special report on Presidents Forum to 5BBC board by Steve Faust
photo by Steven Faust
Date: Mon, Mar 31, 2008 3:36 PM
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:38
From: "Steve Faust"
To: Roger Herz, Noah Budnick , Paul Steely White , Josh Gosciak , James Zisfein , mike piedell
Richard
This is my quick writeup to the 5BBC board that was sent via the board
president Jesse Brown.
The general outside contact for the 5BBC is the club secretary - James
Zisfin - jzisfein@yahoo.com
I may have made errors in peoples names and titles - busy taking notes
and listening at the same time. Any corrections appreciated.
We need to assemble a full interstate/interclub task force to deal with
MNR.
Steve Faust
Jesse:
Here is a brief report on the Metro North meeting.
I'm in Boston for the weekend and can't post directly to the ExecBoard
email.
Steve Faust.
most of the bike speakers are here in these 5 pictures:
some of the names may not match the description - some of the spelling is wrong - taking notes and trying to listen to the meeting at the same time.
Guy standing in yellow jacket is a 5BBC leader - the name is Neile Weissman.
photo by Steven Faust
Josh Gosciak is sitting under EXIT sign in gray polypropylene is with 5BBC.
photo by Steven Faust
The yellow shirt and skinny guys are from Conn.
Yellow shirt is Richard Stowe - Rail Trains Ecology -
email at - bikes.rail.politics@gmail
Richard appears to be the key coordinator for Conn cyclists
Skinny guy is Jason Stockman, a Yale Grad student in medical research
and asked for peak hour access.
Heavy guy is not cyclist
Two women are from Conn,
Melinda Tuhus, the one without helmet, is a reporter from
NewHavenIndependent.org
Missing from photo may be "Ken Koglin" from Conn.
- editor's note: Kenneth Coughlin is Transportation Alternatives Board Secretary
Missing from photo is Paul Hammer - Conn Bicycle Coalition - the former head of that group.
Mike Pidel is out of the picture.
Mr. Ed Defreitas was not able to attend the meeting.
NOTES:
Very good meeting. I was first bike oriented speaker - focused on the
M-8 car problem, but opened up with a history of leading bike groups on NH RR starting in the
mid 1960s, and how the 5BBC are still running day and weekend trips on MNR 40
years later. Asked that better space and bike tie downs be provided.
Mentioned Denmark as a model for bikes on trains. In 3+2 minutes, did
not get into Permits, or station parking, but did briefly ask for
reverse peak bike access.
Other speakers followed up after me asking for more bike space in the
cars, for bike storage, possibly hanging by a wheel that could fit
several bikes in the limited space now allocated to wheelchairs. They
asked for peak hour access and particularly reverse peak direction.
Also for better station side bike parking.
2/3 of the speakers were for bike issues. We had a good geographic mix,
me and Josh from the city, Pidel from Westchester and others from all
over Conn. Range of types and backgrounds too.
MNR Pres Peter Cannito's responses were generally good, but he is
missing a few facts and we surprised him with a few things. He has a
severe shortage of seats on rail cars and pays $2.2 million for 100 seat
New Haven M-8 cars. He is in real pain when we talk about loosing one
or two seats, 1 to 2 percent, of a 300 car order is like loosing 3 to 6
cars! Ouch! So cutting rush hour seats does not go over well.
He was very responsive to the request for better ways to tie the bikes
in place - he did not realize the trains are missing anything above the
floor - the wheel chair tie downs.
Response on the Permit - MNR likes it because cyclists have to sign
that they read the rules and this gives the railroad some legal support
in the event of a law suit. But there have not been any suits that we
know of. And most US transit systems have given up on the Permits,
including NJT and PATH. It's probably not worth the cost of collecting
it. The M-8 train designs are pretty fixed but not frozen yet. We have
a damned good shot at getting tie downs, and a passable chance at
hanging racks or something to better keep bikes neatly in place. If
they work here, we may be able to press for retrofits on older cars.
KEY RESULT: FORM A COMMITTEE!!
Really - Cannito asked the various cycling groups to get together a
working group to advise MNR on the rail car design, on the Permit, on
reverse peak access needs, on station parking.
Basically he opened a big window of opportunity here.
Cannito wants the combined group to mail him a letter requesting a meeting.
I suggest that a copy be sent to MTA head Lee Sander as well.
Richard Stowe appears to be the key coordinator for Conn cyclists
- Rail Trains Ecology - bikes.rail.politics@gmail
We need to bring in Transportation Alternatives, NYCC and who else into this...
Cannito suggested Bob McClagger (spelling?) as the bike contact, but I
don't have his email address. Editor's Note: Bob MacLagger
I did get the following name that can be used to link up:
Thomas Tendy,
Senior Director, Customer Service
MNR
420 Lexington Ave, 9th Floor
NY, NY 10017
212 672-1251
tendy@mnr.org
It was worth the time.
Steve.
Date: Mon, Mar 31, 2008 3:36 PM
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:38
From: "Steve Faust"
To: Roger Herz
Richard
This is my quick writeup to the 5BBC board that was sent via the board
president Jesse Brown.
The general outside contact for the 5BBC is the club secretary - James
Zisfin - jzisfein@yahoo.com
I may have made errors in peoples names and titles - busy taking notes
and listening at the same time. Any corrections appreciated.
We need to assemble a full interstate/interclub task force to deal with
MNR.
Steve Faust
Jesse:
Here is a brief report on the Metro North meeting.
I'm in Boston for the weekend and can't post directly to the ExecBoard
email.
Steve Faust.
most of the bike speakers are here in these 5 pictures:
some of the names may not match the description - some of the spelling is wrong - taking notes and trying to listen to the meeting at the same time.
Guy standing in yellow jacket is a 5BBC leader - the name is Neile Weissman.
photo by Steven Faust
Josh Gosciak is sitting under EXIT sign in gray polypropylene is with 5BBC.
photo by Steven Faust
The yellow shirt and skinny guys are from Conn.
Yellow shirt is Richard Stowe - Rail Trains Ecology -
email at - bikes.rail.politics@gmail
Richard appears to be the key coordinator for Conn cyclists
Skinny guy is Jason Stockman, a Yale Grad student in medical research
and asked for peak hour access.
Heavy guy is not cyclist
Two women are from Conn,
Melinda Tuhus, the one without helmet, is a reporter from
NewHavenIndependent.org
Missing from photo may be "Ken Koglin" from Conn.
- editor's note: Kenneth Coughlin is Transportation Alternatives Board Secretary
Missing from photo is Paul Hammer - Conn Bicycle Coalition - the former head of that group.
Mike Pidel is out of the picture.
Mr. Ed Defreitas was not able to attend the meeting.
NOTES:
Very good meeting. I was first bike oriented speaker - focused on the
M-8 car problem, but opened up with a history of leading bike groups on NH RR starting in the
mid 1960s, and how the 5BBC are still running day and weekend trips on MNR 40
years later. Asked that better space and bike tie downs be provided.
Mentioned Denmark as a model for bikes on trains. In 3+2 minutes, did
not get into Permits, or station parking, but did briefly ask for
reverse peak bike access.
Other speakers followed up after me asking for more bike space in the
cars, for bike storage, possibly hanging by a wheel that could fit
several bikes in the limited space now allocated to wheelchairs. They
asked for peak hour access and particularly reverse peak direction.
Also for better station side bike parking.
2/3 of the speakers were for bike issues. We had a good geographic mix,
me and Josh from the city, Pidel from Westchester and others from all
over Conn. Range of types and backgrounds too.
MNR Pres Peter Cannito's responses were generally good, but he is
missing a few facts and we surprised him with a few things. He has a
severe shortage of seats on rail cars and pays $2.2 million for 100 seat
New Haven M-8 cars. He is in real pain when we talk about loosing one
or two seats, 1 to 2 percent, of a 300 car order is like loosing 3 to 6
cars! Ouch! So cutting rush hour seats does not go over well.
He was very responsive to the request for better ways to tie the bikes
in place - he did not realize the trains are missing anything above the
floor - the wheel chair tie downs.
Response on the Permit - MNR likes it because cyclists have to sign
that they read the rules and this gives the railroad some legal support
in the event of a law suit. But there have not been any suits that we
know of. And most US transit systems have given up on the Permits,
including NJT and PATH. It's probably not worth the cost of collecting
it. The M-8 train designs are pretty fixed but not frozen yet. We have
a damned good shot at getting tie downs, and a passable chance at
hanging racks or something to better keep bikes neatly in place. If
they work here, we may be able to press for retrofits on older cars.
KEY RESULT: FORM A COMMITTEE!!
Really - Cannito asked the various cycling groups to get together a
working group to advise MNR on the rail car design, on the Permit, on
reverse peak access needs, on station parking.
Basically he opened a big window of opportunity here.
Cannito wants the combined group to mail him a letter requesting a meeting.
I suggest that a copy be sent to MTA head Lee Sander as well.
Richard Stowe appears to be the key coordinator for Conn cyclists
- Rail Trains Ecology - bikes.rail.politics@gmail
We need to bring in Transportation Alternatives, NYCC and who else into this...
Cannito suggested Bob McClagger (spelling?) as the bike contact, but I
don't have his email address. Editor's Note: Bob MacLagger
I did get the following name that can be used to link up:
Thomas Tendy,
Senior Director, Customer Service
MNR
420 Lexington Ave, 9th Floor
NY, NY 10017
212 672-1251
tendy@mnr.org
It was worth the time.
Steve.
Labels: bicycling, bikes-on-trains
posted by Richard Stowe at 10:36 PM
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