WABA's Summer 2009 "Ride On"

WABA's Summer 2009 issue of Ride On is out, and it includes the following news - and more!

Museum Walk Weekend with Dupont-Kalorama Museums Consortium
June 6 - 10:00am- 4:00pm
June 7 - 1:00-5:00pm
Enjoy a lovely weekend of art exhibits, live music, food, demonstrations, and walking tours as ten local museums open their doors FREE to the public. WABA will be making this event bike friendly with bike tours between the sites and bike parking at key locations. This event is free and open to the public — visit www.dkmuseums.com

WABA received the Advocacy Organization of the Year Award from the Alliance for Biking and Walking (formerly the Thunderhead Alliance)

WABA held its annual meeting where Douglas Stewart and Hunter McCleary stepped down from the board and were replaced by Bruce Wright, of FABB, and Jim Titus. They also gave out awards to advocates and organizations including Jon Morrison (who pushed for the Share the Road license plates in Maryland), Phoenix Bikes, Greater Greater Washington Blog, Casey Trees and the DC Urban Forestry Administration (for helping to get 'Susie's Trees' planted during the National Bike Summit) and all the Inauguration Bike Valet Volunteers.

There's an essay from Board Member and BAC member Randall Meyers and a report on the WABA Gala. 

There's a report on all the improvements coming to Virginia this year.

The HOT lanes mega-project includes rebuilding nine bridges over the beltway (I-495) that will have new or improved pedestrian and bicycle trails. When construction is complete, bridges spanning the beltway will have five to 10-foot wide sidewalks plus three-foot shoulders bikes can use.

Over the summer, VDOT will be connecting established bike routes by adding bike lanes on Gallows Road between the Dunn Loring Metro station and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail; on Huntsman Boulevard between Old Keene Mill Road and the Fairfax County Parkway; and on Lawyers Road from Reston Parkway to Leatherwood Drive in Reston. A curb lane is being added on Stringfellow Road in Fairfax County, for bicyclists to ride alongside motorists.

WABA offered a "New Adult Bicycle Rider Class" and will offer another on September 12, 2009. This in addition to Safe Routes to School and Confident City Cyclist classes.

An interview with Ben West, DC's new Bicycle Ambassador (who I met briefly at the Ride of Silence).

“The role has unfolded differently in every city; in DC we have a lot of cyclists, but the challenge will be getting us all to all pull in the same direction”. Philadelphia is starting their program on the same schedule and West is planning to visit to see how they are adapting their strategies. West cites a particular inspiration from his time at Chain Reaction (youth bike shop) where he saw the new community that naturally formed around the shop. One of his goals this year is to continue that by reaching out to underserved minority groups and local youth. “Bikes can be such an empowering thing for kids.They are the most complex things kids can work on and they allow for a freedom that is becoming rare”.

He also wants to reach beyond preaching to the choir, “though they are also our base and the reason WABA is such an enduring organization. I think the best way to do more is to ask the choir to help spread the gospel of cycling. If you are interested in cycling in DC, give me a call. We need volunteers, riders, event staff, there is a role for everyone”.

And another with parents who started "bicycle trains" for getting their kids to school.

A bicycle train consists of groups of students accompanied by adults who walk or bike a pre-planned route to school. Routes can originate from a particular neighborhood or, in order to include children who live too far to walk or bike, begin from a parking lot. They may operate daily, weekly or monthly. Often, they are started in order to address parents’ concerns about traffic and personal safety while providing a chance for parents and children to socialize.

You can read it all in Flash here.