Addison County Regional Planning Commission (ACRPC) and Local Motion are teaming up to create an Addison County regional walk/bike council.
Come learn more 6 pm, Tuesday, April 12th at the ACRPC Office,14 Seminary Street, Middlebury. Pizza will be served.
RSVP by Friday, April 8th to Claire Tebbs, ACRPC, ctebbs@acrpc.org or 388-3141.
The goal of a regional walk/bike council is to expand opportunities and capacity for safe walking and biking in Addison County. ACRPC and Local Motion are seeking interested candidates passionate about walking/biking opportunities in towns and at the county level. The council will be made up of representatives from Bristol, Vergennes, Middlebury and ideally representatives from the NE, NW and Central districts of Addison County as well as experts in the field of transportation, health, universal access and youth. Council members would need to attend approx. 6-8 meetings/year – tbd by council, and be comfortable sharing information with leaders and decision makers in their town and neighboring towns. The walk/bike council will create a formal platform for connection between Addison County citizens, experts, towns, and local and state decision makers regarding walk/bike safety, infrastructure, education and advocacy.
Interested candidates will be vetted thru a town/RPC-led nomination process in the coming months.
History of Project: This Council came about In response to citizen interest. Following the deaths of four cyclists in Addison, Chittenden and Rutland County in 2015, Local Motion was approached by concerned citizens in Addison County on how local efforts could bring positive change to make roads safer for everyone including walkers, cyclists, bike commuters and more. A series of public meetings were held at ACRPC, facilitated by Local Motion. An ad hoc walk/bike committee formed to continue the conversations of the public meetings and to better understand ways to facilitate change in Addison County. The creation of a council that is technically supported by ACRPC and Local Motion is one such way to mobilize citizen interest and ideas, and channel them into existing and/or potential local, regional and state projects.
Support Structure: While the Addison Walk/Bike Council (AWBC) will be a citizen-led group, the formation of the council will be supported by ACRPC and Local Motion staff and their networking resources. Once the council is established, ACRPC will continue as staff liaison between the council, towns and the regional Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) when necessary. The TAC provides information to the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) on priority transportation projects in the County.