This May, an East Tennessee trail becomes the focus of an international trail building group. The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is dispatching their Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew to Knoxville, TN. on May 23^th through May 24^th for a weekend of work and fun. The Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA) and its Knoxville affiliate, the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club (AMBC) are sponsoring the two-day trailbuilding school, which is free and open to the public.

South Knoxville’s Hastie Park will be the focus of this popular educational and interactive school. Hastie Park is located off Chapman Highway, in Knoxville, TN, just south of Ijams Nature Center. With over 80 acres of undeveloped land, the park is owned by the City of Knoxville. AMBC has worked with the City of Knoxville’s Parks and Recreation Department and the Lake Forest Home Owners Association to develop multi-use trails.

The IMBA Trailbuilding School kicks off Friday evening, May 23^th with an informal meeting about fostering volunteer clubs and partnerships. The meeting begins at 7pm and will be held at the Lake Forest Presbyterian Church, near Hastie Park.

Then Saturday morning, May 24^th, the Trail Care Crew experts tackle topics like sustainable trail design, basic construction, and trail reclamation. Classroom instruction begins at 9am in the Lake Forest Presbyterian Church. After lunch provided by AMBC, its trailwork time at Hastie Park! Field instruction and hands-on demonstrations begin at 1pm.

Since 1997, IMBA Trailbuilding Schools have taught more than 150,000 people – including the land managers that make decisions about land access – how to build durable, fun-to-ride trails. Leading the trail school is the SUBARU/IMBA Trail Care Crew – Kelly and Collins Bishop. Based out of Chattanooga, TN., Kelly and Collins travel ten months out of the year, teaching the art and science of trailbuilding.

All trail users are encouraged to attend the free trail building school. Randy Conner, AMBC president says, “We really appreciate the SUBARU/IMBA Trail Care Crew sharing their time, expertise and experiences with us. Having the IMBA crew here will definitely help put Hastie Park on the map.” People interested in attending the trail school can register at www.ambc-sorba.org, and click on Event Registration.

A call to action for Safe Routes to School National Partnership has been sent out from the good people at Walk/Bike Nashville.  The community needs to get behind the National Complete Streets Act of 2008 as Introduced by Senator Tom Harkin, Bill S. 2686. Walk/Bike Nashville is asking that as many citizens as possible contact Senator Corker on this subject. http://corker.senate.gov/

The National Complete Streets Coalition is a diverse coalition of groups working in support of complete streets. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership was recently approved as a new member of the National Complete Streets Coalition Steering Committee. Other members include Active Living by Design, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Smart Growth America, the Thunderhead Alliance and many other vibrant non-profits and associations. For more information on how to get involved with the Coalition, click here.