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Vermont Walk Bike Summit, April 1-2
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| Sessions at the 2016 Walk Bike Summit in Rutland will give you the tools you need to engage your community. See you April! |
This biennial gathering of people who love to walk and bike, or who think that walking and biking are great for their communities, will be held April 1-2 in Rutland. Join us on Friday, April 1, if you want to go home with strategies for making your community more walkable and bikeable. And join us on Saturday, April 2 for mobile workshops exploring the arts, walking, and biking in and around Rutland. Sessions include the Everyday Bicycling program, how to engage your community, road and infrastructure design, and the economics of walking and biking. Join your fellow advocates, municipal officials, real estate agents, teachers, and engineers for two days of inspiration and practical advice.
FRIDAY MINI-WORKSHOP: Growing Our Voice for Walking and Biking
Bring your lunch and join a conversation about how to harness the power of our combined voices. Weigh-in on forming a statewide coalition to promote walking and biking, and what the agenda of such a coalition could be. Come and represent your professional and personal interests as we explore a game-changing opportunity for Vermont.
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Senate Takes Up Legislation for Safer Roads
House Judiciary and Transportation committees passed out important legislation last week, and this week the Senate is already on the case.
Local Motion has been in Montpelier frequently this session, talking with lawmakers about how to improve road safety, and we are excited about the proposed changes. We’ve been targeting the most common crash types – unsafe passing, getting hit from behind, and the right and left hook. The Transportation Bill, the big bill that keeps all of Vermont’s transportation infrastructure running, now includes two key provisions – defining a minimum safe passing distance of four feet for all vulnerable users (people on foot, on bikes and anyone else unprotected by roll bars and air bags), and making turning right or left into a vulnerable user a traffic violation.
This last part, the right or left turn, may make you scratch your head. Our laws currently say that if two vehicular lanes of traffic are proceeding in the same direction cars turning right or left have to merge safely into the correct lane, and yield to other traffic to make the turn. The legal requirement in Vermont for people on bikes to ride as far to the right as is practicable essentially creates two lanes proceeding in the same direction, often without the pavement markings or legal protections defined for vehicular lanes. Clearly stating the turning vehicle’s obligation to yield and turn safely addresses one area of conflict.
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Proposed changes to Vermont’s laws address turning vehicles and safe passing of cyclists and other vulnerable users.
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H.560, which passed out of House Judiciary last week, is aimed at reducing the instances of drunk driving which was a factor in many of the crashes that killed bicyclists, pedestrians and motorbike riders last year. By increasing the use of ignition interlock devices this law can help stop people from driving drunk, and help prevent crashes. When a crash does occur, H.560 increases the penalty when vulnerable users are seriously hurt or killed.
For many, biking season did not end this winter, and with the warm weather more people are taking to the road earlier than ever. Let’s speak up for safer roads, and for giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy the freedom of two wheels. It is time to ride!
WANT TO LEND YOUR VOICE? Share why you love to walk and bike whenever you speak to your elected representatives. And sign up for updates and calls to action.
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Benchmarking Report Highlights Burlington and Vermont
Since 2003 the Alliance for Walking and Biking, the national umbrella organization for over 200 walk/bike advocacy groups, has been tracking the progress of our movement with a biennial publication, the Benchmarking report.
The report covers all 50 states and the 50 most populous cities, AND includes a handful of small to midsized cities chosen because of the strength of the bicycling community. Thanks to lobbying efforts by Local Motion and our statewide partners, Burlington has made the cut since 2014.
Of note this year:
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Of 19 small to mid-sized cities, Burlington ranked 5th nationally for the percentage of commuters who bike to work (6.8). Better than biking meccas Denver and Minneapolis!
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For women, the roads are still not welcoming: In Vermont, women make up just 28% of all commuters who bike to work (23% in Burlington), and yet they make up 49% of the overall commuter population.
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Burlington Voters Support North Ave Pilot Project
On Town Meeting Day, Burlington voters overwhelmingly rejected an advisory question calling on the City to retain four lanes on North Avenue between
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Volunteers were set up at all of the Burlington wards to distribute information. photo credit: Mikey Wierzbicki
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the Route 127 interchange and Shore Road, paving the way for the pilot project to move forward. The pilot, which will test a new road design for North Ave to improve safety for people driving, walking and riding, is dependent upon the conversion of this section from its current four vehicle lanes with no bikes lanes to three vehicles lanes (one center lane for turning vehicles) and bike lanes in both directions.
Leaders of the neighborhood group opposed to the project took the question to the City as a whole with a ballot question on March 1. Many city parks and beaches are accessed from North Ave, and Burlington High School is located on the southern portion of the Avenue. The 58% to 42% vote sent a clear message that Burlington voters support moving ahead with the North Avenue pilot project.
Thousands of similar projects in many other cities and states around the country have demonstrated that 4 to 3 lane conversions are highly effective. Advocates and municipal leaders considering similar projects in Vermont are paying close attention to the successful conversion of streets like Colchester Ave and Williston Road in Chittenden County, and to how the North Ave pilot is implemented and evaluated.
Many thanks to everyone who spoke up and took part in keeping this project on track!
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Graffiti for Good: Eye-Catching Safety Messages for YOUR Town
Have you been trying to spread the word about safe streets to your community, but feeling like people aren’t seeing your messages? We’ve got your solution: Sidewalk Safety Messages.
Using a stencil and spray chalk (which washes off in 2-3 weeks), you can remind people to “stop texting and look up” or to “be bright at night’ (wear lights and reflective gear at night for visibility).
Stenciling events seem to always catch the eye of local news channels, and are a great way to help your community understand the rules of the road for people on foot and on bike. Thanks to support from VTrans we have created a library of FREE toolkits (or manuals) that anyone can use, full of proven strategies for making your community safer.
In the SafeStreets Toolkit Library, you can find the Sidewalk Safety Message Toolkit. It’ll give you step-by-step instructions on how to successfully implement this powerful educational tool (including making sure you have the right permissions to spray stuff on sidewalks!). And how to make sure your stencils look clean and sharp (for those who are not veteran graffiti artists!). WANT TO MAKE YOUR STREETS SAFER? Go to the Safe Streets Website or call Local Motion’s Safe Streets helpline at 802-851-ROAD (7623)
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Bicycle Rest Areas Coming to the Lake Champlain Scenic Byway: Volunteers Needed for Installation Day
Bust out your work clothes and gloves, eight gorgeous bike rest area kiosks and picnic tables are ready for installation – with your help! Volunteer for one or more days on April 8, 9, 15 and 16. No experience required!
With your help, people biking on the Lake Champlain Scenic Byway and the 14-mile historic Island Line Rail Trail this summer will be able to rest and picnic at any of the eight brand new bike rest areas located at local business and attractions along the way in Isle La Motte, Alburgh, South Hero, Colchester and Shelburne.
Local Motion has been working closely with our incredible local partners, VTrans, the Lake Champlain Basin Program and our contractor TimberHomes, to create these attractive picnic rest areas featuring covered picnic tables, informational kiosks, interpretive panels and bike racks. We’ve made it 75% of the way there, but we need your help to finish the project!
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Help a Kid Learn to Ride a Bike!
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Do you have any kid-size versions of these lying around? If so, send them our way, and help a kid learn to ride!
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Okay folks! We’re going to ask you for something odd: elbow and knee pads and gloves (like the ones you’d use for rollerblading or skateboarding). Why?
Because we need them for our “Learn to Ride” class! Luckily, the very excellent “Balance Bike” learning method that we use to teach children how to ride actually involves very few falls (it’s one of the reasons why we love it so much). In fact, with the Balance Bike Method, kids start out practicing balancing with a bike that has no pedals, and their feet are close to the ground so there is almost no danger of falling.
Over the years, we’ve seen quite a few children who have mastered balancing, and who would be able to graduate easily to pedaling solo, but are so worried about falling that the fear handicaps their ability to bike. And we can’t blame them. We all know that road rash is no fun. While most kids don’t fall during our class, the fear of falling can really hinder a child’s chances of successfully learning to ride.
So! If you have some kid-size knee, elbow and wrist pads (and we’ll take anything you have!), please send them our way. We teach kids ages 3+, so any kid size is appreciated! Also–If you happen to have a balance bike that you’re looking to get rid of, we’ll HAPPILY (and gratefully) take it off of your hands!
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Fun in the Sun this Summer! Now Hiring for Seasonal Jobs
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Staff and volunteers at one of the many Valet Bike Parking events during the summer months.
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Want to spend your summer putting smiles on faces, and getting people out on bikes?
If you’re passionate about biking and would like to share your enthusiasm with many others at our Burlington waterfront location, at events around town, and out on the Colchester Causeway, click here for the details.
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