Bike/Walk to Work Day is Friday, May 16, 2008

Sixth annual Bike-Walk to Work Day in NH -- Click here to view scheduled events.

Please click here to take the on-line survey.

This state-wide event promotes bicycling or walking for going to work, school, or local shopping trips. In past years almost 800 participants left their cars at home and instead enjoyed bagels and cream cheese at commuter breakfasts held in 13 towns and cities across the state including Claremont, Concord, Dover, Durham, Exeter, Hanover, Keene, Laconia, Lebanon, Littleton, Manchester, Portsmouth and Stratham. These events introduce people to a practical, economical, and healthy method of local commuting so they might continue all year when weather and conditions allow. Many companies now offer a guaranteed ride home (or else where) in the event of a family emergency or just a rainy afternoon. And here is news of one family planning to "go car-less" for the entire month of May!

The goals of Bike/Walk to Work Day are to promote bicycling as a healthy and safe way to get to work, decrease traffic congestion, improve air quality, and raise public awareness of opportunities to improve bike facilities around the state. Biking or walking to work is a great way to stay in shape, and arrive at work awake and refreshed. NH Governor John Lynch issued a proclamation that May 16 is the state-wide Bike-Walk to Work Day. BWA-NH is mentioned in the proclamation as the only state-wide organization supporting this effort other than NH DOT, DES, and DHHS as headquartered on Hazen Drive, Concord. A downloadable "toolkit" unique for New Hampshire is now available from the BWA-NH web site by March 14. Click here for the toolkit.

For 2008 there will be even more events around NH than last year. The communities served by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance , Upper Valley Rideshare, and Seacoast Area Bike Routes (SABR) and the have many active and on-going programs. A two-page 8.5x11 poster promoting seacoast area events is available - click here. A larger 11x17 tabloid-size poster is available here. All other cities, towns, and companies offering this program around the state are being assisted by the Bike-Walk Alliance of NH (BWA-NH) for any events planned during May which is National Bike Month. May is also Asthma Awareness Month, another program which involves two of the same goals as cycling and walking: reduce pollution and dependence on oil.

But May is not the end of biking and walking to work! Let today, tomorrow, and the following days all be good for walking and using your bicycle for short distances when you might otherwise use a car. Every little bit of non-motorized transportation helps. Helps your health, your wallet, relieves traffic congestion, improves air quality -- and it's fun! And would you believe bicycling to work can save you time as well as money? Here is an interesting article from Bill Fisk, GSW Safety and Education Advisor.

Did you know:

-- If the average person biked to work once every two weeks instead of driving, we could prevent the pollution of close to one billion gallons of gasoline from entering the atmosphere every year!

-- Over 22% of all motor vehicle trips Americans take are less than one mile long, and 50% of the working population commutes five miles or less to work, an easily bikeable distance.

 

-- Bicycling is part of the solution to a whole range of challenges: the high cost of gasoline, traffic congestion, air pollution, rising obesity rates, and more.

 

-- May is National Asthma Awareness Month as well as Bike Month. Over 20 million Americans cannot breathe properly due to asthma. Helping to keep our air clean by walking and biking can help! Reducing motor vehicle idling time and controlling dust, mold, allergens, and second-hand smoke will allow everyone to breathe easier. See what else you can do by visiting www.epa.gov/asthma.

 

 

 

Event Organizer's Resource Kit

Downloadable materials can help you get started planning a bike/ped commuter breakfast for Bike/Walk to Work Day on May 16, 2008 or to plan other events for National Bike Month. The League of American Bicyclists in Washington DC is supporting this event nationally and has various items available via their web site. Please have a look and download items of interest directly from the League.

To join an email group of people organizing events in communities around New Hampshire, contact BWA-NH at info@bwanh.org.