Location: Los Angeles, CA
Website: www.beta.ciclavia.org
CicLAvia catalyzes vibrant public spaces, active transportation and good health through car-free streets.
CicLAvia engages with people to transform our relationship with our communities and with each other.
CicLAvia makes the streets safe for people to walk, skate, play and ride a bike. There are activities along the route. Shop owners and restaurants are encouraged to open their doors to people along the CicLAvia
Ciclovías started in Bogotá, Colombia, over thirty years ago as a response to the congestion and pollution of city streets. Now they happen throughout Latin America and the United States.
Connecting communities and giving people a break from the stress of car traffic. The health benefits are immense. Ciclovías bring families outside of their homes to enjoy the streets, our largest public space. In Los Angeles we need CicLAvia more than ever. Our streets are congested with traffic, our air is polluted with toxic fumes, our children suffer from obesity and other health conditions caused by the scarcity of public space and safe, healthy transportation options. CicLAvia creates a temporary park for free, simply by removing cars from city streets. It creates a network of connections between our neighborhoods and businesses and parks with corridors filled with fun.
Showing posts with label Walking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walking. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Walk Bike Transit
Location: Chicago, IL
Website: www.walkbiketransit.org
Walk Bike Transit is a non-partisan political action committee conceived as a means of engaging in political advocacy that is off-limits to 501c3 not-for-profit advocacy groups.
As a political organization, our mission is to influence elections and candidates on behalf of active transportation issues. As such, WBT has mobilized voters all across the city to engage and support local candidates on the importance of better biking, walking and transit options.
Our strategic approach has been built around district and ward-specific events organized by WBT and hosted for candidates around elections. These events have provided voters the opportunity to engage with candidates on the importance of bikeable, walkable and transit-friendly communities. In turn, candidates were given the chance to earn support by demonstrating an understanding and commitment to active transportation issues.
Perhaps most importantly, Walk Bike Transit events mark the beginning of an ongoing dialogue about ways in which communities and leaders can work together towards a practical vision for transforming transportation options.
Website: www.walkbiketransit.org
Walk Bike Transit is a non-partisan political action committee conceived as a means of engaging in political advocacy that is off-limits to 501c3 not-for-profit advocacy groups.
As a political organization, our mission is to influence elections and candidates on behalf of active transportation issues. As such, WBT has mobilized voters all across the city to engage and support local candidates on the importance of better biking, walking and transit options.
Our strategic approach has been built around district and ward-specific events organized by WBT and hosted for candidates around elections. These events have provided voters the opportunity to engage with candidates on the importance of bikeable, walkable and transit-friendly communities. In turn, candidates were given the chance to earn support by demonstrating an understanding and commitment to active transportation issues.
Perhaps most importantly, Walk Bike Transit events mark the beginning of an ongoing dialogue about ways in which communities and leaders can work together towards a practical vision for transforming transportation options.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Stairway Walks of San Francisco
Location: San Francisco, CA
Website: www.sfstairwaywalks.weebly.com
Hundreds of stairways traverse San Francisco's 42 hills, exposing scenic vistas and linking diverse neighborhoods.
Recently released in its 6th edition, Stairway Walks in San Francisco has something for everyone, whether you want to explore a different San Francisco neighborhood, find an inspiring exercise route, or learn about the City's history and architecture.
The author, Adah Bakalinsky, is the queen of San Francisco's majestic, quirky, and quotidian stairways. Walker nonpareil and veteran guide, she explores the hidden corridors and cul-de-sacs of the city, charting neighborhood changes by gathering stories from residents, gardeners, and shopkeepers. She knows this city inside and out, from bottom to top, and most certainly like the backs of her...ummm...shoes.
You really should meet her sometime. So mark your calendars for the biggest stairways extravaganza of the year - May 5th San Francisco Stairway Day.
From Lands Ends to Eureka Valley, you'll be able to go on FREE walking tours with the City Guides of San Francisco (a project of the San Francisco Public Library), rub shoulders with Adah and other stairway-devotees, and undoubtedly discover a wholly new perspective of the city.
And don't leave your camera behind! To show off your skills, please join our group on Flickr,www.flickr.com/groups/stairwaywalks, where Wilderness Press will be hosting an ongoing photo contest. As Adah says, "Happy heeling, frisky footing, and merry walking!"
Website: www.sfstairwaywalks.weebly.com
Hundreds of stairways traverse San Francisco's 42 hills, exposing scenic vistas and linking diverse neighborhoods.
Recently released in its 6th edition, Stairway Walks in San Francisco has something for everyone, whether you want to explore a different San Francisco neighborhood, find an inspiring exercise route, or learn about the City's history and architecture.
The author, Adah Bakalinsky, is the queen of San Francisco's majestic, quirky, and quotidian stairways. Walker nonpareil and veteran guide, she explores the hidden corridors and cul-de-sacs of the city, charting neighborhood changes by gathering stories from residents, gardeners, and shopkeepers. She knows this city inside and out, from bottom to top, and most certainly like the backs of her...ummm...shoes.
You really should meet her sometime. So mark your calendars for the biggest stairways extravaganza of the year - May 5th San Francisco Stairway Day.
From Lands Ends to Eureka Valley, you'll be able to go on FREE walking tours with the City Guides of San Francisco (a project of the San Francisco Public Library), rub shoulders with Adah and other stairway-devotees, and undoubtedly discover a wholly new perspective of the city.
And don't leave your camera behind! To show off your skills, please join our group on Flickr,www.flickr.com/groups/stairwaywalks, where Wilderness Press will be hosting an ongoing photo contest. As Adah says, "Happy heeling, frisky footing, and merry walking!"
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Big Parade Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Website: www.bigparadela.tumblr.com
The Big Parade is a two-day walk in Los Angeles. It includes about 100 public stairways over 35 miles, from downtown to the Mt. Hollywood.
The walk runs on a timetable, and is designed as a series of attached loops, so that people can come and go as they please - join us for a mile, an hour, or an epic. Along the way, there's music, art, history, guest speakers, and lots of surprises.
The Big Parade is 100% free (except for the pizza...see below.) No donations (again, except for the pizza), no sponsors, no merchandise - just a walk with friends and neighbors.
Despite the length (and uphill nature) of the journey, the Big Parade is meant to live up to its name — an event whose primary purpose is to entertain. The route is filled with talks and performances from local figures, and historical insights into the city's configuration.
The parade's secondary mission is to encourage a sense of community. The parade keeps pace with the slowest walker; and is described as ua simple 'walk with neighbors.
Website: www.bigparadela.tumblr.com
The Big Parade is a two-day walk in Los Angeles. It includes about 100 public stairways over 35 miles, from downtown to the Mt. Hollywood.
The walk runs on a timetable, and is designed as a series of attached loops, so that people can come and go as they please - join us for a mile, an hour, or an epic. Along the way, there's music, art, history, guest speakers, and lots of surprises.
The Big Parade is 100% free (except for the pizza...see below.) No donations (again, except for the pizza), no sponsors, no merchandise - just a walk with friends and neighbors.
Despite the length (and uphill nature) of the journey, the Big Parade is meant to live up to its name — an event whose primary purpose is to entertain. The route is filled with talks and performances from local figures, and historical insights into the city's configuration.
The parade's secondary mission is to encourage a sense of community. The parade keeps pace with the slowest walker; and is described as ua simple 'walk with neighbors.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Location: Nationwide
Website: www.railstotrails.org
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission it is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy serves as the national voice for more than 150,000 members and supporters, 20,000-plus miles of rail-trail throughout the country, and more than 9,000 miles of potential rail-trails waiting to be built.
We have supported the tremendous growth and development of rail-trails since opening our doors February 1, 1986. Then, there were fewer than 200 known rail-trails. Today, there are more than 1,600 preserved pathways that form the backbone of a growing trail system that spans communities, regions, states and, indeed, the entire country.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy remains dedicated to the creation of a nationwide network of trails. Further, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is committed to enhancing the health of America's environment, transportation, economy, neighborhoods and people—ensuring a better future made possible by trails and the connections they inspire.
Website: www.railstotrails.org
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission it is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy serves as the national voice for more than 150,000 members and supporters, 20,000-plus miles of rail-trail throughout the country, and more than 9,000 miles of potential rail-trails waiting to be built.
We have supported the tremendous growth and development of rail-trails since opening our doors February 1, 1986. Then, there were fewer than 200 known rail-trails. Today, there are more than 1,600 preserved pathways that form the backbone of a growing trail system that spans communities, regions, states and, indeed, the entire country.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy remains dedicated to the creation of a nationwide network of trails. Further, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is committed to enhancing the health of America's environment, transportation, economy, neighborhoods and people—ensuring a better future made possible by trails and the connections they inspire.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
SF City Guides
Location: San Francisco, CA
Website: www.sfcityguides.org
Do I need to make a reservation?
No. Just show up at the time and place indicated on the schedule. (NOTE: We ask groups of 8 or more to schedule a special tour several weeks in advance.)
How do I recognize the guide?
Your guide will be wearing a badge that displays the City Guides logo. If you don’t see the badge, just look for someone at the appointed place who seems ready to lead a tour.
What are the tours like?
Very fun and informative. We'll show you a combination of tried-and-true San Francisco landmarks and off-the-beaten-path sites.
What if it rains?
We walk rain or shine. We do have a few indoor tours: Palace Hotel, Fire Dept Museum, Coit Tower. But most of our tours are outdoors, and our policy is if guests are ready to walk, we lead the tour. We don’t have a snow policy, but the last major snowstorm in San Francisco was in the 1890s. So we’ll play that one by ear. (Note, however, that a very few tours take place where the terrain would raise safety issues or otherwise be particularly unsuited for walking in the rain. The individual tour descriptions will indicate, in such cases, that the tour will be cancelled in case of rain.)
What if the guide does not show up?
We would like to say that this just does not happen. However, guides can experience an emergency and not make it to the starting place. A no-show is a rare event.
Are tours strenuous?
Mostly no, although walking in San Francisco often involves hills. We try to indicate in the tour descriptions the somewhat strenuous tours. If you have mobility concerns, call the City Guides.
Can my (large) group join a City Guides tour?
City Guides does not allow groups of 8 or more to join our regularly scheduled walks. Large groups are a challenge and need to be pre-scheduled as private group tours.
Are pets allowed?
In consideration of the health, safety and comfort of our walkers, pets are not allowed on tours. Besides common fears and allergies, pets can cause distractions or safety hazards during a walking tour. Pets are prohibited by public law or private policy in some buildings included on tours. Licensed service animals are excepted.
Do you give tours on holidays?
City Guides runs a very limited schedule on these holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. Please check our website on those dates to view an accurate limited schedule of our tours.
What do tours cost?
Regularly scheduled City Guides tours are free, although donations are always welcome. We can arrange special tours (see below), which do have a fee.
How do I arrange for a private group tour?
Private tours are available for groups or organizations for a suggested donation of $12 per person. Groups of 8 or more need to make arrangements in advance. A discounted rate of $10 per person applies for senior groups. Click here for more.
Tours for school groups (grades 4-12) are $5 per person.
Are donations accepted on regular tours?
Yes. Yes. Yes. Running an organization like this costs money even though the tours are given by volunteer guides. You can make a donation when you take a tour or you can become a sponsor (or both).
Who runs City Guides?
City Guides is a non-profit, primarily volunteer operation. Officially, we are a partner of the San Francisco Parks Alliance. There are more than 200 active guides. The guides annually elect, from among themselves, a management board. We have one full-time program director who runs the office.
What is your relationship to the San Francisco library?
City Guides has always had a special relationship with the San Francisco library. We got our start more than 30 years ago when a San Francisco mayor asked the city librarian to find volunteers to give tours in City Hall. In our early years, we were funded as a project of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. While no longer connected to the Friends, we still receive sponsorship from the library. City Guides provides fun yet educational services that are a logical extension of a free public library, which is the reason we continue to provide tours to the public without charge.
Where do you get your funding?
The majority of our funding comes from the voluntary donations made by those who take our tours and from individual sponsorships. We also receive modest grants from Grants for the Arts of the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund and other organizations.
How can I become a City Guide?
We periodically hold a six-month course for new guides at an enrollment cost of $200. You’ll attend a series of Saturday talks by authorities on San Francisco history and receive coaching on tour presentation.
Website: www.sfcityguides.org
Do I need to make a reservation?
No. Just show up at the time and place indicated on the schedule. (NOTE: We ask groups of 8 or more to schedule a special tour several weeks in advance.)
How do I recognize the guide?
Your guide will be wearing a badge that displays the City Guides logo. If you don’t see the badge, just look for someone at the appointed place who seems ready to lead a tour.
What are the tours like?
Very fun and informative. We'll show you a combination of tried-and-true San Francisco landmarks and off-the-beaten-path sites.
What if it rains?
We walk rain or shine. We do have a few indoor tours: Palace Hotel, Fire Dept Museum, Coit Tower. But most of our tours are outdoors, and our policy is if guests are ready to walk, we lead the tour. We don’t have a snow policy, but the last major snowstorm in San Francisco was in the 1890s. So we’ll play that one by ear. (Note, however, that a very few tours take place where the terrain would raise safety issues or otherwise be particularly unsuited for walking in the rain. The individual tour descriptions will indicate, in such cases, that the tour will be cancelled in case of rain.)
What if the guide does not show up?
We would like to say that this just does not happen. However, guides can experience an emergency and not make it to the starting place. A no-show is a rare event.
Are tours strenuous?
Mostly no, although walking in San Francisco often involves hills. We try to indicate in the tour descriptions the somewhat strenuous tours. If you have mobility concerns, call the City Guides.
Can my (large) group join a City Guides tour?
City Guides does not allow groups of 8 or more to join our regularly scheduled walks. Large groups are a challenge and need to be pre-scheduled as private group tours.
Are pets allowed?
In consideration of the health, safety and comfort of our walkers, pets are not allowed on tours. Besides common fears and allergies, pets can cause distractions or safety hazards during a walking tour. Pets are prohibited by public law or private policy in some buildings included on tours. Licensed service animals are excepted.
Do you give tours on holidays?
City Guides runs a very limited schedule on these holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. Please check our website on those dates to view an accurate limited schedule of our tours.
What do tours cost?
Regularly scheduled City Guides tours are free, although donations are always welcome. We can arrange special tours (see below), which do have a fee.
How do I arrange for a private group tour?
Private tours are available for groups or organizations for a suggested donation of $12 per person. Groups of 8 or more need to make arrangements in advance. A discounted rate of $10 per person applies for senior groups. Click here for more.
Tours for school groups (grades 4-12) are $5 per person.
Are donations accepted on regular tours?
Yes. Yes. Yes. Running an organization like this costs money even though the tours are given by volunteer guides. You can make a donation when you take a tour or you can become a sponsor (or both).
Who runs City Guides?
City Guides is a non-profit, primarily volunteer operation. Officially, we are a partner of the San Francisco Parks Alliance. There are more than 200 active guides. The guides annually elect, from among themselves, a management board. We have one full-time program director who runs the office.
What is your relationship to the San Francisco library?
City Guides has always had a special relationship with the San Francisco library. We got our start more than 30 years ago when a San Francisco mayor asked the city librarian to find volunteers to give tours in City Hall. In our early years, we were funded as a project of the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. While no longer connected to the Friends, we still receive sponsorship from the library. City Guides provides fun yet educational services that are a logical extension of a free public library, which is the reason we continue to provide tours to the public without charge.
Where do you get your funding?
The majority of our funding comes from the voluntary donations made by those who take our tours and from individual sponsorships. We also receive modest grants from Grants for the Arts of the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund and other organizations.
How can I become a City Guide?
We periodically hold a six-month course for new guides at an enrollment cost of $200. You’ll attend a series of Saturday talks by authorities on San Francisco history and receive coaching on tour presentation.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Liveable City
Location: San Francisco, CA
Website: www.liveablecity.org
Mission -
To create a balanced transportation system and promote complementary land use that supports a safer, healthier and more accessible San Francisco for everyone.
Goals -
Promote policies which shift travel from automobiles to more appropriate means.
Safety, livability, and economic vitality in a growing city are dependent on a reduction in our dependence on the automobile. To accomplish this goal, Livable City will promote the alternatives to the public, work with public agencies at their request to improve the provision of alternatives, and assist the various alternative transportation advocacy groups.
Improve the pedestrian environment...
Livable cities are built for walking, with bicycling and public transit as complementary modes. Livable City is working to integrate pedestrian improvements into neighborhood plans and street and corridor projects, advocate for completion of pedestrian projects citywide, support revitalization of the City's plazas and public open spaces, and support the efforts of neighborhood groups to improve the walkability of their neighborhoods through technical support and advocacy.
Livable City works with other pedestrian advocacy groups, including Walk San Francisco and Senior Action Network, to advocate for better planning, design, traffic management, education, and enforcement to improve pedestrian safety and promote walking in San Francisco.
Improve conditions for bicycling...
Support the Bicycle Coalition's charitable and educational efforts to promote the bicycle for everyday transportation. Livable City's goals include creating a bold and thorough bicylce plan for the city that will facilitate an increase in the percentage of trips made by bicycle from 3-5% today to 10% by 2015.
Improve public transit...
Muni will need continued public support to secure needed funding for operations, maintenance, and capital improvements and to establish transit priority in important corridors. Livable City worked to secure funding for Muni improvements in Propostion K, San Francisco's successful transportation sales tax, and is working to implement a citywide network of rapid transit and transit-priority routes that will improve Muni's speed and reliability, lower its operating costs, and attract new riders. Livable City also supports upgrading Caltrain to rapid transit-type service and extending it to the Transbay Terminal, and improving the accessibility and connectivity of the BART system.
Build an effective coalition for broad-based transportation reform.
Projects include our organization of a sustainable transportation summit, our participation in the Housing Action Coalition, greater participation by Livable City in the regional coalitions that already exist, and a new project to gain consensus support for the construction of significant amounts of affordable housing in walking-, biking-, and transit-accessible locations.
Integrate ecological design into the transportation system...
Transportation has an enormous impact on the local and global environment. 27% of the energy generated in the US goes to transportation, and transportation accounts for two-thirds of the petroleum consumed in the US. The waste and inefficiency built in to our automobile-based transportation system also threatens to consume greater and greater amounts of government and private resources; parking expert Donald Shoup estimates that the amount of money spent in the US each year subsidizing parking alone is equal to the amount spent on Medicare or national defense.
Livable City is dedicated to lessening the impact of transportation on the environment by encouraging human-powered transportation (walking and bicycling), discouraging automobile use, promoting compact and mixed-use development that minimizes the distance and cost of transport, and greening public transport by encouraging electrification of diesel bus and rail lines and improving the energy and resource efficiency of lighting, buildings, and vehicles. Livable City also supports integrating more "green infrastructure"—street trees, landscaping, permeable paving, parks and squares, "green streets", greenways, and greenbelts—into the city's transportation system.
Create a long-term, comprehensive traffic-calming plan for the City...
Livable City has worked over the past few years to change city standards and policies to include greater emphasis on pedestrian accessibility and safety in street design. We are working to make the city's upcoming streetscape master plan an opportunity to institute traffic calming measures on a citywide scale, as well as create detailed neighborhood-scale transportation and streetscape plans.
Website: www.liveablecity.org
Mission -
To create a balanced transportation system and promote complementary land use that supports a safer, healthier and more accessible San Francisco for everyone.
Goals -
Promote policies which shift travel from automobiles to more appropriate means.
Safety, livability, and economic vitality in a growing city are dependent on a reduction in our dependence on the automobile. To accomplish this goal, Livable City will promote the alternatives to the public, work with public agencies at their request to improve the provision of alternatives, and assist the various alternative transportation advocacy groups.
Improve the pedestrian environment...
Livable cities are built for walking, with bicycling and public transit as complementary modes. Livable City is working to integrate pedestrian improvements into neighborhood plans and street and corridor projects, advocate for completion of pedestrian projects citywide, support revitalization of the City's plazas and public open spaces, and support the efforts of neighborhood groups to improve the walkability of their neighborhoods through technical support and advocacy.
Livable City works with other pedestrian advocacy groups, including Walk San Francisco and Senior Action Network, to advocate for better planning, design, traffic management, education, and enforcement to improve pedestrian safety and promote walking in San Francisco.
Improve conditions for bicycling...
Support the Bicycle Coalition's charitable and educational efforts to promote the bicycle for everyday transportation. Livable City's goals include creating a bold and thorough bicylce plan for the city that will facilitate an increase in the percentage of trips made by bicycle from 3-5% today to 10% by 2015.
Improve public transit...
Muni will need continued public support to secure needed funding for operations, maintenance, and capital improvements and to establish transit priority in important corridors. Livable City worked to secure funding for Muni improvements in Propostion K, San Francisco's successful transportation sales tax, and is working to implement a citywide network of rapid transit and transit-priority routes that will improve Muni's speed and reliability, lower its operating costs, and attract new riders. Livable City also supports upgrading Caltrain to rapid transit-type service and extending it to the Transbay Terminal, and improving the accessibility and connectivity of the BART system.
Build an effective coalition for broad-based transportation reform.
Projects include our organization of a sustainable transportation summit, our participation in the Housing Action Coalition, greater participation by Livable City in the regional coalitions that already exist, and a new project to gain consensus support for the construction of significant amounts of affordable housing in walking-, biking-, and transit-accessible locations.
Integrate ecological design into the transportation system...
Transportation has an enormous impact on the local and global environment. 27% of the energy generated in the US goes to transportation, and transportation accounts for two-thirds of the petroleum consumed in the US. The waste and inefficiency built in to our automobile-based transportation system also threatens to consume greater and greater amounts of government and private resources; parking expert Donald Shoup estimates that the amount of money spent in the US each year subsidizing parking alone is equal to the amount spent on Medicare or national defense.
Livable City is dedicated to lessening the impact of transportation on the environment by encouraging human-powered transportation (walking and bicycling), discouraging automobile use, promoting compact and mixed-use development that minimizes the distance and cost of transport, and greening public transport by encouraging electrification of diesel bus and rail lines and improving the energy and resource efficiency of lighting, buildings, and vehicles. Livable City also supports integrating more "green infrastructure"—street trees, landscaping, permeable paving, parks and squares, "green streets", greenways, and greenbelts—into the city's transportation system.
Create a long-term, comprehensive traffic-calming plan for the City...
Livable City has worked over the past few years to change city standards and policies to include greater emphasis on pedestrian accessibility and safety in street design. We are working to make the city's upcoming streetscape master plan an opportunity to institute traffic calming measures on a citywide scale, as well as create detailed neighborhood-scale transportation and streetscape plans.
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