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Here's a sampling from our online events calendar!
January 14
Training: Learn the basic principles of planning and designing bike and
pedestrian networks - $25 cost
January 26
Roundtable discussion of how the areas surrounding the proposed downtown
light rail stations should grow and change
January 29
Discussion of alternatives to eliminating street parking on University
Ave.
February 3
St. Paul Bicycle Advisory Board monthly meeting
Send us your events! events@smart-trip.org
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Watch: Streetcars in St. Paul
(4 min.)
Source: MN Historical Society
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Action Alert: Help Rep. Oberstar support mass transit. more...
Reminder: Tax breaks for bike commuters began this month. more...
UPS bicycle deliveries - is green the new brown? more...
Pedestrian critical mass in Miami... on the freeway? more...
Staff member Laura Baum recently had an article published on our Smart
Trips Summit-U program (pdf). more...
Your chance to tell Google you want "bike there" directions.
more...
What if you could make temporary bike lanes as you ride? more...
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R Justin Stewart's, "Guided," a game where Metro Transit routes are
cut in 1/8" deep into wood, allowing a marble to roll your favorite
route.
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St. Paul Smart Trips
is a non-profit organization that works to reduce vehicle miles and
improve air quality in the City of St. Paul by promoting alternatives to
driving alone and advocating for a balanced transportation network.
www.smart-trips.org
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Passable
Sidewalks: Don't let your neighbors slip!
 In St. Paul we're fortunate to have
a complete system of sidewalks that can take us from our doorstep to
where we're going without ever having to worry about stepping out into
the street. That is, unless the sidewalks aren't shoveled, or even
worse, covered in ice.
In partnership with Council member Russ Stark (Ward 4), the City of St.
Paul and the district councils, we're asking for your help in letting
our neighbors know that we and others rely on cleared safe sidewalks as
a part of how we get around in the winter.
That's why we've created a door hanger that educates property owners
and renters about their responsibility and what resources are available
to them.
Get a door hanger: Visit our website to print one or learn where to pick one
up near you!
Another idea that's gaining traction: Don't wait for neighbors
to clear their walks- pick up a pair of Yaktrax (or similar brands) to add traction to any shoes.
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Making
connections: Central Corridor planners seek your perspectives on biking
and walking
 The City of St. Paul wants to know
your thoughts, ideas and suggestions regarding biking and walking
within the Central Corridor.
Follow the links below to take the online survey and post
location-specific comments using a Google map of the corridor. Your
suggestions will help shape the Central Corridor Bike Walk Plan
recommendations and priorities.
The City will be hosting a Central Corridor Bike Walk open house and
posting the draft plan for public review in February. We'll keep you
updated about the times, but get in on the project by subscribing to
the Bike Walk Central Corridor Action Plan newsletter.
Comments are due January 16!
Be heard: Take the survey and add comments on the project map
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Want
safer streets for St. Paul bicyclists?
 If
you're biking this winter in St. Paul, you're probably becoming an
expert at dodging the snow ridges that are created in the streets by
plows having to work around parked cars.
These slippery obstacles, which are a safety concern primarily to
bicyclists, can lead to situations that endanger both bicyclists and
motorists. Because of this the St. Paul Bicycle Advisory Board (BAB)
recently passed a resolution asking the City to enforce its existing
rules regarding the ticketing and towing of cars in advance of snow
plowing.
At their regular monthly meeting on January 6, the BAB passed a resolution (pdf) that is being sent to the City
Council, the Mayor and Public Works asking to prioritize parking
enforcement on streets where bike lanes exist. Marshall Ave. between
Snelling and Cretin is one of these streets, and is a major east/west
connection for bicyclists in St. Paul.
What
do you think of winter road conditions for bicyclists?
Do you bike on Marshall Ave. in the winter?
Let the City know: Call Public Works at 651-266-8989
and let them know that you would like Marshall Ave. and other streets
with bike lanes to be cleared from curb to curb for bicyclists in the
winter.
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Urge
Washington to put more $$$
towards biking and walking
Article source: Thunderhead Alliance / Photo source:
Rails to Trails Conservancy
You know that feeling when you look in your wallet and think,
"where did all that money go?" That familiar feeling is also
common with our taxes. Most people tend not to even think of taxes as
their money. But if you get a paycheck, then you pay taxes and you
might wonder: where does all that money go?
Here's a few things your taxes are buying (on average):
- In 2008,
$1,721 to pay for the war in Iraq
- The
Wallstreet bailout passed this year will cost you $2,295.
- When it
comes to transportation infrastructure, in 2008 you'll have spent
$400
- Of this,
$100 will go to building highways.
- $1.50
will go to biking and walking facilities.
If you're like
the average American, this probably isn't how you'd choose to spend
your tax dollars. According to a recent report by the Rails to Trails Conservancy,
when asked, the average American would spend 22 percent of
transportation funding on biking and walking - about 15 times the
current funding. The spending reality is far from the ideal. Not until
the year 2000 did the U.S. spend more than $1/person/year on biking and
walking. Since 1992, the U.S. has invested just $4.5 billion in biking
and walking. That may seem like a lot, but it's 1,000 times less than
the total investment in highways over that time.
If you want to see more of your tax dollars funding biking and walking,
take a minute to sign this national petition to urge President-Elect
Obama and congressional leaders to include explicit funding for trails,
walking and biking in the upcoming economic recovery package.
Do something: Sign the petition from Rails to Trails
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Help us
win a new website!
Would you like to see the same kind of timely information we serve up
in this newsletter also appear regularly on our website? Here's your
chance to help us out. We're competing with other Minnesota non-profits
to have a new website built for us in a 24-hour period.
Help us win: Add your testimonial to our application today!
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