BARNSTABLE – The Cape Cod Joint Transportation Committee honored longtime Bicycle Representative Dr. Edward Gross last month for 13 years of service.
An integral part of the CCJTC, Dr. Gross worked to secure accommodations for bicyclists and pedestrians in regional transportation projects, ensuring all modes of transportation had safe access to Cape Cod roadways.
After moving to Cape Cod full time, Dr. Gross helped to form the local chapter of MassBike and joined the Falmouth Bikeways Committee.
He was appointed Bicycle Representative to the Cape Cod Joint Transportation Committee in 2006.
Gross said that he saw the CCJTC as an important link to major regional transportation projects and he would often ride his bike to CCJTC meetings.
His work as bicycle representative to the CCJTC offered an opportunity to help others understand the right of cyclists to use the roadway systems.
In reviewing projects, Gross sought to ensure that cyclists and pedestrians were fairly represented and that projects were inclusive.
The simple presence of a bicycle advocate on the committee raised awareness of bicyclists as legitimate users of the roadway.
“I’ve learned a great deal,” said Dr. Gross during a recent JTC meeting.
“And, I think, [I’ve] changed a few things but in a very special way. My goal was to be an ambassador for the cycling community.”
Gross was instrumental in the expansion of the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth, helped to organize a Cape-wide meeting of the cycling community, has worked with Falmouth officials to help standardize reporting in bicycle crashes, and has had a voice in planning hundreds of transportation projects on Cape Cod.
The Cape Cod Commission is now seeking a new bicycle representative to the Cape Cod Joint Transportation Committee.
The CCJTC serves as an advisory committee to the Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization, a regional body established by federal law to oversee regional transportation planning and recommend the destruction of transportation funds locally.
The Bicycle Representative position is open to a year round Barnstable Country resident who has a regional interest to improve the multi-modal transportation network on Cape Cod.
Interested persons are encouraged to email Martha Hevenor, Cape Cod Commission Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator at [email protected] by Friday, November 15th with contact information and a brief summary of why you would make a good candidate for the position.
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