Winter riding in Vermont is difficult, but there are many advantages to taking on that challenge.

This year, Local Motion worked with thousands of Vermonters to build a culture—and environment—where safety comes first. With support from the Agency of Transportation's Vermont State Highway Safety Office, we:

• Taught 10,173 youth hands-on bike safety through Bike Smart and reached over 10,559 students
• Delivered 55,547 hours of safety training
• Provided for free 1,489 safety tools including helmets and lights
• Supported 32 communities with walk/bike technical assistance, supporting local safety improvements and infrastructure planning
• Helped more than 7 towns implement new safety projects

Local Motion advanced Vermont’s commitment to safer streets and stronger communities through hands-on education, engagement, and technical assistance. With support from the Vermont State Highway Safety Office, we equipped thousands of Vermonters—especially youth and vulnerable road users—with the skills, confidence, and tools to travel safely by bike and on foot. Our programs not only changed behavior but also helped communities make lasting improvements to infrastructure and culture that protect all road users.

Keep reading to learn What these programs are, How we implement these programs, Who is affected by our programs, and When and Where our programs took place.

Bike riding is an intensely physical activity, but it can also be very emotional. Over the years I have felt many strong feelings while riding.

Today is the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, a day held to honor those who have lost their lives or been impacted by roadway crashes.

Local Motion and our partners in the Transportation for Vermonters alliance are working to make Vermont safer for those biking, walking, and rolling. We have made strides, but there is more to be done. You are an important part of the conversation.

Local Motion's Complete Streets team is continually working to create safer, connected communities. Those connections are physical - safe routes for those biking, walking, and rolling. They are also emotional - connected communities gather together. Complete streets are for everyone and every community. Streets constitute the majority of public space in our communities and determine the feel of our villages, towns, and cities. When they're dangerous, our communities aren't safe and cannot thrive. Complete streets prioritize safety and comfort, connect people to destinations and to each other, and enable vibrant community life.

Two new resources are now available to help create these connections in your own towns:

On Saturday, September 28th, I rode the Fall Fundo. It is a fundraising event for Old Spokes Home and it raised a lot of money this year! They provide free and reduced priced bikes to those in need. Over the years I have been in a few Fundos, each of which have been very different. I did the 100k ride my first time out, and was lost for much of the time, although I did eventually catch up with some people. I rode the last ten miles with Glenn and his partner Mary. Glenn used to own Old Spokes Home. He sold me my first Vermont bicycle 45 years ago when he worked at Skirack. I rode one year when it was raining during the entire event. I was miserable and I got lost. I decided never to do a rainy Fundo again! Last year I did the 50k route and it was a tough ride, with two difficult hills. I wrote about it in a blog post.

This summer I turned 69. I am in the evening of my life. I hope the last part of my life will be as filled with light as this photo! I have had many years of biking and distance swimming. I have done a couple of centuries and a climb to the top of Smugglers Notch. My riding has taken me on thousands of miles of roads, mostly in northwestern Vermont. I have done many open water swims, including a four mile swim in Lake Champlain.

On a warm afternoon in Montreal’s Mile End, I step onto Rue Bernard and find myself immersed in something quietly radical: a street reclaimed for people. To my left, a half dozen café terraces bustle with chatting patrons awaiting their food. To my right, bursts of public art and spontaneous performances animate the walkway. There are flowers, shaded seating nooks, green spaces, and more.

And all around me: no cars. Not one.

On Saturday, August 16th, Colchester resident Michael Pickering was killed after being struck by a car on Mallets Bay Avenue. This is a tragedy for everyone involved — and it was entirely avoidable.

It was avoidable because Mallets Bay Avenue is a dangerous road.

I grew up in a working class neighborhood in Providence Rhode Island. My parents never owned a car and unlike other families in my neighborhood we went for walks. Sometimes we walked to a park or to a local grocery store where I could get an ice cream cone for ten cents! We were often accompanied by King, the neighborhood dog. Many of those walks were pleasant but sometimes I walked with my father to the liquor store where my mother expected me to prevent my father from buying hard liquor. We walked at night and I became obsessed with the shadows of street lights. As I walked between street lights the shadow of the pole in front of me got shorter and shorter while the one behind me got longer and longer. My father asked me why I kept looking behind us as we walked but I did not tell him.