RK&K celebrates Bike to Work week.
Throughout the month of May, RK&K is encouraging and celebrating bicycling to work and promoting public awareness of bicycling and bicycle safety for National Bike Month.
This month’s celebrations include Bike to Work Week, running May 16-22 and Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 20.
RK&K’s Healthy Communities Team focuses on celebrating the unique characteristics of places and enhancing livability through balanced and appropriate planning and design for transportation, recreation and land use. Our services include shared-use path, bike lane, cycle track, bike boulevard, sidewalk and street concept and final design.
“As engineers and designers, we have the responsibility to ensure that the mobility of one road user is never prioritized over the safety of the other users. Infrastructure that is safe for vulnerable users is safe for all users,” said Rail/Transit Senior Project Engineer and avid bicyclist Oscar Garcia.
About 25% of the U.S. population has access to either bike paths or bike lanes where they live, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The bureau notes 40% of all trips in the U.S. are less than two miles. But, according to the Census Bureau, about 872,000 people in the U.S. commute to work by bike.
RK&K’s award-winning Jones Branch Connector project included two bicycle lanes and lighted sidewalks. As part of our Anacostia Riverwalk Trail project, we designed and permitted 4 miles of multi-use trail to connect a 60-mile trail network serving more than 4,000 bicyclists and pedestrians weekly in Washington, DC. Bike and pedestrian accessibility and safety is also part of our riverfront redevelopment project in Wilmington, DE.
“When we at RK&K help jurisdictions to provide walking and biking infrastructure to their communities, we are giving their residents the ability to walk and bike in a safe and comfortable manner while giving them means to invest in their mental and physical health,” Oscar said.
RK&K’s Bike Working Group also promotes biking as a healthy, fun activity while also working to help to expand RK&K’s practice in the areas of bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
The group meets monthly to discuss any new pursuits in which the members are involved that include a bike and pedestrian component and review any active projects and discuss any challenges to work together to find solutions.
Learn more about National Bike Month and safer biking here.
