League of American Bicyclists President, Andy Clarke, couldn't attend Bike Walk Connecticut's annual dinner in person, so he issued this special video message to congratulate keynote speaker Dan Esty, Commissioner of Energy & Environment, on his agency's recent accreditation as a Bicycle Friendly Business. Read the details here. Bike Walk Connecticut's Annual Dinner and Silent Auction saw a record turnout of almost 200 people - thank you to all who joined us for a fun night out to benefit the organization. We all heard featured speaker DEEP Commissioner Dan Esty throw down the challenge to other commissioners to participate in Bike to Work Day next year - right? The commissioner is a man of his word, so stay tuned for details. Bike to Work Day is May 17, 2013. League of American Bicyclists President, Andy Clarke, couldn't attend Bike Walk Connecticut's annual dinner in person, so he issued a special video message to congratulate the Esty on his agency's recent accreditation as a Bicycle Friendly Business. Click the play arrow below for the 2012 Annual Dinner slideshow. By DON STACOM, dstacom@courant.com
The Hartford CourantNovember 23, 2012 NEW BRITAIN — With transportation accounting for about a third of Connecticut's annual energy consumption, the state government proposes to further encourage pedestrian and bicycle travel. The new draft of a broad-ranging energy policy also recommends building a network of charging stations for electric cars, and encouraging conversion of public and private vehicle fleets — garbage trucks, taxicabs, delivery vans — to natural gas. Daniel Esty, commissioner of energy and environmental protection, will talk about his vision for the future of bikeways and walking paths when Bike Walk Connecticut convenes its annual meeting Nov. 29 at Central Connecticut State University. Bike Walk Connecticut, a non-profit organization founded in 2005, advocates better and safer facilities for biking and walking. It promotes "active transportation" as a way to benefit the environment, commuters' health, and statewide energy conservation. Connecticut transportation planners in recent years have moved closer to a "complete streets" philosophy that makes . . . Read the full Hartford Courant story here. Pedal Power: South Windsor is state's second bicycle-friendly community Kudos to the Hartford Courant, which ran the following editorial observing the value of Bike Friendly Communities. If you are looking for ways to make your community, business, or university more bike friendly, please contact us at bikewalkct@bikewalkct.org. The Hartford Courant editorial, November 23, 2012 - On a recent Saturday, bicyclists from Simsbury, the state's first Bicycle Friendly Community, rode over to South Windsor to pass a symbolic torch to the second town to win the designation. Good for South Windsor — and why aren't more communities trying for this distinction? The bicycle-friendly designation is awarded by the Washington, D.C.-based League of American Bicyclists to communities — as well as businesses, colleges and entire states — that create a safe environment for cycling and encourage people to bike for transportation and recreation. It's crazy that many people have to drive to find a decent place to bike or walk. Let's make the whole state bike-friendly. Communities must apply for the designation and show effort in such areas as bicycling infrastructure, education, enforcement and planning. The awards are given at four tiers: platinum, gold, silver and bronze. Both Simsbury and South Windsor broke in at the bronze level (as did Yale University), and officials say they want to move up.
Good, and other towns should follow their lead. Is there another activity that saves energy, cuts pollution, eases traffic congestion, fights obesity and is also fun? Also, active people want to live in bike-friendly communities, which is good for property values and economic development. It's crazy that many people have to drive to find a decent place to bike or walk. Let's make the whole state bike-friendly. Read the full editorial here. The only professional Campaign Training for bicycle-pedestrian advocacy organizations is coming to... White Plains, NY August 2-4, 2013 Your Next Victory Starts Here! NYBC, the New York Bicycling Coalition, is proud to host the Alliance for Biking & Walking's Winning Campaigns Training in White Plains, NY on August 2-4, 2013. The Training is designed for anyone who wants to make his or her community a better place to bike and walk. This action-oriented workshop gives novice and veteran advocates the tools to create and manage powerful campaigns to increase biking and walking in their communities. The proven curriculum is led by longtime advocates and national experts with first-hand experience conducting - and winning - bicycle and pedestrian campaigns. During this three-day training, you will learn how to:
NYBC is proud to collaborate with the Alliance, the New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition and Bike Walk Connecticut to host the Training. We look forward to seeing you there! For more information and to register visit: www.PeoplePoweredMovement.org/Events Join elected officials, transportation experts, and state decision makers to learn how we can work together to move transportation funding forward in Connecticut. The program is free but reservations are required. Please RSVP by December 3, 2012 to Valerie Wormely-Radford at vwormely-radford@ctenvironment.org. Transportation Funding in Connecticut Where Are We Now and What Is Next? December 10, 2012 State Capitol Old Judiciary Room, Hartford, CT Check-in 8:30 A.M. Program 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. Keynote Speaker: Jack Basso, Director of Program Finance and Management for AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transit Officials)
Panelists:
Sponsored by Regional Plan Association, The Business Council of Fairfield County, Capitol Region Council of Governments, Connecticut Association for Community Transportation, Connecticut Construction Industries Association, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Transit for Connecticut and Tri-State Transportation Campaign - Submitted by Bike Walk CT Member Anne Marie Potter, as reported in The Simsbury News SIMSBURY — The Simsbury Bike Sculpture will be enhanced this winter and early spring with a two-foot pedestal surrounded by Simsbury’s signature red stone, flowers and other plantings, and a solar-panel spotlight, according to Ann Marie Potter, of BikeWalkSimsbury! “The bike sculpture gets a little lost the way it’s currently displayed,” she said. “These enhancements will create more visual impact. This is certainly a work in progress.” ... Continued > Read the full Simsbury News story here. The Connecticut Department of Transportation is announcing that Flower Street will be permanently closed to motor vehicle traffic at the railroad crossing beginning Monday, December 3, 2012. The street will remain open for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, but Flower Street will no longer be a through route connecting Capitol Avenue and Farmington Avenue. Vehicular traffic will be directed to use Broad Street, Sigourney Street or Laurel Street. The closing is required for the construction of CTfastrak, the dedicated bus roadway between New Britain and Hartford, and the forthcoming rail improvements on the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Line. PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE ACCESS - Flower Street will remain accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists. A gate-controlled pedestrian crossing will be maintained at the rail-crossing site. Periodic, temporary closures are anticipated during construction activity in early 2013. Alternative pedestrian and bicycle movement will be provided in the Flower Street vicinity during and post construction. DOT Project No. 0063-0643-93-180, also known as Contract 3 includes construction of a portion of CTfastrak beginning just north of Cedar Street in Newington and running northerly to an end point just north of Sigourney Street in Hartford. The work includes the construction of seven stations, eight new bridges, 44 retaining walls, two culverts to be jacked under existing operating Amtrak tracks, a new bridge at Flatbush Avenue in West Hartford via grade separation, and the construction of a new gravel access road for Amtrak. This contract was awarded to Middlesex Corporation on March 21, 2012 at a cost of $130,646,081.67. The project is being administered by the DOT, Office of Construction District 4, Thomaston, and is scheduled to be completed December 10, 2014. The Connecticut Department of Transportation is working to inform local residents of current and upcoming construction activities through construction bulletins, press notices, travel alerts, as well as the CTfastrak web site. For more information, please visit www.CTfastrak.com<http://www.CTfastrak.com> If you have any questions related to construction, please contact us at DOT.BuswayConstruction@ct.gov<mailto:DOT.BuswayConstruction@ct.gov>
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has released a draft Comprehensive Energy Strategy, as required by a 2011 law.
That strategy includes a section on transportation, which was the subject of a hearing on November 14 in New Britain. According to the DEEP document, the transportation sector accounts for 32% of the state's energy consumption, but produces about 40% of the state's greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, reducing the number of "vehicle miles traveled" (VMTs) would reduce pollution levels, our reliance on petroleum, and save money. How do we reduce VMTs? That's where we come in: by encouraging more people to take more short trips by bike or by foot instead of by car. DEEP's energy strategy document does a great job of making the case for bikeable, walkable communities and bike commuting. The document addresses biking and walking in a number of places, including the recommendation to "facilitate transit-oriented development to increase mobility and create more livable communities" (page 177). The next step will be to develop and carry out an ambitious, effective implementation plan. Our comments appear below. |
Bike Walk Connecticut
NEWS Send us your bike walk related news and time permitting, we'll do our best to post it.
Topics
All
|