This sounded like a sufficiently interesting idea that I invited Rich to our July 14 quarterly meeting and he is coming. Means we will have a full agenda (see below). Need everyone to come out. Have some gumbo. Talk about rezoning, Rich's idea for community cycles, changes in by-laws. This could be an important meeting.
July 14 (Wednesday) 6 p.m. 2010 Goss (Hurd House) with gumbo and great neighbors!
See you there.

Hi,
My name is Rich Points, I'm the executive director of Community Cycles http://CommunityCycles.org. We're Boulders only non-profit community bike shop. We have a wide range of grass roots bicycle advocacy programs and activities. I'm writing to pitch an idea I've had for Goss/Grove for a long time which is to make it a car-free or car-lite neighborhood.

First a brief background. I moved to Boulder and Goss/Grove in 1998 to attend grad school at Naropa. I parked my truck and began biking and walking everywhere I went, within a year I was car-free. Since then I've benefited in many ways by getting around primarily by bike. I lived in several apartments over five years and now live in north Boulder. Since then I've increasingly worked to help more people reap the benefits of a bicycle based lifestyle. My time living in Goss/Grove was seminal and I know it has been for others too, I think it has the potential to reach even more people.

The idea of creating a car-free cul-de-sac in Boulder has been with me for a long time and Goss/Grove seems like an ideal starting point. Here is a brief overview of what I have in mind:

• Make connections with housing coordinators at Naropa and CU to funnel interested students into Goss/Grove.
• Start with a PR campaign to say that we're creating a bike-centric Goss/Grove. Housing coordinators, Press releases, fliers, websites, outreach, word of mouth...
• Create ties with orgs like Boulder Car Share, Community Cycles, Naropa bike shack, CU bike station, student groups, city of Boulder...
• Open air bike repair station near community garden.
• Maintain a tone of pro-bike as opposed to anti-car.

The first three years would follow this simple formula to see if there's an interest from the community. Over that time we can explore ways to improve bicycle infrastructure both in and around the neighborhood. I could say more but in the interest of brevity I'll stop here.

For a long time it's been nothing but an idea, I'd like to set it into motion. I realize this might seem invasive coming in with this big idea when I don't currently live there. So I wanted to pitch this to you and hear your thoughts and concerns first.

I'd like to propose a partnership with Community Cycles and the Goss/Grove Neighborhood Association to work on developing and executing this campaign. If it is something you're interested in I'd like to create a new Community Cycles program and devote resources to make it happen.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Ride On!

--
Rich Points
Community Cycles Executive Director
http://CommunityCycles.org
Rich@CommunityCycles.org
720-565-6019 (W)
303-589-0597 (C)
Donate your old car to Community Cycles
http://communitycycles.org/get-involved/donatecar.html
Volunteer orientations are held 6p.m. on the 4th Tuesday of each month.