Hope your Summer is going well, and you’ve had a chance to get on your bike even in this heat. I injured my knee a couple of weeks ago so that slowed me down a bit, but finally got back on my bike over the weekend, and hope to build my long distance endurance back up to make it to Tour da Parish this Fall. Happy to hear what your biking has been like this Summer.
It’s been a minute since I sent an update about our work, but I assure you: we’ve been busy!
- Since we revamped our Membership Program, we’ve seen our Membership go up, and we’ve also signed up 3 NEW Business Members. Amongst them, we have the Audubon Nature Institute, and Bicycle World, and AECOM whom I’ve met with over the last month to discuss new ways to partner with each other going forward. If you are uncertain of your membership status or would like to learn more about becoming a Business Member, just reply to this email and lets’ talk!
- We continue to advocate for better biking in New Orleans, and after our last Advocacy Round Up we had some great feedback from supporters and got to meet with some of the folks from the River District to further discuss their plans for people biking and walking in this development and how we can work on a plan together that will serve our community as a whole best.
- We’re celebrating the City’s award of the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant – A 50 million grant to be disbursed over the next 5 years with some key elements that will take us in the right direction for climate change and overall improvement of our city’s infrastructure: 3 main highlights for our work are the expansion of our bike share system, a locally manage e-bike rebate program, and the development of 7 miles of protected bikeways connecting the Downtown Area. This is in addition to the 60 million Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant awarded in March that will improve the bike and ped accessibility on i-10 service roads in New Orleans East, which include 3 non motorized bridges over i-10! I get goose bumps thinking about this project awarded 3 years after the death of Larry Jones in this corridor, and a year after a feasibility study was carried in this community.
- We continue to attend meetings with city agencies to make sure our community is being represented and heard, and are happy to announce that the Community Meetings around Safe Streets for All are set to launch this Fall. We will share more details as they become available for you to join, and encourage folks in your community to come along and share their thoughts.
- We are also preparing to present at the Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference this Fall: Transforming Transportation in Louisiana with Trails, Bike Lanes and Shared Rides – A Comparative Look at New Orleans and Beyond. If you feel inclined, I highly encourage you to attend, and more importantly, if you are personally involved with state wide efforts, reach out to me so I can learn more about it, and include it in the presentation.
I’m thrilled just thinking about all the changes coming to our city in the next 5 years, and hope you continue to support our work by sharing your stories and concerns as they come up so we can continue to advocate on your behalf. In the shorter term, here are a few ways in which you can be involved and support our work.
Consider sponsoring this year’s Bicycle Second Line! This year our celebration will be the biggest to date: We will start and end at the Broadside with a big after party! Our Call for Musician’s Deadline is this Thursday, August 1st at midnight! Share with your favorite bands to apply. We are also bringing back our Silent Auction, so if that is more down your alley, read more about it here.
Pre-Registration and T-shirt Sales launch on August 19th!
And since this is not enough, this year we’re launching our inaugural Fundraiser Sponsored by Dirty Coast!
Taking place on Saturday, September 21st, we are encouraging folks to register as individuals for 20.00, or as a team of 5 for 80.00! Click here to find out more!
I appreciate you making the time to read this very heavy text email – a bit of a change of my usual, but had a lot to share. And for those who want a little extra love, here is a link to our revamped Bike Nola shirt. If you reply this email with the 1 thing that is new in this design (apart from the change in color way for both t-shirt and ink) I will personally drop a Bike Nola sticker for your bike in the mail!
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
In Service,
Allene La Spina
Executive Director