SW Portland SmartTrips: love it!

SW Portland is the beneficiary of the Portland Office of Transportation SmartTrips program, and I am loving it. If you live in SW, they'll send you all sorts of free resources to encourage walking, biking, mass transit, skipping, bunny-hopping, leap-frogging -- really any mode of transport that doesn't include your car. Our family's goal has been to increase transportation via people power, so this has been great timing for us. My daughter remarked this morning that one of the good things about a morning walk is that it really wakes up your brain.

One of the cool things (among many) SmartTrips is promoting is Sunday Parkways, coming to town on June 22. From 8am to 2pm, all Portland bikers and walkers are encouraged to enjoy six miles of traffic free streets in North Portland. Sunday Parkways will connect Arbor Lodge, Peninsula, Unthank and Overlook parks. The four parks will feature family-friendly activities such as music, hula-hooping, yoga and kids' circus. Sunday Parkways is modeled after Ciclovia -- a weekly event in Bogota, Columbia.

My dear husband is a daily bike commuter. My older daughter is working hard to kick her "training wheels" habit. My little one is happy to ride on the "co-pilot" seat behind my bike, and eat the world's supply of snack foods while I pedal furiously. Can't wait for Sunday Parkways, and we'll get in shape by walking and riding our bikes as much as we can. I do hear the sun is supposed to come back out one of these days...