Thanks from VBF to Alta’s Fionnuala Quinn for organizing this get-together for the 4th year in a row. It’s great to finally meet everyone from around Virginia, and see others we don’t get to see often enough. From Fionnuala:
Thanks to everyone who came to the 4th Virginia Get-Together on a snowy day when practically everything else in DC had shut down. Despite conditions, we gathered a great group of about 35 bike advocates, officials, summit scholarship winners, bike coordinators, and others from MORE, Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Blacksburg, Richmond, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and elsewhere. We missed several people who had originally planned to join us because of the local weather.
After some lively socializing, we took a break for short presentations from:
Becky Johnson of Harrisonburg
- Becky Johnston of Harrisonburg, talking about local success with eliminating a bus route via a walking school bus.
- Beth Weisbrod, Executive Director of the Virginia Capital Trail Foundation on the progress installing the Virginia Capital Trail and the on-going need for support as the project continues moving forward.
- Gillian Burgess of Arlington KidicalMass talked about the casual, slow-paced family rides that have been a huge local success and she called for ride-marshall volunteers to join in the fun.
- Jeff Anderson, Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, on the Second Fairfax Bike Summit, SRTS progress and the hiring of a new SRTS coordinator.
- Jenifer Joy Madden, Fairfax and Durable Human, spoke about the Partnership for a Healthier Fairfax and the inclusion of health considerations in local design (check out Jenifer’s book)
- Jonathan Nye of Ecocycling described plans for the Hampton Roads Bicycle Summit to be held on Saturday May 31st. Make a note.
- Kitty Zeringue, the Virginia Tech Bicycle Coordinator (and New River Valley Bicycle Association president) spoke about the bike parking study that has been taking place on-campus.
- Kyle Lawrence of Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition, provided a round up on the Harrisonburg bike master plan, the second Rockingham-Harrisonburg Bike Summit, the successful trail funding and the work taking place at JMU.
- Mark Blacknell, Washington Area Bicyclist Association Board President/Arlington resident talked about the making of Bikeswell, the documentary (a must watch)
- Max Hepp-Buchanan of Bike Walk RVA (Richmond) talked about the visit of elected officials and local government staff to Arlington and DC to tour bike facilities (another must-watch video)
- Rick Holt, President of Prince William Trails and Streams Coalition, gave an up-date on local progress including a major SRTS infrastructure grant.
- Susan Wilson, Manager of Transportation for the City of Portsmouth, spoke about the progress installing dedicated bike lanes throughout the City using various funding mechanisms and the other upcoming plans
- Tom Bowden, of Virginia Bicycling Federation (VBF), provided an update on the ongoing legislative session.
- Travis Davidson, Tidewater Bicycle Association, provided an update on the ongoing effort to incorporate a bicycle friendly multi-use path along the light rail planned in Virginia Beach and plans to hold a local bike summit in February, 2015
- Wendy Phelps, Active Transportation Planner working on bicycle and pedestrian issues at City of Charlottesville, updated us on ongoing planning and improvements.
Thank you to VBF who jointly sponsored the food with Alta. Thanks also to Matt O’Toole of VBF for the photos. Thank you to all our willing presenters, whether advanced-warned or buttonholed on the spot: these presentations have been a great way of learning about on-going efforts and progress in Virginia.
Virginia Get-Together at the 2014 Bike Summit – Cuba Libre, Washington DC
Please feel free to forward messages to other Virginia folks who may have interest. We have had some requests to share e-mail addresses for Virginia biking conversation purposes. Let me know if you would prefer not have your email address or details shared.
Thanks,
Fionnuala Quinn, P.E.
Associate
Alta Planning + Design
5008 15th Street N
Arlington, VA 22205
(703) 981.7052 phone
www.altaplanning.com
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