Bicycling 1-2-3: FREE to children ages 6-13

League of American Bicyclist' Bicycling 123 - Youth course

Saturday May 21
10:00 AM

Exeter May Days
Exeter Sr High School, Exeter Township [by tennis courts]
This is a skills course for youth up to age 13.

Fee: FREE to all children in Berks County ages 6-13

To register for this course, email both a parent and child's full names, phone number and child's age to info@walkbikeberks.org.

Note: We are able to provide some participants free helmets due to the generosity of AAA Reading-Berks. Limited sizes available to children who need a helmet.

Note: ALL participants must wear a properly fitting helmet to participate in our education rides.

Join, Ride, Win!

May is Bike Month
Membership Special: $20.00 [Save 40%]
Checks or Money Orders may be made payable to:
WalkBikeBerks
PO BOX 6795
Wyomissing, PA 19610

Bike To Work Day, Friday May 20, 2011
6:45 AM Register Brentwood Trail Head
7:00 AM Ride to Berks County Services Building
8:00 AM Assemble at Berks County Services Building

Win Prizes! Bike Month Challenge

Help us make your neighborhood better for walking and biking. Join us today.

NEWS: Simple change can make area friendly to pedestrians

Simple change can make area friendly to pedestrians (5/17/11)

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Reading's Mayor McMahon invites people to bike to work Friday - Berks Community Television - Berks County & Reading PA: Environment

Reading's Mayor McMahon invites people to bike to work Friday - Berks Community Television - Berks County & Reading PA: Environment: "Mayor Thomas M. McMahon is inviting residents and commuters to
jump on their bicycles and ride to work on Friday, May 20, as part
of National Bike Month …"

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FRIDAY MAY 20 IS BIKE TO WORK DAY!

Bike to Work Day

May 20, 2011 www.walkbikeberks.org

6:45 AM Registration Brentwood Trailhead

7:00 AM Ride to Berks County Services Building

8:00 AM Assemble at Berks County Services Building

Light Refreshments Provided

For more information, contact us at info@walkbikeberks.org

Bike Month Membership Special
Join for just $20.00 during May
~Make Checks or Money Orders payable to WalkBikeBerks~
WalkBikeBerks
PO BOX 6795
Wyomissing, PA 19610

TAKE ACTION for Safer Streets

◦
I am home! A bit of sunburn and some tired legs -- I have completed 75 miles to our State Capitol on foot. I feel accomplished.

But my steps to the Capitol weren't just for my own sense of pride -- I walked to the State Capitol so that others can walk in their own neighborhoods -- safe from the real threat of serious injury or death simply because they have to walk across or along a street to get from one place to another. Our Streets are Dangerous By Design -- and I know that we can do more to save more lives.

By putting one foot in front of the other and walking forward toward safer streets -- I learned a few things from my journey:

• Trails are transportation. There were many who I met along the way who were using the trails to commute to work or school. Rails-to-Trails are great pedestrian infrastructure -- scenic and safe; however, a seamless, connecting system would have made my 75 miles much easier.



• Trails cross streets and people in cars need to be provided signs or street markings to let them know that vulnerable pedestrians might be on the road. (See trail crossing in the picture to the left.) Too often -- when the trails I walked crossed streets -- there was absolutely nothing provided to let the motorists know that I might be crossing the street.



• Wide shoulders along rural roadways will save lives! Many bicyclists and walkers (including me) elect to travel roads that are less heavily traveled by cars and trucks because we feel safer "out of the way" of fast moving traffic. The problem I faced was, while walking along winding roads with rolling hills -- too often a car driver could not see me at all -- and I had absolutely nowhere to go to be out of the way of danger. The narrow roads drop off suddenly, with no space for a bicycle tire or person's foot to 'get off the road' -- and too often guide rails come right to the road's edge -- pinning me in front of a fast moving truck! It was scary out there!



• There seems to be confusion in the design of infrastructure between urban, suburban, and rural systems. When I crossed from rural to suburban landscapes -- the infrastructure was patchy at best. Too often, sidewalks (something I was always relieved to see on my walk) were not connected to wide shoulders, a trail link, or each other. So -- what I found instead were sidewalks to nowhere. I felt safe and comfortable walking on sidewalks -- and it seemed to me by the expressions on drivers' faces -- they too were happier to see me on "real" pedestrian infrastructure and out of their travel lane. However, too often, the sidewalks ended ubruptly, and I had no choice but to return to the dangerous side of a street designed for fast moving traffic.

Now: What can we do about all of this? Really simple - and only a minute of your time today!

TAKE ACTION NOW: Click Here!

• SAFE PASSING LAW
  


• BRIDGES, SHOULDERS, ROAD SURFACE, ETC.
  


• SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL

Pennsylvania is the most beautiful place to walk in the world. We will do well to build eco-tourism in our state. I am already eager to do this again next year: let me know if you would like to join me!

PA Walks & Bikes Summit -- MAY 4

The annual PA Walks and Bikes Summit will be held next week on Wednesday May 4! If you have not yet registered, please do so now at this link. Please register ahead of time to ensure that we are prepared for you and, most importantly, that we have a lunch for you.

Register Now!

Schedule of Events

•9:00 – Arrive at City Island in Harrisburg for the ride and walk to the Capitol.
•9:30 – Ride and walk depart from City Island for the steps of the State Capitol.
•10:00 – Rally on the steps of the State Capitol.
•11:00 – 3:00 – Meetings with members of the General Assembly, as schedules permit, and literature drop. We will use Hearing Room 5 in the Keystone Building as our base location.
•12:00 – Keynote address and advocacy discussion over lunch. Hearing Room 5 in the Keystone Building.

Policy positions are available now

Are you curious about what our priorities will be next week at the Summit? PA Walks and Bikes is releasing a series of one-page policy positions that will guide our outreach. Many of them are available now. You can find our positions on important issues at these links:


•Safe bicycle passing
•Comprehensive transportation funding
•Safe routes to school

Check out the PA Walks and Bikes website for even more policy statements! They will be releasing policy recommendations on the following: a fully funded bicycle and pedestrian office, distracted driving laws, and regulations impacting your community's ability to add bike lanes to state roads.

Schedule appointments with your elected officials

If you are coming to the Summit, we encourage you to make appointments with your state senator and representative ahead of time to make the most of this opportunity. If you've never done this before, check out this link for step by step instructions to get an appointment with your elected officials or their staff. If you have any questions, contact Josh at pawalkbike@gmail.com or 717-856-2814 and he will help you out. See you next week!

Find Your Elected Officials


View Harrisburg Capitol Complex in a larger map

View Harrisburg Capitol Complex in a larger map'>View Harrisburg Capitol Complex in a larger map

Special Thanks to John B. at the BCGP for this content!