"Failure to build the bridges would not only violate a 1993 agreement, it would also kill the long- held vision of a continuous walkway linking the Esplanade to the Boston Harborwalk and Rose Kennedy Greenway, several officials said." Click here to read the entire July 6, 2005 Boston Herald article.

Wed., July 13 noon- 1:00pm: "Charles River Connections" Lunchtime Walk! WalkBoston, MassBike, the Charles River Conservancy, and the Charles River Watershed Association invite you to walk with us to see the connections that are needed to complete the pathway network of the new Charles River Basin. Join us to help make sure that these critical pedestrian/bike connections get built. Meet on Causeway Street in front of the North Station T. Contact: Wendy Landman, WalkBoston, 617.367.9255, wendy_landman@walkboston.org.

THE ISSUE:

The long-planned and agreed upon vision for the area centers on pedestrian/bicycle paths on both sides of the Charles River, and a path bridging the river to connect the Cambridge and Esplanade path systems to the Boston Harborwalk and the Rose Kennedy Greenway. These bridges are part of the CA/T mitigation agreements for the basin. Advocates have long supported the path plans as critical elements in the emerging regional path network. To create these connections, the plans specify three bridges along and over the MBTA commuter rail lines.

The first bridge (now being designed) will cross the rail tracks to link Charlestown and Cambridge. The second bridge would cross over the rails on the Boston side behind North Station to connect the Esplanade to the Greenway and the Harborwalk. The third bridge would cross the river parallel to the rail lines, on the upstream side of the existing railroad bridge.

The last two bridges may fall prey to current CA/T budget priorities. If this happens, the path network will be incomplete. Without the second bridge, existing paths will dead-end at each side of the railroad tracks at the Spaulding Hospital on the west, and the Charles River Dam on the east. Without the third bridge, river crossings for pedestrians and bicycles will be largely diverted to busy roadway bridges.

http://www.walkboston.org; http://www.massbike.org; http://www.charlesriverconservancy. org; http://www.crwa.org

SAT JULY 9 from 11am-2pm; SUN JULY 10th from 10:30am-4:30pm
BikesNotBombs, 59 Amory Street, Roxbury, 5 minute walk from Jackson Square stop on the Orange Line

Come help us ship a container of about 480 donated bikes to the Village Bicycle Project in Ghana. Come for whatever time suits you and help flatten bikes, sort parts, and load the container. You may wish to bring work gloves, but you don't need to know mechanics - we'll show you what to do! On Sunday breakfast & lunch are provided, and there will be a short talk about the project.

The Village Bicycle Project and its vast network of small businesses are doing really well, and bringing thousands of bikes into Ghana each year from Bikes Not Bombs and other groups. This effort is transforming Ghana by adding the bicycle (affordable and environmentally-clean) to people's tranportation options, while helping train mechanics and bring in the specialty tools they need to maintain all the newly-arrived bikes that people are starting to use.

TUE JULY 12 & TUE JULY 19: Join fellow cyclists for a morning ride, breakfast at Redbones and live TV coverage of the Tour de France on the Outdoor Life Network.

3 rides geared for 3 levels of ability - all riders must wear helmets to participate. Easy: a 15 - 20 mile ride at 11 - 12 mph beginning in Davis Square at the terminus of the Minuteman Bikeway and continuing through Arlington and Lexington toward Bedford. Intermediate: a 25 - 30 mile ride at 17+/ - mph to the western towns including Concord. Fast: a 40 plus mile ride at 19 - 21 mph to the western towns of Concord and beyond to Carlyle. The rides are being lead by volunteers from the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA), MassBike and the Boston Bicycle Festival's "Hub on Wheels" citywide ride.

Redbones, 55 Chester Street, Davis Square, Somerville.

Know someone who would like to improve their urban biking skills and learn how to ride more confidently in traffic? Register for MassBike Bicycling Skills Courses!

MassBike has scheduled several Bicycling Skills Courses this summer, including classes in Newburyport (August 3 and 6) and Waltham (August 11 and 13). Our courses will build confidence and teach important safety skills and tips for commuting, charity rides, and recreational riding. The regular cost of the course is $50, and there is a special $40 discounted rate for members of MassBike, Charles River Wheelmen, and participants in the Mass Red Ribbon Ride and the MS rides.

The U.S. House and Senate have both passed the long-awaited Transportation Bill, and they are working out differences between their versions of the bill. We want "the best of both bills" for bicycling advocacy. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has put together a one-page summary of the issues. Please call or email Senators Kerry and Kennedy, plus your Congressman, and urge them to support one or more of the programs highlighted in the info sheet. You can find contact information for your legislators here: http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php.

"The persistent foot-dragging on the part of MassHighway with respect to building the Blackstone River Bikeway has reached epic proportions. The money has been identified; the political will is there; the public support is there; and now there's even a bill filed in the state Legislature specifically to compel the department to do what is essentially its job. It ought to be easy, but it's not. . . . ."

Click here to read the entire July editorial published in the Worcester Journal.

David Luberoff, executive director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, is slammed for his "technocratic, cynical view of public transportation," by Phil Warburg, president of Conservation Law Foundation, who argues that the benefits go way beyond air quality. Expanded mass transit, he argues, would result in a "revitalized Boston," which "will translate into reduced urban flight. Reduced urban flight means lower car dependence. Lower car dependence means reduced air pollution throughout the Boston metropolitan area."

Click here to read Luberoff's original article, and responses from organizations including: Conservation Law Foundation, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP), MassBike.

Romney unveils 20-year transportation plan. While the framework has been received positively by advocates, serious concerns have been raised regarding lack of implementation detail and no detail of the public involvement process.Click here for a related Boston Globe article.

The Somerville Journal reports that the Green Line shuttle bus will be running from Lechmere for a "few months longer" due to delay in completion of the relocation project at North Station (originally slated for completion last month). Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP) says this is no surprise-the MBTA has known that it would be behind schedule since at least January. Click here for the article.

Community Survey Lays Foundation for Bike Programming. In partnership with the City of Boston's Public Health Commission STEPS program, Hub On Wheels is conducting a survey of community organizations in several Boston communities to identify ways that bicycling could be integrated into their programs. This information will help STEPS, which already runs walking clubs around the city, plan for ways to help more people get involved in this healthy, efficient, and fun activity. If your organization has not yet been contacted, please get in touch with Lee Archung at customvoice@yahoo.com.

Strafford (NH) Promotes "quality" area growth. According to a June 25th Foster's Online article, "Representatives from the 18 communities within the Strafford Regional Planning Commission's area are urging municipalities to cooperate in targeting growth and development into quality community areas...The plan calls for developing quality community areas in conjunction with existing urban and village centers to accommodate the 30,000 new residents projected to move into the region. The areas would feature an urban or village center with a mix of market rate and workforce housing along with compatible business and office uses, all reflecting traditional New Hampshire architecture. The areas would feature a central pedestrian area with a central square, park or village green to enhance community life and tourism. Pedestrian ways and bike routes would link the centers to their adjacent neighbors. Click here to read the article.

Lexington (MA) to start Safe Routes program. According to a June 30th Boston Globe article, "Fed up with traffic and hoping to promote walking, Lexington school officials and parents this fall will encourage students to walk or bicycle to school as part of an offshoot of a larger town initiative to improve the town's sidewalk system. A pilot of the program, known as Safe Routes to Schools, is scheduled to begin in September at Bridge Elementary School. School officials are hoping to expand it to other schools in town later in the school year. Organizers of the program plan to identify safe routes for pedestrians and encourage parents to lead 'walking buses,' or groups of students walking together accompanied by an adult, said Olga Guttag, a School Committee member and member of the town's Sidewalk Committee. Click here to read the article.

Worcester (MA) to bulldoze downtown mall. "The project will cover some 21 acres and bring a mix of retail, office, medical and residential development to the center of downtown, removing a 30-year-old outlet mall and reconnecting several streets in downtown to create a more walkable and vibrant cityscape..." Click here to read the article.

Obesity takes heavy toll on the military. "Weight issues plague all branches of the military, from elite Marines to the Air Force, often lampooned as the 'chair force' because of its many sedentary jobs..." Click here to read the article.

Bush crashes bike into officer in Scotland. President Bush collided with a local police officer and fell during a bike ride on the grounds of the Gleneagles golf resort while attending a meeting of world leaders Wednesday. Click here to read the article.

Some of these news items were taken from: CenterLines, the bi-weekly e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking Click here for more information; and American Bicyclist Update, from the League of American Bicyclists Click here for more information.

Please join the members of the Verizon Wireless Wheelworks cycling team for a weekly one-and-a- half hour ride through the hills (and flats) of Boston's western suburbs. This easy-paced ride is geared toward beginners, returnees, and anyone interested in a leisurely Saturday afternoon ride. We'll show you great loops through Belmont, Weston, Wellesley and Concord, teach a few riding and safety tips, and generally have a good time. No one will get left behind! Saturday afternoons at 2pm, June 25th - August 28th, (weather permitting). All rides depart from Belmont Wheelworks, 480 Trapelo Road, Belmont MA, 617.489.3577. Helmets required. Road bikes, cycling shorts, pump and repair kit suggested. Contact Tamara Metz, tmetz@fas.harvard.edu

FOR A GREAT LIST OF RIDES, SEE: http://www.landrys.com/Pages/events.html

BNB ADULT MECHANICS COURSES. Learn to repair your own bike! These are "basic" mechanics courses which give you the skills to do a full tune-up, plus more advanced work overhauling rotational systems. Classes cover bike fit, flats, brakes, gears, and adjustments and overhauls of hubs and headsets. Each course meets at Bikes Not Bombs (Jackson Square T stop, Roxbury) once a week for 5 weeks. Cost is $100 C: Thursdays, 7-9pm, July 14th - August 11th; D: Tuesdays, 7-9pm, July 19th-August 16th. : Click here for more information.

August: BICYCLING SKILLS CLASSES. This 2-day course will teach you how to operate your bicycle more smoothly (including shifting gears), ride safely on roadways, increase your pedaling efficiency, climb hills more easily, participate in group ride events, and more! Click here for more information.

July 10: HUB ON WHEELS (BOSTON BICYCLE FESTIVAL) MONTHLY RIDE. The Cooling Sea - Along the beaches and through the docks Click here for more information.

Tue July 12 & July 19: Redbones Tour de France Early Ride and Breakfast. See article above.

Wed., July 13 noon-1:00pm: "Charles River Connections" Lunchtime Walk! See article above.

July 20: MASSBIKE VOLUNTEER NIGHT. Pizza, friends, and envelope stuffing! From 5:00-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 20. It's a great way to have fun and help the cause. At MassBike offices, 20 Park Plaza, Ste. 528, Boston (Arlington T stop). Please RSVP to mike@massbike.org.

July 29: BOSTON CRITICAL MASS. Last Friday of every month, 5:30pm, Copley Square. Click here for more information.