Sunday, September 18, 2016

Take the survey for Local Motion!

From Local Motion
Image result for local motion vt
Local Motion is in the middle of a total rewrite of our five-year strategic plan.  As part of that rewrite, we're asking our members and supporters to share your priorities for better walking and biking with us. 

Click here to take Local Motion's strategic plan survey right now!


As an incentive to take the survey, we're raffling off a $250 gift certificate to a local outdoor or bike shop.  Here's how it works:
  1. Everyone who completes Part One (which takes just two or three minutes) will get one entry in the raffle
  2. Everyone who goes on to complete Part Two (which takes about 10 to 15 minutes) gets three more entries in the raffle  
So if you do both parts of the survey, you get four chances to win $250 to spend at your favorite local outdoor or bike shop!  Click here to start the survey.
  When you complete Part One, you'll automatically be taken to Part Two.  Be sure to click "submit" at the end of each part to be entered in the raffle!

Thursday, September 8, 2016

GOAL: More Stripes on Streets in BTV

From Local Motion
"More Stripes on Streets" is Local Motion's all-out push to get real bike lanes in places where people actually bike.  North Avenue is awesome, but it's just the start.  We're ready for the City to deliver on its promise of a city-wide bike network!
MSOS_square_logo_thumb.jpgTHE OPPORTUNITY:  There are a number of streets in Burlington that can have bike lanes added to them at low cost, with little engineering or design, and with negligible impact on car traffic or on-street parking.  Those streets can and should be restriped to add bike lanes without delay.  
CURRENT STATUS:  Local Motion is working with Mayor Weinberger and Burlington DPW to identify and move rapidly on major improvements for biking on Burlington's streets. Here are a few of the more promising candidates!  Click the name of each proposed improvement to download a simple map that lays out each proposal in more detail.
The Downtown (Almost) Connector, which consists of:
  • Adding bike lanes in both directions on South Winooski between Maple and Main
  • Extending the southbound bike lane on North Winooski all the way to Pearl
  • Swapping the bike lane with the parking on Willard from North to Maple (such that the bike lane for this segment runs southbound)
The Southern Bike Connector, which consists of:
  • Adding bike lanes and super-sharrows to portions of Pine Street north of Kilburn
  • Upgrading to super-sharrows on Pine northbound between Locust and Kilburn
  • Adding bike lanes and upgrading to super-sharrows at intersections on Pine between Locust and Flynn
  • Adding bike lanes on Pine between Flynn and Home
  • Adding sharrows on Pine south of Home
In addition, Local Motion has proposed that Burlington DPW paint bike lanes solid green whenever they cross an intersection or a side street. This treatment greatly increases visibility for people biking, and was recently adopted by the Vermont Agency of Transportation as Highway Safety & Design Engineering Instruction 16-100.  
THE NEXT STEP:  Document citywide support for "More Stripes on Streets" as outlined above by clicking the red button.  In addition, supporters can write letters to the mayor, to the DPW Commission, and more.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

A lesson to be learned for Vermont Cities? Oslo Gradually Removing Parking From Central City as It Phases Out Cars

From StreetsblogUSA
Photo: Wikipedia
Photo: Wikipedia
Another European city is setting its sights on ridding the urban core of cars.
The City Council in Oslo, Norway, has approved a plan to remove cars from the central city by 2019. As part of that plan, parking spaces will be replaced by bike infrastructure.
Liv Jorun Andenes, who works on bike projects with Oslo’s agency for the environment, told Streetsblog via email that the city is planning to remove 1,300 spots over the next three years. In their place, eight bicycle routes will be added. In addition, 500 spaces will be eliminated to make room for pedestrians and transit. 
This City of Oslo map shows the locations of the proposed cycleways.
Proposed Oslo cycleways
The parking phase-out began this spring. “It’s going well,” Jorun Andenes says, “but of course we are receiving a few complaints from residents who are losing their free parking spot.”
The city expects to hear more complaints when 100 parking spaces are removed from a wealthy part of town later this year. That accounts for about 2 percent of Oslo’s parking supply, according to local news sources.
Ridding the central city of cars is part of a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent, according to the Guardian. The city hopes to reduce auto traffic by 20 percent by 2019 and 30 percent by 2030.
Madrid and a number of other places in Europe are considering similar plans aimed at returning central cities to people.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

A Great Day for Walking & Biking in the Capital City


What an amazing weekend in Montpelier enjoying the company of our friends at EnVision MontpelierNet Zero MontpelierNational Life Group,VBikeOnion River Sports, and many many more!
So much energy and enthusiasm around how walking and biking can create a more climate friendly capital city!

Saturday July 16 was a day to be remembered in Montpelier. Local Motion and friends gathered in front of the Golden Dome for fun and games, education and outreach on innovative ways to reduce our carbon footprint, and of course...ICE CREAM! Then, that same afternoon, our amazing volunteers provided free valet bike parking for over 70 attendees of the Do Good Fest.
Many thanks to our friends at Net Zero Montpelier, EnVision Montpelier, National Life, Montpelier Alive, Go Vermont, VBikes, Zoom Bikes, Onion River Sports, SlopeStyle, Drive Electric Vermont, Green Mountain Transit, Hunger Mountain Co-op, and Ben & Jerry's. A big thank you is also in order for the many volunteers who made it all possible. It might sound cliche, but it's so very true: it takes a village!
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Thursday, July 7, 2016

Drive Less, Have More Fun + Do Good Fest

From Local Motion
There is SO much going on in Central Vermont this summer that we HAD to share with you! We are excited to announce that Local Motion's new statewide advocacy role has landed right here in the heart of the Green Mountains and is kicking off with a bang!
On Saturday, July 16 from 10am-2pm we will be participating in the Drive Less, Have More Fun event at the Statehouse in Montpelier . There will be fun and games, including the opportunity to test electric-assist bikes and even make your own smoothie by pedaling your heart out on a stationary bike. Come out and meet amazing advocates for making getting around in Vermont a cleaner, greener reality.
From 2-3pm we will be hosting a riding tour of Montpelier and the Barre-Montpelier Road pilot project on Route 302, which will only be a success if we get out and use it! Then, at 3pm, we will be meeting back at the Statehouse to walk and bike up to the Do Good Fest hosted by National Life. Admission to this amazing event - with fun activities for kids, all of your favorite local food vendors, and music by Big Head Todd & The Monsters- is free! But if you make a suggested donation of $5 you'll be contributing to the Branches of Hope Cancer Patient Fund, PLUS you'll get a nifty Local Motion water bottle. Nothing screams "summer" more than biking and outdoor concerts! 
Visit our website for more information about the Barre-Montpelier Road pilot, then get out and ride it!
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WHEN
July 16, 2016 at 10am - 2pm
WHERE
Montpelier Statehouse
115 State St
Montpelier, VT 05602
United States
Google map and directions

US302 Road Diet Update and Survey

From Local Motion

Local Motion is tracking the VTrans resurfacing and lane reconfiguration project on the Barre-Montpelier Road scheduled for 2016. The project runs from around the Wayside restaurant to the Barre City line just south of Highland Avenue in Berlin. We are thrilled that the project will add bike lanes and improve safety for all road users: bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers, by lowering crash rates, reducing speeding, and providing designated space for bikes. As with any pilot project, it is vitally important that cyclists get out and use it, then provide feedback to VTrans, which has set up a survey.

FILL OUT THE SURVEY
Forty-nine percent of all crashes on this corridor being rear-end, sideswipe and left turn conflicts. These types of crashes are reduced dramatically when two through lanes in one direction are replaced with a single through lane and a continuous left turn lane (also called a 'Road Diet' because the road gets smaller).  Both the town of Berlin and VTrans and advocates desire better conditions for bicyclists in this corridor and the project will address this by using the space available from removing a through vehicle lane to include on-road bicycle lanes, much of which will also be striped with buffers. This will effectively make the bike lanes even safer by further separating them from motor vehicle traffic.
Screen_Shot_2015-12-01_at_1.58.54_PM(1).pngFigure 1. Reduction in potential conflict points by removing a travel lane and adding a center turn lane
Source: FHWA

Here is a video that VTrans put together talking about the project.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Summer Meeting and Technical Tour of the Barre-Montpelier Road Road Diet Pilot


Institute of Transportation Engineers - Joint Summer Meeting Announcement

VT ITE and VT apbp will be holding a joint Summer Meeting and Technical Tour of the

Barre-Montpelier Road Road Diet Pilot starting at the VTrans Training Facility in

Berlin and including a walking or bicycling tour of the corridor. Anyone involved with

transportation engineering, planning, or other pedestrian and bicycle professions are

encouraged to attend.

Date: Thursday, June 16, 2016

Time: 3:00 – 5:00 PM with a networking session to follow

Location: VTrans Training Center, 1716 US Route 302, Berlin, VT

Cost: Free

Please RSVP by June 9th

to Jennifer Conley at conleyj@pbworld.com

Schedule:

3:00 – 3:20 Welcome and Introductions

3:20 – 4:00 Jon Kaplan, David Saladino, and Lucy Gibson

Technical Presentation on Road Diets in Vermont, the Barre-Montpelier Road

project road diet history, design details, and evaluation process.

4:00 – 4:40 Site Visit to the Project which is within walking distance

Attendees are also encouraged to bring bicycles if possible to experience the

corridor’s buffered bike lanes first hand.

4:40 - 5:00 Reconvene at VTrans Training Center to de-brief/discuss

5:00 - ? Adjourn to Barre City downtown for Social Hour – Cornerstone Pub

Bike & Walk to the Mountaineers Game Day

From Local Motion / MBAC

Kick off Father’s Day weekend and the first Friday home game with this event: Bike and Walk to the Mountaineers Game on Friday, June 17th.  The Montpelier Bicycle Advisory Committee is encouraging people of all ages to join in this fun group ride and walk that will depart from Onion River Sports at 6pm.  It is simple to participate - purchase a Mountaineers game ticket for Friday June 17th, meet at Onion River Sports in downtown Montpelier at 6pm and bike or walk to the Mountaineers field. The Bicycle Advisory Committee and the Pedestrian Advisory Committee are providing volunteers to safely lead the walk and ride groups to the game. There will be a popup bicycle rack at the Mountaineers game for safe bike parking.
Please bring lights for safety and visibility! Extra lights will be provided, but the more lights the better!
The Montpelier Bicycle Advisory Committee is a group of dedicated community members who work to improve the state of cycling in Montpelier.  We hope you can join the bike ride and walk to the Mountaineers game on June 17th.
WHEN
June 17, 2016 at 6pm - 9pm
WHERE
From Onion River Sports to the Mountaineers Game
20 Langdon St
Montpelier, VT 05602
United States
Google map and directions
CONTACT
Laura Biren · lbiren@montpelier-vt.org · 802-262-6273

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Protecting Bike Lanes can cut the Cost of Brand-new Roads

From People For Bikes

Michael Andersen, Green Lane Project staff writer

Image: MacKay Sposito.
As protected bike lanes arrive in American suburbs, some city builders are making an unexpected discovery.
Not only are protected bike lanes by far the best way to make biking a pleasant transportation option for shorter trips — sometimes they can also significantly cut the cost of constructing new roads from scratch.
In the central cities where protected bike lanes first arrived, brand-new roads are rarely built. But now that many suburbs are upping their own game on bike infrastructure, a protected bike lane is being planned into streets from the get-go.
"It's definitely something that we're seeing more of," said Zack Martin, engineering manager at the Washington State development consulting firm MacKay Sposito. "It's coming up on I'd say most of the new arterial roads we're looking at."
In a blog post last month, Martin explained the unexpected reason protected bike lanes can save construction costs: rainwater.
Curb-protected bike lanes, his firm realized, can reduce the huge cost of managing rainwater that falls on pavement and then flows into streams and rivers. That runoff is a major source of water pollution, which is why the federal Clean Water Act requires local governments to minimize it. But in rainy parts of the country, preventing excess runoff from pavement that cars are driving on has also become a major cost factor in road construction.
From Martin's post:
The primary benefit of a protected bike lane from a stormwater perspective is that runoff from the bike lane does not mix with runoff from the vehicle lane. This can be extremely beneficial in jurisdictions that consider the bike/pedestrian area a non-pollution generating surface (although some jurisdictions will still require it to be treated like water from the roadway). Plus this option also leads to the smallest increase in impervious surface.
The protected bike lane configuration can easily support curb cuts for rain gardens in either a continuous inflow or point load entry. This eliminates the need for inlets, manholes, and conveyance pipe. Protected bike lanes also can be built similar to a sidewalk and allow you to reduce the roadway width, both of which lower costs.
This means that protected bike lanes compare favorably to buffered or raised but otherwise unprotected bike lanes, which offer no way to distinguish between runoff from biking-walking and automotive surfaces.
Martin said in an interview Monday that the firm researched the subject in connection with a project in Vancouver, Wash., a suburb of Portland, Ore. He emphasized that such savings don't apply in every jurisdiction — it depends on local circumstances and on how state and federal laws are interpreted at each level.
But their discovery is similar to the one Portland made on Cully Boulevard. When it rebuilt that street in 2011, the protected bike lane along each side reduced costs, because it didn't require as much excavation as a wider road bed would have. Unlike with a conventional bike lane, there was no need to layer the pavement deep enough to carry a truck.
Quality bike infrastructure almost always saves tax dollars by improving health, reducing road wear and boosting road capacity. But sometimes the return on investment arrives sooner than others.
The Green Lane Project helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets. You can follow us on LinkedInTwitter or Facebook or sign up for our weekly news digest about protected bike lanes. Story tip? Write michael@peopleforbikes.org.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

National Bike Challenge coming up!

PeopleForBikes is making bicycling better for everyone by uniting millions of riders, thousands of businesses and hundreds of communities. We want to bring people together to create a powerful, united voice for bicycling and its benefits. When you sign up for the National Bike Challenge, you are helping us do just that.

In its simplest form, the Challenge is an easy logging center for you to record the miles you ride while competing with other riders all over the country. But the National Bike Challenge is so much more than that. It is a community of people who all share a love of riding bikes. With competition possibilities on the local, state and national level, it is a free and easy way to challenge yourself, colleagues and the greater community to ride more. The Challenge aims to unite 100,000 riders to pedal 75 million miles from May 1, 2016 until September 30, 2016. Now in its fifth year, the Challenge is a successful partnership between PeopleForBikes and Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle Products brand.

It doesn’t matter if you’re riding hundreds of miles a week or just getting back in the saddle, you are welcome in the National Bike Challenge. Now get rolling!

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Road Diet for US302 coming in 2016!

From WCAX
BARRE, Vt. -
A plan to put the Barre-Montpelier Road on a "diet" is expected to move forward this spring.
The plan illustrated in a VTrans video was originally scheduled for last year. It would see the road go from four travel lanes to two. The extra space would be turned into bike lanes.
VTrans has pushed this configuration in other places, saying it reduces car accidents while accommodating bikers.
Jon Kaplan of VTrans explains in the video that the road can handle the traffic with fewer lanes: "All of the intersections and flow of traffic still functions fine with one less lane. This road was probably just overbuilt based on a traffic projection that never really came to pass, so that's why we have that extra capacity out here now."
A similar project is under consideration for a section of North Avenue in Burlington. Some residents in that neighborhood strongly oppose it.
From YouTube:

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Save the Date

From Safe Routes to School
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Burlington's Proposed Bike Network: A Step in the Right Direction, but Not There Yet

From Local Motion
PlanBTV Walk Bike is Burlington's first-ever attempt to (among other things) plan for a complete, fully integrated bike network that brings biking within reach for everyone.  The draft bike network map is a big step in the right direction, but it still falls substantially short of what is needed to make biking a safe option everywhere in the city.  
The consultant team that is developing Burlington's walk-bike master plan needs your comments on this draft bike network map!  Please submit comments by October 22.  Here are the details: