Over the years I have found many things by the side of the road. I have panniers on my bike so it is easy for me to take home the treasures I encounter. Most of the stuff I find is food but sometimes it is clothing or household items. I have found some wallets over the years but of course I have turned them in right away.

Finding things and using them is part of the ethos of riding a bike instead of driving a car. Much of the food I find would go to waste if I did not use it. Scavenging is also part of my heritage. Growing up in a working class neighborhood in Providence Rhode Island, all of the kids picked black raspberries, blackberries, apples, blueberries and grapes. We returned bottles and used found materials to make forts, tree houses, slingshots, and mini-cannons. I don’t rescue all the abandoned food I see. Recently I observed two bagels in the garden at City Market and I had enough self-control not to pick them up. I am sure the birds and the ants enjoyed them!

This fall, four Vermont communities are using paint, straw bales, planters, and cones to try out street changes before anyone commits to permanent changes.

This map presents initiatives built and implemented around Vermont since 2019 that are making it easier for residents to get around their communities without a car.

Last Spring, Winooski held its first-ever Walk to School Day. It rained the whole morning, but the children showed up anyway equipped with umbrellas and rain jackets, walking to school with their families and neighbors for the first time as a group. It was the first event pulled off by Winooski’s brand new Safe Routes to School task force, a group of school staff, parents, advocates, and city staff who’d started meeting only a few months before with the shared goal of making it safer and easier for kids to walk, bike, and roll to school.

I do many different kinds of bike rides. Almost every day I ride from Winooski to Burlington. I mostly go to some combination of the group home where I work, the Family Room, City Market, the Fletcher Free Library, and the YMCA. I am starting this essay on Monday, August 3rd, which will be a typical riding day. First I will go to the Y to teach a swim lesson, then I will be at the group home from 9 AM to 2:30 PM. After work I will go to City Market but also the FedEx store and the Asian Market. Then I will ride home.

Vermont’s roads are seeing more crashes involving pedestrians, bike and e-bike riders, scooters and other micromobility devices, and e-moto riders. How these crashes get reported shapes how the public understands traffic violence, particularly who’s at risk and who’s responsible.

The Conspiracy to Blame the Pedestrian

“It won’t be long before children won’t have any right at all in the streets.” 

Those are the words of a Philadelphia judge from the early 1920s, lecturing drivers from the bench about the newly invented automobile that had swept the country. He meant it as a warning. It turned out to be prophetic.

On Sunday, July 5th, I opened my checklist binder to the one for riding and swimming. I have a checklist for every conceivable activity. Checklists give me a sense of security.  I put my purple bathing suit on under my bike shorts and packed my pink bathing cap, tinted swimming goggles and lightweight camping towel. I also brought along my plastic banana holder to prevent my banana from bruising. Bananas are a good snack on a bike ride. As I left my house, I felt prepared, just like a Boy Scout but to paraphrase Robert Burns, the poet I share a last name with, the best laid plans can go awry.

Progress Made, More Work Ahead for Safer Streets in Vermont

The 2026 legislative session delivered important investments in active transportation and outdoor recreation, but did not advance several key policy updates needed to further improve safety on Vermont’s streets.

Local Motion, alongside our partners in the Transportation for Vermonters Coalition (T4VT), worked constructively with legislators, state agencies, and regional and local partners to elevate the policies impacting Vermonters’ ability to walk, bike, and roll safely. We deeply appreciate the collaboration of our partners, the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and members of both the House and Senate Transportation Committees, and look forward to continued engagement to move our legislative priorities forward.

Over the years I have seen many bike trends come and go. I have been part of some of the trends. I bought a mountain bike 40 years ago but I used it to ride around town, not for riding on trails. I have purchased and used a fat bike, and it has been a game changer for winter riding. I even have a couple of bikes that were early versions of gravel bikes. I have not yet bought an electric bike but as I get older that becomes a possibility. I also had a fixie bike. It was a Surly Steamroller. I rode it as a one speed bike but hills were a real challenge so I had it converted to a three speed fixie. Fixie means that there is no freewheel. When the bike is moving, the pedals also move. You can use the pedals as brakes by applying backwards pressure.