According to the 2010 American Community Survey, only 2.6% of Hartford commuters go by bicycle; only 29% of those bicycle commuters are female.
If paying $4.08 per gallon has not been sufficient to motivate people to find better transportation than the single-occupant vehicle, it’s hard to imagine what would.
CTrides, a network created by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, is providing a bit of peer pressure to get asses out of the driver seat and onto bicycle saddles. Their goal is to have 2,500 people select an alternative form of transportation — bike, walk, vanpool, carpool, bus, train, or telecommute — for at least one time during the week of May 14-18, 2012. CTrides provides commuters with information about specific transportation options in their region of the state, and offers commuters free trial trips by bus (ten ride pass) or vanpool (one week) so they can see if the mode would work for them. Currently, there are around 400 people willing to alter their plans just once next week.
On May 18th, there will be a Bike to Work breakfast on the lawn of the Old State House from 6:30-9, with a program beginning at 8 that morning. Tom Maziarz, DOT Chief of the Bureau of Policy and Planning is expected at this event, as is DEEP Commissioner Esty; the latter will be biking up from Cheshire.
BikeWalkCT provides resources for new and/or nervous cyclists. Worried about traffic? What to wear? Riding through puddles? BikeWalkCT can set you up with a cycling buddy who can give riding tips.
Still not convinced? Check out this list of 61 benefits of bicycling, which includes gems like “bicyclist can ignore the highway traffic jam reports” and “cheaper parking.” Need reasons to walk? Those exist too. Reasons for using public transportation? Reasons to telecommute? People have been there, done that, and compiled lists of excuses for others to leave their cars in the driveway, at least on occasion.
What are your reasons for not always driving just yourself around? What is your preferred method of alternative transportation?
Josh LaPorte
I walk. I bike sometimes when time is tight, but I don’t enjoy it much. Driving just stresses me out. I feel like there is a lot of attention on biking but not so much on walking. Most destinations in Hartford are very walkable. I get most places on foot in 20 minutes or less. Not bad. Bike takes less but I need to haul it out of basement, lock it when I arrive, and deal with the really horribly hostile car drivers. Walking feels calming and meditative. Biking feels almost as stressful as driving a car.
Kerri Provost
The route can make all the difference.
Jennifer S.
My commute is less than two miles each way. It is too short of a distance for the car to warm up in the winter or cool down in the summer. I also feel much better when I get to my office if I’ve exercised a bit. My job is incredibly sedentary, so biking or walking to work has become necessary for me. The cost of gas does come into play, too.
Kerri Provost
Do you have a bike rack at your job? Where do you keep it while you’re working?
Jennifer S.
There is no official bike rack, though a railing that works well for visitors. I am very fortunate that they allow me to keep the bike in the building during the day. At a previous employer in Hartford there were bike racks, in a garage used by higher ups. I liked to say I had preferred parking (status symbol) when I biked in.