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News
2010 Drive Less, Live More
Bike To It! That’s the Drive Less, Live More message to drivers this summer – and campaign organizers are making it easier than ever.
“We want people to consider biking to all kinds of events and activities this summer,” says Andy Williamson of Five Rivers MetroParks and a Drive Less, Live More organizer. “And we’re going to try to help. There’s the annual River Ride on the Great Miami River trail. We’ve planned an expanded Bike to Work Day with several organizations. We’ve added Bike to the Dragons games and Bike To It Concert Series with the City of Dayton’s summer concert series at Dave Hall Plaza. At both Bike to the Dragons and the concerts, there will be valet (secured) bike parking. And if you get tired or want to only bike one way to any of these events, you can always put your bike on the bus for the ride home.”
While all of the alternative transportation modes – walking, biking, carpooling and transit – are featured in the Drive Less, Live More campaign, this year, organizers decided to focus on the bike.
“Virtually everyone can relate to our theme of Bike To It!,” says Matt Lindsay of the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission and a campaigner organizer. “We all had bikes as kids. Back then the bike was often our only transportation – and it was fun. We just want people to get back in touch with the fun – and benefits – of biking instead of driving everywhere.”
The fourth-year campaign is presented by four Miami Valley organizations – the Miami Conservancy District (MCD), Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission (MVRPC), Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (RTA) and Five Rivers MetroParks (FRMP).
This year the campaign will last one month longer, going from May through September.
“The idea of extending the campaign was to keep the campaign going as kids head back to school,” says Williamson, “and promote biking to school.”
The Drive Less, Live More campaign is designed to encourage drivers to leave their keys behind whenever they can and bike, walk, carpool or take the bus instead.
One of the major events in the campaign will again be the One Less Trip contest. Drivers in the region will be invited to give up their cars for short trips around town. In return, they will be eligible for prizes during the summer and $1,000 Visa gift card at the end of the campaign. "My favorite part of the DLLM campaign was the reward for doing something I do already or should be doing more often!" says Amanda Avery, the 2009 One Less Trip grand prize winner.
The Dayton Region makes using alternative transportation easy with a countywide transit system, miles of paved bike trails, and a carpooling service. Learn about the campaign at drivelesslivemore.org.
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