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Press Release:
Mayor Coleman, City Councilmember Paley, County Commissioner Brown, Consider Biking and Local CEOs To Celebrate Bike To Work Week And Gains In 2 BY 2012 CEO Challenge
To kick off Bike To Work Week in Columbus, Mayor Michael B. Coleman, City Council Member Eileen Y. Paley, Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown, Consider Biking and more than 50 local CEOs will celebrate Columbus bikeways projects to be built in 2012 and gains in local employees biking to work on Monday, June 11, 2012. To launch Bike To Work Week, Mayor Coleman will lead a caravan of bicyclists from the Grange Insurance Audubon Center in the Scioto Audubon Metro Park on the Whittier Peninsula to City Hall. Riders will gather at the Audubon Center at 7:45 a.m. and the ride will begin at 8 a.m.
“We are investing in sharrows, bike racks, bike paths and other infrastructure that will make biking to work safer and more convenient for people,” Mayor Coleman said. “Biking to work makes you healthier, improves quality of life and helps make Columbus the best bicycling city in the nation.”
In 2012, the city of Columbus will invest $6.4 million in bicycling facilities, including:
· 140 sharrows pavement markings on 6.5 miles of roadways
· 46 bike racks
· A second round of eight bike shelters in Columbus at eight locations.
· 7.5 miles of bike paths
· Five miles of bike lanes
“The biking community is working closely with City Hall to create an environment that encourages our residents to lead active lives,” said Eileen Y. Paley, chair of the Public Service and Transportation Committee. “I look forward to working with Consider Biking to expand biking options in Columbus.”
“All across Franklin County, biking and walking have become critical components of thriving and healthy neighborhoods,” said Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown, who is also chair of the Board of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. “MORPC is a strong proponent of transportation choice because we know that when bikes, pedestrians, cars, trucks and buses can all enjoy our roads safely together, we create communities where people want to live and businesses want to grow.”
Since September 2010, the city of Columbus and the non-profit group Consider Biking have encouraged biking to work through the 2 BY 2012 Initiative and CEO Challenge, which calls on business owners and their employees to bike to work at least twice a month. More than 100 partners and an additional 25 companies support the 2 BY 2012 initiative, representing more than 150,000 employees and other bicyclists. The city’s Bicentennial Bikeways Plan also set a 2 BY 2012 goal that “citizens, government and businesses can achieve together.” The CEO Challenge is a collaborative effort by Consider Biking and the Columbus Foundation.
Biking to work or to run errands can reduce the use of cars on trips of five miles or less. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation 2009 National Household Transportation Survey done in cooperation with League of American Bicyclists, 50% of trips made by Americans were three miles or less and 63% of trips were five miles or less.
“In Columbus’ bicentennial year, I am proud of the CEOs who have committed to 2 BY 2012 and have encouraged their employees to do the same,” said Mayor Coleman. “Businesses that give employees the choice to bike to work attract our young professionals, help lower health care costs and make Columbus more economically competitive.”
Local employees can use mobile application technology to track their biking to work progress. A partnership between Consider Biking and RideNet will allow bicyclists to upload the distances and other data about their rides to work, on errands or for recreation. The logged rides will provide more detailed information on distances bicyclists ride and where and how often they ride, which may help in more efficient and effective bikeways planning.
Residents can learn more about bicycling in Columbus by visiting http://www.publicservice.columbus/bike/.
Bicyclists can learn more about the 2 BY 2012 CEO Challenge, the RideNet mobile application and other bicycle advocacy issues at http://www.considerbiking.org.
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