"Bicycle Friendly" Charlottesville!

The League of American Bicyclists decided this week that Charlottesville is a “Bicycle Friendly Community.”  Two UVA students worked with the Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation this last Fall and Winter to complete a lengthy and detailed application for this designation.  The Alliance, also known as ACCT, finished the application and submitted it in February on behalf of the City of Charlottesville.

This comprehensive application required answers from city traffic engineers, civil engineers, trails planners, police officers, members of local mountain bike clubs and road cycling clubs, as well as staff of local non-profits, the Community Bike Shop and ACCT.

The League of American Bicyclists announced yesterday, through a national press release, that Charlottesville and ten other communities are now designated Bicycle Friendly Communities.

An awards ceremony will be held on May 12 at noon in front of City Hall to kick off Bike Week here in Charlottesville. The Mayor, Dave Norris, and Zachary Shahan, Executive Director of ACCT, will accept the award from the League.  The League will also provide the city with road signs to post around the city and Charlottesville now has its own webpage on the League’s website (www.bikeleague.org).   The Bicycle Friendly Community program includes five designations – Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and honorable mention.  Charlottesville received a Bronze designation, but with improvements we can always move up to Silver, Gold, and Platinum.  Currently, there are only two Platinum cities – Davis, California and Portland, Oregon. 

The League will also provide our community with specific feedback on how we can make the city more bicycle-friendly and eventually receive those higher designations.

More information on the Bicycle Friendly Community program can be found at www.bikeleague.org/programs/communities.  Charlottesville’s application is on file with ACCT, and if you want any information on bicycling in Charlottesville, contact ACCT.

To begin bicycling in Charlottesville, keep your eye on our Area Events page (under the What's Happening tab).  Upcoming events include a “Confident City Cyclist Course,” various “Bike Week” activities, and a “Bicycle Rodeo!” 

Get out an enjoy your bicycle friendly community on a bicycle!

Posted on May 2, 2008

Local Motion at the Dogwood Parade!

Join the Local Motion float at the Dogwood Parade on April 26th!  Walkers, cyclists, dancers, etc. of all ages and abilities are welcome to move their way around the parade circuit (a little over one mile) behind our Local Motion banner.  E-mail peggy.paviour@vdh.virginia.gov to find out where and when to meet.

Posted on April 17, 2008

Local Motion Campaign Kicks Off!

     In October 2007, the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County came together with several community partners to kick off Local Motion, a new campaign to get people off the couch and moving. Local Motion supports people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to be physically active while taking advantage of our community's assets - including parks, trails, schools yards, playgrounds and sidewalks.
     As the campaign gains momentum and community partners, anyone will be able to identify free, low-cost or discounted programs, classes and events involving physical activity by checking if they carry the distinctive orange Local Motion logo.
     Use this website for information about local walking/hiking trails, tips for being active, and a distance calculator: you enter your start and end points to find the distance and route of your local walk, run or cycling trip. Learn about upcoming events such as walks, hikes and other activities that get people of all ages moving. Just as important, inspire others with a story about how you include physical activity in your life or what it means to you.
     You may ask, why this campaign and why now? Three years ago, a community partnership conducted research to find out what influences people to be physically active. It was motivated by studies linking inactivity with several chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes and growing evidence that physical activity helps people deal with everyday stress. At the same time, it's clear that our environment benefits when more people walk, run, or bike to work or school, leaving their cars - and potential pollution -at home.
     Despite these well known benefits, many of us don't get out and move, even though we've heard it's a good idea. It's for that reason that we wanted to learn from local residents what would influence non-exercisers to start moving more and motivate the occasional exercisers to full-time status.
     So what did we learn? We found that people are more likely to be physically active - take a walk, go swimming, go dancing or shoot baskets - if there's someone else to join them or encourage them, whether it's a spouse, partner, friend, coworker, grandchild or dog needing a walk. Most people like company, and especially enjoy it when they can socialize while they're moving!
     We learned that those who enjoy regular physical activity appreciate how much better it makes them feel psychologically. With a current emphasis on exercise to control weight and lower disease risk, we often overlook what it does for our frame of mind. People said things like "I take a walk to clear my head." And if you've experienced that feeling, you know what a relief getting some exercise can be after a stressful day.
     Lastly, folks said that they would be more likely to be influenced by a campaign that shows real local people of all backgrounds, ages and sizes being active in our community. For that reason, Local Motion does not feature Hollywood celebrities. It's all about us.
So, talk to a friend and commit to joining the Local Motion campaign this fall! The opportunities to add more activity to your day are countless, and many are right outside your door. It's your move!

Posted on November 1, 2007