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Green Commute Week Wrap-up

 

May 11-15, 2009

Briefly, the first annual NH Green Commute Week was considered a success with many participants from around the state logging their "green travel", not just those attending one or more of the scheduled events. As of May 22 we know of 1,160 participants while some locations have not yet reported. BWA-NH and NH DOT have learned a lot about what works and does not work. Details will be reviewed by the Steering Committee on May 27 as we make plans for a bigger and better statewide program in 2010.

Meanwhile, many participants enjoyed the Green Commute Week activities including the "NH First Dog", a four-month-old Golden Retriever named Katie, who greeted her owners Governor and Dr. Lynch as they arrived by bike at the State House on National Bike/Walk to Work Day, Friday, May 15. Good show!

Dr. Susan Lynch holding "NH First Dog" Katie as
Governor John Lynch looks on after having completed
their Bike to Work ride from Hopkinton on May 15, 2009.

Background leading up to Green Commute Week:

Survey Details: (Note: Survey closed as of Tuesday, May 19, at 11:59 PM)

All participants must be at least 18 years old and complete this on-line survey form to be eligible for the drawings including the grand giveaway of a one-night stay and breakfast for two at the Mount Washington Resort. Other giveaways include tickets on the Amtrak Downeaster and memberships in the AMC and BWA-NH. Everyone completing two round trips via alternative transportation during Green Commute Week and submitting the form below will be entered in the drawings.

Please click the above link to access the form. Input time should not exceed two minutes. A preview of the survey form is available in PDF format for review purposes only. Do not attempt to "fill-in" the blanks then send the form back to DOT or BWA-NH. We cannot process paper inputs -- we want to be "green". All surveys must be submitted on-line using the link below.

Be prepared to submit all your May 11 to 15 Green Commute Week travel in one on-line session from Friday, May 15 at 12:01 AM to Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 11:59 PM, one submission per person. Results will be tabulated and the winners notified by NH DOT on Friday, May 22.

Seventh annual NH Bike/Walk to Work Day

Use public transportation, carpool, bicycle or walk to work -- or for any destination where you might normally use a sole-occupant car! (If you live too far, do it for as much of your trip as you can via alternative transportation.) Use Green Commute Week to get started! How may days this warm weather season can you travel by bus, train, carpool, bicycle or foot power?

Travel by one of the above means at least two times per week and become eligible for drawings. The top giveaway is an overnight stay at the Mount Washington Resort, Bretton Woods, NH. Other giveaways include ten round trip tickets on the Amtrak Downeaster train from Boston to Portland, membership in the Appalachian Mountain Club, and five memberships in the Bike-Walk Alliance of NH.

BWA-NH is obviously behind biking and walking, but these two modes of transportation may often be combined with other modes of alternative transportation to avoid the use of single-passenger vehicles. The month of May is National Bike-Walk to Work Month, and 2009 is the 53rd annual as started by the League of American Bicyclists (then the League of American Wheelmen) in 1956.

Note: All NH residents are encouraged to participate in Green Commute Week. The scheduled events are intended to draw publicity to known organizations or destinations, but anyone can participate and become eligible for the drawings by "green commuting" twice during May 11-15 then completing the on-line survey. Going to your local library by bike, walking to pick up groceries, carpooling with a friend on a business trip, taking a bus to the local Senior Center or riding on the Amtrak Downeaster would all count as you would not be in a single occupancy car.
Traveling to "work" is not required -- any trip of utilitarian nature counts!

Schedule of 2009 Green Commute Week events:

This statewide program is supported by many state agencies, private corporations, towns, bicycling clubs, organizations, non-profit groups, and health agencies. The primary partners coordinating the program are the NH DOT Bureau of Rail and Transit plus the Bike-Walk Alliance of NH. All submissions for events being scheduled should be sent to BWA-NH for inclusion in the master schedule. Events are listed by town with contact information provided to encourage participation. To register for the raffle, an on-line form will be available for your convenience and to avoid a lot of paperwork. (We want to "be green" and not kill trees for more paper!) Please check this page on May 15-19 to log your Green Commute Week activities and to become eligible for the drawings.

Click Here to view the schedule of all known Green Commute Week events and services.

Events are listed chronologically by town/city for easy reference. Inputs of text, photos, detailed plans, and web site links are welcomed and will be added to this schedule as they become available. Please send all submissions to info@bwanh.org.

Background of 2009 Green Commute Week plans:

The goals of Green Commute Week, May 11-15, are to promote alternative transportation as a healthy and safe way to get to work, decrease traffic congestion, improve air quality, and raise public awareness of opportunities to improve facilities around the state. Biking or walking to work is a great way to stay in shape, and arrive at work awake and refreshed. A press release issued by NH DOT on April 27 may be viewed here.

For 2009 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) have many active and on-going programs. All other cities, towns, and companies offering this program around the state are being assisted by NH DOT Bureau of Rail and Transit, BWA-NH, Program for Alternative Transportation and Health (PATH), and the NH Transit Association with the goals of reducing pollution and dependence on oil and to save residents money in a healthy manner.

But May 15 is not the end of using alternative transportation! 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 and alternative transportation helps. It 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, Granite State Wheelmen's Safety and Education Advisor.


Green Commute Week toolkit available for free download:

Many toolkit items are available for free downloading in support of NH Green Commute Week. Click here for the toolkit page.

Event Organizer's Resource Kit from LAB:

Downloadable materials can help you get started planning a bike/ped commuter breakfast for Bike/Walk to Work Day on May 15, 2009 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.


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.

2008 Event Recap:

Without a doubt, the sixth annual NH Bike/Walk to Work Day on May 16 was the most successful to date. Nearly 1,400 people participated in this 2008 state-wide event. Photos are posted for reference, the newest ones of Governor John Lynch and NH First Lady Dr. Susan Lynch biking from Hopkinton to the State House in Concord prior to him reading the proclamation which mentioned BWA-NH. And while not known to many people, Dr. Lynch wore a refective yellow BWA-NH safety vest as presented to her last year during a school program in Derry. NH Governor John Lynch issued a proclamation that May 16, 2008 was the state-wide Bike-Walk to Work Day.

This state-wide event promoted 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 introduced 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's plan to "go car-less" for the entire month of May!

Have a look at the 2008 event summaries as listed by town to view statistics and many photos:

Click here to view summaries of 2008 events.

Click here to view a listing of the 2008 drawing winners.