Redmond launches ‘Bike Walk Roll’ campaign

The city of Redmond recently launched a Bike Walk Roll Redmond campaign to encourage residents to think about how the city can help residents bike, walk and roll around town.

“The reality is that Redmond should be such an easy place for residents to bike, walk and roll to destinations around town. We are relatively flat, only three miles wide and five miles long. Most destinations are only a mile or two away,” explained Heather Richards, Community Development Director.

“However, we still get in our cars and drive the mile to the swim center, or to school, or to downtown. Biking, walking and rolling is fun, healthy and a great way to experience this community. At the city we want to know what we can be doing to encourage people to bike, walk and roll more in Redmond, thus the genesis of our BikeWalkRoll Redmond campaign. We have launched a website, bikewalkrollredmond.com, and are organizing events to engage the community in this dialogue.”

To launch the campaign, the City recently held two successful events to draw attention to the issue – the first ever Bicycle and Pedestrian Counts and the October 8 th International Bike or Walk to School Day.

The events are part of the overall goal of Bike, Walk and Roll Redmond of increasing the number of people who use alternative means of transportation to get around in Redmond by making such travel safe, convenient, and comfortable.

Held September 11 and 13, the Bike and Pedestrian Counts involved over 20 community volunteers counting bikers, walkers, and rollers (skateboarders, scooters, wheelchairs, etc.) at twenty different locations around Redmond during peak usage hours. The purpose of the counts is to establish a baseline for the number of users of bicycle and pedestrian facilities that can be counted annually to monitor the effectiveness of increased investment in and promotion of biking, walking and rolling in the community.

The following are interesting trends from the counts:

The total number of counted users on Thursday, September 11 th between 3:30-5:30pm over 20 locations was 718 (379 pedestrians, 273 bicyclists, and 69 rollers)
The total number of counted users on Saturday, September 13th between noon-2pm over 14 locations was 459 (220 bicyclists, 203 pedestrians, and 36 rollers)
The Dry Canyon Trail was the busiest location on both days and areas near elementary schools were the next busiest.
There were a lot more pedestrians than bicyclists on Thursday (379 to 273), but more bicyclists on Saturday than pedestrians (220 to 203). This is attributable to more kids walking more than biking to school and more recreational bikers on the weekend
Age – the 11-20 and 21-60 age groups were the biggest users, but the 11-20 group’s numbers were close to the 21-60 and therefore a much bigger percentage of their total; the under 20 age group dominated the “other” category (skateboarders, rollerbladers, scooters, etc.)
Gender – there was a big discrepancy in the number of male vs. female bikers (by 2:1 overall in favor or males) and the “other” users were primarily male; pedestrians tended to be more even between male and female with younger and older females walking more than males

On October 8, parents and children came out in droves to bike, walk and roll to school in support of Bike or Walk to School Day.

The bike racks were overflowing at several schools. All nine schools in Redmond participated and volunteers from Walk, Bike and Roll Redmond were on hand at the schools helping to promote the event, handing out stickers and ribbons to participants and collecting valuable information on identifying the safest routes to school.

“We wanted to find out what people liked about their route and what they need to see improved to feel comfortable with their child riding or walking to school on a daily basis,” stated Scott Woodford, Associate Planner for the City of Redmond. “Thanks to all who participated – you are helping to make Redmond a safer community to ride and walk to school!”

The City is still accepting feedback on routes to school on an interactive map at www.bikewalkrollredmond.com or by calling or emailing Heather Richards at 541-923-7756, heather.richards@ci.redmond.or.us.