As Burlington strives to improve its environment for walking and biking through it's Go For Gold campaign, Indianapolis offers a striking road map of what can be done with city infrastructure. This mid-sized city used private donations and a federal TIGER grant to build an amazing 8-mile, $63m separated bicycle and pedestrian facility around downtown. Read more here!

Yes, it's true.  After 545 people and businesses raised $1.5M for The Big Fix, the trail has been repaired from the record 2011 flooding and now we've finalized the Bike Ferry schedule after a two year hiatus.  Read press release.  Like the Bike Ferry on Facebook for updates!

Summer Ferry Schedule: 10am to 6pm Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays (June 14 - September 2)  Fare info in right sidebar.

Fall Ferry Schedule: 10am to 6pm Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays (September 7 - October 14)

Can you volunteer?  We need to fill over 350 volunteer shifts to work as deckhands and greeters to make this service possible.  Click here to sign up for a volunteer shift!

Thank you to VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations for being the Bike Ferry's premier sponsor for the past 5 years!

Looking for a way to make your community a better place to walk, bike and run?  Volunteering is one of the best ways to help strengthen our programs, and the best part is--volunteering with Local Motion is really fun!  All volunteering for Local Motion counts towards City Market Member/Worker discounts (up to 12% per month!).

Here are just some of our volunteer opportunities:

Secure Bike Parking (starting on Mother's Day)

Island Line Ferry (starting in mid-June)

Bike Recycle Vermont  Bike Mechanics (ongoing)

Bike Recycle Designs Artists (ongoing)

Bike Recycle Designs Vendors

Sweet Streets (ongoing)

Women's Rides (Starting in May)

Membership volunteer (ongoing)

On May 16, 2013, the City of Burlington, the Burlington Walk-Bike Council, and Local Motion publicly released the "Go for Gold" Walk-Bike Blueprint for Burlington.  This collaborative document offers a vision for making our community a national leader in active transportation and recreation.  

Click here to download the complete text of the Blueprint

Click here to download a two-page summary of the Blueprint

MEDIA COVERAGE!

CCTV Channel 17 show with Mayor Wienberger

WPTZ news story about the Walk-Bike Blueprint

Pictures from the Mayor's Multi-Modal Tour

WHAT IS THE BLUEPRINT ABOUT?

The Go for Gold Walk-Bike Blueprint is a collaborative effort of the City of Burlington, the Burlington Walk-Bike Council, and Local Motion whose purpose is to lay out a shared vision for how to make Burlington a world-class city for walking and biking.  It is supported by the Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community with funding from the Vermont Department of Health, and is sponsored by Dealer.com.

Are you involved with an elementary or middle school where you'd like the kids to learn safe bike riding skills? We can help!

Through the generous support of Kohl's Cares, we are able to provide a trailer full of 45 kids bikes and helmets to schools across the state. We just finished a great week in Highgate, VT!

Vermont's great trails don't just get built by accident.  

The great places we have to hike, bike, ski, run and paddle exist due to the hard work of so many groups and people. 

2013 is poised to a be huge year for some really big trail visions -- and Local Motion encourages you to share your time and talents to make them happen!

:: Bolton Backcountry Conservation: 50+ miles of spectacular backcountry ski trails on 1,161 acres are close to being preserved forever.  Please help Vermont Land Trust, Catamount Trail Associaiton and others complete the deal by March 31, 2013.  Get involved.

:: Long Trail Bridge over the Winooski: For a century, hikers have struggled to cross the Winooski River on the Long Trail.  The Green Mountain Club is working diligently to replace the curcuitous 3-mile on-road deviation with a 200' footbridge over the river.  Click 'read more' below to learn about a recent challenge grant and see a visualization of the bridge.  Get involed. 

:: 92-Mile Lamoille Valley Rail Trail Across VT:  Imagine a flat, scenic multi-use trail running a stones throw from Lake Champlain to St. Johnsbury!  Thanks to VT Association of Snow Travelers' efforts, the crucial Act 250 permit was obtained last year for the first 44 miles.  They need help building and then maintaining these first sections.  Get involved!

:: Missing Link in the Island Line Trail: Local Motion is working with partners to make the final link along a stunning 14-mile pathway along and across Lake Champlain.  In 2013, we aim to re-launch and expanded ferry operation with a vessel triple the size running more than triple the days -- helping thousands of trail users each week cross a 200' water gap.  Get involved.

Taken together, these projects will enhance our quality of life, strengthen Vermont's active outdoor economy, and weave an incredible network of trails through so many of our vibrant Vermont communities. 

Sure, all the work may seem overwhelming, but each of us just needs to play our one small part.  Together, we'll leave a legacy for generations to come.

Want to make your town's streets better for walking and biking?

Check out AARP Vermont's new Complete Streets A Guide for Vermont Communities.

This guidance document provides information on the requirements of VT’s Complete Streets legislation. 

With the support of many Vermont organizations, Complete Streets legislation was passed in 2011 and requires that the needs of all users of all ages (drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and public transit) be considered in all transportation projects and project phases. 

By educating Vermont community leaders and providing examples of Complete Streets treatments we hope this document will serve as an important resource for implementation of the act.

No VerMontreal Bike Tour in 2013?  That's right.  We're taking a one year hiatus to accomplish some critical tasks -- and present an even better tour in 2014!  This is good news!  Why?  It gives us time to:

1. Focus on finishing the repairs to the Island Line Trail and re-launching the expanded Bike Ferry service
2. Refresh the VerMontreal Tour with new partners, a new route (using the Bike Ferry!) and new options

What will be different in 2014?  We're thrilled to announce that we will be partnering with Sojourn Bicycling & Active Vacations to offer a new, improved experience for every rider.  Sojourn will use their tremendous expertise as bicycle tourism experts to coordinate a 4-day tour in early June -- ending up as usual at Montreal's amazing Tour de l'Ile.  We're planning to have the trip depart from Burlington and feature our new Bike Ferry.  Full details of the trip -- including how and when to register -- will be announced in  Summer 2013.