Help us license Undrivers!  We’d love your energy and enthusiasm – and in return, you’ll receive a free pass for that day at Bumbershoot ($45 value), as well as eight free METRO bus tickets. Simply pick a shift to work (11am-3:30pm or 3:30-8pm, Sat, Sun, and Mon) and email us!  This is an opportunity not to pass up. 

Also at Bumbershoot: Check out Undriving’s debut in the 1 Reel Film Festival, where a series of three Undriver video stories will be showcased on Sept. 4 at 1pm. Thanks to aLIVe and 4Culture for enabling Undriving to be part of this film fest.

Undriving: Bike w/ baby? An Undriver with a 10-month-old is ready to invest in a bike trailer or maybe even a cargo bike. Any advice, recommendations, or experiences to share?

Todd Edelman:  www.workcycles.com, www.urbanarrow.com. With cargo bikes you can talk to your kids and their re-sale value is high. The disadvantage is that street-level storage is necessary. Two-wheeled bikes take a bit of getting used to but ride much better than three-wheelers.

 Marge Evans: Check out two great blogs Madi’s at http://familyride.wordpress.com/ and Anne’s at http://carfreedays.com/ Anne’s been at it for 4 years.

 Garret Parsons I would go with the Big Dummy. The whole Extracycle thing is very well thought out with lots of accessories. Child seats and all.

 Chrissy Byrne We got a Stokemonkey for our Big Dummy since we live in a hilly area. We look forward to using the PeaPod in better weather and when he gets bigger, but for now we have him in a Burley Solo and we feel better about his protection from the elements.

 Jessica Roberts Good resources: see Bikeportland’s “Carfree Families” column and numerous Urbanmamas.com articles (see “Gearing Up for Biking” links in right sidebar). See also a recent Momentum Magazine article called “Biking with Newborns.”

 Todd Edelman The other nice thing about three-wheeled bikes – I like the Nihola – is the ability to go really, really slowly. This is an advantage for e.g. pedestrian zones which allow slow biking: Your child can ride or scoot next to you (you might have an even younger child in the box or of course the older one will tire out etc.)

 Undriving Wow, a treasure trove of info! Thanks for all the great input.

 Cynthia Lu Levine Whoa, yes, thank you for all the resources and stories!!! We are just starting our research into ‘beyond the trailer’ – has anyone ridden a Madsen and/or used a big bucket accessory for kiddos?

Visit the Undriver Licensing Station™ and get your very own Undriver License™ on the spot – just make a pledge to reduce your car use in the coming month.  Take it on as an experiment and see what happens!  Already-committed Undrivers pledge to support others in driving less – like taking a non-bus-riding friend on a bus ride, helping someone plan a transit or bike route, or fixing up a neighbor’s bike.  One man pledged to teach an adult to ride a bike!  All ages welcome.

Show your commitment to reducing car use with your own personalized Undriver License!  We’ll have plenty of props for you to choose from to express yourself in your photo – have your license your way. All ages welcome!  ($5 suggested donation)  Hang your license from your commute bag and show it to friends – it makes a great conversation starter with people on the bus or in the bike lane.  One Undriver reported, “I feel like you gave us permission to raise the issue with others.” Yes!  We’re all in this together.

Undriver Licensing Station at Sunday Parkways -
Sunday, July 24, 11am-4pm
Waterfront Park, just west of the Bowl

Undriving™ is a Seattle-based non-profit dedicated to reducing car use through individual behavior change.  Founded in 2007, Undriving has licensed over 6,000 Undrivers at festivals, workplaces, and schools. Undriving is highly effective: 75% of Undrivers surveyed report establishing a lasting new transportation habit.  We are working to put this engaging and proven program into the hands of organizations all over the country, so they can utilize Undriver Licensing to meet car-use-reduction goals in their communities.  Intercity Transit in Olympia became our Founding Licensing Partner in 2010.  They are carrying out Undriver Licensing in three arenas: at workplaces for Commute Trip Reduction, at schools through Safe Routes to School programming, and at public events highlighting transit ridership.  With a growing tribe of Official Licensing Partners, we envision Undriving spreading nationally (and internationally).

Thanks for Undriving!
For more info about Undriving, contact Julia Field, julia AT undriving DOT org, or 206-605-5910.

Left to right: Kathy McCormick of Thurston Regional Planning Council joins Erin Scheel and Hana Lewis of Intercity Transit, licensing Undrivers at YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day.

Our friends at Intercity Transit have been taking the Undriver Licensing Station™ all over Thurston County this spring.  In the past four months, they have licensed 500 Undrivers of all ages at seven events:

• Tumwater Middle School Dance
• Peter G. Schmidt Elementary School Family Night
• YMCA Healthy Kids Day in Downtown Olympia
• Wrenchers Ball – Intercity Transit’s Free Bike Repair Workshop for Bicycle Commuter Contest participants
• WA Department of Ecology Employee Bike Month Rally
• WA Department of Transportation Employee Transportation Fair
• Roosevelt Elementary School Bike PARTners Earn-a-Bike Classes

At Roosevelt Elementary, kids get their Undriver License™ in conjunction with a great after-school Earn-a-Bike program called BikePARTners.  The kids work one-on-one with volunteer mechanics to repair bikes that have been left on Intercity Transit buses.  They learn to install new parts and safety equipment, and take a class in confident riding skills. At the end of the class, they get to keep the bike they repaired, and receive their Undriver License when they pledge to keep on riding.  Since fall, 20 students have participated.  The program is made possible by a Safe Routes to School grant from Washington State Department of Transportation.

Watch for more Undriver Licensing events in Thurston County with Intercity Transit, all summer and fall!

Intercity Transit is a Founding Licensing Partner of Undriving.  Want to bring Undriver Licensing to your community?  Contact us at info @ undriving dot org.

Undriving™ is delighted to announce our partnership with Intercity Transit in Olympia, as Undriving’s Founding Licensing Partner.  In the next couple months, we plan to hand over the keys to the Undriver Licensing Station™ so Intercity Transit can utilize this innovative program to engage and empower people to reduce car use.  Their work with the public as Thurston County’s transit provider, with Safe Routes to Schools programs in area elementary, middle and high schools, and in workplaces to help employers meet Commute Trip Reduction goals, makes them an ideal Founding Licensing Partner for Undriving.

“We are certain our partnership with the Undriving™ program will enhance our work with students and commuters alike,” says Meg Kester, communications and marketing director for Intercity Transit.  “It fits well with Intercity Transit’s youth education, trip reduction and marketing goals.  The Undriving program also supports sustainability which is very important to Intercity Transit and the community we serve.”

“Our big-picture goal is to package up the Undriver Licensing Station™ and put it into the hands of organizations, government agencies, university groups, and others who are working to reduce car use and want an innovative way to do that,” says Julia Field, Undriving’s founder/program director.  “This partnership with Intercity Transit is a big step toward that goal and also give us the opportunity to plant Undriving™ more fully in schools, workplaces, and the community, and further demonstrate its capacity to generate behavior change.”

Undriving™ is thrilled to be partnering with this award-winning transit agency and their creative, collaborative staff.  We are Undriving Thurston County!

Background:
Intercity Transit, the award-winning public transportation agency for Thurston County, provides over 5 million rides each year to area residents and commuters.  The agency operates quality fixed-route bus, paratransit, vanpool and ridematch services as well as programs for youth, employers, bicyclists and community partnerships. The agency’s mission is to provide and promote transportation choices that support an accessible, sustainable, livable, healthy and prosperous community.

Undriving, Inc. is a Seattle-based non-profit that engages people to reduce car use. With its innovative Undriver Licensing Station, Undriving has elicited car-use-reduction pledges from over 5,000 Undrivers of all ages at 50+ community events, schools, conferences, and festivals around the Puget Sound area.  Undriving sparks curiosity and resourcefulness and leads directly to behavior change, with 72% of all Undrivers establishing a lasting new transportation habit as a result of their pledge.  Started as a grassroots initiative of Sustainable Ballard in 2007, Undriving is now developing a “kit” to put this successful model into the hands of organizations, schools, and government entities nationally and internationally, who want a creative means to reduce car trips via Safe Routes to School, Commute Trip Reduction, community engagement programs, and more. Urban Sparks serves as 501c3 fiscal sponsor for Undriving.

For more information contact Julia Field by email, or call 206-605-5910.

Undriving I biked to the heart of downtown Seattle yesterday – yikes! Did NOT feel like the best mode of transport. Any urban-cycling tips out there?

• • 

    Michele Spring-Moore

    I’ve found there’s a sort of Zen to it — I must be aware of the traffic surrounding me while simultaneously not letting it make me nervous. I keep one eye on the road, watching for hazards, and one eye on vehicles and pedestrians.

    That said, biking even in downtown Northampton, MA, population 30,000, is maddening.

    October 22 at 9:33am

  • 

    Miriam Solon get a rear view mirror and light yourself up in highly visible garb and markings for the bike. I rode for 40 years w/o a mirror and can’t for the life of me figure out how I survived. Use your voice, as well as your bell/horn. Make people hear and see you. long-term represent cyclists well. Resist the temptation to blow through a red light or stop sign. Leave drivers w/an impression of at least one good cyclist. It will help all of us.

    October 22 at 9:33am ·

  • 

    Chris Rule Urban Cycling Techniques class! First principle: bicyclists fare best when they are treated and act like vehicle operators. As for downtown, 3rd Avenue is nice because you mostly leapfrog with the buses, and Metro drivers are trained to drive around you. And the hills are not so steep that way. Don’t be afraid to take the lane when necessary, and signal your intentions clearly (exaggerated head motion when you’re changing lanes; that type of thing).

    October 22 at 9:51am

  • 

    John Lalonde It may sound like a cop-out to some purists, but you might want to go mixed mode; i.e., bike to the edge of the downtown core then load your bike on a Metro bus bike rack when things start to get hairy.

    October 22 at 9:58am

  • 

    Cathy Tuttle Use 3rd Avenue and sidewalks. But you are right, biking downtown in our country’s 4th most bike-friendly city (Really?) says a lot about how abysmal the conditions must be in the rest of the US.

    October 22 at 11:24am

  • 

    Will Lockmiller

    My two cents: Know what streets are best for cyclists or where a “sharrow” exists– Get a Seattle bicycling map here: http://www.cityofseattle.net/transportation/bikemaps.htm

    If you are uncomfortable with a stretch of street, use a bus. They all have racks. Last I checked there was a free ride area around downtown. If you choose to cycle through downtown, take care of all the cars and stopping buses and ride assertively, not dawdling.

    October 22 at 12:47pm

  • 

    Undriving

    Thanks, everyone! Great info. Next time I will also plan my route ahead- as a pedestrian I meander my way around downtown, but with all the one way streets that’s a recipe for frustration on a bike!
    Third ave, really- wouldn’t have guessed!… Will give it a try. And Yes to muliti-modal. And to better bike accomodations – see you at the city council hearing tues.

    October 22 at 1:06pm

  • 

    Merlin R Rainwater The other thing to be aware of – traffic moves slow downtown, even though there’s a lot of it – so it’s not as hard as it seems at first to ride with the cars. Still, when I ride downtown, I hop on and off my bike and on and off the sidewalk. One of the great things about a bike is – if you don’t want to ride it you can just push it! Try that with a car!!

    October 22 at 6:20pm

  • 

    Merlin R Rainwater And one more thing- remember that the more people ride bikes downtown, the safer it will be. So don’t stop! And don’t stop advocating for safer infrastructure which will in turn attract more bikes downtown. Truth is, the CAR is the WORST form of downtown transportation.

    October 22 at 6:33pm

  • 

    Jeff Flogel I love biking through downtown. I second the comment to take your full rights as a vehicle. Take the lane when you don’t feel comfortable! You have to be careful doing that but it commands a lot of respect from the combustion engine drivers. The biggest tip I have for anyone is to pick a good route. A good bicycle route between 2 points will almost always be different than a good car route.

    October 22 at 9:20pm

Undriving^TM is excited to be partnering with the City of Redmond and R-TRIP for the Redmond Summer Undriving^TM Challenge.  The 8-week long program will kick off with the Undriver Licensing Station appearing at the IMPACT Eco-Fair on July 10^th from 10 am-6 pm.  We’ll be issuing Undriver Licenses^TM to people who pledge to reduce car usage on the planet in the coming month.  The Eco-Fair will be adjacent to the ever-popular annual Derby Days celebration, so there should be plenty of excitement for Undrivers of all ages.  In addition to their personalized Undriver Licenses, newly minted Undrivers will be issued six free bus tickets courtesy of King County METRO.  Undrivers can also win prizes in the eight-week Redmond Summer Undriving^TM Challenge by logging five trips without a car:  Undriving adults can win a $25 American Express gift card, and children can win movie passes and rounds of miniature golf.  This is Undriving’s first partnership with a municipality, and we’re looking forward to spreading  Undriving on the Eastside!

On May 11, Mayor Mike McGinn announced the City’s Walk Bike Ride initiative - to make biking, walking, and transit the easiest ways to get around in Seattle.  Sounds like Undriving, right?

What will that take, for you in your neighborhood?  Have your say at one of these community meetings:

June 1^st, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Bitter Lake Community Center
13035 Linden Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98133

June 7^th, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm – RSVP
Van Asselt Community Center
2820 S Myrtle St., Seattle, WA 98108

June 14^th, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm – RSVP
Delridge Community Center
4501 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106

June 21^st, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm – RSVP
Northgate Community Center
10510 5th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98125

These community meetings seek to answer the question, “what needs to change in your neighborhood to make walking, biking, and riding transit easy?”

Is it a closer bus stop? More sidewalks? More in-city rail transportation? More bike lanes? More pedestrian spaces?

Attendees will learn more about Walk Bike Ride, get more information on what types of projects are possible, and fill out a “ballot” that will help the City think about how we prioritize these types of transportation projects.

Undriving

Want more info?  Here’s an interview with Craig Benjamin of Sierra Club and Streets For All Seattle, by Publicola’s Josh Cohen.

CASCADE BICYCLE CLUB, SIERRA CLUB CASCADE
CHAPTER AND GREAT CITY ANNOUNCE NEW CAMPAIGN
FOR TRANSPORTATION FUNDING IN SEATTLE

“Streets For All Seattle” Calls for Adequate Funding of Multimodal Transportation
SEATTLE – (April 19, 2010) – Cascade Bicycle Club, Sierra Club Cascade Chapter and Great City join a coalition of community, labor, transportation and environmental groups in proudly announcing Streets For All Seattle, a new campaign calling for adequately funding multimodal transportation initiatives in Seattle.

The Streets For All Seattle supporters believe that walking, bicycling and transit should be the easiest means of transportation in Seattle. But the current situation shows pending cuts in Metro service hours and insufficient funding for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans.

The Streets For All Seattle coalition has identified a number of potential funding sources – to the tune of $30 million dollars – for walking, biking and transit infrastructure. The group looks forward to working with the Seattle City Council, Mayor McGinn and partners to create dedicated funding mechanisms for multi-modal transportation initiatives in Seattle.

Streets For All Seattle also looks forward to engaging Seattle citizens in a conversation about how we fund and build the pedestrian, bicycle and transit infrastructure to align with a forward-thinking vision, one that includes transportation choices that make sense for our city and vibrant neighborhoods that are safe and accessible for everyone.