The Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition sends regular email updates on our work to our members. Join today to get involved! This is the update from August 31st, 2015.
This week at RIBike saw the launch of Get Your Bike On! This new event series is a safe, non-judgmental space where folks can get some basic pointers about riding a bike then practice for a little bit. It will happen on Sundays, 9-10am, twice a month. Yesterday we started from India Point Park, got some great tips from the amazing Betty Bourret, and then took a quick ride over the Redman Linear Park and down the East Bay Bike Path. The next event in the series will be on September 13th in Roger Williams Park, meeting at the Botanical Garden. See the Facebook event for more details. If you or anyone you know could use this sort of learning environment, the more the merrier!
The ongoing saga of the Pleasant Valley Parkway bridge replacement is…ongoing. To recap, this important corridor in Providence is a priority for bike infrastructure, but RIDOT’s initial plans to replace the bridge over the Woonasquatucket River next spring didn’t include any bike infrastructure at all. We were able to get a verbal commitment from RIDOT Deputy Director Peter Garino that a change order would be submitted including some bike infrastructure, but are still waiting on confirmation of that. We’ll keep you posted.
This is your chance to get the RIBike shirts! They’re so cool. You can order them until this Wednesday at 11:00pm EST, when the Teespring campaign closes. There are three styles, and we bet one of them would look great on you!
Do you or or does one of your friends own a business? We want to get more businesses in Rhode Island thinking about their bike-friendliness! Our work improving bicycling across the state can increase customer traffic and employee health, and we would love for our local RI businesses to be a part of it! On Wednesday, with the announcement that RIPR has been named the first official bike-friendly business in the state, we launched our business outreach program. Check it out to learn more!
Word on the street is that a fall session of the RI legislature is very unlikely at this point, meaning that the truck toll proposal and RhodeWorks plan will not be voted on until January at the earliest. It is important that bike infrastructure be a part of these plans, so make sure you and all your friends are RIBike members so we can have as strong a voice as possible! We’ll keep you posted on further developments on this topic.
We’re working with some folks in Bristol to organize a kid-friendly Halloween event called the Spooky Ride! We’re still working out the details, but there will be costumes, there will be bikes, and there will be prizes. Stay tuned!
If there’s anything else related to bikes that ignites your passion, get in touch! Email us at info@ribike.org or call 401-297-2153.