Interbike and Bikes Belong team to increase biking and walking to school in Las Vegas
Interbike and Bikes Belong's $50,000 grant brings new bike lanes, a new student bicycling program and plans to hire a program coordinator to Las Vegas' Ward 5.
- (1888PressRelease) September 15, 2010 - Boulder, Colo. and San Juan Capistrano, Calif - Interbike and Bikes Belong announced today that their two-year, $50,000 joint grant to the city of Las Vegas, host city for Interbike 2010, to improve cycling conditions for youth has helped add 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of additional bike lanes and bring a student bicycling program to the city's Ward 5 area.
These efforts complete phase one and phase two of the grant-funded project that Interbike and Bikes Belong outlined a year ago when they announced the two-year grant program.
"With the support of Interbike and local Las Vegas community leaders, the new bike lanes and bike incentive programs have taken a strong hold in Ward 5," said Bikes Belong President Tim Blumenthal. "With a few basic improvements, this Las Vegas neighborhood is already much more bike friendly and eager to develop its bike infrastructure."
The 3.2 miles of bike lanes installed in Ward 5 with the Interbike/Bikes Belong grant connect several main community facilities, including numerous elementary schools, parks, community centers and churches.
This year, the grant is supporting the installation of the Boltage system, an innovative program to encourage bicycling and walking in two Las Vegas schools. Students at Wendell Williams and Matt Kelly Elementary Schools, both serving low-income neighborhoods in Ward 5, will receive tags to attach to their helmets, bikes, or backpacks that will track their participation by "zapping" them as they pass the solar-powered reader. Students will receive participation incentives like stickers, wristbands, and granola bars and can also enter weekly raffles for additional prizes.
The next stage of the grant implementation will include hiring a program coordinator to encourage the community to bike more often and to manage the Boltage system.
"We have worked closely with Bikes Belong the past two years to put our grant to work in Las Vegas, and together we have achieved many goals," said Andy Tompkins, Interbike show director. "One of the components of the Bikes Belong/Interbike partnership is a commitment to improve cycling infrastructure in the show's host city. This grant has done that and we're happy the kids in Ward 5, and other cyclists in the area, have better places to ride."
This Interbike/Bikes Belong Las Vegas effort is one of many projects associated with a 10-year, multi-million dollar alliance between Interbike and Bikes Belong, initiated in 2007 to get more Americans nationwide riding bicycles.
About Bikes Belong
Bikes Belong is the national nonprofit bicycling organization dedicated to putting more people on bicycles more often. Founded in 1999 by the leading suppliers and retailers of the U.S. bike industry, Bikes Belong has played a leadership role in increasing the federal investment in bicycling facilities and programs. Bikes Belong also works to promote the many benefits of bicycling. Bikes Belong endorses and supports the Interbike Show as the annual gathering of the U.S. and international bike industry. For more information about Bikes Belong, please visit www.bikesbelong.org.
About Interbike
Interbike (a business unit of Nielsen Expositions, the parent company of the Outdoor Retailer (OR), Action Sports Retailer (ASR), and Health+Fitness Business trade shows) is a full-service trade show company that creates, markets and produces high-quality expos and educational conferences. Producers of the OutDoor Demo and Interbike International Bicycle Expo, Interbike is the leading bicycle industry business-to-business event management company, bringing together top manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of cycling. Interbike (www.interbike.com) gathers more than 1,100 cycling-related brands and close to 23,000 total attendees annually.
The Interbike 2010 trade-only events begin with OutDoor Demo (September 20-21, 2010 in Boulder City), followed by the Interbike Expo, September 22-24 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Joan Harrold, Bikes Belong Coalition, 303.449.4893 x4 (wk), joan ( @ ) bikesbelong dot org
Chip Smith, SOAR Communications for Interbike, 801.656.0472(wk) / 801.597.7515(cell), csmith ( @ ) soarcomm dot com
Uwe Weissflog, inMotion mar.com for Interbike, +49(0)714 1913131(wk) / +49(0)170 3164035(cell), uweissflog ( @ ) inmotionmar dot com
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