City Announces Second Annual Bike Summit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2011

For more information, please contact:
Vince Caristo, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, City of Bloomington Planning Department, 349.3423 or caristov@bloomington.in.gov

City Announces Second Annual Bike Summit

Bloomington, IN - Mayor Mark Kruzan announced today that the Second Annual Bike Summit will be held on May 10, 2012, at City Hall, 401 N. Morton St., from 4 to 7 p.m. as part of the continuing effort to make Bloomington a Platinum level Bicycle Friendly Community by 2016. The Bike Summit will reflect, innovate and respond to strategies identified within Breaking Away: Journey to Platinum.

This year bike enthusiasts and community partners are invited to gather and hear opening remarks by Deputy Mayor Maria Heslin about recent bicycle-friendly accomplishments and initiatives. Guests will then be asked to break out in to several workshops: Shifting Gears - The Making of Bike Week 2013; A Vehicle for Change - Bicycling and Community Empowerment; Town & Gown Synergy - A Bicycle Friendly IU; and Gateway Trail System - A Vision for Mountain Biking in Bloomington. Following the workshop sessions a keynote presentation by Jeff Olson, principal of Alta Planning and Design, will highlight national trends as they pertain to Bloomington and unveil Bloomington's newest bikeway designs!

"The Bike Summit is a great way to bring members of the community together, share experiences and combine efforts to make Bloomington even better," said Kruzan. "Becoming ultra bicycle-friendly is much more than bicycling. It's great for our local economy, it will strengthen our community health and wellness, and it lessens our ecological footprint - a triple bottom line gain!"

Join other invited guests from Indiana University, Bloomingfoods, Revolution Bike and Bean, Bicycle Garage, Bikesmiths, Bloomington Pedal Power, Bloomington Housing Authority, New Hope Family Shelter, International Mountain Biking Association/Hoosier Mountain Biking Association, Bloomington Bicycle Club, IndyCOG, Burgess and Niple, Alta Planning and Design and other guests to help move Bloomington toward platinum.

The League of American Bicyclists has recognized Bloomington as a Bicycle Friendly Community since 2003. The Bicycle Friendly Community Program is based upon a comprehensive evaluation in five areas: Engineering, Enforcement, Encouragement, Education, and Evaluation and Planning.

Additional information about biking in Bloomington is available at: [http://bloomington.in.gov/biking_in_bloomington]

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