CT Green Scene

Low Carbon Fun - Discover Hartford CT Parks Bike/Walk Tour 2011

Hartford, Connecticut – Saturday, October 22^nd, 2011 – Live Hartford’s bicycling and parks legacies.  Road, mountain, commuter, comfort, hybrid, racing, touring, single speed, hardtail, 3- speed, banana, cargo, whatever you pedal.  This is a fun loving urban parks tour - not a race. 10, 15, 25, and 40 mile bike tours will remind some of the routes of the 1990’s Hartford Parks Bike Tour but also feature miles new of riverfront trails and bike lanes.  Both guided and self-guided walks feature Hartford’s historic, architectural, and natural attractions, some free and some for free.  All routes depart and return to beautiful Bushnell Park in downtown Hartford.

Discounted online pre-registration is now open for the bike tour.  Walk tour registration is day of event only.  Remembering New York City ten years after September 11^th, and recognizing Connecticut First Responders’ service every day saving and protecting life on our roadways - complimentary day of event registration for Police, Fire, and EMT/Ambulance personnel in work shirt.

Proceeds benefit Bike Walk CT and the City of Hartford, Hartford Parks Trust Fund. “The stronger the roots, the sweeter the fruits.”

“I invite residents and visitors alike to explore and rediscover Hartford.  By touring our treasured and historic parks system, it’s easy to be in awe of the visionaries who founded our great city.  It also inspires us today to continue implementing our One City, One Plan for conservation and development as Hartford becomes a greener, grander, and choice destination,” said Mayor Pedro E. Segarra.

Bike Walk Connecticut's mission is to change the culture of transportation in Connecticut through advocacy and education by making bicycling and walking safe, feasible and attractive for a healthier and cleaner Connecticut.

Discover Hartford Tour Website – www.hartfordbiketour.org

Discover Hartford Tour Facebook Page - http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=159052354171214

Bike Walk Connecticut – www.bikewalkct.org

City of Hartford – http://www.hartford.gov/

Hartford Parks – http://www.hartford.gov/healthyhartford/OpenSpace/OSParks.htm

Solar Roadways?

by Heather Burns

Returning from a trip to Washington, DC to meet with legislators and understand more about the mission of the American Business Council, led me to realize the influence that public policy has - particularly on ushering in and ensuring which innovative ideas rise to the top and take hold. Take this one for example: solar roadways that end our addiction to fossil fuels and pay for themselves. Is it really that simple, or do we need to consider whether our fossil fuel addiction could be replaced by a lithium addiction. Techy experts, please weigh in...

Electric Bus

by Eileen Weber

Getting from Point A to Point B may be a little greener these days for some schools and universities. Hybrid buses are being used for transportation here in Connecticut and as far away as Wyoming.

According to IC Bus, an Illinois-based subsidiary of Navistar, Inc., the largest manufacturer of school buses in the country, the average school bus uses over 1,700 gallons of fuel annually. The average hybrid, however, uses less than half that at 600 gallons. The hybrid buses also reduce emissions up to 40%.

Here are some other amazing statistics IC Bus would like you to know: The daily fuel cost of transporting a child to school by private vehicle costs $3.68 while the same child taking the bus only costs 73 cents; One school bus has the capacity to take 36 cars off the road, with a total of 17.3 million cars every year; If 10% more children rode the bus, another 300 million gallons of fuel would be saved annually.

These quick, little facts may not pop into your head when you see a big yellow bus belching exhaust in front of you at the stoplight. But many school officials are seeing buses as a way to be greener and cleaner.

Green Wherever You Go

by Eileen Weber

Last week, my husband and I flew down to Florida with the kids. We were helping my father-in-law move to an assisted living facility. Along the way, I found little pockets of environmental friendliness popping up in unexpected places.

For one, we flew on Continental Airlines out of Newark, NJ. The moment we walked into the terminal, there was no way to miss the colossally huge banner promoting Eco-Skies, the airline’s green initiative. Continental has increased their recycling program, offered a carbon offset program in conjunction with Sustainable Travel International (STI), a non-profit organization that promotes environmental conservation, and they have been working on using biofuel since last year to decrease carbon emissions.

Bicycle Friendly

by Eileen Weber

Here’s an interesting fact for you, courtesy of the League of American Bicyclists: There are currently no bicycle friendly communities in Connecticut. Despite the fact that the state’s carbon reduction plan includes bicycles as a mode of transportation, the state doesn’t support it with funding or education. And even if they did, the state would still be lacking in bicycle friendliness. We need more bike paths, bike racks, and pedestrian crosswalks.

Even worse, Connecticut’s bicycle ranking is 44 out of the 50 states. We’re even lowest in New England. For Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFCs), Maine ranks in the top five of all the states coming in at number three. New Hampshire comes in at number eight while Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island are ranked at 19, 21, and 35, respectively.

Two towns are trying to change that statistic: Simsbury and Fairfield. In Simsbury, they have already applied to the League of American Bicyclists to be registered as a BFC. Representatives from the league visited the area last week to assess the community’s ability to become more bicycle friendly.

“It makes sense for Simsbury as we also have ‘Rails to Trails’ here and the East Coast Greenway,” said Paul Mikkelson, an avid cyclist and committee head for Simsbury, as quoted in a December 24, 2009 article in The Simsbury News.

If Traffic Is The Problem, Is Bike-Sharing The Answer?

by Eileen Weber

Could a bike-sharing program be in the works for the Hartford area? If you’re John Zito from The Green Vibration, then the answer may be yes. Zito and his wife, among other green business ventures, are hoping to start a bike-sharing program in the city’s center. There’s one teeny-weeny problem: there aren’t enough bike racks.

“This has been a little more of an investment than we thought,” said Zito of the program. With only a handful of bikes all in varying levels of repair, “We’re on a shoe-string budget.”

While Zito has an idea and a dream, there are few other details that need to be worked out before his program gets up and running. For one, he will need the full support of the City of Hartford.

According to Tim Ericson, Co-Founder of CityRyde, a bike sharing consultant firm in Philadelphia, Zito’s task will be a lot easier said than done. “Things like this can move quickly if you have the full support of the city,” he said. “It’s possible to have it up and running in six months. But more likely, it takes at least a year.”

But that hasn’t stopped other cities around the country from starting their own programs. Washington, D.C. and Seattle are two cities in particular whose programs are thriving. “I’ve used the ones in Seattle,” said Brian LaVoie, Manager of the Streets and Traffic for the City of West Hartford. “I think bike-sharing is great. If I could bike to work, I would. But, I live about 25 miles away.”

Conversations on Climate Change

by Eileen Weber

As part of Fairfield University’s Climate Change Week, a panel of political experts converged at the Barone Campus Center Thursday night. The main topic focused on greenhouse gas emissions and what Connecticut is doing to try to reduce it. The panelists represented the local, state, and national viewpoints on the subject.

Carbon emission is the main greenhouse gas that is affecting the environment. “Global politicians agree that climate change is a problem, but nobody can quite agree on how to go about it or how to gauge it,” said Professor Downie, Director of the Program on the Environment at Fairfield University who moderated the lecture.

To those who scoff at global warming, “The science is indisputable at this point,” said panelist Danielle Rosengarten, Counsel and Legal Assistant to Senator Joseph Lieberman.

She went on to say that Washington’s change in administration was a huge gain for climate change. But to panelist Robert Wall, of Energy Marketing Initiatives at the Rocky Hill-based Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), climate change is still the “800 pound gorilla” in the room.

A little more than six months ago, the global warming bill for this state was passed. Its ambitious goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17% in 2020 and a whopping 80% by 2050. But with mass transit still under-utilized including a Waterbury-Hartford train line still in the planning stages, transportation, and its ensuing carbon emissions, is still an issue.

Need A Ride?

by Eileen Weber

A few months ago, a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to carpool to a meeting we were both attending. I said, “Carpooling. It’s the new 'Driving Alone!'”

Well, not exactly. It seems not too many people carpool. According to the last U.S. Census, most Americans drive solo. In a survey conducted in 2005, 87.7% of commuters use their car to get to work and 77% of them drive alone. On the flip side, only 4.7% of workers use public transportation. In an earlier survey in 2004, Hawaii had the highest carpooling rate at 16.4% while Massachusetts was the lowest at 7.2%. Connecticut was not much better at 7.8%.

What’s so great about carpooling? At the end of the day, you’re still stuck in traffic. But now, you’re stuck in traffic with someone you don’t really know. The most obvious reasons for the commuting alternative are the decrease in traffic congestion and carbon emissions expelled into the air. Another benefit is that some people actually like the personal interaction from meeting new people. It can make the drive seem faster.

For those who choose not to carpool, they have their reasons. Many people often have to work late or their schedule is too unpredictable. But for some, it’s just the inconvenience of relying on someone else’s schedule that makes carpooling, or ridesharing, unappealing.

Inconvenience aside, carpooling is a necessary option in a bad economy. When belts are tightening and the gas prices are high, more people choose to bum a ride.

Riders On The Rise

by Eileen Weber

Earlier this week in a press release, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced a 6.5% increase in ridership on mass transit. While ridership has steadily increased this year because of the rise in gas prices and the economic downturn, the announcement packs a greater punch.

During the third quarter of this year, the increase in public transportation occurred as unemployment rose and gas prices fell. “The fact that public transit ridership surged while gas prices and highway travel declined,” said William W. Millar, President of APTA in the release dated December 8th, “shows a growing demand for more bus and rail services.”

Unemployment and gas prices are two main elements that typically drive ridership down. Instead, it’s gone up. The increase is the largest the country has seen in one fiscal quarter in 25 years. From 2007 to 2008, the number of trips on U.S. public transit jumped to 10.3 billion. That statistic is the highest increase in 50 years.

Ticking Off the Ice Cream Truck Man

I was at the park today with my kids when a diesel ice cream truck pulled in. The man, in his fifties, kept the fifteen year old truck spewing smoke as he passed out frozen treats packed with artificial colors and flavors and enough preservatives to outlive the kids who ate them.

I stood by silently, my  young ones knowing better than to ask, since for the past four years their mommy claims not to have any money, or rambles on about how unhealthy that ice cream is, convincing them to go to the New Morning to pick up some organic, lactose-free, all natural, frozen desserts.

Then it hit me: this must have been what the first proponents of banning second hand smoke must have felt like. Unsure, insecure, timid. I marched up to the truck and asked if he'd be staying long. "Nope."
"Good, I replied, because we can smell your truck all the way across the park."  "If you're so worried about it, why didn't you walk instead of drive here?" he spat back.

Tonight, I'll dream of electric powered ice cream trucks that sell organic, healthy frozen treats on sultry summer days.

Cycling Activity vs. National Gas Prices

Thanks to Design New Haven  and Mark Abraham for this post!

Looks like the number of posts per day on the ElmCityCycling listserv, a forum for making New Haven more accommodating to bicyclists and pedestrians, is highly correlated with the national price of unleaded gasoline (click on chart to enlarge). Who would have thought?

With gasoline predicted to hit $6-10 per gallon as soon as a few months from now, the number of nonmotorized trips to work in New Haven is only likely to continue to increase. As a relatively flat and compact city, Downtown New Haven is already perfect for bicycling and walking, as evidenced by the fact that the city has one of the highest percentages of bicycle commuters in the United States (1.8%, versus 1.2% in Boston, 0.9% in Providence, 0.6% in New York City, 0.4% in Hartford, 0.1% in Bridgeport and 0.0% in Waterbury, according to the Census Bureau's 2006 ACS). During rush hour, there are already occasional bicycle "traffic jams" on the popular Orange Street bicycle lane. New Haven was also recently named one of the 20 most walkable cities in the United States.

However, improvements to the city's bicycle-friendliness are needed before the average area resident will choose to ride to work, or even use his or her bicycle for short trips (e.g., a 4-block run to the corner store). Considering that bicycles are already widely-owned (and very inexpensive), the most frequently given reasons why Connecticut residents don't bicycle more often - infrastructure and safety - are fairly easy to solve. According to numerous studies, infrastructure such as bicycle parking, bike-friendly street design, multi-use greenways like the Farmington Canal Trail and accessibility at train stations raise land values by an amount much greater than the investment put into them (in part because they tend to calm traffic). Reckless and high-speed driving and driver education can be addressed through community-wide efforts and traffic enforcement, and through measures such as anti-dooring ordinances like those found in Chicago.