Jan

#HartfordSneckdown Photo Challenge

* Extended to February 14th. We need more snow! *

#HartfordSneckdown at Prospect and Charter Oak – Photo by Tim Courney

First – What the heck is a Sneckdown? – “The snow is doing what the traffic engineers won’t do: narrowing the streets, slowing people down. It’s showing the places drivers and people don’t go. It’s creating “snowy neckdowns” or sneckdowns.”

Sneckdowns are a free, low-impact traffic and street design experiment. Our roads and streets are often over designed and too wide, creating unwelcoming and unsafe streets for bicyclists and pedestrians. Mother Nature offers us an annual gift that we can use to document narrower, lower speed streets. If a street functions well with one less lane, it could be a candidate for a buffered or protected bike lane. Reduced corner radii (shown in the snow) provide slower turning traffic and a safer crossing for pedestrians. Sneckdowns have been used to evaluate intersections in other cities, and led to Complete Streets improvements. Now get out there and capture your favorite #HartfordSneckdown.

Second – How can I get involved in this #HartfordSneckdown Photo Challenge?

After the next snowstorm:

Snap a photo of a Sneckdown. Make the location obvious. Try to show a street sign or a building, or note the location in the post.
Share it on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with hashtag #HartfordSneckdown and caption the location. Tag BiCi Co. in your photo too! Why is this a good example of a “Sneckdown”? How could this be used to improve the street design?
If your pic gets the most likes and shares you’ll get a cool Hartford Prints! sweatshirt.

Who chooses the winner? – Our friends at Hartford Streets, a loose collective of neighbors who bike and walk in Hartford. Likes and shares will be counted at our discretion. The winner selected is final. The winner will be selected on ~~January 10th~~ February 14th (or thereabouts) at the next Hartford Streets Happy Hour to give us time for a couple more good snow storms.

What are the prizes? – Hartford Prints! loves bikes and walking in our city. They are hooking it up for #HartfordSneckdown.

First Prize – A cozy Hartford Prints! sweatshirt. You’ll be rep’ing the city in local style. Style and size selected by the winner.
Second Prize – A five pack of greeting cards or postcards from Hartford Prints! High quality greetings that show you know how to shop local. Selection of cards selected by the winner.

hartford_prints_sweatshirts

FAQ – In case you have questions.

Can I submit more than one #HartfordSneckdown? – Of course. But you might want to be judicious and pick the best photo (or group of photos of one intersection) to maximize your “Likes”.
Does it have to be within Hartford city limits? – Yup.
Do multiple photos of one intersection count for “combining” the likes? – Maybe. If you do a great job documenting a sneckdown intersection or street, the capricious judges may choose to combine the likes from separate photos in the same group.
How is BiCi Co. involved in this awesomeness? – There is an informal monthly group that meets to talk about Complete Streets and multimodal transportation – the Hartford Streets Happy Hour. Tony C from BiCi Co. thought this was a great idea and offered to use the BiCi Blog to help spread the word.
How can I get more likes for my photo? – Good question. There are online tutorials and you can talk up the photo contest with you friends over social media and even in person. You can tag BiCi Co. in the photo, and we may share our favorites. Heck. You can even pay to boost your own photo.
What if there isn’t a big snowstorm between now and January 10th? – We extended the #HartfordSneckdown contest to February 14th. Keep submitting and tagging!
I like contests. Is this the only contest? – Probably not. But if you like stuff like this you should come to the next Hartford Streets Happy Hour. Second Tuesdays of the month. Make sure you have “liked” Transport Hartford and BiCi Co. so you don’t miss the details for January 10th.
Will the Organizers just give this prize to themselves? – No. They’re not jerks.