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HUGE NEWS: BIKE TOWN COMES TO COLUMBUS!!!

Author: meredith :: Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:19 pm

Quote:

In 2003, Bicycling traveled to Portland, Maine, and distributed 50 Trek hybrids to residents who’d won an essay contest asking why they deserved a free bike. We dubbed Portland “BikeTown,” and watched closely to see if cycling changed the lives the way we hoped it would. It was a big hit. Now, more than 3,000 bikes later, BikeTowns have been established in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.

Additionally, BikeTown Africa has provided 500 bikes to healthcare workers in Botswana, Senegal and South Africa.

We look forward to helping even more people ride.

SUBMIT YOUR ESSAY FOR A FREE BIKE HERE!

(1) Replies

B2WW '08 : FIRST & BEST!
Author: meredith :: Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:05 pm NEW WEBSITE for Bike to Work Week is now up! Enjoy! {And please bear with us re: any kinks during the next couple of days...and check back often for updates.} Thanks, Mike! (5) Replies

I-670 Path Clean-up
Author: meredith :: Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:56 pm Consider Biking partnered with Columbus Underground for a clean-up of the I-670 bike path between Cleveland and St Clair Aves! A Google map is available here and the CU discussion is here. THANKS TO ALL WHO CAME OUT! (and thanks, Jen, for the photo) (30) Replies

Jeff Stephens new CB Executive Director
Author: meredith :: Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:07 am Consider Biking is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeff Stephens as the organization's first Executive Director. Consider Biking is a non profit organization whose mission is to create a better environment for cycling in central Ohio, and to encourage all our citizens to make active transportation a part of their everyday lives. Stephens brings vast experience from a 20 year career in the non profit health industry. His background in program development, marketing, and fund raising, encompass all the critical elements necessary to provide growth to Consider Biking. First, and foremost, Stephens is deeply committed to the mission of Consider Biking. His involvement in the cycling community extends over a lifetime, and he’s been actively engaged in promoting cycling for 20 years. Most recently, Stephens was appointed by Mayor Coleman to the Columbus Transportation & Pedestrian Commission in 2003, and now serves as the Chairman of that Commission. Mr. Stephens was appointed to the Commission as a representative of the bicycling and health community and has been one of Columbus’ most vocal advocates to champion more “reasonable” means to move our citizens. City Council Member, Maryellen O'Shaughnessy expresses support for Stephens by saying, “We value the voice of Jeff Stephens. Jeff's longtime leadership in promoting mobility via walking and cycling, have certainly influenced our Transportation Division to begin integrating these forms of mobility in their plans.” Mr. Stephens is an avid bicyclist; so he brings a first-hand knowledge of the need to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians within our transportation systems. He was an internationally recognized ultra-endurance bicycle racer, placing 11th in the grueling Race Across America in 2001. In addition to his racing achievements, he has cycled in almost every state, and used his bicycle to commute to work and run errands when possible. Stephens has seen the wonderful opportunities afforded cyclists and pedestrians in localities with the foresight and initiative to consider more than the automobile. Stephens is also the founder of the Columbus Ride of Silence, an awareness event that has drawn over 500 cyclists to memorialize those cyclists killed or struck by automobiles. His leadership in educating local cyclists and motorists in a respectful manner at the Ride of Silence has been applauded by the Columbus Police Department and City Council. Stephens says, "I'm excited to provide leadership to Consider Biking at a time when our region is calling for more alternative modes of transit. Mayor Coleman's 2012 Initiative and the pending release of the Columbus Bicentennial Bikeways Plan, provide great hope that our community is poised for change. Given the environment, we envision that Consider Biking will grow into the preeminent, and most respected, resource for all matters associated with cycling in central Ohio." Stephens resides in Worthington with his wife, Julie. The Stephens family are often spotted cycling around Worthington or on the Olentangy Bike Trail, being pushed by their 5-year-old daughter, Paige, on a tag-along bike. Julie also enjoys commuting by bike to work at Ohio State University several times a week. (9) Replies

Jeff Stephens new CB Executive Director

Author: meredith :: Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:07 am

Consider Biking is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeff Stephens as the organization's first Executive Director. Consider Biking is a non profit organization whose mission is to create a better environment for cycling in central Ohio, and to encourage all our citizens to make active transportation a part of their everyday lives.

Stephens brings vast experience from a 20 year career in the non profit health industry. His background in program development, marketing, and fund raising, encompass all the critical elements necessary to provide growth to Consider Biking.

First, and foremost, Stephens is deeply committed to the mission of Consider Biking. His involvement in the cycling community extends over a lifetime, and he’s been actively engaged in promoting cycling for 20 years. Most recently, Stephens was appointed by Mayor Coleman to the Columbus Transportation & Pedestrian Commission in 2003, and now serves as the Chairman of that Commission. Mr. Stephens was appointed to the Commission as a representative of the bicycling and health community and has been one of Columbus’ most vocal advocates to champion more “reasonable” means to move our citizens.

City Council Member, Maryellen O'Shaughnessy expresses support for Stephens by saying, “We value the voice of Jeff Stephens. Jeff's longtime leadership in promoting mobility via walking and cycling, have certainly influenced our Transportation Division to begin integrating these forms of mobility in their plans.”

Mr. Stephens is an avid bicyclist; so he brings a first-hand knowledge of the need to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians within our transportation systems. He was an internationally recognized ultra-endurance bicycle racer, placing 11th in the grueling Race Across America in 2001. In addition to his racing achievements, he has cycled in almost every state, and used his bicycle to commute to work and run errands when possible. Stephens has seen the wonderful opportunities afforded cyclists and pedestrians in localities with the foresight and initiative to consider more than the automobile.

Stephens is also the founder of the Columbus Ride of Silence, an awareness event that has drawn over 500 cyclists to memorialize those cyclists killed or struck by automobiles. His leadership in educating local cyclists and motorists in a respectful manner at the Ride of Silence has been applauded by the Columbus Police Department and City Council.

Stephens says, "I'm excited to provide leadership to Consider Biking at a time when our region is calling for more alternative modes of transit. Mayor Coleman's 2012 Initiative and the pending release of the Columbus Bicentennial Bikeways Plan, provide great hope that our community is poised for change. Given the environment, we envision that Consider Biking will grow into the preeminent, and most respected, resource for all matters associated with cycling in central Ohio."

Stephens resides in Worthington with his wife, Julie. The Stephens family are often spotted cycling around Worthington or on the Olentangy Bike Trail, being pushed by their 5-year-old daughter, Paige, on a tag-along bike. Julie also enjoys commuting by bike to work at Ohio State University several times a week.

(9) Replies

Happy Columbus

Author: meredith :: Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:52 am

I no longer own a car. Mike doesn't either. Since I’ve been walking so much, and standing at bus stops, I’ve often found myself alarmed by auto traffic – how fast it is, and wild, and loud and noxious. I’ve never been a fan of traffic, but to find myself not so much repulsed by it as confused, in a child-like sort of way… that was a surprise. I stomp my feet and wish the cars would go away and never come back.

People say that's not possible in Columbus, that we're a car-addicted culture. But that's only if we say we are. Clearly there are carfree people in Columbus, and we get by just fine. To help others make the leap, I'm adding a new CB category under the Lifestyle link, called carfree. Enjoy! Let's share how it's done and what it feels like to get around without an auto!

Here is an excerpt from a great article, The Happy City (also the source of that pic above):

Quote:

Bogotá was mired in poverty, chaos, violence and crippling traffic when Enrique Peñalosa decided to redesign it using lessons from happiness theory nearly a decade ago. Armed with a stack of research on well-being, the then mayor vowed to turn his city into an engine for happiness.

His method? Like Delanoë, Peñalosa declared war on cars. He abandoned plans for suburban highways and instead used the money to build vast parks, hundreds of kilometres of bike paths and pedestrian “freeways.” He pushed cars off prime road space in order to make room for an efficient rapid bus system so that the city would feel more fair.

“What are our needs for happiness?” Peñalosa said in explaining his policies. “We need to walk, just as birds need to fly. We need to be around other people. We need beauty. We need contact with nature. And, most of all, we need not to be excluded. We need to feel some sort of equality.”

(8) Replies

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