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New National Plan to Transform Bicycling
The leadership of the Alliance for Biking & Walking, Bikes Belong, and the League of American Bicyclists has agreed that uniting the three organizations would dramatically improve their effectiveness in increasing bicycle use in U.S. communities. Leaders of the three groups issued a joint statement summarizing the outcome of their recent meeting in San Diego, February 13-14.
“We can transform communities across the United States and accelerate the creation of a more bicycle-friendly America by combining the programs, resources, and members of these three leading organizations,” said Chris Fortune, Chairman of the Bikes Belong board and member of the transition team empowered to facilitate unification of the three groups. The transition team comprises representatives of each organization and will be working with the boards, staff, and members of each group to implement the process.
“There is a lot of work ahead,” acknowledged Hans van Naerssen, Chair of the League’s board and a member of the transition team. “We must determine how to combine the diverse strengths of a powerful alliance of state and local organizations, a storied national user group, and a vibrant industry association in a way that preserves their unique attributes and realizes the game-changing potential of a single entity.”
“Our enthusiasm to take this momentous step for the movement is matched by a commitment to do this right,” said Noah Budnick, board Chair of the Alliance for Biking & Walking. The boards of all three organizations must ratify the agreement. Once (and if) that occurs, the transition team will work with a variety of board, staff, partners and advisors to determine the initial programs, membership structure, and staff needs of the new organization. “Changes will be implemented carefully and respectfully over time”, continued Budnick, “and it is important to say that all existing contractual agreements will be honored and the continuity of existing memberships is assured.”
See the official statement here.
See League membership and program FAQs here.
Link to the Alliance of Biking & Walking and Bikes Belong blogs.
For more information contact:
Tim Blumenthal, President, Bikes Belong
303-449-4893 / tim@bikesbelong.org
Andy Clarke, President, League of American Bicyclists
202-822-1333 / andy@bikeleague.org
Jeffrey Miller, President/CEO, Alliance for Biking & Walking
202-445-4415 / jeff@PeoplePoweredMovement.org
Andy Clarke
League President
Andy Clarke was appointed to the position of Executive Director in April of 2004 after successfully leading efforts to create, interpret and implement the various transportation programs that are available to improve conditions for bicycling and walking as the League’s State and Local Advocacy Director. Before joining the League in February 2003, Clarke was on contract to provide technical assistance to the highly regarded Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center on site at the Federal Highway Administration. He is on the Board of Directors for America Bikes, and a member of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycling Professionals.
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February 22nd, 2012 at 4:16 pm
This is much welcomed news. I support a simpler, less cluttered organizational approach to bicycle advcoacy.
February 22nd, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Sounds like a great idea to me. The splinter message was many times confusing to me.
February 22nd, 2012 at 4:51 pm
Ok, Andy….so this is a bit of a rabbit out of a hat to membership. Do we LAB members get to vote on this, or will this be decided by the Board of Directors? Has the Board thought about how it will proceed to reach an organizational decision between now and September? Will the amalgamation be a membership based organization or will that be rendered largely moot via a new governance structure? Some more cynical than yours truly will undoubtedly call me naive…but…
While I can see strength in unity, I also see a longstanding membership organization being subsumed into an amalgamation with an industry organization (Bikes Belong) and the Alliance, which I don’t think is membership based. While we all have broadly overlapping interests, that doesn’t necessarily make for a good marriage.
Hmmm. Was there thought given to maintaining LAB as a separate entity but closely tied at the BOD level with allied organizations through a tightly interwoven steering committee?
Well, change can be good. But change can also be…just change. I guess we should stay tuned.
February 22nd, 2012 at 5:10 pm
As an LCI with the League and a previous board member of our local cycling club & advocacy group (a member of the Alliance) I have always thought that a combined group of these three organizations made much more sense and I’m glad to see it magically happening.
Keeping it cleaner and simpler will be better for the
message and the work we are all trying to accomplish!
Thanks for taking this step.
February 22nd, 2012 at 5:13 pm
I’m really excited and totally agree that strength and unity is the driver behind this. We’re going to make sure our members are part of the process – and there are a lot of details to work out.
February 22nd, 2012 at 5:33 pm
This is terrific news. I hope more bicycle advocacy groups band together so that they don’t work at cross purposes. United we stand!
February 22nd, 2012 at 7:03 pm
I think we will all be interested to hear what is proposed. I, for one, plan to keep an open mind about how this can work to the benefit of LAB members and look forward to seeing the details of what sounds like a corporate merger.
February 22nd, 2012 at 8:41 pm
This can be a HUGE boost to advocacy – an synergistic infusion of money, power, energy, and fame…or something – let’s make sure the “ones what brought you” to the dance aren’t forgotten – let’s also make sure the power created is used for good, and not evil… or at least not entirely for paint and boxes…
I think Khal’s procedural questions are relevant as well- what is the process for the LAB to get there- or is it already done?
Procedurally, as well, are the issues of Who’s The Boss, where will she/he be, how will decisions be made, where will the money come from, etc etc etc – merging with “big business” is great, but… potentially troublesome when it comes to turf, money and the like…
All in all a very exciting day for Bicycling though…
Steve Magas
February 22nd, 2012 at 10:11 pm
Are we bigger than the oil lobbies, yet? Seriously though, this is indeed a great step. Congratulations!
February 22nd, 2012 at 10:26 pm
Very exciting indeed, Steve (Magas), but as the grouchy old farts always say, the devils are in the details. I really do look forward to an open, transparent and fruitful marriage such that I am buying the first round.
Just remember. We can’t afford to blow it.
p.s. to Steve. Gotta get fork seals replaced on the K1100RS. Gadzooks, bicycles are cheaper to maintain than their motorized bretheren! But I knew that already.
February 22nd, 2012 at 10:32 pm
Great, now three groups with different messages will join forces to try and determine what message the new group should promote, and meanwhile, those of us in the far reaches of the nation, meaning all of us outside the Beltway, will continue to not care since LAB doesn’t seem to listen to its members.
Oh well.
February 22nd, 2012 at 11:11 pm
Khal
Good luck on that – remember that old joke…
Q: What’s the cheapest thing on a BMW Motorcycle?
A: The rider
February 23rd, 2012 at 12:50 am
[...] League of American Bicyclists — the three largest national bicycling advocacy organizations — intend to merge into one group. According to an official statement, the goal of the unification is to, “speed progress in [...]
February 23rd, 2012 at 3:33 am
[...] via http://blog.bikeleague.org/blog/2012/02/new-national-plan-to-transform-bicycling/ [...]
February 23rd, 2012 at 4:53 am
[...] time. However, I never thought they would. The leaders of the Alliance for Biking & Walking, Bikes Belong, and the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) have decided to untie to make their voice and [...]
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:49 am
So what will the new organization be called? Or are we looing at a year of bickering over that?
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:50 am
[...] New National Plan to Transform Bicycling [...]
February 23rd, 2012 at 8:51 am
[...] Three Major Cycling Advocacy Groups Plan to Merge (BikeLeague) [...]
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:06 am
Name? I think “The Justice League of America” is already taken unfortunately…
Steve Magas
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:13 am
[...] New National Plan to Transform Bicycling [...]
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:53 am
How about the Society of Bicyclists?
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:57 am
I’m not sure “SOB” is the acronym we are shooting for here…
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:01 am
[...] League of American Bicyclists — the three largest national bicycling advocacy organizations — intend to merge into one group. According to an official statement, the goal of the unification is to, “speed progress in [...]
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:16 am
[...] about the merger on the Alliance for Biking and Walking site, the Bikes Belong website, and the League of American Bicyclists website. It’s a tumultuous time in DC right now, hopefully, this merger will help build a stronger [...]
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:49 am
Ya think, Steve?
February 23rd, 2012 at 11:24 am
Circling the wagons?
Agreed, a unified national bicycle advocacy voice is best.
Locally, our city looks for input from the cycling community. Then one day, a few years ago, it became apparent that the cycling community was being represented by more than one group and that did more to confuse city hall.
Each city has its own Bike Friendly committee. Then there is the central Arkansas Advocacy group. The cycling community sees the central advocacy group as across multiple counties and a resource. The local Bike Friendly committees are for specific local efforts and resources to the mayors.
That all makes sense to the cycling community but can seem rather redundant to city hall.
February 23rd, 2012 at 1:51 pm
I am fully supportive of this idea and I hope that implementation goes quickly and smoothly. As a relative newbie to this movement, I have always felt like the LAB and Alliance have informative messages geared toward the insider or the engineer. I was more attracted to the simplicity and inspiration coming out of Bikes Belong (People for Bikes). I guess I see this as a good compliment; merging the logic (left brain) with the creativity (right brain). We’ll be so much more impactful with a whole brain.
February 23rd, 2012 at 3:08 pm
I’m a newish LCI. I hope that whatever the new centralized organization is it will have a broader spectrum of focus than the current ones. For me a critical element is cyclist education.
From the perspective of biking in Los Angeles I see all kinds of small things happening in far off Washington DC – only a few of which have much effect on biking here. It’s great that LAB gets my $30 to try to influence the “policy makers” in DC. It would be greater if there was room in the new organization to support cycling on the more local level. After all, in the end, all politics are local.
I’d very much like to see: my commitment to cycling education supported by a continued focus on teaching better cycling skills in the new organizational structure. Yes, I appreciate what national level lobbing efforts do. And it will be nice to have more biking and walking urban infrastructure. But in the end the bike path ends and we’re biking on the mean streets. Teaching people better riding skills is vital to the expansion of cycling.
I believe an education policy focused on local teaching can be implemented successfully and will benefit cycling and walking transportation greatly.
Eric Weinstein
Santa Monica, California
February 24th, 2012 at 8:30 am
When the dust settles, and we have to clean our bikes, the vote you make in each election, referendum, etc is the true way to change. Having one voice for all entities may be clearer in the political world, but using your voice to your elected official is direct and effective. Riding a bicycle is the answer to so many of the current issues with which we are dealing. We know that, we just have to enlighten those still living in the fossil fuel dark.
February 24th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
[...] largest advocacy groups agree to merge as one powerful voice for cycling. This past Tuesday, an announcement was made that the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong, and the Alliance for Biking and [...]
February 24th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
This is very, very concerning.
Yes there is a possibility that this could create a more powerful, effective organization. But the opposite seems equally likely.
I’m very worried about the fact that we will have FEWER voices, even if there is a possibility that the only remaining voice is a little bigger.
I think it’s been great having Bikes Belong in the mix these last few years. Finally having an industry voice was very valuable and they worked well with the League. But to let them take over our 100 year old advocacy organization — that is a disaster. LAB has always been the check and balance on the bicycle industry. But now the industry is going to actually run LAB?
Mixing the Alliance for Biking and Walking in with the big bike organizations is clearly a big set back for both pedestrian advocacy, which will be overwhelmed by the bikes, and cycling advocacy. Cycling’s two biggest voices, soon to be only one voice, will have to make time and room for pedestrian issues. That could feel like (and could really be) an afterthought, and that would be a tragedy. Worse, we send the message to the opposition that we’re all the same, we’re just a bunch of anti-car people with no one clear message. It perpetuates the dangerous idea that bikes and pedestrians are the same thing with the same needs. These conflicts will only increase as cycling increases.
Mergers never happen because everyone is strong, but because one or more players are weak. When there is no good purpose for this surprise announcement, and a lot of concerns, i have to ask: why now? Are one or more of these organizations in trouble?
February 25th, 2012 at 9:20 am
Even if one of the members is in trouble, its worth asking if pooling resources is a good idea. I have some similar concerns as Mark, but here is my spin.
One, its up to each of these organizations to make clear it will advocate for and represent cyclists and pedestrians and that the anti-car message isn’t driving the train. One doesn’t have to be one or the other. I suspect if you looked into the garages of a lot of members of these organizations you would see both–gasp–cars and bikes. You don’t build a strong organization around extremists.
Its up to us to build a balanced transportation system. It is up to us to prove we can balance transportation needs with energy costs and public health. Or else…
The question of who will be the lead dog in the pack is a good one. I suspect the steering committee, if it has not already done so, should study the relationships between gun owners, gun businesses, and the National Rifle Assn and also the relationships between motorcyclists, the American Motorcyclist Assn, and motorcycle businesses. Come back to us with some information on how this will work. You can’t sell product if you don’t have customers so the customer has to be first. Gun owners face a harsh political environment and have learned to be tough adversaries–admittedly when you have the Bill of Rights on your side it makes it easier. Motorcyclists face death due to bad drivers. What can we learn from their respective organizations?
The concern some of us in the “Grumpy Traditionalist Bicyclist” corner has been that the bike biz cares about selling bikes and doesn’t care enough about roadway rights or competent riding; just sell someone the bike and write a check for a bike path. Its up to the bike biz to make clear to the GTB brethren that it is solidly behind our rights to the road as competent road users as well as being willing to support dedicated bicycling facilities. One doesn’t have to choose one or the other. Nor should one.
I will say that moto shops are in the vanguard of pushing motorcycle safety foundation stuff. My BMW shop in Albuquerque hosts MSF courses. So does the Harley shop in Santa Fe. Hard to find a bicycle shop around here that is pushing LCI stuff in a similar manner. WTF?? I suggest we get the bike industry firmly on board with bicycling safety training and protecting our rights rather than worrying about whether BB will only push for paint and path. I think we all would agree that a competent cyclist is a safer cyclist.
The devils will indeed be in the details on this. It sure would be nice to have good cooperation, though, and I’m excited about the idea. The Alliance had its roots in Thunderhead. That was an organization of state bicycle advocates. We all buy bicycles from someone. Its not as though we are jumping into bed with perfect strangers. And I’m about to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. Anyone in a long term relationship KNOWS it takes contant work, communication, and cooperation. But it is also richly rewarding.
Ok, Andy, who gets to buy the ring?
February 25th, 2012 at 9:31 am
Oh, one final comment. It will be critical to see how leadership is elected/chosen. Membership must be able to ultimately have some control over leadership, or members will drift away.
February 25th, 2012 at 9:32 am
Let me categorically say that not only are none of the three groups “in trouble” but this initiative is rooted firmly in opportunity. All three groups are healthy, vibrant, and working well together and we are talking about this opportunity becasue we can all see the benefit of having even greater influence and strength. As one of the answers to the FAQs says, we are not doing this to consolidate, cut back, reduce staff or programs or anything like that. Quite the contrary.
February 25th, 2012 at 9:43 am
Khal asks ‘who buys the ring’? The marriage analogy is an obviouc one (although a little dangerous when you start talking about people jumping into bed…we wont go there) but Gail Spann on the League board suggested another. Its like a board vote. The motion has been introduced, seconded, and now we’re having the discussion. We’re looking forward to the conversation; we don’t have all the answers yet; there’s a lot of input to gather; and we’re excited about the potential.
February 25th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Its a metaphor, Andy!
February 26th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
To me this presents an incredible synergistic opportunity at a most opportune time in history given recent progress at the national level, a booming “grass roots” renaissance in cycling and the truly anti-bike sentiment expressed from some who are currently in power. At some point leaders have to lead – and now’s the time –
Steve Magas
February 26th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Agree completely with Steve Magas. Make it work!
February 28th, 2012 at 7:06 am
I like the idea of this since there is so many synergies between the three groups.
I take it Bikes Belong would bring the Safe Routes to School National Partnership with them.
A stronger central kids focus would be a great outcome of the merger. Maybe a specific LCI certification for teaching bike rodeos/leading bike trains etc
As recently departed Whitney H said “children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way!”
February 28th, 2012 at 9:59 am
A broadened LCI program would be great. But the League’s historic mission was not to be a bicycling organization focussing on kids. This merger will have to preserve LABs historic mission of adult cycling if it hopes to keep its membership base intact. That can certainly be done.
Kids, after all, grow up to be adults. In a future world, it would be nice if more of them kept their bicycles in the front of the garage rather than in the back, dusty corners. I’m clueless about kids, but those who are good at youth education should be strengthening programs to keep young folks on two wheels, for their own good and ours.
February 29th, 2012 at 12:09 am
In Ohio over the past 5 years we have averaged 2000 +/- bike/car crashes per year. This has been pretty consistent. The number of deaths per year has been down the past few years vs. the 20 yr average but crashes have remained consistent. What I was surprised to learn was that MORE THAN HALF of all those crashes involve kids- under the age of 18.
While part of me says, “Wow, I feel like my risk of having a crash just got cut in half” the other part says this is a big problem. One big area where the synergies can help here is in the education of children as to proper riding, an introduction into the world of vehicle operation and an understanding once they cross the white lines and enter the “roadway” they are part of the huge, multi-colored fabric of “traffic.”
People fear being killed while riding. However, that’s actually pretty rare. In studying all Ohio cycling fatalities these past two years, I have found quite a bit of bad cycling behavior that contributes to crashes [running stop signs, night riding without proper lighting] as well as quite a bit of really lousy motor vehicle driving. [Poor passing, distraction, hit/run]. Each case is unique though. There are no overarching patterns at this point – other than a high number of crashes that occur in the dark – be it early morn or late evening.
bottom line, I’m excited about the possibilities here – Let’s Go Ride!
Steve Magas
MOST of the riders killed in Ohio these past two years are not the type of folks you would find on LAB or cycle club rosters. They aren’t riding $5000 bikes made of the latest version of unobtanium. Most of the folks killed are just plain folks –
I haven’t had time to study the 12,000 crashes documented in the annual reports I have obtained from the Ohio Dept of Public Safety – I need to find someone with a lot more time than me to get that done – however, given that 6000+ involve KIDS, I think that is a good sign that cyclists in Ohio are doing OK at riding on the roads with cars for the most part. 6000 crashes in 6 yrs. MILLIONS of riders riding tens or hundreds of millions of miles over 88 counties of the
Steve Magas
February 29th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Every school district should have a program like the Hawaii Bicycling League’s BikeEd for 4th graders. So here is a challenge to the bike biz as well as our educators: work like the demon to get that done.
February 29th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
[...] week the Alliance for Biking & Walking, the League of American Bicyclists and Bike Belong jointly announced their collective intention to merge the three organizations into [...]
February 29th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
[...] week the Alliance for Biking & Walking, the League of American Bicyclists and Bike Belong jointly announced their collective intention to merge the three organizations [...]
March 1st, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Most of the comments deal with effects on bicycle advocacy – but I think comment 31′s concern about pedestrian issues is well taken. Cyclists of all flavors seem to have a unifying image, whereas many pedestrians take their preferred mode of transportation for granted. This merger will doubtlessly further dilute the voice of pedestrian advocacy, and that’s too bad. On the other hand, a long time pedestrian advocate friend of mine has always been pessimistic about the voice of pedestrians in groups that attempt to combine issues with cyclists. Perhaps we need to foster the development of an advocacy group aimed only at pedestrian issues.