Local Motion Media File -- "In The News"

The Wonderful World of Sustainable Transportation - Trail Finder and Shelburne Street Roundabout

2009-02-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

Live at 5:25
February 24, 2009
CCTV Channel 17
www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/wonderful-world-sustainable-transportation-shelburne-street-roundabout

Description

Chittenden County Transit Authority General Manager Chris Cole, Local Motion Director Chapin Spencer, Annie Bourdon of CarShare Vermont and other transportation leaders discuss transportation issues, ideas and initiatives. This show includes two exciting aspects of local transportation: Local Motion's Trail Finder - presented by Marketing Manager Todd Taylor and Shelburne Street Roundabout with Jason Van Driesche of Residents for a One-Lane Roundabout. Hosted by Chapin Spencer, Executive Director of Local Motion.

Richmond to Consider Ferry Service

2009-02-23T08:21:00.000-08:00

WCAX
February 21, 2009
www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=9883812

Richmond to Consider Ferry Service

Richmond, Vermont - More than 6,000 cars drive across the Richmond bridge every day. Residents say it's a lifeline for local businesses, but that lifeline is about to be severed.

The Richmond Bridge will close in March for a four month long blitz renovation project. The bridge is decaying and has long been in need of major structural repairs. "When you take away the bridge then you take away the pedestrian crossing, it's the same thing as putting a wall right down in the middle of an existing community," said Ben Bush, owner of On the Rise Bakery.

Businesses on both sides of the Winooski River are concerned. Sales at this bakery dropped 20 percent when the state closed the bridge for a month last fall. Others -- like the Chubby Robin gift shop -- were impacted even more."We were down 75 percent. A huge difference," said Lisa Littwin, a co-owner of the shop.

Area businesses did take a hit the last time the bridge was closed, but a pedestrian walkway helped soften the blow. It remained open -- but owners are worried what will happen this time around when the walkway is closed. "The Bridge Street Café is closed Mondays for now. Everyone is kind of trying to gird themselves for this one way or another," said Erik Filkorn, a member of the Richmond Select board.

Town officials are also looking for ways to lessen the impact, and are now exploring the idea of pedestrian ferry service. "We came up with several concepts, possibly a cable ferry, maybe a floating drawbridge, or just our tried and true ferry operation, which we may be settling on," said Brian Costello of Burlington based Local Motion.

"We wouldn't be looking at this if we didn't think there was some possibility of finding the money," adds Filkorn.

The Temporary ferry service would cost about $18,000, but could be paid for using federal grants. Business owners say it would keep Richmond residents shopping in town and would prevent tourists from using alternative routes.

"I would think that would actually be an attraction," said Filkorn. "I mean it's going to be a big show, so we're adding a ride to Richmond potentially like at an amusement park."

Keagan Harsha - WCAX News

Biking, Walking to School

2009-02-15T11:43:00.000-08:00

By Jenny Nixon Carter
Rutland Herald Correspondent
February 15, 2009
www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090215/FEATURES08/902150321

When I was a kid, I walked to school. And so did most of my friends. My route was fairly short, due to a great short-cut through the woods by my house. But I had many friends who walked a few miles. That was just the norm and none of us thought anything about it.

Unfortunately, that is no longer the case here in Rutland County and across the nation. Fewer and fewer kids are walking or biking to school these days. Inadequate sidewalks or bike lanes and busy streets, not to mention lack of supervision and concern for "stranger danger" leads to most parents driving their kids to school or sending them on the bus.

But this societal shift towards bussing or driving to school is a real loss for kids. Walking or biking to school provides a chance for kids to be outside and be active. And with the days where kids spend the afternoon running around in the yard before dinner slowly disappearing, this is another lost opportunity.

However, Safe Routes to Schools is a national program that is working to reverse this trend. This national grant program is designed to decrease traffic and pollution and increase the health of children and the community.

The program promotes walking and biking to school, through education and incentives, to show just how much fun these activities can be. The program also addresses the safety concerns of parents by encouraging greater enforcement of traffic laws, educating the public and exploring ways to create safer streets.

This federal program is coordinated at the state level by Vermont Agency of Transportation. Currently, the SR2S program is accepting applications for its next funding round. Public and private schools with students in kindergarten through eighth grade are eligible to apply.

Schools that receive funding can use it to evaluate existing conditions and attitudes, actively encourage students to walk and bike and identify infrastructure projects to make these activities safer. The schools will receive support for their programs from the Vermont SR2S coordinator.

Programs such as SR2S are important for the health of our children. Rutland County is home to one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the state of Vermont. One of the best opportunities to address this obesity epidemic is to increase regular, routine physical activity like walking or bicycling to school.

Seven schools in Rutland County have received funding through the SR2S program. With the funding, the schools have been able to provide walking and biking safety courses, bike rodeos, helmets and incentive prizes to encourage kids to walk or bike to school.

They can also develop innovative programs to promote walking, such as the one at Proctor Elementary School, where students and school staff meet at the town gazebo and walk together to school on Wednesdays. In addition, they have been able to evaluate what infrastructure needs the community requires to improve pedestrian safety.

If your school is interested in applying for this funding, the deadline for the application is March 13. More information on the program is available online or by contacting Aimee Pope, Vermont Safe Routes to School Coordinator at 828-5799.

(Jenny Nixon Carter is the executive director of the Rutland Physical Activity Coalition. For more information on the coalition, visit www.rapac.info.)

Burlington City Council Approves Roundabout Plan

2009-02-13T18:53:00.000-08:00

Burlington Free Press
Staff Report
February 12, 2009
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090212/NEWS02/902120311/1007

The Burlington City Council this week approved a plan to convert the intersection of Shelburne, St. Paul and South Willard streets into a one-lane roundabout. The plan calls for a two-lane "footprint," to allow for future expansion of the roundabout, if traffic-flow issues make that necessary. Council President Kurt Wright, R-Ward 4, cast the only no vote.

Great Ice in Grand Isle

2009-02-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

Burlington Free Press
Staff Report
February 13, 2009
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990213013

SATURDAY (Feb. 14):

Register at 9:30 a.m. for the F-f-frozen Chosen Regatta from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Design your own human-powered machine using a bicycle. All ages, solo or in teams. $20 entry fee benefits North Hero Community Hall restoration. Regatta rules posted at www.champlainislands.com or contact Bob Camp of Hero's Welcome at 372-4161.

Council to Vote on Rotary

2009-02-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

Burlington Free Press
By John Briggs
February 9, 2009
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090209/NEWS02/902090315/1007

The City Council will vote tonight on a design for the Shelburne Street rotary.The one-lane roundabout plan won the unanimous approval Friday of the City Council's Transportation Committee -- Andy Montroll, D-Ward 6, Bill Keogh, D-Ward 5, and Clarence Davis, P-Ward 3.

The committee approved a design that would narrow northbound Shelburne Street traffic into a single lane through the roundabout. Council approval would lock the city into the design, according to Public Works transportation planner Dan Bradley.

Traffic-flow studies indicate the design would back up northbound traffic during rush hours, though the vehicles, Bradley said, would "be constantly in motion."

The slowing of traffic has been an impetus for the design change. State data shows that the complicated intersection has a high accident rate.Traffic feeds there from South Willard and St. Paul streets onto Shelburne Street, with Locust Street entering from the west and Ledge Road from the east. Neighborhood residents have argued that fast-moving traffic makes the area dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The change has been questioned by the Chittenden County Transportation Authority. Chris Cole, CCTA general manager, wrote Bradley in December warning that the new design could hamper bus service.

Cole said last week that buses already have trouble getting to the Cherry Street bus station during rush hours. The anticipated backups, he said "could result in delays for all the buses."
The narrowing of the road to a single lane might also require the elimination of a bus-stop at Adams Court, just south of the roundabout, Cole said.

Keogh said he supported it because of a flood of e-mails from those supporting the one-lane roundabout."This is a compromise," he said, noting that the design approved by the Transportation Committee has a footprint that could allow the one-lane roundabout to be converted into two lanes. "I think it will create traffic queues that will be unacceptable. I hope it will not hurt our bus service to the South End."

Charlene Wallace, a neighborhood resident and a staff member at Local Motion, a nonprofit that promotes nonmotorized transportation, said Local Motion and residents believe the one-lane roundabout, by slowing traffic, will make street crossing safer.

The current configuration, she said, invites motorist confusion because it moves traffic through the area in two lanes and because of poor signage. "This is a good design because there's no question of where drivers need to be," she said.

Ward 6 resident David Porteous, a former chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said the design is flawed and will create a bottleneck "much like the one that was at the top of the hill at UVM (on Williston Road) in the 1990s.

"Merging doesn't improve things," he said of the planned narrowing at the roundabout, "it just makes a mess."He said the pedestrian problems could be solved by better lighting and street marking.

Bradley said the $1 million project would be paid entirely with state funds. With council approval tonight, he said, construction could begin in three to five years.

Intervale offers groomed ski trails

2009-01-31T05:25:00.000-08:00

Burlington Free Press
January 31, 2009
By Lauren Ober
Photo by Glenn Russell
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090130/LIVING02/90130028/-1/NEWS05

One of the more precious things about living in Burlington is the prevalence of cross-country skiers making tracks around town in the winter. People in Burlington ski to work, to the grocery store, to the movies and anywhere else that the snow allows.

Now, thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers, those on skinny skis now have a dedicated groomed trail on which to explore the city.

Recently, volunteers with Local Motion, a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group in the region, began grooming a Nordic ski trail in the city’s Intervale from Intervale Compost to the Ethan Allen Homestead. The 2.5-miles of corduroy wind through the Intervale’s many farms and remains relatively flat for length of the trail.

The trail is by no means like those at Trapp Family Lodge or other Nordic touring centers, said Local Motion’s executive director Chapin Spencer, but it provides an opportunity for people to be active close to home for free.

“Our hope is to get more folks engaged, especially when so many people are sedentary,” Spencer said.

The idea for a groomed Nordic trail in the city was born after two Local Motion volunteers, Jeff Fellinger and Andrew Swayze, approached Spencer about more winter recreation opportunities in Burlington. Local Motion had been looking for ways of expanding its winter offerings, Spencer said, and groomed trails seemed like a great option.

The organization purchased a used snow machine with a homemade tracksetting tiller for $3,100. Local Motion is in the process of raising money for the equipment. Spencer said they’re about two-thirds of the way toward their goal for their project.

Three volunteers are trained to use tracksetter and weather-willing, they go out every other day to set the tracks. At the moment, the snow machine is being persnickety, so the trails might not get groomed for the next few days, Spencer said. But any skiers interested in conditions on the trail can check www.skiburlington.blogspot.com for up-to-date information.

The one-year demonstration project will continue next year assuming feedback from community members is positive. So far, it has been. In the two weeks that the trail has been groomed, Spencer said he’s received several e-mails from skiers, both competitive and recreational, praising the city’s newest fitness fare.

With the grooming, the Intervale trail is now fully multi-use year-round. That is always how it was meant to be, Spencer said.

“That is the purpose of the place,” Spencer said. “It’s still a community park. People can walk, run their dogs, cross-country ski. There aren’t many areas that allow you to do all of that in one place.”

Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

Martin Luther King Day of Service

2009-01-20T20:15:00.000-08:00

Burlington Free Press
Photos by Alison Redlich
January 20, 2009
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BT&Dato=20090119&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=901190804&Ref=PH

Eleanor Weisman-Rowell, 7, helps clean and repair used bicycles at Bike Recycle Vermont in Burlington as part of the Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) Annual Martin Luther King Day of Service & Celebration on Monday, January 19, 2009. (ALISON REDLICH/Free Press)

Burlington biking, walking groups merge

2009-01-12T18:46:00.000-08:00

By Phyl Newbeck
Free Press Correspondent
January 12, 2009
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090112/NEWS02/901120319/1001/NEWS

Adios to the Burlington Walking Work Group. Sayonara to the Burlington Bike Council. The good news is these two groups have merged to form a new organization. The still unnamed group will hold its first joint meeting in the form of a social event from 5 to 7 p.m. today at the Firehouse Gallery in Burlington.

The Burlington Walking Work Group was formed in 2006 to "improve Burlington's walking environment through education, activism, citizen participation and political advocacy." Wayne Senville, an alternate on the steering committee of the new group, sees the merger as a way to "provide synergy. Since we share 90 percent of the same agenda, it makes sense for us to work together," he said.

The Burlington Bike Council, whose original mission was to create a comprehensive system of bike lanes and routes, was created by the Mayor's Office in 1990 and serves as an advisory body to the Department of Public Works. "Hopefully, this will increase our membership and generate enthusiasm," Bike Council Chairman Corey Berman said.

The newly merged group plans to meet at 5:30 p.m. on the second Monday of every month at the Center for Community and Neighborhoods office on the second floor of 125 College St. It will have a steering committee but will allow anyone who attends the meetings to vote. Berman hopes the new group will work closely with the city of Burlington and provide education to motorists and bicyclists.

Local Motion of Burlington has assisted both groups for years. Executive Director Chapin Spencer is pleased with the merger. "We've been talking about having one advisory group focus on biking and walking issues in the city for nearly 10 years," he said. "It's great to see that it is finally happening."

Charity's Middleman in Middlebury

2009-01-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

Building a philanthropic movement with the Vermont Community Foundation
Seven Days Vermont -- Local Issues
By Kirk Kardashian
January 7, 2009
http://www.7dvt.com/2009charitys-middleman-middlebury

In his Gettysburg Address of 1863, Abraham Lincoln eloquently expressed the hope “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” During the 1991 recession, former Vermont Governor Richard Snelling told the legislature that a government “for the people” isn’t enough — the people need to be for the people, too. “The ultimate humanity we seek is not the task of government alone,” Snelling said, “but is the goal of a society in which both public and private efforts must go hand in hand.” With state budget deficits stretching into the hundreds of millions, and deep cuts on the way, his warning is perhaps even more pertinent today than it was 18 years ago.

So the question becomes, how can Vermont effectively encourage private philanthropists to give? Here’s one answer: an organization that educates people about the challenges facing Vermonters and their environment, connects philanthropists to nonprofit organizations, and manages charitable funds created by individuals, families, groups, organizations and institutions.

That’s a fair description of the Vermont Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization located in the former Masonic Temple in downtown Middlebury. With a staff of 25, it’s Vermont’s largest foundation in terms of asset size, ranking nationally among the top 10 percent of community foundations for total assets and gifts received. The VCF was founded in 1986; it gave out $12.6 million in grants in 2007, and ended that year with $140 million in invested assets. Local Motion founder Chapin Spencer calls it “Vermont’s secret weapon” and the place “where the horsepower is to create change and community in Vermont.”

Perhaps the easiest way to think of the VCF is as an umbrella organization covering 500 charitable funds dedicated to a wide range of issues, from Western classical music in Chittenden County to global warming and affordable housing. It’s the only community foundation in Vermont; the one source of guidance for Vermont-focused philanthropists who want to learn about local issues and maximize the impact of their giving.

In that way, the VCF repeats the pattern set by the first community foundation, which was founded in Cleveland in 1914 by Frederick H. Goff. Goff was a banker and a lawyer and the president of the Cleveland Trust Company. He had an idea to make philanthropy something more than an individual bequest in somebody’s will, to take that act of charity and combine it with others into a more powerful and permanent endowment for the city. Goff’s brainchild, the Cleveland Foundation, allowed community leaders to direct the interest from the trust to “such charitable purposes as will best make for the mental, moral, and physical improvement of the inhabitants of Cleveland.”

Today, there are 700 community foundations in the U.S., managing more than $40 billion in assets. They function on the same principle as the communities they serve: that more can be accomplished together than separately, and that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Such a technocratic conception of community doesn’t appeal particularly to Peter Espenshade, vice president of community philanthropy at the VCF. To him, “community is an emotion you feel.”

Espenshade, 45, joined the VCF in 2007 after working for the Lake Champlain Land Trust for 12 years. In his kind, sonorous and slightly raspy voice, he points out that rural philanthropy has three hallmarks: It’s profoundly local (“You need to know what Isle La Motte is like,” he says); there’s a lot of anonymous giving, because people don’t want to be tagged in their community as overly wealthy; and there’s a “philanthropic divide,” meaning that, while Vermonters are certainly generous, the state doesn’t have the charitable capital of a metropolitan area.

When Espenshade talks about a direct experience of community — for instance, bringing his daughters to Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond — his eyes gleam, and he nods enthusiastically. Cochran’s, a nonprofit ski area, epitomizes the benefits of a community spirit for Espenshade. It’s a place where his family knows other families, where he feels safe letting his daughters ski unsupervised for a couple of hours, and where people of all income levels can afford to recreate. In 2007, in fact, Cochran’s received a $10,000 Sustainable Communities Grant from one of VCF’s fundholders.

Part of Espenshade’s job involves helping others, including newcomers, get that same feeling of community. Not long ago, a cattle farmer from southern Vermont moved to Wake Robin, a retirement community in Shelburne. The farmer had been active in the sustainable agriculture movement and wanted to donate locally, but he didn’t know anyone in northern Vermont. Espenshade recalls him calling and asking, “What can you tell me about Chittenden County? What about the Visiting Nurses Association?” Espenshade worked with the farmer, met him in person, and got him connected.

Knowledge gathering and transmission is a big part of what the VCF does — and when information isn’t readily available, the organization seeks it out. Another donor called Espenshade to say she was interested in access to post-secondary education in Vermont. She started a fund for that purpose, and the VCF commissioned a study on the topic. Its researchers found that foster kids are at a distinct disadvantage when they reach college age, because they’re no longer wards of the state and have nowhere to go during holiday breaks. So the VCF used the donor’s money to create grants for foster kids going to college. It provides the students with a “portfolio of support services,” Espenshade says.

The VCF’s study got national press and the attention of the Lumina Foundation, an Indianapolis-based organization with a mission to increase access to higher education. The Lumina Foundation was so impressed by the research that it provided the VCF with a grant for a similar purpose.

Espenshade makes sure to ask out-of-state donors about their philanthropic motives, because they give him clues to why people see Vermont as a special place. He recently met with a representative from the Surdna Foundation, which is based in New York City and makes grants for, among other things, community revitalization and effective citizenry. It gave money to CCTV in Burlington for its Common Good program, which provides technical assistance and tools to Vermont nonprofits that want to reach more people. “Vermont,” the representative told Espenshade, “is an incubator.” In other words, Vermont is a small enough state that organizations can experiment with ideas and projects to see if they hold promise for broader applications.

Whether they come from in-state or abroad, assets passing through the VCF to Vermont nonprofits are pooled to maximize the return, and invested in low-risk equities and bonds. Donors can choose socially responsible investments if they wish, but all are set up for long-term gains. “We have perpetuity in mind,” says Faith Brown, executive vice president for finance and operations.

Brown is petite and outgoing, with short brown hair and enough energy to go from one meeting to another all day long, yet still appear refreshed and patient. She’ll remain the acting chief executive officer until Stuart Comstock-Gay takes the office in February. He’s currently working on increasing voter participation for a New York-based advocacy organization called Demos.

An important component of the VCF’s overall strategy is “mission investing,” which is defined as investing in funds and companies that don’t cross purposes with an organization’s mission — and in communities where it can serve that mission. The VCF accomplishes the first goal with socially responsible investments and shareholder activism (“proxy voting”), and the second by investing five percent of its total assets in Vermont organizations. Typical Green Mountain investments include community and housing loans, deposits with local banks and credit unions, and venture capital targeted at Vermont businesses. “This is a way to give back,” Brown says, “and it shows people they can come to us because of our knowledge of and connections to Vermont.” She adds that, even in this economy, the VCF’s in-state investments are up 2.6 percent over 2007.

By making prudent investments since its founding, the VCF has attained a reputation for trustworthiness. That’s why Chapin Spencer, founder and executive director of Burlington-based, human-powered-transportation promoter Local Motion, sought out the VCF more than a decade ago, when his nonprofit was just getting started. And that’s why Local Motion asked the VCF to manage its endowment, the Local Motion ACTIVE Fund. “They were the technical experts and hosts,” Spencer says of the VCF. “We never could have been as sophisticated about this without their help, since we’re a small organization.”

The VCF takes a lot of the administrative, financial and accounting burdens from individual nonprofits, freeing them up to focus on their missions. It also acts as a philanthropic advisor and networker for certain nonprofits. For example, VCF staff helped pick board members for the Permanent Fund, which was started by Stowe resident Rick Davis to improve the well-being of children and families in Vermont, by seeking out individuals with connections to the fund’s purpose. After operating for 10 years, the Permanent Fund can give some of its knowledge back to the VCF, which can then pass it on to others in the same field.

Brian T. Byrnes, former president and CEO of the VCF, has a name for this cycle of giving, networking and community building: In a message to the VCF’s mailing list last year, he called it “deep philanthropy.” Whether the philanthropy is deep enough to withstand an economic assault remains to be seen. Comstock-Gay, in any event, is optimistic. “Every institution has to assess the tidal wave of this economy,” he says. “I’m not worried about it; I look at it as a great opportunity.”

Plans for a Shelburne Road Roundabout Divide Transportation Types

2008-12-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Seven Days Vermont -- Local Matters

By Aimee Picchi [12.17.08]

Think navigating the Shelburne Road rotary is hairy during rush hour? It’s nothing compared to the difficulties surrounding the potential redesign of the five-way intersection that ranks as one of Vermont’s 50 most dangerous intersections.

City councilors, residents, traffic-safety experts and bicycling and pedestrian advocate Local Motion are at odds over dueling plans. The differences in the designs — the first emphasizing pedestrian safety and reduced auto speed, the second allowing cars to travel faster at higher risk to walkers and bicyclists — are raising uncomfortable questions about whose interests take precedence: commuters, families who want to safely cross the rotary on foot or bicycles, or Hill residents concerned about increased traffic on their streets.

At stake is almost $1 million in federal funds the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) has promised to the project. VTrans has made it a priority because of the rotary’s alarming accident rate: 53 car crashes between 2002 and 2007.

The first plan, called the single-lane roundabout, would merge Shelburne Road’s two northbound lanes into one as it approaches the convergence of Ledge, Locust, St. Paul and South Willard streets in Burlington’s South End. That would halve the speed of cars and narrow the pedestrian crossing from four lanes of traffic to two. This plan is preferred by Burlington’s Department of Public Works, Local Motion, many residents living near the rotary and the traffic consultants who worked on the plans.

The second plan, called the “hybrid,” keeps two northbound lanes on Shelburne Road moving faster than with the single-lane plan, although it would create longer waits for cars trying to enter the roundabout from St. Paul and Locust streets. It has support from CCTA, the transportation authority that runs the region’s public busses, as well as residents who are concerned about delays, problems pulling onto and off of Shelburne Road, and increased traffic on quiet neighborhood streets.

The hybrid plan also has the support of two of three Burlington city councilors on the committee that is charged with evaluating the designs. Clarence Davis (P-Ward 3)and Bill Keogh (D-Ward 5) are both on the Transportation, Energy and Utilities committee, or TEUC, that will make a recommendation to the city council. At a public hearing on December 4, Davis and Keogh said they support the second option, partly because of concerns about potential traffic delays and bus-route backups.

VTrans, however, isn’t sold on the proposal. The state agency previously expressed reservations that the plan, as envisioned, won’t sufficiently improve safety at the intersection to justify the cost.

Potential backups for CCTA’s Shelburne Road bus route is one reason TEUC is asking VTrans to reconsider its objections, said Keogh. The bus stop at Adams Court, just south of the rotary, may end up being eliminated if the single-lane plan creates delays, he said, citing a December 3 letter from CCTA to Burlington Public Works.

For an outside opinion, Seven Days called on traffic consultant Georges Jacquemart, a partner with New York-based BFJ Planning and the author of Modern Roundabout Practice in the United States. Although he’s not working on the redesign, he agreed to study the two competing plans.

“There’s no doubt the single lane is the best alternative,” Jacquemart said in a telephone interview. Since traffic is constantly moving into a roundabout, cars enter a “rolling queue” which may result in a rush-hour delay of five to 15 seconds, he said. But “it’s crazy to risk pedestrian lives because of this delay, and it’s not a delay that would cause cars to shift to other routes.”

Residents brought that up at a November 13 public hearing: If traffic slows on Shelburne Road, will some of those drivers divert to quiet Hill Section streets such as Prospect Parkway and Crescent Road? It’s unlikely, said RSG’s Mark Smith, who worked on the roundabout plans. “If the delay is less than 10 seconds, then why would you go three blocks out of your way?” he asked.

While the city awaits an answer from VTrans, there’s a concern the agency might direct the funds elsewhere, said Eleni Churchill, senior transportation planner for the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization, which funded and reviewed the study of the roundabout plans. In the meantime, City Councilor Andy Montroll (D-Ward 6), who chairs the TEUC, said he would like to see the committee consider a single-lane design built on the footprint of the hybrid, which would give the city flexibility if the single-lane plan creates traffic problems.

VTrans spokesman John Zicconi said there’s no deadline for the rotary project. But speaking theoretically, he said, if a city can’t decide what it wants, “then we’ll use money we have for other things.”

After it hears from VTrans on whether it will fund the hybrid, the TEUC will send its recommendation to the city council, which will then vote on which alternative it prefers. The council vote is likely to happen in January, Montroll said. Whatever the decision, many residents who travel on Shelburne Road each day hope the decision comes sooner rather than later.

“I want a safer way to cross,” said Hoover Street resident Leslyn Hall. “I worry about when we’re going to have the next fatality. “

Road improvements squeeze cyclists

2008-12-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

By Jason Starr
The Essex Reporter
Photo by Susan Reid
www.essexreporter.com/EssexReporter/Lowes_1.html

A ride down Susie Wilson Road may be easier for drivers now that Lowe’s Companies Inc. has widened the road and added turning lanes – a condition of the store’s permit under the State of Vermont’s Act 250 development review.

But what has been an improvement for traffic flow has been anything but for bicyclists.

Michael Hechmer has been commuting by bicycle from his home in Westford to Fletcher Allen Health Care, where he works as a chaplain, for five years. He makes the 15-mile, 45-minute trip each way seven months out of the year. Given rush-hour traffic, he said it’s only 15 minutes longer to bike to work than to drive.

Susie Wilson Road is a critical connector on Hechmer’s way from Route 2A to Route 15. He figured the stretch would be challenging during the summer and fall as construction on the turning lanes was in full swing. And it was difficult, he said, aside from the fact that traffic moved more slowly during the construction period.

But he didn’t expect the work would usurp what was a serviceable bike lane of about 4 feet on both sides of Susie Wilson Road and leave nothing but a torn up sidewalk, that, even when it recovers, is not recommended for cyclists because it repeatedly intersects side streets and turning cars.

“When they finally got to painting the lines I realized I no longer had an identifiable shoulder,” Hechmer said. “Now it’s like riding on Route 15. There’s just no space for a bicycle.”

The previous four-foot bike shoulder stretched from Kellogg Road nearly to Route 15. As state and local transportation officials negotiated road improvements with Lowe’s during Act 250 review last year, they knew they would be squeezing cyclists in favor of automobiles.

“We acknowledged right up front that we would lose these bike lanes,” Essex Public Works Director Dennis Lutz said. “But with 25,000 cars out there, you have to make choices. This was a casualty of trying to fix the traffic and reduce accidents out there. Something had to give.”

The Act 250 process incorporated hearings seeking public input on the plan for Susie Wilson. Chapin Spencer, the executive director of Local Motion – a Burlington-area group that advocates for multi-modal transportation infrastructure – regrets not making the case for the bike lanes then.

“We struggle trying to be at all places all the time,” Spencer said. “We’ve worked hard to get county and state plans to be developed so this is just thought about as part of normal planning improvements.

“It’s not easy balancing all the modes,” he added, noting planners incorporated pedestrian crosswalks and sidewalks into the Susie Wilson Road improvements. “But if we can try to think about it up front it will be a lot easier than trying to retrofit it in the future.”

A retrofit is not likely to happen.

“The problem is we are at the limit of our right-of-way,” Lutz said. “We have no room to add bicycle lanes.”

The town plans to mark the right-hand lanes of the road as shared lanes with bikes and cars. That may not be enough for Hechmer. He’s considering alternate, if longer, commuting routes for the spring.

“I’m going to try and miss as much of Susie Wilson as I can,” he said.

Leahy eyes more money for Route 15

2008-11-30T07:17:00.000-08:00

The Essex Reporter
By Jason Starr
November 2008

www.essexreporter.com/EssexReporter/Route_15.html

Sen. Patrick Leahy continues to position the Route 15 corridor at the receiving end of federal appropriations.

He funneled $1.6 million to Essex and Colchester last year to jump-start the proposed connector road from St. Michael's College to Fort Ethan Allen and support streetscape improvements from Susie Wilson Road to Five Corners.

Now he is working to secure an additional $3 million to be split between Essex Junction and the Town of Johnson about 30 miles to the east. His office has alerted the Village to expect one-third of the $3 million in 2009.

Leahy previously granted federal funds for the recently completed paving, lighting and sidewalk project at Five Corners.

"He is focusing on individual projects where the prospects for now are the best," Leahy transportation policy aide Greg Cota said. "Making sure that the corridor is welcoming, safe and attractive is important to Senator Leahy."

Essex Junction hired local contractor Donald Hamlin Engineering to put together a near-term and long-term wish list for Route 15 as it enters the Village from Winooski and Colchester. One of the first priorities will be remaking the entrance to the Champlain Valley Exposition.

Members of the Expo board have agreed to pitch in $80,000 to the Route 15 improvement pot. The Village has also pledged $80,000.

For now, the Village is working with $400,000 in federal money, the remainder of the $1.6 million earmark from 2007. The majority of the earmark – $1.2 million – went to Colchester and St. Michael's for the campus connector. Village and Leahy officials believe the budget will have to be increased to have a meaningful project for Route 15.

Village officials have been meeting nearly every week for about three months with engineer Rick Hamlin, members of the Expo board and Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization officials to discuss Route 15. They presented plans during a Village Board of Trustees meeting last week.

With the amount of money available still up in the air, a phased approach was recommended. The Expo gateway, with plans including a new pedestrian entrance and bus turnaround, improved sidewalks and lighting and new signs, would be in the first phase.

"The CVE's frontage was the original thing that started this," Village Manager David Crawford said.

Other phase one ideas include creating a dedicated five-foot-wide bike lane from Susie Wilson to Five Corners, repaving and restriping lanes and improving the connection with West Street. The Vermont Agency of Transportation has plans to repave from Susie Wilson to the Expo next summer.

The Village also hopes to expand the work recently completed at Five Corners over the rise to Post Office Square.

"The idea is to carry that theme at Five Corners with better lighting and better walkways into the hills section," engineer Rick Hamlin said.

The longer term vision includes roundabouts at West Street and Post Office Square, a pedestrian/recreation path along portions of the railroad that parallels Route 15 and a trolley service running from Five Corners to downtown Burlington. Each phase, of course, would come with new costs requiring new federal funding.

"We're expecting to have a presentation for Senator Leahy that shows them this concept and gets it into their thinking," Crawford said.

[Note: Bolded sections are Local Motion's emphasis]

Shelburne Kids Learn To Walk Safely

2008-11-24T14:09:00.001-08:00

BUS STOP -- Children at Waldorf School in Shelburne learned about bus safety during a special national Safe Routes To School program held on school grounds last week. Here, Bert Nubile, a parent of a Waldorf student, instructs youngsters about how to safely board and exit a CCTA passenger bus. The program presented at 50 schools around Vermont, was coordinated by Pam Mathews of Local Motion, a Burlington-based organization.

ED Note: Safe Routes To School is coordinated in Vermont by VT Agency of Transportation.

Mobile Bike Drive in Burlington

2008-11-24T08:14:00.000-08:00

Blurt: The Seven Days Staff Blog
By Cathy Resmer
November 24, 2008
http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/2008/11/mobile-bike-dri.html

I pulled up to work this morning and saw this van sitting outside my office. Turns out it's a mobile, mini bike drive, organized by Bike Recycle Vermont.

These dedicated pedal pushers are standing outside on this frigid morning collecting used bikes that they'll fix up and sell to low-income Vermonters. Bike Recycle founder Ron Manganiello says people who meet BRV's income guidelines can receive a bike, helmet, lock and a set of lights for just $20. That's a great deal.

Manganiello says that, since its inception four years ago, BRV has refurbished and sold thousands of bikes to people who need them. BRV shop manager Mark Rowell adds that BRV isn't just providing bikes. "We train at-risk youth, we train volunteers to work on bikes," he says.

BRV accepts used bikes as donations at its HQ in the Good News Garage building, in the former bus barns on North Winooski Avenue in Burlington. But since they got this swanky van — donated by VBT, along with 100 bikes, and lots of bike parts — they decided to actively seek donations by setting up a mobile station. The hope is that people will donate bikes on their way to work.

This is only the second time they've tried this approach; they staged their first mobile bike drive three weeks ago in front of General Dynamics and collected 15 bikes.

Why stand outside right now asking for bikes? Are they doing a special push for the holidays? Rowell says no. "We spend the winter fixing bikes and getting them ready for spring," he says.

They don't seem to be doing as well this morning — probably because they forget to tell us they were doing it! So none of my co-workers brought in bikes. Too bad. Maybe next time. I hope all the people at VEIC and JDK and Kelliher Samets Volk pony up some wheels. If you read this before 10 a.m., feel free to drop by with a donation. We're at the end of South Champlain Street, across from the Bobbin Mill.

Here's a short video from Mountain Lake PBS with more information about BRV.

The folks in the photo, left to right: BRV volunteer Parker Brown, Rowell, Americorps/VISTA Emily Eschner and Manganiello. I think I'm going to go outside and offer them some coffee.

Pedestrian Hit By Car In Williston

2008-11-21T05:33:00.000-08:00

Burlington Free Press
News Brief
November 21, 2008
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881121016

WILLISTON -- Williston police say they are looking for more information in connection with a pedestrian who was hit by a car at about 5 p.m. Wednesday. The accident was not a hit-and-run, police said.

Police did not identify the name or gender of the pedestrian who was injured in the accident on Williston Road, near the intersection of Maple Tree Place.

The extent of the pedestrian's injuries were not specified by police.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Williston Police Department at (802) 878-6611.

Response to Bike Math

2008-11-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

WPTZ Editorial
Friday, November 14, 2008
www.wptz.com/station/17979513/detail.html

The following is a Newschannel 5 editorial response.

Building safe places to walk and bike makes sense – especially now with high gas prices, climate change and an obesity epidemic.

A new federal transportation bill will be drafted soon, and groups like Local Motion are working to secure $50 million dollars in federal funds to connect our region’s sidewalks, bike lanes, and paths.

The investment would put Vermonters back to work building these facilities and get more Vermonters active, thereby reducing our health care costs. It would also revitalize our village centers and reduce emissions.

VTrans found 55% of area residents are using our tails every year, and the US Census found 18% of commuters are walking and biking to work in Chittenden County’s core. This is not about lycra-clad cyclists. This is about kids walking to school; it's about seniors strolling to the local store, and commuters biking to work. Active Vermonters are healthy Vermonters.

That’s how I see it.

This has been a Newschannel 5 editorial response.

Editorial Response by Chapin Spencer, Executive Director Local Motion, Burlington, VT

Original editorial: Local Motion Media File: Bike Math?

Bike Math?

2008-11-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

WPTZ Editorial
Friday, October 31, 2008
www.wptz.com/editorials/17855711/detail.html

We all know hopping on a bicycle and pedaling around in the clear, crisp outdoors air is a good thing. But, to put it bluntly, it ain't worth fifty million dollars.

That's how much a local group wants the Federal government to fork over, though. The money's part of a program to improve and expand bike paths, and some folks think it would be swell to have that money for the spandex-and-pointy helmet-set in Chittenden County.

We say slow down.

Vermont's infrastructure has real issues that demand real attention and real dollars. Bridges are crumbling. Roads need repair. These critical needs are a bit higher on the priority list than building another bicycle path to nowhere.

If we want some earmarks from Senators Leahy and Sanders, we suggest asking them to help with our real needs. We think the pedal pushing crowd already has enough spaces for spandex. That’s our opinion. What’s yours?

Aired by President/General Manager, Paul A. Sands

Update: Local Motion Media File: Response to Bike Math

Winooski sidewalk plan moves forward

2008-10-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
By Matt Sutkoski
October 27, 2008
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20081027/NEWS02/810270306

WINOOSKI -- A planned sidewalk construction project long under discussion for an area near the Winooski Educational Center has taken a step forward.

The Winooski City Council this month formally adopted the proposal, which involves building sidewalks along Franklin, George and Bellevue streets.

City leaders are not sure how much the work will cost and when it will get under way.

Residential areas around Bellevue and Franklin streets are near Winooski Educational Center athletic fields. Many people use the local streets to reach a parking lot to attend sporting events. Or, they park along the streets and walk to the school.

Children going to and from the school also walk on the streets, and the city wants to provide sidewalks to ensure pedestrians are not too close to traffic.

"There are places in the city that need sidewalks," Mayor Michael O'Brien said. "That one was identified because it was one of the primary routes to school," he said of the Bellevue Street neighborhood.

O'Brien said proposals for sidewalks in the neighborhood have been discussed for years, but coming up with a firm plan has been delayed by disagreements among neighbors over how best to design the sidewalks and neighborhood improvements.

Some residents of the neighborhood remain opposed to the plan, but O'Brien said there appears to be enough consensus to move forward.

O'Brien said he hopes sidewalk construction could begin next year.

The city's schools are beginning to address safety associated with people parking on and near Bellevue Street during sporting events, School Board Chairman Jim Ticehurst said.

"Some people aren't very compassionate about the neighbors. They park right across the driveways," he said.

He said the school is encouraging visitors to use the Main Street entrance to the school property and park in the lot in front of the school whenever possible. The effort could help reduce the number of vehicles on streets where children are walking, he said.

The School Board's facilities subcommittee is also exploring other ways to help reduce traffic congestion and parking in the Bellevue Street neighborhood, Ticehurst said.

Contact Matt Sutkoski at 660-1846 or msutkosk@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

One man's story: A car-free year in Stowe

2008-10-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

By Eric Law
September 18, 2008

Like all other bets made over the cubicle during the workday, this one was supposed to be forgotten. However, I not only took the bet but clung to it like a squirrel’s nut.

I had gone carless in Boston during college, shared a car with a girlfriend for nearly five years in Missoula, Mont., and even attempted to go carless on Martha’s Vineyard in the dead of winter, so it is evident I was just looking for an excuse to go carless in a new locale.

My work colleagues may have underestimated my predisposition toward car independence, but I in turn greatly underestimated going carless in rural Vermont.

My lifestyle lends itself nicely to such a challenge. First and foremost, I have no kids. I don’t live miles off the beaten path and, logistically speaking, I am perfectly situated in Stowe village. I am also an avid biker and runner, fully willing to travel great lengths. In fact, I can’t imagine anything else I would rather do.

Too cold out? That’s not a problem, considering the Green Mountain Transit Authority’s Route 100 Commuter goes right by my house and drops me off just a few feet from my Waterbury office Monday through Friday.

To hedge my bet even more, I am blessed with many friends who occasionally pass my centrally located home on their way to work, to the mountain, and anywhere else I may need to go.

The cubicle bet didn’t stipulate I couldn’t take motorized travel, or even that I couldn’t drive someone else’s car if the owner was in the passenger seat.

The challenge would be easily met if I could sell my Saab (which I did in a couple of weeks’ time on craigslist) and followed a few simple rules. Since the bet was not about skirting car payments, inconveniencing friends and family, or passing the cost of transportation to others, the following rules were meant to safeguard the original intent of the bet — which was simply to reduce the footprint of one person and ultimately society’s.

The order of preferred transportation was public transportation (bus, train, or subway), commuting by bike, carpooling, and, yes, hitchhiking.

To be sensitive to other people’s schedules and to not put people out, one has to be willing to hitchhike as a last resort. It is inevitable that you find yourself without a car and without an alternative, no matter the planning, and the last thing you want to do is call a friend at home to come to your rescue.

As it is, you are inconveniencing others when they accommodate your schedule without you knowing it. For example, many people will tell a white lie and say they are going your way even if they aren’t if you ask them for help in a tight spot (“The car is in the shop”) or an emergency (“The car is in the shop and my kid is sick”). I came to learn this silent act of kindness only after the fact.

You might have seen me from time to time walking from Stowe’s lower village westward. You might even have contemplated giving me a ride if you hadn’t had a car full of stuff or passengers, been late for work, or been taught by your parents never to pick up hitchhikers (even though they likely came from a generation of hitchhikers). There is no commentary here, other than we live in different times and Vermont folk of a past era never let me walk backward for more than 10 minutes.

Weekends were by far the toughest transition for me. Since I was relatively new to Stowe, most of my social networks were outside town. More often than not, I could not and would not travel outside town borders if I thought I would have to rely on a ride from a friend. I missed many events in a year-plus, but this was only a temporary situation where I could read and write as much as in college, learn every nook and cranny of my adopted town, and for the first time in a long time not rush through life.

I would like to say the lack of ready transportation allowed me to focus on all the important things in life, but I can report with confidence that simplifying alone — that is, going carless — is not the philosophical remedy some people make it out to be.

With that said, it certainly doesn’t impede personal growth.

The most important rule was to understand that my little experiment was not groundbreaking — surely this has been done by many others in Vermont in less convenient situations — and that I was not going to change the world by reducing my carbon footprint by a small fraction.

The best piece of advice came from a dear friend: “This is your selfish pursuit and you aren’t doing this for a prize, so stop talking and just do it.” I may have failed at this level of humility, but in striving toward this goal I became more accessible, and so did my hidden curriculum — that we can all do something in very private ways to reduce our footprints, whether the impetus is to improve our personal finances amid rising energy prices, reducing global emissions, or simply to rid our dependence on foreign oil.

The trials and tribulations of living without a car (and a computer and TV, to pique your interest) for more than a year can’t be summed up in a newspaper column. I saved some money from not having a car payment or insurance, but not as much as one may think, because I always tried to return favors. I’d like to think of myself as a giving person and enjoyable to be around, but the reality is that if you got a ride from someone and you didn’t at the very least attempt to pay your share, the offer may not be repeated. You don’t want to burn bridges and lose friends when you are without a car.

Reactions to my year without a car ranged from intense interest to pure disdain. Most people were somewhere in the middle, intrigued but confused why I wanted to do it and if I was comfortable leaning on others. As much as I tried to limit my reliance on others, I was learning we Americans value independence, not necessarily interdependence.

After a year plus without a car, I took the money I saved and entered the Tour D’Isle in Montreal, an event that celebrates bike commuting. There seemingly couldn’t have been a better event to culminate my experience, but for reasons that became clear to me over time, I didn’t feel like celebrating. I had just bought a new car the previous week, but the purchase was taxing and anticlimactic and now I was celebrating my year without a car with the wrong event.

Something went terribly wrong or right this past year because I won the bet and still feel like I have failed.

Eric Law of Stowe works as an environmental analyst and project development specialist for the Vermont state government.

MPO- 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation

2008-10-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

CCTV Channel 17
October 20, 2008
http://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/mpo-2010-campaign-active-transportation

Description

CCMPO has been participating in a national effort for increased federal funding dedicated to walking and biking projects. This press conference will highlight potential projects and the benefits of more funding to our communities.

Speakers: J. Jeffrey Munger, Senator Bernie Sanders Office; Jeffrey B. Carr, Chair, CCMPO; David Reville, AARP Vermont; Charlene Wallace, Local Motion

www.ccmpo.org/BikePed/2010_campaign

www.railstotrails.org/2010

Upcoming Airtimes

Friday October 24, 2008 at 6:00 PM

All Aboard Heel-Toe Express!

2008-10-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

WPTZ Channel 5
October 20, 2008
http://www.wptz.com/news/17765260/detail.html

Alternative Transportation Gaining Traction

Chittenden County transportation advocates are looking for some big money to encourage walking and biking.

All Aboard Heel Toe Express!

The Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization (CCMPO) has unveiled a list of 12 projects that it says could both ease traffic congestion and improve the environment.

"There's just a great opportunity for those federal dollars to be spent in a good way," said CCMPO planner Brian Davis.

The list of projects, which would cost about $50 million, comes as part of a larger national effort to encourage federal transportation officials to allocate money for alternative transportation efforts.

They include new bikeways across the Winooski River and around Lake Champlain, improvements to the Route 15 corridor and programs to encourage people to walk and bike.

Advocates say that despite falling gas prices, there is still demand.

"Even at these gas prices--there are a lot more people biking than we had two years ago," said Charlene Wallace, of Local Motion, a nonprofit group that supports alternative transportation efforts.

Campaign targets bicycles, pedestrians

2008-10-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
By Matt Sutkoski
October 21, 2008
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081021/NEWS02/810210311/1009/NEWS01

WINOOSKI -- A county planning group and local advocates are pushing for up to $50 million in pedestrian and bicycle projects across Chittenden County that would help create a seamless nonmotor transportation network.

The 2010 Campaign for Active Transportation seeks to increase federal transportation funding for walking and bicycling in the next federal transportation bill.

Bryan Davis, a transportation planner with the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization, said he is optimistic federal dollars could flow toward bicycle and pedestrian improvements despite the sour economy.

The planning organization, which establishes transportation priorities in the county, is working with groups such as Local Motion, a pedestrian and bicyclists' advocacy group, to promote the campaign. Members of the groups announced the effort Monday at the traffic circle in Winooski. The location is near the Winooski River bridge between Winooski and Burlington, a spot the planning organization targets as ripe for work that would improve bicycle and pedestrian access.

Other areas that need improvements are Vermont 15 between Winooski and Jericho; U.S. 2 at Interstate 89 exit 14 and U.S. 2 between Burlington and Williston, according to a CCMPO report released Monday. Overall, Davis said the campaign would close gaps and improve unsafe areas in the county's pedestrian and bicycle network.

The report also states the Burlington Bike Path, paths in Charlotte and Shelburne, and the Colchester-South Hero Causeway need upgrades. The campaign also calls for education and enforcement to inform bicyclists and pedestrians of their rights and responsibilities on the trail.

All the improvements envisioned in the campaign would cost about $50 million to complete, according to the CCMPO's report.

Jeff Munger, a transportation policy adviser for Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., said hints are emerging that the federal government will become increasingly responsive to bicycle and pedestrian projects. As an example, he said the $700 billion bailout bill recently adopted by Congress has an interesting, little-known provision. Employees who use a bicycle to commute to and from work are eligible for a $20 tax-free reimbursement for bicycle related expenses, he said.

Metropolitan Planning Organization executive director Michele Boomhower said Chittenden County governments, transportation planners and advocacy groups overwhelmingly support broader pedestrian and bicycle access. She said increased federal funding for bike and pedestrian paths would satisfy these groups.

Contact Matt Sutkoski at 660-1846 or msutkosk@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

Miles of new trails to open

2008-10-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

Rutland Herald
By Josh O'Gorman
October 18, 2008
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081018/NEWS02/810180345

Mountain bikers and horseback riders rejoice — soon you will have more trails to ride, but you're going to have to pitch in and help.

The Green Mountain National Forest is opening up more than 35 miles of trails for equestrian use, while mountain bikers will be able to enjoy about 7 miles of new trails.

The decision to open the trails came after Green Mountain National Forest asked for public comment in March, which drew more than 600 comments and suggestions on which trails should be opened and what they should be used for.

"We had a lot of interest in designating these trails," said Rob Hoelscher, acting district ranger for the Middlebury and Rochester Ranger District. "We felt we needed to designate these trails and include mountain bike and equestrian riders and the first step was designating those trails that best support those uses."

Hoelscher said the trails were originally designed for uses that have heavier impact than either bikes or horses and many are used by snowmobile riders in the winter.

Hoelscher designated a network of trails and forest service roads east of Goshen Road and north of Goshen Dam in Goshen and Ripton that together will compose an approximate 7-mile loop for horseback riders.

Mountain bike riders will be able to enjoy the Oak Ridge Trail, a 1.5-mile ride whose trailhead is on Route 125 in Ripton just west of the Ripton Country Store.

In the southern part of the state, about 26 miles of trails have been designated for equestrian use in Glastenbury, Stratton, Winhall and Woodford, a network of trails that will create an 18-mile loop, said Doug Reeves, recreational planner for the Green Mountain National Forest.

Reeves said two trails — one measuring about 4.5 miles and the other about 1 mile — have been opened up for mountain bike use in the Stratton area.

While forest service officials have designated the trails for these new uses, they are not open yet.

"When the trails open up really depends on when we can form partnerships with equestrian groups and mountain bike groups," Hoelscher said. "They need to make improvements to the trails first before they're opened up."

Hoelscher said the Green Mountain National Forest is teaming with horse and mountain bike groups to assist in trail maintenance. His district has entered into an agreement with the Vermont Mountain Bike Association to improve and maintain the Oak Ridge trail and is in negotiations with an equestrian group to improve the horse trails.

"We're not building new trails. We're opening them up for multiple use," Reeves said. "The more partners we have the more uses we'll have for the trails."

Reeves said he is in negotiations with mountain bike and horse groups and planned to meet with them in November.

"The Vermont Mountain Bike Association is very pleased with our partnership with the forest service," executive director Patrick D. Kell.

The association has 21 chapters from Jay Peak to Putney and also works with the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to open up state land to mountain bike riders.

Kell said his association recently received $35,000 in grants — $26,000 from the National Forest Foundation and $9,000 from the Bikes Belong Coalition — to improve the Oak Ridge Trail and other trails in the area. The National Forest Foundation grant will be paid to the Vermont Youth Conservation Corp, which will work on the trails next summer, Kell said.

In the immediate future, the Vermont Mountain Bike Association will work on the Oak Ridge Trail, beginning 9 a.m. Sunday. For more information, visit them on the Web at www.vmba.org.

Contact Josh O'Gorman at josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com.

Bicyclist Injured In Crash With Car

2008-10-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
October 13, 2008
News Brief
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081013/NEWS/81013002

COLCHESTER -- A woman was treated at Fletcher Allen Health Care after being hit by a car at the intersection of East and West Lakeshore drives in Colchester.

Bonnie Anderson, 23, of Burlington rode against traffic into the intersection and was struck by a 1996 Chevrolet driven by Patrick Duxbury, 38, of Colchester on Saturday morning, Colchester police said. Police are investigating the accident.

Kid Gyms One More Step in De-Evolution of Society

2008-10-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
Forum
By Cormac Walsh
October 5, 2008
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810050307

Congratulations to Action Kids Fitness Center for discovering the newest way of ripping off rich, neglectful parents while disrupting childhood development ("Kid gyms offer needed exercise," Sept. 16). The article provides shocking evidence of how the evolution of technology has contributed to the de-evolution of American society.

These glorified day care centers, claiming they are offering children a fun new outlet for exercising, are really taking away from children's opportunities for healthy interaction. Stationary bikes and treadmills hooked up to video games are repulsive. The article states that these devices force the child to keep moving or the game will shut down.

Didn't farmers tie carrots to the end of sticks and dangle them in front of mules to get them to plow their fields? I hope they're at least hooked up to a turbine. There is an idea for alternative energy. Take a hundred kids, lock them in a basement, hook 'em up to these devices and let them generate power for our schools, hospitals and health clubs.

I bet these kiddie gyms won't be so trendy after some kid leans against a hydraulic button and crushes his little sister to death. Maybe the scariest part of the article was the mentioning of "yoga for tots."

Kids are being distracted from human interaction by today's technology. Instead of socializing in a game of tag, kids are hooked up to video machines.

If children have weight problems, regulate their diet and engage in outdoor activities with them, take away their electronics and sign them up for sports .

CORMAC WALSH
Burlington

Human Powered Vehicle Burlington Bikefest

2008-10-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

Bridget M. Burns
Seven Days
October 8, 2008
Photo Slideshow: http://www.7dvt.com/2008human-powered-vehicle-burlington-bikefest

1st Annual Human Powered Vehicle Bike Fest

2008-10-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
Photos by Alison Redlich
October 5, 2008
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=BT&Date=20081004&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=810040 801&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=1

Scores of bike enthusiasts gather at City Hall Park in Burlington for the 1st Annual Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) Bike Festival on Saturday, October 4, 2008.

Rachel Siegel and her daughter Gertrude 4 1/2, of Burlington
Tom Jannke of Ledyard, CT in his Velomobile
Mike Beganyi of Burlington who pedaled with his daughter Ava, 8 months, of Burlington, in their Bakfiets bicycle which was made in Amsterdam
Event organizer Phil Hammerslough of Burlington
Leonard Krash of Conneaut, OH, who displays his Belokit and answers questions at City Hall Park
Tom Jannke of Ledyard, CT in his Velomobile
Ty Larson, 3 1/2, of Burlington

License and Regulate Bicycle Riders

2008-10-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
Forum
By Leonard Brown
October 4, 2008
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810040306

As a motorist I have comments that are related to aggressive cyclists.

All bicycles must be inspected and issued license plates affixed to the bicycle by the inspector. This will give the motorist a method for reporting the aggressive cyclist.

All cyclists young and old must take a written exam and be given a license. A fee will be charged to offset all costs for the above.

There should be insurance to protect the motorist.

Proof of license and insurance must be presented when buying or renting a bicycle.

The bicyclist/driver problem cannot be fully resolved by local rule; it must be addressed at the state level.

LEONARD F. BROWN
South Burlington

Festival Promotes Human Power

2008-10-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
By Lauren Ober
October 3, 2008
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810030315

Phil Hammerslough wants you to stop thinking of bikes as sporting goods and start thinking of them as the most efficient way of getting from here to there.

Hammerslough, 65, began biking year-round about 40 years ago and hasn't looked back. He pedals himself through rain, wind, sleet and snow and looks at his bicycle as a vehicle, one that is human-powered.

Helping people see bikes as a viable transportation option has been Hammerslough's goal for years. This weekend's Human Powered Vehicle Burlington Bikefest is largely a result of Hammerslough's enthusiasm and advocacy.

The festival, which runs today through Sunday at locations around Burlington, seeks to introduce people to human powered vehicles including recumbent bikes, trikes and velomobiles -- a single-passenger bicycle with a full fairing, seen mostly in Europe. There will be demonstrations of human powered vehicles, as well as lectures, bike tours and a trailer pull.

Hammerslough points to the downturn in the economy as a reason for people to start biking rather than driving. Becoming fuel-independent can make a huge difference in people's lives, Hammerslough said.

"From an economic standpoint, biking is a fabulous concept," Hammerslough said.

One of the festival's other organizers, Stu Lindsay, said the event is a way to celebrate human ingenuity while showing people how accessible biking for transportation is. The velomobiles might look space-age with their aerodynamic shells, but they are no more complicated than a regular bicycle and are better for riding year-round.

Lindsay, who builds specialty bikes for people with physical disabilities, thinks it's possible for people to bike year-round, if only cities were more accommodating. Burlington isn't a bad place to commute by bike, Lindsay says, but "we are one of those cities that could do an awful lot more."

Lisa Aultman-Hall, director of the Transportation Research Center at the University of Vermont, agrees that Vermont is doing a pretty good job accommodating people who cycle as a primary means of transportation. Aultman-Hall will speak tonight at City Hall's Contois Auditorium on the 10 biggest transportation myths and the reality behind them.

"Given our constraints like winter and the hills, we're doing pretty well," Aultman-Hall said. "I think it's exciting that our advocates and leaders want more."

From a transportation and congestion standpoint, Aultman-Hall said human powered vehicles should be a big part of the discussion. Not everybody needs to ride a bike, she says, but if some people ride instead of drive, the roads are better for everyone.

That is Hammerslough's overarching goal, to show people the benefits of human powered transportation.

"If I can get people to ride one more week a year, I've accomplished something," Hammerslough said.

Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

What Goes Around Comes Around

2008-09-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

Seven Days
Calendar
Photo by Jack Rowell
September 24, 2008
www.7dvt.com/bike-recycle-vermont-benefit

Science-fiction novelist H.G. Wells once wrote, “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.” That quote could sum up the old-spokes saviors at Bike Recycle Vermont. Since 2004, BRV has provided hundreds of donated-and-refurbished cycles to low-income folks in need of two-wheeled transportation. The organization also trains disabled and disadvantaged Vermonters to be bike mechanics. A partner of cycling-advocacy nonprofit Local Motion, BRV supports its pedal-powered mission with a fundraising party this Saturday. Bid on silent auction items and bake-sale goodies at 6 p.m., or get your toes tapping at a 7 p.m. hoedown featuring high-toned honky-tonk from the Starline Rhythm Boys (pictured). Bring the family: Kids 15 and younger and seniors 65 and older join the gyrations for half-price.

Bike Recycle Vermont Benefit

Saturday, September 27, 6PM at Shelburne Town Hall in Shelburne. $20-25.

Contact Info:

802-652-2453
Event Website

Seven Days Says:

The Starline Rhythm Boys get rowdy with original rockabilly numbers at a wheel-friendly fundraiser. Silent auction and bake sale, 6 p.m., dance concert 7 p.m.

Biking Advocates Push Five-Point Safety Plan

2008-09-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Seven Days
By Kevin J. Kelley
Photos by Matthew Thorsen
September 24, 2008
www.7dvt.com/2008biking-advocates-push-five-point-safety-plan

Only 1 percent of the state’s highway-safety budget goes to help protect walkers and cyclists, even though they have accounted for nearly 6 percent of Vermont’s road fatalities since 2001.

Moreover, just two of the 1400 jobs at the Vermont Agency of Transportation are centered on pedestrian and biking projects, according to the department. And one of the two positions — a staffer for the Safe Routes to School Program — is currently vacant.

In the wake of last week’s rally in Burlington to support two cyclists injured in hit-and-run collisions with motorists, Vermont biking advocates hope to implement a five-point plan that includes a “fair share” of funding for safety initiatives.

Chapin Spencer, director of Local Motion, a Burlington group that promotes human-powered transportation, said concern engendered by the two accidents offers an opportunity to convince lawmakers to take bike and pedestrian safety issues seriously.

In addition to increased funding for safety education, the group urges reduced speed limits in downtown areas, targeted police enforcement and establishment of a reporting system for drivers who endanger bikers and walkers.

A greater degree of personal responsibility is the fifth piece in the group’s package. Acknowledging that some bikers are themselves reckless, Spencer said, “We’re willing to have enforcement against us in return for increased safety.”

Even prior to the September 17 show of strength by more than 100 bikers in City Hall Park, the balance of power had already begun to shift, Spencer suggested. He notes that voters in both Shelburne and Williston approved bonds earlier this year to build non-vehicular paths. And the state Legislature appropriated $50,000 last year for the purchase of five “shoulder sweepers” — machines that regularly clear away rocks and debris that can cause bikers to wipe out or to swerve into traffic.

But lawmakers and the governor did little for pedestrians and cyclists last session, despite the growing public interest in alternate forms of transportation. The only major bike-related bill, which would have required motorists to give cyclists and walkers more room, died in the House after passage by the Senate.

Nancy Schulz, head of the statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition, expressed hope that the uptick in gas prices over the summer will “grease the skids” for legislative action in the coming session. However, she added, it could prove more difficult to persuade Gov. James Douglas to take action.

“We hear a lot from Gov. Douglas about how important it is to be physically active,” Schulz said. “But I’d say the biking and pedestrian community is disappointed by his response to our concerns.”

State Sen. Phil Scott, who rides 100 recreational miles per week in the summer, said most lawmakers don’t understand the importance of bike safety.

“It’s hard for them to know how vulnerable you are when they’re not out on a bike on the road,” he noted.

Jon Kaplan, VTrans’ sole biking specialist, said that, despite the perception that the state favors automotive interests, “For a small state, we actually do quite a lot for bikers and pedestrians. We could do more, but we do a lot.”

A former city councilor, Spencer said biking is generally perceived as a “fringe issue.” Advocates hope to broaden support for their plan by trying to appeal to motorists’ shared interests in safety. Drivers are also pedestrians some of the time, Spencer points out, and can therefore be encouraged to look at transportation issues from perspectives other than behind the wheel.

“In promoting our vision of alternatives, if we vilify people who drive in a rural state with bad weather,” he said, “we’re never going to become mainstream.”

100+ Rally for Bike Safety at Burlington City Hall

2008-09-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Seven Days
By Mike Ives
September 16, 2008
http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/2008/09/100-plus-bikers.html

At 12:15 p.m. today, more than 100 people gathered in Burlington's City Hall Park to rally for "Safe Streets." The event was organized by the local nonprofit Local Motion in response to two recent hit-and-run incidents in which bicyclists were injured.

"This is fabulous," Judy Bond, the newly elected president of the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition, said after assessing the size of the crowd. But it's "really unfortunate," she added, that the event had been precipitated by two tragedies.

The first hit-and-run victim, according to the Burlington Free Press, was Rose Long, a 20-year-old University of Vermont student. Long was struck by a red Jeep last Monday while riding down Pearl Street in Burlington. After being transported to Fletcher Allen Health Care, she was treated for "multiple fractures, severe facial lacerations and a collapsed lung." The second bicyclist was hit last Tuesday while riding down Patchen Road in South Burlington and suffered minor injuries, the Free Press reported last week.

Today in City Hall Park, after Mayor Bob Kiss pledged to "do all I can to move forward" on bike-safety issues, Burlington Police Department Chief Michael Schirling said he will work with Local Motion, the Burlington Bicycle Council and the Burlington Walking Work Group to "craft meaningful and new strategies to keep our streets safe" through "engineering, education and enforcement."

During his speech, Local Motion Executive Director Chapin Spencer outlined a Five Point Platform for Safe Streets. The platform calls for "bike/pedestrian safety education," "reporting aggressive driving," lowering speed limits, "targeted" traffic enforcement, and "personal responsibility" on the part of both bikers and motorists.

According to a rep from the UVM Cycling Club who spoke at today's event, Rose Long, the student who was injured last Monday on Pearl Street, is now walking. But, since Long's insurance plan doesn't cover oral surgery, her family and friends are soliciting donations at a website they created.

Cyclists rally for safe streets

2008-09-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
By Lauren Ober
Photos by Alison Redlich
September 17, 2008
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080917/NEWS02/80916049

A cyclist waved a poster at Tuesday’s Rally for Safe Streets that read “I learned to share in first grade.” The sign was meant to convey the message that cyclists and drivers need to learn how to peacefully coexist on Vermont’s roads.

That message was echoed throughout a impromptu lunchtime rally at Burlington’s City Hall Park, prompted in large part by two recent hit-and-run accidents in Chittenden County involving cyclists and cars. While many attendees were angry about the recent hit-and-runs, most agreed that cyclists and motor vehicle operators bear equal responsibility when it comes to road safety.

The rally was organized by Local Motion, a Burlington bicycle/pedestrian advocacy organization. Representatives from the Burlington Police Department, the Green Mountain Bicycle Club, the Vermont Bike/Ped Coalition and the University of Vermont Cycling team spoke at the event. Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss also lent his support, saying that with more people walking and riding bikes, the city needs to find ways to accommodate them all safely.

“Clearly, we can all share the road,” Kiss said.

Chapin Spencer, executive director of Local Motion, spearheaded the rally after two cyclists in a week were struck by motorists who then drove off. Rose Long, a junior at UVM and a member of the cycling team, was hit Sept. 8 while riding with a friend in downtown Burlington. Another young cyclist, whose name was not released by police, was hit a day later on Patchen Road in South Burlington.

•Laws for bicyclists

•Rose Long Fund

Long sustained serious injuries that required 15 hours of reconstructive surgery. Adam Desjardin, 22, of Vergennes has been charged in connection with that incident.

Spencer was adamant that roads are not just for cars.

"The days when we plan for just cars are over," Spencer said. "We've talked about sharing the road. Let's do it."

Spencer detailed a five-point plan aimed at making Vermont's roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. The first part of the Local Motion initiative is to secure more bike/pedestrian education funding from the Vermont Governor's Highway Safety Program.

According to recent state statistics, cyclists and pedestrians make up 5.8 percent of traffic fatalities. Of the Governor's Highway Safety Program's discretionary funds, 1 percent is allotted to bicycle/pedestrian safety funding.

Spencer also advocated for an aggressive-driver reporting initiative; lower speed limits in Burlington's downtown and in neighborhoods with no posted speed limit; targeted enforcement, including ticketing rule-breaking cyclists or crosswalk stings; and personal responsibility.

"If we all do these five pieces, our community will be a better place," Spencer said.

Local Motion plans to work with a number of city agencies and nonprofits to get its message out. The Burlington Police Department is working to establish an aggressive-driver reporting initiative, Burlington POlice Chief Mike Schirling said.

The program, which Schirling says he hopes to have up and running by spring, will allow cyclists or pedestrians to report an aggressive driver. If callers have sufficient identifying information on the vehicles, the police will be able to follow up on the report with a call to the drivers, telling them they are on notice.

The police can't issue tickets from the callers' claims, but they can hope to influence drivers' behavior. Schirling says it's about providing education in a neutral middle ground.

"We do traffic enforcement now, but it's very one-dimensional," Schirling said. "We need to change the standard."

Schirling talked extensively about the need to be courteous on the road and the benefits of good behavior. Kim Lang, a bicyclist at the rally, said she appreciated Schirling's message. She said she also agreed with one of the main messages of the rally -- "Give Respect, Get Respect."

"I liked the respect aspect going back and forth," Lang said. "How do we spread that into the greater community?"

One of the main pillars of the rally was the need for more education, both for cyclists and motorists. Ron Manganiello, a local cyclist who volunteers with Bike Recycle Vermont, said he'd like to see people approach road safety education the way seat belt use was promoted. The key, he said, is to make road safety automatic for children, just like buckling a seat belt.

Spencer ended the rally by asking the approximately 100 people in front of City Hall to take a pledge promising to do their share to "create a safe street environment" whether biking, walking or driving.

"We all here stand for safe streets," Spencer said. "We must all share our roadways."

Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

Five Point Safety Plan: Local Motion’s 5-point platform for safe streets

1. Fair share for bike/pedestrian safety education
Since 2001, pedestrians and cyclists have accounted for 5.8 percent of all roadway fatalities. Local Motion calls for the Governor’s Highway Safety Program to minimally dedicate a proportional 5.8 percent of its safety budget to bike-pedestrian safety efforts.

2. Aggressive driver reporting initiative
Our communities need a system, developed in partnership with law enforcement agencies, that follows up on reports of aggressive driving. The simple act of having law enforcement contact vehicle owners of cars that have been reported and inform the owners of Vermont law can address the most dangerous behaviors on our roadways.

3. Lower speed limits
The Burlington Public Works Commission recently adopted the Burlington Transportation Plan, which states: “The City will pursue several policy initiatives including: Changing speed limits to 20 mph in the downtown Slow Streets zone and to 25 mph on neighborhood streets without posted speed limits.” We want to see this enacted. Slow streets are safe streets.

4. Targeted enforcement
Targeted and high-profile enforcement efforts provide great returns. Word travels fast and the news that the police are conducting crosswalk stings or handing tickets to cyclists who ignore the laws will get around. A few well-publicized days of traffic enforcement can be very effective.

5. Personal responsibility
We are all responsible for our actions. We must recognize this responsibility no matter how we travel on Vermont’s roads — whether on bike, on foot or behind the wheel. In the end, there is nothing more effective than modeling good behavior.

Montpelier Bicyclist Injured In Accident

2008-09-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
News Brief
September 16, 2008
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880916007

WILLIAMSTOWN -- A bicyclist was injured when a trailer pulled by a passing vehicle knocked him off his bike.

Kurt A. LaPrairie, 57, of Montpelier was taken to the hospital with cuts to his shoulder, elbows and legs. LaPrairie was riding north Saturday on Vermont 14 when a GMC Yukon towing a 30-foot camper attempted to pass him, according to police.

As the driver, Christopher Bartlett, 38, of Barre, was passing, LaPrairie collided with the trailer and was knocked to the ground, police said.

Bartlett reported the incident, as did LaPrairie when he arrived home.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Vermont State Police Middlesex barracks.

Hit-and-run suspect pleads not guilty

2008-09-12T07:04:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
September 12, 2008
By Lauren Ober
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080912/NEWS02/809120311/1007

A Vergennes man whose license had been suspended pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges stemming from a hit-and-run accident in Burlington that left a local college student badly injured.

Adam Desjardin, 22, was arraigned on one felony count of leaving the scene of an accident and one misdemeanor count of negligent vehicle operation for allegedly hitting and injuring University of Vermont junior Rose Long with his SUV. Desjardin turned himself in to Burlington police Wednesday once he became aware that authorities were looking for him, said Lt. Bill Ward of the Burlington Police Department.

Long, 20, and a friend, James Patterson, were cycling in downtown Burlington on Monday night when Desjardin allegedly struck Long with his vehicle at the intersection of Pearl and North Union streets. Witnesses said Desjardin stepped out of the car briefly and then left the scene.

Long, who is a member of the UVM cycling team, sustained severe facial lacerations, a collapsed lung, a broken wrist and a broken jaw, nose and pallet. She also shattered bones in her forehead and lost a number of teeth in the accident. Her injuries required reconstructive surgery Thursday.

Desjardin was released on his own recognizance on the condition that he will turn in his license plates and car keys to police and have no contact with the victim. He is next scheduled to be in court Oct. 8.

Long, originally from Sutton, is an accomplished road cyclist who captured the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference overall championship this year. Recently, she worked on the race committee for the Burlington Criterium, the hallmark event of the Green Mountain Stage Race. Long, a mechanical engineering major, was selected for an internship in the orthopedics department at Fletcher Allen Health Care just days before the accident.

More than 30 cyclists from around Burlington showed up for Thursday's arraignment. Many said they were there as a show of solidarity for cyclists who have been hit by cars.

"I think it shows that cyclists don't like to be hit by cars," said Tom Dinunzio, a member of the UVM cycling team.

Many people in the courtroom were collegiate cyclists who said community awareness of cyclists on the road is an important issue for them.

"A lot of people don't realize it's their responsibility to avoid anything in front of them -- a pedestrian, a cyclist, a guy in a wheelchair," said Dan Benson, also a member of the UVM cycling team.

According to the Vermont Governor's Highway Safety Program, bicyclists and pedestrians make up 7 percent of traffic fatalities. Of the program's discretionary funds, just 1 percent is allotted to bicycle/pedes- trian safety funding.

Chapin Spencer, executive director of Local Motion, a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organization, says the amount the state spends on bike/pedestrian education should be at least proportionate to the percentage of fatalities.

This most recent accident should be a signal to lawmakers that something needs to change with regard to road safety, Spencer said.

"There have been three serious bike accidents in the past week. It's about time that the state step up and invest in traffic safety to stop the carnage," Spencer said.

Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

Residents' opportunity to comment on bike/ped path will be Sept. 15

2008-09-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

Shelburne News
September 12, 2008
www.shelburnenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=9&SubSectionID=9&ArticleID=1175

Shelburne residents and property owners are encouraged to meet on Monday, Sept. 15 to discuss alternative alignments relating to a segment of the Longmeadow-Webster Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Path. The segment undergoing evaluation would link the Harbor Road section of Shelburne Village with the western end of Webster Road.

Jim Donavon, a consultant who helped prepare a feasibility study for the path, completed in April of 2004, will moderate the meeting, which will start at 7 p.m. and take place in Shelburne's municipal complex. Donovan will report on his renewed efforts to identify and evaluate alignment alternatives and understand issues associated with construction of this portion of the pedestrian/bicycle path. The presentation will be followed by a public comment period.

The original feasibility study for the project was accepted by the Shelburne Selectboard in April of 2004. Following release of the study, Vermont Railway, Inc., and the Rail Division of the Vermont Agency of Transportation felt conditions had changed since the completion of the study and expressed new opposition to portions of the proposed route located within the railroad corridor right-of-way. Funding to reexamine those sections of the path was obtained from the State of Vermont through the Transportation Enhancement Grant Program.

According to Bike and Pedestrian Paths Committee Chairmen Rob Donahue, the alternatives analysis is an important stage of the study. "Alternatives must be fully investigated before a preferred route can be identified," said Donahue. "Impacts on natural resources need to be well-understood, so we don't expend effort pursuing ideas that couldn't, for example, receive environmental permits."

Town Planner Dean Pierce points out that the upcoming meeting will be the second time that alternatives for the path segment are discussed. "A change in land ownership along the previously selected preferred route after the initial alternatives analysis was done convinced us it would be good to revisit some of our options," said Pierce.

The Town plans to have this feasibility report completed by the end of December. The outcome of the report will say whether the path alignments are physically and technically possible. It will then be determined whether or not the alignments will be economically possible. Provided both of these issues are passed, the Selectboard will then discuss how the town will go about financing the reasonable changes.

Individuals with questions about the meeting are encouraged to contact the Shelburne Planning Office by calling 985-5118 or by sending an e-mail to dpierce@shelburnevt.org.

Police investigate car-bike collision

2008-09-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
News Brief
September 11, 2008
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS02/80911004

South Burlington police are seeking information on an accident that occurred on Patchen Road and White Street about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday, when an unknown motorist struck a bicyclist.

According to police, the motorist was driving southbound on Patchen Road and attempted to cut through a parking lot to avoid a traffic light. In making an abrupt right turn, the vehicle struck a bicyclist riding on the sidewalk. The driver picked up the bike and helped up the cyclist from in front of the vehicle, then fled the scene, police said.

Police described the vehicle as a green minivan with Vermont registration that included FFY or FFI. The driver was described as a white male in his late 60s or early 70s, with gray hair, bald on top. The cyclist was taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care, treated for minor injuries, and released.

Witnesses are asked to call the South Burlingotn olice at 846-4111 or Champlain Valley Crime Stoppers at 864-6666.

Bicyclist will need more surgery after hit-and-run

2008-09-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
News Brief
September 10, 2008
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880910007

BURLINGTON -- Rose Long, a University of Vermont student who was struck while riding her bicycle on Pearl Street on Monday, will undergo reconstructive surgery on her face later this week, according to Long's sister.

Burlington police today are still looking for the driver of a red Jeep Cherokee-style vehicle that hit Long and fled the scene on Pearl Street.

According to police reports, Long, a member of UVM's cycling team, was on a group bicycle ride when she was hit while riding westbound into the intersection of Pearl and Union streets. The vehicle allegedly pulled in front of Long, 20, as if it intended to turn onto North Union Street, police said.

Long was transported to Fletcher Allen Health Care for treatment for multiple fractures, severe facial lacerations and a collapsed lung. The victim's sister, Amie Long, said her sister will undergo reconstructive surgery on her face later this week. Long is originally from Sutton.

The vehicle is described as a red, Cherokee-style Jeep that was likely manufactured in the mid- to late-1990s, with a large dent in the rear passenger side door. The vehicle bears green registration plates with possible registration number of DME 977.

The operator was described as a white male with dark hair wearing a white T-shirt, khaki shorts and white sneakers. He is estimated to be in his early- to mid-20s and is between 5-feet-8 and 5-feet-10 inches tall.

Ride on: How to get out of the car and on the road

2008-08-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Times Argus
August 24, 2008
By Hannah Van Susteren - Correspondent
www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080824/FEATURES07/179060&SearchID=73328359309049

You can spend 20 minutes driving from the center of Montpelier to Barre and at least 15 minutes from Chittenden to Rutland. So why not bypass traffic, get some exercise and even save a few bucks? With gas prices going up, many commuters are downsizing from four wheels to two.

Kelly Odorisio, a physical therapist at Rutland Hospital, bikes 10 miles from her home in Chittenden to the hospital two to three times a week. She has been making the ride for about 10 years.

“People are afraid it’s going to take a lot of time but if you think about the time it takes to drive, biking really adds only a few extra minutes,” explains Odorisio.

Nancy Schultz, of the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition, used to bike the nine miles from her home in Montpelier to her office in Barre. “It felt so good starting my mornings with exercise,” says Schultz who still bikes to work although her commute is now under one mile. “Then I used my commute home as time to decompress.”

Selecting a decent commuting bike

If you're buying a bike from a store, tell the seller what kind of riding you're planning to do. Depending on your needs, a bike shop might suggest a hybrid (half mountain bike and half road bike). According to Bruce Faulkner of the Great Outdoors shop in Rutland, you should expect to spend between $350 and $600 on a decent bike. Keep in mind that you're buying a vehicle: a more economic bike might require some tinkering in the garage. If you don't want to be your own mechanic, splurge and purchase a higher quality bike.

If you are dusting off an old bike or haggling for one at a yard sale, keep in mind that while the price is right you are probably going to have to purchase new parts. Check with a local bike mechanic to discuss what needs to be replaced on your bike. Tires cost about $15 to $40 a piece, depending on the make and model of the bike. A rusted chain and cassette can be replaced starting at $75. Even if your commute is on flat terrain, you'll want a set of brakes that open and close well (replacement starts at about $40). A worn or uncomfortable seat can be swapped for a new one starting at $20.

Most shops offer tune-ups starting at around $35. A mechanic will turn your wheels, lubricate the chain and cassette, test the brakes, make sure the cables are intact and check every moving nut and bolt. If you are not familiar with proper bike care, you should get a tuneup once every year.

Tip: Shops get very busy when the weather is nice. Bring your bike in around February when mechanics aren't as busy.

Safety

It's necessary to have a bike helmet (starting around $30) that fits snugly. According to Schultz, the front of the helmet should almost cover your eyebrows. Worn properly, you should only be able to fit two fingers between the strap and your chin. “It should be uncomfortable to eat an apple,” explains Schultz.

Under Vermont law, nighttime bikers must have a front white light that is visible from 500 feet away. A rear red reflector must be visible from 300 feet away. Schultz suggests that bikers also buy a red blinking light for the rear of their bike because it is more visible to drivers. Expect to spend around $15 for reflectors and up to $30 to outfit your bike with lights.

When sharing the road with cars and trucks, it is important to ride in a consistent manner. Stay on either the sidewalk or road and don't weave through traffic. If the road doesn't have a wide shoulder, ride 18 to 24 inches to the right of the white line. Shultz says it is illegal for bikers to ride two-by-two if it impedes the flow of traffic. Bikes are considered vehicles and bicyclists are required to follow driving laws: Stop for pedestrians at crosswalks and obey road signs and traffic lights.

Security

Bicycles are easy to steal, especially in towns without many bike racks. If you can't bring your bike into the office and there are no racks nearby, secure it to a lamp post. Combination locks (around $8) are sturdier than a lock and key. Secure the tires to the frame with a U-lock (starting at $30) or remove both wheels using an Allen wrench. If there's a quick-release mechanism that makes it easy to remove the seat, consider taking it with you into the store or office. Thieves have been known to take those, too.

At the office

No one wants to start the work day looking like they've just biked 10 miles. Even if your office doesn't have showering facilities, it's still possible to look fresh.

“I wash my face, use some deodorant and throw on a little mascara,” says Odorisio, adding “and that's on a heavy duty day.”

Odorisio is lucky: Her 10-mile commute to the Rutland Hospital is mostly downhill, so she doesn't have to worry too much about perspiration.

Even so, she often leaves a set of clothing at the office for a quick change before her work day begins.

Mary Hooper, mayor of Montpelier, jokes about being “properly modest.”

On her 1½ mile ride from her house to the center of Montpelier, she is often spotted wearing a pair of bike shorts under a skirt. In bad weather, she pulls wind pants and a rain jacket over her work clothes.

“You have to get (to work) early and bring a towel” she says.

Since the majority of sweating occurs on the upper body, use a messenger bag instead of a backpack to avoid a sweaty back, or secure your briefcase to the back of your bike.

Hannah Van Susteren is a freelance writer. She lives in Calais.

Bike/pedestrian policy key to campaigns

2008-08-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

Times Argus
August 24, 2008
By Jenny Nixon Carter - Correspondent
www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080824/FEATURES06/808240301

It is August in an election year – and that means the incumbent office-holders and new candidates will soon be on your doorstep (if they have not been there already).

While you have the candidate's attention, don't forget to remind them that a safe walking and biking system — which includes adequate pedestrian sidewalks and bike lanes – is an important component of our local and statewide transportation infrastructure.

Yes, these are lean times for our local and state government, but that only means that we should focus our transportation funds on projects that: 1) reduce our dependence on expensive foreign oil; 2) limit our environmental impacts; 3) augment our public transportation systems; and 4) enhance the vitality of our downtowns.

Pedestrian and bike projects, of course, do all of these things (and they also have this nice side effect of making our communities healthier). It is important, therefore, that your representatives know that pedestrian and bike projects must remain a part of our transportation mix and be included in any broad transportation plan.

The challenges are big. During the past several years, Transportation Enhancements funding has significantly decreased and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program is closed to new projects. Many bike and pedestrian projects — and this includes large-scale sidewalk improvements and paving new bike paths and lanes – rely on these programs. State support of these projects is critical if we want our communities to be something other than car- and truck-choked places along a highway. Let your representatives know where you stand on funding for pedestrian and bike infrastructure.

Note too that during the past legislative session the Vermont Senate and House Transportation Committees considered, but did not bring to a vote, a bill to make roads safer for bicyclists. Several states have implemented the so-called 3-foot rule or similar legislation, which mandates that motor vehicles give bicycle riders at least 3 feet of space when passing. Until we actually have designated bike lanes, bikes have to share the road with cars.

The goal of the law is not to give motorists tickets or to encourage reckless and unyielding cyclists. Rather, the evidence suggests that just having a 3-foot law – which could then be included in driver safety courses – increases both motorist and cyclist awareness of their surroundings and decreases potentially harmful interactions.

As I have noted before in this column, providing a minimum passing distance is especially important in places like Rutland County that lack specific biking infrastructure (there is not a designated bike line in the county). In the end, if more people feel safe riding their bike and sharing the road with cars, then more people will actually ride their bikes to work, to school and to the store. Again, let your representatives know where you stand on this issue.

Fall is in the air, and another election is on the way. When they come to your doorstep and ask for your vote, find out where the candidates stand on funding pedestrian and bike projects and the 3-foot rule.

After that, vote accordingly.

Jenny Nixon Carter is the Executive Director of the Rutland Area Physical Activity Coalition. She can be reached at contact@rapac.info. For more information on RAPAC go to www.rapac.info.

Longer Season for Bike Ferry?

2008-08-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

WCAX
Aug 24, 2008
http://www.wcax.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=2836149&at1=News&h1=Longer%20Season%20for%20Bike%20Ferry?

Local Motion Aims To Increase Bike Ferry Hours

2008-08-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Vermont Public Radio

Friday August 15, 2008
Sarah Ashworth
Colchester, VT

www.vpr.net/news_detail/81720/

(Host) The Colchester Causeway Bike Ferry will run three additional days this summer, and organizers say they have even bigger plans for the future. The pontoon boat transports bikers, runners, and walkers across a 200 foot gap in the causeway that extends between Colchester and South Hero. On August weekends, the Burlington non-profit, Local Motion, operates the 3 minute ferry.

Brian Costello is the Bike Ferry operations manager, and says people sometimes wait an hour to get on the boat.

(Costello) "People are thrilled for the opportunity to get across to Grand Isle, it just opens up another county of bicycling. And, it's just a unique place to be, it's a place generally reserved for boaters, the middle of the lake, so without a boat, you can get on your bike and just be out here in the middle of the lake.

(Host) Local Motion Executive Director Chapin Spencer says he has plans to make the ferry a permanent fixture in the lake:

(Spencer) "The challenge we face now is to amass the resources and to take it to the next level, so it can run daily, so more people, residents and tourists alike can enjoy in this spectacular location."

(Host) Spencer says Local Motion hopes to begin a fundraiser this winter, and have daily service up and running by next year's Lake Champlain Quadricentennial celebration.

The Bike Ferry runs each weekend in August, and also on Labor Day, from 10 to 6, rain or shine. A $5 donation is encouraged.

Colchester Bike Ferry

2008-08-15T04:24:00.000-07:00

Seven Days NOW - Notes on the Weekend
Outdoors
Aug 14, 2008
Seven Days

Local Motion's annual August bike ferry is back in business, bridging the gaps in the Colchester causeway. That means you can ride your bike from Burlington to South Hero this weekend on the Island Line Trail. Maybe it won't rain!

Bike Ferry, Saturday & Sunday, August 16 & 17, Colchester Causeway, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. $5.

Audio Postcard: Bike Ferry Transports Riders Across Lake Champlain

2008-08-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

Vermont Edition / VPR News
Vermont Public Radio
Sarah Ashworth August 6, 2008
Audio Postcard: www.vpr.net/news_detail/81606/
Vermont Edition: www.vpr.net/episode/44183/

Listen

The Colchester-South Hero Causeway is a former railroad track that shoots straight across Lake Champlain. You can bike, walk, or run along its narrow, gravel path, about five miles from either side, but there's a 200-foot gap where the two paths don't quite meet.

At this time of year, though, there's a solution. On August weekends a team of volunteers from the Burlington non-profit group, Local Motion, operates a 3-minute "bike ferry" across the cut. Last weekend, VPR's Sarah Ashworth we rode along with them.

The Bike Ferry runs each weekend in August, and also on Labor Day, from 10 to 6, rain or shine. A $5 dollar donation is encouraged.

Pedestrian Needs on South Burlington's Front Burner

2008-08-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
Sara Buscher
August 8, 2008
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808080316

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- Some city residents are no longer wondering why the chicken crossed the road. They're wondering how she did.

In April, a man was struck by a car while walking in a crosswalk on Farrell Street. The following month, residents of the city's Eastwoods neighborhood lobbied the council with a request to add a three-way stop to the intersection of Eastwood Drive and Farrell Street for the safety of pedestrians and drivers alike. Their request is under review.

Residents in other areas -- especially seniors and those with mobility challenges -- have also expressed concern for their welfare on foot in the increasingly urban city.

South Burlington has grown rapidly over the years -- from 1,736 residents in 1940 to 17,838 today -- in part due to an abundance of open land ready to be developed.

City Manager Chuck Hafter said in May that since the high-density residential development on Farrell Street was built, South Burlington has become more aware of the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

Following the April incident, police stepped up patrols in the area to raise drivers' awareness of pedes- trians; and Hafter said the Metropolitan Planning Organization would review the potential need for a three-way stop on Farrell Street.

The city is also adding signs -- like the fluorescent green "pedestrian crossing" placards that point into the street -- to make crossings more visible, said Public Works Director Bruce Hoar. Hoar said he's writing a grant in an effort to fund installation of additional mid-block crossing signals in certain areas of the city as well.

Crosswalks are typically located at the end of a block, where drivers are attuned to the approaching intersection. Without a traffic signal, midblock crossings can be less visible to drivers.

The April incident occurred at a midblock crossing.

The Public Works Department set reflective signs in the middle of Farrell Street to make the crosswalks more obvious and added orange posts near the curb cuts where pedestrians enter the street.

Seven crosswalks are marked with fluorescent pedestrian crossing signs along Farrell Street, which passes Grand Way Senior Housing, Eastwood Commons condominiums and O'Dell Apartments as it winds its narrow way between Shelburne Road and Swift Street.

Wider streets present another challenge -- particularly in the designated growth area around Dorset Street, the "backbone" of City Center. Dorset Street's parallel sidewalks and bike paths extend from Williston Road to Kennedy Drive, offering easy access to University Mall, Healthy Living, Hannaford and other restaurants and businesses for those traveling without cars.

However, seniors living at the Pines on Aspen Drive have said they can't get from one side to the other.

Ginny Donner said she no longer drives, but reaching the bus stop across the street from her home can be difficult. In the winter, the long wait for the crossing light is even worse.

Donner worries the light will change before she's reached the other side of the road. Sometimes, the pedestrian signal doesn't seem to work, she said.

"When you're 86 or 87, it's no longer funny. You stand there and try to cross, and you can't."

"It's an issue that's been perplexing for everybody," said Lou Bresee, chairman of the city's recreation path committee. "As soon as you make the streets wider, it's more difficult to get the pedestrians across."

Bresee's committee serves as an adviser to the City Council, recommending ways to make South Burlington's streets more welcoming for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Some Pines residents choose to drive their cars rather than risk the walk across five lanes of traffic to reach the bus stop.

"Even if they're 80 or 90 they drive. And they probably shouldn't," Donner said.

Donner says she understands it's not an easy problem. She said she would like to see a new countdown timer device installed at the corner, so people can see how many seconds they have left to cross.

"It helps people feel safer," Bresee said . He said the recreation committee encouraged the city to install more timers.

Public works has plans to install more of the devices at established crossings, beginning with the intersection of Vermont 116 and Williston Road, Hoar said.

Bresee said the city almost always follows up on the committee's recommendations "in one way or another." In most cases, the big problem is where to find funding for the improvements, he said.

If grant funding for the solar-powered LED midblock crossing signals comes through, the first of the new devices could be in place in about a year, Hoar said.

South Burlington has about two dozen midblock crossings, and Hoar estimates the equipment could cost $12,000 per crossing.

Hoar said some other complaints about the crossing signals might be relieved with a better explanation of how they work. Many people don't understand what the symbols at the intersections mean, he said.
Contact Sara Buscher at 651-4811 or sbuscher@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com Crossing signal lingo

Bruce Hoar, South Burlington public works director, offers tips on reading a crosswalk signal:

In a traditional "hand-man" signal, pedestrians have 20 seconds to cross before the hand symbol stops flashing. Pedestrians should not start crossing the street if the hand symbol is flashing, and should wait for the next cycle.

Pushing the crosswalk button does not mean traffic will stop immediately; the signal will eventually respond.

Whiz Kid On Wheels

2008-08-08T04:42:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press

Phyl Newbeck
August 8, 2008
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808080307

He had arrived home at midnight sporting a golf ball-sized bruise on his elbow from a crash during a race in Connecticut, but Anders Newbury of Fairfield was still itching to get back out on his bicycle for a training ride. After all, the 15-year-old had only a few days to go before heading off to Europe to join the U.S. Junior National training team, an elite squad of six young cyclists, earlier this summer.

Anders got his first taste of serious cycling in 2002 at the age of 10 when he headed out on a quad bike with his parents and his then 8-year-old brother, Eric, for a cross-country tour. In 2005, he decided to try his hand at racing. In his first time trial, Anders rode his mother's old touring bike, finishing with an average speed of 17.41 mph. Three years later, he finished first on that course with an average speed of almost 25 mph.

Through the Green Mountain Bicycle Club's practice criterium series, Anders earned his first racing license, and by 2006, he was traveling out of state for races. When he was 14, he was strong enough to compete in the 15- to 18-year-old category at the Green Mountain Stage Race where, he admits, "I got beat up pretty good."

Anders learned from that experience, and one year later he finished ninth in his age group at that event. At the GMSR, Anders watched members of the Hot Tubes Junior Development Team that he describes as the top team in the country. He decided if he worked hard enough, he might have a chance to ride with a team like that, and by the end of 2007, he was invited to join.

Anders' father, Gil, said being a member of Hot Tubes has made a world of difference, particularly with regard to accommodations at races. Gil recalls one competition where he and Anders stayed in a low-budget motel. Gil went out to get ice and found himself locked out. Anders couldn't open the door from the inside. He tried to call the main office for help, but the phone line was dead. Gil trekked down the road to the motel office, only to find a woman who told him the last time this had happened, she had to kick the door down. In the meantime, Anders had used his bike repair kit to take the door apart and received a lecture from the manager for his troubles. Before another race, Gil and Anders slept in their car in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

His father notes that cycling at Anders' level has a cost in terms of time, money and pain management, but he believes "the benefits far outweigh the costs. You learn to structure your lifestyle," Gil said, "to the things that are important."

Anders has always pushed himself. After only one full year of racing, he went to the Junior Nationals competition in Pennsylvania, finishing seventh in the road race and 11th in the time trial. By the following year, he was second in his age group. Racers start in what is known as Category 5, but at 15, Anders has already worked his way up to Category 2. According to Kevin Bessett, president of the GMBC, such a jump is "unheard of" for his age.

Anders has raced in venues across the country and in Canada. This summer, Anders raced with the U.S. National Team in Belgium for three weeks, coming in second in one race, seventh in another, and assisting teammates in the remaining races. On Monday, he left Vermont yet again, this time to compete in the U.S. Cycling National Championships in California that is under way and continues through this weekend.

Brian King of the New Hampshire Cycling Club is Anders' coach. Mostly through e-mails and phone calls, King plans Anders' training schedule.

"He's got all the talent in the world and all the drive in the world," King said. "If you ever wanted to see anyone achieve, it would be a kid like Anders."

Before heading off to Europe for a month of training, Anders planned a three- to four-hour ride "in an easy gear" on a Monday; four to five hours of more intense riding on a Tuesday; a four-hour ride, including the Appalachian Gap, on a Wednesday; a longer, slower ride on a Thursday followed by a time trial race; and then easy rides on a Friday and a Saturday before flying on a Sunday.

"I don't always enjoying training every day," Anders admitted, "but I'm able to keep with it on bad days and enjoy the good days."

Grants aim for pedestrian friendly Milton

2008-07-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

Milton Independent
By NATHAN LAMB Milton Independent Staff Writer mailto:miltonreporter@yahoo.com
www.miltonindy.com/07.31.08side.html

Grant funds will underwrite one mile of new sidewalk alongside Route 7 this summer, and they may also fund street light upgrades for the old town area in the not-so-distant future.

Construction on the new sidewalk began on July 28, and the finished product will run alongside Route 7 from Kinney Drug until just before Nancy Drive, according to town engineer Andrew Legg.

Conversely, the town is just getting started on the lighting grant, which will be open for public comment before the Selectboard at 7 pm on Aug. 4.

While details of that application are still being hashed out, the proposal centers on upgrading and replacing streetlights along Main Street, Cherry Street, and Route 7 between the Arrowhead Dam and Barnum Street, said town planning director Regina Mahoney.

Overall, she termed both projects as the outgrowth of work compiled from the town's access and mobility committee, which recommended back in 2001 that the town put more focus on sidewalks and other pedestrian amenities.

“The town has certainly been moving that goal forward,” she said.

The Selectboard awarded a $314,750 contract for the sidewalk earlier this summer; and that agreement stipulates a completion date of Oct. 15.

Once complete, the sidewalk will be five-foot wide, concrete, and separated from Route 7 by at least five feet of grassy median, said Legg.

The construction zone—known historically and in planning documents as Checkerberry-- is largely sidewalk-free, but has seen accelerated residential and commercial development in recent years, explained Legg. That being so, he said it's important to provide something besides the shoulder of a state highway for pedestrians, children on bikes, and people using wheelchairs.

“The average daily traffic on Route 7 is over 10,000 cars,” he said. “We've all witnessed the volume of traffic on that road, and it's important to separate the pedestrian from vehicle traffic.”

“It's also really important to link the isolated residential developments along that corridor with the commercial, municipal, recreational, and school facilities in the town core,” he added.

Some 90 percent of the project cost will be covered by state and federal highway grants. Local impact fees from new development are covering the remaining 10 percent, said Legg.

“There are no general fund dollars going into this,” said Legg.

The sidewalk was initially envisioned as running north to the junction of Route 7 and West Milton Road, but the close proximity of Route 7 to the Checkerberry Cemetery became a stumbling block with the application and that portion was cut, said Legg.

Once revised, the application was awarded in 2004 and Legg said that initiated the lengthy design and permitting process required for federal dollars.

Having seen that process through, Legg is eager to see shovels in the ground, and is optimistic that Checkerberry residents will feel likewise.

“I'm very excited to see this go to construction,” he said. “I think sidewalk projects are typically very well received by the community because they have obvious benefits.”

The lighting grant is also federal, but administered through Vermont Transportation Enhancement Program, said Mahony.

If secured, the grant would underwrite three phases of lighting upgrades, which would replace existing lights in the old town area with an antique-style lighting and perhaps add some lower fixtures that would specifically light the sidewalks.

The exact details of that are still open to discussion, said Mahony, though she indicated the latter scenario may improve the town's chance of getting the grant: On a previous application (which was rejected) the town was told that simply replacing the existing lights didn't reflect enough of the grant's multimodal focus, since it was considered more of a benefit for cars than pedestrians.

The rationale behind the grant is that better lighting makes for better walking, explained Mahony.

“I think the lights will make you feel a bit more safe as pedestrians and give you a sense of place, that this is somewhere you would want to walk,” she said.

If secured, the lighting upgrades would be in three phases. The first would cover Main Street, while the second would cover River Street from the dam to Cherry Street. The final phase would cover River Street between Cherry and Barnum streets.

Total cost of the project is estimated at $375,000, of which the town would be required to contribute 20 percent, or $75,000.

Submission of the grant application is up to the Selectboard, which previously endorsed the project in a pre-application letter-of-intent. It was also part of the town's capital improvement plan for 2010, said Mahony.

Word on the application should be forthcoming by January of 2009, and the project would likely clear permitting and federal oversight by 2011 or 2012, she added.

Survey: We Want To Walk

2008-07-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

Written By Michelle Monroe

Wednesday, July 09, 2008
www.samessenger.com/NewsView.asp?ID=3454

Town rec’ paths, sidewalks high on list

ST. ALBANS TOWN — Tuesday night the St. Albans Town Planning Commission discussed the results of a survey conducted during the period surrounding a May 20 revote on the town’s municipal budget.

The survey queried voters on what recreational facilities they use, what kinds of facilities they would like to see, and asked their views on proposed changes to existing facilities.

The overwhelming favorite on the list of desired facilities were biking and pedestrian paths, with 51 percent of the 421 voters who completed the survey stating that they would be willing to pay for new recreational trails with tax dollars.

Forty-four percent supported new walking and hiking trails.

An indoor ice arena was third with 29 percent saying they would be willing to support such a project.

“If we get anything out of this, it’s that people want places to walk,” commissioner Cheryl Teague said.

The results provoked a discussion of the lack of sidewalks in the town. Paul Larner, vice chairman of the Development Review Board, pointed out that new developments are often required to put in sidewalks that then don’t connect to anything because the town selectboard has not supported sidewalks.

“We had the money for a sidewalk from Main Street to Collins Perley (Sports & Fitness Center) and the selectboard said (to) give it back,” said Teague.

Commissioner Steve Wechsler asked why the money was returned and Teague replied that the town did not want to plow it.

The facilities town residents reported using most frequently were: Collins Perley, Hard’ack Recreation Area, and Bay Park, in that order, with 62 percent of respondents saying they use Collins Perley more than twice a year. This was a marked increase from 1998 when a similar survey was conducted.

Use of the Bay Park had declined slightly from 53 percent of respondents to 45 percent of respondents using the facility two or more times per year.

Other than the Bay Park, use of all recreation facilities in the St. Albans area had increased.

The planning commission is examining recreation use as part of its responsibility for the town’s capital program. The commission drafts the plan, which is then sent to the selectboard for adoption.

In addition, the town has been reviewing its impact fee program, which is based upon the capital program.

Currently included in the capital program is $500,000 to repair the seawall at the Bay Park, something parks director Glen Pion said he believes will be paid out of the operating budget. The town is currently investigating repair options.

The capital program also allocates $190,000 for improvements to Cohen Park, including a breakwater, ball field, picnic pavilion and new playground equipment.

However, 32 percent of survey respondents said they believed Cohen Park, located on the Maquam Shore, should remain as it is and another 26 percent don’t know where the park is.

Less than a fourth supported adding a picnic shelter; 15 percent supported new playground equipment, 12 percent a breakwater and kayak launch, and only nine percent were in favor of a ballpark.

The existing playground equipment at Cohen Park will be removed this year, according to Pion. The town’s insurance company has recommended its removal because of its poor condition.

Also in the capital program is $137,000 for renovations to the Bay Park bathhouse. The renovations are currently scheduled for 2010, pending voter approval. However, only 11 percent of respondents supported winterizing the bathhouse, and 46 percent felt Bay Park should be left as it is.

The capital program includes a provision for a $1,000,000 20-year bond to elevate the dock. Twenty-one percent of respondents said elevating the dock is a project they would be willing to spend tax monies on.

One-third of respondents would like to see cross-country and walking trails in the town forest, but another 40 percent don’t know where the forest is.

Discussion of the forest, located on French Hill, provoked an exchange between Teague and Pion in which Teague sought to determine if there was a written forest management plan for the forest.

Pion said that the town consults with forester Sam Hudson, who Pion acknowledged is not under contract. “I call him when I need him and he charges me,” Pion said.

“The bottom line is we don’t have a written forest management plan,” Teague said.

Planning commission chair David Schofield pointed out that normally another organization, such as the parks and recreation committee, would bring a plan to the planning commission, which would then review it. The only member of the town recreation committee recently resigned, however. “At this point we don’t have any organization working on recreation,” Schofield said.

The commission agreed to schedule time at a future meeting to discuss the capital program for recreation in light of the survey results.

“You’ve got a mandate to provide more walking trails,” Larner said.

Currently, the capital program does not contain any provisions for walking, hiking or biking paths.

Member Spotlight: Ron Manganiello

2008-07-09T07:25:00.001-07:00

Vermont Federal Credit Union (VTFCU)
July 2008
www.vtfcu.org/article/view/21444/1/831/

Ron Manganiello is a long-time member of Vermont Federal Credit Union. He supports the philosophies of many of Vermont’s cooperative organizations, and in addition, has created his own organization that gives back to the community.

Ron started Bike Recycle Vermont (BRV) in his backyard in 2004. Retired from Burlington Electric, he was looking for something to fill his time as well as his passions for alternative transportation, recycling and community service. Bike Recycle has since grown out of his backyard. In early 2008 it moved into a donated space, courtesy of the Good News Garage in Burlington, and thus far has given away over 1800 bikes to income-qualified community members while also providing extensive education and training to youth and volunteers.

BRV gets donations of bikes from area businesses that run bike drives for them as well as individuals, from unclaimed bikes from the police, and area academic institutions. It is a completely self-funding organization that relies on the charity of the community in the form of both donations and volunteers. Operating on a shoestring budget while keeping hundreds of bikes in good repair requires help. Student groups regularly come in to work on bikes, learning how to repair them, but Manganiello explains that “we really consider this more of an education…teaching students the hard skills on how to repair the bikes, but also about the importance of recycling and healthy transportation modes.” Ron also hosts periodic events to raise money for the organization and participates in the annual Vermont Cares Ride with a Bike Recycle team to generate enthusiasm and publicity for the organization’s mission.

Bike Recycle is part of a larger parent organization called Local Motion, whose mission is to promote bicycling, walking, running, inline skating and the facilities that make such travel safe, easy and fun. The organization seeks to improve personal health and the local economy by developing regional trails, promoting walkable communities, and fostering active lifestyles. Originally founded in 1999 to develop the Winooski River Bike Ferry and Cycle the City, the organization broadened its sights on making the Greater Burlington area a better place to walk, bike, run and skate and reconnecting the segments of the former Island Line railbed into a spectacular regional trail. Five years later, they have come to support several organizations like BRV. “Our parent company is incredible”, sites Manganiello, “and provides a significant amount of support for our organization.”

Vermont Federal Credit Union commends Ron and others like him who give back to the communities in which we all live. For information about how you can support Bike Recycle Vermont, visit: http://www.localmotion.org/bikerecycle/.

Crossing Guard Thank You

2008-07-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

North Avenue News / Burlington's Community Newspaper
July 4, 2008
By Cliff Cooper

Dolores Lapointe has been a crossing guard in Burlington for 21 years with the last 6 years out in the New North End at the Shore Road crossing of North Avenue. Her husband Francis has also served as a crossing guard for 20 years. He is stationed over by CP Smith School. We have heard that this past school year may be their last as they may soon retire? We wanted to take this space and say "thank you" to all the Crossing Guards in the City for their help in getting all the children to and from schools safely!

Rock 'n Roll at Millstone Trails

2008-07-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
July 4, 2008
By Lauren Ober
Photo Glenn Russell

www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080704/LIVING/80703028

WEBSTERVILLE — On its face, mountain biking in a quarry seems patently ill-advised.

First, there are apt to be jagged granite blocks everywhere, remnants of an industry that celebrated its heyday nearly a century ago. Then there are the quarry pits themselves, which could easily swallow up any cyclist who happens to mispedal. The combination seems like an imminent disaster, and yet at Millstone Trails in the heart of Barre granite territory, it is the quarries themselves that make the mountain biking stand out.

Four years ago, Pierre Couture began the long process of cutting trails for nonmotorized use on his 350-acre property that abuts the Rock of Ages quarry. Couture, who grew up on the property, remembers hours spent in his youth exploring the abandoned quarries and wanted to allow the public to experience that. Thus Millstone Hill Touring Center was born, and hikers, bikers, cross-country skiers and snowshoers have access to some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes in the region.

The height of the Barre granite industry’s production came about 100 years ago when nearly 75 independent quarries operated right around Millstone Hill. Most of the hill was cleared and quarried, and Barre became the granite capital of the world.

But the march of progress brought with it the consolidation of Barre’s many quarries, leaving most small quarries abandoned in its wake. The exodus left behind a stark, pock-marked landscape. The pits filled with water, and the area turned into an industrial wasteland.

But slowly over time, the land began to rejuvenate itself. What was once a bleak moonscape became a thriving forest environment.

“It makes you think about how dynamic nature is,” Couture said.

When Couture moved back to his family’s land to start a bed-and-breakfast, he wanted to open up as much of the property as he could to the public. Couture, a history buff who has a near encyclopedic knowledge of the Barre granite industry, thought recreation trails would be the best way to expose people to the physical history of the area.

The past three years have seen steady growth in the number of mountain bike trails available to ride. Couture guesses the Millstone Trail Association maintains about 70 miles of trails that range from family-friendly cruisers to rugged switchbacks with gnarly rock drops. This season saw the opening of about 15 miles of new singletrack designed by some of the state’s top trail builders.

For mountain bikers visiting Vermont for the first time, or for grizzled locals who think they’ve ridden it all, the Millstone Hill trails are not to be missed; $8 will get riders a day pass, some intense riding and a serious dose of local history.

All rides begin on Lower Mainline, an easy doubletrack that inches up a slow incline before hitting the main trail network. From there, riders have numerous easy options. But to best see the 20 quarries, you’re probably going to have to hit a more challenging trail like Locomotion, which takes bikers right past the Jones Brothers and Barclay quarries.

Along the way, riders pass an old boiler at the beginning of the Boilermaker loop. While much of the leftover metal from the railroads and quarries was pilfered for scrap during World War II, the boiler remains as a symbol of the once booming industry.

The newest trails, some of which were designed by Hans Jenny of the Chittenden County mountain bike group Fellowship of the Wheel, are on the south side of Graniteville Road and can be found by following the Grand Canyon trail. Even before you get to the newly cut advanced trails, it is imperative to stop at the Rock of Ages lookout, overlooking one of the largest granite pits in the world.

For years, Rock of Ages, the largest quarrier of granite in North America, has allowed public access to their 1,800-acre property. Couture said the quarry owners didn’t object to trail development on their land and that the Millstone Trail Association has been “ambitious” in its trail work.

At the lookout, riders get a breathtaking view of the quarry pit stories below them. Old guide wires and huge iron hooks are all that are left of the quarry operations. From the top of the pit, riders can see over to one of the two working quarries left in Barre.

Continuing along the Grand Canyon trail, which rings the rim of the quarry, riders can easily access the Fellowship Ring, a directional advanced singletrack trail that folds back on itself numerous times. Along the trail, riders will find giant roots, slick rock gardens and narrow switchbacks.

It’s not a beginner trail by any means, but the persistent rider will be rewarded by a spectacular view of a working quarry. At Quarry View Lookout, guide wires attached to boom derricks that seem to stretch to the heavens extend all the way back into the trees behind the lookout. It’s not your standard mountain biking scenery.

Like Kingdom Trails in East Burke, it is easy to spend an entire day or more exploring the trails at Millstone Hill. That is partly by design. Couture said Tim Tierney, executive director of the Kingdom Trails, has been a mentor to him with regard to building a mountain bike destination. Tierney returns the compliment, saying he’s supportive of their efforts and thinks the trails are coming along well.

Ideally, both mountain bike areas will help Vermont become a destination for out-of-state cyclists, Couture said. As long as the trails at Millstone Hill continue to be sustainably developed and refined, Tierney thinks that time isn’t far off.

“They’re working towards developing quality trails, and as long as they keep that in mind, they’ll succeed,” Tierney said.

Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com.

Bike-Taxi Business Launches This Week

2008-06-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

Seven Days
Published June 25, 2008
By Mike Ives
Photo by Jordan Silverman
www.7dvt.com/2008fare-warning-burlington-taxi

Ever find yourself exiting a Church Street bar in the wee hours, but not ready to quit reveling? James Simpson hopes so. And he hopes that you have a few dollars left in your pocket.

A former cabbie for Benways Transportation and Yellow Cab, Simpson is now the ebullient cofounder of Pedal Power Bike Taxi, Burlington’s latest stab at fossil-fuel-free transport. This week, Simpson and his colleagues are releasing two “pedal cabs” into the city’s taxi-jammed downtown. A bike-taxi experience, he assures, will be something of a “party thing.”

In addition to pleasure-seeking passengers, Simpson says, his drivers will haul pizza, parcels and whatever else will fit. (Some Pedal Power rigs will haul up to 1000 pounds.) Says the 31-year-old Simpson, “I’m even trying to work out a delivery for kegs.”

And that’s only the first leg of what could be a long entrepreneurial ride. Pedal Power’s two-taxi fleet will soon expand to six, and Simpson’s crew is manufacturing more gear at a “secret location” — a.k.a., his buddy’s place in Winooski. Future projects may include “trikes” with electric-assist motors, “authentic Asian rickshaws” and a $6000 “bike car” with a fiberglass body. Simpson, who pedal-pushed passengers in Tucson before moving to Burlington, says he plans to sell the contraptions to clients in such neighboring towns as Plattsburgh and St. Albans.

Hoping for a lift in his pedal-powered sails, Simpson recently applied for grant money from Burlington’s Community and Economic Development Office. No dice. “They said they’d given out all the money, and they were waiting for it to be paid back,” he reports.

Ed Antczak, an economic development specialist for CEDO, says people have come to his office in recent years with ideas for everything from pedal cabs to rickshaws. “None of them ever materialized,” he says.

Simpson is unfazed. In fact, he is hoping to “make a killing” at the waterfront over the Fourth of July weekend. Later this summer — once Pedal Power has acquired “a good amount of bank” — Simpson hopes to move his makeshift office out of the Pearl Street skateboard shop Ridin’ High Skate Shop.

Since Ridin’ High owner John Van Hazinga is a business partner, there’s no immediate pressure to find permanent digs. Still, Simpson says, “We’re hoping to get out of his hair.”

Freewheel Winooski teaches bike maintenance

2008-06-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
Published June 27, 2008
By Julia Melloni
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080627/NEWS02/806270312/1001/NEWS

WINOOSKI -- Repairing bikes by truing wheels, fixing gears, brakes and chains can be difficult tasks for cyclists, said Steve Scuderi of AmeriCorps Vista.

As a bike commuter, Scuderi learned the importance of maintaining a functioning bike if he wanted to arrive on time for work every day.

Now he's using his knowledge to teach Winooski teens the art of bicycle repair and putting free bikes into the hands of children through a program called Freewheel Winooski.

Scuderi started Freewheel Winooski in April with several Winooski teens through a job skills training program funded with grants from the Department of Labor's Internship Program. The eight-week program provided the teens with an array of bike repair classes along with a small stipend from the $1,500 grant.

Private donors have supplemented the program by providing money to purchase bicycle repair tools.

Freewheel Winooski is located in the old Winooski library on East Spring Street; it is opening workshop doors for the first in a series of bike jams Saturday. Bike jams are sessions where people come to fix their own bikes by using Freewheel's tools.

People can learn how to repair their bikes, ask for help and learn basic bike maintenance. It's also a place where kids in need can acquire a bike or be fitted to a bike they own.

"We focus on teaching job skills to Winooski teens and at the same time having those skills be useful to the community," Scuderi said. "We get bikes donated, then we turn them back out into the community."

Freewheel Winooski offers bike repair services on a regular basis for folks who need more extensive work. Bike jams will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the last Saturday of the month through August.

FREEWHEEL WINOOSKI WHERE: 19 E. Spring St.
PHONE: 655-6410, ext. 11
WHEN: Bike Jams, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, June 28, July 26, Aug. 30

Photo Credit: MYESHA GOSSELIN, for the Free Press
Caption: Quinten Lewis, 13, of Winooski adjusts the spokes on a bicycle Wednesday at Freewheel Winooski.

Burton's Bikers Band Together

2008-06-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
Published June 23, 2008
By Lauren Ober
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080623/NEWS01/80622012

ESSEX JUNCTION — It’s 7:30 a.m. on a recent Friday and the sky is threatening to open up. Later in the day it will dump rain for hours, but for now the heavens are content just to spit.

Kahlil Zaloom and James Fisher, each well prepared for a downpour with their waterproof work bags, are practicing their trackstands as they wait to cross Susie Wilson Road. The men rock back and forth on their bicycles. They’re trying to stand still while not letting their feet leave the pedals and touch the ground. Fisher wobbles and eventually dabs a toe or two on the pavement. Zaloom is triumphant. Fisher will feel the slight sting of defeat for their rest of their ride into work.

When the road is clear, they zip across to the old Fashion Bug parking lot where they meet up with fellow cyclist Michelle Boutin, who has been exercising great patience while the men show off their skills.

Boutin is used to those kinds of antics. She, along with Fisher and Zaloom, works at Burton Snowboards, where playful competition is an implicit part of the company’s culture. Even on Creative Commute Fridays, a new initiative conceived by Burton’s employee-run environmental committee, there’s room for some friendly jousting.

After Zaloom and Fisher get their laughs out about their impromptu intersection spar, it’s time to head into work and get serious. Well, as serious as they get at Burton.

The trio rides along Vermont 15 on their way to Winooski where they will pick up some other Burton employees for their weekly company bike commute.Zaloom, a senior project engineer, initiated the bike pool as a part of the Creative Commute Fridays program, where employees are encouraged to find other ways to get to work every Friday besides driving their cars.

The company bike commute, which draws employees from Essex, Essex Junction, Colchester, Winooski and Burlington, happens once a week and has been steadily growing in numbers. Incentives abound for those participating in the program.

All “creative commuters” are entitled to a free breakfast at Burton, plus are eligible for a number of different prizes. “It’s worked out pretty well so far,” Zaloom said. “People realize they can do it and it’s not a big deal.”

For the last month, Zaloom has been leading the weekly group bike commute from Essex Junction. From Susie Wilson Road, the riders wend their way through Fort Ethan Allen and zigzag through some Winooski neighborhoods before picking up more co-workers at the Winooski Bridge. From there, they head along the Riverside Avenue bike path, through the Old North End and down to the Waterfront bike path where they meet up with more bike commuting colleagues. The journey ends a little more than an hour after the start at Burton’s South End headquarters.

For Boutin, a production artist for Burton’s in-house design agency, Syndicate, riding to work with her colleagues is not only good exercise, but it helps build camaraderie with people she might not directly work with.

“It’s cool to interact with other people at the company,” Boutin said.
For other commuters, like John Boon, a Web programmer, the ride into work is a way to have focus before the day ahead. The commute home from work gives Boon a chance to decompress.

“At the end of the day, it’s 30 minutes I have to myself where I can clear my head and have the wind in my face,” Boon said.

Bike commuting can be intimidating for the occasional cyclist. But riding with the Burton bike posse would allay any fears one might have of the road. Zaloom is an experienced bike commuter and tries to ride into work a few days a week. He points out road debris to other riders and uses appropriate hand signals to let other riders, as well as cars, know he’s turning or stopping.

By the time the group hits the Waterfront bike path, its size was formidable. A dozen riders, mostly bedecked in Burton clothing of varying degrees of neon, spun down the path, spooking more than a few people out for a leisurely morning stroll.

There were mountain bikes and fixed gears and tiny BMX rides, as well as a couple of bikes that have seen better days. Any bike or biker was welcome. A few of the commuters, like Frank White, seemed like they’re been awake for hours. Unbothered by the increasing drizzle, White, who said he works in the “global domination” department at Burton, skidded out the rear tire of his BMX bike and then popped a couple wheelies.

Another Burton cyclist, Ali Kenney, a financial analyst, , had the vestiges of the previous night’s kickball game — a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon — in her water bottle cage. She and mechanical engineer Rachel Gitajn, on a black fixed gear bike with purple handlebar tape and a purple chain, rode down the bike path dodging puddles and chit-chatting about the events of the night prior.

The company bike commute isn’t the only Burton program focused on reducing its collective carbon footprint. The environmental committee recently started a loaner bike program so employees wouldn’t have to use their cars to venture off campus during the day.
But Burton, ever the purveyors of cool, didn’t use any bike. Clothing company Paul Frank Industries designed five cruiser bikes for Burton employees to use. About 100 people have signed up so far to use the bikes and Zaloom calls the program “hugely popular.”

Zaloom, who is passionate about working to reduce the company’s environmental impact, is aware that browbeating his colleagues with a stewardship message isn’t the most effect tactic. The company bike commute is an easy way for people to buy into the idea.“We’re trying to lead by example. We provide the inspiration,” Zaloom said. “We’re not the do-gooders telling people what to do.”

Photo Credit: Emily J. Nelson
Caption: Burton Snowboard employee Michelle Boutin of Colchester waits for fellow bike pool commuters to join her for their ride to work on June 20. Boutin and fellow employees have organized a bike pool.

Bicyclist Is Struck by Car in Shelburne

2008-06-23T06:30:00.001-07:00

Burlington Free Press News Brief
Published June 7, 2008

SHELBURNE -- Shelburne police are looking for help finding the driver of a car who struck and injured a bicyclist on Shelburne Road early Thursday morning.

Police said a male bicyclist was traveling south on Shelburne Road in front of the Olive Garden restaurant just after midnight when he was struck from behind. The bicyclist was treated and released from Fletcher Allen Health Care.

Police are looking for a dark colored sedan, which now has moderate to light front end damage. Anyone with information should call South Burlington police at 846-4111.

From staff and wire reports.

Bicyclist Take To Highways To Recruit Voters

2008-06-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
By John Curran
Published June 13, 2008
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080613/NEWS02/806130315/1007/NEWS02

Max MacDonald always wanted to bicycle across America.

Now, he's getting his chance. He won't be alone, and the ride will be anything but easy.

MacDonald, 22, and six other young Vermont residents are embarking on a 47-day, 1,800-mile bicycle trip aimed at helping register voters and raise awareness about the importance of voting, at a time when Americans are gearing up to elect a new president.

Their initiative, dubbed The Great American Voter Trek, will make stops in Buffalo, N.Y.; Cleveland; Chicago; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Omaha, Neb.; and Laramie, Wyo., for voter registrations and meet with local officials in 25 other places in between.

It gets under way Monday as the seven-member bike team heads west, backed by a two-man support crew, a rented RV and a whole lot of youthful idealism.

"We're going out for a cause, but we won't know how successful it is until we get out there. What will make it a success? One more person that votes," MacDonald said.

A political science graduate of St. Michael's College, MacDonald conceived the trip and used family connections -- his father is a state senator; his mother, an executive at Cabot Creamery -- to gather sponsorships from a dozen Vermont companies and the state, including Cabot Creamery and Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream.

Estimated cost of the trip: About $50,000.

The group, which has spent two months lining up its itinerary and contacts, plans to make the trip in daily increments of 40 to 75 miles. The bicyclists will travel together, with the RV -- carrying two bicycle mechanics -- leapfrogging them along the route.

The RV, which sleeps eight, has a flat-screen TV, microwave oven, power generator and full bathroom, and gets about nine miles to the gallon, will be their mobile headquarters. It will make the return trip to Vermont, the riders will not. They'll fly home.

If they get hurt while riding west, they'll go first to fellow rider Hayden Coon, 24, a trained EMT.

At the six major stops, there will be music, voter registration and giveaways of Vermont products and Vermont vacation prize drawings. In Buffalo, for example, they plan to hold forth at a Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament, an outdoor hoops tournament that draws thousands of people.

At the other locations, the riders will meet with mayors and town clerks in hopes of reaching out to nonregistered citizens at "mini events" in diners and elsewhere.

"Local officials will be there with us," MacDonald said. "They're the ones who'll sign people up. We'll come in and we'll be like, 'Hey, we're here, come talk with us and oh, by the way, you can register to vote.' We're appealing to the young people, but we're hoping anyone and everyone who isn't registered will come."

The choice of destination was partly pragmatic, partly symbolic. The riders didn't want to spend the entire summer on the trek, and they chose Wyoming as an end point because "the Equality State" was the first in the nation to let women vote, serve on juries and hold public office.

Like MacDonald, rider Megan Newhouse, a 22-year-old triathlete from South Burlington, had also talked about the possibility of a cross-country bicycle trip before becoming involved in Voter Trek.

"When I first told my mom, I said, 'Mom, I'm going to go cross-country on my bicycle,' and she said, 'Not this again.' She was extremely happy to hear it was supported and that I was doing it for a cause and wouldn't be in one of thousands of horrible scenarios she could imagine," Newhouse said.

Photo by Tony Talbot, AP. Caption: Max MacDonald and Megan Newhouse are part of a team of Vermont collegians embarking Monday on a cross-country bicycle trek aimed at helping register voters.

More information at www.VoterTrek.com

Catamount Trail Competes for Vineyard Grant

2008-06-20T05:25:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
By Phyl Newbeck
Published June 20, 2008
http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080620/LIVING/80619032/1004

What does a California vineyard have to do with a cross-country ski trail that runs across the state of Vermont? If things go well for the Catamount Trail Association, the answer could be $50,000.

Through its “Greater Outdoors Project,” the Redwood Creek vineyard in Modesto, Calif., has launched an online contest that will result in sizable grants to two nonprofit programs. Almost a hundred organizations ranging from conservation groups to trail clubs submitted entries to the Greater Outdoors competition. Five finalists were selected by a panel comprising wine and outdoor enthusiasts.

The Catamount Trail Association is one of the five finalists. The association is a nonprofit, member-driven organization that builds, manages and conserves the Catamount Trail, a 300-mile public access ski trail covering the length of Vermont. Voting to decide which nonprofit should receive the $50,000 grant (the runner-up receives $10,000) is under way now online (www.redwoodcreek.com/greatoutdoors/voting.asp) through July.

Berne Broudy, a free-lance writer and photographer who serves on the CTA board, brought the contest to the attention of executive director Jim Fredericks. Fredericks was impressed with the notion of collaboration between the public and private sectors. He noted that as the economy gets tighter, people might be less willing to contribute to charitable organizations. Therefore, it is crucial that corporations and other entities pick up the slack. Only 210 of the Catamount Trail’s 300 miles are permanently conserved. It is imperative that CTA find ways to ensure the other miles will remain open to the public in perpetuity.

CTA is competing against two national organizations and two regional ones. One of the national organizations, American Forests, was founded in 1875 and has a goal of planting100 million trees by 2020. The other, NatureCorps, is of more recent vintage. Founded in 1987, NatureCorps is described as “the premier national network of volunteers dedicated to the preservation of America’s National Parks.” The two local organizations are Friends of the Cheat, which focuses on the Cheat River Watershed in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and the Southeast Wisconsin chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Fredericks is undaunted by the challenge of competing against national organizations, noting that the projects proposed by the four groups deal with small areas of land. “Because the 300-mile Catamount Trail traverses the entire state, I’m presenting the challenge to all Vermonters to vote as often as possible to protect the last 90 miles of the trail,” Fredericks said.

Richard Wiese, former president of The Explorers Club and host of PBS’ “Exploration with Richard Wiese,” was one of the judges who winnowed the applications to the final five. Wiese has skied on the Catamount Trail and is familiar with the issues facing local and regional trail organizations. He said he felt comfortable that any money given to the organization “would be money well spent.” Wiese praised Redwood Creek’s commitment to the environment and believes it is important to have nonprofit and for-profit companies band together for creative solutions.

In contrast to the Long Trail, which runs across the spine of the Green Mountains, the Catamount Trail typically crosses lower elevation land near the mountains, the same land that is coveted for vacation homes. Ten years ago, CTA negotiated with roughly 100 landowners for the right to cross their land. That number has almost doubled, with most located in the northern part of the state. Quite a few of these are second homes belonging to out-of-state residents with whom it might be harder to negotiate. Additionally, roughly 20 percent of the Catamount Trail follows the VAST trail. Fredericks would like to move off the VAST trail to terrain that is less accessible and more “back-country.” If CTA wins the contest, the money will go toward negotiating easements to preserve the unprotected portions of the trail.

Fredericks gave an example of the problems the organization faces. Every winter CTA organizes a weeklong tour of the trail. This year’s tour traveled from Morrisville to the Canadian border. The group had almost completed their trek when a landowner came out and barred them from crossing his land. Unbeknownst to CTA, the landowner with whom they had previously reached an agreement had sold his land and the new landowner would not honor that arrangement. One of the skiers knew of private land over which public access was allowed, and the group was able to finish the tour. CTA is negotiating with another landowner to relocate the trail.

Fredericks said Redwood Creek’s Greater Outdoors Project makes good business sense, noting that someone who might not otherwise try their wine might be impressed by their charitable initiative. “People have a good feeling for companies that do that,” he said. Fredericks hopes Vermonters will log on to the Web site and cast their votes for the Catamount Trail Association. “In general,” he said, “Vermonters care very much about their environment, and I think this is an opportunity to make a difference with very little effort.”

Burlington Free Press File Photo of Executive Director Jim Fredricks.

Green Mtn Bike Club Is Running Circles

2008-06-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
By Phyl Newbeck
Published June 20, 2008
http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080620/LIVING/80619033/1004

Round and round and round the cyclists went, leaning sharply on the curves but not losing speed along the flat, 1-kilometer course.

Tuesday was the fourth scheduled criterium in a series run by the Green Mountain Bicycle Club. Rain earlier in the day and a less than promising forecast cut down on the number of riders who made their way to Gauthier Drive in Essex Junction. Previous races had attracted more than 40 riders, but only 30 visited the course this week. Organizer Claude Raineault said that aside from the Green Mountain Stage Race, a four-day cycling competition held in September, the practice crits (as they are known colloquially) are the only officially sanctioned road event in Vermont.

The series began in the early 1990s with cyclists doing loops in the vacant Taft Corners area where Wal-Mart is now located, said GMBC president Kevin Bessett. When construction began, the series recessed before beginning again in 2000 in two different locations. Raineault took over running the series four years ago.

Organizing the races is no easy matter. Raineault has to obtain permits and permission from local businesses to close the road, and volunteers are needed to sweep the course before the race and act as marshals during the race.

This year, in addition to the “A” and “B” races, Raineault has added a “C” race for those who are either new to racing or to criteriums. C racers are assigned mentor who ride alongside them, providing pointers for the first half of the race. During the second half, the riders are on their own. All racers are required to be members of the U.S. Cycling Federation, although non-members can purchase a one-day license for $10. In contrast to most GMBC events, which are free, there is a $5 fee for the races, which includes a USCF surcharge. Riders are required to wear helmets . Because of the inherent dangers of taking turns at sharp angles, races are canceled in the event of rain or other unsafe weather.

Tuesday, low attendance and damp roads caused Raineault to combine the B and C racers for a later start. Initially, the 11 riders stayed in a tight group, but eventually some were dropped from the pack. The pace quickened toward the end of the race, and in a sprint to the finish, John Painter, 33, came across the line first. The B/C group finished 29 laps in 29 minutes.

The A group started shortly thereafter. One of the marshals, Andre Sturm, pointed out that these experienced riders were working more strategically. They stayed in closer pace lines, taking turns “pulling” the group. Isaac Howe, 22, had a breakaway early. He was pulled back into the pack, but broke free again later in the race to finish first. The A racers completed 57 laps in 46 minutes at an average speed of 27 mph. The fastest lap time was just under 32 mph.

Raineault said attendance has increased every year he has run the series. Ages range from juniors to those in their 50s. Although men greatly outnumber women, Raineault said this year has shown an increase in female ridership. Tuesday, however, there were only two female cyclists. Many racers are local, but others come from as far as Burke, Castleton, and Plattsburgh, N.Y. This week, there was one rider from Montreal and another from Denver. Coloradan Mike Welker was visiting his girlfriend’s Vermont family and had investigated his racing opportunities ahead of time, planning his trip in part around the race. Welker finished third in the B/C race, despite the fact he was using a rented bike and unused to sea-level air.

Greg Tomcyzk was riding in his first crit of the season and had forgotten to take the rack off the back of his bicycle. No extraneous parts are allowed on bikes, including the aero bars, which are popular at time-trial races. Since these are informal races, riders took an extra practice lap, while Tomcyzk found an allen wrench to remove the rack. The races are low-key enough that riders who drop from the pack are allowed to coast until the pack comes around and jump back in. The only proviso is they are then not allowed to take part in the final sprint.

Raineault says criterium racing is more exciting than other forms of racing such as time trials where riders start at one-minute intervals and ride alone. He said the close quarters in which crits take place provide a real adrenaline rush. Unlike time trials where you are alone and have plenty of time to focus on your pain, in criterium racing, the close quarters allow you to continue past your pain threshold as you concentrate on staying with the pack. Raineault noted that there are more crashes in criterium racing than other forms of bike racing, but the series has not had any serious injuries. Sturm said most of the crashes are the result of flat tires causing chain reactions among cyclists.

At 51, Bruce Bell is one of the older criterium racers. He hopes to compete in the Green Mountain Stage Race this year. Bell said there aren’t many sports where those older than 50 can compete with people half their age or less. “Or beat them,” chimed in Jared Katz, 41, who was standing nearby.

Katz said criteriums are his favorite event because “there’s something about riding at speed in a group and having somebody, or a group of bodies, go off the front at 5 or 6 miles per hour faster than the rest of the field and knowing you just have a couple of seconds to decide whether to chase them. In those couple of seconds,” Katz said, “everything can change.”

A Pretty Good Workout

2008-06-20T05:05:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
By Jessie Forand
Published June 4, 2008
http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080604/NEWS02/80603039/0/NEWS

3,756 miles. Two months. About 25 pounds. These are the result of a journey taken by Rick Hubbard. From mid-March through mid-May, Hubbard rode a bicycle from San Diego, Calif., back home to South Burlington.

Oh, and one other important fact — he is 66 years old.

In celebration of his retirement, the former attorney “pumped up the health part” and decided to ride his bike across the country: “I’m old enough, at 66, to clearly be in ‘use it or lose it’ territory,” Hubbard said. “Better do it while I still can."

An early estimation, in one of Hubbard’s along the road e-mail updates, he predicted he would arrive home May 21. He not only met this goal, but surpassed it and arrived back in South Burlington on May 12.

“I had incentive to beat it,” he said: His “sweetie,” Sally Howe, was leaving on a trip of her own to meet up with family and then former classmates in Spain, beginning May 18. He described himself as “like a horse headed for the barn.”

Hubbard flew to San Diego and began his venture March 13. The reasoning behind his departure location was twofold. First, he partially followed the Southern Tier route provided by Adventure Cycling, leading from San Diego to St. Augustine, Fla., although he only stayed with the trail until just before the Mississippi River and then forged his own path.

The second reason: “It’s winter, and there are no options anywhere else,” Hubbard said.

Having “held it down” at first, Hubbard’s daily travel, excluding the first two weeks of the trip, was 75 to 90 miles per day. He took it a bit easier at first because he had suffered from an injury in the recent past and had been training with cross-country skiing as opposed to biking during the winter.

Fourteen states were covered in the journey, including Texas, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Hubbard crossed back into the Green Mountain State near Lake George, N.Y., and was met by Howe in Vergennes for a meal and an accompanied final stretch home.

Hubbard took a unique and ultimately very enjoyable approach to finding shelter along the way. He used the Warm Showers Organization, a Web site that connects cyclists — those on trips with those willing to host visitors for an overnight stay and, yes, a warm shower. The No. 1 rule of the site is that if people wish to find a host home, they in turn must open their home to others, so Hubbard’s home is listed on a map of hosts around the globe, available to those in need of a temporary shelter.

“I tried to pick people that were a little older,” he said, “a little closer to my age.”

His hosts included another retired attorney, a younger couple who met through biking, a British man and his Swedish wife, a doctor, and a minister. In addition to Warm Showers homes, Hubbard stayed in motels, with relatives, and even an old hiking buddy.

“It really was the highlight of the trip,” Hubbard said of his accommodations. “It broke up being on my own a lot.”

With only himself and a bike, Hubbard just brought the necessities. He had bike shorts, a fleece, Day-Glo protective gear, sneakers, a pair of running shoes (for when he was off the bike), a pair of zip-off khaki pants, one polo shirt and a sleeping bag and tent for emergencies, which he needed once while in New Mexico.

On this occasion, Hubbard found himself in a tiny town with no motel in sight.

“I ended up in my tent, on gravel, behind a post office, and it went to about 28 degrees,” he said.

In New Mexico. Hubbard was able to see a former cliff dwelling, where adobe houses were built in caves. The houses were built in the 1200s — “Some were quite sophisticated,” Hubbard said — but abandoned in the 1300s, for unknown reasons. According to Hubbard, it could have been because of climate changes, such as droughts, or because the people were driven out by other tribes.

“Here’s a whole civilization that when there’s climate change, abandoned,” he said.

Adverse weather was possibly the worst part of Hubbard’s trip. After going for about 35 days without having to don a rain jacket, he hit Stroudsburg, Pa.

“It poured buckets,” Hubbard said.

The rain soaked through his alpine ski gloves. Hubbard, who had a pre-existing condition where the cold would cause circulation problems in his hands and feet, went on for about 20 miles and climbed the “steepest hill of the trip,” before finding an environmental center, where he warmed up.

Aside from the elements, Hubbard never faced anything perilous.

“I never felt threatened. I never felt my life in danger,” he said.

Hubbard did, however, discuss bicycle safety — by which he meant a lack of road shoulder for bikes to use for travel.

In an e-mail update while on the road, Hubbard wrote, “... Route 11 entered Virginia. At the Tennessee/Virginia border, the shoulder disappeared (all of it!), but the heavy traffic remained. The shoulder never reappeared. ... So far, of the route I’ve traveled across our country, my route in Virginia ... feels the least safe (with only 1 previous exception) of all I’ve encountered.”

After returning home, with tired legs, Hubbard has not been back on the bike. He has, however, gone walking with friends and jogging.

This is by no means Hubbard’s first long-distance trip. He once walked more than 450 miles around Vermont, and he has walked both the Appalachian and Long trails. He lists two reasons for these long ventures: entertainment and exercise.

“I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors,” he said. “I’ve tried to make that a lifestyle.”

Hubbard said that easy, long distance exercise is also the best way to lose weight. His own weight loss supports this theory, going from about 185 pounds to about 160 pounds.

Hubbard already has his next trip in the works; and this time he won’t be alone. Howe, his “sweetie,” as he called her, and he will be heading out in September.

“We’re planning a three-week bike trip to southern France, Provence,” he said.

Biking the U.S. of Awesomeness

2008-06-16T15:22:00.000-07:00

Seven Days
By Kevin J. Kelley
Published 06.11.08
www.7dvt.com/2008midd-grad-publisher-pairs-old-and-new-technology-bike

Anne Callahan belongs to a generation that’s supposedly bagged books in favor of electronic media. But the 27-year-old Middlebury College alum remains very much a woman of the printed page. She recently launched an old-fashioned publishing business, Graphic Union Press, from her apartment in Harlem. And its debut book — titled Biking the U.S. of Awesomeness — further flouts the conventional thinking of the Digital Age by putting a collection of email messages into the form Johannes Gutenberg pioneered six centuries ago.

The same spirit of contrariness animated the four cyclists — three of them also Midd grads — who chronicle their 4377.5-mile, coast-to-coast journey in this slender volume. Most cross-country bikers pedal from west to east to take advantage of tailwinds. But Nicole Grohoski and friends pushed off from Lubec, Maine, and dismounted 77 days later in Cape Meares, Oregon. “It’s OK to go against the prevailing winds,” Grohoski explains.

She means that figuratively as well as literally. Grohoski and fellow biker Caitlin Prentice (both Class of ’05) note in an appendix to the book that Middlebury College has a narrow view of “success” — namely, a high salary. So one objective of their excellent adventure, the bikers explain, was to prove “it isn’t about stuff” and that “the unconventional can also be successful.”

In their whimsical weekly emails, the bikers tell friends and relatives about some of the oddments they spin by in the U.S. of Awesomeness: the site of the invention of the paper bag in Palatine Bridge, New York; the Lawn Ornament Capital of the World in Michigan; the statue of the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth, Minnesota; the world’s largest bird feeder in Mitchell, South Dakota.

Callahan, who’s currently studying the history of decorative arts and design at the Bard Graduate Center in Manhattan, notes that Biking the U.S. of Awesomeness is illustrated by another Midd alum, Charles Mahal.

This initial book from Graphic Union Press has the distinction of being one of the last printed by the Stinehour Press, a Northeast Kingdom company that earned a national reputation for its museum-quality work. Founded in 1952, Stinehour closed a couple of months ago — a reflection, perhaps, of the trend away from the printed page that Callahan has set out to defy.

Long an admirer of Stinehour’s exquisite illustrated books, Callahan visited the press’ plant in Lunenberg and was delighted to discover “they were perfectly willing to take on my little baby project.” She says she turned to the company after failing to find a printer she could work with in New York. “It’s way easier to find a business like this in Vermont,” Callahan said in an interview last Saturday during an appearance in Middlebury.

She placed an order for an 800-copy press run — the smallest number that Stinehour could print — for a cost of about $4000. Success in this case will be recouping that expense, at $12 per book. In the first week, she’s sold 25 copies online and at Middlebury’s Vermont Book Store.

It may be an old-fashioned love affair she’s having with the printed word, but Callahan makes no apologies for carrying that torch. “I don’t think books are going to die anytime soon,” she surmises. “Besides, I’m doing what I love doing.”

Montpelier Public Art Project Is a Wheel Deal

2008-06-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

Seven Days
By Patrick Timothy Mullikin
Published 06.04.08
www.7dvt.com/2008montpelier-public-art-project-wheel-deal
Photo: Tricycle made by John Brickels

Rob Hitzig, co-owner of The Lazy Pear Gallery in Montpelier, is excited about an unusual public art exhibit that’s popped up around the capital city. “SculptCycle 2008,” a collaboration between the Montpelier Downtown Community Association and the central Vermont arts community, is a summer-long event featuring 20 sculptures made mostly from recycled bicycle parts. “The pieces do not have to be 100 percent recycled, but bicycle parts need to be in the sculpture,” Hitzig explains. “We wanted to give the artists a pretty wide range of flexibility in terms of how they put things together and what they did.”

“SculptCycle” marks the first time the city has presented a formal outdoor public art event, says Hitzig, event chairman and one of the 20 participating sculptors; his piece is entitled “Dog Walker.” In addition, the sculptures are for sale, with proceeds going to the MDCA. That group plans to purchase one of the “SculptCycle” pieces for permanent display in Montpelier.

Hitzig reveals the original idea was to create sculptures out of fiberglass. “In researching the project, we did talk to other communities that have done things like this using fiberglass for projects where they create cows or moose,” he explains. “A number of them also said there are people worldwide who collect public art and sculptures from these projects.”

Those collectors, along with summer tourists and locals, will all have a chance to bid on the pieces on October 4. Each artist received a $500 stipend for his or her work, says Hitzig (who declined his), and will be given 20 percent of the auction sale price. The remaining 80 percent goes to the MDCA.

So why bicycles? “We were looking for ways to promote environmental sustainability and what we can really do to improve our environment and create a sustainable world,” Hitzig says. “Using bicycle parts really put that in the forefront of the project. We get people thinking about biking and using alternative forms of transport, and recycling objects and turning them into works of art.”

The 20 works span a range from the abstract to the functional. “I saw one . . . where they had crushed bicycles into a cube — totally cool, I thought,” says Vermont Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Skoglund, who is judging the works. Skoglund’s undergraduate degree, for the record, is in sculpture. She is also curator of the Vermont Supreme Court’s lobby gallery. (Members of the public will have a chance to vote on their favorites on October 4, the night of the auction.) “I think it’s a great way to inspire and get the community excited,” says Skoglund of the event. “Art makes us happy.”

Take Two... Wheels

2008-05-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

Seven Days

The best views of a Vermont summer? From a bike

By Chris Hrenko [05.28.08] - 41 reads

http://www.7dvt.com/2008take-two-wheels

A thriving bike culture can be directly correlated to a city’s degree of coolness. Anyone who doesn’t think so should consider the über-coolness of the world’s predominant cycling cities: Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris, Tokyo and Portland, Oregon. For whatever reason, places that promote cycling also seem to have vital arts communities, good health and great bars in which to hang out with fellow bikers. Paris and Tokyo may not be squeaky-clean and green, but compared to the car mentality that dominates much of the United States, they’re doing all right. Scooters, subcompact cars and viable public transportation, in addition to bicycles, are widespread. And where else can stylish women be seen commuting on bicycles dressed to the nines, including high heels?

That’s not the case in Burlington, at least not when I’m there. But if the turnout for the New England premiere of the mountain-bike film Seasons is any indication, the city is on the right track. More than 450 people showed up for the film’s May 10 showing at the Main Street Landing Film House.

Around and beyond Burlington, a diverse range of cyclists take to the two-wheeler for multiple reasons: transportation or exercise, thrill-seeking or pure recreation. And, of course, competition. Accordingly, there are enough formal or informal groups around Vermont to meet the needs of anyone who identifies with cycling culture. Whether devoted to mountain or road biking, urban riding, commuting, racing or advocacy, these groups are always open to new members.

MOUNTAIN BIKING
Public roads may be fair game for riding, but it’s not a given for public forestland. Thanks to the Vermont Mountain Bike Association and its affiliate clubs, that’s beginning to change. VMBA chapters such as Fellowship of the Wheel, MAMBA and Stowe Mountain Bike Club are legitimizing old trails where bikes were previously banned, and securing permission to build more trails on public lands.

FOTW’s Hinesburg Town Forest and Stowe Mountain Bike Club’s Perry Hill Trails in Waterbury were both gray-area trails at the time they were built, but are now on the up-and-up due to the efforts of VMBA. According to Executive Director Patrick Kell, the organization is currently negotiating with multiple landowners in hopes of eventually tying together trails from Little River State Park in Waterbury to the Cotton Brook network and Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, and all the way into Jeffersonville. Formerly a volunteer-only group, VMBA has been making serious headway since signing Kell as its first paid employee.

As its participants become more established, so does the sport. Mountain biking as we know it has been around close to 30 years now and, finally, grown-ups who know how to go through proper channels and paperwork have been securing access to national, state and private lands, as well as grant money, at a rate that would have been unheard of in the not-so-distant past of renegade trail building.

There’s even a VMBA Landowner Support Fund, which shelters private landowners from litigation. While Vermont law (12 V.S.A. §5793) limits liability for recreational land use, landowners are not immune to willful and wanton misconduct suits, which require an attorney to get dismissed under the law. By defraying the cost of the occasional frivolous lawsuit, the VMBA Fund removes a substantial obstacle to obtaining permission for land use.

Efforts like these could help make our state as much a mountain-bike destination in the summer as it is a ski Mecca in the winter. Unlike most ball sports, which tend to have more spectators than participants, mountain biking is a fitness activity that entire families can enjoy together, be it casual day trip or outdoor-oriented vacations in summer and fall. And the seasonal maintenance of most trail systems requires less fuel and public budget than does a single softball field.

There are many kinds of trails and, not surprisingly, a corresponding array of different bikes. When most people think of mountain biking, they picture a typical cross-country bike — knobby tires a couple of inches wide and front suspension. Designed to be lightweight and efficient on smooth to moderate trails, these bikes leave something to be desired on steeper, more technical terrain, where both front and rear suspension with more travel, bigger tires and slacker handling go a long way to smooth out the rocks, roots and dropoffs of more challenging terrain.

This is where the “all mountain” category comes in, which is probably best suited to the terrain of Vermont and the way most people ride. These bikes have dual-suspension designs that are relatively efficient for pedaling, with travel in between cross-country and downhill bikes, somewhere around 5 inches. Weight-wise, they’re also right in the middle at just over 30 pounds.

The aforementioned “downhill bikes” are on the opposing end of the mountain-bike spectrum relative to cross-country. Imagine a dirt bike without the motor and you’ll be pretty close to a downhill bike. So-called “gravity” riding — which is all about descending — works best with special bikes weighing in excess of 40 pounds, with huge tires and very long suspension travel and limited gearing, since they’re only intended to be pedaled down hills. Elbow and kneepads, chest-protectors and full-face helmets are the norm.

Like baseball players and motocross racers, riders on this side of mountain biking are skilled and strong, but they are not endurance athletes the way cross-country mountain bikers, road racers or marathon runners are. Since the best gravity riding is lift-accessed at ski resorts, abstinence, self-denial and suffering are not required. Still, an aversion to breaking yourself or your equipment will seriously hinder progress in this category. When they’re not injured and their bikes aren’t broken, downhillers are probably having the most fun.

If sessioning jumps and learning new tricks is your thing, you probably already know that freestyle is making a comeback. Remember that ’80s bike movie Rad? BMX and freestyle riding have changed since then, but the basic idea is the same — guys throwing airs, bonks, grinds, tailwhips, and flips all over the place on small “flickable” bikes with 20-inch wheels. Though BMX is not as popular in this part of the country as elsewhere, mountain biking is absorbing elements of the style in the growing dirt-jumping/park scene.

Dirt jumping and park riding mix the freestyle sensibility of BMX biking, snowboarding and skateboarding with 26-inch-wheel mountain bikes. A dirt-jump park is like a motocross track for bikes — a collection of carefully sculpted terrain features including big banked corners, called berms, and tall jumps with near-vertical takeoffs and landings. Bikes are allowed at the Burlington Skate Park on the Waterfront, as well as during a single weekly time slot at Talent Skate Park in South Burlington.

While skate parks and ski resorts are easy to find, the trails used by the largest segment of mountain bikers aren’t. You won’t find any roadside signs for most trailheads, and published maps of trail systems are few and far between. Local bike shops can direct you toward some of the better-known spots, but let’s face it, quality riding zones don’t create and maintain themselves. If you want the full scoop on the local dirt scene, get involved with your local club — show up for some group rides and pitch in when trail-work days come around.

• Fellowship of the Wheel — A Chittenden County mountain-bike club. The website says it all: “So, what would mountain biking in Chittenden County look like without the efforts of Fellowship of the Wheel? In a word, ‘minimal.’ Most of the singletrack in the area would not exist without the dedicated constant efforts of FOTW.” Meet other mountain bikers, ride new trails, and learn to build and maintain them. http://www.fotwheel.org.

• Bliss Racing Team — A youth-development racing team, directed by FOTW founder Hans Jenny and Phelan Fretz, now expanding to include road biking. Bliss riders swept the top three spots of Catamount’s Flower Power Race in the Men’s 4-lap division May 18th. http://www.blissracingteam.com.

• Stowe Mountain Bike Club — Maintains an extensive trail network including the famous Perry Hill trails in Waterbury and the Stowe Dirt Jump Park. http://www.stowemtnbike.com.

• Montpelier Area Mountain Bike Association — Offers Tuesday night group rides and a laid-back weekly race series, including kids’ races, at Morse Farm. http://www.bikemamba.org.

• Catamount Family Center — Offers beginner and family-friendly mountain-bike terrain, rentals and dirt jumps, as well as the country’s oldest, longest-running weekly race series of its kind. Races include kids’ categories and are on Wednesday nights through August 27. Check the web for start times. http://www.catamountoutdoor.com.

ROAD BIKING
People buy road bikes because they allow a great aerobic workout without the impact of running — an activity far less likely than cycling to make you shout, “Woo-hoo!” Slick tires less than an inch wide and curved “drop” handlebars distinguish road bikes. They are the Ferraris of the cycling world.

Top-of-the-line road bikes are super-light (around 15 pounds) and shift with the utmost precision. They feature frame designs that are both torsionally stiff and vertically compliant, optimizing power transfer while retaining some comfort for those bumpy, 5-hour century rides. But no matter how nice the bike, many would-be road cyclists miss out on the full experience because they’re intimidated by group rides.

Road cycling without group rides is like off-road riding without trails — just see how fun it is to ride your mountain bike around in uncleared woods or fields. About as much fun as riding your bike down the highway all alone. An exception might be made for serious training, but that’s usually preparation for group riding, anyway. After all, a road race is a group ride with an eventual winner — and you don’t get to stop at the bakery halfway through.

Although road cycling is inherently social and appears simple, it is demanding in terms of specific skills and fitness. For starters, riding with your front wheel less than 6 inches behind the next rider’s rear wheel. That’s the ideal distance for drafting — with a rotation of riders plowing through the wind while the others rest in tow, a pack can go faster than a lone rider can, while only doing a fraction of the work.

Pulling this off in single file takes practice. One overlapped wheel and an unpredictable swerve can cause a chain reaction of crashes. Using the brakes, especially without warning, is verboten. Add another line of riders at 6 inches shoulder-to-shoulder and you’ve got a double pace line; that’s when the fun really starts. Put riders on all sides and you’ve got a full-on peloton, ebbing and flowing down the road like some kind of self-propelled landslide.

A fast and disciplined group keeps it tight at speeds averaging more than 20 mph (reaching up into the fifties on descents), all the while negotiating cracks wider than their tires, roadkill, potholes, broken glass and the occasional hostile or erratic motorist. The last thing roadies want to worry about is an erratic fellow rider.

Most bike shops and clubs sponsor weekly group rides, so it’s not that road bikers are unwelcoming; in fact, they’re always looking for more people to ride with. But they do trust their skin — literally — to the other riders. If you’re willing to accept that practice is required and some etiquette must be learned, any number of local groups can help get you started. Besides, how scary can a bunch of exercise junkies clad in garish Lycra be?

• Montpelier Ladies’ Ride — An Onion River Sports-sponsored ride. Check the shop for a full list of weekly evening rides. 229-9409, http://www.onionriversports.com.

• Green Mountain Bike Club — Offers well-attended weekly group rides, the USCF sanctioned Racquet’s Edge Practice Criterium Series, with three categories (including an intro race), as well as a Time Trial Series. http://www.thegmbc.com.

• Green Mountain Stage Race (August 29 – September 1) — A four-day Pro-Am stage race with men’s, women’s, junior and citizen races. The first three days take place in the Mad River Valley, wrapping up with the Burlington Criterium, which starts and finishes in front of City Hall Park. http://www.gmsr.info.

• Stowe Bike Club — An affiliate of the Stowe Nordic Outing Club, the group puts on a laid-back Wednesday night Time Trial Series, with periodic cookouts following TTs. Check the website for race and cookout locations. http://www.stowetimes.org.

• Mad River Riders — Includes both mountain and road biking, offers Thursday night group road ride, Time Trial Series, Tuesday night group trail rides, and maintains nearly 50 miles of trail in the Mad River Valley. http://www.madriverriders.com.

URBAN RIDING, COMMUTING AND TOURING
Due to the efforts of a substantial core of dedicated cyclists and advocates, such as Burlington’s Local Motion, bike lanes and community recreation paths — like the ones in Burlington and Stowe — are popping up all over. These public initiatives make utility cycling more feasible, too, and with gas prices rising, more people are warming to the idea of biking to work.

On the other hand, there are those who revel in riding the tides of thick city traffic. Getting from point A to point B can be quicker on a bike than it ever could be in a car — that’s why bike messengers still exist in places like Boston and New York. In fact, big-city bike messengers have provided inspiration for a sub-sub-culture of hardcore urban riders all around the country.

Considered a bike counterculture by some, trendy and faddish by others, messenger-style riding has three main ingredients: image, fixed-gear bikes and skill. As long as you’re not dressed in business casual or in your race team’s matching Spandex, you’re probably all right, image-wise. Tattoos and scars are a definite plus, though.

Fixed-gear bikes — a.k.a. “fixies” — are next on the list. When playing in traffic (or, ahem, commuting) with a normal bike gets easy and boring, it’s time to get a fixed gear. A fusion of track racing and road bikes, a fixed gear is a simple single-speed machine that doesn’t coast. Since they can be slowed down to some extent by applying back pressure to the pedals, fixie riders tend to run no brakes or only a front brake for emergencies.

Obviously, riding a single-speed bike that doesn’t coast with minimal braking takes a good deal of skill, especially at high speeds through city traffic. To pull it off with style, there are two signature moves that every fixie rider needs to learn. First is skidding, the primary means of stopping. This is accomplished by transferring weight to the front wheel and locking up your legs to skid the rear wheel, bringing the bike to an eventual stop. The second is the trackstand — maybe the only thing that’s easier to do on a fixie than on a normal bike. The art of balancing in one place, or rocking slightly back and forth, with both feet on the pedals, this technique allows for quicker starts at light changes, and beckons all within view to take heed of the skills on display.

While fixie riding doesn’t really lend itself to formal organization, a loosely affiliated group of fixed-gear enthusiasts, who refer to themselves as the Skidmore Academy, recently held a messenger-style alleycat race, the May 17 Rush-More fixed-gear race. Word of mouth, a few blog posts and some fliers made it happen.

Another messenger adaptation, alleycat races are unsanctioned competitions that don’t have set courses, but rather revolve around a number of checkpoints that racers have to locate and navigate between. Good traffic skills and knowing the shortcuts and landmarks are more important than strong legs and lungs. Races are usually followed by trackstand and skidding contests.

By no means limited to competitive athletes, cycling culture has always been filled with self-reliant non-conformists. Aspiring lobbyists, naked bike riders, non-coasters, pedestrian safety educators, and antique cycling re-enactors who don’t quite fit in elsewhere should find a home among the following organizations.

• Alleycat Racing — A DIY hybrid of bike racing and scavenger hunt, the recent Rush-More race had a fun, low-key atmosphere. Keep your ear to the ground or ask your fellow fixie rider for future Skidmore Academy gatherings. Then again, there’s nothing stopping you from holding your own.

• Local Motion — The Burlington-based, member-driven advocacy group recently unveiled the Trail Finder (http://www.localmotion.org/trails), an online guide to 77 walking, hiking, and mountain biking trails in Chittenden County. LM also successfully advocated the Burlington and Colchester trail bridge, connecting the Burlington Bike Path to the Colchester Causeway to create a 12-mile recreation path. http://www.localmotion.org.

• Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition — Responsible for “Share the Road” bumper stickers and radio PSAs, this member-driven, state-level advocacy group has plenty to celebrate, with the new Federal Transportation Bill bringing more than $29 million for bicycling and walking in Vermont. http://www.vtbikeped.org

• Cabot Roamers on Tour — Introduces Cabot-area kids ages 9-17 to distance touring, commuting to school and recreational road riding. Hosts group rides with kids and adults. Accepts donations of rideable bikes. Contact Mark Bromley at 563-2374 or Kathleen Hoyne at 563-3338.

• Freeride Montpelier — Hosts weekly maintenance clinics at its headquarters on Barre Street in Montpelier, and coordinates Montpelier’s contribution to the annual “World Naked Bike Ride,” this year leaving from Freeride on June 7 at 2 p.m. http://www.freeridemp.wordpress.com, http://www.montpeliernakedbikeride.org.

• The Wheelmen — A national club for vintage bicycle enthusiasts, the club promotes the restoration and riding of vintage bikes, especially high-wheelers. The Vermont chapter will conduct a vintage cycling exhibition at the Vermont History Expo in Tunbridge on June 21, and will ride in the Labor Day Parade in Northfield on September 1. Local contact is Ernie Gallegos (vtjackjumper@ aol.com). http://www.thewheelmen.org.

Colchester Bicyclist Injured In Crash With Car

2008-05-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
News Brief
May 16, 2008
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008305160001

COLCHESTER — A bicyclist was injured when she was struck by a car Thursday on Lakeshore Drive, Colchester police said.

Ana Barria, 35, was crossing the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Prim Road at about 6 p.m. when she was struck by a vehicle driven by Jessie Willis, 29, of Burlington, police said.
Willis told police she was turning left onto Prim Road and did not see the bicycle. Barria was taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington. Police said the injuries did not appear life-threatening.
Willis was cited into court to answer charges of driving with a suspended license.

Witnesses are asked to call Colchester police at 264-5555.

Farrell St. Residents Seek Traffic Fix

2008-05-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

Burlington Free Press
by Sarah Buscher
May 14, 2008
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080514/NEWS02/805140318/1001/NEWS

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- Residents from the city's Eastwoods and Farrell Street neighborhoods lobbied the City Council this month to consider adding a three-way stop to the intersection where Eastwood Drive meets Farrell Street.

The Farrell Street extension was built as part of the high-density residential development comprising Eastwood Commons, O'Dell Apartments and the Grand Way Commons senior living community. Thousands of cars travel from Swift Street to Shelburne Road via the connector daily, and residents worry that the intersection where Eastwood Drive meets Farrell Street with a single stop sign is becoming dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.

Farrell Street originally ran from Hadley Road in the city's Eastwoods neighborhood through to Swift Street. Later, the southern portion of the street from Hadley Road to Joy Drive was posted as one-way, to accommodate traffic traveling out of the Eastwoods neighborhood, while keeping through-traffic from traveling residential streets to access Shelburne Road.

The new Farrell Street extension curves past Eastwood Drive (the portion connecting to Joy Drive and formerly known as Farrell Street), allowing traffic to flow freely from Swift Street to Shelburne Road.

"We've wanted something done at that intersection since the new road was built," said Paul Engels, a 20-year resident of the Eastwoods neighborhood. "We thought it was unsafe from the start."

The problem is not the speed of the cars on the street, but the volume of traffic.

During a two-day study conducted by the city last week, 3,050 cars traveled Farrell Street, and 2,554 of those drivers kept to the posted 25 mph speed limit, averaging 22 mph.

Engels says it's difficult to pull out from Eastwood Drive onto Farrell Street with the steady stream of cars passing in either direction. He also notes the city's recreation path funnels cyclists and pedestrians into a crosswalk nearby.

City data show that five accidents occurred in the area of the new intersection since 2004. City manager Chuck Hafter said that while at least one of the incidents was a confirmed vehicle accident, the data do not describe the nature of the other accidents, which might have happened in surrounding parking areas, and not necessarily at the intersection. No pedestrian accidents have occurred in the area, according to the data; and together, the number of incidents would not warrant a three-way stop at the intersection.

Hafter said he believes the volume of traffic traveling through the area is of concern, however, and would appear to justify a three-way stop.

It's not just a matter of sticking two more signs in the ground, Hafter said. The Metropolitan Planning Organization is looking into the issue and will return to the council with recommendations, likely in June.

Hafter said since the Farrell Street development was built, the city has become more aware of the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

Engels said he is encouraged that a three-way intersection could become a reality.

Contact Sara Buscher at 651-4811 or sbuscher@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

It’s “Way to Go! Week,” But Vermont’s Bike/Ped Projects Are Treading Water

2008-05-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

Seven Days
By Ken Picard
May 7, 2008
www.7dvt.com/2008/it-s-way-go-week-vermont-s-bike-ped-projects-are-treading-water

Gov. Jim Douglas was talking the talk at last Thursday’s kickoff of the 2008 “Way to Go! Commuter Challenge.” The annual springtime event is meant to encourage Vermonters to incorporate more eco-friendly travel alternatives into their daily commute, such as bicycling, walking, carpooling and public transportation.

Surrounded by five Vermont mayors and fifth-graders from Union Elementary School in Montpelier, Douglas signed a pledge to “make smart, healthy travel choices” this week, just as nearly 2000 other Vermont commuters did during last year’s challenge.

The event, which runs through May 9, is good for the environment, good for the economy and good for our wallets, Douglas told a crowd of 80 people in the Christ Church pocket park in Montpelier. Organizers predicted that in one week alone, the commuter challenge will cut private vehicle usage by 600,000 miles, rid the air of a half-million pounds of greenhouse gases, and save Vermonters $100,000 in travel expenses. “Vermont is the greenest state in America,” Douglas said. “That was in Forbes’ magazine, so it must be true.”

Must be. But asked afterwards how he intends to “go green” to work this week, Douglas was a bit more cagey. Clearly, cycling to the Statehouse from his home in Middlebury was out of the question — though his Secretary of Transportation, Neale Lunderville, said he planned to bike to work from Burlington at least once this week, an 80-mile round-trip pedal.

Take the bus, governor? Sorry, he said, but it’s impractical for him to spend an hour riding north to Burlington only to head south again for another 45 minutes. Carpooling? He’d have to check his schedule. The governor did point out that he switched from his predecessor’s vehicle, an SUV, to his current ride, a Chevy Impala, but couldn’t say what kind of gas mileage the car gets. “I know it’s better than an SUV.”

Perhaps Douglas can be forgiven for not taking advantage of the limited transit options between Middlebury and Montpelier. But that’s the whole point, say bike and pedestrian advocates. They complain that when it comes to transportation spending in next year’s budget, neither Douglas nor the legislature is devoting enough to alternative modes of transportation all year round.

“What direction do you want Vermonters to go in the future?” Nancy Schulz, executive director of the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition, said last week. “If we really believe that obesity is a problem, if we really believe that global warming is a serious problem, and fuel prices and health-care costs and traffic congestion and parking shortages . . . then you can’t say that you care about all these issues and do what you’re doing to bike/ped. They just don’t jive.”

Schulz and other bike/ped activists did celebrate one small victory late last week. A legislative conference committee removed a provision from a bill that would have frozen all future bike/ped projects under the federal “enhancement grant” program. The state hasn’t been accepting applications for new bike/ped projects under that program since 2004, when, according to Lunderville, it was determined that there were already enough projects in the pipeline to last until 2013.

But administration officials also say that while funding for bike/ped projects is down slightly this fiscal year — $5.5 million in 2009 versus $6 million in the 2008 budget — transportation dollars are tight all around.

“We have to focus on those things that we can’t live without, like bridges,” Lunderville said. “Which is not to say that bike and pedestrian projects aren’t important. But they’re part of the overall matrix of what we’re doing.”

Moreover, as Lunderville pointed out, many of the road and bridge projects being done by the Vermont Department of Transportation incorporate upgrades and improvements that benefit cyclists and pedestrians, but aren’t necessarily captured in the statistics, such as the $12 million for shoulder widening and sidewalk repairs. “I do a lot of biking myself,” Lunderville added, “and the difference between 1 foot and 3 feet of shoulder can make a world of difference.”

Currently, the state has nearly $39 million “in the pipeline” for future bike and pedestrian upgrades, asserted VTRANS spokesman John Zicconi, not including the $5 million federal “Safe Route to School” program to build infrastructure so kids can walk or bike to school.

“Somewhere out there people are getting the impression that we’re stopping bike/ped projects,” Zicconi noted, “and that’s just not the case.”

Homeless Man Gets a Lift from Burlington Samaritans

2008-05-01T17:15:00.000-07:00

Seven Days
By Mike Ives
April 30, 2008
http://www.7dvt.com/2008/homeless-man-gets-lift-burlington-samaritans

In the fall of 2006, Rusty Gould landed on Church Street and requested a bed at the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) Waystation. When the weather turned, he threw a tent in his bike trailer, pedaled out of town and set up camp in the woods.

Gould was planning to do the same this year — until a Nissan sedan jumped the curb and smashed his rig, which was chained to a fence, outside of COTS’ King Street Daystation.

Carrie Baker, a customer service rep who works in a building overlooking the Daystation, glanced out her window around 4 p.m., April 11, and “caught something gold swerve up onto the curb,” she recalls. “I looked out, and there was Rusty’s wagon. I watched it collapse.”

Outraged at the “evil deed,” Baker asked the SkiRack on Main Street for help with Gould’s trailer. But technicians there said it was too mangled for salvage. So Baker collected $169 from her colleagues and donated it to Local Motion, a nonprofit on the Burlington waterfront that outfits low-income residents with discounted cycling gear.

With the help of volunteers from IBM and Citizens Bank, Local Motion supplied Gould with a brand-new trailer and affixed the salvageable parts from his smashed bike to a new, navy-blue frame. He picked up the new rig last Friday. “Local Motion was great, man,” Gould said Sunday evening while smoking a pipe outside the Church Street Waystation.

Gould, 55, is a Vietnam veteran who has lived and biked all over the eastern seaboard. He arrived in Vermont after cycling most of the way from Portland, Maine, by way of New Hampshire, western New York and Maryland. A tree specialist and artist who used to run a nursery, he spends most days “panhandling” for spare change, which he uses to buy soda or tobacco.

On Sunday, Gould’s new bike and trailer were parked outside the Waystation. A plastic shopping bag hung from the handlebars, and a milk crate held a 2-liter soda bottle. The yellow trailer was stuffed with an olive-green tent.

As the sun set on the waterfront, Gould recalled that he was having lunch in the Daystation when his bike and trailer were flattened. It’s not easy being homeless on a bike, Gould said. If you leave your ride in front of the Waystation, he said, it’ll be stolen. If you camp at North Beach, city park officials will confiscate your stuff while you’re gone.

“People presume that homeless people are bums, and it’s not true,” Gould said in between puffs on his pipe. “I’m not a drunken bum. I’m a disabled vet.”

Editorial Page Comic

2008-04-29T15:56:00.001-07:00

Local Motion Launches New Trail Service

2008-04-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

Published: Friday, April 25, 2008
By Lauren Ober
Free Press Staff Writer
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080425/LIVING/804250305/1004

Nearly every day, an out-of-stater looking to visit Burlington calls one of the local bike shops and ask what trails to ride. The employees are accommodating and send the tourists in the direction of the Waterfront bike path or one of the many mountain bike trials in the county.

But in our digital world, where seemingly everything we need to know is a mouse-click away, directions over the phone just don't seem to cut it. Those looking for information want the one-stop shopping convenience of the Internet.

Local Motion, an area bicycling advocacy group, understood that people needed an up-to-date trail resource. After three years in development, the organization recently launched Trail Finder, a comprehensive Web-based mapping system of all the public recreation trails in Chittenden County. The launch appropriately coincided with Earth Day.

Up until now, no such resource existed on the Web for trails in Chittenden County. There were piecemeal trail guides on various municipal and mountain biking Web sites, but there were no sites that compiled all the trails in the county. A comprehensive Web resource like this was essential for the recreational future of the region, said Chapin Spencer, executive director of Local Motion.

"It seemed from every angle the critical thing to do," Spencer said. "Residents were asking for it and we realized we needed to take the bull by the horns."

The mission of the Trail Finder project is three-fold, Spencer said. This free service makes the community healthier, strengthens the local tourism economy and helps better connect the trails in the county to achieve a true regional network, he said.

To develop such a labor-intensive project, Local Motion needed the services of an Internet-savvy young person, so they hired Todd Taylor fresh out of University of Vermont. Taylor was charged with coordinating the efforts of 50 volunteers and 40 community partners to map the trails and make the site user-friendly.

Over the past three years, bands of volunteers have ridden, walked, cross-country skied and snowshoed every public trail in the county while taking GPS readings, snapping photos and writing down notable features of the trails. Because there is no real county government, the Local Motion folks had to work directly with each individual town to find the trails.

The $25,000 project was funded largely with grants from the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization, as well as the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation's Vermont Recreation Trails Program and donations from Local Motion members. Spencer said the price tag was cheap when compared with the $2,500 they spend each year printing just one of the many trail route maps they provide.

The site is about as user-friendly as the Internet can get. Simply type in the name of a town and find out all the trails there. Or click on the drop-down menu to search by trail use.

A quick search of Williston brings up six trails whose uses range from gentle cross-country skiing to strenuous mountain biking. Each of the trail listings comes with directions to the trailhead as well as a description of the terrain. The listings also provide contact information for the trail managers and a place for users to comment on the trails.

The Trail Finder project couldn't have come at a better time, says Tom Torti, president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce. With tourism expected to grow substantially this summer, Torti says the Web site will prove invaluable for visitors looking to participate in recreational activities in the area.

"We are very excited about this program. We can promote it and sell it, and it'll be a huge boon for this area," Torti said.

The SkiRack in Burlington, which has underwritten part of the Trail Finder cost, is one of those bike shops where tourists come to get trail information. People are always coming in asking where to ride, says Spike Clayton, one of the co-owners of the shop. Clayton sees the Web site not only as an important community resource, but also as a good investment of their marketing dollars.

"I'm wowed at what's at people's fingertips," Clayton said. "We're totally excited about it."

The maps on the current Trail Finder site (www.localmotion.org/trails) are only the first phase of the project. The organization has recently received funding to start the second phase of the initiative, which will include mapping on-road cycling routes around the county and off-road cycling routes beyond Chittenden County. Taylor, who designed the mapping system, says this resource was totally unique in the state.

"This covers the whole breadth," Taylor said. "We think it will be really popular."
Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
On the Web: www.localmotion.org/trails

Squashing The Cycle

2008-04-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

Times Argus
April 24, 2008
By Sarah Hinckley Times Argus Staff

www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080424/NEWS01/804240389/1032

MONTPELIER – Moving at a slow, deliberate speed, the metal crusher evoked groans and high-pitched squeals from the bicycles being tortured and crushed within its jaws.

"This is how bikes sound when they're screaming," said Carrie Baker, an employee of Onion River Sports, photographing the carnage.

She was on hand to capture the "sculptcycle" creation of artists Lochlin Smith and Ward Joyce as it came together – literally. Early Wednesday morning approximately 30 decrepit bikes were crushed into a 600-pound cube at Bolduc Auto Salvage in Middlesex.

Although it sounds like a new flavor of Hood's frozen treats, SculptCycle is a project hosted by the Montpelier Downtown Community Association. Smith and Joyce are two of 20 artists selected to create sculptures using recycled bicycle parts.

They have not come up with a name for their piece, one of two they are crafting, which will be displayed at the Rialto Bridge in downtown Montpelier, next to Capitol Grounds. The men came up with their crushing idea during a brainstorming session and pitched it to the owner of the salvage yard, who was happy to help out.

"We're just imagining a piece that looks like a Jackson Pollack painting in metal," said Smith, as the machine mangled the multi-colored frames. "It's either going to look like a total piece of junk or it's going to be cool."

The crushing machine, usually used to compact aluminum, has the capacity to crunch 2,200 pounds per square inch. It took several crushing sessions to compact all of the bicycles into the cube weighing over a quarter of a ton.

"It's pretty tough steel," Joyce commented, standing in what looked like a bicycle graveyard. "There's something creepy about destroying toys."

An initial SculptCycle unveiling will take place on June 6, with an official tour of all pieces taking place the following day. SculptCycle culminates with an auction for sculptures on Oct 4.

Other related events are scheduled during that time, including a bicycle film series, an environmental lecture series and 'meet the artist' activities. To find out more information about the SculptCycle, go to www.sculptcycle.org.

Rob Hitzig, another artist and chairman of the SculptCycle committee, brought a green frame with him to the salvage yard on Wednesday.

"I've been doing my own sculptcycle and this is a part I had left over," said Hitzig, who has crafted a robot-like man and two dogs, using wood and bicycle parts, called The Dogwalker. "I've gone through several bikes. As the design changed, I had to focus on certain parts."

The Web site for the event highlights the artists' creations and conceptual designs, and gives an idea of what parts of the bike are being employed in the sculptures.

Some of the artists were getting nervous about having to weld their sculptures, said Hitzig. But he and others have proven there are a number of creative methods that do not involve a hot flame. One artist crafted a basket with the frame made from bike wheels, with tires and tubes woven through them.

SculptCycle is a creative way to recycle bicycles that are in need of serious repair or have become defunct. According to Hitzig and wife Mary Jo Krolewski, there are plenty to choose from for creating a sculptcycle.

"We could do this project every year for the next 10 years and not run out of bikes," said Hitzig, who co-owns the Lazy Pear Gallery.

Contact Sarah Hinckley at sarah.hinckley@timesargus.com

Bicyclists pedal adult safety in daylong program

2008-04-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

Times Argus
April 20, 2008
By Mel Huff Staff Writer
www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080420/NEWS02/804200408

MONTPELIER – Bicyclists pedaling on Vermont's roads is a sure a sign of spring. But as more bikers ride, runners jog and motorists jockey for the same space, it becomes crucial that they all play by the same rules: Of the 750 deaths of bicyclists in the United States each year, 96 percent are the result of crashes with motor vehicles.

Saturday, the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition sponsored a nine-hour "Road I" bike education program designed by the League of American Bicyclists to improve riders' knowledge and safety skills. A booklet and video illustrated the steps in crossing multiple lanes, the proper sequence of moves for making turns and the consequences of mistakes such as riding too close to parked cars. (A suddenly opened door can knock a rider into a lane of traffic.)

The most important precaution bikers can take, said Bob Atchinson, who taught the course with Carl Etnier, is to wear a helmet, preferably a hard shell helmet with a polystyrene liner. Atchinson noted that 85 percent of the bikers who died in accidents weren't wearing one. Another safety precaution is mastering bike-handling skills, such as making instant turns to avoid being hit.

More than a third of collisions with vehicles involve turns, Atchinson noted. Another 9 percent involve failure by bicyclists to yield at driveways. Eight percent are the result of bicyclists running stop signs and another eight percent of motorists running stop signs.

There was no disagreement that bicyclists should stop at red lights, but what constitutes running a stop sign was a matter of debate.

Atchinson said whether or not a bicyclist should stop at a stop sign rather than just slow down depends on whether there is likely to be turning traffic at the intersection. If so, the rider should make a "foot-down" stop, he said. "If it's not going to be, if you can come to a stop and balance the bike enough to look left, look right, look back to the left and signal, …I don't particularly think of it as a violation of the law."

Etnier added, "The first message we want to get out is all traffic rules, including stop signs, should be obeyed. (The video) said all cyclists should obey stop signs, but they also said the way you obey a stop sign is not necessarily by stopping completely – the Texas rolling stop, we called it where I grew up."

He noted that because bicyclists are not shut inside a vehicle, they can see and hear what's going on around them much better than drivers. "Coming to a stop sign and going through it really slowly – only a few miles per hour – gives you as much time to judge what's happening in the intersection as a car driver coming and stopping and going."

Under current Vermont law, bicyclists are not allowed to pass other vehicles on their right, although Atchinson admitted, "I might be tempted sometimes to do that. If there's gridlock and the cars are stopped, it's a fine line. A bicycle is a very mobile thing. I'm feeling torn because sometimes I feel like this is good to illustrate to people if you were on a bicycle now you wouldn't be sitting in traffic in single occupancy vehicles."

Etnier noted that the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition is lobbying to change the law. H577, the "vulnerable users" bill coming up for a vote in the Senate, would make it legal for bicyclists to pass cars on the right.

The video provided a dramatic illustration of how bicyclists look to drivers at night. Standard equipment reflectors provided surprisingly little warning that anything was in the road or helped distinguish a bicycle from a mailbox, but headlights and rear amber SAE reflectors made the riders much more visible.

After a lunch of soup and whole-grain bread, the group took off to test their skills turning in traffic, crossing railroad tracks and dodging rocks.

"You think, 'Road I, it's just a real beginner thing,' but there's so much information, there's an awful lot that you learn – there are things that you really don't know," said Chery Cerise, who had come from Winooski to take the course. "If they do Road II, I've already told them I'm coming."

New Trail Finder Goes Online

2008-04-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

Aired April 22, 2008
WCAX
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=8210541&nav=menu183_2

Burlington, Vermont - April 22, 2008

Getting around for people who like to enjoy the outdoors just got a bit easier.

There's a new trail finder. It's a free online resource that lists 77 walking, biking, mountain biking and hiking trails in Chittenden County. People who use the free site can get maps, directions and learn about the trails. There will also be a spot for people to submit comments and photos.

Setting up the system took over two years and dozens of volunteers. The plan is to expand it over time-- eventually making it statewide.

"From residences and actually the Chamber of Commerce and tourism entities had guests saying we want to go out and try biking there, we want to go running, where can we go and they didn't have the maps so it got to be logistically difficult. Now we're putting the maps in the hands of everybody," explains Chapin Spencer of Local Motion.

Click here to visit the Trail Finder website.

Kristin Carlson - WCAX News

Group Strives for Carbon Weight Loss

2008-04-23T04:22:00.000-07:00

Joel Banner Baird
Free Press Staff Reporter
Wednesday, April 23 2008

HINESBURG -- Six Hinesburg residents worried about their weight: how to lose it; how to keep it off. They met last week to compare the results of an ambitious diet: to shed 5,000 pounds of carbon from their households' monthly consumption.

...Andrea Morgante, who hosted the Thursday's meeting, said holding herself to account in a group had accelerated her plans to find a fuel efficient car. She also said that, as a member of the Hinesburg Selectboard, she'd given more thought to the group's broader challenge: drawing the wider community into more thoughtful consumption. I'd like to challenge each department in the town to reduce their use of energy in ways that are appropriate for them," she said.

...Frank Twarog, who serves on the town's recreation commission and trails committee, set a "modest goal" to trim the carbon release from his commute: he would bicycle back home from his workplace in Burlington 20 times over the summer.

..."The best antidote for despair is action."

Richmond studies village parking, pedestrian access

2008-04-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

Published: Friday, April 18, 2008
By Joel Banner Baird
Free Press Staff Writer
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/NEWS02/804180311/1007

RICHMOND -- The project requires a calculator and aerial mapping. It requires a truce between trees, pedestrians and parking places.

It requires patience: Construction might not begin until 2010.

Most immediately, the Richmond Village Center Streetscape project needs residents to speak their minds, Town Administrator Ron Rodjenski said this week.

The public is invited to attend and participate in a discussion of what might give the village center a safer and better-looking streetscape at 7 p.m. Monday at the Richmond Town Center meeting room.

"We're still in the stages of defining the scope of the project," Rodjenski said. "Nothing's cast in stone; everything's on the table."

Even the price tag. Rodjenski ballparked the budget around $2 million, but said funding plans varied on different stretches of roads and sidewalks, following several state and federal formulae.

Financial prudence, he said, would likely shorten everyone's wish list. Improved lighting and buried utilities, for instance, would dramatically drive up the price -- as would the purchase of additional rights of way.

Historically, pedestrians and horses shaped Richmond's major thoroughfares: Main Street was laid out to be 3 rods (49 and a half feet) wide in order to accommodate 18th-century militia drills.

Gradually, much of the village's major thoroughfares became dominated by the automobile. Business owners and their customers have lobbied for years for more on-street parking.

"We have some competing interests," Rodjenski said. "But the final emphasis is on safety."

Some of the project's funding on Jericho Road will come from the federal Safe Routes to Schools program, which aims to take the guesswork out of routes most frequented by pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

Rodjenski said piggy-backing those improvements with scheduled water, sewer and stormwater upgrades might help keep costs down.

Richmond resident Erik Sandblom, who leads the design team, said he welcomed public comments in narrowing the options -- but cautioned that the outcome must align itself with federal and state design, environmental and funding criteria.

Some of his plans and those of his colleague, Burlington-based landscape architect Kathleen Ryan, revolve around one question: How far will someone be willing to walk to a business from a parking spot?

"I ran some errands in Burlington this morning," Sandblom said Monday. "I parked in a garage and walked two blocks on Church Street. You don't think anything of that in Burlington. In Richmond there have been different patterns."

Sandblom said new parking spots are not part of the plan, but easier pedestrian access to more parts of the village might be the next best thing.

"We can simplify entrances and exits for cars, help pedestrians anticipate traffic, and make better use of green space," he said. "Businesses will benefit from more pleasing streetscape.

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 660-1843 or joelbaird@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

Tech Trek

2008-04-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Fingers do the walking on Local Motion’s new Trail Finder
By Sarah Tuff
Seven Days
Published: April 16, 2008
http://www.7dvt.com/2008/tech-trek

Fifteen years ago, University of Vermont computer-science lecturer Robert Erickson hiked the 270-mile Long Trail end to end. He’s backpacked through Alaska, paddled much of Lake Champlain, and climbed to the summit of Camel’s Hump in the winter. Now that Erickson has two preschool-aged girls, however, he’s more likely to be found tramping the trails around his Essex home. And it’s more difficult than you might imagine.

While entire books track the Long Trail, printed info on smaller, neighborhood byways tends to be scarce. “I can look at a town map or pick up little trail guides,” says Erickson. “But how do I actually get there?”

Starting next Tuesday, April 22, Erickson and thousands of other trail users in northern Vermont will be able to get there from here — or anywhere. They’ll also be able to zoom in on satellite photos of scores of Chittenden County trails and identify overlooks, beaches and restrooms. Hikers, walkers, in-line skaters and bikers (and, when the snow flies again, cross-country skiers) will be able to check mileages, plan their parking and determine if a trail is Fido- or fat-tire friendly. And they can do this long before lacing up their shoes and heading out the door — from their own computers.

All these features are part of Local Motion’s new online Trail Finder, which the Burlington-based nonprofit plans to unveil on Earth Day. Two years in the making, the free website contains dozens of downloadable and printable maps and directions to nearly 80 different trails, from Milton’s Eagle Moun-tain to the Williams Woods in Charlotte.

“We’ve dreamt about this for a long time now,” says Local Motion marketing manager and former Erickson student Todd Taylor. He points out that, while his organization’s Trailside Center on the Burlington Bike Path has a wall covered with maps, there’s been no single resource for outdoor enthusiasts who want the dirt on Vermont trails.

Over the past two years, Taylor says, Local Motion recruited more than 50 volunteers to contribute their trail and technology smarts to the Trail Finder site. Erickson was one: As a member of the Essex Trails Committee, he helped upload his community’s trails into the database. Now, if you search by town and select “Essex,” you come up with a Google map on which a bunch of squiggly purple lines designate unpaved, shared-use trails, while red lines represent paved, shared-use ones. (Green lines signify “walking and hiking only.”)

Clicking on one of the purple trails produces a Google Earth satellite image of Indian Brook Park, along with a lively description of its loops, mountain-biking terrain and boat-launch area. The nonprofit organization Fellowship of the Wheel supplies regular info on mountain-biking trails and conditions.

To pinpoint the exact locations of many trails, Local Motion relied on Vermonters with savvy in the field of geographic information systems (GIS), such as Pam Brangan, the GIS Services/IT Systems administrator for the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. After helping Local Motion find dependable global-positioning-system (GPS) handheld devices to map out trails, Brangan explains, she used digital aerial photos and other GIS data to correct the GPS data, which can go askew in heavily wooded areas.

Taylor says the combination of this technological sophistication with input from passionate local outdoors-people is what makes Trail Finder unique. And, unlike international sites such as Trails.com, which charges $49.95 a year to access information on 40,000 trails in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, Local Motion’s Trail Finder is free.

“We’re all about getting people the information they need in order to have a healthy lifestyle, so from the start it’s been a free concept,” says Taylor. He notes that ads may help support the website, along with membership funds and grant money.

Fulfilling that broader mission may involve connecting with other databases, such as an inventory of Vermont playgrounds, parks and pedestrian paths that local trails volunteer Fred Schmidt helped develop in 2005 at the Center for Rural Studies. Down the road, Trail Finder will also expand beyond Chittenden County, says Taylor. “The scale of it makes more sense for regional information,” he explains.

As for the Burlington area, there’s just one problem, says Erickson: “We’d like to connect the dots more. Had people thought about trails 100 years ago when divvying up the land, it would be a piece of cake.” Instead, Erickson says, trail advocates are trying to figure out a way to connect all those squiggly lines across railroads, highways, shopping developments and private land.

Maybe, he adds, the new Trail Finder will help private landowners contemplate how they can contribute to the movement. After all, “Trails are great for connecting communities together.”

Info: Local Motion’s Trail Finder launches on Earth Day, April 22. For more information, visit www.LocalMotion.org/trails or call 652-2453.

Keep bike/ped money in transportation budget

2008-04-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

Letter to the Editor
Burlington Free Press
April 13, 2007

In a recent letter ("Voice comments on bike plan," Feb. 3), I mentioned that the proposed Vermont transportation budget for the upcoming fiscal year cuts bike/ped funding 9 percent while increasing funding for aviation over 30 percent. It has been pointed out to me that this comparison is an unfair one because the huge increase for aviation primarily represents a one-time allocation from the federal government for the Burlington airport.

It wasn't my intention to single out aviation. I could have mentioned the 9 percent increase for safety and traffic or the 9 percent increase for transportation buildings. I simply wanted to question the decision to cut an appropriation for bike/ped when the administration claims that it is concerned about obesity, global warming, the cost of health care and the rising prices of fuel. Monies allocated to the state's bike/ped program pay for a variety of infrastructure improvements, including sidewalk installation and repair and bike path construction.

If the administration truly cares about the health of Vermonters, it should not be persisting with its plan to phase out funding for the state's bike/ped program. If you want the opportunity to walk on sidewalks that are in good shape and bicycle and run on dedicated bike paths, now is the time to contact your senators and representatives to tell them to restore the proposed bike/ped cuts. For updates on what's happening in the bike/ped community in Vermont, please visit www.vtbike ped.org.

NANCY SCHULZ
Montpelier

The writer is executive director of Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition.

Students, parents learn pedestrian safety

2008-04-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2008
By Phyl Newbeck
Burlington Free Press Correspondent
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080326/NEWS02/803260309/1007

JERICHO -- The road to school might now be a little safer in Jericho.

Nearly a dozen parents, some of whom were accompanied by their children, went to the Jericho Elementary School gym last week for the first "Walk Safe, Bike Safe Workshop" hosted by the Jericho Elementary School Safe Routes to Schools program.

The presentations were designed to help adults guide children on safe and healthy behavior while walking or biking to school. Jesse Pelton, coordinator of the school's Safe Routes to Schools program, said the goal of the program is to change attitudes about walking and biking to school.

"Children are not the problem; they love to do this stuff," he said. His goal is to ensure that parents are comfortable allowing their children to walk or bicycle to school by educating them about safe ways to travel and behave.

Mary Kintner, a chiropractor, provided a workshop on the proper use of backpacks. Kintner said textbooks are heavier than they used to be because they are reinforced better. She counsels against allowing children to carry backpacks weighing more than 10 percent to 15 percent of their body weight, and suggested that parents check their children's backpacks on a weekly basis to make sure they aren't carrying more than they need.

Kintner opened one student's backpack to determine what items were not really needed. The pack weighed 19 pounds while the student tipped the scales at 65 pounds, meaning her pack was about 30 percent of her body weight.

Cpl. Robert Halpin of the Vermont State Police provided tips for drivers sharing the road with pedestrians and cyclists. His specialty is traffic safety, and he is a driver education instructor.

He said drivers tend to lose their skills and/or become lazy as they become more relaxed at the wheel. He cautioned against losing that extra vigilance, particularly in school zones. Halpin recommended that students and parents walking along the road wear safety vests.

Rosemary Wooden Webb of the organization Child Lures Prevention conducted a workshop on how to protect children from sexual predators. She said there are more than 600,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, and provided guidelines for parents and teachers on preventive measures to teach children.

Webb said the age-old warning for children not to talk to strangers is not necessarily good advice, particularly because many abusers are people whom children know. However, she said predators in vehicles can be dangerous and children should be taught not to get close to drivers and to run in the opposite direction of a car if approached.

Paul Sulva is the parent of an elementary school student. He said he believes that the workshops provided parents with a greater awareness of the need for a safe environment for children to travel to and from school.

Sulva was somewhat bothered by the low attendance but hoped that the word would spread that Jericho is a community where children and adults like to be outside and need to be able to walk, run and bicycle in a safe environment.

Indian site may block bike path

2008-03-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Published: Tuesday, March 25, 2008
By Sara Buscher
Free Press Staff Writer
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080325/NEWS02/803250303/1007/ARCHIVE

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- For cyclists traveling to Williston from the Butler Farms and Oak Creek Village neighborhoods on Hinesburg Road, a path eliminating the trip down Kennedy Drive to get to Kimball Avenue would be ideal.

Trouble is, prehistoric American Indians felt the same way.

In its plans to add a quarter-mile section to the city's 20-mile bike path through the commercial development on Tilley Drive, the Recreation Path Committee has uncovered an interesting problem: The recently proposed path had been used before. In a letter to the site's developer in 2004, the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation noted the 75-acre Tilley II subdivision contains an extensive prehistoric American Indian site, with artifacts that could date to 9000 B.C.

The property, bounded to the south by Interstate 89 and to the east by Technology Park, contains the main stem and a tributary of Potash Brook and its associated wetlands, and was first identified as containing archaeologically sensitive areas in August 2003, during the Act 250 permitting process for the development.

In September 2003, the University of Vermont Consulting Archaeology Program conducted a Phase I site identification survey of two significant zones along the Potash Brook, neither of which were proposed for development at the time.

Surface collection of a plowed portion of the land identified three areas with concentrations of cultural artifacts, including an Early Archaic projectile point, stone tools, and fire-cracked rock; subsurface collection identified a probable fire hearth. Spear points and arrowheads point to several occupations of the land between 7000 B.C. and A.D. 1600 -- a significant portion of Vermont's historical sequence, according to the letter.

Characteristics of the people of the Early Archaic Period (7000-5500 B.C.) include the use of chipped-stone tools and a hunter-gatherer lifestyle that predated sedentary farming practices.

The study concluded that one of the three areas, located on the northeastern portion of the site, contains important information about the period and meets criteria for inclusion on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The confirmed site and another potential site were mapped with 30-foot buffer zones to protect against topsoil removal, grading and other ground disturbances associated with development.

The study recommended that should maintenance of the buffer zone become impossible, further archaeological study be carried out before construction so mitigation measures -- including additional site evaluation, data recovery or redesign of proposed project components -- can be completed before development. No other portions of the parcel were found to contain significant artifacts.

"Archaeological sites like this one are more prevalent around the Champlain basin than in other areas of the state," said David Mace, director of communications for the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. A development project that would potentially affect the site would require amending the Act 250 permit originally granted for commercial development on the property, Mace said.

The proposed Tilley Drive-Community Drive bike path connection would pass through the site to meet a section under way from Kimball Avenue to Williston, providing a direct link for travelers from neighborhoods on Hinesburg Road to the town.

"We had budgeted money for archaeological surveys, but certainly not anything like this," said Lou Bresee, chairman of South Burlington's Recreation Path Committee. "This is clearly the long pole in the tent."

The committee obtained a $200,000 federal transportation enhancement grant, with a 20 percent match by the city, to construct the quarter-mile stretch of path; the amount is less than the $300,000 the committee had requested.

Bresee will meet with survey archaeologist Scott Dillon of the state Division for Historic Preservation, and a representative from the Vermont Agency of Transportation on Wednesday to discuss re-routing the path.

"We want to come to an equitable solution that protects the environment and the history, and also allows for a bike path to go through there," Bresee said.

Contact Sara Buscher at 651-4811 or sbuscher@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

Bicycle Recycle Vermont on Mountain Lake Journal

2008-03-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

Mountain Lake Journal
Mountain Lake Public Television
March 26, 2008
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeM2zy-giSc

Trail's Fate Divides Westford Residents

2008-03-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

Published: Wednesday, March 19, 2008
By Matt Ryan
Free Press Staff Writer
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080319/NEWS02/803190308/1007

WESTFORD -- A half-mile stretch of dirt in Westford has long been the crux of a debate between conservation and landowners' rights within the town. The Selectboard may soon decide the trail's fate, and some residents say they fear the decision could set a precedent that would endanger all the town's trails.

The dispute has narrowed to 450 feet of the Covey Trail, which a landowner wants to convert into a driveway to connect his property to Stoney Ridge. The trail, a town right of way, connects Stoney Ridge and Covey Road through undeveloped land of trees and rock.

Larry Packard of Milton bought the 30 acres adjacent to the trail in 2000, and plans to sell the property to a developer after installing the driveway. The prospective developer, Richard Bouffard, says he plans to build a private residence on the property.

Two years ago, the Selectboard agreed to terms to have the driveway installed. The current Selectboard, however, decided to revisit the issue.

"There are a lot of people who are very interested in it," Selectboard Chairman Dave Tilton said. "They fall into two camps -- people interested in recreational trails, and they want to see the town protect those trails; and then the other group is concerned about the private property rights of the landowner that wants to develop that property."

The core group of residents working to prevent Packard from building a driveway live at either end of the trail. Lynn Zinger, who sits on the town's Planning Commission, owns a home on land adjacent to that of Packard at the end of Stoney Ridge and the trail's southern entrance.

"They shouldn't give up something that's worth this much to the town for one individual," Zinger said.

Residents use the path for recreational activities such as biking, hiking and snowshoeing, said Joan Farmer, who lives at the opposite end of the trail from Zinger.

"In a nutshell, it's crucial to what this town is all about," Farmer said.

The driveway project, according to the agreement reached between Packard and the Selectboard two years ago, would include a new section of trail to wrap around the driveway and connect the rest of Covey Trail with Stoney Ridge. At a Selectboard meeting last month, Westford Road Foreman Gary Estus estimated the proposed plan would cost $22,563.

Estus also estimated Zinger's well, which she says could be destroyed by blasting on Packard's property, costs $16,000.

Zinger and Farmer say they are not "elitists" or "not in my backyard" people. Cars or trucks driving on the path would threaten people using it for recreational use, they said.

They said they fear Bouffard would subdivide the lot, which would invite more traffic. Also, it could invite other developers to try to build off the town's other trails.

The Selectboard will meet in executive session Thursday with the town attorney to discuss whether to grant Packard permission to upgrade the trail to driveway standards.

"Once that access is granted, they can't take it back," Zinger said. "He would have to go to the Planning Commission, but he would easily be able to subdivide. Our concern is that once access is granted, that's the precedence."

Packard said he just wants to sell a piece of land for which he has no use.

"When I bought the land, I wanted to build up there," Packard said. "And we ended up with some decent land in Milton, and we ended up building there."

Packard's land, being adjacent to the trail -- a town right of way, is not considered landlocked. However, to develop the property, the owner would need to connect to the nearby road, Zinger said.

"You're supposed to have road frontage," Zinger said. "Our local road ordinance says in order to develop property, you need to have 450 feet of road frontage, and you can't use a trail. But that's all interpretable, because it used to be a road."

Covey Trail was used for logging and considered a road until 1975, when it was renamed a trail, Zinger said.

Packard's land is valued at $1,664 per acre. Comparatively, a 13-acre landlocked property on Brookside Road is valued at $569 per acre; a 15-acre property on Osgood Hill Road with road frontage is valued at $3,203 an acre; and a 42-acre property with a right of way is valued at $1,917 per acre, Town Clerk Nanette Rogers said.

"I have a piece of land, and I can't use it," Packard said. "It's not going to serve any purpose if it just sits there."

Zinger offered to buy the land -- valued at $50,100 -- for $15,000.

"They have offered me some money for it, but it's a joke," Packard said. "If they had made me a reasonable offer, I would have sold it."

Contact Matt Ryan at 651-4849 or mryan@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

County Works To Update Bicycle Plan

2008-03-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

Published: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
By Sara Buscher
Free Press Staff Writer
Burlington Free Press
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080318/NEWS02/803180320/1007

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- For those looking to reduce their carbon footprint, here's a step in the right direction.

The Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization is updating its Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, with an eye toward implementing an interconnected regional bicycle and pedestrian transportation network.

The agency has hired Wilbur Smith Associates to update the plan to link Chittenden County communities and connect with buses and other modes of transportation via sidewalks, bike lanes and shared-use paths. The two groups invited public comment on the effort at South Burlington City Hall on Thursday night.

From the cold, snowy streets, a few residents arrived straight from work, bike helmets in hand.

"A lot of people still think of biking and walking as recreational activity -- not as a transportation mode," said Jim Donovan of Wilbur Smith Associates, who commutes to and from work on his bicycle.

The updated plan will include adding bike and pedestrian facilities built since 2003 to existing maps, based on information gathered from a survey of Chittenden County towns.

"There's actually been quite a lot going on, especially within the more urban core of the community," said Sandra O'Flaherty, also of Wilbur Smith Associates, of the survey results.

The data representing the types of paths built and their frequency of use vary widely among towns, making assessment of networks a challenge, O'Flaherty said.

Estimates suggest 34 miles of on-road facilities and 27 miles of shared-use paths have been added throughout the county in the past five years -- including Riverside Avenue and the Vermont 127 bike path in Burlington, the Champlain Mill River Walkway in Winooski, and bike lanes on Interstate 89 at Exit 14 in Williston.

Another 36 miles of on-road and 46 miles of shared-use paths are proposed to be built in towns around the county.

The plan also will outline education programs that encourage walking and biking as forms of transportation and as recreational activities, and make suggestions for future promotions, such as a "Bike to Work" month versus a single day, and a "Sunday Parkways" program, during which sections of streets would be closed to motor vehicles for exclusive use by pedestrians and bicyclists.

Compared with other communities across the country, O'Flaherty said Chittenden County is "pretty progressive" in its efforts to encourage and facilitate use of alternative modes of transportation.

Cathy Frank of South Burlington said she rides her bike extensively for exercise and to run errands -- but not in the winter. "It's cold," Frank said.

Frank is on the board of Local Motion, a nonprofit group that promotes walking and cycling. She said she'd like to see more emphasis placed on connecting existing trails to South Hero, and along Vermont 15, in the updated plan.

"It's like not having a bridge across the river," she said. Frank also senses a need for better education of drivers and cyclists sharing the road.

"I think most drivers got their licenses long before there were a lot of bikes on the road. Bikers have to be responsible, too."

Several cyclists commented on a need for better signs along road shoulders in transitional areas where bike lanes begin or end, and improved maintenance of roads and trails, particularly at this time of year, with snowbanks and prevalent potholes.

Following the presentation, Peter Keating, CCMPO senior transportation planner, invited those present to comment on existing bike and pedestrian networks by marking maps of shared-use paths and on-road facilities that hung on the wall. Comments from the public will be accepted over the next two weeks.

After reviewing those comments, Wilbur Smith Associates will update the recommended network of facilities and associated construction and maintenance costs, refine implementation strategies, and prepare a draft plan for a second public meeting in June. Donovan said he expects the plan to be completed by early summer.

Contact Sara Buscher at 651-4811 or sbuscher@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

Shelburne Voters Pass Budgets

2008-03-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

Shelburne voters approved town and school budgets Tuesday by wide margins during daylong voting at Shelburne's Town Center...68 percent of the town's 4,716 registered voters, turned out to cast ballots...Voters approved 1,823 -1,345 a proposal to build a $1.1 million bicycle / pedestrian path.

Shelburne Eyes Bike Path Funding

2008-02-25T07:01:00.000-08:00

Published: Monday, February 25, 2008
By Lauren Ober
Burlington Free Press
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/NEWS02/802250303/1007

SHELBURNE -- Voters in Shelburne will have a lot to think about come Town Meeting Day.

Not only will people finally get to make their choice in the presidential primary, but they will also help decide how Shelburne continues to develop as a community. In addition to the town budget and the school budget, voters are asked to make a decision about a $1.1 million bond for the construction of recreational paths, bike lanes and new sidewalks...

Over the years, the Shelburne Bike and Pedestrian Path Committee, chaired by Rob Donahue, has worked to create a network of recreational paths so cyclists and others have safe routes to travel. This year, the committee would like to see the network extended to Webster Road to accommodate children who bike the route to school. It would also like to see sidewalks built or extended on Harbor and Mount Philo roads, and bike lanes painted on both sides of Spear Street from Irish Hill Road to the Shelburne/South Burlington town line.

Many in the town are concerned about the $1.1 million price tag attached to this project, especially because the town is carrying its largest debt load. Haag says this article is controversial because it involves such a large amount of money and there is a feeling not everyone in the town will benefit from the proposed improvements.

For Donahue and the other members of the committee, the safety of town residents, especially children, is worth the $1.1 million. About 22 percent of children in Shelburne live off of Webster Road, Donahue said, and that makes it a "considerable feeder road." Donahue says many more children are riding their bikes to school in clement weather and are often forced to ride in the street.

"This is a major safety issue. Let's get the kids out of the street," Donahue said.

The committee has secured $300,000 in federal funding for the proposed work, that includes easements and construction of the path, sidewalks and lanes. Donahue also anticipates another $160,000 in grants coming soon and says the committee has done everything possible to lower the cost for the town.

Donahue said he is "cautiously optimistic" that voters will see the value of the bike path and sidewalk construction, especially because it is part of the approved town comprehensive plan.
Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

Vehicle hits, injures two pedestrians

2008-02-20T12:52:00.000-08:00

February 20, 2008
Burlington Free Press
News Brief

ESSEX JUNCTION - Two unidentified pedestrians were taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington with "moderate injuries" after they were struck by a car on Locust Lane about 10:30pm Monday, Essex police said.

The accident, which was reported through a 911 call, is under investigation, police said.

Electric-powered for now, bike ferry's propulsion prompts big ideas

2008-02-20T09:54:00.000-08:00

Published: Tuesday, February 19, 2008
By Joel Banner Baird
Free Press Staff Writer
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802190331

A deadline and the bottom line shaped the new, electric propulsion system for the Colchester-South Hero bike ferry last week.

The changes will be subtle.

Don't look for a wind turbine tower or a solar array along the Island Line causeway -- not this year. But Local Motion's 30-foot pontoon boat that plies the 200-foot gap for summer trail traffic will lose its gas outboard motor and gain energy efficiency.

Faced with a $10,000 budget and a looming graduation from the University of Vermont's College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, five seniors confirmed a conservative and conservation-minded design. It features a hybrid power train field-tested by modern locomotives: a diesel generator coupled to electric motors.

The pontoon ferry's 400-pound generator will run on biodiesel, a renewable, plant-derived fuel that the students defined as an interim solution toward even cleaner technologies.

"It's a plug-and-play system," said Justin White, 22, of Danville, at Thursday's meeting of his Senior Experience in Engineering Design (SEED) team. "When something better comes along, we'll lose the generator."

The boat's payload will include a bank of batteries, storing and regulating the onboard generator's output.

Marco Maffeo-Robinson, 21, of Marblehead, Mass., said the system, far from elegant, was nonetheless "future-proof" against advances in power generation.

"You can charge batteries made in the '60s with anything we've got now, or what turns up years from now," he said. "We really want this to be part of a broader education about energy. We want people to talk it up and pay it forward."

The SEED team's design challenge began as a purely academic exercise. Their notes and drawings document brain-storming sessions where nothing was ruled out: a submersible bridge, a tunnel, an elevated cable car, a lighter-than-air balloon.

They even imagined kiosks at each side of the Cut, where tourists could mount pedal-powered generators, burn off some extra steam, and trickle-charge another bank of batteries.

Fanciful ideas should be preserved on the back burner, said Brian Costello, a Local Motion planner for the Island Line Trail who advises the SEED team. He even suggested embellishments to the pedal-power kiosks: a video-game-style interface for the cyclists, one that would display record-breaking sessions at the dynamo.

Friday, that brainstorm edged closer to reality. Costello announced that Windstream Power of Charlotte had donated a human-powered generator to the ferry project, as well as a small wind turbine to mount on the ferry.

Unlike SEED projects sponsored by corporate powerhouses, the bike ferry challenge depends on contributions from small businesses and agencies. Local Motion is contributing $4,000 in cash and staff time out of its operating budget.

Cost-cutting might lead to innovation, and converting the red, wheeled generator to run straight biodiesel will almost certainly void its warranty, said professor Michael Rosen, the team's faculty mentor.

"It shouldn't be a problem," he said. "Engineers routinely violate warranties to push the boundaries of design."

The students seemed content with the compromise they'd reached between endless possibilities and stark spending guidelines. Utility had trumped whimsy.

"Everybody wants to save the Earth, but nobody can afford to do it all at once," Maffeo-Robinson said. "Sure, people can construct a super-efficient house. But what are they willing to do to make it happen -- take out a loan?"

He suggested the team get in touch before the next meeting to discuss further design refinements. They scheduled a conference call.

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 660-1843 or joelbaird@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

PHOTO: After getting off the Local Motion bicycle ferry, Susan Hazel of Perkasie, Penn walks up the dock to get back on the bike path on the causeway in S. Hero Sunday Aug. 8, 2004. This was the first weekend the demonstration bike ferry carried bikers across a small open stretch of the causeway connecting the bike trail from Colchester to S. Hero. Despite sporadic showers this weekend, the ferry carried approximately 600 bikers.
Free Press file photo

Parents and kids find balance in greener lifestyles

2008-02-14T18:45:00.000-08:00

Monday, February 11, 2008
USA Today
By Leanne Italie
Associated Press Writer
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/environment/2008-02-11-generation-green_N.htm

Marika Martin is a vegetarian. So is her husband, Charles Gonzalez, who rides his bicycle to work every day in New York City traffic, rain or shine.

The couple cares deeply about the environment, but if you ask their kids, 12-year-old Sinika and 8-year-old Soren, it's sometimes not deeply enough.

"My hopeless mother is obsessed with plastic bags," said Soren, a third-grader and huge fan of Al Gore's global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."

"A lot of plastic can't be recycled," chimed in his sister, who's in the seventh grade. "The turtles can get suffocated and it can go into the water. My dad gave her a cloth bag but she doesn't use it. Plastic drives me nuts!"

Say hello to Generation Green. They're young, well-researched and mad as heck — inspired by an outpouring of movies, TV shows, books, websites and "green classes" at school. They've been learning how to save the planet since toddlerhood, and they're taking on their parents to do more, do better.

While some parents fret that the pop culture tidal wave amounts to environmental indoctrination, others are looking for ways to accommodate their kids — and compromise when the price tag or the convenience factor come into play.

"I get it, I get it, I'm a bag lady," Martin said of her plastic-wrapped groceries. "But I'm always doing spontaneous shopping so it's hard. It isn't always feasible. Of course it's making me feel guilty. I know I shouldn't use them but in everyday living it's hard."

Tiffany Bluemle in Burlington, Vt., knows exactly how she feels. She and her partner, Elizabeth Shayne, drive an environmentally friendly hybrid and live a generally green lifestyle. When their 8-year-old son, Will, wanted a "global warming" birthday party earlier this year, they treated him to a cake decorated as Earth, a bike repair workshop for his guests and a piInata in the shape of a gas-guzzling Hummer that partygoers beat to the ground.

"He's adamant that I drive 55 but I'm naturally a speedster," Bluemle said. "We have a bumper sticker on the car saying '55 slows down global warming.' It's killing me." [LM comment: Sticker designed by Local Motion member Leah Wallace]

Will has begged his parents to buy a new dishwasher to cut down on energy use. He imagines redesigning their house with solar and wind power and a passthrough of used kitchen sink water to flush toilets. Earth, he said, "is a lot of animals' home. If a lot of animals become extinct it would be hard for us to live."

Bluemle shares her young eco-warrior's passion but said she's careful not to over-promise while encouraging him to dream big.

"I want to make good on any pledges that I make," she said. "At this point it's pretty doable, yet we don't use a renewable form of energy to power the house. Very frankly, we don't have the money."