Monday, May 19, 2014

Two more bike events coming up this Saturday, 5/24th in Montpelier

1- Family Bike Safety Clinic and Ride, this Saturday May 24th

• 10 – 11 am: Kids can ride the bike safety skills course set up in the high school parking lot.

• 11 – Noon: Group ride out the bike path west and the River Road to Three Mile Bridge, 

returning on the wide shoulder of Route 2. 

Best for kids at least 6 years and older. Sorry, no training wheels on group ride. Each rider should bring a 

helmet and bicycle in good working order. Some helmets will be available to borrow. All kids should be 

accompanied by an adult.

Heavy rain cancels event. For status of event if weather is in question, you may phone 522-4951 after 

8:30 that morning.

2 - Bike to Brunch, a guided ride for adults & families to the Maple Valley restaurant & Bakery. Departs 

Montpelier High school at 10 am.

About Montpelier’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committees

Montpelier's Bicycle and Pedestrian Committees are volunteer-citizen bodies tasked by the City Council 

to raise the status of walking and biking in Montpelier by advocating for cyclist and pedestrian issues, 

engaging the community, and advising the City Council on relevant issues. 

For more information, call 262-6273

Friday, May 16, 2014

May is Bike Month - Upcoming events from the Montpelier Bicycle Advisory Committee



On Saturday, May 17th, Join Mayor Hollar and members of the bike advisory committee for a mellow-paced ride to the Post Office Cafe in Worcester, said to be “One of Vermont’s hidden little secrets”.
Ride departs from Montpelier High School at 10 AM. All participants must provide their own bicycle and helmet in good working order.  Hard rain cancels.
Other Bike to Brunch Events:                               
May 24th -Bike to Brunch, group ride to Maple Valley in Plainfield
May 31st –Bike to Brunch, ride to On the Rise CafĂ© in Richmond
Also on Saturday May 24: Family Bike Safety Clinic and Ride, at MHS.
10 – 11 am:  Kids can ride the bike safety skills course set up in the high school parking lot.
11 – Noon:  Group ride out the bike path west and the River Road to Three Mile Bridge, returning on the wide shoulder of Route 2.
Best for kids at least 6 years and older. Sorry, no training wheels on group ride. Each rider should bring a helmet and bicycle in good working order.  Some helmets will be available to borrow. All kids should be accompanied by an adult.
All rides departs from Montpelier High School at 10 AM. All participants must provide their own bicycle and helmet in good working order. 
About Montpelier’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committees
Montpelier's Bicycle and Pedestrian Committees are volunteer-citizen bodies tasked by the City Council to raise the status of walking and biking in Montpelier by advocating for cyclist and pedestrian issues, engaging the community, and advising the City Council on relevant issues.
For more information, call 262-6273

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

May 21: Join Lt. Gov. Phil Scott at Ride of Silence

From VBPC

On Wednesday, May 21st all are encouraged to come to the statehouse steps in Montpelier at 5.30pm and join Lt. Gov. Phil Scott in the 2014 Ride of Silence.  The annual Ride of Silence is a worldwide event that's held to remember bicyclists who have been injured or killed in crashes with motor vehicles.  It's organized in Vermont every year by the VT Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition.  The goal of the ride is to draw attention to the need for safer roads for all, including the most vulnerable roadway users.

Bicyclists who gather in Montpelier will sign in and then receive black and red arm bands.   Each arm band is labeled with the name of a bicyclist who was injured or killed.  Our group will bike single file, in silence and at a respectful pace, along Route 2 to the Middlesex General Store.  There, we will form a circle for the reading of the names of those injured or killed.  After a period of silence, we will return in the same fashion to Montpelier.  The ride is 12 miles round trip.  Participants are required to wear helmets and to have bicycles that are in good mechanical condition.  Heavy rain cancels; rain date is Thursday, May 22.

If you wish to have the name of someone read aloud, please reply to this message with the individual's full name and whether the individual was injured or killed. 

Please note that there will be a Ride of Silence in Northfield on May 21.  Participants will gather at Bicycle Express on Depot Square at 5:30.  The rain date is Friday, May 23.  For more info about the Northfield ride, please contact Tim Swartz via swartztim15@gmail.com

With longer, warmer days, more and more bicyclists and pedestrians are enjoying Vermont's roads.  Whether we are bicycling, walking, running, riding a horse, or driving, let's remember to behave legally and respectfully toward one another.  Thank you.

Public Informational Meeting - Barre Bike Path Wednesday May 21, 5:00 p.m

Public Informational Meeting - Barre Bike Path 

 Sponsored By: 

Barre City & Town Bicycle Path Committees 

 Wednesday May 21, 5:00 p.m.—Barre Granite Museum 

 Do you like to bicycle or walk to your destinations but found there was a lack of a safe, fun and 

convenient route? Come join both the Barre City and Town Bicycle Path Committees as they report 

on developing local Barre businessman, Charlie Semprebon’s dream of creating a regional path that 

would connect both communities, report on the Central Vermont Pathway, and report on bike path 

segments in Barre City and Barre Town. 

We welcome interested community members to attend this informational meeting at the Granite 

Museum. The City would create a path with destination points along the way, offering 

introductions to the arts, stone craft, Granite Museum, access to the river and other recreational 

opportunities. 

Two segments of the City bike path have planned construction dates in the spring of 2015 with the 

rest of the path segments nearing design completion. Two outstanding features of the paths which 

will be highlighted at the meeting are the planned interpretive signage and a sculpture garden 

incorporating the bike path in its design located at the Granite Museum. 

Come join representatives from the Barre City and Barre Town Bike Path Committees as we share 

in our progress! The City is close to having its first “shovel in the ground” and is eager to share its 

progress with you! Pizza, dessert and beverage will be served compliments of DuBois & King, Inc. 

Pat McDonald, Barre City Bike Path Chair Jeff Tucker, Barre Town Chair 

(802) 371-7080 (802) 479-9331 Ext. 1261 

patmcdonald444@gmail.com through crogers@barretown.org

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Does Burlington, VT reflect a joint tipping point for roundabouts and cycle track?


Two public meetings in Burlington, VT within the last two weeks give strong evidence both modern roundabouts and cycle track (protected bike lanes) may  have reached a tipping point and now comprise major elements in making urban streets both truly walkable and bikable for all users with the highest level of safety and comfort.
Both roundabouts and cycle track possess a European heritage—the modern roundabout born in England in 1966 and cycle track a staple in urban bicycling “infra” for decades now.  Applying the Netherlands 18,000 miles of cycle track to the United States equates to about 1,100 miles of cycle track per million U.S. population--45 miles in Burlington with its population of 42,000.
The Burlington meetings were the advisory Burlington Walk Bike Council project prioritization for the upcoming year and the North Avenue Corridor Study Advisory Committee completing its set of options for the last public involvement session schedule later in the month.   Each meeting forwarded roundabouts and cycle track for consideration—the Walk Bike Council as priorities for the upcoming year and the Advisory Committee as options for consideration of the neighborhood meeting prior to completing the recommendations and plan in June for the three mile corridor.  Both actions represent unprecedented public involvement outcomes in the City in terms of size and scope.
Roundabouts and cycle track play a pivotal role in creating safe, walkable, bikable streets.  And, the roundabout also increases traffic capacity as well for cars in addition to car occupant safety and reduced fuel use as well as associated pollutants.
The basic North Avenue plan options include cycle track along the entire three-mile corridor with roundabouts at key intersections.  While bicycle travel is mostly restricted to young adult males now, cycle track—as pointed out in the Illinois State Bike Transportation Plan released in April—creates a safe and comfortable environment for users of all ages and skills.  Roundabouts not only provide for the highest level of safety for all—including for those who walk and bicycle—the roundabout also traffic calms with reduced speeds central to accident and injury reduction, particularly for those who walk and bike.  The Dutch lead in bicycle facility design and cycle track along street segments and “pathed” roundabouts at busy intersections is the accepted treatment for corridor accommodation of the bike mode.  
Burlington certainly is not alone in the change taking place, but the sudden embracing of transportation policy groups of both roundabouts and cycle track does symbolize their use has reached a tipping point.  And this tipping point represents a pre-condition to the shift of transportation resources to walk and bike “infra.”
-- 
Tony Redington
Blog:  TonyRVT.blogspot.com  


Addition:
The blog just posted, below, reflects my view of the two really stunning meetings over the past week.  Note the North Avenue Task Force (group of citizens) has contacted the Department of Public Works about a demonstration roundabout/cycle track at a North Avenue intersection using cones for part of a quiet day so we can all visualize a roundabout on the corridor and give emergency personnel, police, the neighborhood, etc. a chance to participate first hand--the Advisory Council unanimously endorsed the demo last night.  The Walk Bike Council action included a priority for a demonstration roundabout (probably on an all-way stop intersection), a demonstration cycle track, and re-design of the Champlain Parkway which lacks quality walk/bike facilities on this decades old $39 million project which involves only a 2% City match.  

                 Tony