This Is The Third Year For Shasta Living Streets!

This is the third year for Shasta Living Streets! Today we’re remembering how this thing started, from a small group of enthusiasts, into a vibrant community organization.   – Here’s interesting commentary about our first event in 2011:

Michael D.D. Madden, Redding:  Livings Streets worth supporting

Kudos to the people who organized and ran the first Shasta Living Streets event Saturday.

Although the weather did not cooperate, the event was a milestone for Redding’s bike, walk, run, skateboard and outdoor fun community, and I look forward to the next one. Similar events in larger cities, such as San Francisco, have developed into huge successes, with thousands of people strolling and having fun on the closed-off streets. Those events also have attracted people from other communities, adding much needed revenue to the city’s coffers.

The Park Marina Drive venue was great. It would also be well worth considering the inclusion of Parkview Avenue behind City Hall, where the Earth Day festival and Farmer’s Market were being held, thus intertwining the events. This would present a nice chance to showcase the city’s efforts in turning a run-down neighborhood into a gem, something we can all be proud of. I hope that the City Council recognizes and supports the planning and execution of this event in the future.”

Family Bicycling Day – Be the Parade!

It’s an inside-out parade – that’s not just for bicycles!

It’s a modern event where everyone participates. 

The open-street makes it fun and safe to walk, skip, skate, dance and bicycle along Park Marina Drive while shopping at local businesses, listening to music and joining in activities. The route connects Turtle Bay to City Hall and is temporarily a car-free space.

Come out and celebrate what’s best about our community, supporting business and enjoying our beautiful city.

More information about all the activities on this beautiful Saturday:  Family Bicycling Day

Bicycling in the North State is Awesome

We want to Thank everyone for the enormous show of interest and support for the celebration of bicycling at the Cascade Theatre.   Bicycling in the North State is awesome!  This region has an amazing history for bicycling, and there are so many local groups and activities, amazing trails and events, and future plans that collectively make our region an exciting destination for people who love to bicycle and live an active outdoor lifestyle.

A special thank you to Mike Flanagan, our friendly and talented MC for the evening.  Mike did a great job of introducing people and keeping the different pieces of the show moving. Thank you to the Shasta Wheelmen who spent the night valet parking bicycles for attendees.

RevealThePath_EDC

Thank you to our speakers for the evening:  Francie Sullivan, Redding City Councilwoman;  Mark Lascelles, President of the Economic Development Corporation of Shasta County;  Ed Rullman, Partner and General Manager, Best Western Plus Hilltop Inn, C.R. Gibbs American Grille;  and Lieutenant Tracy BeaupreRedding City Police Department.

  • “We want people to feel safe doing things that are healthy and make them feel good.”  Francie Sullivan spoke passionately about her excitement for all the positive movement in Redding for bicycling for health and local tourism, and for bicycle-safe street infrastructure.
  • “If we can make this a bicycle-friendly community in every aspect – I think the business community will reap benefits from many angles”.  Ed Rullman spoke about the interest his business has in bicycle events as well as safe bicycling within Redding for his customers.
  • ” Today, high-tech industry is attracted to active lifestyle cities.”  Mark Lascelles gave the Top 10 Reasons Why Bicycling is good for the Economy.
  • “Thank You.”  Lieutenant Beaupre spoke about how the Explorer Program trains young people in the many aspects of law enforcement.  She said a gracious Thank You for the donation from the bicycle community to support the program.

Thank you to the donors for our raffle:  Blazing Saddles, Shasta Land Trust, Carnegies, Cafe Paradisio, Visit ReddingJefferson Thomas,  PUBLIC Bikes.    And to Vintage Wine Bar for offering discounts to ticket holders.

Thank you to The Cascade Theatre and all the volunteers and advisors who helped us put this event together – including Garth Schmeck, our friends at CatalystJarret Yount and so many others.

Reveal The Path

 

 

Celebrate Biking’s Positive Effect On Our Lives and Community in The North State

  • Cascade Theatre, Redding – Thursday, February 28, 2013
  • Bicycle Parking by Shasta Wheelman

Join us for a celebration of all the ways that biking transforms our lives and our community for the better.    Be inspired to dream and to live your own bicycle adventures.   Meet new people and learn about new groups, rides and activities.    

6:00pm.  Start the evening at the reception. Meet inspiring people and learn about events and activities of local groups and businesses.  Buy your raffle tickets to support cycling in our community and win cool prizes!

7:20pm.  Hear from local leaders about the ways bicycling benefits our community.   Watch the independent feature film Reveal the Path a genre-defying adventure film that contemplates what it means to live an inspired life.

9:30 pm.  Raffle winners announced.  Contribute to the event raffle and win cool prizes. Proceeds support improvements to biking and walking in our community and will go to Redding City Police Department and Shasta Living Streets.

Celebrate Redding’s First Sharrow

November 1, 2012,  NE corner of Bechelli Lane and Cypress Avenue, 4-5:00pm, Party continuing at View 202 after 5:00pm

Join Us on November 1st for a celebration of Redding’s First Sharrow and of the positive movement in Redding and across our region for complete streets infrastructure and roadway design that makes it possible to walk and bicycle safely for everyday transportation and health.

Sharrows are roadway markings used to:  Improve the position of bicyclists and motorists on roads without bike lanes; Reduce aggressive motorist behavior;  Encourage safe bicycling behavior;  Increase the comfort and safety of people who bicycle on city streets;  Increase the number of people who bicycle for everyday transportation by addressing people’s number one concern: safety.

Why are we excited about sharrows?  Sharrows help reduce conflict on the roadway and they send the welcome message that bikes belong.  They help bicyclists ride out of the gutter and away from car doors.  Sharrows are a low cost improvement for a livable city.

Why a sharrow in this location?  People on bicycles use this street on their way from neighborhoods and businesses on the south and east side of town, out to the Dana to Downtown connection across the river.  This section of road was deemed too narrow for a bike lane.  The sharrow helps bicyclists know where to be without a bicycle lane, and helps motorists know to expect bicyclists here.

MEDIA:

Jefferson Public Radio – Audio recording, interview with Anne Wallach Thomas and Charlie Gandy, October 31, about sharrows and active transportation in our region.

Cyclists celebrate accessibility to Redding streets, article in the Record Searchlight about sharrows and bicycling in our community.  “We want people to feel safe doing things that are healthy and make them feel good,” – Councilwoman Francie Sullivan

Active Living and Transportation Choice

Bicycling and walking for everyday transportation is good for a lot of things — it’s healthy, it’s green, it’s quiet, it’s fun, it’s fast, and it builds community.  Creating a safe place on our streets for bicycles and pedestrians does not require big, expensive new infrastructure projects; it’s about revising how we use our already existing streets. It’s about making cities and towns in our region navigable, not just by cars, but also by human power. It’s about providing the basics to everyone, in their neighborhood, now — thus giving people transportation choice.

Safe access for bicycling and walking for everyday transportation has been shown to address many health and community concerns:  obesity and disease from sedentary lifestyles, economic hardship as energy prices rise, air pollution, inactivity of children and youth, streets that don’t support neighborhood retail, neighborhoods that lack livability, and death and injury to people from transit-way crashes.

Shasta Living Streets is a local program that seeks to increase the health and community benefits of everyday physical activity for all community members in our region by promoting safe access for biking and walking as everyday transportation.

Stay Connected with our Active Community: Facebook: Shasta Living Streets