August 01, 2011
(Albany, NY)-- CDTA and members of the Pine Hills neighborhood held a hold ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 2 at 7 p.m. in front of 1092 Madison Avenue in Albany to celebrate the installation of thirteen new bike racks (26 new safe bicycle parking spaces) throughout the upper Madison Avenue area in Albany. The ribbon-cutting was held in conjunction with the Pine Hills National Night Out (NNO), a national crime awareness event that promotes police-community partnerships. Information about the Albany Police Department’s bicycle registration program will be available at NNO. CDTA stationed a standard “bikeable bus” at the National Night Out event to offer free lessons on safe use of bus bike racks. Councilwoman Leah Golby, Margo Janack, from CDTA, Lorenz Worden of Albany Bicycle Coalition, Anne Savage from Beautify Upper Madison Project(BUMP), and Todd Hunsinger, President of Pine Hills Neighborhood Association will take part in the ceremony.
Anne Savage of BUMP said, “My family and I use our bikes whenever we can - it's one of the things we love about living in Albany. Now it will be so much easier to go to the Madison Theatre, Steamer 10, Cafe Madison and the other places we go in Pine Hills.”
Carm Basile, CDTA’s Chief Executive Officer said, “Installing more bike racks at key locations throughout the region is a great way to increase accessibility for our community. These bike racks work in tandem with our environmentally friendly Bikeable Buses to provide safe parking and extend commutes further.”
The new bike racks along Madison Avenue were made possible by a grant from CDTA that increased bicycle parking across the city with 176 new racks in 2010 and 91 new racks in 2011. Installation of additional bike racks is included in the City of Albany Bicycle Master Plan, funded in part by the Capital District Transportation Committee, and in The Upper Madison Neighborhood Vision report, the culmination of an internship underwritten by BUMP (Beautify Upper Madison Projects). BUMP is a cooperative effort of the Pine Hills, New Albany, Manning Blvd neighborhood associations, Steamer 10 Theatre, Friends of the Madison Theatre, Upper Madison businesses and organizations, and the City of Albany. The vision report is a blueprint that highlights the area’s assets and makes recommendations to enhance Upper Madison by encouraging stakeholders to work together and leverage limited resources for the greatest impact.
BUMP’s goal is to beautify, market, and celebrate the wide variety of shopping, entertainment, dining venues, and educational, religious, and artistic institutions in the Upper Madison area that are accessible by pedestrians and bicyclists in addition to drivers.
In addition to the bike racks, parts of the Upper Madison vision plan that are being implemented this summer is a series of free public concerts on the Elks lawn on 25 S. Allen Street and the installation of artwork in the Madison Theater window display space.
All of CDTA’s regular route fleet is equipped with double bicycle racks to promote intermodal travel. Close to 60,000 CDTA “Bikes on Bus” rides are taken annually and the number continues to grow. Businesses who install bike racks can earn credits toward LEED certification by the Green Building Council.
As part of National Night Out, CDTA would like to remind the community about its longstanding Safewatch program. Safewatch is a cooperative effort between CDTA and local law enforcement to make the Capital Region an even safer place to live. All CDTA vehicles are equipped with two-way radios. CDTA employees are trained to be alert for potential problems and to inform authorities about criminal activity, roadside incidents or accidents. Any individual who needs police assistance can flag down a CDTA vehicle for emergency help. CDTA bus operators and supervisors will use a radio to contact the police. Children in danger can board a CDTA bus and stay on the vehicle until authorities arrive.
The Upper Madison Neighborhood Vision is on the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association website: http://www.pinehillsna.org. For more information on CDTA’s services and Bike programs, visit www.cdta.org.
