|
This issue is sponsored by...
|  | |
Thanks to VBT for sponsoring the return season of the Bike Ferry!
|
|
EVENTS
THIS WEDNESDAY:
First Travel Talk!
Netherlands by Bike
A Bicycle in our Baggage: Adventures in Travel Through the Netherlands and Belgium by Bike
When: 11/13, 7:30 pm
Where: Arts Riot (Pine St.)
| |
Stu Lindsay will share trips and tips for cycle travel on the cheap, and examples of why the Low Country is a cyclist's paradise. Read more here.
|
|
Winter Riding Clinics
Old Spokes Home will be hosting winter clinics for those who would like tips for how to bike in winter weather.
When: Nov. 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th, from 9am to 10am
Where: Old Spokes Home
322 N. Winooski Ave. in Burlington
|
Run Your Can Off!
Join in a Fun Run in Winooski and donate canned goods in place of a race-registration fee! Run as long as you want around the 1.25 mile smooth forest loop.
When: November 16th , 9:00am (get there at 8!)
Where: The Gilbrook Natural Area in Winooski
More details, donation specifics, and how to register found here.
|
|
NEWS
|
Can Your School
"Be A Beacon"?
Be a beacon of safe walking and biking to school...
Schools across the nation are invited to enter this contest for a chance to win a crosswalk beacon system for their favorite school crossing! The deadline is December 6th, check out details on how to enter here!
|
|
Crazy Deal on Bike Lights @ Skirack!
Are you riding your bike at night with no lights? Worried about getting hit (or about getting a ticket)? Local Motion and Skirack can help! | |
For a limited time, you can buy a high-quality bike light set (front and back lights) PLUS a Local Motion introductory membership at Skirack for just $15. That's $5 less than the retail price of the lights alone! You won't find a better deal anywhere.
|
Head on down to Skirack (located at Main and Pine) and get yourself set up for fall riding.
|
| Or send your ideas and news to info@localmotion.org | |
|
|
|
|
Williston Invests in Walking & Biking
There is a whole lot of great work going on across our region to make walking and biking the easy choice for all Vermonters. Burlington is rebuilding the lakeshore bike path. South Burlington is adding miles of bike lanes every year. Shelburne is building new trails to connect neighborhoods to the village. And Williston is extending and closing gaps in an already-extensive network of sidewalks and paths.
With support and encouragement from nearly two dozen walking and biking advocates who turned out for a public meeting in October, the Williston Selectboard has endorsed or is actively considering an impressive slate of walk-bike projects, including:
- Wide shoulders and/or a path along the length of Mountain View Road
- Projects to close gaps in the sidewalk and path network in Tafts Corners
- A shared-use path along Route 2 from Tafts Corners to Williston Village
These projects are part of a remarkably balanced and forward-looking set of transportation improvements that are being funded in lieu of the Circ, a long-planned but now cancelled beltline highway around the Burlington metro area. Hats off to the Town of Williston, the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commision, and VTrans for investing in a transportation system that gives people more options for how they get around!
If this is the kind of future you want, send a note of appreciation to Ken Belliveau, the Williston Town Planner, at kbelliveau@willistontown.com.
|
|
Silver Status for the Queen City
It's official: Burlington is a great place for getting around by foot! The City of Burlington was recently awarded Silver-level status by the Walk Friendly Communities program. This award recognizes Burlington's nearly 100% sidewalk coverage, its investment in better crosswalk signals, and its work to slow down traffic. Kudos to Burlington Public Works for making infrastructure for walking a top priority.
|
|
Bike Smart is now Double the Fun!
Every year, Local Motion brings the Kohl's Kids Bike Smart trailer to schools around Vermont, helping PE teachers and afterschool staff teach kids to be safe and enthusiastic bike riders. Thanks to a grant from IBM, we are on track to double the program's capacity, with a second trailer full of bikes and equipment starting next spring! This means that, starting in 2014, five thousand Vermont elementary and middle school students will become better bike riders thanks to Kohl's Kids Bike Smart. Now that's some real impact! 
Here are the folks at IBM building 35 new bikes for us. They not only funded the bikes and a part of the cost of the trailer, but they even put the bikes together for us. Thanks to Fletcher Allen Health Care and North Star Sports for partnering with IBM to fund this expansion!
|
|
Big Machines for the Big Fix
Construction on the causeway again, you ask? Yes, the Causeway is in great shape... a beautifully repaired trail. This round of construction is for improvements to support permanent ferry service. Finally, the Big Fix!
Crews are building out the ends of the causeway for emergency turn-arounds and creating concrete ramps. Next spring, they'll install new larger docks and floating breakwaters so passengers can board the Ferry even in heavy winds.
All these improvements are paid for by grants from VTrans and Local Motion's 2012 Big Fix fundraising campaign. A huge thank you to all our funders and donors who made this amazing project posible!
WEEKDAY CAUSEWAY CLOSURES: The Causeway on both the South Hero and Colchester sides will be closed to the public Monday through Friday throughout November. Flaggers will be directing traffic at times. The trail will be open every weekend. Construction barriers and signage will be in place for safety.
|
|
Need Bike Racks? How Does $60 Sound?
Does your school, business, community center, or other important destination need bike racks? Local Motion can help! Thanks to funding from the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, we are offering seriously discounted racks plus help with figuring out how to site and install them correctly.
One example: Colchester High School purchased five inverted-U racks from Local Motion and installed them outside the front entrance. They are replacing an outdated and poorly sited "wheel bender" rack, and will work much better for encouraging students to bike to school.
|
|
Is This Much Fun Even Legal? You Bet!
The Halloween Bike Ride has officially become a tradition. More than 300 people suited up and saddle up for the fifth year of Burlington's annual Halloween ride. Everyone from little kids to their grandmas enjoyed the ride and had fun showing off their costumes.
 | | Chapin Spencer (Public Works Director), Ruby Simon (Library Director), Jesse Bridges (Parks Director) and Miro Weinberger (Mayor) showing off their costumes for the Halloween Ride |
|
|
The Winners are In! Way to Go!
 The Way to Go Challenge now happens in fall as well as spring! More than 4,600 people tried new ways of getting to work from October 14-18, traveling 384,030 miles and saving 266,100 lbs of carbon!
|
|
Happy Trails!
From the LM Crew: Brian, Charlene, Dan, Don, Jason, Katelin, Kevin, Leslye, Lou, Marion, Martel, Mary Catherine, Phil, Stu and Thomas, plus Lauren in the Trailside Center and Bob and Ed out at the ferry.
|
|
|
Next stop: Gold-level recognition! Local Motion is working with the City and others to map out a plan for getting to gold for both walking and bikin
