Olympia City Council proclaims May Bicycle Month

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Olympia City Council approved a proclamation designating May as Olympia Bicycle Month at its meeting yesterday.

The city council approved the proclamation to recognize both the 52nd Earth Day and the 65th National Bike Month. 

The proclamation underscored that bicycling can help reduce traffic congestion and air and water pollution. 

“Bicycling instead of driving can help us reach greenhouse gas emission reduction targets identified in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan,” stated the proclamation. 

Michelle Swanson, associate planner in Public Works Transportation, said the city government has a big influence on the success of the bicycling community. 

Swanson added that the city’s transportation master plan shows all the projects the city needs to build to have a low-stressed biking network for the next 20 years. 

“Those projects include bike corridors, enhanced bike lanes, trails and neighborhood pathways,” Swanson revealed.

In supporting bicycling, Swanson said the city requires in the development code to have bike parking and have bike racks installed for downtown businesses. 

Bicycle Community Challenge

In approving the proclamation, the city also reiterated its support for the annual Thurston County Bicycle Community Challenge or BCC, now in its 35th year. 

Duncan Green, Thurston County Bicycle Community Challenge coordinator, invites the Olympia community to participate in the BCC. 

Green said this year’s theme for the BCC is “Take your Vitamin Bike”. 

He noted that for the past 35 years, the community’s support for the event has been getting stronger. 

Interested participants may sign up  at https://bcc.intercitytransit.com/

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