Bicycle Pedestrian Funding Workshop held December 15, 2011 Jan 09
On December 15, CRCOG and Bike Walk CT along with CTDOT hosted an Action 2020 workshop on bicycle and pedestrian funding. Action 2020 Workshops are facilitated by Advocacy Advance – a partnership of the League of American Bicyclists and Alliance for Biking & Walking. Read more on CRCOG's website: http://www.crcog.org/transportation/bicycle/bp_funding.html
First Bike Walk Summit a Success Dec 04
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On a sunny November morning, 150 people who want a bike and walk friendly Connecticut gathered at Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, to attend Bike Walk Connecticut's first bike walk summit. They spent five hours learning from panels of experts about the requirement under Connecticut law to spend at least 1% of road transportation funds on making state and local roads safe for all users, including people walking and riding bikes; educating police officers about laws affecting cyclists and pedestrians and their enforcement; and how more biking and walking can cut down on chronic diseases and related health care costs and boost local economies. Speakers included state legislators, the DOT bureau chief in charge of policy and planning, doctors, lawyers, planners and law enforcement officials. Click here to see the summit's full program. Mary Collins, award winning author of American Idle - a Journey through our Sedentary Culture opened the summit with recounting why she decided to write the book and what she learned about the causes and effects of inactivity on individuals and society as a whole. Tim Blumenthal, president of Bikes Belong Coalition, closed the event explaining what's happening on the federal level and why it's so important for all of us who care about a bike and walk friendly Connecticut, to let our local, state and federal elected officials know what we want. Bike Walk CT thanks all of the exhibitors, presenters, speakers and people who attended for their support with special thanks to our great partner, Central Connecticut State University. Click here for pictures, more summit information, and for copies of the slide presentations shown at the summit. Others will be added soon. |
3rd Annual Legislative Reception a Success Mar 07
On Monday, February 22nd, the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance hosted its 3rd annual Legislative Reception at the State Capitol and, once again, the event was a success. Approximately 70 people, including some key legislators, were in attendance to support CCBA and its legislative priorities for the upcoming year.
CCBA’s President, Anne Hayes, spoke briefly about our 2010 legislative priorities and introduced the speakers, who included Representative Beth Bye, an ardent supporter of bicycling who bikes to work whenever she can, Representative David McCluskey, also a strong supporter of CCBA’s initiatives and member of the Transportation Committee, Kyle Wiswall, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s General Counsel, and CCBA’s own Deb Dauphinais, a long serving member of our Advocacy Committee and member of the State Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.
Both Representative Bye and McCluskey urged us to continue fighting for safer conditions for cyclists and pedestrians in Connecticut . Representative McCluskey said that “the last few years CCBA has done a phenomenal job” but cautioned us not to stop advocating for implementation of Complete Streets. Kyle Wiswall explained the reason for enacting a law to protect “vulnerable users” of the road, including cyclists and pedestrians. Deb gave us an update on the activities of the advisory board.
Thanks to everyone who attended, and especially to our speakers for their enlightenment and encouragement. You can find out more about the reception, including the 2010 Legislative Priorities on our website under Advocacy. We will need your continued support during the Legislative Session to make these a reality.
pics from the reception by John Duval
2009 Statewide Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan Jan 29
The Final Version of the CT Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan for the Connecticut Department of Transportation is now available on the project's website: http://www.ctbikepedplan.org/. The Update will result in a Plan and a Map providing Connecticut's residents and visitors with information on bicycle and pedestrian policies, facilities, and needs.
Red Light Camera Enforcement Jan 03
The CT Livable Streets Campaign is planning to push for state legislation that will enable camera enforcement of red light running. If you are interested, go to their website http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/ct-livable-streets/project-home and you can learn about the campaign and how to get involved.
Discussion on Parking and Traffic Jan 03
In partnership with the Yale Journalism Initiative, Yale Transportation Options will host two special guests on Tuesday January 19th, 2010. The topic is “Traffic, Parking and our Green Future.” Tom Vanderbilt, author of the New York Times bestselling book Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), and UCLA Professor and Yale Alumnus Donald Shoup (BE’61, PhD ’68), author of The High Cost of Free Parking, have agreed to visit Yale to discuss issues of sustainability through the lens of traffic and parking.
The discussion will certainly touch such multidisciplinary topics as land use, economics, human behavior, transportation engineering, social change, and the health of the community.
This event is open to the public and will be held between 7:00 and 8:30pm on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010. Campus location TBA. For more information, see the event flyer.
Is Connecticut Doing Enough to Keep Pedestrians Safe? Dec 04
Transportation
for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership have
released their report Dangerous by Design, which looks at pedestrian
crash rates and transportation spending for pedestrians across the
country. In Connecticut, spending on pedestrian safety and pedestrian
facilities is not proportionate to the level of pedestrian danger in
the state. Although Connecticut spends more than some states on
pedestrian safety, the amount of funds spent is very low in comparison to the
danger encountered by pedestrians on our roads everyday. Currently, pedestrian fatalities make
up about 13% of all crash fatalities statewide. But in Connecticut, spending on pedestrian improvements is
less than 2% of all transportation spending or just $1.67 per person.
We know how to build safer streets. Complete Streets take into account the
safety of all road users, including motorists, walkers, cyclists, and public
transit riders. Let your
legislators and state and town officials know that it’s time to change the way
our tax dollars are spent. The lives
of cyclists and pedestrians are no less valuable than the lives of motorists.
CT Department of Transportation Announces Publication of State's 2009 Long-Range Transportation Plan Jul 26
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is announcing the
completion of the State’s 2009 Long-Range Transportation Plan (2009
LRP). The LRP is a federally mandated policy document that outlines the
State of Connecticut‘s transportation policies and strategies for at
least a 20-year period. It is updated every three to five years. The
2009 LRP, which updates the 2004 LRP, covers the period 2009 -2035.
For more information, click here or visit the ConnDOT website: http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=1373&Q=443732
Report on CCBA Legislative Reception on Feb. 11 Feb 22
Bicycle advocates and legislators convened in the State Capitol on February 11, 2009 to share a vision of a more bicycle-friendly Connecticut. Coming off of last year's successful legislation, we are hopeful that the state will pass additional laws in 2009 to improve bicycle access and safety. CCBA's Advocacy Chair, Deb Dauphinais, shared our past successes and our hopes for 2009 and introduced our legislative host, Rep. Tom Kehoe who shared his support for bicycle-friendly initiatives. Rep. Kehoe is this year's Vice-Chair for the Transportation Committee. Additional speakers included Transportation Co-Chairs Sen. Donald DeFronzo and Rep. Tony Guerrera and CT Commission on Children’s Legislative Director Elizabeth Brown. Sen. DeFronzo stated, “You have created the most powerful and visible coalition in support of change in transportation in the state.”
CRCOG's Active Transportation Initiative Nov 26
New Pedestrian/Bicycle Plan for the Region: the Capitol Region Council of Governments has adopted a New Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan for the region. Members of CCBA were actively involved in the development of this new plan. Now comes the challenge of actual implementation. There is a need to show that residents support the development of a Walkable and Bikeable Region. YOU can help. Go to CRCOG’s website where you can download a copy of the plan AND, you can download the Walkable/Bikeable Coalition materials. Show your support by filling out the form, or by writing a letter of support. And ask others to join the campaign. No obligation or fees, this is just an expression of support for a Walkable Bikeable region.
The State Department of Transportation is updating its Bicycle and Pedestrian plan. The consulting team for the project is led by Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc. with assistance from VHB, Alta Transportation Consulting, and Didona Associates.
A very active advisory committee will be involved throughout the process. Charlie Beristain, CCBA Board member,
is representing the CCBA on the committee. You can learn more about the project at CT Bike Ped Plan
West Hartford Bicycling Task Force Report Nov 26
The West Hartford Cycling Task Force, appointed last summer by the town council, issued its plan and recommendations this week.
See the Master Plan ( large .pdf file)
