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Entries tagged: Vermont Bicycle And Pedestrian Coalition

According to Vermont’s Local Motion, the Vermont Legislature just passed two critical roadway safety bills this session and plans to remove mountain bike trails in Essex were halted.

According to Local Motion:
“1) Ban on Texting While Driving (S.280)

The VT House and Senate put aside their differences and agreed to a bill that bans texting for all drivers and also bans cell phone use by teenage drivers. The Governor indicated he would sign the bill. Thank you Local Motion members who responded to our advocacy call! Thanks also to Senator Mazza for seeing this through. Free Press Coverage

2) Safe Passing Bill (H.540)

Thanks to the tremendous leadership of Nancy Schulz and Judy Bond of the VT Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition, the Legislature passed a bill clarifying how motorists must pass walkers, cyclists and other “vulnerable roadway users” and also prohibiting motorists from threatening behavoir towards walkers and cyclists. Read the final bill language here. If you appreciate this work, please consider joining the VT Bike/Pedestrian Coalition.

3) Saxon Hill Mtn Bike Trails Spared…For Now

Thanks to the leadership of Fellowship of the Wheel, Chittenden County’s mountain biking club, over 100 people turned out to a public forum where the Town of Essex was considering a development proposal that would have removed nearly all mountain biking trails from Saxon Hill. The next day the developer withdrew the project’s plans.”

Learn more about Local Motion.

Learn more about the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition.

The Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition and New York Bicycle Coalition won a major victory with the design of the new Champlain Bridge connecting Addison, VT and Crown Point, NY. The existing bridge was shut down when engineers discovered critical deterioration last fall. Significant for transportation (100 mile detour), historic, and scenic reasons, getting bike/ped access was a huge goal for both Alliance organizations. The modified design now includes both multipurpose (bike) lanes and raised sidewalks.

Congrats to both coalitions for their critical organizing and winning this great victory! For visualizations of the unique “network tiered arch” bridge go to www.nysdot.gov/lakechamplainbridge/photos-visualizations.

On April 17th, Nancy Schulz, Executive Director of the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition, had the chance to present to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood at the Vermont State House. In her presentation, she highlighted the pent up demand for funding needs for biking and walking infrastructure and education, and how his help is needed to get increased funding in the transportation bill. Sec. LaHood responded to Nancy by saying he will incorporate a “Livable Communities” program into the next bill so that people who want to bike, walk, jog, and “get out of cars” will be able do so.

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