(At Bike Walk CT's Annual Dinner) Top State Energy Official To Discuss How Biking, Walking Can Reduce Oil Demand

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.