April 2019 SRTS Newsletter
Get Ready,
May is National Bike Month!
Plan Your Bike to School Event - We Can Help!

  • May is National Bike Month!
  • National Bike to School Day is May 8!  
  • National Bike to Work Week is May 13-19!
  • Bike to Work Day is May 17!
 
Whether you commute by bike to work or school, ride to save money or time, pump those pedals to preserve your health or the environment, or simply to explore your community,  National Bike Month  is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride.

Plan Your Event

Participants kicked off last year's ride in record-breaking numbers! Thousands of students in Maine pedaled their way to school during the 2018 Bike to School Day celebration—and a record 3,205 schools across the country, from Maine to Hawaii participated.

Visit walkbiketoschool.org  for event ideas and how-to resources.

Free Handouts and Materials

Walk and Bike to School Days—weekly, monthly, annually, or one-time—are fun community events. 


Adults too!  

Get the tools to inspire and plan community-wide  participation for all ages .
Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Education
Invite a Safety Instructor to Your Classroom!

Host a classroom presentation or bicycle safety rodeo at your school! The Maine SRTS Program offers free bicycle & pedestrian safety education to schools, rec programs, and other youth and adult organizations.

Contact Erik daSilva with questions or click here to make a request!

Or Teach the Content Yourself!

Learn the key points to help your friends, family, students, co-workers, and community ride and walk more safely. Several dates and times are scheduled for both classroom presentations and bicycle safety rodeos . We also have Traffic Skills 101 courses and a League Cycling Instructor seminar coming right up!

Our Most Popular Safety Handouts:
Please Use and Share
  1. Be Alert, Look, & Listen
  2. Be Seen, Day or Night
  3. Use Sidewalks or Walk Against Traffic
  4. Cross with Care
  1. Wear Your Helmet, Do It the Right Way
  2. Dress Bright & Tight
  3. Check Your Bike, ABCQ
  4. Obey the Rules of the Road
Did you know there is no single catalog of basic information about Safe Routes to School programs throughout the country? Without this information, it is difficult to track trends and progress in the Safe Routes to School movement and provide targeted support and resources to local communities. That’s why the Safe Routes to School National Partnership is asking every Safe Routes to School program to complete a census to share information about your program.

The purpose of this survey is to identify as many Safe Routes to School programs as possible in the United States (and beyond!) By compiling this information, we will develop a better understanding of Safe Routes to School programs, identify areas that need additional support, and provide better resources and information related to Safe Routes to School.

Who should fill out a Safe Routes to School Program Census survey form? We are looking for one entry from each Safe Routes to School program.

What is a Safe Routes to School program? Any local, regional, or state initiative—by whatever name, funded or unfunded—that takes action to get more kids walking and biking safely to and from school. If your initiative runs a walking school bus or provides bike education in schools, you are a Safe Routes to School program!

If you think you might be a program, but you’re not sure, go ahead and fill it out anyway.

The deadline to complete the survey is April 19.
Grant Opportunities
People for Bikes

The PeopleForBikes Community Grant Program supports bicycle infrastructure projects and targeted advocacy initiatives that make it easier and safer for people of all ages and abilities to ride.

Online letter of interest due: July 26


Recreational Trails Program

The  Recreational Trails Program  (RTP) provides up to 80-percent funding assistance for acquisition and/or development of all kinds of recreational trails. Eligible project sponsors can be any land-managing agency or organization—even private landowners—as long as the trails developed or improved are open and accessible to the public. This is a very flexible program to help solve a wide range of your trail needs.

Application Deadline: Sept 27
Anyone considering applying is encouraged to attend one of the RTP workshops offered throughout the state in April.
Upcoming Webinars
Bike/Ped Safety Instructor Training 

Learn the key points to help your friends, family, students, co-workers, and community ride and walk more safely.
Wed, 5/1 @ 7:00 p.m.


Bicycle Rodeo Training

Learn how to market a bicycle rodeo course, set up the course, and promote hands-on safe bicycle driving!
Mon, 4/22 @ 8:00 a.m.
Mon, 5/13 @ 7:00 p.m.


What's Next for Walkable Communities

Explore programs, resources, and practices that are putting walking front and center in the future of communities.
Wed, 4/10 @ 2:00 p.m.


Creating Age-Friendly Streets

Prepare our local transportation networks to support the mobility needs of older adults and keep them safe.
Mon, 4/22 @ 1:00 p.m.


Equitable Development: Back to Basics

To ensure that community improvements can allow residents to stay and thrive in place, a deliberate, inclusive plan that reflects community priorities and safeguards local culture and affordability is required.
Mon, 4/29 @ 2:00 p.m.


Creating Active Routes to Everyday Destinations

Expand opportunities for active transportation between home, school, work, and other everyday destinations. 
Thur, 5/2 @ 1:00 p.m.


Fuel for Active Bodies: Increasing Access to Healthy Foods

Learn how communities are working to increase access—via walking and active transportation—to healthy food in their own backyards.
Wed, 5/8 @ 2:00 p.m.
The Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s Great Maine Bike Swap offers a great way to buy and sell quality used bicycles.

At the Swap, you can choose from hundreds of bikes including hybrids, road bikes, mountain bikes, children’s bikes, recumbents, and more. The inventory covers all price ranges, so you’re sure to find something that suits your budget.

  • WHEN: Sunday, April 14, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (Drop off bikes on Saturday, April 13 from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.)

  • WHERE: Sullivan Recreation and Fitness Complex, 66 Falmouth Road, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME

Bicycle Coalition of Maine | (207) 623-4511 | 38 Diamond St, Portland, ME 04101 | saferoutes@bikemaine.org