Tag Archives: bike

Art Fans Unite! Festival Runs June 26-29

It’s time for the annual Utah Art’s Festival!

Spanning four days from June 26-29, this momentous event attracts the entire city to enjoy live music, unique film performances, endless art displays, and of course, incredible food. The Arts Festival is an opportunity for everyone to explore, engage, and appreciate the vibrant city culture within Salt Lake.

The festival schedule this year offers everything from beginner’s drawing workshops and comic book creations to epic concert performances and the “Fear No Film” series of unique and impactful independent films. And of course, how could you forget the food? Between Thursday’s Chef Competition, the Leo Libations Wine Pairing workshop, and the numerous booths providing delicious eats, this annual celebration will undoubtedly be a memorable crowd-pleaser.

If you’re still in need of reasons to attend, more good news awaits: this year, the festival is going above and beyond to “green” up the four day celebration.

As in past years, the Festival is offering FREE bike valet services along 400 South in the sponsored Blue Sky Bike Lot. As we all know, downtown parking can be nothing short of a crowded nightmare; do yourself AND the environment a favor and bike down for free! Worried about the trek back? The Library TRAX station is located just outside the festival and can take you safely where you need to go. Additionally, the 228 and 205 buses run directly by the heart of the festival; you, your friends, and your bike can catch a hands-free ride home after a day of artistic enjoyment.

The Arts Festival is also proud to announce this year’s recycling opportunities for plastic bottles, cups, aluminum cans, cardboard, glass, food scraps, and even vegetable oil. Be sure to keep an eye out around the tents for designated garbage, recycle, and compost bins throughout the plaza. Our beautiful city will thank you!

Even more exciting news: Rocky Mountain Power, in partnership with Blue Sky, will be transforming the festival into an entirely “green” event by supporting renewable energy equivalent to the amount required to fuel the four-day celebration. To put this in numbers, the Festival will be preventing the potential emission of 87,398 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. With the additional help of all the attendees who will spend the days enjoying the outdoors rather than driving around, it’s safe to say that the Utah Arts Festival is officially a notable step towards a greener Salt Lake!

If you’ve ever doubted joining in on this annual event, 2014 is certainly the year to hop on board and let loose for a weekend of great food, incredible art, lively performances, and now more than ever, the chance to help keep our beautiful environment clean. See you all there!

This post was written by SLCgreen intern Lauren Mills.

Sugar House Welcomes “The Draw”

Last week, SLCgreen attended the grand opening of The Draw, a tunnel constructed under 1300 East connecting Sugar House Park to Hidden Hollow. An extension of the Parley’s Trail, The Draw allows pedestrians and bikers to bypass busy 1300 East and easily access all Sugar House has to offer.

Bottom line: The Draw is awesome. Check it out this weekend!

“The Draw” Opens this Friday!

We’ve got good news for bikers and pedestrians in Sugar House! “The Draw” — the tunnel that goes under 1300 East to connect Sugar House Park to Hidden Hollow — is opening this Friday, June 6.

You are invited to attend the grand opening and ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m. this Friday at Sugar House Park.

You can learn more about this exciting project via Salt Lake Magazine.

The Woman Leading SLC’s Transportation Revolution

Photo Credit: Ben Bolte

Recently, The Atlantic Cities profiled Salt Lake City’s Transportation Director, Robin Hutcheson, shining a light on the woman who has been leading our city’s transportation revolution over the last few years.

Here’s an except from the article. We recommend heading over to The Atlantic Cities article ASAP.

SALT LAKE CITY—Here are a few things to know about Robin Hutcheson. She’s a Connecticut native who came to Utah in 1994 for the skiing, and except for a few years in Europe, has lived here ever since. Since 2011, she’s been head of the transportation planning division of Salt Lake City, the state’s capital and biggest metropolis, often commuting by bike, at other times running one way and taking public transit on the return trip. Also, as you have noted by now, she is a woman.

That last part shouldn’t be a big deal. And most of the time, it isn’t. Every now and then, though, as the 43-year-old Hutcheson has climbed the ranks of her chosen profession, she gets a reminder: being a woman in a leadership position in American transportation is not the norm.

Read the full article on The Atlantic Cities.

SmartTrips Rolls into a New Neighborhood

Are you dreaming of warmer days and bluer skies? So are we!

SLCgreen was recently awarded a grant from the Utah Clean Air Partnership (UCAIR) to fund our SmartTrips 2014 neighborhood! Even though it is hazy and cold outside, we’re moving full speed ahead with some exciting plans for 2014.

The newly launched SmartTripsSLC Instagram is making a splashy debut, hosting a series of images from the new neighborhood. Take a peek and see if you can #guesswhere in SLC!

Stay tuned for the neighborhood announcement and a new SmartTrips SLC blog chock full of awesome content.

In the meantime, see if you can guess the new SmartTrips 2014 neighborhood from the images below!

[VIDEO] Get Inspired to Clear the Air

‘Tis the season for New Years Resolutions.

While you’re revisiting resolutions to exercise, eat healthy and spend more time with those you love (a great way to start the new year!), consider making one more resolution — to help clear the air.

Through the winter Care to Clear the Air project (2010-2012), a series of videos captured the stories of residents making a resolution to limit their impact on air quality by driving less.

Watch the videos below to hear from people that have done everything from moving closer to where they work, to biking, carpooling and taking public transit.

Their stories will inspire you to make your own resolution to help clear the air!

Kyle LaMalfa shares his commitment to take public transit.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-ThTQPBKEU&w=560&h=315]
Continue reading →

Fairpark Takes a Promenade

This is a guest blog written by Sara Rose Tannenbaum of Salt Lake City’s SmartTrips Program.

On Saturday September 21^st, over 40 neighbors gathered on the corner of 300 North and 900 West. While adults mingled under the shade of the giant Coca-Cola billboard, kids chased chickens and discovered eggs in the maze of sunflowers.

The reason for their gathering was the Fairpark Promenade, a collaborative “Community Walk around the Block” hosted by the Fairpark Community Council, the Urban Growth Garden and SmartTrips Fairpark.

Continue reading →

Bike Commuting: The Basics

[Watch our bike commuting feature on KUTV 2News This Morning!]

Commuting by two wheels can transform the dullest part of your day (your commute) into the best part of your day (your “me” time).

The SLCgreen crew loves their bikes, so we, with the help of the Bicycle Transit Center and BikeSLC.com, put together some tips to get you rolling.

Safety First. Make sure your bike is road-worthy! We recommend that you:

Take your bike it into the shop for a quick tune up.
Make sure you have the proper bike lights and reflectors.
Find the right helmet with a proper fit.
Pull out your brightest yellow shirt or vest for enhanced visibility.
Read up on the rules of the road at BikeSLC.com.

Gear Up! There are a few things that will make your commute run smoothly:

Secure a bike rack and panniers on your bike.
Pack a repair a kit with the basics. You can buy one or assemble it yourself.
Consider fenders, which will protect you from tire splatter on a drizzly day.
Lock it up! U-locks are more secure than cable locks. Get the scoop from BIkeSLC.com.
License your bike with the city. This simple step can help you recover your bike in the event of theft, and it is required by law.

What to wear. In addition to your bright shirt or vest, a few things to consider:

Mellow Commute: You may be able to wear your work clothes.
Not-So-Mellow Commute: Pack your work clothes in your panniers. We recommend rolling your clothes to prevent creasing.

Plan your attack. Choose the right route for your commute. Check out the BikeSLC Map or try the bike feature on Google Maps.

More Resources

SmartTrips Rolls into SLC’s Fairpark Neighborhood

A new program has rolled into the Fairpark neighborhood, offering free transit passes, pedometers, bike lights and more in an effort to convince residents to leave their cars at home in favor of walking, biking or taking public transit.

“One of the biggest barriers to adopting alternative transportation is feeling confident and comfortable enough to navigate the change in lifestyle, and that’s where SmartTrips comes in,” says Sara Rose Tannenbaum, SmartTrips program manager.

The aim of SmartTrips, a free Salt Lake City Green Program, is to provide educational materials and incentives to residents so that they explore ways to commute, run errands or get exercise in Salt Lake City without a car.

All Fairpark residents are eligible to sign up for SmartTrips kits. The idea behind these kits is to empower residents with the knowledge they need to embrace existing biking, walking and public transportation options.

Besides offering helpful Fairpark-specific maps, schedules and tips, kits include a free bike light, pedometer, and 7-day unlimited UTA Tap-on-Tap-off pass, and coupon book to local businesses. Residents may also request custom bike and transit commute routes, or step-by-step guides including details such as transfer points, bus frequency and desirable bike lanes.

The Smart Trips program was launched last year in the East Liberty Park neighborhood and showed a 26% decrease in miles and trips driven by car with an 18% increase in environmentally preferable trips. Success has been similarly achieved in neighborhoods in Oregon, and Tennessee, Washington, as well as in Australia.

“With over 40% of trips in the US less than 2 miles, and 68% of these trips are driven in cars, there is a lot of potential to make changes close to home,” says Tannenbaum. “Any reduction in the amount of drive-alone car trips, especially in the Salt Lake Valley, helps to alleviate our impact on air quality and protect the health of our community.”

SmartTrips collaborates with local organizations to coordinate events that celebrate community and public/active transportation. On May 12th SmartTrips hosted a group bike ride to the opening day of the People’s Market at the International Peace Gardens. Neighbors joined Councilmember Kyle LaMalfa, and representatives from the Day-Riverside Library, SmartTrips and local bike shop Saturday Cycles. Of the fifteen participants, 10 visited the People’s Market for the first time, and 8 traveled on stretches of the Jordan River Trail that were new to them.

Next month, SmartTrips will join the Jordan River Commission when they host a weed pull to remove the infamous bike tire-popping goatheads on Saturday July 13th from 9-11 a.m. Though only Fairpark residents can sign up for SmartTrips kits, all are invited to attend the community events.

“By choosing alternative transportation we become closer to our community, our city, and the people, businesses and resources that are a part of it,” says Tannenbaum. “We don’t get to know our neighbors behind a steering wheel. We meet them in our community gardens, at a local business, a local park, or even in passing on the sidewalk. When we get out of our cars, and start walking or biking, we begin to discover our surroundings and neighborhood in a whole new way.”

Do you live in Fairpark? Sign up for SmartTrips when you receive a SmartTrips postcard in the mail or register online.