Roll or Stroll Gets Bigger in Williamsburg

By Matt Poms Saturday, May 22, 2010

If you noticed greater numbers of bicyclists on your commute to or through Williamsburg Friday, you weren’t alone. The city held its third annual Roll or Stroll to Work Day on a picture-perfect spring morning.

City employees fanned out across Williamsburg, manning tent stations in support of the estimated 180 participants who abandoned their cars on their trip to work.

“It’s rewarding people who do this every day, and then it’s to get people encouraged to try it,” organizer Michele DeWitt, the city’s Economic Development Director, said. “People who have never walked or bike to work, this is their day to say, ‘I’ll try it.’ Hopefully they’ll realize how easy it is and continue to do that throughout the year.”

DeWitt oversaw the event from an “energizing station” set up at the head of Duke of Gloucester street in Merchant’s Square, attracting rush hour commuters, residents out for a leisurely stroll, and tourists wandering into Colonial Williamsburg alike. The tent gave out free coffee from Aroma’s Coffeehouse, as well as peanuts donated by The Peanut Shop.

Each of five stations spread throughout the city also distributed water and granola bars, in addition to keychains, bumper stickers and a raffle with prizes donated by area businesses.

“We’ve had a good amount of traffic,” DeWitt said. “We have a handful of people who walk everyday because they live and work in town. Then we’ve talked to people who have biked 15 miles from the county to their job. It’s a real mixture.”

Nancy Carter was on her daily walk from her home in the Port Anne neighborhood when she stopped by with several friends.

“We’ve seen it in the past. We walk down DoG Street everyday and were happy to stop by,” she said. “The more the merrier. It’s really a friendly town for this sort of thing.”

Mayor Jeanne Zeidler wandered by shortly after, one of 97 participants to visit the Merchants Square station.

Over on Jamestown Road in front of The Cedars Bed and Breakfast, Ben Goldberg, a development officer for the Williamsburg Library, arrived at 6:45 a.m. with fellow volunteers to set up his tent. The first commuters rolled by about 10 minutes later.

“People aren’t stopping as often, they seem in a little more of a rush,” he said. “But I think we’ve had a great turnout in terms of overall participants.”

Goldberg, who is also on the planning committee for the event, said that preparations for this year’s version started in February.

“I think our promotion each year is getting a little better, and that’s helping turnout,” he said.

The 180 participants who stopped by the five stations was up from 120 last year and 80 in the event’s first year in 2008.

“We know more people are walking and biking to work than the actual number of people who have stopped,” DeWitt said. “Some people look at us and think we’re selling time shares, so they won’t stop.”

The event was not without its mishaps, however lighthearted. At a tent in front of the Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse, an automated sprinkler system turned on around 8:30, drenching both participants and volunteers.

“The boss said we need volunteers, so here we are,” Senior Revenue Specialist Jane Trimble said. “But we didn’t bargain for that.”

Overall, organizers and volunteers were pleased with the event and its impact on both promoting exercise and raising awareness of bicyclists.

“Williamsburg definitely supports cyclists,” Sean Hooker, a volunteer from Riverside Regional Medical Center, said. “They’re committed to improving the area to make it bike-friendly.”