The 3rd Annual Great Ice in Grand Isle is underway with fabulous skating conditions. February 6/7 was opening weekend and hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts enjoyed skating, a bonfire, iceboating, and hot chocolate at Hero's Welcome. Click here for photos. Head north to Grand Isle County for a wide-range of snowy activities any day of the week. From Nordic Skating demos to the Ice Golf Tournament, there's something for everyone! Bring your own skates for the large skating oval or rent them at Hero's Welcome.  Co-sponsored by Local Motion.

Click here for a full schedule of events.

Start your internal engines! This year's F-F-Frozen Chosen Regatta on Feb 13 is a must-see event. Human-powered machines, both wacky and serious, race around the ice in a test of ingenuity, wit, and friction! Racers needed - Build your own ice racing machine and enter the competition. New this year: Skating catagory, and the top skaters will go head-to-head with the top bikers. Teams encouraged! Click here for full details, regatta rules, and pictures from last year's race. Sponsored by Earl's Cyclery & Fitness.

Would you like to improve the safety on Vermont’s roadways? The VT Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition is mobilizing Vermonters to support H.540 (Click here to read) - a Statehouse bill that would:

• Strengthen the rights of pedestrians and bicyclists on roadways, especially when being passed by vehicles

• Clarify cyclists’ right to travel on the left side of a lane or in the left lane when needed

• Require cyclists to have reflectors on their pedals or ankle straps, in addition to lights, for night riding

Help pass the bill by sending a supportive email to Legislative Assistant Fran Cerulli ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) at the House Transportation Committee and request that your comments be sent to all 11 members of the committee. Please keep the email brief and respectful.

Thank to Reps Aswad, Burke, Courcelle, Edwards, Krawczyk, Lanpher, McFaun, Mrowicki, Potter, Ram, Shand, Smith, Spengler, Stevens, Wizowaty and Zuckerman for co-sponsoring the bill. The new chair of the House Transportation Committee is Pat Brennan (Colchester) - a Local Motion member - so we are hopeful that this important bill will finally pass this year. More details at www.vtbikeped.org.

Burlington Parks and Recreation installed a non-slip metal surface on the Lakeside/Oakledge Bridge, much to the relief of many users who have fallen there over the years.  Bike path user Kathy Brunette wrote when she heard the news,  "I am one of the victims of the Lakeside / Oakledge bridge's slipperiness.  I was injured in a fall on an early summer morning in 2006.  I am so happy to hear that the likelihood of that happening to someone else has been taken away.  Thanks for the good work to make or beloved bike path safer."

Penny for Parks funding, approved by voters in 2008, paid the work to be done.  Many thanks to Anna Thelemarck and others at Burlington Parks & Recreation for their efforts to remedy a slippery situation!

After 50 years of Census numbers showing fewer people walking and biking to work in Chittenden County, the numbers are finally turning around.

Since 2000, Census survey data show 30% more residents walking to work (up to 7% of all commute trips in the county). The category for bicycling, which also includes taxis and motorcycles, shows a stunning 96% increase since 2000 (up to 2% of all commute trips). And it’s not just walking and biking ... carpooling and bus ridership are growing too.

"This clearly demonstrates that everyone's hard work is paying off," remarked Chapin Spencer, Executive Director of Local Motion. "When transportation groups work together, we all benefit. For example, every bus trip starts and ends with a pedestrian trip ... so when we build more sidewalks we not only get people walking, we get residents connected to transit."

AARP, Campus Area Transportation Management Association, CarShare Vermont, CCTA, CCMPO, Local Motion, UVM Transportation Research Center and VTrans celebrated this “trend bending” news at a February 1 press conference and outlined future collaborations (complete streets policy, downtown transit center, commuter incentives, etc) to continue these gains.  Press Release Media Coverage