Make Your Silence Heard: 2012 Ride of Silence

By Blanche Dean, Guest Blogger from Team MSFITS.

On May 16, 2012 at 7:00 PM, the Ride of Silence will begin in North America and roll across the globe. Cyclists will take to the roads in a silent procession to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways. Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists (and the obligation to follow the same rules of the road as motorists), the motoring public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.

Please join Team MSFITS as they host the 7^th Annual RTP Ride of Silence starting and finishing at RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Drive, RTP.  The Research Triangle Foundation has once again granted us permission to stage the ride at their facility and they are endorsing this ride.  The Durham Police Reserves will once again lead our procession, adding dignity and safety to our journey.

The Ride of Silence is a free ride, approximately 5 miles in length, that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph, wear helmets, follow the rules of the road and remain silent during the ride. There are no sponsors and no registration fees. The ride, which is held during National Bike Month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for and honor the lives of those who have been killed or injured.

I know you’ve been out there riding and had things thrown at you, been “buzzed” by a motor vehicle trying to see how close they could get, been screamed at to get off the road, and worse.  You may have been injured and probably know someone or of someone who has died as a result of a motor vehicle/bicycle crash.  THIS is the ride to show your solidarity as a cycling community – to raise awareness and say “shame on you” to those who carelessly travel our roads without regard to life or limb.

We will supply black armbands to all cyclists to wear in memory of those who have been killed and red armbands to those cyclists who join us and are survivors of motor vehicle/bicycle accidents.  Please arrive early enough to prepare yourself and your bike to ride, to sign waivers, and participate in a tribute to cyclists before we head out at 7:00 sharp.  Read more »

May Food Truck Rodeo

Join us for the RTP Food Truck Rodeo
on
Thursday, May 17^th

Calling all Food Truck fans! Bring your friends, bring your colleagues, and come on out for RTP’s May Food Truck Rodeo.

Date: Thursday, May 17
Time: 11:30 AM -1:30 PM
Location: RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Drive (Directions)

In honor of National Bike Month and Bike to Work Week, SmartCommute@rtp will be providing free gifts to anyone that rides their bike to the event and providing useful information on bicycle commuting.

Participating Food Trucks:

Pie Pushers
@piepushers

Only Burger
@onlyburger

The Parlour
@parlourdurham

Chirba Chirba Dumpling
@chirbachirba

Will and Pops
@willandpops

Olde North State BBQ
@ONSBBQ

As always, parking is limited so we strongly encourage carpooling, and of course, riding your bike to the event!

We look forward to seeing everyone!

AND save the date for next Food Truck Rodeo on Thursday, June 14^th!

Gear up for Bike Month: May 2012

Let’s face it: we live in an automobile-centric nation, and I don’t think I’d be surprising anyone in saying that the Triangle isn’t necessarily the ideal place to commute to and from work by bike.  However, that certainly doesn’t mean that it’s not possible to ride your bike to work; nor does it mean that the Triangle isn’t a bicycle friendly community. In fact, the town of Carrboro has received a silver designation for being a bicycle friendly community from the League of American Bicyclists; and Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh have all received bronze designations. Clearly, bicycle commuting in the Triangle is growing in popularity and amenities to support it are also growing.

For the month of May, the Triangle is celebrating Bike To Work Month, an entire month dedicated to encouraging and supporting one of the most economical and healthy ways of commuting. This month is an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons people ride. Whether you bike to work or school; to save money or time; to preserve your health or the environment; to explore your community or get to your destination, biking can be one of the most rewarding modes of transportation. And if you’ve been thinking about starting to ride to work, but haven’t put your foot to the pedal yet, I hope you’ll use this month to give it a go.

There are lots of events going on in the Triangle to celebrate Bike to Work Month, including several events in RTP, sponsored by SmartCommute@rtp:

• Bicycle Community Basics – Lunch and Learn
  Thursday, May 10, 11:30AM-1PM
  RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Dr.
  This seminar will cover the basics of commuting by bicycle, safe cycling, riding in traffic, crash avoidance, and cyclists’ rights and responsibilities. The course is open to anyone and both novice and experienced riders are welcome and encouraged to attend. Registration Required.

• Bike to Work Month After-Hours Social
  Tuesday, May 15, 5-7PM
  Serena, 5311 South Miami Blvd. Suite A
  Cyclists enjoy free appetizers, drinks, and giveaways.

• Ride of Silence
  Wednesday, May 16, 7PM
  RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Dr.
  A silent procession to honor cyclists who’ve been killed or injured on public roadways. Organized by MS Fits and hosted by SmartCommute@rtp, this free ride that asks its cyclists to ride no faster than 12 mph, wear helmets, follow the rules of the road and remain silent during the ride. Visit www.msfits.org/ride-of-silence.html for more information.

• Bike to Work Month Breakfast Social
  Friday, May 18, 7-9AM
  RTP Headquarters, 12 Davis Dr.
  Cyclists enjoy a free continental breakfast and giveaways.

For a complete list of the Bike to Work Month events occuring Triangle-wide, visit GoTriangle. And for more information and resources on biking in the RTP area, visit SmartCommute.org.

The Earth Day Celebration Roundup

April has easily become a month dedicated to increased awareness and activity in the arena of sustainability, and Earth Day is right around the corner (April 22^nd).  Over the next few weeks, many companies are putting together events for their employees to help engage and educate them on ways they can improve the planet.  Companies like IBM, Cisco, and BASF are inviting organizations to share some of the great information they have on ways employees can help the planet.  For example, SmartCommute@rtp will be providing information on ways employees can green up their commutes.

Of course, even if your company isn’t offering an event, there are still lots of ways to celebrate Earth Day, right here in RTP.

RTP Earth Day GetConnected Event
If you haven’t already heard, RTP will be hosting its very own Earth Day Celebration in conjunction with the Triangle Green Business Challenge Kickoff on April 23, from 4pm to 6:30pm at the RTP Headquarters.  This event will include food, beverages, raffles, and guest speakers.  (You can register here.)  You’ll likely be hearing more about this event in the coming days.

RTP Electronics Recycling Day
Environment@rtp will be hosting its annual Spring Electronics Recycling Drive on Wednesday, April 25th for RTP for employees to drop off unneeded household electronics for donation and/or recycling. Visit www.environmentrtp.org/news-events/electronics-recycling-events for more information on this free event.

Books on Break Book Drive
Community Outreach@rtp will be hosting its inaugural “Books on Break” book drive for elementary students.  Instead of disposing of those gently used books you have lying around, donate and allow them to be reused, the best form of recycling.  Visit www.rtp.org/community for more information.

And if that’s not enough, here’s my roundup of upcoming celebratory Earth Day Events around the Triangle for the whole family: Read more »

Think. Act. Breathe. 2012 Air Quality Awareness Season Begins

With April upon us, we’re all excited about the opportunity to be outdoors more.  Some of us look forward to dining al fresco, others enjoy biking to work, and some of us explore our RTP pedestrian trails, while others enjoy the rugged RTP mountain biking trail. But along with our warmer weather come concerns about our regional air quality.

The two biggest air quality problems in North Carolina are ground-level ozone (the main ingredient in “smog”) and particle pollution. Both pollutants are caused mainly by emissions from cars and trucks, and from the coal-burning power plants that supply most of our electricity.  Because hot, sunny conditions are needed for elevated ozone levels, ozone is only a problem during the warm-weather months. The ozone forecast season, when N.C. Division of Air Quality forecasts daily ozone levels, is April 1 to October 31.

For those of your working or passing through the Park, you may notice SmartCommute@rtp member employers posting informational signs letting Park  employees know what the Air Quality Forecast is for the day using the Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI is a tool used to report levels of ozone, particles and other pollutants in the air to the public. The AQI scale is divided into five color-coded categories, each corresponding to a different level of health concern ranging from green (good) to purple (very unhealthy). Greater AQI values correspond to greater concentrations of air pollution and indicate greater health danger.

The air quality color codes are:

 
Even with cleaner cars and other new technology, our air could get worse as our population grows, endangering our health and reducing our quality of life. The good news is that by being mindful of our daily activities, we can make a few simple changes to help us all breathe easier. Read more »

Biogen Idec Plugs In

The buzz around plug-in electric vehicles has been livelier than ever in North Carolina, and RTP is certainly becoming a hub of activity for the technology.  RTI unveiled two new electric vehicle charging stations back in November, and just this past Tuesday,  Biogen Idec held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for ten new electric vehicle charging stations at its RTP campus.

Back in November, I had the opportunity to participate in Biogen Idec’s multi-day Sustainability Fair for employees, and got a chance to hear about the exciting work they were doing to bring these charging stations to fruition and procure funding incentives to encourage employees to purchase or lease electric vehicles.  On Tuesday, Biogen Idec’s work paid off, and they cut the ribbon for their new stations, the first for any of their worldwide locations.

Biogen Idec purchased the charging stations with support from the Carolina Blue Skies Initiative, a project led by Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG), with $12 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.  Biogen Idec has the distinction of being the first organization in the Triangle to successfully deploy electric charging stations under this initiative.

Biogen Idec installed ten Level 2 charging stations at their RTP Campus.

Pat Hoy was one of the four employees that took advantage of the incentive provided to Biogen Idec employees through Advanced Energy to purchase a Nissan Leaf.  He received a $7500 stipend to offset the purchase price and will also receive a $7500 tax credit.  Speaking briefly at the ceremony, Pat mentioned that one of the greatest benefits of owning a plug-in electric vehicle is that it allows him to bypass the gas station.  “I haven’t been to a gas station in three and half weeks since I’ve owned the car… There aren’t too many other people that can say that.”  He also highlighted some of the technological benefits, such as being able to remotely pre-cool the car’s interior using his smartphone (as long as the car is plugged in).   Read more »

Bus on Shoulder in the Triangle – 1st Road Test Complete!

Guest post by Brad Schulz, Triangle Transit Communications Officer

If you’re like me, you start your car already late for work. Once you’re finally on I-40, you lead foot it – hoping you can make up a few minutes and can get to the office on time if traffic will, for once, cooperate. But as sure as Murphy made a law, it doesn’t happen. Traffic slows to a crawl. You’re gripping the wheel and watching the minutes tick by, wondering what the boss will say when you finally get to work.

Now imagine this– as you’re stuck in that traffic you look in your rear view mirror and see a Triangle Transit bus on the shoulder. No, it’s not having mechanical problems. In fact, it’s the only thing moving as it pulls by you on the shoulder while you stay super glued in another congested weekday commute.  Suddenly you wish you were on the bus instead of mired in traffic.

Fantasy? Nope. It’s not a dream. Triangle Transit, the Regional Transportation Alliance and the NC Department of Transportation recently did just that – ran a road test of a full size transit bus on shoulder. If the planets align for weary travelers, North Carolina’s first bus on shoulder demonstration project could be a reality by summer.

Where would it run? It would operate westbound on I-40 between the Durham Freeway (NC 147) and the 15-501 Exit. Eastbound buses could travel on the shoulder between 15-501 and Page Road. If the NCDOT approves the plan, signs would clearly let drivers know they could see a bus beside them on the right.

When would it run? Triangle Transit buses with trained operators could only use the shoulders when travel speeds are below 35 MPH in the main lanes, and buses could only travel up to 15 MPH faster than other vehicles. If there’s a car in the breakdown lane or an emergency on the shoulder, the bus driver can’t use it.

Has this worked in other places? Before you think we just dreamed this up, Minnesota’s Department of Transportation implemented the idea around 20 years ago, with nearly 300 shoulder-miles in use today. More than 10 states now use bus on shoulder lanes and no state has discontinued a bus on shoulder program once it began.

Minnesota's Bus on Shoulder System has been in place for nearly 20 years.

So what could it mean for me? Transit customers have shorter, more predictable and reliable travel times. If you’re a regular rider, your chances of missing a transfer would drop. The Minnesota experience has shown that riding the bus means you’ll spend less time fuming behind the wheel. With those stress-free extra minutes, you’ll have more time to read, catch up on that work you promised the boss, or surf the Web with Triangle Transit’s free Wi-Fi.

We’ll keep you posted on next steps and remember… the next time you’re stuck in traffic on I-40, just picture yourself in that bus riding around that gridlock. There you go… you’re already smiling.

Try Transit Week is Coming

How are you getting to work next week?  Instead of clenching your fists behind the wheel, why not relax and let someone else do the driving.  Next week, September 19 – 23, 2011, is “Try Transit Week” and there are great opportunities to get out of your car and give the bus a try!

Here’s what GoTriangle has put together for next week:

• Monday, September 19:  Explore the Region – Just purchase a regional day pass for a chance to win great prizes. A regional day pass works on Triangle Transit, CAT, C-Tran, DATA.
• Tuesday, September 20: Rack and Ride Day – If you ride your bike to a stop, load your bike on the easy to use bike-rack and ride the bus for free!
• Thursday, September 22: Fare-Free Day – All passengers will ride for FREE on World Car Free Day – now it’s even easier to give up your car for a day!
• Friday, September 23: Operator Appreciation Day – Thank your bus operator(s).

And if you need help trying to determine your route, use GoTriangle’s handy Trip Planner to figure out the fastest and easiest way to commute by bus.

For more information on Try Transit Week, visit the GoTriangle website.  And for more information on alternative commuting in RTP, visit www.smartcommute.org.

Challenge, Commit, Change

The SmartCommute Challenge wrapped up on June 1^st, and with 8,630 participants saving over 1 million commuter miles, Triangle residents that took the challenge can be proud to say they contributed to something wonderful.

Driving alone has high costs, both obvious and hidden. For the driver, there are the obvious costs of gas, auto maintenance and insurance, but also the hidden costs of stress and less exercise. For the community, there are the monetary costs of our roadway infrastructure, but also the costs of increased local air pollution, high CO₂ emissions, and dependence on foreign oil.  For each one of us, driving alone every day can undermine our own quality of daily life. Added together, our driving habits threaten to decrease the Triangle’s quality of life. But there is a solution – Smart Commuting!

This year’s SmartCommute Challenge, coordinated by GoTriangle and SmartCommute@rtp, encouraged people to try a commute alternative —teleworking, carpooling, vanpooling, taking the bus, biking or walking— at least once between April 1 and June 1, 2011. The Challenge was open to employees and college students who live, work, or attend school in Durham, Orange, and Wake counties.  Participants were eligible to win prizes – this year, the SmartCommute Challenge is giving away over $10,000 in prizes! And once again, we made a big difference! When we followed up with participants after the Challenge ended, 96% reported following through on their pledges, and two-thirds of those were willing to continue SmartCommuting at least once a week! Thank you to all of the sponsors and participating employers who made the 2011 Challenge possible, and thanks to everyone who took the challenge this year!

Finally, here are some quick stats to show just how much of difference our SmartCommuters made.

• Miles Saved: 1,132,054.8 – The equivalent of about 5 trips to the moon
• Gallons of Gasoline Saved: 50,313.5 – Enough to fill 1,006 bathtubs
• Pounds CO₂ Saved: 1,006,271 – The weight of 335 female hippos
• Pounds of nitrogen oxide air pollutants (NO_X) saved: 2,768.6 – The average weight of 15 adult Americans
• Pounds of volatile organic compounds (VOC) saved: 3,315.8 – The weight of 121 gold bars

Great job, Triangle!  We’ll be celebrating our success, recognizing our photo and video contest winners, and honoring some very special commuters at the Golden Modes on July 8^th.  RSVP for the event here.

And remember, even though the SmartCommute Challenge is over, it’s never too late to try a smart commute.  RTP employees should visit www.SmartCommute.org for more information on ways to get started.

Dump the Pump on June 16th

This just in from GoTriangle! On June 16th all Triangle Transit regional, express, and shuttle routes and all DATA local routes will be free in recognition of National Dump the Pump day! In these tough economic times with high gas prices, everyone is looking for a way to save money. Dump the Pump Day encourages people to ride public transportation (instead of driving) and save money.

Riding public transit is the quickest way to beat high gas prices. The latest American Public Transit Association Transit Savings Report shows that a two person household that downsizes to one car can save – on the average – more than $10,000 a year! What’s not to love about that?

Take Triangle Transit and DATA to commute to and from work, to travel to school and the doctor’s office, to go shopping, and to visit with family and friends. Dump the pump on June 16th. Free your mind (and your wallet) and leave the driving to someone else!

Not sure the bus will work for you?  Use the Trip Planner to find your closest stops, routes and travel times.

Still not sure?  Consider doing it for a prize! Ride the bus, bike, walk, or run during Dump The Pump 2011 for a chance to win!

Check in at your bus stop or on the bike greenways on Foursquare during your commute. There are 20 stops that have this promotion. Check-in and unlock to see if you are the winner!

Contest starts at 6am on June 16. The first 20 people to check-in win a $25 Restaurant.com gift cards. There will be 20 winners per stop. And for more information on commuting options and subsidies in RTP, visit www.SmartCommute.org.