Architect and planner Jeff Olson talked about the value of creating a bicycle friendly community in a live address at Buffalo City Forum.

Olson is a strong advocate of bicycling as a way to enhance community development and improve quality of life.

Olson is the east coast Principal with Alta Planning and Design in Saratoga Spring, N.Y. He has contributed to many local, state, national and international bikeway, pedestrian and trail projects.

He also directed Millenium Trails, an award winning initiative to create a national network of trails under the Clinton Administration.

A recording of the address can be downloaded from: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wned/news.newsmain/article/1646/0/1601346/.Buffalo.City.Forum/Jeff.Olson.Discusses.a.Bicycle.Friendly.Community.at.Buffalo.City.Forum

Web Address: http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=518723

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The Buffalo Sabres Blue & Gold Make Green initiative has worked to improve sustainability and recycling within the organization over the last year. Now, the Sabres are asking the fans to reduce their environmental footprint.

Throughout the year, sabres.com will feature a local cause dedicated to making Western New York a “greener” place, and showing fans in the area how to incorporate conservation in their daily lives.

Take a look at this week’s profile on Buffalo Blue Bike.

Buffalo Blue Bicycle (Green Options Buffalo)

It’s never too late to ride a bicycle.

As spring approaches, Green Options Buffalo is encouraging city-goers to take to the road on their bikes and work to promote a healthy and environmentally friendly city.

Buffalo Blue Bicycle is just one of the many programs operating under Green Options Buffalo that is seeking to make Buffalo a better place.

“Buffalo is well-suited for bicycling despite the snow,” Executive Director Justin Booth said. “We have a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on that.” 

Trials of the program originated internationally several years ago in various cities across Europe and Canada with great success.  More recently, Washington D.C. became the first American city to adopt the program and now Buffalo is following suit.

“The whole premise is to get more people physically active in their daily routines,” Booth said.  “However people can also bike to save money in a rough economy and to reduce their carbon footprint.”

According to national data 25 percent of all trips are one mile or less in distance and the majority of those trips are made by car.  By using alternative forms of transportation such as bicycles, one can reduce their own carbon footprint significantly over the course of their lifetime.

With 17 bicycle hubs located across the city, Buffalo Blue Bicycle is attracting nearly 100 users each year.  The heaviest traffic has been seen on college campuses such as the University at Buffalo and Buffalo State, where a growing demand to be healthy and green has prompted the program to expand its outreach. 

“Right now our biggest challenge is demand and filling that demand,” Booth said.  “We are looking to expand to more locations in the city in the future and reach out to more colleges and others who wish to experience the city in a new way.”

Registration for Buffalo Blue Bicycle is exclusively on the web where members can check-in and check-out bicycles for up to two days at a time. Membership is limited to adults 18 and older and includes a fee of $25.00 for each year of use.

Residents can also attend workshops throughout the year which work to teach maintenance and repair techniques.  Located in the Old Precinct 17 building (on the corner of Colvin and Linden near Nichols School), the Buffalo Blue Bicycle workshop partners with Erie County every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday year-round to educate the public.

Buffalo Blue Bicycle is also reaching out to schools within the city to help children understand the importance of healthy routines and the confidence associated with building and repairing their own bicycles.  

“We really try to apply the whole idea of getting people the knowledge of the basics to get them going,” Booth said.  “Our workshops are meant to be cooperative for novices and experts alike.”

Bicycles used within the program have all been donated, and donations are accepted during workshops or by appointment.  Information regarding upcoming workshops and memberships are available on the program’s website at www.buffalobluebicycle.org.

A local partnership (including Green Options Buffalo) led by the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus has been awarded a $360,000 Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve opportunities for physical activity and access to affordable healthy foods for children and families in the city of Buffalo by encouraging changes to public policy and the built environment.

Green Options Buffalo is but one element of the partnership that won this award, and the details are still being worked out. We are very excited to play our part as the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities effort moves forward.

For more information, visit the following websites:

http://www.healthykidshealthycommunities.org/communities/buffalo-ny

http://www.wkbw.com/healthy/81230497.html

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wbfo/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1598498/WBFO.News/Buffalo.awarded.grant.to.combat.childhood.obesity

Washington, D.C. - March 10, 2010 -The League of American Bicyclists is proud to be the forum for Google to announce what all bike riders have been waiting for
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Grab Your Bike and Go with Google Maps.
Google is announcing at the Opening Plenary Session at the National Bike Summit
 [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103167038569&s=21148&e=001pYbKTip6NGXjLW-9rUimGNoYI_DSUEwU5ZCUxLtwNQR8N3Amw1DXjf0AaaW8FVjN3KyRWfbPkioVIiCD1vpT_Qa81DiOejmknV2t43gzIUkA-nQDYQpgsEy-6tLPA1Dm1gELDNlqIiPkMeNeR7xozhK9KNmPj33o]that
they are adding biking directions in the U.S. to Google Maps."This new tool will open people's eyes to the possibility and
practicality of hopping on a bike and riding," said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists.
"We know people want to ride more, and we know it's good for people and communities when they do ride more - this makes it possible. It is a game-changer, especially
for those short trips that are the most polluting," Users can now choose biking when deciding how to get to their destination, starting today, March 10, 2010. If you're one of the 57 million Americans who ride a bike, mapping your daily commute, and planning recreational or trail rides just became easier.

 According to Google this has been the most requested addition to Google Maps, and the League is delighted that they have chosen the National Bike Summit to unveil
 this new feature. Google's announcement further proves the importance of the Summit and the bicycle movement in helping our nation become a more Bicycle Friendly America
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103167038569&s=21148&e=001pYbKTip6NGXuIZpLWiG3X8Le3SCrWyC4rnhS-odeLkdwWa9uW-Xz07UvHUpcx78SOWEYSXno1Em3gW_BwOLBQ7BXnvUNhLZ1sdHMmu9Zl2Jcetq33XrSN3Ofx-TUyONzRlrqHwdOCkqfTW9IPAmygI52LbGLL58eIN3MI3QcICg=].
The Google biking directions will make it that much easier for bicyclists to get to work, school or play. This new feature includes: step-by-step bicycling directions; bike
trails outlined directly on the map; and a new "Bicycling" layer that indicates bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly roads.

The directions feature provides step-by-step, bike-specific routing suggestions - similar to the directions provided by our driving, walking, or public transit modes. Simply enter a start point and destination and select "Bicycling" from the drop-down menu. You will receive a route that is optimized for cycling, taking advantage of bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly streets and avoiding hilly terrain  whenever possible.
Visit http://maps.google.com/biking
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103167038569&s=21148&e=001pYbKTip6NGUMp5vvnnFtNxTAw4z-60rI9dIaf05UbwpRj4kEp1XbzdfTDt6l9M8-tSColdw3qwZi0vHu91sCPykpW4mv8t3icayNUUXxWbLhIibEknbfYNxUtbjLfzcE]
to try out this new feature. Biking directions for Google Maps is currently in Beta. Follow the League's news feed on the new Google feature on the
League's Blog [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103167038569&s=21148&e=001pYbKTip6NGVkazOBtGfc85pAf0NAjhCrbX2LlCHRPbKmvZkf0v06fE-olYAbRSQaOGPfHD3kKrvCk0fFXx1lGZSSfiknk6zVt9mp2ffOdRcin-v64cJhcIr4Ct5YqEgr],
Facebook [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103167038569&s=21148&e=001pYbKTip6NGWqzMQ8-k2SE-Cvg1H-P4SiKo9VF0G0SYjspoPjPw81_MJVfgABrBoDIJgRFVBT-xPsGdDKBIUWLZEW77InbNMv6xasAMMyb9RpJpvvn_TJdCZO0xmz1yVY]
and Twitter [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103167038569&s=21148&e=001pYbKTip6NGUVsn7O_cFAtzm9I-aVmj3PZ54Ik147hDCBplY6mcFd34CGrLI7NCQ0A1TrEQ2av2wimYkDJ3E1z3q0KiOqGiJ4T5hdQEWz-JCy7SzbRrVoK7OGLd8nC6gX].
If you have any further questions, contact Meghan Cahill at 202.822.1333 or meghan@bikeleague.org [mailto:meghan@bikeleague.org]