Our Mission

The Bike Walk Alliance of Westchester-Putnam was formed in 2009 to foster the growth of local biking & walking advocacy groups within every city, town and village in Westchester. BWAWP will serve as an umbrella organization for these groups providing information, education and advocacy resources. BWAWP envisions communities where residents and visitors have access to and can travel safely and conveniently by bicycle and on foot for transportation, recreation, and for daily living needs within our towns and between neighboring communities.

Westchester is comprised of 45 cities, towns, and villages. We would like to have a citizen representative from each of these 45 districts in the BWAWP. If you like to get involved or start a biking & walking advocacy group within your district please contact Michael Oliva at westchesterbikewalk@gmail.com

Please join our organization. Our strength will be in numbers and our membership is the measure of that strength. Membership is free but in the near future we will suggest optional contributions to help cover start up costs such as creating a website, forming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and print materials.

To become a member just send an E-mail with your name, home address, phone number, and E-mail to westchesterbikewalk@gmail.com . Please E-mail us any other comments or suggestions as well.

Our Team

Michael Oliva, Co-founder

Michael Oliva is the Co-Founder of the Bike Walk Alliance of Westchester & Putnam. He served as Mid Atlantic Coordinator for the East Coast Greenway Alliance for four years, working with towns, counties, cities and five states to develop a safe and accessible bicycle and pedestrian corridor between New York and Washington DC. Michael became aware of the need for a Westchester advocacy group after seeing how much further ahead other suburban counties were in creating policies that would make streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. He currently works as a licensed Real Estate Broker serving all of Westchester County. Michael also co-founded a series of running events called the Holiday Marathons,
www.theholidaymarathons.com and helps organize and promote these events in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Michael is also active as a volunteer with Daniels Music Foundation,www.danielsmusic.org, and the Achilles Track Club, www.achillesinternational.org. He lives in Croton on Hudson.

Contact Mike at runningmeetup@gmail.com.

David Wilson, President and Executive Director

David Wilson, of Mahopac, co-founded the Bike Walk Alliance in 2009, following the inaugural Westchester Bike Summit. Wilson is a longtime member of the Westchester Cycle Club, where he now serves as advocacy director. He was the club’s longest-serving president, serving from 2006 to 2010 at a time when the club doubled its membership, quadrupled the number of rides led each year, and became the leading voice for bike advocacy in the lower Hudson Valley.

Wilson grew up riding his bike in the northern Connecticut town of Granby, delivering the Hartford Courant by bike and riding 1.5 miles to elementary school.  He joined the Westchester Cycle Club not long after arriving in Westchester in 1986.

Wilson has led the campaign to install bike racks on Westchester County buses, create secure bike storage at commuter rail stations, and erect signs along the East Coast Greenway along Westchester’s Sound Shore.  In 2010, he organized the statewide coalition that pushed for passage of Merrill’s Law, the bill signed by Gov. Paterson that requires motorists to pass cyclists at a safe distance.

Wilson, a veteran journalist, also writes about cycling, with articles on biking appearing often in The Journal News. While at the regional daily, his assignments included covering the State House, county governments in Westchester and Putnam counties, municipal government in White Plains, New Rochelle, and Yonkers, and K-12 education throughout the region.  Since 2007, he has written for university publications across the country. He is also a regular contributor to Everett Potter’s Travel Report, an online travel magazine where Wilson occasionally writes about cycling destinations.

Contact David at davidmckaywilson@aol.com.

Susan Midlarsky, Webmaster

Susan Midlarsky moved to Westchester from Boston, where she loved to cycle-commute, in 2007. As a new resident, she became concerned about the state of road-sharing in Westchester and joined the Westchester Cycle Club to find opportunities to enjoy cycling in the New York area. Signing on as webmaster for the Bike Walk Alliance is another welcome opportunity to make positive changes for non-motorized transportation in the area.

Susan works as a K-12 tutor and consultant in math and literacy. She has designed and administered multiple websites. More information about her work can be found at susanmidlarsky.com and aspiring-arts.com.

Contact Susan at westchesterbikewalk@gmail.com.