Newsletter sent on 4/19/2022

Rolling into Spring! 🌷

Upcoming Events

(Like us on Facebook or check out our events calendar to stay in the know)

• Friday, May 6 - Vermont Walk/Bike Summit
  • We are excited to sponsor the 2022 Vermont Walk/Bike Summit in Middlebury on Friday, May 6th! This event will focus on how providing safe facilities for walking and biking benefits Vermonters in a range of areas, such as alternative transportation options for commuting to work and school, opportunities for physical activity, recreation, connecting communities, placemaking, and supporting local economies. We hope to see you there! Register at VTWalkBikeSummit.com
• Friday, May 20 - Bike to Work Day
• May 16-22 - Bike to Work Week 
• May 16-20 - Park Your Carbon Week
  • Want to try a different way of getting around? How about a healthy option, one that can save you some money and even be fun? You can reduce carbon pollution in Vermont and impact worldwide climate change. Park Your Carbon is a week-long initiative to help change Vermonters’ transportation and commuting habits by encouraging green ways of travel. Do it for a day, a week, or make it a habit. Bike. Walk. Share Your Ride. Bus. Work From Home. Take the pledge and Go Vermont will plant a tree! 
• May 21 - 7th Annual Richard's Ride
• May 27 - Opening Day of the Bike Ferry Season

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 Complete Streets  | Education  | Recreation | Community

Complete Streets

Supporting Vermont’s Walk/Bike Committees and Groups

Most of the change that needs to happen to make walking, biking, and rolling safe, accessible, and fun for all Vermonters is taking place at the local level. As a statewide organization, a key focus for Local Motion is supporting these groups so that they can use their local expertise to effect change. 

In Randolph, we’re helping a small group administer a community walk/bike survey this spring. With our support, the Montpelier Complete Streets Committee is planning to implement an interim protected two-way bike lane to close a gap in its downtown bike path. In Saint Albans, residents are partnering with us to make progress on a much-needed walk/bike connection between Saint Albans City and a commercial area to the north in Saint Albans Town, where there are grocery stores and employment destinations. 

Local Motion volunteers are maintaining the Burlington Greenway detour again this spring, and we’re helping Montpelier implement a similar treatment to address a gap in its bike path.

In Burlington, we’re assisting the Walk/Bike Council with a report that will evaluate progress on PlanBTV Walk/Bike over the past five years, and making sure that the Greenway Detour in place this spring is safe for riders of all abilities. We’re assisting Brattleboro’s Coalition for Active Transportation with several initiatives, including their effort to deliver bikes and resources to resettled Afghan refugees, fundraising for a covered bike parking structure for the food co-op downtown, and an upcoming Walk/Bike Master Plan.   

These are just a few examples of the important work happening in communities around the state with our support. We couldn’t do our work without folks engaged at the local level! You can find more information about getting involved in your community here.

Education

E-bike Rebates & Resources

Our E-bike Lending Libraries are hitting the road! These programs provide free e-bike loans to Vermonters who might be interested in purchasing an e-bike and help build grassroots support for walk/bike infrastructure. The Traveling E-bike Lending Library, which visits multiple towns every year, is currently in Saint Johnsbury. Over the season, it will be in Lyndonville, Northfield, Waitsfield, Bristol, and Vergennes! For folks in Chittenden County, our Burlington E-bike Lending Library will continue to provide loans out of our office on the Burlington Greenway starting in mid-May.

We’re still finalizing the details on our Satellite E-bike Lending Libraries, which are permanent libraries that Local Motion helps communities establish by providing E-bikes and technical assistance. Last year, we helped set up new e-bike libraries in Middlebury, Brattleboro, and Rutland, all of which will be operating this season. This year's new Satellite E-bike Lending Libraries are still being finalized, but plans are underway in Montpelier and South Hero, and one other location.

Find an E-bike loan near you here!

Thinking about an E-bike? Here is a list of available rebates and resources! 

• VBike’s Free E-bike Consultations for Everyone!
  • If you’re interested in an e-bike but are not sure which one is right for you, sign up for a free e-bike consultation with VBike!
• Burlington Electric Department
  • $200 rebate when you purchase an e-bike or conversion kit from a Burlington bike shop.
• Green Mountain Power
  • $200 rebate when you purchase an e-bike or conversion kit from a participating bike shop (through 12/31/22).
• Vermont Public Power Supply Authority
  • $100 rebate when you purchase an e-bike or conversion kit at a Vermont-based store (through 12/31/22).
• Washington Electric Co-op
  • $200 rebate when you purchase a new e-bike from a participating bike shop (through 12/31/22).
• Stowe Electric Department
  • $200 rebate when you purchase a Class 1 e-bike from a participating shop.
• Low-interest Loans for E-bikes From Vermont State Employees Credit Union
  • VSECU offers low-interest green loans that can be applied to e-bike purchases.
• Low/No-interest Loans for E-bikes From Opportunities Credit Union
  • OCU is partnering with Old Spokes Home to provide E-Bikes at low rates to Vermonters. 

Bike Smart’s Spring Adventures are Sprung!

We’re at 24 schools this season, all across the state! 

Did you know that Bike Smart has a fleet of adaptive bicycles to allow every child at a school to participate in bike programming? Here at Local Motion, we know that children with disabilities are frequently left out of events and activities. Many people don’t know how to include children in activities or lack the resources to adapt the activities to make the program accessible.  

We work with schools to remove those barriers – the fantastic teachers who are committed to inclusion are our favorite people. And this work matters – check out the smile on the face of this student from Springfield. 

“That smile lasted the entire PE class. He loved experiencing this with his peers.” – Kristeen Chambers, PE teacher at Union Street School.

Bike Smart provides kids of all ages and abilities with the essential bike handling and bike safety skills they need to be able to ride safely on Vermont roadways.  We are so proud of this program and are grateful for the partnerships that make this program possible.

Get your Muddy Boots Moovin’ with Safe Routes to School!

After a very successful Winter Walk to School Day (want a mood booster? Check out our Winter Walk to School Day gallery) where kids all over Vermont were #VermontTough.

We are moving into our spring events! We’ve collaborated with Vermont artist Sarah Rosedahl to develop a series of engaging kits for our Safe Routes to School partners. From a “Golden Ticket” punch card to the Muddy Boot Award, to a "Get Moovin" bulletin board, we’ve got an engagement event to fit the needs of any school. We’re committed to helping children discover walking and biking for transportation, and we’ve got great resources to get kids excited to give active transportation a shot!

Is YOUR school participating in Safe Routes to School? Check to see if your school is on the list!

Elements of Bike Riding by Peter Burns

Peters Burns’ April blog focused on spring riding and offers some helpful tips on biking up a hill and your body position on your bike, such as "If you are swaying back and forth in the saddle as you climb a hill, shift to a lower gear."

Peter Burns is a long-time bike enthusiast, and one of the original year-round bike riders in Burlington. He writes amazing monthly blogs and teaches a variety of Everyday Biking workshops! Thank you, Peter, for supporting Local Motion’s mission!

Recreation

New & Improved Trailside Center

The Trailside Center is moving, and we are very excited about our new Burlington waterfront space! We’ll be located on the south end of the Wing Building directly on King Street and just feet from the bike path. There’ll be lots more space for our growing rental fleet of both conventional bikes and e-bikes. We also upgraded our reservation software that will make reservations a snap for our rental customers. 

Seasonal bike rental staff recruiting has begun! Please share the following with anyone you know who would find the following to be the perfect job: loves to ride bikes - loves to work on bikes - would love learning to work on bikes - loves sharing the joy of riding a bike - loves a lively workplace - loves colleagues with a shared passion -  loves supporting an advocacy whose mission it is to make it safe, accessible, and fun for everyone to bike, walk, and roll in Vermont. Learn more about the position here. 

The Trailside Center opens for the season on Saturday, May 14 through October 16, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Friend of the Ferry = Major Success 

The 2022 bike ferry season will kick off on Friday, May 27. 

Hours

Weekdays - Monday thru Friday 10 to 5
Weekends - Saturday and Sunday 10 to 6

Dates of Service

Spring - Weekend service on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays plus Memorial Day Monday. Begins on Friday, May 27th thru Sunday, June 12th
Summer -  Daily service from Friday, June 17th thru Monday, Sept 5th
Fall - Weekend service on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Indigenous Peoples Day Monday
Begins on Friday, Sept 9th thru Monday, Oct 10th  

The last day of service is Monday, October 10th on Indigenous Peoples Day.

For more bike ferry information and updates, visit our page!

Sign up for ferry volunteer shifts here! 

Find Valet Bike Parking this summer

Valet Bike Parking will be at 

• SoBu Nite Our Series, South Burlington, Thursdays in July and August, 5-8 pm, with fireworks night planned on August 4.
• Intervale's Summervale Series, Thursdays in July and August, 5:30-8 pm.
• And at various waterfront events throughout the summer.

Stay tuned for more events!

Sign up for Valet Bike PArking volunteer shifts here!

Our Community

Donor Support

Local Motion’s donors come from all over Vermont and from nearly every state in the country, and many have been supporting us for nearly 20 years! We are pleased to offer lots of ways to give so you can decide what works best for you, including:

• Workplace giving and employer matching
• Gifts of securities
• Remembering Local Motion in your will
• Monthly sustaining gifts
• Annual appeals and special Giving Days
• Friend of the Ferry annual campaign

Learn more at localmotion.org/donate and watch for our summer appeal coming in June!

Local Motion is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible as provided by law.

Business Sponsorships

Business sponsorships represent a significant portion of Local Motion’s annual revenue, and we’re proud of partnerships with dozens of area businesses. We will customize a sponsorship opportunity that’s just right for your business’ budget and its philanthropic and marketing goals!

Looking for the biggest bang for your business donation? Consider a customized and highly visible annual sponsorship of a Local Motion program or assets such as the Island Line Bike Ferry, our Bike Smart children’s program trailers, Valet Bike Parking, or our E-Bike Lending program.

Learn more at localmotion.org/business_members.

Volunteers

Volunteering with Local Motion is fun and easy, and there are all kinds of ways you can help! From greeting passengers on our Bike Ferry or parking bikes for Valet Bike Parking to helping with learn-to-ride clinics for kids or even at-home computer work, there is a good volunteer opportunity to fit your style.   

Plus! Volunteer hours with Local Motion are eligible for City Market member worker credit which translates to a discount on groceries!

To learn more and sign up for our volunteer newsletter, visit localmotion.org/volunteer. 

Want to stay up to date on all things Local Motion?

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to always be in the loop! 

Check out our seasonal e-newsletters!