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New Best Foot Forward Newsletter
Best Foot Forward used to have its information and updates buried in the middle of this Bike/Walk Central Florida newsletter. However, we feel it is such a great initiative that it deserves more attention than that. That’s why there is a brand new Best Foot Forward Newsletter! Click here to subscribe to hear about the local events and goings-on regarding pedestrian safety.
Thank you, Best Foot Forward volunteers!!
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who came out on August 20th to wave “I Yield 4 Peds” signs at crosswalks near schools to raise awareness for pedestrian safety as part of the Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety initiative. We had over 20 volunteers come out to support our cause. In the photo above, Howard Schieferdecker and Hal Downing joined an Orange County crossing guard to greet students, parents, and drivers on the first day of school. Special thanks goes out to the following people for their support: Laurie Brown, Vicky Steely, David and Nancy Russ, Eliza Haris, Ed Piatkowski, Felix Lake, Stephanye Staggers, Lisa Portelli, Shirley Westbrook, Kelly Morphy, Jill Hamilton Buss, Rick Geller, Amanda Day, Winter Park Commissioner Tom McMacken, Hal Downing, Maitland Mayor Howard Schieferdecker, Jason Reynolds, Annemarie Provisero, Brad and Darlyn Kuhn and Marianne Popkins.
$164 fine and 3 points on your license
Want to avoid the repercussions listed above? Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. It’s the law. After three months of issuing warnings, officers in Orange County, the City of Orlando, the City of Maitland, the City of Winter Park, and the City of Eatonville will now pull you over (as of August 14) for not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and fine you $164 and put 3 points on your license. Help Metro Orlando become best in the nation for pedestrian safety, not worst.
Thanks to MetroPlan Orlando!
 Thanks to MetroPlan Orlando for their continued support of Bike/Walk Central Florida. This past month, MetroPlan approved $50,000 for BWCF. Their help saves lives, as well as helps local, state and federal taxpayers get a return on governement investments in pedestrian safety improvements by getting drivers to yield to pedestrians and getting more pedestrians to use crosswalks. Thanks for stepping up, MetroPlan Orlando!
Back to School
Be careful out there! During summer, people tend to get lazy about crosswalks. There aren’t many kids crossing streets because school is out. However, school is back in session and those kids are back to crossing streets. Please be especially careful driving and please do yield for pedestrians in crosswalks. You might just save a life. Click here to read about Walk Safe, our new program in public elementary schools teaching kids how to safely cross streets.
Cycling Savvy Fall Classes
Did you miss Cycling Savvy? We sure did! Sign up now for either of the two classes listed: September 28 or October 13. Cycling Savvy is a course on bicycle safety that teaches you how to drive your bike in traffic confidently and safely. It is especially useful now-a-days for people who are trying to cut back on car usage, either as a student or just economizing. Either way, this course will teach you all you need to know about riding your bike.
Ride-4-Ronald 2012
Do you enjoy cycling? Want to ride for a good cause? Well Ride-4-Ronald is for you! Ride-4-Ronald is an annual bike ride hosted by the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida and sponsored by McDonalds and David’s World Cycle. It is an enthusiast level biking event with 30, 60 and 100 mile bike routes. Last year, over 600 cyclists helped raise nearly $120,000 for the 1,500 families with seriously ill or critically injured children who stay at the two Ronald McDonald House Central Florida locations each year. Their goal is to raise $150,000 this year. Sign up now to participate in this fun event for a great cause! It will be on Sunday September 23, 2012.
Open Ride Invitation
This is an open invitation to anyone that would like to ride any Tuesday, Thursday and/or Saturday from the San Sebastian Trail Head on SR 436. The ride starts at 8AM each morning weather permitting and travels north on the Seminole Wekiva Trail and some county roads. We generally stop at Panera for coffee and a bagel and then head north towards state road 46 with a little zig zag to get extra miles. We take a second rest stop at the Sylvan Lake trail head then head home. The ride is about 35/40 miles in length and we ride at about a 14/15 mile per hour pace. This is a no drop ride and is very social; we meet as a small group without a specific ride leader. For more information, contact Jim Catlette at [email protected] or (424) 914-0398.
From our friends at Commute Orlando: Peter Martinez has created a collaborative Bike Parking map, designed to help Bicyclists plan their routes and park their bikes on secure racks, rather than a stop sign or a tree. This can also help us advise business of the need for a rack, better placement, or even reward them for doing it right! Read more . . .
Calling all HOAs
In summer we began our community outreach campaign. Over the fall we will be contacting every homeowners association registered with Orange County and the City of Orlando to enlist their help in getting our pedestrian safety message out to their membership. Big thanks to the Grovehurst Homeowners Association in Winter Garden for being one of the first to embrace the cause. See their post here.
Next steering committee meeting, 9 a.m., September 11, via conference call
The Best Foot Forward Steering Committee will meet via conference call at 9 a.m., Tuesday, September 11th.
About Best Foot Forward
State law requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, and pedestrians to yield to cars when crossing outside of a crosswalk. In Orange County the fine for failure to yield is $164 and 3 points on your drivers license. Even so, our baseline data shows that, on average, only about five percent of drivers obey this law.
The five-year initiative is currently focused on Orange County and will expand into Seminole and Osceola counties as resources permit. Five cities, two towns, and Orange County have passed resolutions supporting the initiative. Orlando Police Department has trained 24 officers. Orange County Sheriff’s office, this week trained 40 more. Police agencies in Winter Park, Maitland and Eatonville, and police chiefs from throughout Orange County, have pledged their support to the initiative, launched by Bike/Walk Central Florida and the Florida Bicycle Association, with financial support from the Winter Park Health Foundation and MetroPlan Orlando.
We have met with representatives of Orange County Public Schools to discuss the program. Outgoing Superintendent Ronald Blocker spoke at our kickoff, and we hope to be able to negotiate the addition of pedestrian safety curriculum grades K-5 as early as this fall.
When was the last time you saved a life? Your contributions of $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, or more, can make a big difference. Checks should be made out to the Florida Bicycle Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and mailed to: Betsy Holl at: P.O. Box 916715, Longwood, FL 32793-6715. Please specify that you are donating to Best Foot Forward.
Events
Community Calendar Link
http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/community-calendar/
Recurring Rides
(The next First Friday ride is September 7th)
First Fridays: Take it to the streets bike ride to promote civility: 6 p.m. on the First Friday of each month. Check our Facebook Fan page for start locations.
UCF Bike Bus: Downtown Orlando to UCF, then UCF to Downtown Orlando. Follow bike bus in real time via GPS at http://commuteorlando.com/bikebus/
Ride With Steve: Beginner ride. Meet at Winter Garden Wheel Works in Downtown Winter Garden, 8 a.m., Saturdays. – Sponsored by Winter Garden Wheel Works .
See our Calendar for other family rides:
www.bikewalkcentralflorida.org
S-Cargo farmers market rides featuring utility bikes and trailers
Ice Cream Socials: night rides through Downtown Orlando
Unless specifically designated as a trail ride, our rides take place on public streets. Headlights and red rear flashers are required for night rides. Helmets are encouraged, and are required for children under 16.
We observe all traffic laws and traffic signals.
Our rides are typically 10 to 15 miles, roundtrip, and average 10 miles an hour, a comfortable pace for most adults and teens. May be too fast for younger children and adults with health issues.
These rides are social in nature.
For longer, more aggressive group rides, subscribe to Hal Downing’s group ride newsletter by emailing [email protected] .
If you have a social ride you would like us to help promote, please email me at the address below.
Brad
Brad Kuhn
Executive Director
[email protected]
Bike/Walk Central Florida Would like to thank our sponsors:
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Transforming Central Florida into a Premier Biking and Walking Community! 
