From Harford County government:
On Friday, May 17 a throng of cycling commuters and enthusiasts turned downtown Bel Air into a cycling celebration in recognition of Bike to Work Day. The free event, held from 7:00 a.m. -9:00 a.m. at the Harford County Government Administration Building in Bel Air, was part of the nationwide Bike to Work Day. The day is set aside each year during May’s designation as Clean Commute Month to promote cycling as a low cost, healthy, and environmentally friendly way to commute.
The Bike to Work Day Bel Air rally featured special guests and dignitaries, cyclists’ parade, prizes and giveaways, refreshments, and a vendor exhibits. Participants received a mesh hat, compliments of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, as well as a registration bag filled with cycling information and related gifts.
The event also featured the spirited Cycle Smackdown competition in which employees from various size Harford County businesses and organizations compete against each other to get the most number of registrants to bike to work. This year Ecotone, Inc. won the small company category, SURVICE Engineering received the mid-size category trophy and Upper Chesapeake Health System took top honors in the large company category.
The Bike to Work Day event was a part of a number of Clean Commute Month events held every May. The Harford Commuter Assistance Rideshare program also hosted MARC Train Commuter Appreciation Days at the Aberdeen and Edgewood Train Stations on May 1 and May 7, which were well received by the MARC Train commuters. These events featured giveaways, light refreshments, and information about programs designed to make commuting easier.
Harford County Executive David Craig, State Delegate Wayne Norman, representatives from MARC, as well as a representative from Baltimore Metropolitan Council were in attendance to greet and thank commuters. In addition, an inaugural Bike to Work Day was held at Aberdeen Proving Ground on Wednesday, May 15. This well attended event provided participants with a morning of light refreshments, a designated ride, and Cycle Smackdown competition.
According to Alan Doran, Rideshare Coordinator for the Harford Commuter Assistance Program, the combined events served nearly 500 Harford County residents. According to Doran, the Harford County region placed second in combined registrations for the Baltimore Metropolitan Region as a whole.
Harford Commuter Assistance Rideshare, a program within the Harford County Department of Community Services, provides free information to commuters and those seeking to look at alternative commuting methods such as walking, cycling, carpooling, vanpooling, and using mass transit. The program also provides information about a number of programs to assist commuters, including the Guaranteed Ride Home Program, designed to provide commuters with up to four emergency rides home per year in the event of a personal emergency.
For more information about the Harford Commuter Assistance Rideshare program and its offerings, contact Alan Doran, Rideshare Coordinator at asdoran@harfordcountymd.gov, call 1-800-924-TOGO, or visit www.harfordcountymd.gov/commuter.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.