I Love Vinita Park

I love Vinita Park. I know the word ‘love’ gets tossed around a lot these days, and some folks think it’s not appropriate to apply the word ‘love’ to a municipality that ‘can’t’ return it, but I stand by my statement and I’ll tell you why:

With a land area of just under one square mile, some people might miss the City of Vinita Park on their Saturday morning ride down Midland Blvd. But those who don’t pay attention to that one square mile are missing a lot – barbecues firing up in the park beside City Hall, the brand new, well-lit trail connecting Midland Blvd. to Page Ave., and Trailnet’s latest offering in Vinita Park – the Earn-2-Bikes class!

A partnership between Trailnet, St. Louis BicycleWORKS, and the City of Vinita Park, Earn-2-Bikes is quickly becoming a Saturday morning staple in the parking lot across from City Hall. The course is a six-week, bike maintenance and safety class, where students learn to work on brakes, tubes and tires, as well as develop on-road biking skills and safety knowledge. Students are encouraged to bring a friend/family member and participate together (hence the name ‘Earn-2-Bikes’), with the hope that they then will have someone to ride with when the course is complete. The class has a warm and encouraging atmosphere and seeks to develop students wherever they are in their bike experience.

Next time you’re riding down Midland or driving towards The Loop, think about stopping by and saying “Hi” to the next generation of bike lovers!

-Charles Johnson, Earn-2-Bikes Instructor

For more information on the Earn-2-Bikes program, e-mail Charles@trailnet.org. To learn about Trailnet’s continuing partnership with the City of Vinita Park, contact Jennifer Allen at Jennifer@trailnet.org or 314-436-1324 x 121.

Trailnet's Active Living Awards is TOMORROW!

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Every Fall Trailnet's Active Living Awards honor leaders in the movement to create more healthy, active, and vibrant communities. The awards ceremony is a celebration of the champions and innovators who are promoting a culture of active living in everything they do.

As with all great celebrations, the Active Living Awards is an incredibly fun event brimming with wonderful people, food, and drinks. We have been promoting the event on Trailnet's main website for months, but wanted to post a quick reminder here on the blog that the 2010 Active Living Awards is taking place tomorrow night:

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

We hope you can join us for this celebration. To learn more about the event, the 2010 honorees, and to purchase tickets, visit:
http://trailnet.org/m_awards.php

"Livability" in Rural America

Photo Caption: Cities and towns of all sizes should be "livable"

The term livability has become a national buzz word over the course of the last two years, in large part, due to efforts at the federal level -- a series of federal agencies have been working to coordinate spending to help create what they are calling more livable communities. Although there is no single definition of the term livable, the common thread is that livable communities provide a high quality of life for all residents and include spaces that are designed for people (for example, a historic main street), not just cars and quick commerce (for example, a big box strip mall).

As the livable communities movement has grown, a common misconception has developed that "livability" is solely a concept for big cities and urban areas. In fact, livability is a universal concept that can and should be adjusted to capitalize on the unique assets of all communities, whether they are urban, suburban, or rural. To dispel the idea that livability is an urban concept, Transportation for America has been publishing a series of case studies that showcase livability in rural and small town America. We encourage you to peruse these case studies and share them with your community leadership, especially if you happen to live in a small town or a rural area.

Check out the Transportation for America case studies here:
http://t4america.org/blog/2010/08/26/livability-in-rural-and-small-town-america/

Happy Labor Day from Trailnet!

Gone Fishing - Trailnet-style

Happy Labor Day to you and yours! We hope your holiday weekend is filled with all the things you love.