International Walk + Bike to School Day - October 2007
The first Wednesday of October, millions of children, parents,
teachers, and community leaders throughout the world walk to school to
celebrate International Walk to School Day. WPC supports the efforts
of local schools who participate in the event. Follow this link
to learn more about the event. To learn more about what
happened locally, visit the Oregon Walk+Bike to School website here and the WPC page here.
Check in for events for the 2008 International Walk + Bike to School Day
Annual WPC Membership Meeting - February 20, 2008
The annual meeting of the Willamette Pedestrian Coalition took
place at the Lucky Lab Beer Hall at 1925 NW Quimby in Portland
Members met the new director, Lynn
Lindgren-Schreuder, had a preview of the upcoming Pedestrian Legal
Seminars by
Ray Thomas. Saw the video "Portland Walks Be Safe", held elections. We
are also pleased to announce the the 2008 recipients of the Golden Sole
were Mark Lear and Sharon White of the Portland Office of
Transportation.
WPC
on KBOO
Thursday, January 31,
Willamette
Pedestrian Coalition
President Mike
Dennis and WPC
director Lynn
Lindgren-Schreuder
joined Kate Welch to discuss how walking is another step we can all take to
combat global warming. Lynn, Mike and Kate discussed:
• Willamette
Pedestrian Coalition’s role in the
community
• Laws that protect pedestrians
• Exciting things that are happening in the community
for pedestrians
Listen to the interview.
Walk + Bike Wednesdays
Walk + Bike
Wednesdays is organized in tandem with International Walk + Bike to
School Day, which takes place each October. The program is designed to
continue the momentum created by Walk + Bike to School Day through the
school year, and provide encouragement and opportunities for increased
physical activity and reduced traffic during the school day.
Walk + Bike Wednesdays were organized by the Bicycle Transportation
Alliance (BTA) and Willamette Pedestrian Coalition (WPC) and sponsored
by The Bike Gallery, Bike & Hike, River City Bicycles, and
NikeGO. Each bike shop sponsored a neighborhood school as part of
their goal to get more kids physically active.
Nearly 700 schoolchildren walked or 'rolled' to and from school during
May and early June of 2004 at three pilot schools in Portland during
"Walk + Bike Wednesdays." The program improves kids' health by
encouraging walking, biking, rollerblading, skateboarding or scootering
(non-motorized) to school. Many kids began walking or biking to school
for the first time due to the program, and many parents were compelled
to join them. WPC met with Site Council,the
Police
Department, the school principal and others to answer questions and
provide guidance for encouragement, education, enforcement and
engineering activities planned for the 2005-06 school year.
Portland Pedestrian Summit
WPC partnered with Elders in Action, Active Living By Design, Multnomah
County Health Department, the City of Portland Pedestrian Advisory
Committee, Office of Neighborhood Involvement, and Portland Office of
Transportation to organize the first Portland Pedestrian Summit. The
summit was a daylong event held on November 6th, 2004 at Portland State
University. The focus of the summit was networking among advocates,
learning from one another and working together to develop solutions to
issues facing pedestrians.
Pedestrian Summit II was held September 10, 2005, hosted by Portland
Mayor Tom Potter. WPC was a sponsor of this event, along with the
Portland Office of Transportation (PDOT), Southwest Neighbors Southwest
Trail Group, Rose City Roamers, and Portland's Community and School
Traffic Safety Partnership. The Summit featured interactive and
practical workshops on how to get things done for pedestrians.
