Golden Modes event recognizes cyclists pedaling us toward cleaner air and less congestion
All are invited to a free, in-person June 8 event to celebrate commuters who have reduced greenhouse gases through their travel choices and to kick off Travel Choices Awareness Week (June 11-17).
There’s been a quiet movement afoot in the Triangle since 2009 to reduce air pollution and road congestion through promoting sustainable travel services. That effort has cut carbon dioxide greenhouse gas by 617 million pounds through 2022. As the lead agency for the Triangle’s free, grant-funded Sustainable Travel Services program that worked with partners to accomplish that green feat, GoTriangle is hosting the Golden Modes event June 8 at the Durham Arts Council.
“The Golden Modes is our opportunity to celebrate Triangle employers, organizations and commuters who use sustainable travel options in their daily lives and who promote it in their company cultures,” says GoTriangle Sustainable Travel Services Manager Michelle “Shelly” Parker. “This year, we will award Golden Spokes, honoring outstanding achievements in cycling by individuals and the business community. We’ll also kick off Travel Choices Awareness Week, which Gov. Roy Cooper has proclaimed to be June 11-17.”
With funding from the N.C. Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization and the N.C. Department of Transportation, GoTriangle partners with other service providers to offer Sustainable Travel Services. They include consulting to develop employer commuting programs, commuter solutions to employees and students, carpool- and vanpool-matching services and a free Emergency Ride Home from work. Since funding began in 2009, these collaborative efforts have led to a more than 25 percent annual reduction in commuter vehicle miles traveled and associated greenhouse gas reductions in the Triangle, surpassing the program’s own goals.
Network and learn!
Arrive at 2:30 p.m. June 8 to enjoy desserts and light refreshments, visit exhibitors for information on sustainability and transportation initiatives in the region and network with community members and policymakers.
At 3 p.m., we will honor Triangle people who are pedaling us toward cleaner air and less congestion through their work in cycling. You will also hear from keynote speaker Mitchell Silver – former Commissioner of the Department of Parks and Recreation in New York City, Chief Planning and Development Officer for the City of Raleigh and current principal at McAdams – on the connection between thriving communities and transportation in our region, before a Q&A session.
RSVP for the 2023 Golden Modes to meet leaders in the Triangle’s sustainable travel community.
