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Walk, bike or bus Thursday Ashland's Free Ride Day includes morning munchies By DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- City leaders hope Ashlanders will forgo their Hondas and VW buses Thursday in favor of mountain bikes, public transit and walking shoes. Thursday is Ashland Free Ride Day. Public buses are free and residents are encouraged to take alternative forms of transportation. Walkers, bikers and public transit riders will be rewarded at several locations around town with morning munchies. "It's our annual effort to encourage people to look at their transportation habits," said Carole Wheeldon, who is the city council's liaison to the Ashland Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission. "It's not just a bike day, but an any-way-you-can-get-there-but-driving-day. "We are trying to impress upon people they are the ones to make things different." The last census in 1990 showed that 12.3 percent of Ashland's population used nonautomotive modes of transportation to get to work. Another 7 percent work at home. It's higher than the national average, said Associate Planner Maria Harris, but it's a decrease from the 1980 numbers. She also noted that the vehicle miles traveled in Oregon increased eight times faster than the population from 1980 to 1990. During the same time in Ashland, vehicle miles traveled increased four times faster than the population. Drivers contribute to noise pollution, air pollution, and water pollution because of runoff into the storm drains, said Wheeldon, who often walks the two miles a day from her home to Southern Oregon University where she is earning a master's degree. Those who try it out Thursday will be provided coffee and pastries from 7 to 9 a.m. at Evo's Java House, 376 E. Main St.; Brothers Restaurant Delicatessen LTD, 95 N. Main St.; Morning Glory, 1149 Siskiyou Boulevard; and at the corner of Morse Street and Siskiyou Boulevard (hosted by Ashland Bakery Cafe and served by Ashland High School students.) As people enjoy their treats, they will be asked to fill out surveys about transportation, Wheeldon said. She hopes the surveys will help the commission learn more about alternative commuting in Ashland. And the more they know, the more effective they can be encouraging people to get out of their cars. "It's a big liveability issue," said Harris, who rides her bike to work three to five times a week. "The less people drive in a community, the more people find those communities liveable." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA