Altwheels festival unites a broad coalition of transportation & energy leaders to address our oil addiction

LivableStreets Alliance is a proud Bronze-level sponsor of 2006 Altwheels! The AltWheels Festival is convening a broad, public/private coalition of automakers, municipal organizations, transportation professionals, environmental and educational leaders, and bike and walk groups, to find real alternatives to our costly addiction to oil.

THIS YEAR THE FESTIVAL WILL BE DOWNTOWN BOSTON AT CITY-HALL PLAZA ALL DAY FRIDAY & SATURDAY!

Witness this unique coming together of more than 80 transportation- and energy-related entities, during the fourth annual AltWheels Alternative Transportation Festival on Friday and Saturday, September 22 and 23 at Boston's City Hall Plaza and on Sunday, September 24 at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline. The three-day celebration will offer a one-stop opportunity to see more than 15 different, clean, effective transportation options that you can buy now -- plus new technologies coming in the near future from Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen and other leading automakers. Boston's Museum of Science, New England Aquarium and Children's Museum will all host informative, fun exhibits on transportation and energy plus lots of interactive-learning activities on how to create a more sustainable world.

Join Doug Mink, Boston's premere advocate for bicycling, for two great bike tours (these are free and open to all) ... more information...:

SATURDAY 3pm - "Boston's Bikepaths - Old and New" (16 miles)

SUNDAY 10am - "Tour Boston's Emerald Necklace" (13 miles)

Want to ride your bike down Storrow Drive? Now's your chance!

Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Stephen Burrington will close part of Storrow Drive to motorized vehicles for the exclusive use of Hub On Wheels riders!

Sign up for the 10, 20, or 40 mile rides. All rides start from Downtown Boston, City Hall Plaza, Sunday October 1, 8:00am (Registration 7:30am). This is a ride not a race, and is fully supported for safety with marshals, bike mechanics, food, toilets, signs, and rest stops.

Register by FRI. SEPT 22 midnight to be entered in drawing for free Giant Cypress LX bicycle! Register here...

Volunteers needed! Volunteer here...

MBTA Rider Oversight Committee meeting (TROC), OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, Monday September 25, 4:15-6:15pm at the Transportation Building, MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas and Massachusetts Transportation Secretary John Cogliano in attendance. Hear about the future of your transit system.Click here for directions...

What is TROC? In 2003 as a response to pressure by several transit advocacy groups over the last fare increase. "To be responsive to riders, the MBTA will establish a Rider Oversight Committee ... The Committee will address various transit related issues, including but not limited to the MBTA's Fare Policy, fare structure, fare equity issues, service improvements, service quality standards, ridership data collection and alternative funding sources for both the capital program and the operating budget."

The committee is comprised of 8 (non-voting) members of the MBTA staff, 8 members of the general public, and 8 advocacy groups representing their members and constituents. The advocacy groups include: ON THE MOVE- Greater Boston Transportation Justice Coalition, T-Riders Union, Conservation Law Foundation, LivableStreets Alliance, Sierra Club", MassPIRG, Washington Street Corridor Coalition

Click here for LivableStreets article on the fare increase..."

Click here for LivableStreets' Citizen Info Sheet...

Click here for MBTA's brochure on the fare increase/restructuring...

What is possible for the future of the Greenway? How will it be enjoyed, and by whom? What can we learn about park programs and cultural events in other cities such as Chicago, San Francisco, and montreal?

Common Ground: A look at the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway today. Public forum at Faneuil Hall-- Tuesday, September 26, 5:30-7:30 pm (Free and open to the public). An overview of the physical nature and current state of the Greenway as the parks prepare to open next year. A look at what opportunities exist for future development

Join the Boston Society of Architects/AIA and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy for a series of events this fall focusing on the great potential of our city's new Greenway. Opening in 2007, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway will be a public space, open for cultural events and daily activities.

NOTE: October 1 Greenway Walk cancelled. Unfortunately, due to the delayed planting schedule for the Greenway parks, the BSA's walk through the parks scheduled for October 1 has been postponed until the spring of next year.

by Amanda Patterson, Staff Writer for LivableStreets Alliance

Bicycle and pedestrian advocates have been invited into the inner sanctum of Massachusetts transportation policy, the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT), as members of the state's new Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, which has been in existence since last November.

The Advisory Board was created by a legislative mandate to oversee the biking and walking activities of the EOT, and to revise the State Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Every other month, seven advocates and seven agency representatives get together to think together about "the big picture issues," as WalkBoston's Wendy Landman puts it.

"The committee is trying to insert bike and pedestrian voices into state policies and spending," Landman said.

Bringing together players from agencies and organizations whose roles intersect with both bicycle and pedestrian issues and the state budget is an important first step toward a comprehensive state-wide approach.

With such a broad purview, it's hard to mark the committee's specific accomplishments, but working together on issues personalizes the issues and cuts back on reactive behavior, according to Michael Halle of MassBike.

"You can start thinking of things as people instead of causes," he said.

With everybody at the same table, it's easier to understand the conflicts between constituents as well as the logic of policy decisions. Halle cited DCR bike path use and design as an example.

Bike advocates want to be able to commute and ride safely, and bike paths provide a safer alternative to riding on roads not designed to accommodate bike traffic. Pedestrian advocates want bike paths to be safe for everyone, and speeding bikes can be dangerous to walkers, their children and their dogs. And many city planners would like bikers to use the paths so the whole road can be used for vehicle traffic, avoiding the need for bike lanes and other bicycle accommodations.

Before every one was sitting down together on the commission, those conflicts would be registered as complaints at public hearings, frustrating officials and advocates alike.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board is well placed to make change in how the state plans for its bikers and walkers, though their only mechanism to create change is communication and understanding.

"The people on the commission have good connections and good will," Halle said. "The biggest challenge is that there is so much that can be done on the state level."

Unfortunately, no information is available about this advisory board or the bicycle and pedestrian program on EOT's website. Please contact Josh Lehman, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the State of Massachusetts, for more information-- 617- 973-7329, Josh.Lehman@state.ma.us.

Four leaders from the advocacy groups LivableStreets Alliance, WalkBoston, and Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition attended the biennial professional conference on walking and bicycling held this year in Madison, WI. Also in represented from the Boston area was the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the City of Cambridge, and the Planners Collaborative consulting firm. There were no attendees from Mass. Executive Office of Transportation, Mass. Highway Dept., nor the City of Boston. Meanwhile, government officials from cities including Chicago, New York, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Vancouver (BC) were in attendance.

The National Center for Bicycling & Walking's Pro Walk/Pro Bike biennial conference series typically attracts an international gathering of more than 600 bicycle and pedestrian program specialists, advocates, and government leaders committed to improving conditions for bicycling and walking. Conference participants include federal, state and local agency staff; engineers; planners; transportation officials; educators; public health specialists, park and recreation managers; and advocates who range from executives of international organizations to lay people with an interest in improving the quality of life and health in their community.

Organizers for the second annual Boston Bike Film Festival have asked filmmakers with a penchant for cycling to submit their work to be shown this October at venues in Boston and Cambridge . Among other benefits to acclaimed and amateur filmmakers, the Festival offers a chance to get their films in front of cycling-sensitive audiences.

"Last year was a near-sellout crowd" said Cat Bryant, director of the Festival. "and we hope to reach an even wider audience this year."

Submissions for different genres are outlined on the website and initial submissions should be on either VHS or DVD. All submissions must be postmarked by September 22, 2006. Signed Submission and Release forms should accompany each entry.

On Tuesday September 12, 2006, top officials from the City's Transportation, Health, Police and Parks Departments gathered in Central Park to release the findings (PDF) of a groundbreaking year-long effort that examines the last ten years of bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries in New York City.

In conjunction with the study's release, the agencies pledged to encourage and facilitate cycling in a number of ways (PDF) including, but not limited to, installing 240 miles of new bike lanes and greenways, providing more bicycle parking citywide, increasing police enforcement against motorists parked in bike lanes, providing educational information for motorists about the rights of cyclists as well as legislative and analytic improvements regarding cyclists rights and habits.

This unprecedented commitment to cycling and cyclist safety is an important part of moving New York City's transportation policies closer to those of our forward- thinking competitor cities around the globe. In 2002, the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, committed to building 200 miles of bike lanes, pedestrianizing large swaths of main arterials and modernizing bus lanes. Since then, traffic has decreased by 10% and more than 80% of Parisians support the changes. New York City's new-found dedication to the bicycle may be the first signs of a similar sea change on the horizon.

Health Commissioner Tom Frieden, whose department led the multi-agency study, remarked that "All [cyclist] deaths are preventable, and each one is a tragedy." He continued, "Engineering solutions are more likely to be effective [at improving safety] than urging people to change their behavior." In fact, only one cyclist fatality between 1996 and 2005 occurred in a bike lane.

Transportation Commissioner Weinshall agreed stating, "The data demonstrates cyclists need more safe places to ride and DOT will be working to provide them."

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe highlighted the increase in car-free hours in Central and Prospect Parks and his departments work to build more car-free greenway paths, both of which have contributed to the steady increase in cycling in the city over the past twenty years.

NYPD Chief of Transportation Michael Scagnelli spoke to the police department's efforts to ticket motorists who park and drive in bike lanes.

And, all of the officials reiterated the importance of drivers respecting cyclists' right to the road, of drivers and cyclists obeying traffic laws and of cyclists wearing helmets.

See the City's official release (PDF) and more details about the study and the planned improvements.

Get to know Ryan Russo, the New York City Department of Transportation's Director for Street Management and Safety. StreetsBlog recently caught up with this key player in helping the city meet its pledge to encourage and facilitate safe cycling.

Read the City's report, "Bicyclist Fatalities and Serious Injuries in New York City 1996-2005" (PDF).

The announcement is a huge victory for Transportation Alternatives and the NYC Bike Coalition. Since last July we have been working to convince City officials to adopt our Bike Safety Action Plan. Tuesday's announcement meets nearly every point of our Bike Safety Action Plan and clearly demonstrates that our advocacy is working.