May is National Bike Month and Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association (GMTMA) is celebrating this year with “Bike to Work Week” to encourage people to get on their bikes. Greater Mercer TMA is a non-profit transportation management association dedicated to reducing traffic congestion and promoting environmentally-friendly transportation options.
“Celebrating Bike Month gives us the opportunity to remind everyone of the benefits and joy of bicycling,” said Cheryl Kastrenakes, GMTMA’s Executive Director. “With our motto for this year’s celebration, Biking: Happy You, Healthy Earth, we hope to inspire everyone to get on a bike and ride! Regardless of whether you ride for transportation or recreation; you, your community and the environment benefit.”
GMTMA’s biggest promotion is its annual “Bike to Work Week” event, which is May 11-15. Registration is easy on GMTMA’s website, www.gmtma.org, and the first 150 registrants will also receive a free Bike to Work t-shirt. After the week is up, any registrants who log their miles on GMTMA’s website will automatically be entered in a drawing to win one of the terrific prizes provided by Bike to Work Week’s generous sponsors: Halter’s Cycles, Hart’s Cyclery, Knapps Cyclery, Kopp’s Cycle, McCaffrey’s Supermarket, NJ Bike Tours, REI, St. Lawrence Rehab Center, Sourland Cycles, and Whole Earth Center.
Another GMTMA-sponsored promotion is “Swap A Ride.” Don’t bike to work, or can’t, but still want to celebrate Bike Month? No problem. Register and replace as many car trips as possible with bike trips – taking your kids to school, to the post office, to the store, or any other errands. Keep track of how many car trips you replace with bike trips for the month of May and at the end of the month, you’ll be entered into the Bike to Work prize drawing!
And of course, GMTMA offers information and safety tips for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and can provide onsite bike safety and pedestrian education programs for schools and camp programs, as well as seniors. GMTMA can also help your community do a walkability audit and identify concerns for pedestrians related to the safety, access, comfort, and convenience of the walking environment. An audit can also help identify potential solutions such as engineering treatments, policy changes or education and enforcement.
Check out the Bike Commuter Journal series on their blog at gmtma.org, and email [email protected] if you’d like to share your bike commuting experiences or if you have any Bike to Work Week questions.
