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Entries tagged: Bike Maine

One ad educates motorists about the Maine law requiring them to give at least three feet of clearance when passing cyclists. The other ad stresses the importance of cyclists wearing bicycle helmets.

The PSAs will appear on WCSH6 throughout the month of May. In addition to the purchased airtime, the station donated airtime valued at $4,200 for additional spots on WCSH6 and WLBZ2 in Bangor later in the summer.

The ads also will be shown on public access stations in Maine. They are posted on the coalition’s Web site (http://www.BikeMaine.org) and social networking sites such as Youtube and Facebook.

“Part of making Maine a better place to bicycle is creating an environment where drivers know that bikes belong on our roads and that extra care should be used when driving around bicyclists,” said Allison Vogt, the coalition’s executive director. “We also want to ensure that cyclists follow basic safety rules such as wearing helmets to protect against head injuries.”

The coalition partnered with a service learning class at the University of Southern Maine to produce the PSA about Maine’s three-foot law. The ad opens with lyrical footage showing how many cue balls, dock planks and fishing bobbers equate to three feet.

The scene switches to bicyclists navigating in traffic, and the ad notes that “three feet could make the difference between life and death” for a cyclist. USM students Malcolm Tevanian and Israel Jasmin produced the ad using a script written by the coalition.

Oliver Chase, a Portland five-year-old, and his mother, Ellie Chase, appear in the bicycle helmet PSA. Callie Banks, a Portland fourth grader, narrates the ad. Shoshana Hoose, the coalition’s communications coordinator, wrote the script and edited it. The PSA notes that Maine law requires children under 16 to wear helmets, and that all cyclists should do so.

Both ads may be viewed at http://www.bikemaine.org/news-room/share-the-road-media-campaign.

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine has been working since 1992 to make Maine a better place to bicycle. The coalition advocates for Maine cyclists at the Legislature and in Washington, D.C., teaches bicycle safety to thousands of Maine schoolchildren each year, partners with state agencies on a Share the Road media campaign and serves as a resource on local bicycling issues."

Augusta – Shoshana Hoose, communications coordinator for the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, received a Golden Arrow award from the Maine Public Relations Council for publicity for the coalition’s 2009 Great Maine Bike Swap.  The award was presented at the council’s recent annual conference in South Portland.

The swap, held each spring in Portland and Orono, provides an opportunity for the public to buy and/or sell used bicycles in good, working condition. Hoose created public service announcements, a Youtube video and a variety of written and Web-based materials to publicize the swap. The Orono and Portland events both broke attendance records, with 55 percent more bikes sold than the previous year.

To find out more about the Great Maine Bike Swap and dates of the 2010 events, please visit http://www.BikeMaine.org.

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine has been working since 1992 to make Maine a better place to bicycle.  The coalition advocates for Maine cyclists at the Legislature and in Washington, D.C., teaches bicycle safety to thousands of Maine schoolchildren each year, partners with state agencies on a Share the Road media campaign and serves as a resource on local bicycling issues.