Local Motion Blog

On a rainy February night,  10 visionary  South Burlington residents gathered at Rick Hubbard’s house to consider a big idea.  They want to turn a four lane section of Williston Road into a three lane ‘complete street’.

Williston Road will be repaved this summer and residents want to have the City try a Complete Street demonstration.  [...]

Tags: Bicycling, complete streets, redesign, South Burlington, Vermont, walking

24731 Comment »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2012/02/sb-residents-seek-to-transform-williston-rd/SB+Residents+Seek+to+Transform+Williston+Road2012-02-16+01%3A29%3A00Chapin

Former St. Albans resident Colleen Kelly Alexander was run over by a delivery truck while riding her bike home from work in Connecticut in October 2011. After spending 1 month on a respirator in ICU, undergoing multiple surgeries and receiving over fifty units of blood, she then went on to an [...]

Tags: Colleen Kelly, Connecticut, cycling, fundraiser, St. Albans, Vermont

2448No Comments »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2012/02/help-former-st-albans-cyclist-recover/Help+Former+St.+Albans+Cyclist+Recover2012-02-07+20%3A02%3A18Chapin

While we had to cancel our Wintervale festival in the Intervale due to lack of snow, we invited Local Motion fans to join us for a Sunday morning skate across Malletts Bay in Colchester, VT.  Thanks to MVP Healthcare for underwriting our winter fun!

Wow, it was incredible! Over 40 people of all ages came [...]

Tags: Lake Champlain, Nordic Skating, Vermont, Winter Fun

2428No Comments »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2012/02/lake-skate-gets-folks-psyched-for-great-ice/Lake+Skate+Gets+Folks+Psyched+for+%27Great+Ice%272012-02-06+02%3A03%3A41Chapin

I joined 22 VT trail leaders at the Vermont Trails & Greenways Council’s winter meeting on January 26th.  We took three notable steps:
1) Declared support for the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail
This stunning 93-mile trail in the making will stretch from Swanton to St. Johnsbury – but it has been stuck in Act 250 permitting for [...]

Tags: recreation, Trails, Vermont

24051 Comment »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2012/01/council-plans-for-vermont%e2%80%99s-trail-future/Council+Plans+for+Vermont%E2%80%99s+Trail+Future2012-01-27+02%3A42%3A14Chapin

It comes as no surprise that weather, bad weather in particular, limits Vermonters’ travel by bicycle.  A 2011 study from UVM’s Transportation Research Center puts some data behind our assumptions.

Read more on UVM’s website. Thank you to Local Motion Board Member Lisa Aultman-Hall and area cyclist Justine Sears for undertaking this project.
Local Motion is working [...]

Tags: Active Lifestyles, Bike Commuting, research, study, Vermont

23911 Comment »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2012/01/how-weather-affects-biking-in-vermont/How+Weather+Affects+Biking+in+Vermont2012-01-19+21%3A28%3A47Chapin

The January 12 AARP / Local Motion debate between three Burlington Mayoral Candidates was an informative event with a number of humorous moments.  You can watch the entire debate here on CCTV:

225 residents turned out to ask questions about sidewalks, passenger rail, bus service, cycling and the Champlain Parkway.  Thank you to our event co-host [...]

Tags: Burlington, future, livability, mayor, Sustainability, Transportation, Vermont

2359No Comments »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2012/01/residents-pack-local-motions-candidate-forum/225+Residents+Pack+Our+BTV+Candidate+Forum%212012-01-13+21%3A24%3A53Chapin

As of January 1, bus commuters will lose half of their transit benefit while drivers will keep getting theirs. It’s even worse for bike commuters who get less than 10% of what drivers get.
It’s a depressing reality as Congress failed to keep the transit benefit from being slashed at the end of the year.  [...]

Tags: Benefits, Biking, commuting, Money, Transit, Transportation policy, Vermont

2338No Comments »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2011/12/congress-fails-to-support-bus-riders-drivers-rewarded/Congress+Disses+Bus+Riders%3B+Drivers+Rewarded2011-12-23+03%3A55%3A13Chapin

St. Albans City recently won just over $2 million for a streetscape project on North Main Street. The project will include new sidewalks and bike infrastructure, linking downtown to a 19-mile pedestrian network and a 26-mile bicycle trail.  The grant comes from the federal TIGER grant program, which stands for “Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery.” [...]

Tags: Bicycling, Business, complete streets, Sidewalk, urban planning, Vermont

23311 Comment »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2011/12/st-albans-city-wins-big-grant-for-sidewalks-paths/St.+Albans+City+Wins+Big+Grant+for+Sidewalks+%26+Paths2011-12-21+14%3A37%3A05Jason

Local Motion gives a big ’shout out’ to our volunteer friends in Milton.

The members of the Ad Hoc Recreation Pathways Committee have worked for three years to identify and prioritize potential trails in their community.  They will be presenting their first priority to the Milton Planning Commission in January 2012.
Milton has embarked on a couple [...]

Tags: Milton, planning, Trails, Vermont

2322No Comments »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2011/12/milton-volunteers-plan-for-paths/Milton+Volunteers+Plan+for+Paths2011-12-16+04%3A35%3A32Chapin

It’s here — the Trail Finder app for the iPhone! It’s free and so easy to use.  Download it from iTunes here.
Your smart phone is now your trail map. Over 200 trails in Vermont are now searchable from your phone.  You can pull up maps, read the details, submit comments or even a photo at [...]

Tags: app, Bicycling, hiking, iPhone, Trail Finder, Trails, Vermont, XC Skiing

2273No Comments »http://www.localmotion.org/blog/2011/12/volunteers-launch-trail-finder-app-for-iphone/Volunteers+Launch+Trail+Finder+App+for+iPhone%212011-12-05+03%3A51%3A56Chapin