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Bike Advocacy on the Move in Ohio
By Lindsay Plante, BFA Communications Intern
Bicycle advocacy is on the move in Ohio.
Last month, the League released its 2012 Bicycle Friendly States Ranking and the Buckeye State came in at #37. But, while they still face challenge in funding, infrastructure, legislative support, and public opinion, bike advocates are making headway — and improving Ohio for bicyclists.
- The Ohio Bicycle Federation is making progress for cyclists in the Buckeye State
Ohio has a long history of cycling, but it is only recently that bicycles have been widely seen as a means of transportation as well as recreation. Bicycle-friendly legislation and construction are laying the foundation for better bicycle safety, but laws and lanes aren’t likely to boost cycling without the support of an understanding public. This is where advocacy can make all the difference. Luckily, strong advocates in Ohio are providing support and encouragement for longtime cyclists and new riders alike, while easing the concerns of motorists through awareness campaigns.
In a state where municipal law is so important, local advocacy has an advantage over statewide efforts. Cleveland has passed a complete streets ordinance and Cincinnati was designated a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community both thanks to dedicated local advocates. “Advocacy in Cleveland has shifted from a small group of voices advocating only for rights to the road, to a large voice of people advocating for more livable, bike friendly neighborhoods,” said Jacob VanSickle of Bike Cleveland. “Advocacy’s role in the future will be to push for more progress on street bike infrastructure like cycle-tracks. We will also need to advocate for continued motorist and cyclist education on sharing the road. Our goal is to get more people on bikes more often. To do this we need to design and rebuild our streets to be intuitive. They need to be able to accommodate all types of cyclists, including youth, beginner, and advanced.”
Collaboration among local organizations has played an important role in growing statewide advocacy, too. Groups like Yay Bikes! and Consider Biking have bridged the gap between local efforts and statewide policymaking and the statewide advocacy group, the Ohio Bicycle Federation, has been gaining ground. Board members of OBF hail from all corners of the state and are active in their local communities. The OBF led the charge for the Better Biking Bill, dedication that paid off when the bill was signed into law by Governor Taft in 2006. At each level, advocates play a crucial role in changing hearts and minds, paving the way for a new generation of bike-friendly policies and infrastructure in Ohio.
Steve Magas, of the Ohio Bicycle Federation, has seen his state embracing cycling. “Ohio is an extremely diverse state from a cycling perspective,” he said. “Emphasis here is on transportation, with more and more riders commuting by bike and using their bikes to go places instead of riding in circles. There is also emphasis on recreation — we have many very active cycling clubs in all parts of state. The Cincinnati Cycle Club is one of the oldest in country, founded in 1880. There is definitely an emphasis here on healthy living, too. You see more and more fitness riders, racing teams, triathlons, and other fitness events. More than that, you see people of all ages using roads, trails, sidewalks and single-tracks as a way to stay fit. There is no single definition of cycling in Ohio — it is a dynamic and diverse culture. It is also a changing culture, with the hip, urban rider coming into vogue. I see more and more folks riding in downtown areas — shopping, going to restaurants and clubs, and enjoying the freedom of movement a bicycle has always provided.”
Click here to read last week’s post about progress in Utah — or here to see the full 2012 state ranking.
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June 11th, 2012 at 11:05 am
Good model. Think global, act local. Bicycling is intrinsically local, and face time with local pols can work.
June 11th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Found the article to be a bit Cincinnati/Cleveland focused. How about the efforts of Columbus and Dayton…two of Ohio’s three BFCs (Cleveland is not just yet)? In fact, the Dayton (14) and Columbus (13) regions are home to half of the states LCIs!
June 11th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Outstanding article!
Ohio, the home of the world’s most famous bicycle shop owners and mechanics (Orville and Wilbur Wright) also possesses:
1. The nation’s longest continuous paved trail system (Ohio’s Miami Valley.)
2. A soon-to-be-opened velodrome in Cleveland.
3. More LCIs than any other state of which I am aware.
4. By far the largest bicycle museum in the world: The Bicycle Museum of America in New Bremen, Ohio.
June 11th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Even crediting the Ohio Bike Federation as leading anything in the state of Ohio is a joke. They haven’t done anything since 2006 which is why local community advocacy orgs and the communities themselves are picking up the slack. Bike Cleveland, Consider Biking (Columbus), Queen City Bike (Cincy) and Bike Miami Valley (Dayton) are all more visionary and strategic then OBF. Ohio needs a state wide organization to drive true policy change and be present to relieve Consider Biking of that burden. Kudos to the local bike advocacy groups in Ohio. The fact that Ohio has been ranked in the bottom half of bike friendly state ranking should be enough motivation for a statewide . There are 3 BFC in Ohio, one who wasn’t even mentioned in this article.
June 11th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
As for the Cleveland/Cinti bias – I know that I responded to a request for info from the League – not sure if Columbus or Dayton folks got the same email we got – I think it came to the OBF and was circulated to the Board for responses… I just typed 1000 words or so and sent it off, with 8×10 glossy photographs, in three part harmony… not sure what anyone else did to respond.
Glad to see that there is some recognition of things happening in Ohio – that 37 is a number that, to me, is not at all representative of the bicycle climate, the effort and the systems in place in Ohio –
Steve Magas
June 11th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Who is Bike Evangelist?
June 12th, 2012 at 8:32 am
OBF has been active in many statewide advocacy efforts since 2006. These include working with ODPS and ODOT on various projects to educate cyclists and motorists on sharing the road. We’ve worked with ODPS (public safety), ODOT and BMV on drivers education curriculum, updates to the drivers manual, drivers education testing, rumble stripes, updates to the Ohio MUTCD, the US bicycle route system. We testified in support of the 3′ passing law, but unfortunately it didn’t get out of committee. We’re hosting a http://www.cyclingsavvy.org course on June 29-July 1 in Columbus. I invite Bike Evangelist to join us and help us out.
June 14th, 2012 at 12:35 pm
I second Tricia’s comments and would also note that the OBF also discusses, and attempts to find support for, legislative packages each year – discussing a package of legal reforms, and trying to get support in the legislature for those reforms… in 2006 the sun, moon and stars aligned and we were able to get a HUGE package of law changes passed- some of which are the envy of virtually all other states [like the "ban on bike bans"]. This cannot be minimized by a “what have you done for us lately” argument – what we DID was history.
However, the legislative climate has changed considerably since then – 4 wheeled vehicles have become the favored children and things which relate to spending money on pedestrian or bicycle rider safety are seen as the chaff, not the wheat…
Many of the OBF Board are NOT “bike lane first” folks – many tend to be more of a belief that money should be spent educating motorists and cyclists before cordoning off the worst couple feet of concrete for bike use… I do see where they have benefits in some areas… I prefer to see sharrows painted than lanes- I was not a fan of the 3′ law, and argued against it, but supported it when the decision to move it forward was made.
Ohio is a big place, as is the OBF. Diverse opinions are tolerated, not ridiculed. Bike advocacy is difficult enough without anonymous snipers harping… if you want to make a difference, step up and do something, don’t sit behind a screen and Spout Stuff… nobody likes a Stuff Spouter who doesn’t do anything else. Come to a meeting and tell us what you want to do, and why, and give us your plan for getting it done, or help us develop one – Ohio has a LOT of advocacy groups, which can ALL benefit from leveraging our local power into a statewide CLUB to be used to whack legislators…er… wait… lemme rephrase that…
Khal, I don’t know who “Bike Evangelist” is but I don’t pay no mind to those who hide behind a veil of anonymity online – if someone wants to work to move OHio forward, then come out and play – closet snipers are all too common on the InterWeb, and have zero credibility…
Steve Magas
June 16th, 2012 at 11:48 am
I find the LAB’s “bicycle friendly” rankings to be very biased. While some of the criteria for their awards are rational, others are products of a false view that cycling is dangerous without special bike facilities, as well as their view that ANY bike facility is a good bike facility! Door zone bike lanes should disqualify awards, not contribute toward them!
Data on the need for or efficacy of bike lane stripes or (worse) cycle tracks is sketchy at best, yet the League does not award any city lacking those features.
Ordinary roads can easily be cycled with great safety, and most roads will always lack special stripes. If half the “any bike facility” effort went to education of motorists, police and cyclists, we’d be far ahead in real bike friendliness.
June 22nd, 2012 at 1:14 pm
My above photo shows Ohio Bicycle Federation SE Ohio Regional Director Carrie Stemrich hosting a Simply Cycling event on May 19 in Athens. The Athens City Manager, Mayor, and Official Bicycle Inventor join Carrie in this photo! The inventor offers an Athens taxi service in the pictured bicycle-with-sidecar. Other inventions on display included a bicycle-powered lawn mower! Carrie is to be congratulated for organizing this outstanding event!