10/28/08 - A few months ago Portland was visited by Suli Yu- a video documentary producer for the Chinese branch of Voice of America. Yu met with local officials and personalities to learn about bicycling in "Bike City, USA" including the infrastructure, motivation, and culture that make Portland such a bikable and bike friendly place to live. Alta
Principal Mia Birk is featured in the video soon to be broadcast throughout China. The short episode is currently available
online (narration is untranslated and not subtitled but interviews are in English). Jonathan Maus (also featured) has
more about the video and Suli Yu's trip at
bikeportland.org10/23/08 - The City of Portland, Oregon's Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller presented the Cycle Zone Analysis tool developed by Alta and the Portland Office of Transportation. This new modeling tool defines areas where cycling conditions are similar and rates them based on possitive and negative cycling related factors. Geller and the city are using the CZA to evaluate the city's current bike network and plan improvements as the bikeway network continues to expand. Read more about Geller's presentation in
bikeportland.org's article and see the slideshow prepared for Alta's joint presentation with Geller from the 2008 International Symposium on Walking and Biking at our
Presentations & Studies page.
10/22/08 - Alta recently completed a report about bicycle interactions and streetcars. The report includes an international literature review and facilities recommendations for minimizing the hazards that streetcar facilities present to bicyclists. As more and more cities build streetcar networks, bicycle/streetcar issues are becoming an important topic. This report adds to the body of knowledge on the subject. Visit our
presentations & studies page or
click here to download the document.
10/21/08 - The Madrone Wall in Clackamas County, Oregon will soon re-open to rock climbers and hikers thanks to the county's efforts and plans developed by Alta.
In this recent article the Clackamas Review details the park site's history and the steps taken to develop a new plan for the area including trails, parking, restrooms and climbing facilities. Learn more about the Madrone Wall planning process and public input opportunities at
http://www.madronewall.com10/17/08 - The fall issue of Alta Update, our quarterly e-newsletter, has been published. Learn about our merger with LandPeople, RTC's Campaign for Active Transportation, our new Pedestrian Safety for Students program, a recent trail reconstruction project, and much more in
our latest issue. You can also
sign up to receive the Alta Update via e-mail
here.
10/16/08 - The Las Vegas Sun mentions Alta's involvement in the study being conducted for three trail systems outside Henderson, NV. Alta's part is to develop a connection from the 35-mile River Mountains Loop Trail to a trail system being developed in the McCullough Mountains with accommodations for pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian use. Read more about the 3 trail systems under development in
this article.
10/13/08 - The California Attorney General has identified the City of Carlsbad's Pedestrian Master Plan as a leading example of innovative strategy to help fight against global warming. Check out the "That's Cool!" sidebar on the
California Environmental Quality Act page. Alta's San Diego office has been working with the City of Carlsbad to develop pedestrian improvements- find out more about the project on the
project website.
9/24/08 - The League of American Bicyclists officially launched its
Bicycle Friendly Businesses program at Interbike and
announced their first round of winners. Alta is among the Gold ranked winning companies this year. In their own words, "The Bicycle Friendly Business program assists companies and organizations of all sizes in developing bicycle commuting programs and incentives for their employees and recognizes them for their efforts to promote bicycling." Many of Alta's employees are bike commuters as well as bicycle advocates and enthusiasts in our spare time (see our
staff page for more details). The firm has a competitive bike and fitness related benefit program to promote alternate transportation and an active daily life. We're honored to be among the country's top bicycle friendly businesses. For more information about the LAB's program and the list of this round's winners, visit their
news site.
9/24/08 - In Boise Idaho volunteers are making an effort to better asses the community's interest in cycling and use of bicycles for daily commutes. The Ada County Highway District's Bicycle Advisory Committee set up count locations at key intersections and will be making several bicycle counts throughout the week. These counts will help support and steer the county's effort, along with Alta, to develop a new Roadways to Bikeways Master Plan. The Idaho Statesman discusses the count system in
this story. The county's steps to develop an annual, uniform counting system is similar to those taken in cities like Portland and national programs like the
National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project which tend to prove a growing interest in cycling and are used to identify cyclist needs.
9/15/08 - Following the release of Alta's
Portland Bicycle Related Business study, KGW TV news ran
this story about the local bicycle industry. The story features Portland-based bicycle apparel retailer
Team Estrogen and Alta Principal Mia Birk discusses the reasons why this and other bicycle businesses are thriving in the city. Watch the full story on the KGW website:
http://www.kgw.com/video/video-index.html?nvid=281801&shu=19/15/08 - The Everett, WA HeraldNet
reports on the city's interest in becoming more bicycle friendly. "We have a lot of disconnected pieces of a bicycle route in place, but we lack the connection," Everett Council President Drew Nielsen says. Alta was recently contracted with the city to provide a bicycle transportation plan which will include a full evaluation of the city's existing conditions- which one resident claims are behind the times" - as well as recommendations for new routes and public bicycle sharing similar to the popular Velib system in Paris. For more on the city's efforts see the full article
here.
9/11/08 - Alta's updated study on the economic impact of bicycle related business in Portland has been published. Visit the
project page to download the full report and for more details about the project. Bikeportland.org ran
this story about the report including some key findings and community benefits featured in the report.
9/9/08 - Alta's presentations from the 2008 Pro Walk/Pro Bike Conference are now available on our
Presentations page. Presentations include Cycle Zone Analysis and Bike/Ped Data Collection among others.
9/5/08 - Roseburg Oregon's News-Review ran
this editorial encouraging community members to attend the public forums Alta is leading to gather input and feedback on the bicycle and pedestrian master plan update currently in the works. Next week the city is hosting their second of three meetings- which include biking and walking tours- to examine transportation needs and shortcomings in the city. The pedestrian and bicycle master plan update is in response to Roseburg's Transportation System Plan adopted just a few years ago which failed to address which "did not adequately provide for bicycle and pedestrian traffic" according to the NR writer. Full article:
http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20080904/EDITORIALS/809040302/10229/2/08 - The
2008 Pro Walk/Pro Bike conference kicks off today in Seattle, WA. Much of
Alta's team will be in attendance as participants and presenters. Jessica Roberts will discuss SmartTrips and individualized travel marketing as well Bikes and Transit.
Kim Voros will speak on behalf of Alta's experience with
Los Angeles bike & walk surveys.
Mia Birk joins Toole Design Group to dicuss changes to the latest edition of the AASHTO Guide.
Joshua Poppel will present advanced modeling systems for assessing cycling improvement demands. See the full Pro Walk/Pro Bike 2008 schedule
here.
8/22/08 - The Albany, NY based Times Union
discusses the fate of the Tech Valley Trails system, a regional greenways plan for New York State's Capital Region developed by Alta in 2006. The proposed trail system connects communities along the Mohawk and Hudson rivers including the cities of Albany, Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs. The plan was set aside by the Capital District Transportation Committee claiming "it was determined that the conditions are not yet present in the Capital District for a Regional Greenways Initiative," but also stating that the planning process laid the groundwork for creating the trail system should conditions change. Times Union writer Marlene Kennedy cites "record gas prices and renewed interest in alternatives to our one-person/one-car, auto centric culture" as motivations for the development of the trail system for recreation and functional uses such as commuting to work.
Read the full article here. The Capital Region Greenways Concept Plan was developed by Alta's East Coast Principal
Jeff Olson.
8/21/08 - Alta
Senior Associate Tony Powers is featured in Sacramento News & Review's Green Guide & Sustainability section in an article titled
Bicycling: The power of one. Powers discusses his experiencing as a regular bike commuter and hobbyist. His regular commute includes Alta's
Folsom/Sacramento, California office. "For him, the adventure and family bonding is the best part about those rides."
Meanwhile Alta's Portland Office is gearing up for this year's Bicycle Transportation Alliance
Bike Commute Challenge. Last year the Alta office
won with top ridership for the month over all other Portland business competitors of similar size.
8/11/08 - Alta has official announced a plan to update the 2006
Growth in Bicycle-Related Businesses report prepared for the City of Portland, Oregon. Alta
Principal Mia Birk believes that the update will show a substantial growth in the bicycle-related economy in Portland. "I’m guessing at least 20%," she says, "maybe even 25%. Our exponential growth in ridership over the last two years is creating larger markets for bicycle products and services. I can’t wait to announce the results." For more about the study and Alta's previous findings, visit the
project page. Bikeportland.org also
ran this story about the announcement.
Alta is currently seeking information from Portland bike business through
this survey.
8/11/08 - Last week Alta
Planner Rory Renfro led a discussion with Joseph, Oregon residents to solicit input on their developing pedestrian and bicycle master plan. "We want to hear from you," stated Renfro, "You live and work here every day, so give us your ideas." The Wallowa County Observer ran
this story on the meeting and project currently underway. Community input and feedback is an important part of the development process and one that continues throughout the project's lifecycle. The plan wont come up for review until March 2009 and it's possible the city could adopt the new master plan by June of that year.
8/11/08 - Last week the Safe Routes to School National Partnership
announced that Portland, Oregon will host the second annual Safe Routes to School National Conference. "Portland has been praised for encouraging its children and adults to walk and bicycle as viable transportation alternatives," said Lauren Marchetti, Director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School, "Their proposal to host the conference included creative partnerships and an emphasis on scholarships that will increase attendance and set the stage for another successful SRTS conference." Alta has served as the Portland SR2S contract manager within the team of technical service providers who have made the program a success (including the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, ACTS Oregon, Community Cycling Center) as well as writing grants, coposing year end reports, and assisting with evaluation efforts to meet federal requirements. Visit our
Safe Routes to Schools project page for more information. For more on the conference announcement see the
press release and
bikeportland.org article.
8/4/08 - Alta
Principal Jeff Olson and
Senior Associate Charlie Denney, both part of our East Coast office, were recently interviewed by Planning Commissioners Journal for their article on
Greenway Trails. The article discusses a shift in trail use from purely recreational use to everyday transportation as well as steps for creating greenway trails. You can view the article and download the full PCJ Summer Newsletter on
this page.