North. Karen Lynch, the fairgrounds contact person, has been contacted and after the holidays the planning committee of Cross of the North and she will meet and discuss this exciting opportunity. We all know Steven is excited to get dirty at home, on his bike.

6. T-shirts were discussed. EPCC members want more! And in different colors. Kay and Zenda have been contacted and we should know more by next meeting.

7. By next EPCC meeting, tentatively the 20th of January, the new board will have met and discussed membership dues, membership discounts, EIN and other official business stuff, and hopefully Chris Johnson from Bike Ft. Collins will be able to join us and discuss their bike club.

Thank you for the wonderful input on the EPCC survey over the summer, we learned a lot from you in terms of how the Cycling Coalition can best meet your needs. In order for EPCC to start accomplishing all of the great projects, ideas, and events we all have in mind and have been discussing for a while, it’s time to get a little more formal. We are going to start the journey to becoming a 501(c)3 organization, which will allow us to do fundraising, purchase liability insurance, and have more clout as an official organization. The first step is to establish a more official leadership structure. From there, we can start working on drafting by-laws, getting bank accounts set up, narrowing our objectives, and incorporating the organization.

None of the following ideas are set in stone, so we welcome any feedback to bikeestes@gmail.com.  Please let us know if you have any thoughts, comments, or questions as we start moving through this process! Here are the highlights of the structure that we are most strongly considering:

• Beginning in 2016, EPCC will begin charging annual membership dues of $25 per person/$30 family. Funding will be available for upcoming projects, events, or to leverage more funding from granting agencies.
  • By becoming a paying member of EPCC, you can vote on important decisions, serve on committees, and know that you are supporting a better biking culture in Estes Park
  • Membership will also get you a 15% discount on non-sale items at both the Mountain Shop and Via Bicycle Cafe
• We will have a Board of Directors with 5 members, including a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Each member will have a term that lasts one year, with annual elections occurring in November or December.
• There will be Board meetings quarterly, where business and administrative information, such as budgets, by-laws, and policies will be reviewed. These meetings will be open to anyone, but only the Board of Directors will be required to attend.
• We will continue to have monthly membership-wide meetings on the third Wednesday of the month, where the purpose of the meetings will be to provide a place for the Board of Directors to hear from the members and to update the members on any news, where new ideas and projects can be discussed, and where fun events can occur or can be organized. We’ll keep these meetings light on “business”, and as short and efficient as possible, so we can all go out to happy hour afterwards.
• Group rides, potlucks, and happy hours will become a bigger focus, and can be organized by anyone.
• Project- or goal-specific committees will be organized and can include both Board of Directors and volunteers from the wider membership. General members may lead committees.

The Board of Directors will be nominated and elected by the wider membership. We would like to hold the first vote at the next meeting on November 18^th at 7 p.m. at Rock Cut Brewing Company. If you can’t make the meeting, we’ll send out another email with information on how to vote online. Please see the job descriptions for Board of Directors below, and send any nominations to bikeestes@gmail.com. If you or anyone you know is interested, please let us know (you can nominate yourself)! Help set the direction and impact of EPCC!

Board of Directors will be required to attend 4 meetings per year. Directors will rotate “hosting” monthly membership-wide meetings (so each member will be responsible for 2-3 meetings per year, but not required to attend all meetings). Board of Directors may always abstain from votes or decision-making if there is a conflict of interest. In the near term, the focus of the Board will be to formalize EPCC as an organization.

President:
The President of EPCC Board is the main contact and spokesperson for EPCC. In addition, the President will be responsible for leading Board meetings, managing or delegating the management of official collaborative relationships, fielding outside inquiries, and assisting with committees.
Estimated time commitment: 5-10 hours/month

Vice President:
The Vice President of EPCC Board will be in charge of maintaining membership information, communications with the membership, and leading meetings if the President is unable to do so.
Estimated time commitment: 4-6 hours/month

Secretary:
The Secretary of EPCC Board will be responsible for taking minutes at Board meetings, keeping official records, and working with the President to set the agenda for the Board meetings. The Secretary will also work with the Vice President to communicate EPCC news and events to the wider membership and the public.
Estimated time commitment: 5-8 hours/month

Treasurer:
The Treasurer of EPCC Board will be responsible for managing the finances of the organization, and reporting on the finances biannually at Board meetings. Any fundraising efforts or spending will be approved by the Treasurer.
Estimated time commitment: 5-10 hours/month

Director:
Any Board Director not serving in one of the above 4 functions is a Director.  Directors will be responsible for assisting with committees, researching and voting on important decisions, and representing the organization.
Estimated time commitment: 3-6 hours/month

Email nominations for Board of Directors to bikeestes@gmail.com. Nominations will be announced at the November 18th meeting at Rock Cut Brewing Company, and voting will start there!

RMNP- Mark Kougl and Daniel Basch
EP Marathon – Belle Morris
Town of Estes Park – Frank Lancaster, Kate Rusch, Suzanna Simpson, Lexy Jacboson, Rita Kruelja, Russ Franklin and Tonya Ziegler
Estes Valley Recreation District – Cheryl Sarnwick and Skylar Rorabaugh
EP Medical Center – Kerrie Hill and Karen Nicholson
EPCC – all of us!

2. Safety Promotion and Education (Mark Kougl and Alicia Mittleman)

Start focusing on advocating & trying to avoid conflicts with other drivers. Maybe partner with the police department, make a pamflet. Don’t forget we have to show good behavior on the road and lead by example. Even when that isn’t always easy because the infrastructure can’t handle a lot of people on bicycles yet.

We also have to reach out to schools (taking “bike to school” as an opportunity to reach adults through their children)
EPCC will start a ‘Safety & Education’ committee. This committee will provide a strategic framework in the next couple months so we can set up goals and see what is possible to achieve. Mark K. will be the contact person for this committee

3. Erica became a member of the ‘trails committee’ (part of Parks & Rec) She will keep us informed about the building of new trails and the designation of existing paths as multi-use trails. Because of the flood, a lot of planning and building is postponed to 2015

Erica also had a meeting with Charley, VP of the Stanley. He is very interested in everything we do to make Estes Park a ‘health destination’

4. Bike Racks:

Here is a list of bike racks maintained by the town:

• 1 @ Visitors Center
• 2 @ Confluence Park
• 1 @ Library
• 1 @ Moraine Ave restrooms
• 1 @ Tregent Park
• 3 @ Performance Park
• 1 @ Town Hall

EPCC will try to set up some more bike racks in the future. What the city (public works) needs from us is: location (needs to be close to a business or destination where the functional cyclist will park (1 car spot can host +-14 bicycles)), design (maybe local artists), who will pay for the racks, what the maintenance cost will be.
Funds can come from sponsoring (integrated in the design ?) or a fundraiser. We can also ask Public Works if they have some unused racks available somewhere.

5. John Simmerman from Active Towns attended our meeting.

Active Towns helps groups like the EPCC to create an environment that helps people with creating a healthy behavior. An environment that stimulates walking, cycling instead of taking a car to go from point A to B.
His points of observation were:

• Culture proceeds infrastructure.
• Connect to quality of life, don’t let people see you as just cyclists. Broad the mission, widen scope on healthy lifestyle with cycling as part of that lifestyle. We have the opportunity with the flood recovery and the Medical Health Center.
• Show courtesy in traffic. Thank positive car drivers with a thumbs up for example.
• Stop the mantra that it is dangerous to drive around in Estes Park. Take of your helmets when you go for a stroll in town. For some drivers, a person or family in normal clothes without helmets on bicycles is more positive than an athlete strapped in lycra racing through downtown
• Check in some federal programs that already exist (‘safe routes to school’ for example
• The higher the speed of traffic, the more infrastructure is needed to guide cyclists safe through traffic.
• Reach out to the whole community, try to educate all layers / groups in the community (Hispanics)
• Use the activity asset mapping tool (how well is everything connected, how easy is it for somebody to go from point A to B without using a car)

Here are the two links John Simmerman provided Belle S. Morris earlier.

Ben starts speaking at minute 17

6. New T-shirt colors

We have new colors available in our web shop (http://www.bikeestes.org/shop/)

7. Social Rides

Super Moon Century ride on Aug 10th. Ride from Estes over Trail Ridge to Grand Lake by moonlight, then eat breakfast at Grand Lake at 6am, and ride back to Estes. All weather-permitting of course. (check facebook/forum for updates)

If you have ideas for group rides, use our facebook page, facebook group and/or bikeestes.org forum ( you can also use this link to add an event on our calendar: http://www.bikeestes.org/calendar/community/add )

Next meeting: Wednesday August 20th – Twin Owls Steakhouse

Let’s limit our items to 10 minutes so that we can break into our respective groups and committees by 7:45.

The Bike Friendly Community application is coming along. Many thanks to Josh Cramer, Erin Axtell, Brent Rochambeau, Glenn Case, Diana Laughlin, Marc Hemmes, Michael Barnthouse for researching questions on the application. It’s not finished yet though.

Agenda:

• Notes from President
  • a. 10 minute time limit- think Oscars or Between Two Ferns
  • b. next meeting May 14th at TOS
  • c. agenda tonight
  • d. Need a secretary for Road Bike Group
• Update on Canyon Lakes Ranger District
• Bike to Work Bike to Play Week
• TAC Committee update
• Bike Rights Application
• Bike friendly application
• IMBA application
• By-laws
• Dirt Church Road Ride Flash Mob in Lyons