Raising Support for More Bike Transportation

Author: Matthew Christ

The town of Middlebury, because of its size and centrality, is easy to navigate. What would make the town healthier and more accessible would be an increase in biking and walking to businesses and local merchants. The daily congestion would be lessened, parking would not be as large a problem and we would all make a step towards lessening oil dependence and local air pollution.

To achieve these goals, the Middlebury Bike Club has organized two events to raise awareness about the issue and to build excitement about biking to work: the Bike to Work Challenge and the Bike Parade. Ben Brouwer '04, Michael Azzara '02.5 and Zoe Owers '02 were all instrumental in organizing the events.

Brouwer is certainly an appropriate member of the community to organize these events because of his biking experience. Last summer he saved 3,600 miles worth of energy by biking home to Washington State from Vermont. He also was one of the founders of the Yellow Bike program.

The Bike to Work Challenge, which officially began on May 3, is designed to promote biking and alternate forms of transportation as opposed to single-occupancy vehicles. The challenge will last until May 17, and the contestants include local businesses and different departments at Middlebury College. The contest will be judged according to the percentage of members in each organization that bike, walk or carpool to work. Those who bike are asked to record the number of miles they have biked during the three weeks, and the group with the most miles will be awarded a prize. A prize will also be given to the group with the most members not driving to work.

The other event organized by the Bike Club, the Bike Parade, was held last Friday. The parade began at Twilight Hall, went through town, and finished in front of Proctor Hall. Over 75 people participated in the parade, and they carried banners with such phrases as "Make Middlebury Bike Friendly," "More Bikes, Less Cars" and "Celebrate Clean Energy." The parade concluded at the Middlebury College Community May Day celebration. The town provided support in the form of two Middlebury police officers who rode along in the parade to assist in traffic control. In order to gain official parade status, Brouwer had to obtain a permit from the town. The parade hoped not only to raise awareness of the devastating environmental effects caused by single-occupancy vehicles, but also to help improve local bike infrastructure.

Issues such as global climate change, international oil dependence, local air pollution and traffic congestion are all effects of excessive single-occupancy vehicle use. Biking, walking and carpooling are methods of transportation that will improve the health, social structure and environment of the community. Improving the biking infrastructure in town would make biking safer and more prevalent.

For Brouwer, although "it was spectacular to see 75 bikes going over the bridge in town with traffic stopped in either direction," he wished the events could have focused more on Middlebury student biking because he feels the amount of students driving on such a small campus is obscene.