National spotlight on bicycling and pedestrian accommodation
Contact Your Governor Today
Take Action!
Support the U.S. DOT Policy Statement on Bicycling Accommodations
On March 15, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the Departments' new Bicycle Policy Statement that heralds the end of second-class treatment for cyclists.
The statement reaffirms the language that is written in the current federal surface transportation law and demonstrates his leadership in this area. This is an important step in completing bicycle and pedestrian networks all over the country.
Please contact your Governor today to urge them to ensure that your state department of transportation is following the letter of the law.
Contact the Governor's Office
Governor Edward G. Rendell's Office
225 Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
Phone: (717) 787-2500
Fax: (717) 772-8284 E-mail the Governor's Office
Thank you for your assistance in this important matter.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Turn the Tide on Obesity!
Bookmark and Share
Turning the Tide on Obesity
By Dr. Judith S. Palfrey, FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
As a pediatrician, my number one goal is to keep children healthy. Yet, over the 30 years I’ve been in practice, there has been a distressing increase in the number of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese. Today, most physicians are dealing with overweight and obesity in about 30 percent of the children we treat. These staggering numbers have alarmed the pediatric community, and they should spur us as a nation into action. As the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, I was honored to stand beside First Lady Michelle Obama when she launched her “Let’s Move!” campaign last month, which aims to overcome obesity in this generation of children.
Health promotion is everybody’s business. The First Lady’s initiative is based on this notion, and her work is bringing together civic leaders, educators, business leaders and health care experts to support families and children. Right now, unfortunately, we have a serious problem on our hands. Many of our children are not strong and healthy. Overweight toddlers struggle to toddle. Obese children succumb easily to asthma and other respiratory diseases. School-aged youngsters who are overweight and obese have a very high risk of bone and joint problems. Obese teenagers suffer from health problems such as diabetes, hypertension and clinical depression.
So what can parents do? Start at the beginning. Healthy nutrition starts as early as infancy with breast feeding. Once your baby begins eating solid foods, introduce nutritious foods early on and often. It is also important to encourage play time as soon as they start crawling and walking. As your children grow, continue to help them live a healthy active lifestyle. Create a healthy home environment where physical activity is encouraged, nutritious low fat food options are available, and screen time and sugared drinks are limited.
The Academy is doing our part by calling on every pediatrician to calculate body mass index (BMI) for every child over the age of two at every well-child visit. We are encouraging our 60,000 pediatricians to give out official child-friendly “prescriptions” for healthy, active living—good nutrition and physical activity—at every well-child visit. Using these “prescriptions,” pediatricians will work with families to set goals for good eating habits and physical activity. It will take all of us working together to help create healthier communities for our children—communities where children can run and play and feel safe; communities where families have access to fresh foods and where neighborhoods celebrate nutritious eating and find joy in watching children grow up strong and healthy.
The health of our children—and the future of this country—is in our hands. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can turn the tide on childhood obesity.
Turning the Tide on Obesity
By Dr. Judith S. Palfrey, FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
As a pediatrician, my number one goal is to keep children healthy. Yet, over the 30 years I’ve been in practice, there has been a distressing increase in the number of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese. Today, most physicians are dealing with overweight and obesity in about 30 percent of the children we treat. These staggering numbers have alarmed the pediatric community, and they should spur us as a nation into action. As the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, I was honored to stand beside First Lady Michelle Obama when she launched her “Let’s Move!” campaign last month, which aims to overcome obesity in this generation of children.
Health promotion is everybody’s business. The First Lady’s initiative is based on this notion, and her work is bringing together civic leaders, educators, business leaders and health care experts to support families and children. Right now, unfortunately, we have a serious problem on our hands. Many of our children are not strong and healthy. Overweight toddlers struggle to toddle. Obese children succumb easily to asthma and other respiratory diseases. School-aged youngsters who are overweight and obese have a very high risk of bone and joint problems. Obese teenagers suffer from health problems such as diabetes, hypertension and clinical depression.
So what can parents do? Start at the beginning. Healthy nutrition starts as early as infancy with breast feeding. Once your baby begins eating solid foods, introduce nutritious foods early on and often. It is also important to encourage play time as soon as they start crawling and walking. As your children grow, continue to help them live a healthy active lifestyle. Create a healthy home environment where physical activity is encouraged, nutritious low fat food options are available, and screen time and sugared drinks are limited.
The Academy is doing our part by calling on every pediatrician to calculate body mass index (BMI) for every child over the age of two at every well-child visit. We are encouraging our 60,000 pediatricians to give out official child-friendly “prescriptions” for healthy, active living—good nutrition and physical activity—at every well-child visit. Using these “prescriptions,” pediatricians will work with families to set goals for good eating habits and physical activity. It will take all of us working together to help create healthier communities for our children—communities where children can run and play and feel safe; communities where families have access to fresh foods and where neighborhoods celebrate nutritious eating and find joy in watching children grow up strong and healthy.
The health of our children—and the future of this country—is in our hands. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can turn the tide on childhood obesity.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Ride Your Bike With Coolness and Confidence! WalkBikeBerks Presents Bike Riding Course!
Would you like to ride your bicycle more but feel timid riding around motor vehicles? Are you afraid of getting a flat and not knowing how to fix it? Would you like to get the best experience that can be had while riding your bicycle but something just doesn't seem right with your bike or how it fits you? Do you think you could benefit from some pointers on how to maneuver around obstacles and ride predictably?
If you answered yes to anyone of these questions then we have a class for you! WalkBikeBerks is hosting it's 2nd Annual League of American Bicyclists "Traffic Skills 101" course on Saturday April 17th at the Upland Center of Alvernia University. The class will be taught by WalkBikeBerks board member and Certified League instructor Benton Levengood.
This is a hands on course so you will not just be getting high quality class room instruction but also bike riding sessions for practice drills which will culminate in a group ride to put into practice everything you will have learned!
It's time to put away the excuses of NOT riding your bike. Take this course and be cool and confident on your next bicycle ride and enjoy the experience the way it was meant to be!
WalkBikeBerks is offering this course ahead of it's promotion of Bike To Work Month in May and all the activities will will be promoting. Send in your reservation today! We promise you will NOT be disappointed.
Road I, Saturday, April 17:
WalkBikeBerks
Time: 8:00 a.m. -- 5:00 p.m.Instructor: Benton Levengood Location: Alvernia University Upland Center, 540 Upland Ave, Reading, PA 19611 Fee: $35 (includes membership to WalkBikeBerks for 2010)
Space is limited, to reserve your space as soon as possible.
To register for this course, contact:Benton Levengood Phone: 717-449-4474 Email: blevengood@walkbikeberks.org
If you answered yes to anyone of these questions then we have a class for you! WalkBikeBerks is hosting it's 2nd Annual League of American Bicyclists "Traffic Skills 101" course on Saturday April 17th at the Upland Center of Alvernia University. The class will be taught by WalkBikeBerks board member and Certified League instructor Benton Levengood.
This is a hands on course so you will not just be getting high quality class room instruction but also bike riding sessions for practice drills which will culminate in a group ride to put into practice everything you will have learned!
It's time to put away the excuses of NOT riding your bike. Take this course and be cool and confident on your next bicycle ride and enjoy the experience the way it was meant to be!
WalkBikeBerks is offering this course ahead of it's promotion of Bike To Work Month in May and all the activities will will be promoting. Send in your reservation today! We promise you will NOT be disappointed.
Road I, Saturday, April 17:
WalkBikeBerks
Time: 8:00 a.m. -- 5:00 p.m.Instructor: Benton Levengood Location: Alvernia University Upland Center, 540 Upland Ave, Reading, PA 19611 Fee: $35 (includes membership to WalkBikeBerks for 2010)
Space is limited, to reserve your space as soon as possible.
To register for this course, contact:Benton Levengood Phone: 717-449-4474 Email: blevengood@walkbikeberks.org
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
USDOT Policy Statement of Bike and Pedestrian Accomodations
USDOT POLICY STATEMENT ON BIKE & PEDESTRIAN ACCOMMODATION->
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood issued a new policy statement on March 16th that calls for full inclusion of pedestrians and bicyclists in transportation projects, with particular attention paid to transit riders and people of all ages and levels of mobility. Blogging yesterday, Secretary LaHood said, "This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.
"The National Complete Streets Coalition is calling this policy a full embrace of Complete Streets Policy. Key recommendations for state DOTs and communities include:Consider walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes;Ensure convenient choices for people of all ages and abilities; Go beyond minimum design standards; Integrate bicycle and pedestrian accommodation on new, rehabilitated, and limited-access bridges; Collect data on walking and biking trips;Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling and track them over time;Maintain sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are maintained, especially during snowy weather; andImprove non-motorized facilities during maintenance projects.CenterLines staff caught up with Charlene Lee of Smart Coast in Alabama to ask about the effect this policy would have on the efforts in southern Alabama.Lee said, "Getting municipalities in Baldwin and Mobile counties to adopt and implement Complete Streets Policies has been a centerpiece of our Healthy Coastal Connections Project (HCC). One of the primary goals of HCC is to make it safer, more convenient and more attractive for youngsters and people of all ages and abilities to walk and bicycle not only in their towns but across the region.""We know people won’t walk or bike if their routes are not continuous or safe."Mobile has a long way to go when it comes to protecting its pedestrians. The recent Dangerous by Design report revealed there were 31 pedestrians killed in 2007-8, while at the same time the City’s spending on things like sidewalks, crosswalks, and other road safety programs, falls well below comparable cities like Chattanooga, and Birmingham."The new USDOT policy gives local organizations like ours exactly what we need to more effectively work with our elected officials and transportation agencies at every level."For more information: Complete Streets Coalition, http://tinyurl.com/yj8uv8aSmart Coast and the Healthy Coastal Connection Project: http://tinyurl.com/yj893gj"Dangerous By Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Deaths," by Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, 2009: http://tinyurl.com/yhhoxg9
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood issued a new policy statement on March 16th that calls for full inclusion of pedestrians and bicyclists in transportation projects, with particular attention paid to transit riders and people of all ages and levels of mobility. Blogging yesterday, Secretary LaHood said, "This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.
"The National Complete Streets Coalition is calling this policy a full embrace of Complete Streets Policy. Key recommendations for state DOTs and communities include:Consider walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes;Ensure convenient choices for people of all ages and abilities; Go beyond minimum design standards; Integrate bicycle and pedestrian accommodation on new, rehabilitated, and limited-access bridges; Collect data on walking and biking trips;Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling and track them over time;Maintain sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are maintained, especially during snowy weather; andImprove non-motorized facilities during maintenance projects.CenterLines staff caught up with Charlene Lee of Smart Coast in Alabama to ask about the effect this policy would have on the efforts in southern Alabama.Lee said, "Getting municipalities in Baldwin and Mobile counties to adopt and implement Complete Streets Policies has been a centerpiece of our Healthy Coastal Connections Project (HCC). One of the primary goals of HCC is to make it safer, more convenient and more attractive for youngsters and people of all ages and abilities to walk and bicycle not only in their towns but across the region.""We know people won’t walk or bike if their routes are not continuous or safe."Mobile has a long way to go when it comes to protecting its pedestrians. The recent Dangerous by Design report revealed there were 31 pedestrians killed in 2007-8, while at the same time the City’s spending on things like sidewalks, crosswalks, and other road safety programs, falls well below comparable cities like Chattanooga, and Birmingham."The new USDOT policy gives local organizations like ours exactly what we need to more effectively work with our elected officials and transportation agencies at every level."For more information: Complete Streets Coalition, http://tinyurl.com/yj8uv8aSmart Coast and the Healthy Coastal Connection Project: http://tinyurl.com/yj893gj"Dangerous By Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Deaths," by Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, 2009: http://tinyurl.com/yhhoxg9
Friday, March 19, 2010
Lovely Day for a Bike Ride!
Google Biking Directions
Lovely Day for a Bike Ride?
Maps.google.com/biking
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
ACT Now!
The Active Community Transportation [ACT] Act of 2010
BREAKING NEWS: U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) introduced H.R. 4722, the Active Community Transportation Act of 2010 in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 2, 2010. Encourage your U.S. representative to co-sponsor the legislation now!
More than 700 delegates from across the nation will meet with US Representatives on March 11 to talk about H.R. 4722.
If you could not make it to the National Bike Summit, but would like to participate in our movement, call your Representative RIGHT NOW! Thousands of people across the nation will be calling in too -- making your voice and your request for better walking and biking clear and strong in Congress.
BREAKING NEWS: U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) introduced H.R. 4722, the Active Community Transportation Act of 2010 in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 2, 2010. Encourage your U.S. representative to co-sponsor the legislation now!
More than 700 delegates from across the nation will meet with US Representatives on March 11 to talk about H.R. 4722.
If you could not make it to the National Bike Summit, but would like to participate in our movement, call your Representative RIGHT NOW! Thousands of people across the nation will be calling in too -- making your voice and your request for better walking and biking clear and strong in Congress.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
The Plan is to encourage more Walking, Bike Riding
Have you ever walked down the sidewalk and nearly tripped over a raised piece of concrete?
Do you choose to drive to work instead of bike because you feel safer?
These are some of the issues being addressed by the Reading Area Transportation Study Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan Advisory Committee.
"Our goal is to increase mobility and get people out of their cars in a safe, efficient manner," said county planner Michael D. Golembiewski, who runs the committee.
This is not a recreation plan, but a plan to make biking and walking viable modes of transportation, Golembiewski said.
To Read the Full Story, Click Here.
Posted using ShareThis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)