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Send Your Remarks to the Finance, Revenue Bonding Committee BEFORE 11 am Mon. April 27 Okay bike ped supporters--it's time to act! Everybody who wants Connecticut to be a great place to bike and walk needs to send that message loud and clear to the legislative Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee before 11 am on Monday. That's when the Finance Committee will hold a public hearing on the Governor's transportation funding proposal, HB 6840. The Governor's proposal includes $101 million for bike ped funding for 2016 through 2020, which is the "five year ramp up" phase of the 30 year plan. HB 6840 includes a variety of bonding requests that will allow the state to fund improvements to our active transportation system, including bike lanes, greenways, multiuse paths, and pedestrian networks, along with improvements to bridges, transit, rail and roads. Act Fast! Tell the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee you want funding for a first-rate bike and pedestrian transportation system! Please email your support for bike & pedestrian funding and HB 6840 in Word or PDF format to FINtestimony@cga.ct.gov before 11 am on Monday, April 27. State your support for bike ped funding and HB 6840 in the subject line. Include your name and town in your message. To: FINtestimony@cga.ct.gov Subject: Please support HB 6840 and bike and pedestrian funding Sample message (tailor these points to make the message your own!) Be sure to include your name and town of residence. To the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee: As a member of Bike Walk Connecticut, I support the Governor's proposals to develop and fund a first-rate active transportation network of bike lanes, greenways, multiuse paths, and pedestrian infrastructure in Connecticut. Please support HB 6840.
For so many reasons, it's time for Connecticut to become a great place to bike and walk. Please support HB 6840. Thank you. Related:
Portland, Oregon's Roger Geller did not disappoint at today's Bikeway Design Workshop - not that we ever thought he would! Geller packed today's all day workshop with example after example of bikeway designs that make active transportation a way of life, sharing lessons learned by Portland and other cities along the way. The program was attended by about 80 engineers, public works professionals, planners and architects from across the state. We look forward to seeing the results of what everyone learned today. CT Bikeways: If You Build Them, Will They Come? April 20, 2015 - Mike Clifford, Public News Service (CT Play Audio in Browser Window WETHERSFIELD, Conn. - At stake this week is the future of bikeways and non-motorized transportation for towns and cities all across the state. Senior project engineer David Head with VHB Inc. is on the board with BikeWalk Connecticut. He says this week's summit will try to help community leaders be a little bit visionary.  PHOTO: Town and city planners will hear from a transportation expert this week about how Portland, Ore.'s investment in hundreds of miles of bike lanes has quadrupled bike use in that city. Photo credit: Wikimedia commons - Steve Morgan "It's always the chicken or egg, what do you do first," said Head. "Do you build the infrastructure for biking and walking, or do you wait for the people to come that want to bike and walk? I personally believe you need to build the infrastructure. You know, if you build it, they will come."
The workshops and summit begin Thursday at the Keeny Memorial Center in Wethersfield. Registration is available at the BikeWalk Connecticut website bikewalkct.org. Head says local officials will hear from Richard Geller a transportation planner from Portland. That city poured $60 million into bikeways over the last decade. Head says they got hundreds of miles of bikeway compared to one mile of interstate highway which costs about $50 million. "They've spent about six years building bicycle infrastructure before they really noticed a boom and they've quadrupled their bike numbers out there," says Head. "If you've ever been there, it's just a wonderful place to go. It's so easy to get around." Head says Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker will kick off their Friday summit talking about "Transform CT" which emphasizes non-motorized forms of transit. "He's just really taken DOT and kind of turned that ship to get more focused on some of those alternate modes of transportation, which is great," Head says. The summit also will focus on Senate Bill 502, which is now before state lawmakers and is intended to improve both bike safety and transportation options in Connecticut.  Bike to Work Day is Friday May 15, right around the corner!
If you live in one of the 13 towns listed below, you're in luck! Great bikeways could very well be in your future. Your forward-thinking municipal transportation professionals are registered to attend the April 23 Workshop on NACTO Bikeway Design Guidelines. Bloomfield, Canton, Colchester, Cromwell, Farmington, Madison, New Britain, New Haven, Simsbury, Stamford, Trumbull, Vernon, West Hartford If your town is one of the 156 towns that isn't on that list, uh oh ... great bikeways might not make it to your town anytime soon. Please encourage your municipal transportation professionals (engineers, public works, planners) to attend this exceptional educational program.  The NACTO Bikeway Design Guide includes state-of-the-practice designs from the best cycling cities in the US and the world.
The workshop will be led by acclaimed cycling policy and design expert Roger Geller. A Connecticut native, Geller is the bicycle transportation coordinator for Portland, Oregon and co-author of the Bikeway Design Guide issued by NACTO, the National Association for City Transportation Officials. The full-day technical workshop is open to transportation professionals at the state, regional, and municipal government levels and to private sector professionals. The cost to attend is $75 for Bike Walk CT members and $90 for nonmembers. Lunch is included. The workshop will be held at the Keeney Memorial Cultural Center, 200 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT. For more details and to register, please visit www.bikewalkct.org/nacto-bikeway-design-guide-workshop |
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