Public Health Track at #WCC16

Public Health professionals will have lots of opportunity to learn at the Winter Cycling Congress. Check out the track below for sessions especially relevant to people working in public health.

 

Tuesday, 2 February 2016

Breakout 1

Supporting and designing active communities in small town and rural regions

We are familiar with initiatives in big cities. How do we encourage and establish active communities in small towns and rural regions? This session will share three examples that support how to build it and bike it. You will hear about an innovative approach to SRTS in Iowa, a self-organized walking school bus program in Minnesota, and new design guide for rural and small towns.

• Ashley Christensen, Regional Safe Routes to School Coordinator, Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission
• Rebecca Gleason, Research Engineer, Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University
• Jake Krohn, Fergus Falls Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
• Taylor Lonsdale, Research Engineer, Small Urban and Rural Livability Center (SURLC) at the Western Transportation Institute of Montana State University

Breakout 2

Transparency, flexibility & collaboration: How North Minneapolis Greenway planners approached equitable community engagement * **

The North Minneapolis Greenway is a proposal to convert low-traffic residential streets to a park-like trail for year-round biking, walking, and more. This project has invested in strong, equitable community engagement. This panel will discuss the importance of engaging communities of color in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects, describe strategies for effective, equitable engagement, and demonstrate how collaboration between agencies, community, and government can lead to more robust engagement processes.

• Ebony Adedayo, Communications and Capacity Building Coordinator, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability
• Rose M. Brewer, Ph.D., Board Chair, Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota
• Will Lumpkins, Outreach Organizer, Northside Residents Redevelopment Council
• Alexis Pennie, Board Vice President, Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition | Chair, Northside Greenway Council | Co-founder, North Minneapolis Bicycle Advocacy Council
• Sarah Stewart, Senior Public Health Specialist, Minneapolis Health Department

Helping others into the saddle and through the snow

Winter cycling doesn’t have to be an extreme activity for only a select group of warriors. Hear stories from Finland and Minnesota about campaigns, programs and approaches that meet people where they are and help them start experiencing all the benefits associated with year-round cycling.

• Erin Daly, Bike/Walk Advocate, Sierra Club Northstar Chapter – Land Use and Transportation Committee
• Matti Hirvonen, Executive Director, Network of Finnish Cycling Municipalities
• Christie Manning, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies and Department of Psychology; Associate Director, Educating Sustainability Ambassadors at Macalester College
• Martti Tulenheimo, Policy Officer, Finnish Cyclists’ Federation

Illuminating the cold and dark with encouragement and data

How does winter, with its shorter days and colder weather, affect the cycling habits between gender and age groups? Based on participation data from a campus bike incentive program, we will summarize local trends and discuss how, emotionally and practically, we might better engage and encourage a diverse winter cycling culture.

• Kevin Karner, University of Minnesota’s Department of Parking and Transportation
• Steve Sanders, Alternative Transportation Manager, University of Minnesota
• Lindsey Wallace, Biking in Minneapolis

Open Streets for Placemaking Transformation

Open Streets has proven to deepen community engagement and create lasting change in neighborhoods and city streets through the removal of vehicle traffic. Working with 3 experts in the Open Streets movement we’ll start with tools of successful placemaking and lead an interactive workshop where you’ll design & build your own idea of what placemaking is. You’ll leave with the tools to empower and inspire placemaking in a whole new way.

• Ginny Marie Herman, Events Coordinator, Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition
• Mike Lydon, Principal, Street Plans Collaborative
• Max Musicant, Founder & Principal, The Musicant Group

Wednesday, 3 February

Breakout 3

Building power for bicyclists through advisory and advocacy groups

This presentation will share examples of building power for bicyclists by creating a successful bicycle advisory committee within government, and a successful bicycle advocacy organization outside of government. We will present in-depth case studies on the formation of the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) and Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition.

• Lisa Bender, City Council Member for Ward 10, City of Minneapolis.
• Ethan Fawley, Executive Director, Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition
• Nick Mason, Deputy Director, Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
• Robin Garwood, Policy Aide to Minneapolis Ward 2 Council Member Cam Gordon, City of Minneapolis

Breakout 4

Who rides a bike in winter?

Parents, professionals and average joes, it turns out. This panel mixes personal experience with discussion about system user needs and bike facility performance in variable weather and road conditions and highlights policy ideas employers and local governments could enact to support people who are ready to live car-free or car-light lifestyles.

• Joe Laha, Bicycle Commuter
• Dan Patterson, Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner, Hennepin County
• Rachel Widome, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota

People like me

The Twin Cities cycling culture is comprised of many types of riders – commuters, racers, messengers, touring cyclists etc. Despite a shared practice of riding bikes, bicycle users possess unique identities including race, gender and sexual identities, and economic and class backgrounds, which may be at odds with mainstream images and preconceived cultural notions about who rides a bike and why. This panel will engage our audience in a discussion about how to best include everyone who rides bikes in our community. As a small bonus, we will present the results of the Minneapolize winter cycling survey.

• Tony Desnick, Director for Development and New Projects, Nice Ride Minnesota
• Pamela Moore, Program Director, Transit for Livable Communities
• EG Nelson, Community Funding Coordinator, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Prevention

Keeping people walking and biking despite the snow and ice * **

There is growing evidence that people are not only already bicycling and walking year-round but that they want more opportunities to stay active during the cold winter months. Panelists will explore the challenges of providing good pedestrian and bicycle access year-round in cold climate cities from an agency’s perspective and also from a facility design perspective.

• K.C. Atkins, Civil/Traffic Engineer, Toole Design Group
• Tom Huber, Senior Planner, Toole Design Group
• Arthur Ross, Pedestrian-Bicycle Coordinator, City of Madison, Traffic Engineering Division

Breakout 5

Winter maintenance of multi-use paved trails: 2 agencies, 2 sets of challenges, 3 solutions **

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and Three Rivers Park District operate over 200 miles of bicycle trails throughout Minneapolis and Hennepin County. During this panel discussion with field staff, discussion will cover the cost of doing business and examine how the Minneapolis region maintains this extensive network of off-road facilities.

• Ginger Cannon, Park Planner, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
• James Field, Operations Supervisor, Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board
• Danny McCullough, Regional Trail Manager, Three Rivers Park District
• Kelley Yemen, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, Hennepin County

Pedaling perks: Winter biking incentives *

This panel session brings together representatives from several companies and institutions to showcase their employee incentive programs that encourage biking. Panelists will answer questions such as the following. What role do companies play in increasing winter bicycling? How do companies benefit from investing in bicycle commute incentive programs? How do bicycle commute incentive programs affect employees? How can you convince your company to develop an incentive program?

• Peter B. Grasse, PhD, 3M Corporate R & D, Laboratory Manager, Recruiting and Leadership Development, 3M
• Ciara Schlichting, Regional Office Director – Minneapolis, Toole Design Group
• Beth Simon, Benefits Specialist, Quality Bike Products (QBP)
• Tony Spaay, ZAP Specialist, Dero
• Lucy Tobin, Prospect Researcher, University of Minnesota

Riding in the margins: A guide for building equity into bicycling movements

Bicyclists from diverse communities – women, immigrants, youth, seniors, LGBTQA, people of color and people with low-income – are often invisible and under-celebrated. This panel will identify the barriers, hear directly from those who are often left out of conversations about bicycling and dig into how to create supportive, encouraging environments, systems, and policies.

• Betsy Christensen, Statewide Health Improvement Program Grant Coordinator, Saint Paul Public Housing Agency
• Allie Mastny, Youth Programs Manager, Cycles for Change
• Stephanie Weir, Women on Bikes Program Manager, St. Paul Smart Trips

Empowering the next generation of winter cyclists

How can children be enabled as winter cyclists? Learn how winter was actually an ally in Safe Routes to School planning in Minnesota. Kids in the Netherlands bike year-round. Learn how this is made possible and what role parents play. Finally, learn about a program developed in Winnipeg for seeding bike repair and riding programs in schools and communities.

• Jill Chamberlain, Senior Health Improvement Project Manager at the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota
• Colin Harris, Civil Engineer & Urban Designer, Alta Planning + Design
• Geoff Heath, Mechanical Director, The WRENCH
• Angela van der Kloof, Sustainable Mobility Consultant, Mobycon | Board Member, Winter Cycling Federation

Thursday, 4 February

Breakout 6

Breaking down invisible (and visible) barriers to equity on the bike

Learn how the bicycle has been a tool for improving quality of life and building a diverse and empowered community of people who ride bikes. Hear from instructors, students and volunteers about the important role nonprofit organizations have played in promoting bicycling –particularly through adult learn to ride courses – in three very different cites: Detroit, Minneapolis and Amsterdam.

• Sheldon Mains, Founder, SPOKES Community Bike Center
• Mehri Mohebbi, Visiting Scholar, University of Michigan – Transportation Research Institute
• Angela van der Kloof, Sustainable Mobility Consultant, Mobycon | Board Member, Winter Cycling Federation

There’s no one-size-fits-all: solutions for everyday bicycling

Hear three complimentary perspectives on how to effectively get – and keep – more people bicycling throughout the year. Dave Weiner will discuss how focusing on recreational cyclists can boost the numbers of people bicycling overall. Kurt Barclay will discuss the latest trends in dressing comfortably for winter. Geoff Kisch will talk about his experiment riding through the winter in thrift store finds.

• Kurt Barclay, Marketing Manager, 45Nrth (Quality Bicycle Parts)
• Geoffrey Kisch, Volunteer, Bike Walk Wichita
• Dave Weiner, CEO and Founder, Priority Bicycles

Venture North

Take West River Pkwy to the Cedar Lake Trail to Venture North. Grab a coffee and learn more about this non-profit and how they advance health and transportation equity in Minneapolis.

• Nadine Chalmers, Active Living Planner, Hennepin County
• Dan Patterson, Comprehensive Planner, Hennepin County

Breakout 7

4 countries: 4 successful cases of winter bike promotion

Winter cycling is not crazy, it’s sexy and cool. Learn how Winter Bike to Work Day has grown into an international sensation, the fun activities that help Montreal celebrate cycling all year long, grassroots efforts to grow winter cycling in Milwaukee and the best winter cycling campaign in Finland.

• Bartek Komorowski, Project Leader, Research and Consulting, Vélo Québec
• Jason McDowell, President, Milwaukee Bicycle Collective
• Minna Raatikka, Project Manager, Network of Finnish Cycling Municipalities
• Anders Swanson, Strategic Planner & Sustainable Transportation Consultant | Secretary, Winter Cycling Federation

Bike-friendly Duluth

Duluth is a northern Minnesota town on the shores of Lake Superior. To become a more vibrant, healthy, and active community, Duluth has invested in bicycling. Learn lessons from a campaign to get bicycling included on “main street” as well as the importance of coalition-building and partnerships between larger and local organizations. Also learn the story behind the development of Duluth’s year-round, off-road mountain bike trail development as tool for building community and driving the economy.

• Brian Downing, Green Transportation Coordinator, Minnesota GreenCorps
• Hansi Johnson, Director of Recreational Lands, Minnesota Land Trust
• Shawna Mullen Eardley, Active Transportation Coordinator, Duluth Area Family YMCA

The bike as a disaster relief tool * **

Bicycles can perform emergency communication, transportation and evacuation effectively in winter. This session hosts emergency management experts and bike advocates who will discuss disaster relief preparedness and illustrate the role cyclists can play in the delivery of emergency services. Participating panelists are from Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston and North Dakota State University.

• Casidy Anderson, Community Risk Reduction Officer, Minneapolis Fire Department
• Sarah Bundy, Assistant Professor of Emergency Management, North Dakota State University
• Barbara Jacobson, Programs Director, Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition
• Steve Durrant, Principal, Alta Planning + Design

What if equity mattered?

Facilitators Oboi Reed and Anthony Taylor will lead an interactive journey that will provide participants with the insight to better understand and create a shared definition of Equity. The workshop will challenge participants to make Equity a foundation of their advocacy work in active transportation and community development. This journey will present participants with the opportunity and the challenge to: 1) Acknowledge the reality of what communities of color experience in this country. 2) See disparities as the result of inequitable public policy and underinvestment in communities of color not as symptoms of poor decision-making or a lack of proper values. 3) Recognize the complexity of the lived experience of oppressed communities by considering the cumulative, comprehensive effects of different forms of racism on communities, families, and individuals over generations. 4) Maintain hope through the building of a new vision and compelling strategies for our collective work.

* AICP continuing education applied for.

** State laws and regulations for professional landscape architecture continuing education vary. Winter Cycling Congress courses and activities are not pre-approved for landscape architecture, however to the best of our knowledge this session meets the continuing education requirements of many state licensing boards. Final discretion is up to each board.