Monroe's on the Bike Trail too!

Ribbon Cutting set for November 6 on bike trails...

Staff report • news@thenewsstar.com • October 29, 2009

• A Friday ribbon-cutting event to mark the official opening of two bicycle paths in Monroe has been postponed until 11 a.m. Nov. 6 at Forsythe Park because of the threat of bad weather.
  
  The bike trails are the result of over a year of cooperative efforts between the city of Monroe, Monroe Advocates for Safe Streets and the Rotary Club of Monroe.
  
  Mayor Jamie Mayo and other city officials will join representatives from MASS and local students for an inaugural bike ride immediately following the ribbon cutting.
  
  Each of the two bike paths begin in Forsythe Park. One route goes to the Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo, while the other path goes to the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Thanks to David Aubry for passing this on!

Halloween Community Garden Events

Surely a better Shreveport is one that includes more opportunities to come together and grow healthy delicious food. There are two events that allow us to do that this Saturday.

One is in Ceder Grove. At Line and 73rd St., from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., there'll be a celebration and activities featuring live music and games.

The other is on Tulane Ave. off of Linwood. Here's that information, from the director, Leia Lewis, who always puts on great events.

Dear Friend,

You are welcome to join the Sankofa Gardens Fall Planting of GREENS and STRAWBERRIES!

This Saturday, October 31st

12:30 to 3:30 PM

Sankofa Gardens

1651 Tulane

This is a FREE, family event.

Please bring a friend and share this message/flyer.

Wear work clothes and bring your gloves and tools, too!

For information, call:

Leia Lewis

(318) 230-2892

www.sankofavision.org

No meeting today; good lunch meeting at Valencia Park earlier

No meeting tonight, since a number of us have already met earlier today.

Those of us on the Coates Bluff team had a very good lunch meeting today at Valencia Park with Councilman Monty Walford, Head of Caddo Parrish Department of Parks and Recreation Larry Reynolds, School District 4 representative Charlotte Crawley, and Stoner Hill Neighborhood representatives Bessie Smith and Howard Allen.

Thanks Jon Soul for making salad, Ian Webb for coming through with the s-video cable, John Davenport for his crime and property value write up, Robert Trudeau for his pictures, Feico Kempff for his research on ownership and easements, and Carolyn Manning for her great graphics and framing work on both the powerpoint and the flier.

Can't wait to share with everyone what we learned at our next meeting, but suffice it to say that it was step forward today, and we learned a lot about what we next need to do.

In the meantime, we were told at the meeting today that if you're able to go to the masterplan meetings tonight or tomorrow night, talk up greenways and bike paths!

Why we're all green at heart, and should resist our own intolerances

This is a great 30 second video on green politics from Global-MindShift.org.

Anyone who disagrees with it should be exiled to Venus.

Lovingly, of course.

(But surely there'd be no exiles, right?)

Upcoming Master Plan Workshops

From Goody-Clancy, the firm in charge of creating the Master Plan for the city:

"The Shreveport-Caddo 2030 Master Plan team wants to hear about your neighborhood’s assets and issues in eight meetings set next week. The neighborhood workshops are taking place across four major districts, and will be followed by two November workshops, one discussing downtown and the waterfront, and one focused on strategies for revitalization, wherever it is needed in the Shreveport-Caddo planning area.

“We’ve heard from nearly 2,000 residents about the future of Shreveport-Caddo as a whole,” said Larissa Brown, Chief Planner for Goody Clancy, the firm hired to drive the master planning process. “Now, it’s time to find out what residents and business owners identify as the top priorities are for improvements in neighborhoods.” These priorities will inform the Master Plan’s approach to neighborhoods and specific topics, such as housing policy, transportation, and parks.

We encourage you to help us in promoting these workshops by emailing the attached flyer to your email contacts. You can also join in the neighborhood effort by distributing flyers this weekend. These meetings next week will focus on neighborhoods, so it’s a great time for people to come out to talk about what’s important to them for their specific areas!

Hit the streets this weekend to make sure your neighborhood is represented! ALL LIBRARIES WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS are participating in the “Neighbors Telling Neighbors Team” – this Saturday morning (10/24), volunteers are welcome to stop by any library to collect master plan neighborhood workshop flyers to distribute in their neighborhoods this weekend. Workshops include:

EAST WORKSHOPS

Monday, Oct. 26

6pm-8:30pm

Captain Shreve High School, 6115 East Kings Highway

Wednesday, Oct. 28

6pm-8:30pm

LSUS University Center, One University Place, 2nd Floor, Caddo Bossier Room

CENTRAL WORKSHOPS

Tuesday, Oct. 27

6pm-8:30pm

C.E. Byrd High School, 3201 Line Avenue

Tuesday, Oct. 27

6pm-8:30pm

Caddo Career and Technology Center, 5950 Union

WEST WORKSHOPS

Monday, October 26

6pm-8:30pm

Southern Hills Business Association Conference Center, 9701 Baird Road

Wednesday, Oct. 28

6pm-8:30pm

Huntington High School, 6801 Rasberry Lane

NORTH WORKSHOPS

Thursday, Oct. 29

6pm-8:30pm

Green Oaks High School, 2550 Thomas E. Howard Drive

Thursday, Oct. 29

6pm-8:30pm

Louisiana Technical College Shreveport-Bossier Campus, 2010 North Market Street

NOVEMBER WORKSHOPS

These workshops will discuss opportunities for revitalization in areas throughout the city, as well as possibilities for downtown, Cross Bayou and the waterfront.

Downtown/Waterfront Workshop:

Tuesday, November 17

6pm-8:30pm

Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, 400 Edwards Street

Revitalization Strategies Workshop:

Thursday, November 19

6pm-8:30pm

Willis-Knighton Community Center, 2401 Bessie Street

The City of Shreveport, Caddo Parish and the Metropolitan Planning Commission are the official sponsors and funders of the Master Plan process. All three agencies are fully committed to a transparent, open planning process with extensive public participation. The Metropolitan Planning Commission hired the firm of Goody Clancy to direct the planning process. Additional public workshops will be conducted to gather input into the plan itself, and in Summer, 2010 the citizen-infused emerging draft Master Plan will be given to the Metropolitan Planning Commission of Shreveport – Caddo Parish to review and forward to the City Council and Parish Commission for formal adoption.

Another recent convert to daily biking: Pete Haas, Shreveport, modified Trek

Pete Haas, Shreveport: modified Trek
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Bass cellist Pete Haas spends summers in Chautauqua, NY, performing classical music in an idyllic community. "Almost all my commuting in Chautauqua is by bike," said Haas. On his return to Louisiana this year he decided on a commuter bike for basic travel in East Shreveport.

He got advice from bike advocate / Red River Cycling owner Ian Webb, who recommended this modified Trek. Haas says his sister-in-law in California rides on a similar extended cargo bike.

See more below.

What do women want?

Thanks for Tim Wachtel and Jeff Wellborn for bringing this to our attention. (Ain't it helpful to have nerdy, science-reading friends?! Gotta love 'em!)

From Scientific American magazine:

How to Get More Bicyclists on the Road

To boost urban bicycling, figure out what women want

By Linda Baker

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=getting-more-bicyclists-on-the-road

Jonesboro getting $1.7M grant to build greenway

From the Associated Press - October 10, 2009 9:14 PM ET

JONESBORO, Ark.. (AP) - The city of Jonesboro is receiving a $1.7 million federal grant that will be used to help build a greenway through the northeastern Arkansas town.

The grant is part of $35 million being disbursed among 125 scenic byways across the nation.

The 29-mile-long Jonesboro Greenway would wind its way through the city. A greenway is a linear park that accommodates pathways mostly used for foot or bicycle traffic.

The idea for the trail came about seven years ago after a local survey. The trail will be built in three phases and is being designed so that it is similar to the Arkansas River Trail.

Jonesboro Parks and Recreation Director Jason Wilkie says the greenway eventually could become part of the Mississippi River Trail, which is about 3,000 miles long and winds through 10 states.

Ever thought about biking to the south of town out into the country? Did you know that there's a levee that goes from Shreveport all the way to Alexandria? Did you know they've got levee top bike paths in Alexandria? Not to mention Bossier? We're just sayin'!....

Cultural Arts District Topics on the Table!

From Feico Kempff:
The Shreveport Cultural District has been designated to allow artists to sell their work without sales tax. Our group networks and brainstorms ideas to make the downtown area a "livable" neighborhood. Our vision is to revitalize our downtown and redevelop Texas Ave. as an artist and craft related working and living area. The Abettershreveport.org group meets Mondays (like tomorrow) at 6:15PM at Centenary and the downtown focus group meets at Artspace, usually Wednesdays around lunchtime 11:30 to 1PM although a set time hasn't been confirmed.
We want you to stay in touch!! follow the www.abettershreveport.org website for events and news.

Feico Kempff,
682-554-4277

Other notes from last meeting

On potential partners, in particular we noted from the school board, Dawkins would be great; reads own email; Charlotte Crawley is school board member for this district;
Bessie Smith from Stoner hill; Howard Allen as well, and President Willie Pratt, and Deborrah Coleman of the community garden (which looks fantastic!) at Valencia. Mike Strong of DOS, Shelly Raigle and Tim Wachtel of SPAR; Monty Walford, Dawkins and Vinet in particular perhaps for this meeting.

David Aubry noted that we need to be succint, know what we want; have action items; don't want have more meetings. Be efficient with organized, quick, effective ways to make it happen.

We'll provide food for the lunch meeting. Would be October 19th.

In construction students of all types could help, from Centenary to Magnet.
The national guard oughta' be able to help; they do trail building and civil engineering projects; could cut costs that way; boy scouts another resource; national guard has equipment...

It was noted that when we consider the final plan, not all planners have experience with greenways; at some point we have to decide on the money we're gonna raise; in Roanoke the greenways board put the package together; we'd raise money privately and... we create a linear park and turn it over to parks and rec. department; would sharron write an initial conceptual plan that would cost estimate the actual plan; that could be contracted out to a planner with experience.

don't let them leave before asking them for: 8 feet of access that ties in stoner; dream of what we wnat and ask for partners; we've to other people on board, make some feel guilty if they're not on board

if sharron would draw on the map the trail and let people see it; can sell it;
kind of like to have dr. leuck go through and work the trail around certain large trees;

can get flagging tape with knot on the side of the trail.

NLCOG has money for safe routes to school; Dan Marcalus noted his father's work in Iowa; grants for transportation; Safety-lu; federal highway money; has to be some local match;