Bike&Walk Montclair events and updates.
Bike&Walk Montclair is doing exciting things in the Montclair community. We followed up with Norma Tassy, Executive Director of Bike&Walk Montclair, to see what’s new. If you missed our last Bike&Walk feature, click here.
May 2015 is a big month for the non-profit organization. One of their most attractive events is Bike&Walk Montclair’s Tour de Montclair, established 2003. It attracts over 1,000 participants and is held in May during National Bike Month. This fun-filled event is meant to encourage Montclair’s people to get up and get active either on their feet or riding bike.
If you’re not going to be in town this May (keep active) but also mark your September calendars! Bike&Walk Montclair will host Open Streets in downtown Montclair on Sept. 27, 2015. This event shuts down areas of Church Street, Glen Ridge Avenue and South Park Street. Park your car because these roads will be used for biking, walking, skating, strolling, running and more for one whole day!
Tassy hopes that Open Streets will inspire and prove to residents that active transportation is a successful option. “75 percent of trips made by car are for distances of under one mile,” said Tassy.
“This statistic contributes negatively to problems in our community such as obesity, economic vitality and environmental impact. If people in the Montclair area could reduce the number of short-distance driving trips, traffic congestion would lessen, businesses would see an up-tic in foot traffic and there would be an improvement in overall community health.”
Bike&Walk Montclair “remains committed to its role as an advocacy organization focused on making biking and walking safe and feasible choices for all people on all trips. [Their] goals are to increase membership, increase engagement with [their] members and continue to grow and strengthen community partnerships.”
Bike&Walk is also encouraging safer travel habits and laws, “as part of the Pedestrian Safety Committee, Bike&Walk Montclair has been influential in getting [Montclair’s] governing body to appropriate funding for several safety-oriented initiatives.” According to Tassy, these initiatives include re-evaluating the right turn on red at signalized intersections, lowering speed limits on arterial roads and improved public communication regarding crash data.
To get involved or for more information, please visit: www.bikewalkmontclair.org.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login