Halifax - In the past few months, the North St. Church has hosted a bevy of big, bodacious biking bonanzas! The next big party — organized by and catered to our Velocipedal friends — will be happening today, April Fools Day (I kid you not!). Along with killer bikes and the best soundtrack of the night, the party will feature excerpts from V-Day Dal Vagina Monologues Productions and a Live Painting by Sharon Hodgson, which will be auctioned off at the end of the night. So brave the streets ...

[caption id="attachment_3769" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="From left to right: Steve Bedard (Co-Chair, HCC), Laura Smith (Workplace Health Promotion Planner, CDHA), Jeffery Horne (Supervisor Maintenance and Operations, CDHA), Emma Felts (Editor, Spacing Atlantic) and John Mason (Supervisor Maintenance and Operations, CDHA)."][/caption] HALIFAX - In early January, Spacing Atlantic teamed up with the Halifax Cycling Coalition and launched a poll of the best and worst bike parking spots in Halifax and Dartmouth. After over a month of voting, we're ready to announce the winners of the Best and Worst of Bike Parking in the HRM for 2009! Winner of Best Bike Parking: The Dickson Centre Entrance at the Victoria General Hospital This spot really blew all other nominees out of the water. With its high capacity, sheltered parking area, multiple bike rack designs and the security of the commissionaires office nearby, the Dickson Centre Entrance at the Victoria General Hospital site was the clear winner with 69% of votes.

[caption id="attachment_2819" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Without adequate infrastructure, commuting downtown can sometimes feel like this"][/caption] HALIFAX - On January 21, HRM's Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC) held it's first meeting of the year in order to make plans and set goals regarding expansion and improvement of HRM's Active Transportation network (AT). Transportation Demand Management (TDM), having committed to expanding our AT network by 20 linear kilometres by the end of the year has really stepped up its commitment to improving AT by increasing transparency in regards to AT infrastructure installation. Nevertheless, we are still approximately 70kms short of reaching AT targets defined in HRM's AT Plan before including the 20 km expansion. I met up with Halifax Cycling Coalition Co-Chair Lauralee Sim and asked her a couple quick questions about ATAC's first meeting of 2010. --- Steve: Did any issues take the spotlight at the ATAC meeting? Lauralee: We didn't discuss AT issues in detail at this meeting. We spent our time discussing how we can work as a group and reviewed some key points in the AT plan. We're hoping to determine some priority issues at our next meeting in February. Steve: What did ATAC representatives have to say at the meeting?

HRM - Recently we shared what makes a great bike rack with you. This week we are hoping to raise awareness and change in regards to properly facilitating bike parking in Halifax and Dartmouth. Out of the numerous parking spots in the HRM, the Halifax Cycling Coalition has determined the three best and three worst spots using a bike parking evaluation tool developed by Citizens for Safe Cycling — a not-for-profit based in Ottawa. We want you to vote on your favorite/most hated! Best Parking Nominees The Dickson Center Entrance, Victoria General Site Some positive attributes to this site include: a variety of rack configurations; the parking area is completely covered by an outcropping of the Dickson Center; and on top of being regularly patrolled by security staff, there is a security station not 15 meters away from the site. [caption id="attachment_2322" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Bike parking outside of the Dickson Building, VG site"][/caption]

What makes a for good bike parking? Join the Halifax Cycling Coalition as we explain what to look for when locking your bike, and how end-point infrastructure is looking in Halifax today.