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The town of Clinton will hold its fourth annual Bike/Ped Fest on Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will include family-friendly activities such as a bike-decorating station, a parking lot parade, traffic-skills primer, bike-helmet fitting, bike maintenance checks and a Family Fun Ride.
Registration for the Family Fun Ride is Free and all ages and ability levels are welcomed to participate. Helmets are required. The event will be held at the Clinton Town Hall, 54 East Main St. For more information, visit www.clintonct.org/bike-pedestrian-alliance.php. The CT Department of Motor Vehicles will hold a public information meeting on Monday, May 12 to discuss options for a bicycle/pedestrian crossing at Flower Street in Hartford as part of the CTfastrak bus rapid transit project.
The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Lyceum Resource and Conference Center, 227 Lawrence Street in Hartford. Residents, business owners and other interested parties are encouraged to attend, compare project options, and to share their preferences. Two additional public informational meetings have been scheduled for the Town of New Canaan and the Town of Trumbull for the Merritt Parkway Trail Study. The dates are as follows:
New Canaan: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 Outback Teen Center 71 Main Street New Canaan, CT Presentation at 7:00 p.m. Trumbull: Thursday, May 15, 2014 Trumbull Library Community Room 33 Quality Street Trumbull, CT Presentation at 7:00 p.m. Find out more information here. On May 21st, join cyclists worldwide in a silent slow-paced ride in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways.
A Connecticut Ride of Silence will take place in Danbury. The ride will start at Danbury Green on Ives Street and will start at 7 p.m. Cyclists must arrive by 6:45 p.m. Helmets are required. The ride will be approximately 4.5 miles on a mostly flat route. More information here.  The Norwalk River Valley Trail (NRVT) will celebrate the opening of its demo trail on Saturday, April 26th.
The public is invited to come out and see and walk the new trail. There will be events for the entire family and door prizes. Events include: 9 a.m. — Ribbon Cutting 10 a.m. — Paws on Parade Dog Walk 11 a.m. — Spuds on a Spoon Race 12 p.m. — Prize Drawings Trailhead parking is located at the commuter lot at the intersection of Route 7 and Wolfpit Rd. Rain Date: Sunday, April 27th. More information here. The Farmington Valley Trails Council (FVTC) is holding a fun ride in conjunction with National Bike Month on May 17th
The 30-mile ride will be on trail and road through Simsbury, Avon and Canton Cyclists should meet at Iron Horse Blvd and Jim Gallagher Way at 10 a.m. on May 17th. The ride will be at your own pace and will be swept. There will be no rest stops, so make sure to bring plenty of snacks and water with you. Helmets are required and the ride will cancel in the event of rain. More information here.  National Bike to School Day is right around the corner—May 7, 2014. Schools, cities, bicycle groups, public health organizations and parents alike are organizing bike rides and bike trains to school to highlight and celebrate the benefits of choosing student-powered transportation to school.
There are 1,094 events scheduled throughout the U.S., including nine in Connecticut. Schools in Eastford, Simsbury, West Simsbury and Wethersfield are holding Bike to School Day events. There is still time to organize at Bike to School Day event at your school. Learn more here. Great news! The Senate passed the Vulnerable User bill 33-0, with 3 absent and not voting, last evening.
Thank you Senators Beth Bye and Toni Boucher for sponsoring the bill. Thank you Senators Don Williams and Martin Looney for bringing the bill to a vote. Thank you to all Senators for supporting the bill. Thank you to all of our members who contacted Senate Leadership in the last few days. They heard us! And now, on to the House. Stay tuned for updates. We have just two weeks left in the 2014 legislative session to get our Vulnerable User bill passed. That means it's time for the bike ped community (that includes you!) to turn up the volume!
This is the fifth year the Vulnerable User bill has been proposed. We don't want to hear that our legislators "ran out of time" again this year to vote on this important safety measure for cyclists and pedestrians. Please email or call Senator Don Williams and Senator Martin Looney today to call the Vulnerable User bill, SB 336, for a vote.
Stay tuned! Effective advocacy requires tenacity and dogged persistence, so it may be necessary to keep calling and emailing every day until the bill is voted on. Speaking up makes a difference, and the more of us who do, the better! Thank you for working with us to make Connecticut a better place to bike and walk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About the VU Bill, SB 336
Bike Walk CT send the following message to state senators, urging SB 336 to be raised for a vote and passed:
Please Raise and Pass SB 336, the Vulnerable User Bill -- This Year! Dear Senator: Bike Walk Connecticut urges the Senate to raise and pass SB 336, the Vulnerable User bill. This is the fifth year the bill has been raised. The cycling and pedestrian community is highly committed to seeing this bill passed this year. Why? Because there were 10,793 Bike/Pedestrian Injuries & Fatalities in Connecticut from 2006-2012. Federal and state data report that 10,793 pedestrians and cyclists were injured or killed in Connecticut from 2006 through 2012. Cyclists and pedestrians are vulnerable because they are not protected by a 2500-pound steel motor vehicle. It's time to enact a law that raises awareness for all road users and holds reckless drivers accountable for their behavior. Adopting SB 336 Will Make for a Safer, More Bike-Friendly, More Livable Connecticut. Being more bike-friendly is good for our environment, good for our health, and good for our pocketbooks. It's also good for the state's economy. Cycling is good for tourism. It's also a key ingredient in transportation-oriented development, vibrant communities and thriving, resilient commercial districts, and in attracting and retaining younger workers and the creative class who insist on realistic transportation options beyond the car. Let's make this the year we pass it. This is the fifth year the Vulnerable User bill has come before the legislature. Every year the bill has enjoyed broad bipartisan, bicameral support. The Vulnerable User bill is good public policy. There are 10,793 good reasons--and counting--to make this the year we actually pass it. SB 336 has the support of 22 different membership organizations. Please see fact sheet for more information. Thank you for working together for a more bikeable, walkable Connecticut. Sincerely, Kelly Kennedy, Executive Director Bike Walk Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . Bike Walk Connecticut is a statewide, member-supported 501(c)(3) organization that works to make Connecticut a better place to bike and walk. Visit bikewalkct.org for more information. |
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