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Bicyclists hail funding bill for improvements
By Martin B. Cassidy STAFF WRITER Updated: 06/21/2009 10:28:13 PM EDT

Gerard Krokus rides his bike to work every day in Norwalk, a sometimes nerve-wracking trip in heavy traffic.

The 23-year-old Norwalk man favors a bill that would require the state to spend more money on bicycle and pedestrian improvements next year. This month the General Assembly voted 143-72 to approve the bill, which Gov. M. Jodi Rell now must sign.

"It is really tough getting around here by bicycle," Krokus said. "You really need to pick and choose your routes to get around safely."

Cyclists and legislators said it is a major step toward funding bike lanes and multi-paths, extending sidewalks, installing curb cuts and otherwise enhancing safety for cyclists and walkers. The bill requires municipalities and the state to set aside at least 1 percent of state and federal road money to improve pedestrian or bicycle facilities.

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Cyclists gain little ground on rail issues By Mary E. O’Leary, Register Topics Editor
Published: Monday, July 6, 2009

NEW HAVEN — After months of lobbying, signs warning cyclists of a dangerous railroad crossing over Forbes Avenue will be up in August, but there will be no elaborate fix beyond that, according to state officials.

Meanwhile, at Union Station, the large biking community in the city will have to wait a few more months before additional racks are available to encourage riders to use pedal power to hook up with Metro North trains.

Both are disappointing to cyclists, who were looking for a more extensive solution on Forbes Avenue and faster progress on the train station project.

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State hopes to update bike plan

By Anthony Karge Updated 07/03/2009 01:02:33 AM EDT

Cars, trucks and SUVs might be the preferred way of getting around, but changes to state's bicycle and pedestrian plan, which hasn't been updated since 1999, aim to improve things for people using greener modes of transportation. "We really wanted to encourage bicycle use and walking," said Marcy Miller of Fitzgerald and Halliday, a firm of planning consultant hired by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) to determine what needs to be changed.
"We want to make it more a viable form of transportation," she continued. "If they can't do it safely, they're not going to do it -- at least a vast majority of them. We want it to be convenient. We need the connections between residential areas, employment areas, churches, schools, parks."
Ken Livingston, also of Fitzgerald and Halliday, acknowledged that the Post Road in Westport and Fairfield is particularly difficult for bikers.
"This whole area down here is tough," said Livingston. "We've struggled with it "¦ and in reality there's really a need for something. Biking on Route 1 is not always enjoyable."

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State maps improvements for cyclists, pedestrians
By Noelle Frampton STAFF WRITER Updated: 07/05/2009 10:07:42 PM EDT

Connecticut isn't known for being very accommodating to bicyclists and pedestrians, but the state Department of Transportation and local cycling advocates are optimistic that will change soon.

A new statewide plan designed to boost the safety, convenience and accessibility of roads and trails for bicyclists and pedestrians is reaching its final stages. Consultants sought public comment for the final time last week at a forum in the Fairfield Public Library.

The Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan and Map Update will recommend a new, online map outlining local and statewide routes for biking, running, walking and horseback riding, and indicating which ways are most suitable, said Kenneth Livingston, director of corporate services for environmental and transportation planning for Fitzgerald and Halliday in Hartford.

Consultants also developed a "toolbox" that includes education programs for cyclists to underscore safety and confidence while they share roadways with motor vehicles, and suggests ways to make more room for them and pedestrians, including bike lanes and "road diets" that narrow lanes and widen shoulders.

"We're excited to be at this point," said Livingston, an avid cyclist and runner. "There's really a need for something ... because biking on Route 1 is not always enjoyable, to say the least. This whole area down here is really tough."

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Man charged with fatal hit-and-run
By Daniel Tepfer Staff writer Updated: 07/15/2009 12:59:11 AM EDT



BRIDGEPORT -- A Fairfield man was charged Tuesday with driving the car that struck and killed a bicyclist on the city's East Side and fleeing the scene last August.

Michael "The Poet" Burgos Jr., 25, of Brookridge Avenue, was charged with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, felony evading, possession of cocaine, tampering with evidence and traveling too fast for conditions.

He was brought before Superior Court Judge Bruce Levin, who ordered Burgos held in lieu of $15,000 bond.

"The Bridgeport police and state's attorney deserves credit for pursuing this terrible incident," said Milford lawyer Edmund Collier, who represents the family of Hollis Sparks, who was killed in the incident. "Mr. Burgos left the victim to die in the street."

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Westport man collects bikes for the needy

Westport man collects bike donations, turns them over to those in need
By Amanda Cuda, Staff writer — Updated: 07/25/2009 12:45:40 AM EDT

BRIDGEPORT -- The old, abandoned classroom at the St. Charles Urban Center and Food Pantry is small, yet was packed to the gills with a variety of items.

In one corner were Christmas decorations. In the back were some overturned desks, presumably left over from a time when this building, part of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, was a Catholic school. Smack in the middle of the room sat roughly 40 bicycles of different shapes, sizes and colors.

There were children's bikes, some with training wheels still attached. There were adult bikes. There were bikes emblazoned with colorful pictures; bikes with baskets attached; plain, unadorned bikes. Each bike was unique. Yet all had one thing in common: they were in that room waiting to be adopted by someone who needed them.

These bikes are all part of the Connecticut Bike Project, an effort started last September by Westport resident Brooks Sumberg, a semi-retired businessman and entrepreneur. He began the project after a visit to his local dump, where he saw perfectly good bikes being thrown away. Figuring there had to be a better way for people to part with bikes they no longer wanted, he decided to start collecting these vehicles, with the vague idea of giving them away to those who needed them.

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Get involved If you want to donate a bike, contact Brooks Sumberg at (203) 293-4130 or leave them at his home at 96 Hillspoint Road, Westport (leave them at the end of the driveway). If you or someone you know needs a bike, contact St. Charles Parish at (203) 333-2147.

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Bike Cop Ready To Roll
by Adzua Agyapon
August 6, 2009 10:21 AM

Three years ago, when Edgewood saw a string of car break-ins and muggings, neighbors took action. They raised money to buy bikes with hopes of receiving additional cycling patrol officers in their area.

About 15 neighbors gathered to show off the fruits of their labor Wednesday evening as they presented two new patrol bikes to Police Chief James Lewis and their neighborhood patrol officer Gary Hammill. One bike is for Hammill; the other is for a new patrol officer who will work in their neighborhood in the future. Neighbors raised a total of $2,500 to purchase three bikes from Zane’s Cycles.

The block watch group donated the third bike to the police for use wherever the department sees fit. - Complete story in The New Haven Independent

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A special counselor remembered
By Meg Barone Correspondent
Updated: 08/13/2009 12:31:16 AM EDT

STRATFORD -- A former camp counselor at the South End Community Center was remembered Wednesday in a way that would have pleased her because it provided both fun and safety tips to campers.

The 3rd annual Kevonna Edwards Bicycle Rodeo began with Police Officer Frank Sapione entertaining about three dozen children with magic tricks, some -- like using a foot-long needle to pierce a balloon without popping it -- that left them baffled. Then several officers helped the children on tricycles and bicycles negotiate a course of multicolored cones in the parking lot, sharing the rules of the road along the way.

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Shelton High School students ‘pedal’ alternative transportation

Published: Friday, October 23, 2009

By Patricia Villers, Register Staff

SHELTON — Fourteen Shelton High School business students recently got a kick-start to their morning as they donned helmets and rode bicycles to school to demonstrate alternative transportation modes.

Marketing teacher Mark Necio and school Headmaster Beth Smith accompanied the students as they cycled from senior Lauren Tregger’s home to the Meadow Street school.

Police Officer Chris Woodin, school resource officer, escorted them along the 1.1-mile route as it was starting to get light out.

Smith said before the ride they were treated to breakfast at 6:15 a.m. at the Tregger home. “They made us a wonderful breakfast,” Smith said.

The students are part of the Distributive Education Clubs of America program. Senior Joshua Kopac, 17, said club members are responsible for marketing a community outreach program.

The DECA students cycled to school to demonstrate concern about the planet and the effect peoples’ habits have on the environment. The ride was to “show our stance on the environment as well as the impact we all cause,” Kopac said. The trek took about 10 minutes, he said.

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