The Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association will hold the first Bike to Work Day of the 2003 season Friday from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. by the Palmer Square kiosk on Nassau Street.
The event coincides with national bike-commute awareness activities designed to encourage bicycling to work, school or transit.
Participants will be treated to free refreshments and discount coupons from local merchants, free health-care screenings, massages, as well as bicycle maps and information.
Last year’s events attracted hundreds of riders over the course of the season.
"Unstable fuel costs and increasing awareness about our reliance on foreign oil, together with more and more medical studies showing the importance of regular physical activity in disease prevention, make bicycling to work an attractive alternative to commuting by automobile," said Sandra Brillhart, executive director of Greater Mercer TMA. "Bicycling just one day saves enough money in gas and wear and tear on your car to treat yourself to lunch. Plus, bike commuters arrive to work more refreshed and alert."
Last fall, Greater Mercer TMA received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to promote bicycling to work in Mercer County. The grant will be used to produce a county bike map that will show which routes are suitable for bicycling based on topography, speed limits, width and traffic volumes. The map is expected to be completed this summer.
In addition, the TMA is introducing a "Work Out to Work" program, whereby employees who register and track their healthy commute miles are eligible for prizes. Employers that actively promote bicycling to work to their employees can receive certified bicycle-training courses for their employees and materials from the TMA.
Commutes of 10 miles or less are generally good candidates for bicycling to work, although some of last year’s participants traveled even longer distances. A 4- to 5-mile commute may take even less time by bicycle than by automobile, according to Ms. Brillhart.
For those whose commute may seem too daunting to perform entirely by bicycle, all NJ Transit buses are now equipped with user-friendly bike racks. Though standard frame bicycles are allowed only on off-peak trains, lockers and racks are located at area train stations.
"We hope that Bike to Work Day events will help develop bicycling as a viable form of transportation to the work place, decrease traffic congestion, improve air quality and promote safe bicycle commuting," said Ms. Brillhart. "If people try it and like it on Bike to Work Day, they may consider it on a more regular basis."
The rain date is May 23. More information on bicycle commuting and other commute options is available at www.gmtma.org.
