*FCC FACEBOOK WEEKLY WRAP-UP* *(An anti-social media compendium for our non-Facebook members)*
*EQUINOX MARATHON CLEAN UP RIDE*Please put this on your calendar. Many hands (and bikes) will make the sign clean up go quicker. It’s kind of fun to see how creatively useful bikes can be!
Equinox Marathon Clean Up Ride Sunday, September 18, starting at noon Meet at Patty Center parking lot
www.fairbankscycleclub.org/rides/equinox-marathon-clean-up-ride/
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*RICHARDSON HIGHWAY 206-233 COMMENT OPPORTUNITY *The state Department of Transportation is studying how to improve the Richardson Highway between mileposts 206 and 233. (The Black Rapids Glacier area and a bit south.)
The department is accepting comments until October 1.
As part of the project, the department hopes to increase the highway shoulder width to six feet, including the bridges. Many places along this stretch of highway have little to know shoulder.
While this section of road is not heavily traveled by cycles, the Richardson is a good route for long-distance cycle trips. Now would be a good time for cyclists to advocate for the increased shoulder width and to remind the department to follow its rumble strip policy, which falls within the Adventure Cycling guidelines.
To make comments, see the “Provide Comment” section at the bottom of this page: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2b4a5e5951da4266a1410b20f7856a56
For more on rumble strips:
Adventure Cycling www.adventurecycling.org/advocacy/safety-advocacy/rumble-strips/
State of Alaska dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/dcstraffic/rumble/index.shtml
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*KINROSS TRUCKING PLAN NEWS*More news on the Kinross proposed plan to haul ore from Tetlin through Fairbanks to Fort Knox.
www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/kinross-highway-advocacy-group-testify-on-ore-hauling-plan/article_5d9978f6-344e-11ed-bb0b-d754fb66fbbe.html
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*BIKE BUSES PROVIDE ANOTHER WAY TO GET TO SCHOOL*Here’s a cool idea! Is anyone organizing “Bike Buses” in the Fairbanks area?
Shared from League of American Bicyclists
The best way to start the day is on a bike! 🚲 Make a morning commute a whole lot more fun by replacing your carpool to school with a #biketrip to school. Here’s how Portland public school teacher Sam Balto does it by organizing #BikeBuses ⬇️
usa.streetsblog.org/2022/09/08/epic-150-kid-bike-bus-shows-america-a-better-way-to-get-to-school/
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*OPINION PIECE ON MINE TRUCKING PROPOSAL*Advocates for Safe Alaska Highways, which opposes the Kinross plan to haul ore from the Manh Choh mine to the mill at Ft. Knox, has come out with another opinion piece about the trucking plan. It may interest Fairbanks cyclists, especially those who bike along the proposed route. The FCC has not taken a stand on this proposal, but we want to keep cyclists aware of developments.
This piece focuses on a report about large truck fatalities. And while cars and other passenger vehicles make up a majority of the victims in the report, 16 percent were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists.
A big concern about the plan would be driver fatigue. From the ASAH piece:
“Drivers of large trucks are allowed by federal hours-of-service regulations to drive up to 11 hours at a stretch. Surveys indicate that many drivers violate the regulations and work longer than permitted. But a special Alaska exemption from the federal limits allows commercial truck drivers a 15-hour driving-time window, not 11, and a 20-hour duty-time window, not 15.”
safealaskahighways.org/large-truck-fatality-facts-shed-some-light-on-kinross-ore-hauling-plan/
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*FCC RESOURCES*We’ve got lots of useful stuff on our website, including a bunch of information on our Resources page and under our Resources dropdown menu: –Bikeways Fairbanks cycling map –Info on Alaska cycling laws –Tanana Valley State Forest Roads –National and International Cycling Advocacy Groups –Winter Riding Tips –Maps Archive
See those and more under Resources at: www.fairbankscycleclub.org/
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