A Helmet Is Not Enough: Cycling Safety On Vt. Roads

From VPR

Live call-in discussion: When you're driving, how closely do you pay attention to the shoulders of the road? Cyclists and pedestrians are generally aware of how vulnerable they are in traffic, but distracted drivers can forget to be on the lookout.

Vermont Edition looks at how drivers, cyclists and pedestrians can all do a better job of sharing the road safely. Our guests are Jon Kaplan of VTrans Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, and Jason Van Driesche, interim executive director of Local Motion.

Tell us your safety tips - post below or write to vermontedition@vpr.net.

Broadcast live on Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at noon; rebroadcast a t 7 p.m.

TAGS: 

Burlington City Council Transportation Committee Meeting

From Local Motion
March 8th 2017, 2pm
The Transportation, Energy & Utilities Committee of City Council (TEUC) and Nicole Losch of Burlington DPW will present revisions to PlanBTV Walk-Bike and ask the TEUC to endorse the plan and recommend sending it on for consideration by the full City Council.

Join us at the meeting to tell city councilors you support on-the-ground changes in 2017 as part of Plan BTV Walk-Bike!

Info Here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1463787336972947/

Roadway Characteristics Survey

VTrans would like to know what roadway characteristics provide YOU a level of comfort while bicycling on Vermont’s State roadways? Wide shoulders? Low traffic volumes? Do the characteristics that provide comfort change in a rural context versus village centers?

Take the on-line VTrans On-Road Bicycle Plan Phase II ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS SURVEY to let us know! 

As part of the planning process, the survey will inform the final evaluation criteria used to assess the comfort level of high-use/priority bicycle corridors. The survey closes March 10, 2017.

For more information visit the project webpage at http://vtrans.vermont.gov/planning/bikeplan.

Subscribe to vermontbike@gmail.com for project updates.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTCIPATION.

 If you have questions or comments related to this project, please contact VTrans Planning Coordinator:

Sommer Bucossi at 802-828-3884  or email vermontbike@gmail.com

Katelin at Local Motion
http://www.localmotion.org/

Bike Registration Bill (H.46) goes before Vermont Legislature

From Local Motion

POSTED ON FEBRUARY 17, 2017

A few weeks back, Rep. Cindy Weed introduced a bill in the Vermont legislature (H.46) that would require anyone over 16 to register their bike.  (You can read the full text of the billhere.) We've received a number of emails and calls from members about this legislation, so here's a quick post to let you know that Local Motion is on it!  Read on to learn more about our position and what we are doing.

Our position in a nutshell:  we oppose bike registration.  Why?  It doesn't do any good, it discourages biking, it creates unnecessary headaches for law enforcement, and it costs more to administer than it generates in revenue.  Here's an article that lays out the argument against in more detail. 

When we checked in with Sen. Dick Mazza, the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, he said in no uncertain terms that he would not support a bike registration bill.  Given that it would have to go through him to reach a vote, that means the bill will not go anywhere this session.  (Though we'll keep an eye on it anyhow!)  

As Vermont's statewide bike and walk advocacy organization, Local Motion keeps close tabs on the State House.  Legislators increasingly look to us for guidance on legislative issues affecting biking and walking.  

Please email us with any concerns or issues you see at legislation@localmotion.org.  We always appreciate hearing from our supporters about legislative issues that matter to you.  

 

Sitewide Featured

Bikes on the Amtrak?

From the League of American Bicyclists

Have questions about Amtrak's bike service? This is your chance to ask it!

Amtrak will hold an open house at the National Bike Summit, where Summit registrants can check out train cars with different types of bike accommodations (bring your bike!) and ask questions of Amtrak staff about bike access, specific routes and stations, and how to bring your bike on an Amtrak train.


If you will be at the Summit you can register here to attend the open House (and get a Amtrak Loves Bikes T-shirt) - https://nationalbikesummit2017.sched.com/

If you aren't coming to the Summit you can submit your questions for Amtrak here- https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5TP3ZWT

Amtrak will give written answers to all questions and the League of American Bicyclists will publish answers on our blog. (for those asking questions, we can also send answers directly to your email if you provide it in the survey)

So ask your questions!!  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5TP3ZWT  

Take the survey for Local Motion!

From Local Motion

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!

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!

SPEAK UP FOR MORE STRIPES ON STREETS 

THE 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.