This op-ed was written by UVM student Sage Lepore as part of a public communications service learning project.

At Local Motion, our mission is to make it safe, accessible, and fun for everyone to walk, bike, and roll in Vermont. Our Complete Streets team works alongside communities to create streets that are safer for everyone. Recently, we’ve found ourselves asking: What if the most powerful step toward people-centered streets is connection?

I read most of this book on a bus ride to Boston. I was on my way to my daughter’s wedding. In the speech I prepared for the wedding lunch, I described my daughter running up and down a little hill as we sang "The Grand Old Duke of York." Right at the beginning of The Wind at my Back I came across this passage "That snowy Christmas we endured the long hours of faltering motorway traffic, staring mindlessly at blank fields and filthy cars, singing "The Grand Old Duke of York" over and over again to send our daughter to sleep, munching on turkey sandwiches."

(How Burlington's Accessible Outdoor Spaces Have Made it Easier for Me to Get Outdoors)

This op-ed was written by UVM student Abby Spires as part of a public communications service learning project.

Local Motion, Vermont’s statewide bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organization, has six new board members: Carlton Bonilla of Winooski, Scott Cone of Pomfret, Marlon Fisher of Winooski, Mohsen Ghasemizade of Burlington, Mary Still of Winooski, and Adrian Tanguay of Essex Junction. Suzanne Kelley of Colchester is now serving as Board Chair. Suzanne says, “We are pleased to welcome our newest board members, who will help support and advance Local Motion’s mission to make walking, biking, and rolling safe, accessible and fun for all”.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation and Bennington County Regional Commission, along with participating organizations and sponsors, will host the statewide 2026 Vermont Walk/Bike Summit in Bennington on Friday, May 8, 2026. Below are two opportunities to be involved in the summit as a presenter or an award nominator.

I got my first bike when I was eight years old. It was a gift from my grandfather. He knew how important it is to own a bike. When he was a young man he worked in a coal mine in the English Midlands. On weekends he went for long rides. It got him out into the countryside away from the city. That is one of the things that my bikes do for me!

The 2026 legislative session is officially underway, and Local Motion is committed to advocating for safer streets on behalf of all Vermonters. In addition to the four low/no-cost priorities we’ve listed below, we also support the Transportation for Vermonters Coalition’s 2026 policy priorities and the Environmental Common Agenda with Vermont Conservation Voters.