What is Asheville’s greenway plan?

The City of Asheville’s greenway planning process, called the “Close the GAP” project, combines 3 plans: the City’s Greenway Plan (G), its ADA Transition Plan (A), and its Pedestrian Plan (P). The main goal of Close the GAP is to better understand who uses our community’s greenways & sidewalks and why in order to update & expand our pedestrian network. 

Why do we need your help?

Greenways and sidewalks are integral to a community’s connectivity, health, equity, and overall livability. In order to help City officials enhance Asheville’s pedestrian network, it’s important that residents are given the opportunity to provide their input. To do this, we need your help surveying Asheville’s greenway users. 

What does this volunteer position entail?

As a volunteer, you will help conduct greenway user interviews at the Wilma Dykeman Greenway in Asheville’s River Arts District and at the Reed Creek Greenway near UNC Asheville’s Botanical Gardens on August 10 and 14. In the event of bad weather, our makeup dates are August 17 and 21. You can help out by volunteering for a 2-hour shift on one or both of these days at either location. 

As a volunteer, you agree to:

• Encourage greenway users to complete the survey.
• Dress in comfortable clothes and bring the water & snacks you may need.
• Wear a mask if asked to do so. We will provide disposable masks.

How do I sign up to volunteer?

To learn more and sign up for a volunteer slot, visit https://bit.ly/GreenwayInterview or contact Linda Giltz at lindagiltz@gmail.com.

Please share this volunteer opportunity and information about Close the GAP with your friends, organizations, and others. Thank you for being a valued community member and greenway supporter!

The post Call for Volunteers—Help Update Asheville’s Greenway Plan! appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Sunday, June 26th 2:30pm – 8pm

The Summer Cycle is AoB’s annual summer social ride. This year, we’re changing up the program, route, and rolling in a new direction. Come join us and let us know what you think.

Summer Cycle Details:

• 2:30pm – Ride gathers at Second Gear
• 3:00pm – Ride rolls out
• 5:00pm – Ride culminates at Kolo Bike Park
• 8:00pm – Parting is such sweet sorrow

The route is 13.7 miles and includes 683 ft of climbing.  The ride includes wayfinding markers and pedal patrol. We’ve added a family specific pedal patrol so that families can ride safely in a group with support from AoB volunteers.

We need plenty of volunteers for the Summer Cycle, so review the volunteers options and pick a time and place that works for you. Sign up to volunteer.

The Summer Cycle gathers at Second Gear (444 Haywood Rd, 28806) in West Asheville and rolls through a variety of neighborhood streets and greenways, before culminating at Kolo Bike Park (1 Resort Dr, 28806) on the Crowne Plaza Campus. Once there, participants can enjoy Oskar Blues Brewing, food trucks, mountain bike riding, and socializing. 100% of all Oskar Blues Brewing products sold support AoB.

Asheville on Bikes appreciates our sponsors: Oskar Blues Brewing Company, Second Gear, Skylanes, Sarver Realty Group, Kolo Bike Park, and Crowne Plaza Resort.

The post Summer Cycle ’16 presented by Oskar Blues appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Volunteer with AoB at the Mountain Sports Festival’s bicycle corral May 27th – Sunday, May 29th. AoB hosts a bicycle corral, to encourage bicycle participation by providing people a safe spot to store their bicycles while they enjoy the festival.

AoB will be parking bikes from Friday through Sunday with a variety of time options that suite your schedule. There is a time slot for the  early birds, afternooners, and night owls. Simply, review the times and dates on the AoB volunteer form and select the ones that work best for you. An AoB representative will follow up with you to confirm the details.

Thank you for volunteer with Asheville on Bikes. When you show, we grow.

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How does this corral thing work? It’s like valet parking–you check in your bike, and get a claim ticket. We keep your bike in the corral, where our volunteers will keep an eye on it, while you go have fun. When you come back, hand in your ticket and get your bike back. Easy, peasy.

How much does it cost? It’s absolutely free. Always has been; always will be. We do accept donations.

Can I park my bike trailer/tandem/unicycle/recumbent? Of course. If it’s on wheels and powered by human muscles, we’ll park it.

You mean I don’t need to lock my bike? Is it safe? You bet. Our volunteers will never leave the corral unattended, and no one else is allowed access to the bikes.

How can I help? We’re so glad you asked. Our corrals are 100% volunteer-run, and we can’t do it without you. Working at a corral is a great way to help AoB, meet other cyclists, and, depending on the event, enjoy a little free music and entertainment. Shifts are usually short–two or three hours. Your responsibilities are simple, but vitally important to AoB’s mission: you park bikes and keep a count of how many come through the corral. We’ll give you guidance so you can help sell AoB merchandise, answer questions about AoB’s events, and generally promote urban and commuter cycling in Asheville. You don’t have to be a bicycle expert or a hardcore cyclist to be a great volunteer–a simple desire to help out is enough!

This sounds great! Where do I sign up? Email our corral coordinator at bikecorral@ashevilleonbikes.com to become a volunteer.

The post What the heck is a bike corral? appeared first on Asheville On Bikes.

Then came the Charlotte Street study discussion. After some less than enthusiastic responses from some residents(and some encouraging) City Council decided that the funds for a study should be found, accessed, and utilized. We’ll need some volunteers for data collection, so keep your ears peeled for future updates.

Next Saturday, July 7th, there will be a bike rodeo at Hillcrest from 11-3 with setup at 10. There are some Asheville Police Bike Patrol officers participating but help is wanted. If anyone has the time or would like more information email Claudia at claudianix@libertybikes.com.

I think that’s all from this weeks front lines. Stay cool, ride hard, have fun.

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