Spring is right around the corner and there are a lot of great events coming up on our Safe Routes to School calendar. Below is just a sampling of a more complete event calendar we’ll release later this month. Come out and join us for a ride, attend a webinar or a class, or start planning your schools big Walk+Bike Challenge Month!

Saturday, Feb. 14th
Kidical Mass Valentines Day Ride
Celebrate your love of biking (and your kids) with a family friendly bike ride! Playgrounds, hot cocoa, and other good February fun!
Meet at Monroe Park and ride down to River Play for some fun family bike riding love. The weather looks descent and we’ll have that Hot Cocoa in case it’s a bit chilly.

We’re making plans for the rest of the years rides now too. Come and give some input on what we do this year! Facebook event here.

Wednesday, Feb 25th
Register for Striving for A+ Parking: Introducing a New Tool to Grade Your Schools Bike Parking, 12:00 PM PST
Tune in to hear about the new School Bike Parking Assessment Tool created by Shane MacRhodes and Emma Newman from Eugene-Springfield SRTS Program and tested by Oregon SRTS Network members in Bend, Portland, and Corvallis. The tool can be used by districts, cities, individual schools, and others to inventory, rate, and improve their school bike parking areas.  Beyond the grading system the tool provides information and resources on specific ways to improve your grades and provide bike parking that is inviting, safe, and secure.
Tune in to learn how to use the new tool and hear about how it’s already being used in our state.
Register HERE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. read more…

via Bethel B-Mail:

New Bike Parking at Irving

Kids now have another reason to ditch the car and ride their bikes to school at Irving Elementary.

In addition to the new sidewalks added to the street in front of Irving, two new covered bike racks have been installed at the school.

The additions are courtesy of Safe Routes to Schools, which is intended to support and encourage active transportation to schools. Safe Routes wants to get kids walking, riding and becoming more aware of other modes of transportation.

The funding for these projects comes from the Oregon Department of Transportation in coordination with the City of Eugene.

The 4j Safe Routes to School program is working on Action Plans that look at different ways to improve the walking and biking environment for students throughout the Southeast region. We are engaging Spencer Butte Middle School, Edgewood Elementary, Charlemagne Elementary, and Ridgeline Montessori parents, staff, and students to create their Action Plans while Camas Ridge will be updating their existing plan.

We would also like to talk to the broader community about ways to improve the active transportation options for families in the Southeast region. A community meeting to discuss Safe Routes to School and active transportation issues will be held February 25th at 5:30 pm at Spencer Butte Middle School. There will be a brief presentation on the SRTS program and existing conditions followed by a community input session that will help us address the top active transportation priorities for community members in the region. This meeting is hosted by the Eugene School District Transporation Department’s Safe Routes to School Program in partnership with the City of Eugene Public Works.

Learning to ride a bicycle can be one of the most exhilarating moments in a child’s life. Providing safe and accessible bicycle parking at schools and in the community is one way to ensure that the excitement of riding a bicycle continues beyond that first ride. Schools interested in being supportive of children riding bicycles to the school should make bicycle parking and storage at the school a priority.

Tune in to hear about a new School Bike Parking Assessment Tool created by Shane MacRhodes and Emma Newman from the local Safe Routes to School Program and tested by Oregon SRTS Network members in Bend, Portland, and Corvallis. The tool can be used by districts, cities, individual schools, and others to inventory, rate, and improve their school bike parking areas. The local coordinators will report on their findings and how they are using the tool to leverage better bike parking for local students. A Sheldon High School student and students from designBridge at the University of Oregon will also talk about projects they’ve worked on to improve parking at area schools.

Beyond the grading system the tool provides information and resources on specific ways to improve your grades and provide bike parking that is inviting, safe, and secure.

Register for this webinar HERE.

For the past couple of years a Youth Bike Summit has been held on the East coast and for the first time it’s headed out West this year. This is a great opportunity for any students, or people working with students, to get together to share information about youth, bikes and making a positive impact on communities. Here’s more information from the Summit organizers:

The Youth Bike Summit is a three-day conference geared toward youth, bikes, education, advocacy, and leadership. People from different disciplines, backgrounds, and ages gather together to learn, share, network, and explore how bicycling can be a catalyst for positive social change. There will be keynote speakers, hands-on workshops, panel presentations (many led by youth), and many other opportunities for youth and adults to share ideas about what biking can mean for youth, families, communities, and our planet. Check out these videos to learn more and take a peek at these photos from last year’s event.

This touchstone national event offers a youth and adult Keynote presentation, 30+ engaging workshops, hands-on

activities, a thought-provoking visioning session with youth and adults working in communities near and far. By creating a space where ideas from bicyclists of all ages can be heard, we seek to create a more inclusive national dialogue that addresses the issues, rights, and concerns of all bicyclists.

In 2014, the Youth Bike Summit welcomed more than 500 youth and adult participants from 26 states and 4 countries. Based on the growth of the Youth Bike Summit and the momentum it’s generated since its inception in 2011, the event is going national! For the first time ever, the Youth Bike Summit will begin to travel and will be hosted this year by Bike Works in Seattle, WA.

HISTORY: In March 2010, Recycle-A-Bicycle (RAB) (based in Brooklyn, NY) attended the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike Summit with two high school interns who had completed a comprehensive job training program and Earn-A- Bike program. Both participants learned they loved bicycles and expressed an interest in learning more about how bicycling fits into policy, the environment, social entrepreneurship, and community-building. Traveling to Washington DC for the first time, the 17 year old participants explored the nation’s capital by bike, attended the conference, and lobbied elected officials. As the group debriefed on the bus ride home, we discussed the importance of engaging youth in the national dialogue of cycling education and advocacy. As a result, the idea of the Youth Bike Summit came into being. Both young advocates were active participants in the planning of the conference in 2011.

Youth Bike Summit 2015
WHEN: February 13-15, 2015
WHERE: Various venues in the Columbia City neighborhood in SE Seattle HOSTED BY: Bike Works 3709 S. Ferdinand, Seattle WA 98118
ADMISSION: $25/youth; $50/adult

For more information about Bike Works – www.bikeworks.org
For more information about the Youth Bike Summit – www.youthbikesummit.org

Contact:
Pasqualina Azzarello, Director of Youth Bike (917) 202-2028 pasqualina@youthbikesummit.org Deb Salls, Executive Director of Bike Works (206) 695-2607 deb@bikeworks.org

As the days get shorter and there is less natural light, it’s a great time to ride bikes with friends and keep active. Join us next year for the second annual Haul-a-day Ride in the Springfield Christmas Parade or this upcoming weekend for the Eugene Kidical Mass Holiday Lights ride.

This year, Kidical Mass Springfield started an annual tradition of riding in the Springfield Christmas Parade. Participants decorated their bicycles with holiday cheer and rode in front of the Springfield bike safety education fleet trailer. If you missed the fun this year, make sure to mark your calendars for next year! Join us for our haul-a-day ride. Here are a few photos from the fun parade:

Feeling inspired and looking for a good excuse to decorate your bicycle with lights and have fun riding around Eugene with other families viewing the holiday light displays? Join Kidical Mass Eugene for the Holiday Lights ride this Saturday!

Eugene Holiday Lights Kidical Mass Ride

Saturday, Dec 20th, 4:00 PM

Meet at Monroe Park