By Mike Clifford, Public News Service - CT
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June 10, 2014  HARTFORD, Conn. - A survey is underway to make Connecticut streets more friendly for pedestrians and bicycles, and survey organizers say the results should eventually result in positive impacts for health, air quality and even the economy.

As day-to-day work grows more computer-based, employees often wind up spending too much time sitting. Kelly Kennedy, the executive director of Bike Walk Connecticut, says that sedentary work environment is taking a big hit on workers' health. In fact, Kennedy says public health is the primary reason her group is conducting this first of its kind survey, called Complete Streets, in an effort to make roads originally designed for cars more user-friendly for those on foot and riding bicycles.

"If it were easier and safer to get around and to make at least short trips by bike or by foot that would improve our health," says Kennedy. "It would also improve air quality."

Kennedy says her organization's survey is also questioning city planners to get a sense of what towns and municipalities are doing proactively to create more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly routes. She says they also want to know if it is easy for you to get around your town by bike or on foot, and what it's like walking or biking to places like schools, parks, senior centers and shopping centers.

The survey is accessible from the Bike Walk Connecticut website.

"If it's not generally easy to get around, then we ask for specifics; what's the problem, are there not enough sidewalks, do the sidewalks stop and start suddenly," says Kennedy. "Those are the kinds of things that we are getting at."

She says the money saved by greater numbers of people walking and biking can add up to big benefits for local economies.

"Gas prices are only going up, and the more money we spend on gas and on cars the less money we have for other things," explains Kennedy. "If we can re-purpose some of that spending, we can help other sectors of the economy like the mom-and-pop stores that keep the economy moving."

The Complete Streets survey is funded through a federal cooperative agreement administered by the Connecticut Department of Public Health. The results will be released early this summer.

This article appeared in the Shelton Herald:

By Shelton Herald on May 8, 2014 -- Local residents are being urged to use their bicycles to get to — and from — their work places on Friday, May 16, which is National Bike to Work Day.  According to the Bike Walk Connecticut organization, bike commuting reduces traffic, avoids pollution, saves gas, and burns calories...  READ the full Shelton Herald story here.

This article appeared in the Hartford Courant.

By DON STACOM, dstacom@courant.com for The Hartford Courant, May 10, 2014--Bike Walk Connecticut has a pitch for commuters who grumble about traffic backups, potholes and aggressive drivers: Try something different next week.  The advocacy group is promoting Bike to Work Day on May 16 as a chance for commuters to test-drive the idea of parking the car and setting out on two wheels instead...  READ the full Courant story here.

This article ran in the Hartford Business Journal. 

Hartford nonprofit Bike Walk Connecticut is organizing this year's Bike to Work Day on May 16.

The organization will help put together more than 20 breakfasts and events throughout the state, including the Hartford gathering event at 8 a.m. at the Old State House. 

Read the full article here. 

An Op-Ed in the Hartford Courant mentions Bike Walk Connecticut as an inspired and inspiring organization.  Walking Does Wonders At Work, Beyond; The Hartford Courant, (Mar 12 2014).

Hartford Business Journal's spring edition of the Green Guide covers Laura Baum's election as president of Bike Walk Connecticut.
(March 17, 2014)

After years of getting tantalizingly close, advocates for pedestrians and cyclists are campaigning again to pass a "vulnerable user" law in Connecticut.

The goal is to make careless motorcyclists, car drivers and truckers behave more responsibly on the highways.

Read the full article in the Hartford Courant here.

“Study after study reveals that more people would be willing to make more trips by bike or on foot if they felt they could do so without taking their lives in their hands.”  That comment at a legislative hearing by Kelly Kennedy, Executive Director of Bike Walk Connecticut, highlights the reason behind proposed legislation that would “help hold accountable careless drives who injure or kill non-motorized users of the road.”

Read the full article on the Connecticut By the Numbers site here. 

The Waterbury Observer reports on Bike Walk Connecticut's Effort to Make CT a Better Place to Bike/Walk and our support for the vulnerable user bill. (March 8, 2014)

Real Hartford posted a great recap of the bicycle-packed weekend in Hartford, which included Bike Walk Connecticut's Discover Hartford Bicycle Tour. 

Click here to read more and check out all the great pics from the weekend!