Cindy Joy Pike of Bellows Falls died on July 22.  She was hit by a car as she crossed the street in West Brattleboro on July 21.  She was the fifth person to be killed in the last five years while walking in Brattleboro.  That means that this community of 12,000 has one of the highest per-capita pedestrian fatality rates in the country:  8.3 annual pedestrian deaths per 100,000 population, or three times the rate of the most dangerous metro area in the country (Orlando, Florida).  What's going on?

The AARP is now accepting applications for projects that will help make communities livable for people of all ages, and is providing funding for a variety of projects ranging from small, short-term activities to more drawn-out proposals. Read on to learn how you can apply! 

It’s June and therefore time to begin work on your FY18 Municipal Planning Grant applications! Did you know that Municipal Planning Grants (MPGs) can be used to increase the economic vitality of your community? Read on to learn the details.

Over the past few years, Lyndon residents, business owners and local officials have been steadily working to become a more bike friendly community. Lyndon is part of Vermont's rural Northeast Kingdom, with its winding roads and village centers where people who live here and those "from away" are discovering everyday biking for transportation and for fun!

The Vermont uniform crash report form gets tweaked just about every year in response to requests from law enforcement and others.  This year, it got a significant upgrade to bike-related fields.  This will begin to address a chronic problem with regard to data on bike crashes in Vermont:  way too many crashes where the bike-related factors are "other" or "unknown."  This is something Local Motion has been quietly but doggedly working on for the last few years.  Progress! 

Are you a transportation engineer or planner? Are you interested in a job that will make a real difference for biking in Vermont?  If you answered yes, than make sure to check out this opportunity with VTrans.  The agency is committed to investing in better biking statewide, both on state highways and on local roads and this position will play a leading role in making good on that commitment. 

We are excited to introduce Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks, a new guide from the USDOT Federal Highway Administration Bicycle and Pedestrian Program that will help make streets and roads in Vermont towns work better and be safer for everyone! The guide is a great new resource for advocates, municipal staff and leaders in Vermont's small towns and rural communities. It applies existing national design guidelines for safer streets and roads in rural settings and highlights small town and rural case studies -- even one from Vermont's own Lyndonville! 

Check out this sure-to-be informative, free(!) America Walks webinar series on building walkable communities. Coming your way on the second Wednesday of every month throughout 2017, experts as well as advocates and municipal representatives will present sase studies from around the country, and discuss what makes a city walkable and how to do it in your community.

Register NOW!

In July 2015, Local Motion, DuBois & King, the Burlington Dept. of Public Works and Street Plans Collaborative partnered together and set up temporary street redesigns to show how bike lanes can increase safety for non-motorized street users and how with a little thought and planning cyclists, walkers and cars can all coincide peacefully on our streets. This effort was just featured in Design Museum Magazine!

If your community wishes to participate in the joint VTrans/ACCD Better Connections Grant Program, a pre-application meeting needs to happen by Friday, December 16th.