Transportation & Energy
TVSC continues to endorse and fully support alternative modes of travel, including bicycling and walking. Streets have become over the years more formidable for those who do not choose or simply cannot afford the automobile as a means of transportation.
Harmonizing our streets, or the complete street movement, is something we think has an enormous benefit to health and to our local economy. People who walk or bicycle move at a more human velocity, allowing for a leisure movement through the urban landscape, stopping to chat and to participate in local purchases; thus keeping our local independent businesses alive and healthy.
We support local initiatives such as Bike New London. BNL is a local advocacy group that promotes increased use of the beautifully simplistic invention: the bicycle. BNL has advocated for safety and increased bike lanes throughout the City of New London.
“Every increase in motorized speed creates new demands on space and time. The use of the bicycle is self-limiting. It allows people to create a new relationship between their life-space and their life-time, between their territory and the pulse of their being, without destroying their inherited balance. The advantages of modern self-powered traffic are obvious, and ignored.” - Ivan Illich
From Strong Towns, January 22, 2021 Winter Biking Demystified!
“My previous piece on winter biking focused primarily on gear and equipment. This time I’m going to highlight a few winter bicyclists. By telling their stories, I hope to demystify winter biking and perhaps encourage some readers to give it a go.
Sara Watson Curry
Sara is the Director of Operations at Great Rides, Inc in Fargo, ND. Among other things, Great Rides manages Fargo’s bike share which has been a rousing success, shattering national records and outperforming much larger cities like Denver and Minneapolis. I met Sara a number of years ago when she was involved with F-M Community Bicycle Workshop.
Sara is an avid bicyclist. She takes a utilitarian approach with her winter biking setup using an old beat up mountain bike that she lovingly describes as a POS. She has a studded tire on the front wheel and has the bike outfitted with fenders and lights - which she says are key.
Her husband, Joe, also bike commutes year round. They bike to work most days, but drive on occasion. Sara and Joe live in a traditional neighborhood and both work downtown providing them with relatively short commutes of about 2 miles. Living in a close-in neighborhood and being only a short bike ride from work and amenities add greatly to their quality of life.”
One of our favorite thinkers on the topic of urban transit, is our advisory board member from UConn, Professor Norman Garrick.
Here’s some of Dr. Garrick’s musings and thoughts on transit.
Recent appearance on Thinking Green (January 2016).
COMING SOON!
More on TVSC’s energy initiative.
