Announcements

• As you know, our Share the Road license plates were intended in our OBF legislation to fund Ohio Bicycling Street Smarts, a wonderful little book which tells the reader how to ride a bicycle in traffic on Ohio's roads.

We in the OBF have worked with ODOT to update Ohio Bicycling Street Smarts to reflect changes in the Ohio Revised Code brought about by OBF's Better Ohio Bicycling Bill of 2006. We need to let ODOT know that we cyclists want Ohio Bicycling Street Smarts to be published again. (8/1/11)

Please contact Melissa Ayers (below) and let her know that you want the revised Ohio Bicycling Street Smarts:

Melissa Ayers
ODOT Deputy Director of Communcations
1980 W. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43223
Phone: 614-644-8640
Email: Melissa Ayers.

OBF News

OBF President Chuck Smith featured in WPAFB article

Because of his long-time bike commuting reputation, OBF President Chuck Smith was featured in the March 30, 2012 edition of the Wright-Patterson Air Force employee newsletter the Skywriter, in an article named Bicycling Bonanza. (4/6/12)

New drivers better know something about bicycles

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles has informed us that they are revamping their drivers test questions and will use our OBF suggestions for the bicycle-related questions. Thanks to our own Tricia Kovacs of OBF for her successful work with Ohio BMV in making this happen! (5/13/11)

Highway Rumble Stripes

The Ohio Department of Transportation is installing edge line rumble stripes on 1,335 miles of rural, two-lane roads at a cost of $4.0 million. Some of these roads are used by TOSRV and GOBA. (9/20/10)

Although a proven method of saving lives by preventing motorized traffic from running off the road, these stripes are a hazard to bicyclists. Here is a Fact Sheet about the project, and a detailed map of the affected highways. (5/4/10)

Email your concerns to the ODOT Communications Director, Melissa Ayers. (1/23/11)

ODOT revealed on June 8 that it plans to eventually install rumble stripes on all Ohio state highways with speeds of 45 mph or higher. ODOT said the Federal Highway Administration and AASHTO guidelines which apply to rumble strips (on the shoulder) do not apply to rumble stripes (on the edge line). An AASHTO representative at the June 9-13 American Society of Highway Engineers Conference in Cincinnati said he will request a change in the AASHTO rumble strip guidance to address rumble stripes. (6/8/10)

Recent rumble stripe news

• Here is an ODOT Edge Line Rumble Stripe Timeline and Summary which you may read by clicking here. (2/13/11)

• The Federal Highway Administration discusses how rumble stripes concern bicyclists. (9/24/10)

• There was a story in the Columbus Dispatch on Monday, Sept. 13, 2010 regarding rumble stripes which you may read by clicking here.

• There was a story in the Dayton Daily News on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010 regarding rumble stripes which you may read by clicking here.

• Here is a Draft Update of ODOT Traffic Engineering Manual regarding rumble stripes. (9/8/10)

More News

Resources

Ohio Legislature Information

• All sorts of information about the activities of the Ohio State General Assembly, legislation in progress, schedules, finding your legislator, and much more is available here.

Cyclist Friendly Communities

• The Cyclist Friendly Communities Program includes a complete toolkit for improving conditions in your community and information on qualifying for this new award.

On-line Discussions

• To discuss any Ohio bicycle issue with the leading bicycle advocates in the state, join the OhioBike e-mail discussion list. Send a blank e-mail or visit the list on the Web.

OBF Publications

• The Ohio Bicycle Communicator is published two times per year.
• The most up-to-date and comprehensive list of Ohio rides is published in the annual Ohio Bicycle Events Calendar. This is published in March as a bicycle enthusiast's resource. In addition, the Web version is updated throughout the year.

Share the Road license plates	310 license plates sold in 2012
Share the Road auto license plates are available in Ohio. You may get your plates in one of three ways—Here's How	(through Feb 25.) We need to sell 1000 plates each calendar year— Here's Why  A record 2,413 plates sold in 2011