The Third Annual SpokeFest is on September 12th from noon to 4pm. Starting in Spokane’s downtown and finishing at SpokeFair on the Post Street Bridge and next to Riverfront Park, SpokeFest riders will travel along some of the region’s most memorable roads. The event was developed with the non-bicycle enthusiast in mind just as much as experienced cyclists. Anyone interested in riding a bicycle and families going out on a group ride for the first time are welcome. The route was carefully chosen to be interesting, beautiful and challenging, but not so challenging that first-timers can’t make it. It’s a bit different from last year with four routes for 2010:

-The Classic River Loop : This 21-mile route covers some of Spokane’s most beautiful riding, including the Aubrey L. White Parkway, Riverside State Park and a finish atop of the Spokane Falls.
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The second year of Spokane’s Sustainable September series of events and activities will kick off next week. The annual month-long celebration is dedicated to promoting sustainability in the Spokane community with discussion, activities, presentations, and tours designed to build community and increase awareness so that Spokane can become more environmentally and economically resilient.

Led by Community Minded Enterprises, Sustainable September works to bring a diverse variety of environmental and community building non-profits in our area together and highlight their efforts. This year Sustainable September is building on partnerships including The Lands Council, the Community Building, LaunchPad INW, Avista, the Sierra Club, and the Northwest Eco-Building Guild.

There are so many awesome events for the month, it would be difficult to list them all here but stay tuned with the sustainableseptemberspokane.org/calendar.

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Good news: The City Of Spokane was recognized for its planning work to lessen its impact on climate change and encourage sustainable practices. The city received a 2010 American Planning Association (APA) and Planning Association Of Washington (PAW) Joint Planning award for its greenhouse gas inventory reports and Sustainability Action Plan. This award will be featured by PAW in the Western Planner Journal and APA Washington in the Washington Planner.

The City has done a great job to become more sustainable in recent years. Couple items we’re currently working on:

* Promoting the use of alternative transportation options and complete streets.
* Using re-refined motor oil and adding all-electric vehicles for the City fleet.
* Adding community gardens throughout the City.
* Finding new uses for recycled products, including using recycled glass in street projects.
* Encouraging people to conserve water and offering rebates for making good water choices.
* Adding educational materials at City Hall and our libraries.
*Implementing the latest in technology to save energy, including a new program that turns off our computers when they’re not in use.
* Accepting food scraps in our yard waste carts for composting in the middle of July. For more information about Spokane’s sustainability efforts or to read the greenhouse gas inventory reports, visit GreenSpokane.org.

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Come celebrate health and community with the second Summer Parkways on August 22nd. Bring your family, bikes, boards, and feet down to Howard St. between Riverfront and Corbin park. The street will be closed to all motor vehicles and be open for all human-powered transportation such as bikes, skateboards and pedestrians. The event will take place on both days between 9 a.m.-1 p.m. with activities for the whole family, including music, dancing, physical fitness classes, healthy food and a bicycle decorating contest. The idea for the Summer Parkways came from an event in Bogotá, Columbia, called Ciclovia, which means “bike path” in Spanish. The goal is to focus on recreation, fitness and community. For more information about the events, check out the official website and the facebook group. Volunteers are still needed for the upcoming July 11th date to direct traffic, assist vendors, help with recycling, or provide information to participants. Visit http://summerparkways.com/volunteer-opportunities/ or if you have any questions or are interested in signing up to volunteer, please contact Kate Cornwall at (509) 209-2404 or kcornwall@landscouncil.org.

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Last Thursday morning I attended a tour and ribbon cutting of the recently completed Lincoln Street Spokane Urban Runoff Greenway Ecosystem (SURGE) Project. Lincoln Street from 17th to 29th is resurfaced and stormwater will be diverted from the wastewater treatment plant to filtered storm gardens and then routed to the Cannon Hill pond. There was an impressive turn-out and Mayor Verner, Engineering Services Director Mike Taylor, Wastewater Manager Dale Arnold and David Thompson did a great job speaking. More photos after the jump.

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