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.

VBike just debuted its adaptive bike fleet! It's all about rolling out our "Bike Transportation Without Limitations" program - bicycle mobility with virtually no barrier to age, physical condition, or experience level. On Saturday, Oct. 1st, VBike volunteer Farid Quraishi and VBike director Dave Cohen headed down to Bethel to participate in Bethel Better Block and debut this fleet. 

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.

Burlington resident Peggy O'Neill and Local Motion were featured in NPR's recent series "Boundbusters" about empowering citizens to make changes Burlington's streets through tactical urbanism. Tactical urbanism is an approach to creating temporary projects that get to "lighter, faster and cheaper" changes on the ground.

How cool! VPR's Vermont Edition interviewed Local Motion's friend and VBike founder, Dave Cohen. Listen and learn about how bike innovations are being adopted in Brattleboro and VBike's work to help Vermonters and Vermont bike shops catch up with the new designs and technologies that are revolutionizing bike transport.

Listen now

We are delighted to report that the promised addition of bike lanes to Williston Road between Earl's Cyclery and Tafts Corners is happening—and we're bummed to report that it won't happen until 2017.  (The delay is to accommodate a major subsurface utility upgrade, which is much better done before the road is repaved than after.)  The delay is frustrating, but the bike lanes are baked into the design, which means they WILL get built.  Read on for a few screenshots from the paving plans, so you know we aren't blowing smoke!

The Town of Waitsfield is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to provide engineering and design services for the development of the Waitsfield Pocket Park. The project involves design, permitting, and construction of a public pocket park in Waitsfield Village, along the Mad River, adjacent to the historic 1833 Big Eddy Covered Bridge.

Recently, Local Motion got an inquiry from a contact at GMT (formerly CCTA) about the four-foot passing law.  They said a driver had asked why exactly it was necessary to give a minimum of four feet of clearance when passing someone on a bike.  We were so glad they asked!  GMT puts a major emphasis on safety, and bike-bus interactions are an area where special conditions apply.  Here's what we told them about why four feet is so important:

Rumor has it that North Avenue now has PROTECTED BIKE LANES. Check out these awesome photos of the pilot project on North Ave, and don't forget to try out the pilot for yourself! 

In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene dropped massive amounts of rain on the Mad River Valley causing flooding damage to businesses, homes, and roadways in Warren Village. The Vermont Downtown Action Team (V-DAT) responded by helping the community identify needs and create conceptual layouts for pedestrian improvements and streetscape enhancements that increase safety, calm traffic and provide a sense of place on Main Street. This project presents an opportunity for a qualified consultant to bid on the design and engineering services for an innovative project to create shared space for all road users on Main Street in Warren Village...