Features that help make biking and walking safer have been installed across Burlington in many places this summer! And DPW isn't done yet, as several more safety features are being completed into this fall. These are all a part of the City's effort to create a network of connected streets where people of all ages and abilities can easily get around and feel safe doing so, as outlined in planBTV Walk Bike. Neighborhood Greenways are an important part of this--that is, streets with low vehicle volumes and speeds designed to prioritize bicycling and enhance conditions for walking. "The Wiggle" in the ONE is a great example of this, where folks of all ages and abilities can get from the NNE or Battery Park and the Waterfront to the top of the hill (UVM and UVMMC), downtown, or anywhere in between.

Below is a sample of the wonderful bike and walk infrastructure that the City of Burlington has or is in the process of completing this summer. Fear not, much more superb bike and walk infrastructure is planned for upcoming years to help complete a connected citywide network.

Local Motion will reinstate the Island Line Bike Ferry service for the 2018 season. The Vermont Agency of Transportation announced a joint effort today with, the Town of Colchester and Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department to rebuild the Colchester Causeway, targeting early July for reopening. 

I am beginning a series about the complexity of riding a bike. I am interested in the many elements that go into a bike ride, and as I use a bike as my primary form of transportation, I've given these elements a lot of thought.

Vermont is home to "one of the country's most spectacular bike trails," according to a recent Washington Post travel piece, and we couldn't agree more! Local Motion owns and operates a bike ferry on a section of the trail, the Colchester Causeway, ferrying cyclists and their bikes from one side of the 200 ft "cut" to the other. Last year, more than 16,000 cyclists rode our ferry enjoying views of the Adirondack mountains to the west and the Green mountains to the east - at the same time! It truly is a spectacular ride and beloved by locals and visitors alike.

Many years ago I bought Kate Carter's 'Wildflowers of Vermont.' I learned about the most common Vermont wildflowers. This year I decided to photograph flowers as they appeared and post the pictures on Facebook. The first flower of the season was Coltsfoot, which I found by the side of the road in Essex. This was during my first long ride of the the spring. I had seen some cultivated flowers in bloom, but that was my first wild flower. A week later I found a blue flower next to the Burlington bike path, but I was not able to identify it.

Burlington Electronic Launches Electric Bike Rebate Program and Test Ride Lending Library - partners with Local Motion and Burlington Shops to Promote E-bikes as Tools for reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Transportation Sector