Walk 'n' Roll In-Depth is an editorial collection delivered to you featuring articles, profiles and stories about the people and programs that power Local Motion! Tell us what you think by emailing us or talking to us on Facebook!
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Bike Ferry 5 Makes Its First Splash!
Last week we added another member to the Local Motion fleet. The "Bill and Carole Hauke II" made its official debut out at 'The Cut' in the Colchester Causeway! This beautiful new boat truly takes our Bike Ferry service to the next level.
Since the floods of 2011, we have been working tirelessly to restore one of Vermont's finest recreational amenities -- the Island Line Trail's Colchester Causeway -- and upgrade our bike ferry service. Why? Because riding the Island Line Trail has become such a popular activity for visitors and locals alike that far more people wanted to cross the gap in the Causeway than our original boats could handle.
"Even running two six-passenger ferries, we regularly had long lines," says Bike Ferry Captain and Island Line Coordinator, Brian Costello. "With the new 20-passenger ferry, we've taken the  service to a whole new level. We can take more than three times as many people and the new boat can handle much rougher weather...."
[Read the full story here]
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Open Streets BTV...Are You Excited Yet?
This year, Burlington is organizing its first-ever "Open Streets" event. Open Streets BTV is a celebration of one of the city's largest public spaces -- our streets! On September 21 from 9:00 to 2:00, three miles of streets in the Old North End will be closed to cars and opened to people. Here is a rundown of how it'll work.
Q: What is Open Streets BTV?
A: Open Streets BTV will give residents and visitors an opportunity to mingle, play, and shop, all while promoting healthy living and active transportation. People of all ages will have the chance to travel several miles of neighborhood streets in a safe, car-free environment, enjoying fun and healthy activities along the way.
This is just the beginning! Our goal is to hold events in different neighborhoods throughout the city on an annual basis.
Open Streets BTV is inspired by the South American "Ciclovia" (pronounced see-cloh-vee-ah), which originated in Bogota, Colombia in 1976. The Open Streets movement has really grown in recent years, with initiatives currently taking place in more than 100 U.S. cities....
[Read the full story here]
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Faces of Local Motion: Meet Kevin, our Trailside Center Manager!
Kevin Rose manages Local Motion's Trailside Center. He is also our in-house long-distance biking expert, GIS map maker, and storyteller extraordinaire! Come on in and visit Kevin along with his TC Ambassadors at the The Trailside Center down on the Burlington Bike path. The TC is open 7 days a week from 9:00 to 6:00 in July & August and from 10:00 to 6:00 in September & October.
LM: Tell us about the Trailside Center. How did it get started and what is your role?
KR: The Trailside Center came into being in 2003 as an option for bringing in revenue for Local Motion by renting bikes. It is one of the larger revenue streams for the nonprofit today and helps to support many of our programs.
In the TC's early days, it was much smaller than it is today. As a matter of fact, the room that is now the TC used to be Local Motion's only office! There was just a handful of bikes, sitting right next to the desks of our co-founders, Chapin and Brian.
I started there in 2008 when the TC Manager was just a seasonal role -- a new person every year. When I started coming back year after year, that freed up other people in the organization to do more advocacy work. Since then we've seen pretty dramatic growth in the TC....
[Read the full interview here]
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North Avenue Corridor: A Complete Street in the Making
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One of the proposed pilot elements - a bike lane buffered by painted lines, and protected by vertical flexposts.
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If you live in or around Burlington, chances are you have driven North Avenue. This important street is the backbone of the New North End as well as a key connection between the New North End and the Waterfront and Downtown. What is less likely is that you have biked North Avenue, or walked along it for any distance.
Over the last year or so, a group of citizens and municipal staff have been working hard on the "North Avenue Corridor Study," with a focus on making North Avenue good for biking and walking as well as for driving. The good news is that the Advisory Committee has issued a set of recommendations for changes that will dramatically improve North Avenue for everyone in the next couple of years. The picture above shows a street much like North Avenue that has been rethought to make it work for walking, biking, and driving. Read on to learn more about how this will happen!
The Advisory Committee's work builds on North Avenue's 2011 designation as a "Complete Street" in Burlington's Transportation Plan. A "Complete Street" is a major gateway street that has no parallel routes, and that therefore has to work for everyone: pedestrians, bicyclists, cars, transit, emergency services, and more. The North Avenue Corridor Study is of citywide significance, as many of Burlington's most important destinations -- Burlington High School, Leddy Park, North Beach, the Miller Center, and more -- are on or near North Avenue....
[Read the full story here] [CCTV show on North Ave.] [Minutes of Advisory Committee Vote]
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