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.

It was supposed to be just a regular Saturday morning running the Valet Bike Parking at the Farmers' Market in City Hall Park. Until I got the email from Wayne. Wayne is my friend from Montreal, who used to live in Burlington but abandoned us for "La vie francaise" north of the border.

We had another successful Learn to Ride class this past Saturday!  Almost 30 kids, ranging in ages 3 - 10, converged on Leddy Park in Burlington ready to Learn to Ride.  A good number of them were successful and almost everyone improved significantly!

Our Learn to Ride classes are getting themselves a following!  We had a family come back this year, because... 

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!

Burlington Parks, Recreation and Waterfront announced earlier today the re-opening of the treasured Burlington Greenway. The Burlington Greenway, formerly known as The Burlington Bike Path, has been under construction since mid-summer and been closed to the public for just as long. 

A recent article from Citylab gives empirical backing to something that is obvious to anyone who rides a bike:  protected bike lanes make biking better.  But they do more than reduce crashes; they also increase rates of biking.  The increased margin of safety persuades "retired" bike riders to dust off their bikes and take to the streets.  Check out the article at this link.  And read on to learn why this matters right now for Burlington.

Vermont Goldsprints is pleased to announce Burlington's own indoor bicycle racing party series- MAD DASHES- for winter 2017. Exact dates are TBA, but racing will take place at Brio Coffee, Switchback Brewing, and Maglianero. No racing experience and really, no bicycling experience is required to participate! Proceeds from Mad Dashes keeps the racing gear running and gets BIKES in front of KIDS at Open Street BTV, Safety Days, and other bike advocacy events around Vermont and beyond - and it's a heck of a lot of fun!

Local Motion staff and volunteers hit the streets in Burlington last night to get high-quality bike lights on "ninja" bikes. We counted about 80 riders coming through the intersection of Pearl Street & Winooski Avenue in the space of two hours.  The good news?  Two-thirds of them already had lights on their bikes! Check out our Twitter feed for photos, reactions, and more.

The Fall 2016 application period is now open for the Outdoor Gear Exchange Charitable Grant Fund! OGE is accepting applications until October 15, 2016 primarily to fund tangible acquisitions related to land access, conservation, or sustainable outdoor recreation. Grants will be awarded to qualifying organizations for amounts up to $1500 (up to $1000 for our education grant). To learn more about past projects or to apply for a grant, please visit www.gearx.com/grants/.

The Burlington Police Department is going green! BPD released a statement yesterday that they will be reintroducing police bike patrols as a measure to make Burlington more environmentally friendly, healthier, and stronger as a community. Read on for more information, and to sneak a glance at the police's shiny new wheels.