Bike Walk Mississippi
Bike Walk Mississippi announces new Executive Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 27, 2010
Contact: Melody Moody
Phone: 601-212-3162
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Bike Walk Mississippi announces new Executive Director
JACKSON, MS: Bike Walk Mississippi (BWM), the state’s bicycle and pedestrian advocacy group will move its headquarters from Oxford to Jackson, its capitol, on August 1st with the installment of it’s new Executive Director, Melody Moody.
Moody has recently served as co-founder and president of the board for the Jackson Bike Advocates and comes to Bike Walk with a M.A. in Advocacy & International Development as well as over 10 years of experience in community development within Jackson. Former BWM Executive Director, Karen Mogridge, has transitioned to the role of Board President and looks forward to working with Melody as they speak out together for the needs of pedestrians and cyclists across the state.
Moody believes that Mississippi can move toward becoming a state known for its bicycle and pedestrian friendliness. Moody states, “many people may not realize that in 2009, Mississippi had the largest jump of any state in bike friendly status, moving from number 47 to 24. We are also encouraged by recent state legislation giving cyclists 3 feet of clearing when vehicles are passing. Mississippi is one of only 16 states in the nation to have passed such as law.”
Bike Walk Mississippi offers grassroots support to regional and local advocates across the state and feels that both walking and biking allow Mississippians a way to fight obesity, to improve safety and to explore alternative forms of transportation. Bike Walk will launch a statewide educational campaign surrounding the recently passed 3 feet law and hopes to use this as a way to move forward as part of the Department of Transportation’s directive to give bicycles and pedestrians an equal opportunity to share the road. To learn more about Bike Walk’s efforts, visit: www.bikewalkmississippi.org
Last Updated (Wednesday, 28 July 2010 03:41)
Mississippi SRTS Network: Progress Report
Tuesday, 06 July 2010 18:17 | Written by Administrator |
MISSISSIPPI Safe Routes to School State Network Progress Report
Overview The State Network Project brings together state leaders to remove barriers to walking and bicycling to and from school. Safe Routes to School (SRTS) State Networks in nineteen states and DC are working to increase physical activity, ensure that federal SRTS funds are spent on quality projects, work to leverage additional state resources for SRTS initiatives, and advocate to remove barriers to walking and bicycling to schools through policy initiatives.
Achievements At the heart of the State Network effort is policy change—specifically working to remove policy barriers to walking and bicycling to schools by implementing complete streets, changing statewide school siting and other policies, and by implementing legislation that would result in funding or policy changes.
Achievements List Below is a selected list of the major achievements of the Mississippi Network since January 2010. For more information about these achievements, please contact the state network organizer. Our organizer has diligently worked to bring together a number of members from across the state. Organizer connections and collaborative relationships have helped to develop strong action teams, which our organizer participates as a member in each. · Complete Streets: A Complete Streets Action Team formed and meets regularly. The Action Team created a Mississippi Complete Streets Fact Sheet and distributed it among various contacts across the state. Members of the Action Team created the fact sheet while working with Tupelo and Hernando communities to pass the 1st two complete street policies in the state. This fact sheet has been used in a number of communities and assisted Pascagoula in passing a Complete Streets policy in May 2010. The team is now working on establishing a Mississippi Complete Streets Coalition complete with a website for educational and communication purposes. Additional focus is being spent to focus on the perceived cost of Complete Streets, which is an issue for low-income communities. A nationwide conference call was completed in June 2010 to gather additional information from states across the nation who have experience with Complete Streets implementation, marketing and education. · Bike/Ped Safety Curriculum and Large-Scale Education and Encouragement Programs:An Action Team formed around this issue, and is meeting regularly. Action Team members discovered a kit of 37 lesson plans created by the Mississippi Department of Education. These lesson plans are specific to the SRTS program. The team is now focusing on creating awareness and expanding distribution for the lesson plans. A large number of the lesson plans focus on personal safety when walking/bicycling to school, including an emphasis on both how to ride and walk safely and how to keep an eye on your surroundings. · Strategic Highway Safety Implementation Plan: Several network partners are participating in an Action Team on this issue. Members include representatives from a Metropolitan Planning Organization and Mississippi Department of Health. The team, working with MDOT, discovered the SHSP is being reviewed and updated this year. · Implementation of the Federal and State SRTS Programs: An Action Team has also formed on this priority area, and is being led in part by the Mississippi SRTS State Coordinator, Cookie Leffler. Our coordinator is working very hard to assist in evaluating the program at the state and federal level. She has suggested a road map type survey to evaluate where the program is / is not working throughout the state. We’ve also uncovered various efforts currently implemented to assist low-income communities. Additional resources are provided to these communities along with additional hands-on training for completing the SRTS application process. The Mississippi Network includes approximately 30 organizations and agencies, all of which are working on SRTS state programs and policies. For a detailed list, go to: http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/state/network/Mississippi#network
Organizer Each contracted state organizer manages the daily operations of the State Network Project for the SRTS National Partnership and works with partners from around the state who are involved in health, equity, transportation, youth, environmental and smart growth issues to develop and implement an action plan.
Bike Walk Mississippi Karen Mogridge President This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
How To Get Involved Each state network holds a telephone meeting every month, and network action teams work to make changes to the policies listed below. If you are interested in participating in the Mississippi Network, or want more information about it, contact the state network organizer listed above.
Last Updated (Wednesday, 28 July 2010 04:01) NEWS ALERT: BILL SIGNED BY GOVERNOR
Friday, 19 March 2010 15:07 | Written by Administrator |
NEWS ALERT: Governor Haley Barbour signed our John Paul Frerer Bicycle Safety Act! It's official - Mississippi is now a 3 Feet, Anti-Harassment STATE! Thank you all for your hard work in getting us here - now celebrate and get ready for a bill signing ceremony. Don't forget to thank your Representative / Senator.Chairman McBride and Chairman King deserve a HUGE round of applause for their support!!!Our bill authors and sponsors also need a big thank you:Senate:Chairman KingSenator HewesSenator DearingHouse:Representative BarkerRepresentative BellRepresentative JonesRepresentative McGeeRepresentative RogersRepresentative JohnsonRepresentative TurnerNext Steps:Bill signing ceremony with the GovernorCelebration ceremonies with Chairman King and Chairman McBridePublic Education (Look to work with MDOT and Dept of Public Safety)Drivers Education
Last Updated (Friday, 19 March 2010 15:09) |
Hernando Helmet Ordinance
Tuesday, 20 April 2010 15:04 | Written by Administrator |
Hernando, MS has passed a helmet ordinance. To read the full ordinance, click here. We strongly encourage reading the entire ordinance, below you will see a snippet:
Any person from the ages of 1-16, riding or otherwise any bicycle, electric assisted bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, in-line skates, roller skate(s), skate shoe(s), motorized foot scooter, scooter or skateboard, including any passenger thereon and/or person being towed thereby, on any public area in the City shall wear an approved helmet, and shall have either the neck or chin strap of the helmet fastened securely while the device is in motion. Join BWM
Monday, 04 January 2010 20:24 | Written by Administrator |
You can become a member right now by completing our secure order form. Become an Advocate member and get our fabulous, limited edition biking jersey (Design in process) Click here to join and complete our online membership application. You can also print out the application and mail it to the address at the bottom if you prefer. Why join Bike Walk Mississippi?
Your membership helps because: BikeWalk Mississippi is committed to raising awareness of opportunities associated with non-motorized transportation (including bicycling, walking, hiking) for recreation, transportation, and health.
Your membership will help create: A Safer Mississippi where we
A Healthier Mississippi in which we
A Cleaner Mississippi where we
A Wealthier Mississippi because we
Your membership shows: That you envision a fun, healthy, beautiful, and viable future for all of Mississippi! Membership has its benefits! Contributing to BWM is the best investment you can make to improve bicycling and walking in Mississippi. BWM is the voice for bicyclists and pedestrians in Mississippi. As a BWM member you will also receive these additional benefits:
Last Updated (Tuesday, 23 February 2010 15:45) |
