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The Way Forward for Bicycling Advocates – Back to Basics
The following is cross-posted on CommuteByBike.com
As you may have heard, our nation had some elections on November 2th. And they resulted in dramatic changes in Congress. There’s been a lot of talk about what this will mean for bicycling. It’s too early to know for sure, but we know what we are going to do. We are going to get back to basics as we work with the 112th Congress and support local advocacy. It’s not going to be easy, but it has never been easy before, and as cyclists, we know that what is easiest is not necessarily what is best in the long run.
At the national level, the League of American Bicyclists is working with our partners in the America Bikes Coalition to build new relationships in Congress and strengthen old ones. We are honing our message to explain the importance of bicycling to help meet our nation’s goals, such as economic development, health, the environment, and transportation. We will be looking for partners in the 112th Congress to champion these benefits.
One of the first opportunities will be the 11th annual National Bike Summit in March. Eight hundred bicycling advocates from across the country will meet with their members of Congress to educate them on the issue, introduce them to important legislation, and find ways to work together in the future. We look forward to new members from both parties joining the Congressional Bike Caucus. Bicycling is for everyone; it is not a partisan issue. What’s better than bi-partisanship? Bike-partisanship.
We are also focusing on state and local advocacy. Advocates need to be prepared to look for funding from the sources that have traditionally been used to fund bike projects and to make the case for other sources from which funds are available. With our friends at the Alliance for Biking & Walking, we are training advocates on how to access federal funding for bicycling and walking projects to complete Bicycle Master Plans, fund Complete Streets, improve safety, and meet other goals.
Investments in bicycling are cost effective and facilitate low-cost transportation, and they deserve their fair share, especially in a time of budget cuts and fiscal restraint. Therefore, we will also help advocates respond to threats to bicycling and pedestrian funding. Federal investments in biking and walking have steadily increased, as have biking levels. Bicycle projects and programs have been met with enthusiasm and support across the country and across party lines. With our coordinated effort, we will make sure that Members of Congress know how important biking and walking investments are to their constituents, so that they won’t abandon this progress.
The changes in Congress are real and come with a degree of uncertainty as to what to expect. But they are also a good opportunity to get re-energized, make some new friends, and prepare to defend our recent gains. Bicycling advocates have learned a lot since the first National Bike Summit in 2000. With this return to the fundamentals of organizing, the bicycling movement will become stronger and savvier still.
To get involved:
Sign up to receive League of American Bicyclists Advocacy Alerts
Write your Member of Congress to let them know you support initiatives that promote bicycling, and invite them to join you and your local advocacy organization or bike club for a ride, event, ribbon cutting, or ground breaking
Register to attend the National Bike Summit in Washington on March 8-10th
Darren Flusche
League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
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December 3rd, 2010 at 2:49 pm
The most basic thing we can do is keep empowering bicyclists to ride for transportation anywhere they need to go, independent of special bike infrastructure, by teaching them how.
December 3rd, 2010 at 7:26 pm
As mentioned in your Blog, a much stronger case needs to be made for the combined transportation, health (and related costs) and environmental benefits of bicycling. Bicycling represents part of the solution to all of these issues, and I remain in awe that so many people who say they want to improve our situation in those areas oppose bicycling accommodation and safety improvements. Let’s find the doctors who prescribe bicycling instead of pharmaceuticals, and some transformative stories from members, and illustrate an alternative. Or, partner with “Biggest Loser” for an episode that empasizes the benefits of bicycling as a form of exercise.
December 4th, 2010 at 1:45 am
Bicycle commute should also be promoted and incentivized by the government sponsored rebates,similar to those for use of “clean”hybrid vehicle technology.As well as a substantial reduction of “out-of pocket” portion of health care plans.
December 4th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Going back to basics is an excellent idea.
The basic problem is that a lot of these politicians don’t take transportation seriously unless it is done using a car. And we lost a few good ones that knew better, like Jim Oberstar.
Certainly there are plenty of situations where a bicycle will not work–if you live thirty miles from work, for example. But there are just as many places where a bike, bus, or shoe leather (or some combination) would work. One has to have a toolbox of transportation tools, not a single tool. A car is a single tool.
But bicycling advocates need to be careful not to shoot themselves in the foot. Uncritically demanding special facilities is not entirely the most helpful way to start the dialog in these austere times. Start with the health (better health profiles) and financial (less money sent offshore for oil, lower VMD travel demand, lower health care costs) benefits and the fact that a bicycle puts zero wear and tear on roads. It reduces one’s heathcare costs for the diseases caused by sedentary behavior.
Follow up with education. A competent bicyclist can usually make do on existing facilities. When we have more bicyclists on the road it is easier to argue for a bigger piece of the pie.
Don’t start with environmental benefits or with one’s hand out. Remember, most of the new Congressmen/women were elected by asserting that foreign oil dependence can be cured by domestic drilling, and that there are no such things as anthropogenic drivers to climate change. As if digging up all the organic carbon sequestered since the Devonian and burning it will not affect atmospheric chemistry or thermal blanketing due to infrared heat trapping. Or, that we can continue to burn a hundred million years or more accumulation of fossil fuels per century and not run out. Sigh.
The new Congress will have to be slowly brought around to reality. Hopefully, not too slowly. We have our work cut out for us. But riding our bikes, or having a successful LAB, is not entirely dependent on changing the mind of every butthead inside the beltway. Thankfully.