ADVOCACY

One of the Cape Fear Cyclist’s (CFC) primary functions is to advocate for better and safer bike facilities and policies. The following paragraphs describe ongoing and recent advocacy efforts:

Relations with NCDOT

CFC has an excellent relationship with NCDOT’s local regional office which has responsibility planning, project development, maintenance activities and construction projects in Brunswick, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender and Sampson counties. The Division’s leader and Chief Engineer is Mr. Chad Kimes.  He, and his staff have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to ALL road and highway users.

As part of CFC's advocacy role, the club coordinates and works with NCDOT to identify unsafe road conditions, improved bike facilities such as Multiple Use Paths, bike lanes, etc., and provide feedback from cyclist's perspective.  The following are examples;

Gordon Road Widening Project:

This NCDOT project (U-6202) will widen 2.5 miles of Gordon Road from Interstate 40 to Market Street (U.S. 17 Business) in New Hanover County. The purpose of the project is to improve capacity and reduce traffic congestion along Gordon Road.  The project is funded for $25.2 million for construction. It is currently in the planning and design stages. 

CFC members Eileen McConville, Al Schroetel ad Carol Stein have been working with NCDOT since January 2022 to ensure that this project includes necessary bike/ped facilities. The initial plans included a Multiple Use Path (MUP) on the north side of the road, and one crosswalk near a school. 

Although we were pleased that the MUP was included, we expressed to NCDOT our concern that there was no similar facility on the south side of the road and the need for additional crosswalks over this 2.5-mile stretch of Gordon Road. NCDOT explained that the funding was insufficient to add those facilities, but recommended that we contact New Hanover County to see if they would fund sidewalks on the South side. We did that and as a result the County and NCDOT have worked out a cost-sharing that will include those sidewalks. This  will permit NCOT to add additional crosswalks at all signalized intersections of Gordon Road.

Repair of bicycling hazards:
Whenever a CFC member, or any area bicyclist, identifies a hazard to safe bicycling, we contact NCDOT to advise them of the hazard and request repair or correction. NCDOT has been extremely responsive to our request and the repair or fixes are completed as soon as possible. The following are examples:

• Repair of the dangerous “lip” on the Lords Creek Bridge of River Road Bike Lane
• Lowering the speed limit on River Road in spite of two New Hanover County Commissioners’ objections.
• Scraped and swept the vegetation on the River Road & Kerr Avenue  bike lanes within a week of our request 

Presentations by the NCDOT Staff:

At CFC’s 2019 annual meeting, Caitlin Marks (NCDOT Division 3 Planning Engineer) presented examples of how NCDOT is working to improve opportunities for cyclists and pedestrians in our area. Her team works to identify long-range goals, design proper facilities and keep open communication between all stakeholders. Plus, she highlighted the importance to push for funding.

Caitlin also announced an August 2019 revision to NCDOT’s “Complete Streets Policy” that supports bike / ped facilities:  That Policy is stated as follows: 

“Bicycle and pedestrian and public transportation facilities that appear in a state, regional or locally adopted transportation plan will be included as part of the proposed roadway project. NCDOT will fully fund the cost of designing, acquiring right of way, and constructing the identified facilities.”

This Policy means if bike/ped facilities are included in a proposed roadway project, the NCDOT will partially or fully fund the development of those facilities!
 CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD the PRESENTATION

East Coast Greenway Feasibility Study:

This is the first step in creating a 16-mile greenway corridor in Pender County connecting Holly Shelter Game Land and North Topsail Beach. The proposed corridor parallels NC-210 and US-17 connecting the communities of Hampstead, Surf City, and North Topsail Beach.  CFC members Carol Stein, Eileen McConville, Steve Zinder and Al Schroetel are on the Study Review Group. The second review meeting was held on 24 Aug 2022 during which the potential routing was presented along with comments from the On-line survey on desired connections.  

Bike Walk NC (BWNC):

BWNC is North Carolina’s only state-wide Bike/Ped advocacy organization.  CFC member Carol Stein represents Easter NC on the BWNC Board of Directors.  Al Schroetel, CFC Advocacy Chair was a a founding member of BWNC when it was formed in 2008. For the past 10 years BWNC has conducted an annual BikeWalk Summit meeting. The 2022 Summit will be in Greenville, NC on October 27th to 29th (Thursday to Saturday). CFC and TBBF are Summit co-sponsors again this year at the $500 “Mountain Level”. Both organizations’ logos will appear on all Summit publications and we will receive two complimentary Summit tickets to be shared by CFC and TBBF More information and registration is at: https://www.bikewalknc.org/nc-bikewalk-summit/#.   There will also be a LCI (League Cycling Instructor) certification program during the week of the Summit. Registration and costs for this training are separate from the Summit registration & sponsorship

USEFUL LINKS:

League of American Bicyclists (LAB)
National focus. The oldest and one of the largest cycling advocacy organizations in the USA. Their vision is “A nation where everyone recognizes and enjoys the many benefits and opportunities of bicycling”. LAB provides training and certification for League Certified Instructors (LCI’s). Provide insurance for cycling clubs nationwide.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
National focus. Build, maintain, defend and connect trails and trail corridors across the country.

East Coast Greenway
Eastern US focus. Building and designating an urban trail from Maine to Florida, connecting existing and planned shared-use trails, a continuous, traffic-free route. Bethel Paris is on their Trails Committee and will steer the CFC funding to East Coast Greenway signs for our area.

North Caroling Rail-to-trails (NCRT)
Preserve rail corridors and works with communities across North Carolina to create trails for public use on abandoned rail corridors.

Adventure Cycling
National focus. Research safe long range routes, produce maps, guided tours. Encourage Bicycle tourism. Magazine published 9 times yearly.

Bike Walk NC(BWNC)
BWNC is the only NC-wide lobby and advocacy group. Helped steer the 2015 “Bike Safety Laws Study” and its report. This study resulted in several cycling safety law improvements. Conduct NC’s only Bike Summit each fall. Al Schroetel is on their Board of Directors.

People for Bikes
PeopleForBikes  (formerly Bikes Belong) includes both an industry coalition of bicycling suppliers and retailers, as well as a charitable foundation.  Grants, advocacy, information. Over 1.2 million members  In last 15 years Spent over $30 million to make bicycling better. Invested $2.1 million in community bicycling projects.

Terry Benjey Foundation
Welcome to the Terry Benjey Bicycling Foundation (TBBF). The TBBF is organized exclusively for bicycling charitable, educational, advocacy, and scientific purposes. The foundation endeavors to promote the use of bicycles in the Cape Fear Region of NC for transportation, recreation, and fitness.