Whether you are a community member looking for tools to improve your neighborhood, a local official who’s looking for ways to make their community safer and more inclusive, or a transportation professional looking to find ways to innovate in your field, you’ll be sure to find inspiration and information at the Summit.

Register today!

The post Washington Bike, Walk, and Roll Summit appeared first on Out There Venture.

This is a very sad story. Begs the question: was the driver prosecuted after hitting the cyclist? Thanks to KHQ for the video.

The post Driver Kills Pedestrian In Cheney Months After Hitting Cyclist appeared first on Out There Venture.

As we’ve mentioned before, the City of Spokane Valley will be preparing a Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan over the next year. Here’s the latest news:

The City was awarded funds to facilitate safety analysis, route location, and implementation from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants Program.  City staff including planning, development engineering and public works will complete the remainder of the Plan. They’ll assess existing routes and facilities for safety and make a prioritized list of improvement projects.

Extensive public outreach will be a large part of the Plan, as the City wants to be sure it represents and addresses the desires and needs of all citizens.  To be added to the Planning Department’s contact list for updates regarding the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan, please contact Mary Swank at 509-720-5325 or at mswank@spokanevalley.org.

Preliminary information will be presented at an open house to be scheduled for the first quarter of this year.  Information regarding the Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan will be available on the website as it is developed, so check back often. They’ve already posted some cool maps and a work program.

The post appeared first on Out There Venture.

The post Valley Bike-Ped Master Plan appeared first on Out There Venture.

There’s been lots of buzz about “complete streets” in Spokane recently. Now it’s time to get involved! Please read this invitation to the upcoming Complete Streets Spokane planning meeting from the executive director of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington.

“If you have been reading the Spokesman Review and Out There Monthly, you know that there has been an alarming string of pedestrian deaths around Spokane and the Inland Northwest. Join representatives from Futurewise, the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, and other public interest groups in changing this trend!

January 13 – 5:30 PM
Central YMCA
930 N Monroe

When streets are designed for motor vehicles, they deny people the opportunity to choose more active ways to get around, like biking and walking. Even when sidewalks exist, large intersections and speeding traffic can discourage these active modes by making biking and walking unpleasant or unsafe.

Read Jon Snyder’s December editorial, Time for Complete Streets, in OutThere Monthly. The Bicycle Alliance of Washington has long been a proponent of Complete Streets policies at the state and local levels, and it continues to be part of our 2010 legislative agenda.

For more information contact Kitty Klitzke or at 509-838-1965 at Futurewise for more information.”

Dave Janis
Acting Executive Director
www.bicyclealliance.org
206-224-9252 x302

The post Complete Streets Planning Meeting appeared first on Out There Venture.

Mark Fenton, host of the PBS show America’s Walking, is in Spokane. We love this guy. He’s an entertaining speaker full of fresh ideas — and examples from around the country — for making our city increasingly pedestrian-friendly. We repeat: do not miss this.

The post Mark Fenton Today appeared first on Out There Venture.

Mark Fenton, host of the PBS show America’s Walking, is coming to Spokane. We love this guy. He’s an entertaining speaker full of fresh ideas — and examples from around the country — for making our city increasingly pedestrian-friendly. Do not miss this.

If you can’t wait ’till September 29th to learn more about Fenton’s ideas, we’ve got you covered. Check his interview with OTM in the September issue.

The post Walking Expert to Visit Spokane appeared first on Out There Venture.

Below is a letter from the Cascade Bicycle Club, who is contracted with the Washington DOT to do statewide counts of bicyclists and pedestrians. They need volunteers in Spokane for conducting the counts. The five cities who ffer the most volunteers will be rewarded with bicycling workshops. Check it out and volunteer!

Do you want to help create a better community for bicycling in Spokane? Join advocates from your area and guests from the Cascade Bicycle Club to count bicyclists and for a series of workshops on effective advocacy.

Help Make Bicyling Count

Last fall, Cascade was contracted by the Washington State DOT to conduct the first statewide counts of bicyclists in pedestrians. The report is here.  A big thank you to the more than 150 volunteers who worked hard on this project!

This year’s bicycle and pedestrian counts will be held from Sept. 29-October 1.  We can only conduct counts if enough people sign up in your area.  To sign up for an easy volunteer shift, click here. If you can help coordinate the project and recruit more volunteers in your area,  email us.

Advocacy Workshops Coming Your Way

Cascade will travel to five cities throughout the state this fall to meet with local bicyclists.  We will work together with local advocates to build capacity within the state’s thriving bicycle movement. Workshops may include:

– Effective Earned Media and Letter to the Editor Campaigns
– Bicycle Master Plans, Complete Streets and Universal Design
-Crunching the Numbers: Using Counts and Crash Data to Improve Conditions for Bicycling
-Working With Elected Officials… and Holding Them Accountable
-Winning Local Campaigns for Bicyclists

We will travel to the five cities around the state with the most signups.  Do you want to see better bicycling in your city?

*Bring an advocacy workshop to your area

*Sign up to help with this year’s bicycle and pedestrian counts

Thank you for all you do to advocate for bicycling.

Advocacy Director
Cascade Bicycle Club

The post Be Counted appeared first on Out There Venture.

There are two problems with this article.

I am a pedestrian and I walk a lot in Spokane but just the same it is nowhere mentioned in the article that ped is pedestrian. Maybe you think this is obvious, I don’t. It should have been stated once in the article.

Mr. Wencel states that he wants to hear from everyone that uses the streets and walks the streets, how about an e mail address for Mr. Wencel stated at the bottom of the article?

I realize that I could go to City of Spokane website and search for a contact address but maybe I won’t. Good journalism is clear and makes things easier for everyone not harder.

Alan Richter

The post Letter to the Editor: Where’s the Pedestrian Love? appeared first on Out There Venture.