Proposed Western New England Greenway To Connect Communities In Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont

On July 20, former Bike Walk CT board member Tom O'Brien, his son Jake, Brookfield Selectman Bill Davidson and 7 others began a week-long bike ride from Burlington, Vermont to Norwalk, Connecticut following the route of the proposed Western New England Greenway (http://www.wnegreenway.org). 

The ride is intended to increase awareness and public support for the effort to unite all of the organizations that are planning to create bike/ped trails along the Route 7 corridor in order to create a safe route for walking and biking that extends all the way from the Long Island Sound to the Canadian Border. 

In addition to the 10 through-riders, Tom and team are hoping to persuade many of our supporters  to meet up with us along the way and join us for all or part of a day's ride. If any of you are interested, here is the schedule for the last two days of the tour:  

Friday, July 25 (Great Barrington to New Milford)
 8:30 am: Depart from the Travel Lodge in Great Barrington (400 Stockbridge Rd)
 3:00 pm: Meet up with local bike-riders in Gaylordsville and head to the New Milford Green
 4:00 pm: Arrival at the Green; welcome reception in front of Homestead Inn.

Saturday July 26 (New Milford to Norwalk)
 9:00 am: Depart from the Homestead Inn
10:00 am:  Brief stops in Brookfield at the Bicycle Center, and at the trailhead (Silvermine Road next to Brookfield Police Station) for the soon-to-be-extended Still River Greenway
10:30 am:  Ride to completion of tour in Norwalk. 

We are particularly hopeful that a large group will meet us at the Gaylordsville Store on Friday afternoon (around 3) and accompany us on the final 7 miles to the Green. 

If you'd like to follow our progress on the WNEG14 Bike Tour, we'll be posting regular updates on:

• "TrackMYTour":  http://trackmytour.com/WbZl4#533997
  
• TheNew Milford River Trail Association's website at www.nmbikewalk.org/blog and on
• the New Milford River Trail's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/newmilfordrivertrail
  

Bike Walk Connecticut joined other advocates today on board a bus to tour the CTFastrak route and stations as they ready for service early next year.  Fastrak, Connecticut's first bus rapid transit system, will serve as a major connector between other bus routes and offer an option to sitting in traffic along I-84. And you'll be able to bike to it, walk to it, 

It may have taken over a decade to go from concept to shovels in the ground, but now that construction has started the project is humming along.  The stations that are sprouting up are fairly easily seen from the road, but it was good to get an up close look at them.

Yes!  There are bike racks at the stations.  Yes!  CTFastrak will have inside boarding for bikes.  Yes! There really is a multi-use trail from New Britain to the Cedar Street Station. Yes! Service really will be rapid, with buses coming every 7.5 minutes or more frequently during peak hours.

Thanks to the CT Fund for the Environment, the Transit for Connecticut Coalition, and DOT for organizing the tour. 

The I-84 eastbound off ramp to Asylum Street in Hartford (Exit 48A) will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday, July 18, to 5 a.m. Monday, July 21, 2014. The ramp closure is for the construction of the new CTfastrak ramp to Asylum Street in Hartford.

 DETOUR INFO FROM CTDOT:

I-84 Eastbound off ramp to Asylum Street (Exit 48A) closed from 10 p.m. Friday, July 18, to 5 a.m. Monday, July 21, 2014. Traffic detoured onto Capitol Avenue (Exit 48B) to Broad Street, and to Farmington Avenue.  

WTNH 8 reports that Whitney Avenue will close at Audubon Street in New Haven from July 21 to 24. The closure is for traffic-calming improvements, including a crosswalk, a curb extension and intersection markings.

The closing starts at 7 p.m. July 21 and will end at 4 p.m. on July 24.

The city is making the changes to reduce vehicle speeds at the intersection and make it safer for pedestrians. 

The full list of detours due to the closure are here. 

Town officials in Old Lyme this week stated they are trying to coordinate the Sound View revitalization project, which will add bike paths throughout its beach communities.

The project calls for a bike path to run from Hartford Avenue, along Route 156, up to the Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge. A picnic area with permanent restrooms and parking spaces would replace the town-owned parking lot near the beach.

First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder said the revitalization project would attract more walkers and bicyclists to the neighborhood.

A federal transportation grant will fund 80% of the project's total cost. 

Read the full article in The Day here. 

As part of Bike Walk CT's Connecticut Complete Streets project, we hosted a Leadership Roundtable on June 30 at Middlesex Community College in Middletown. 

The event was designed to be an opportunity to meet people from communities that are already working to implement complete streets and others who want to make their own towns better places to bike and walk. It was meant to be a chance to hear what's going on in other towns (what's worked, what hasn't) and exchange ideas. Additional forums are anticipated for 2014 and 2015.
Continued below

Participants shared their Success Stories, Lessons Learned and Challenges at the meeting, and we captured them in a google spreadsheet. 

• Click here for Success Stories, Lessons Learned and Challenges
  
• Click here for Forum Registrant List
  
• Click here for Towns Represented at the meeting
  
• Click here for the powerpoints from the meeting

Forum Fast Facts:

• 73 people registered for, and 68 people attended, our first Complete Streets forum on June 30, 2014.
  
• 39 different CT towns (23%) were represented from all parts of the state.
  
• 43 registrants (59%) said they work in positions that deal with transportation is some form.
  
• 47 registrants (64%) said they are currently part of a bike/ped task force or similar group.
  
• 11 people said they were interested in getting a bike/ped task force or similar group organized in their community.

Hartford, CT (July 1, 2014) – As part of a new “complete streets” initiative, Bike Walk Connecticut released a first-of-its-kind ranking of the state’s cities and towns on how bike- and walk-friendly they are.  Simsbury (1), New Haven (2), New Britain (3), Glastonbury (4), and Middletown (5) claim top honors as the five most bike- and walk-friendly communities.  Click here for full results.

The scorecard and rankings are based on an online, statewide public opinion survey that ran this spring and was open to anyone who lives or works in Connecticut.  The rankings are also based on municipal leadership and engagement efforts—whether cities or towns have bicycle and pedestrian master plans; citizen task forces or advisory groups; complete streets policies; and whether they have conducted any public outreach efforts related to cycling, walking or complete streets.

The surveys and scorecard are expected to be conducted annually as part of Bike Walk Connecticut’s new five-year initiative to make it safer and easier to walk and bike by implementing “complete streets” in cities and towns across Connecticut.  Complete streets make it easier and safer for people to get around on foot or by bike, so they can be more physically active.

Kelly Kennedy, Executive Director of Bike Walk Connecticut, explains that “We want this project to encourage cities and towns to take a really robust approach to complete streets and being bike- and walk-friendly.  Being able to get around safely by bike or on foot isn’t just a fad or a health issue or environmental issue. It’s an economic development issue.  Towns that are bike- and walk-friendly are great places to live, work, shop and play.”  Bike Walk Connecticut has also started to develop an online repository for complete streets resources.

What are Complete Streets?
Complete Streets are streets that are designed to be safe for everyone to use. Complete Streets make it easier and safer to walk and bike to work, to school, to transit, for errands, or just for pleasure and exercise. Connecticut’s Complete Streets law (Conn. Gen. Stat. §13-153f) requires pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users to be routinely considered in the planning, designing, construction and operation of all roads.  

About the Project: 
This project is made possible through the financial support of the Connecticut Department of Public Health through Cooperative Agreement 1305 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the purpose of which is to promote statewide implementation of policies and actions to promote health and prevent and control chronic diseases.

About Bike Walk Connecticut: 
Bike Walk Connecticut is a statewide, member-supported 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that works to make Connecticut a better place to bike and walk.   For more information and updates on this Complete Streets Initiative, visit www.bikewalkct.org.

This publication does not express the views of the Connecticut Department of Public Health or the State of Connecticut.  The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors.

The Town of Portland, CT seeks bike/pedestrian consulting services to help redevelop an historic rail bed for a multiuse trail and to establish a complete streets initiative.

Statements of Qualification are due by 11:30 am on July 24. Click here for RFQ.

American Trails presents this webinar to help trail planners address the challenges and complexities of building trails in difficult situations. The presenters will review alignment strategies, structural systems, and techniques for solving these problems and building quality trails.

$35 members / $55 nonmembers  (CEUs $20 additional fee)
REGISTER HERE

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding techniques and tools for getting a trail or greenway from here to there
• A knowledge base helpful in assessing the feasibility of trail alignment options
• Examples useful in working more effectively with engineers and other technical designers in solving trail alignment and structural problems
• Tools and examples for making the case for approval agencies such as floodplain administrators, traffic engineers, etc.
• Tools and examples for making the case to political decision makers that the project is feasible
• Successful solutions with visual examples and case studies can be enabling and stimulate other creative solutions  

The webinar presenters include three seasoned greenway experts with a long history of successful urban trail building:

• Chuck Flink, FASLA, Owner, Greenways Incorporated, greenway planner/designer/landscape architect/developer and urban trail specialist, Durham, NC
• Bill Neumann, ASLA, Vice President, DHM Design, greenway planner/designer/landscape architect/developer and urban trail specialist, Denver, CO
• Bob Searns, Owner, The Greenway Team and Chair Emeritus of the American Trails Board, greenway planner/designer/developer, Denver, CO

The News Times reports that 12 decorative bicycle racks are being installed in New Milford. The racks are being paid for by local businesses. The racks will be found along Main Street at Town Hall, the post office, library and Main Moon Chinese Restaurant. On Bank Street racks are at Morton's Jewelers and the Bank Street Theater. There will be additional racks at The Maxx on Railroad Street and outside the town's Parks and Recreation office on Bridge Street.