RTC Partners with D.C. After-School Program for Bike Giveaway Along Rail-Trail

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:37:00 GMT

UPDATE: The October 29 edition of the Washington Post has an article about the event. Be sure to take a look!

On Friday, October 23, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) partnered with Beacon House, a tutoring and mentoring organization in the Edgewood neighborhood of Washington, D.C., to give free bicycles, locks, helmets and safety instruction to 40 students enrolled in Beacon House programs. The $20,000 bicycle giveaway, which aims to encourage use of newly completed sections of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, was part of RTC's Metropolitan Grants Program, funded by the Coca-Cola Foundation.

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), a long-standing advocate for the completion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, provided bicycle safety training for the students who received bikes. RTC, WABA and Beacon House staff assisted the students with helmet fittings and bicycle adjustments prior to a ride along a newly completed section of the trail. Local bicycle shop Oasis Bike Works has committed to monthly check-ups for the next year with students receiving bikes at Beacon House to perform tune-ups and teach the students about bike maintenance.

Beacon House offers educational, cultural, recreational and athletic programs to roughly 400 children and youth, ages 5 to 18, from low-income families, per year. The bicycle giveaway is part of RTC's ongoing commitment to provide amenities, resources and opportunities to Ward 5 residents near the newly constructed Metropolitan Branch Trail.

RTC is committed to expanding the use of rail-trails in urban areas across the nation. Many neighborhoods in major urban areas face the challenges of obesity, congestion and scarcity of open space. In addition to the Metropolitan Grants Program, in 2009 RTC launched its Urban Pathways Initiative, enabling communities to become part of the solution. Rail-trails and urban pathways provide opportunities for healthier living, which in turn effect positive change in neighborhoods where the demand for improved health and community empowerment is greatest.

Photos by (L) Lindsay Martin/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and (R) Stephen Miller/Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Interested in the mural in the background? It's D.C.'s largest, and it's right on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Learn more about it. More photos of the event can be found on the Facebook page of event partner Oasis Bike Works.

Chain links: Happy Labor Day

Stephen Miller (RTC) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:19:00 GMT

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association held a Full Moon ride on the Capital Crescent Trail last night, followed by a barbeque at City Bikes in Chevy Chase, Md.. Click on the photo to browse more scenes from the event.
Also in the nation's capital, NPR takes a look at the D.C. Bikestation, which is almost ready to open at Union Station, the southern terminus of the Metropolitan Branch Trail.
We recently brought you the story of police enforcing stop sign laws for cyclists crossing roads on a newly-opened trail in Minnesota. Police along Maryland's Indian Head Rail Trail are taking a broader approach, by using targeted enforcement to remind both drivers and trail users of the need for safe speeds and safe crossings.
The Regional Plan Association's Alex Marshall writes in Governing Magazine that transportation policy should take into account not only the time spent traveling, but the quality of the journey - for many, a quiet ride down a rail-trail is a more pleasant experience than sitting in gridlock. Numbers are important, but not the only way to measure commute quality.
After profiling RTC and our efforts to promote active transportation, syndicated columnist Neal Peirce takes a look at RTC founder Peter Harnik and the rebirth of urban parks in America. For more on city parks, check out the City Parks Blog, a member of our Blogroll and a joint effort of the Trust for Public Land and City Parks Alliance.
The National Trust for historic preservation is offering a second round of "Helping Johnny Walk to School" sub-grants to encourage design and access for walking and bicycling to educational facilities. The application deadline is September 16.
A new study in the journal Public Health shows that urban teens who perceive their neighbrohoods to be unsafe are more likely to be overweight. Hat tip: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, via railstotrails on Twitter.

Photo: A cyclist excited for WABA's Full Moon ride along the Capital Crescent Trail. Photo by M.V. Jantzen on Flickr.

RTC TrailBlog : traffic safety, youth, urban pathways

RTC Partners with D.C. After-School Program for Bike Giveaway Along Rail-Trail

Chain links: Happy Labor Day