Have you seen us on BCTV?

BCTV program
Monday June 28, 7:00 pm
"County Plan for Walking and Biking"
Guest Michael Golembiewski, Berks County Planning Commission, Transportation Modeler

Previous Shows include:

WalkBikeBerks
Monday, October 27, 2008 12:00 am
Safe Routes to Schools

WalkBikeBerks
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 8:30 pm

WalkBikeBerks
Monday, December 22, 2008 7:00 pm
Bicycle Education

WalkBikeBerks
Monday, February 23, 2009 7:00 pm
Bicycling Rights & Responsibilities

WalkBikeBerks
Monday, April 27, 2009 7:00 pm
May is National Bike Month

WalkBikeBerks
Monday, June 22, 2009 7:00 pm
Make it Intermodal

WalkBikeBerks
Monday, February 22, 2010 7:00 pm
Who's Walking?

WalkBikeBerks
Monday, April 26, 2010 7:00 pm
Bike to Work

The National Bicycling and Walking Study: 15-Year Status Report

This report is the third status update to the National Bicycling and Walking Study, originally published in 1994 as an assessment of bicycling and walking as transportation modes in the United States. Following the 5-year status report (1999) and 10-year status report (2004), the 15-year update measures the progress made toward the original goals of lowering the number of fatalities while increasing the percentage of trips made by bicycling and walking. Injury and fatality statistics are presented to measure this progress, as well as results from surveys related to travel habits. The 15-year report, unlike its two predecessors, examines a range of efforts to increase bicycling and walking in the United States. Programs at the Federal, State, and local levels are included, as well as case studies on best practices. Finally, the report makes recommendations for research, policy, and other measures that can be taken to meet the goals of the original study.

Why Is It So Hard to Get Kids Walking to School?

Sometimes, another blogger just has something so great -- I feel compelled not to change a word. Here -- Free Range Kids covers one of my favorite programs -- Safe Routes to School. Enjoy the read:

Why Is It So Hard to Get Kids Walking to School?
Posted on June 15, 2010 by lskenazy

Hi Readers — I’m still on the road and just gave a speech in Chicago sponsored by the National Center for Safe Routes to School. (A jolly bunch!) Safe Routes reps every state gathered to talk about the pressing question: How can we get more kids walking to school? The organization says that a generation ago, two thirds of f kids walked or biked to school. Today, 20-25% do. I’ve heard numbers even lower than that.

So Safe Routes (funded by the Dept. of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration) aims to get kids back to walking to school by whatever means necessary. If a neighborhood needs sidewalks, they help the neighborhood organize to get ‘em. If a school has outlawed walking or biking, they help explain to the district why those things are actually GOOD. They even address, head on, the district’s fears of liability. Meantime, if parents are interested in letting their kids walk, but are scared (of predators, traffic, and worst of all: other parents thinking they’re lazy!), they teach ‘em about the “walking school bus.” That’s the cool idea that a parent can take her kid and walk to the next kid’s house and pick her up, and then they all walk to the NEXT kid’s house and pick HIM up, etc., etc., so by the time they get to the school, there are a bunch of kids all walking together [with a parent or two]....

Even the Safe Routes folks agree: It’s weird we have come to time in society when we have to structure what used to be simple and natural — kids walking places. But the way I often think of Free-Range Kids is just that: re-introducing an old-fashioned childhood. When kids have been kept inside so long they no longer know how to organize their own game of leap frog, it’s not bad for a school to hire a recess coach to teach them (and then get out of the way). It’s more important to bring back those skills than it is to blindly pretend that kids will develop them on their own — because they never did. The used to learn games from the older kids in the neighborhood. If there are no older kids outside anymore, or they’re all at travel soccer, then of course the younger ones don’t learn those games out of thin air. Someone needs to re-introduce them.

That’s the same reasoning behind “Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day.” Of COURSE I’d like all kids to automatically head out to the park on a sunny Saturday without needing a special holiday to encourage this. But since so many times kids DON’T head to the park, they DON’T get to know the other local kids, and they DON’T know how fun it can be to just kick around a playground with each other. So they stay inside. I proposed a morning where the old-fashioned “meet and have fun” thing would happen, hoping that afterward kids would clamor to do it again.

Safe Routes is on the same sort of mission and its website seems to be loaded with great ideas for how to get the PTA involved, and what to say to skeptics, and how to get the school on your side. And if the local problem is a lack of crossing guards, or whatever, the organization is also game to help walk a district through the red tape it takes to get some grant money to fix the problem. And, just like Take Our Children to the Park Day, Safe Routes sponsors Walk to School Day (coming up in October).

Our shared goal? To re-introduce kids into the world, sort of the way we’ve done with Peregrine falcons. They may have been bred in captivity, but a future awaits when they can soar.

— Lenore

Reading Eagle Reports on Antietam Lake Meeting

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=229413

Antietam Lake Park Public Meeting -- Berks County Residents Invited!

A public meeting is scheduled for:

Monday, June 21, 2010
7:00-9:00 PM
Lower Alsace Township Municipal Building
1200 Carsonia Avenue, Reading, PA 19606

Berks County is in the process of developing a Master Plan for Antietam Lake Park. The Master Plan will provide a blueprint for future improvements to the park and expanded recreation opportunities for Berks County residents.

If you would like to bicycle or walk to this County Park -- and leave your car at home -- make sure to suggest that the plan include how bicyclists and pedestrians will come and go -- safely and conveniently. A transportation plan to the facility won't be complete without accomodating all modes!

You are invited to attend an evening brainstorming session to voice your thoughts and ideas on the prefinal master plan for Antietam Lake Park. Public input will be incorporated into the design process and will help to establish priorities for future development and conservation. Mark your calendars and plan to attend.

Share this invitation with others. If unable to attend, and want to contribute, please forward your comments to Chris Lessig, Director, Berks County Parks & Recreation, clessig@countyofberks.com

Bike To Work Raffle Winner Pictures

Go to our website and check out the pictures of our raffle winners. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a picture of our Lebos winner but we know he's very excited about using the money to fix his commuter bike up!

We congratulate everyone and wish them a happier commute with the cash they now have from our bike shop sponsors!

Safe Routes to School avoids a House vote to cut it—for now

Here is the latest news on the potential House vote to cut federal funding of Safe Routes to School. Your message to our representative has been HEARD!

On Monday, June 14, 2010, we alerted you to the possibility that the federal Safe Routes to School program could be targeted for a House floor vote to cut the program. Rep. Cantor (R-VA) had identified Safe Routes to School as one of five options that the public could vote on cutting through his YouCut initiative. Fortunately, Safe Routes to School was not subjected to a vote at that time, selling off excess federal property, got the most votes.

On very short notice, advocates across the country sprang into action and contacted their Members of Congress to ask them to vote against any effort to cut Safe Routes to School. More than 1150 people used the League of American Bicyclists' advocacy system in a 24-hour period to contact their Members of Congress via email. We also heard from many others that made phone calls or contacted a Congressional staff person directly that wouldn't be included in that tally.

WalkBikeBerks, the League and Safe Routes to School National Partnership is grateful to all the national, state and local organizations that helped quickly spread the word about this threat. And, thank you to everyone who took the time to contact their Members of Congress. Even though there was not a vote this time, it helped raise awareness about the importance of Safe Routes to School and the wide support it has across the country.

However, we will have to remain vigilant. This isn't the first time Rep. Cantor has attacked bicycling and walking, and his press secretary has stated that bicycling and walking will likely be the subject of future YouCut votes.

If you have not done so please contact your Representative to urge them to support Safe Routes to Schools.