The King Open School in Cambridge MA has a very well planned out system for their Walk/Ride Day celebrations. It includes all grades and all students! You can see the full size image with all the details at the following links:
Volunteers from the Cambridge office of National Student Partnerships (NSP)
are developing a project to provide low income community members with
free bicycles, locks and helmets. There are currently no social
services for free, sustainable transportation in the community. Many
of the homeless and unemployed individuals who work with NSPvolunteers
are unable to go to job interviews or access existing social services
because they cannot afford to ride the T. To respond to this problem,
we hope to provide 20 low-income community members with bicycles in
September of 2009. In order to realize this goal, we need community
support and involvement!
You can help by:
If you would like to get involved, please contact us at LiftBostonBikeProject@gmail.
Alyson is originally from New Hampshire. She currently lives in Allston and will graduate from Boston University in May with a bachelor's
degree in print journalism. This article was written as part of her senior
magazine journalism project where she worked on a team to produce a
"green"-themed magazine. Alyson gets around mostly using her bicycle.
If you want to save the environment, you do not need a million-dollar
charity in your name. You do not need to grow out your hair and chain
yourself to a tree. You do not need to be a hippy or a former vice
president of the US to save the earth. The great thing about saving the
environment is that we can all contribute by doing something small to
make a big difference.
That’s the idea behind the Green Streets Initiative, a non-profit organization based in Cambridge, MA. Its members ask local residents to leave the car at home just one day every month and use alternative transportation to get to work.
These are what Green Streets calls its Walk/Ride Days, encouraging people to walk, ride a bike, take public transit, or use some other kind of alternative transportation to get to work on the last Friday of every month. As a fun twist, Green Streets also asks participants to wear green, prompting the slogan “Go, and Wear Green.”
“Part of Green Streets’ success has been in being a small, but repeating commitment,” according to the website. “Even if people don’t participate the first month, often they do the next.” Green Streets was founded in 2006 by a group of parents in Cambridge who wanted to make their streets quieter, cleaner and safer for their children to play and get to school. It began by focusing on the schools in their city; now all public and private schools in Cambridge participate in the monthly event. Soon the idea spread to neighboring Somerville and Medford and is starting to make its way into Boston. There is even a chapter in Portland, Maine and one starting as far as the United Kingdom.
Janie Katz-Christy, director of the Green Streets Initiative, says the organization is concerned not just with environmental health, but also with public health and the benefits to the community that widespread use of alternative transportation can bring. Biking and walking can lead to healthier lifestyles—“More active commutes means less time in the gym,” she says—and can encourage people to shop at distinctive local places instead of huge box stores outside the city. “That’s not necessarily a green issue, but it’s an important issue.” One of the founding purposes of Green Streets was also to make the streets safer for people on foot or bike. “The more cyclists there are, the safer each one is,” Katz-Christy says.
To participate in Walk/Ride days, people can sign up on the Green Streets website. This enters them in a monthly raffle and makes them eligible for discounts at participating local sponsors. Sponsors include everything from bike and sports equipment stores to local restaurants to yoga lessons or tax preparation services.
The members of the Cambridge City Council, as well as Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons, participate in Walk/Ride days. Mayor Simmons also called for “Nine in ’09,” challenging the residents in her city to participate in nine Walk/Ride days in 2009. Katz-Christy suggests companies encourage their employees to join by offering them incentives; some companies distribute prizes like free movie tickets or enter their employees in raffles for free bicycles if they use alternative transportation. Senior members of management are encouraged to lead the way and set an example. “We’re all pretty impressionable,” Katz-Christy says. “If we see effective, successful people do it, we might do it ourselves.”
Katz-Christy sees the future of Green Streets in the expansion of
Walk/Ride days within her own local areas as well as farther afield.
She estimates that presently thousands of people participate in
Walk/Ride days. She encourages people to use them as a stepping stone
to increase their use of alternative transportation. For those who want
to do more, information is available on the Green Streets website about
how to start a chapter in their own communities.
Learn more at www.gogreenstreets.org
Get On Your Bike
“Bicycling is a fantastic way to get around,” says Janie Katz-Christy. But many people don’t consider it for their commute. “ A big reason why is perceived safety. Biking in the city can indeed be intimidating, but once you know the basics you’ll be cruising like a pro. Most importantly, sidewalks are for walking. Riding a bike on the sidewalk is unsafe for pedestrians who are slower than bikers and have no way to predict their movements. The road is the safest place for a bicyclist.
“Bicycles are vehicles and belong on the road,” according to the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. You have the same right to be on the road as a car. You are also required to follow the same traffic laws, such as stopping at stop signs and red lights, yielding to pedestrians and signaling all turns. You must also follow the flow of traffic, including using appropriate lanes at intersections. Riding against traffic is the single largest cause of collisions between bikes and cars. All bicycles should also have a white light on the front and a red light or reflector on the back when riding after dark.
Ride with authority and take up a lane of traffic if you need to. “Make sure to always take up as much space as you need for safety, and don’t let other traffic push you into the gutter,” says MassBike. “Motorists may act impatient but they aren’t likely to pass unsafely.” In fact, trying to stay out of the way of cars is usually less safe than maintaining your rightful place in traffic.
Here are some other tips from MassBike for riding a bike in traffic:
- Ride at least four feet from parked cars, out of the “door zone.”
- Move in a predictable straight line and avoid swerving.
- Yield to pedestrians, and when passing from behind announce your presence.
- When city busses stop to pick up and drop off passangers, pass on the left.
- Always wear a helmet. Brain injuries are the leading type of fatal and disabling injuries to bicyclists.
- When parking your bike, lock every removable part you can (including wheels) and take any you can’t with you.
- Register your bike at your local police station.
- Check with your local mass transit provider for ways to bring your bike onto public transit.
- If you are still nervous, consider taking a class. Ask about classes at your local bike shop.
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Dear Green Streets supporters:
The state Senate has sent to the House of Representatives draft legislation to restructure the state’s transportation system. As Director of Green Streets Initiative, I am writing to urge each of you to get in touch with your Representative and with the leadership of the House Transportation Committee (see details below) to urge support for a couple of particular components of the proposed bill. Please contact them as soon as possible, as the vote could be as early as next Monday, April 6. 1) Increasing the Gas Tax: 2) Institutionalizing a connection between transportation and health: It is time that our transportation system be restructured, from its design to its operation, to prioritize public transit, bicycling, and walking. This will do as much as almost any other public action to reduce our carbon emissions, lower pollution, make our neighborhoods safer, and protect our health. We believe, based on national research and our own experiences, that such a restructuring of our transportation system will also foster economic growth, create jobs, and facilitate social connections within our communities. However, there are a couple ways that the transportation-health connection could be made even stronger in the House version of the bill.
 So,
please – write your own letter and send it (as soon as possible) to
your own Representative, or make a quick call to her/his office. (To
find out who is your Representative, and his or her contact
information, see http://www.mass.gov/legis/) If you have time, it would be very useful if you also sent copies of your letter to the House Leadership:
Thanks for your help on this important effort. (I
apologize if you are getting this from another part of the world. Our
Green Streets email list is not differentiated. In any case, I think
these issues are more than just local.)
All my best, Janie Janie Katz-Christy Founder & Director Green Streets Initiative |
The Cambridge Friends School designed monthly Walk/Ride Day posters! Every poster is beautiful and offers some reminder of things you can do outside to participate in Walk/Ride Days. See if you can tell which month goes with each poster!
Stoneham Green Streets has created some beautiful posters to promote Walk/Ride Days in their area.
On February 6, 2009, the British
Consulate in Boston celebrated its first Walk/Ride Day. Staff was asked to walk or take public
transit to work, and strive for the most carbon-free commute and morning routine. The Consulate’s inspiration for the event
comes from The Green Streets Initiative, a Cambridge-based environmental
organization (which is opening a chapter in West Bridgford, UK in April) that
challenges the public to use alternative transportation. Given the British
Government’s own commitment to reducing climate change, Walk/Ride day seemed
like a natural fit for the Consulate.
The day began with staff walking or
riding public transit to the office, and filling out a checklist of carbon
emissions-reducing practices ranging from turning off the water while brushing,
to recycling and home energy audits. At
lunch, staff gathered to sample the best that Winter New England had to offer-
quiche with organic eggs, butternut squash, bruschetta, beansprout sushi, and
fresh vegetables- proving that locally and sustainably grown food can be both
diverse and delicious!
Kevin McCarthy of Boston’s UKTI clean energy
team reviewed green practices and explained how kill-a-watts (energy-use
monitors) can help reduce the electricity bill- both at home and in the
office. For example, the kill-a-watt
revealed that the photocopier uses 25% of its total energy consumption simply
being on standby over the weekend! The
event culminated in recognizing the staff member with the smallest carbon
footprint, and a discussion of how to reduce unnecessary energy use in the
Consulate. At least we can do our part
to make our street (Memorial Drive) a little greener!
To visit the
British Consulate General in Boston, go to www.ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/boston
To visit Green Streets, go to www.GoGreenStreets.org
By Max K-C, 2nd Grader
By Max E, 3rd Grader
CCTV contributor Melissa Desjardins braved the bitter cold to come out for the January 30th, Walk/Ride Day Breakfast in Harvard Square and produced a piece to air on CCTV. If you were not able to make it to the breakfast (or even if you were), check out the video here!
Green Streets Meeting Notes
January 10, 2009
extremely generous donations from Pemberton Market, Iggy's Bakery, and and the new Zing Pizza for providing delicious food for the meeting!
Cambridge Cohousing for opening your doors to Green Streets!
generous raffle donors: Urban Adventours, EMS, Sam Davis, and Bonnie's Landscape!
And to Nicole Rioles for these notes.
Attendees
Discussion
Green Streets is growing: new activities in: West Bridgford, Nottingham, UK; Portland, ME; and in regional cities in MA, including Stoneham and Newton. Many other towns also quite interested.
Walk/Ride Day is growing in communities tied to Safe Routes to School funding; Stoneham and Newton represent 2 of the 4 funded communities for this work.
Unofficially, there are members of congress who are planning to start Walk/Ride Day participation in Congress. Stay tuned!
Jan. 30th Walk/Ride Day celebrated in Harvard Sq. with a hot breakfast from 7:30-9:00AM in Holyoke Center. Breakfast is sponsored by the Harvard Sq. Small Business Association
Idea: host quarterly breakfasts that can draw in commuters, shoppers, students into a dense square or neighborhood hub for a nice grassroots collective. W/R participants will feel part of an event or happening and local small business owners can potentially glean new/future customers through the events.
Group recommended that the Jan. 30 Walk/Ride Harvard Sq breakfast be promoted through all the schools with posters, flyers, and information. Janie promises to email flyer and poster to the group for distribution and dissemination.
Group recommended advertising in the Gazette and the Crimson- two locally circulated papers in Harvard Sq.
Janie showed the group the new decal and card designs, which everyone loved. All were designed by Colin Barr, who is fantastic to work with.
Green Streets buttons: 6 buttons have been designed with active commuting themes. Suggestions ranged from selling the 6 buttons as a group for $10 to selling the buttons online through Green Streets page and/or other sites like Cafe Press and others. They will be for sale at the January 30 breakfast.
Mayor of Cambridge has promised an award for people who participate in all 12 Walk/Ride Days throughout the calendar year. Any prizes are still undetermined, but the Mayor's office has said she'd like to have a reception honoring those who do! There was some talk about designing a t-shirts for people who participate in all 12 Walk/Ride Days.
Pete said he could produce 15-20 posters at work that could be used/reused with the dates changed for schools and others. He also said he would look into putting Green Streets stuff, including pins, onto CafePress website.
George is making a game/quiz about Cambridge's bike parking for this coming Walk/Ride Day. He made a design for bike parking display / Ferris wheel design, that he wanted to integrate with Walk/Ride Day. He was also in touch with architect Keith Moskow who designed another one, estimated at $750K and remains "theoretical." George was considering making a cardboard mock-up of Keith's design.
George is contributing to an art show (beginning April 9, 2009) at the City Hall Annex in Cambridge (Broadway at Inman) George is designing a game/poster for both events, which will look at Bike Parking.
Janie is looking for a Cambridge coordinator to take on Green Streets Initiative work 10-15 hours per week.
There will be bike parking events in Davis Square in May to promote biking and Walk/Ride Day. Theme will include prominent bike racks in key square areas, including a few on street car park spaces.
Arlington would like to participate in Walk/Ride Day with the schools but is facing challenges including the fact that biking is not sanctioned by the administration and bikes are not accommodated on school property. Arlington is looking to built political support and goodwill towards biking.
Please
review these notes and let us know if you have anything to add or
change. Thank you.
