A Bicycle Corridor along Route 5 in Vermont- the first step

If you are interested in safer and more comfortable biking and walking along Route 5, now is a good time to speak with your town officials.  The Vermont legislature has asked our state transportation agency (VTrans) to look into improving Route 5 for a Bicycle Corridor from Massachusetts to Canada, and VTrans is conducting a survey this month (October) of towns and regional planning commissions along Rte 5.  Many towns are thinking mainly about repairing storm damage, and town officials need to hear that there is also support for making our roads work better.

Route 5 has a town every 5 to 10 miles along a scenic river valley, often paired with a town in NH.  It has I-91 taking most of the heavy traffic, and it is also one of our more level roads.  This makes it a strong candidate for bicycle tourism, much like the Western New England Bike Greenway along the west side of Vermont, the Hudson River Valley Greenway, and the East Coast Bike Greenway.

The road is an officially designated "Scenic Byway", and also the Federal Rails to Trails program would love to use Route 5 to connect their trail network from where the rail trail from Concord ends in Lebanon, up to where the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail begins in St Johnsbury.  Other groups have also voted to support a bike corridor along the river, such as several Upper Valley town energy committees, the Upper Valley Ebike Lending Library, Bellows Falls Community Bike Project, the Putney planning commission, Brattleboro Coalition for Active Transportation, and also environmental groups like the Natural Resources Conservation Service Ottauquechee District,  the Vermont Sierra Club, and the Connecticut River Joint Commission.

Besides the benefits for tourism, transportation is Vermont's leading source of emissions, our second largest use of fossil fuels, and it's what we spend the most money on for energy.  The majority of car trips are under 3 miles, which is a normal distance for everyday bike travel and an easy distance on an Ebike.  Many trips within a town could be replaced by bicycling, however surveys have consistently found that most people do not feel our roads are safe or comfortable for biking or walking.  Around 10% of people are "Brave and Fearless" and will ride or walk no matter what, and another 10% will not ride at all.  But there is a large group in the middle of 56% to 60% of people who are "Interested but Concerned" - they might ride a bike on vacation, for exercise, or for recreation, but don't feel comfortable on roads like Route 5.  This is a shame because there are 110,000 people living in the towns along Route 5, which is 1/6 of the state's population.  We have the numbers to support better local access.

VTrans currently has 6 Corridor Management Plans, none of which are on Route 5.  VTrans is also using road design standards from 1997, and Route 5 has been left behind by more up to date programs such as Complete Streets, Vision Zero, and Safe Routes to Schools.  There is also a significant equity problem with roads that are designed only to move cars as fast as possible, estimates are that between 1/4 to 1/3 of residents are not able to drive.  Route 5 is our main river valley road and it should work better than it does.

The VTrans survey is a necessary first step in the usual planning process.  It is only to gauge town interest in partnering with VTrans to improve Route 5 over many years.  There are strong safety, economic, tourism, equity, environmental and enjoyment benefits, but the survey must show a positive response from towns.  Your officials and planners in these towns need to hear your support, and if you know someone at a regional planning commission you might speak with them too.

Posted by Karl Kemnitzer

Bellows Falls Community Bike Project Pedals to the People!

 

The Bellows Falls Community Bike Project is a small 2 person shop with an extensive network of community volunteers.  They handle only used bikes, refurbishing the bikes to sell to support the project, or using them through several programs for kids bikes such as after school programs where kids learn to work on their bikes.  They also hold bike workshops, group rides, and have a bicycle wheelchair for taking seniors out for rides.  They've just celebrated their 10th anniversary.

BFCBP is holding a fundraiser Pedals to the People! for the next month,  Riders sign up with mileage goals they choose and have friends sponsor them.  They have a goal of $10,000, and are currently at $2,410.

If you'd like to know more about BFCBP, their website is at:

https://bfbike.org/

If you'd like to take part in the fundraiser, the campaign page for signing up is at this address:

https://givebutter.com/PedalstothePeople

Thanks,

Karl

Your input needed on the Vermont Carbon Reduction Plan

Bikes and Micromobility at the Strolling of the Heifers parade, Brattleboro

Last fall the Federal Highway Administration tasked our state transportation agency VTrans with looking at ways to reduce the carbon emissions of our transportation system.  In response VTrans has set up a Carbon Reduction Strategy committee to study different approaches.  They have had several meetings this year, including a public input session last March, and they are holding another public session on August 2.  Bicycles are definitely a part of the plan, but because we have focused our efforts over the last several decades on cars, bicycling and walking are only a small part.  If you would like to listen in and hear the latest update, or add a comment in support of increasing bicycling, here is a link to the upcoming August 2 public input sessions.  There are 2 Zoom sessions, one at noon and one at 6 pm, and the links are in the sidebar to the right:

https://vtrans.vermont.gov/form/carbon-reduction-strategy#

If you are unable to attend the Zoom sessions, there is a section at the bottom of the webpage for sending in a comment.  However the Powerpoint presentation is informative and I encourage you to see it.

At this moment the committee has identified these steps that can be taken, and are in the process of evaluating them:

•increasing bike, pedestrian and transit use

•fostering denser land use and also using teleconferencing to reduce the miles that are driven

•using lower emission vehicles

•managing the use of carbon based fuels through fees and incentives

•improving traffic flow through roadway design

Vermont does have goals for reducing the state's carbon emissions, and the principle plan for reducing transportation emissions has been converting cars and trucks to electric.  This will work OK for the 2025 goals, however there are gaps between the goals and reality for 2030 and 2050:

•the 2030 emissions will be 450,000 Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (MT CO2e) over the goal of 2,000,000 MT CO2e

•the 2050 emissions will be 100,000 MT CO2e over the goal of 500,000 MT CO2e

The VTrans Carbon Reduction committee has tentatively figured that the steps will close less than 5% of the gap in 2030.  Here is their interim calculation results:

•car pooling, ride sharing, or other transportation demand management

90 MT CO2e, or 0.0%

•increasing bike and pedestrian networks

260 MT CO2e, or 0.1%

•expanding bus service

670 MT CO2e, or 0.1%

•encouraging Micromobility (small low speed vehicles including ebikes)

1,600 MT CO2e, or 0.4%

•electrifying all transit

3,900 MT CO2e, or 0.9%

•Telework

6,100 MT CO2e, or 1.3%

•encouraging denser land use

6,500 MT CO2e, or 1.4%

These steps all add up to only 19,100 MT CO2e, and 450,000 is needed.  There is one omission in the steps so far- the step for increasing bike and pedestrian networks only counted Chittenden county plans (the area around Burlington), and did not consider a Bike Corridor along Route 5.  A Chittenden county network build out would add 300 miles, while a Route 5 Corridor would be 190 miles.  (The Route 5 Bike Corridor public input is coming up and I'll write a blog post about it.)

The VTrans presentations on August 2 will have the latest ideas, and will be worth listening to.  If you see something missing, don't hesitate to add a comment.

For information on all of VTrans programs relating to climate and energy, here is a webpage with an overview:

https://vtrans.vermont.gov/planning/climate-change

(Posted by Karl Kemnitzer)

Bicycling in Vermont

Photo courtesty Upper Valley Ebike Lending Library

Hiking and biking in Vermont is a special experience.

Forested trails with beautiful scenic views, lake front rides along Lake Champlain bike paths, and curving back roads along valley streams. Mountain biking trails spread across the state, from downhill trails at ski areas such as Burke, Killington, Mt Ascutney, Sugarbush, and Mt Snow, to the North East Kingdom trails, to cross country rides like the Lamoille Valley, Bennington, and Champlain Island Line rail trails

Bicycling has a rhythm that fits in well with our small towns, and it is one of the best ways to travel across one of our cities when traffic is heavy and parking is limited.

Ebikes have also opened up a whole new world of possibilities for riders who live in hilly areas, or want to carry heavy groceries or their kids, or just aren't as young as they used to be. Vermont has an incentive program to help people purchase an ebike and use it for their shorter trips instead of a car. The incentive was recently expanded to include increased funding for cargo bikes, and it was also made more income sensitive. Check out the ebike program in the incentives section of the Drive Electric Vermont website at: www.DriveElectricVT.org

Bristol Human Powered Vehicle Parade

Walking and bicycling are a key part of clean transportation. It's well known that the majority of car trips are under 3 miles. A bicycle can comfortably cover this distance in a short time and help foster a better connection with your neighborhood! Active transportation saves money and is good for your health, too.  Join us as we ride towards better transportation for everyday trips and having fun along the way!

(Posted by Karl Kemnitzer)

Hartland Bicycle Club starts up

 

The Hartland Bicycle Club has been in the planning stages for years, and it finally got started with a sign up sheet at the town Energy Committee's Electric Vehicle event on Earth Day, April 22.  This blog is a first step for connecting all the people who have signed up.  (26 so far!)  Eventually there will be a forum plus some other pages with event announcements, or items for sale.  If you would like to write a blog post please send it to hartlandbicycleclub@gmail.com and we will put it up.  Thanks!