This year, the organizers of the Oregon Bike Summit have decided to make a welcomed change to the event, expanding the focus to all varieties of active transportation.  This means that on March 29 – 30 in Salem, bike and pedestrian advocates from across Oregon are going to be gathering for the Active Transportation Summit!

The primary point of the Summit is to meet with legislators to discuss key bicycle and pedestrian issues. As the second largest metropolitan area in the state, it is so important to have the voices of Eugene/Springfield residents heard while the legislature tries to figure out how to untangle the state’s budget mess.  GEARs already has a few members who are planning on going, but we are hoping to employ the tactic of “overwhelming force” when we convene in Salem.  We need to send a strong signal to our elected representatives that without active transportation infrastructure or programs, our great state wouldn’t be nearly as great.

For more information, see http://www.oregonbikesummit.com/.  There are also a limited number of scholarships available through Alta Planning, where the Registration page indicated, “Interested folks should send an email to Julie McDougal with a paragraph describing who they are and why they want the scholarship. Deadline for requests: March 22.”  Finally, if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at pricearmstrong@gmail.com.  Hope to see you in the capitol!