Archive for November, 2012

Each day, my commute to work takes me down the National Mall and through the ellipse in front of the White House (yeah, I can’t complain). Lo and behold, this morning there was a group of carolers clad in Dickensian costumes at the wrought iron gates, harmonizing their dawn rendition of Deck the Halls.

Yep, it’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays.

And thanks to Rebecca Brookson, you can deck your halls with a bright little gift that benefits the League.

Brookson is the founder of Bicyclette, a company that features a collection of bikes, apparel and home decor geared toward “discerning, stylish women” who love to ride. This season, Brookson and the artisans at MAME Soy Candles created a signature candle — the Path Less Traveled — and all the proceeds will benefit the League.

“As I started to explore the idea of launching my own business, there were two things that were a requirement for me,” Brookson says. “First, it must make a positive impact and, second, I needed to spotlight and donate to an organization that tied in with the mission of my company. Bicyclette was born out of a desire to encourage more women to just have fun and get out and ride – and it was a natural fit to turn to the League as the organization I wanted to support.”

“The women I talk to (as well as mysefl!) love riding a bike — but have safety concerns,” she adds. “They want more paths, better bicycling communities! This is a big part of the League’s mission and I am so excited that, in my own small way, I can help get the word out about the organization and Women Bike!”

Scented with Gardenia + Grass, the eight-ounce candles are made from 100 percent soy wax, pure essential oils and cotton wicks. Order yours today!

 

You already bike to work or ride to the store. Why not use those trips to help the League win a $10,000 grant?

Many of you were among the 30,000 bicyclists who saddled up for the National Bike Challenge this summer and, thanks to CLIF Bar, we’ve all got a new Challenge to keep our wheels turning next month! CLIF Bar has chosen the League to be the beneficiary of the 2 Mile Challenge for December — and we need your pedal power to get us to that $10,000 grant.

The 2 Mile Challenge is CLIF Bar’s online effort to fight climate change by encouraging bicycle travel for short trips. In the U.S., 40 percent of all urban trips are two miles or less, but 90 percent of those short distances are made by automobile. Supporting a number of League member organizations — like the East Bay Bicycle Coalition in November — this initiative has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to bike advocacy over the past several years.

That sure makes your CLIF Bar taste a little bit sweeter, huh?

Plus, participating in the 2 Mile Challenge couldn’t be easier — or more fun. You simply sign up and log each time you take a trip by bicycle. Ride to work? That’s a trip. Pedal to a meeting or lunch with friends? That’s two trips (well, assuming you go back to the office)! All we need is 5,000 trips to earn $10,000 for our programming in 2013.

I’m up to the Challenge; are you?

 

500 participants. Eight communities. $10 million for biking and walking.

Talk about an impressive year for Advocacy Advance.

Over the past 11 months, the Advocacy Advance team — a partnership of the League and Alliance for Biking & Walking — has been your source for critical analysis and resources on the new federal transportation bill. But, beyond the reports and webinars and one-on-one assistance, Darren and Brighid have been out in the field conducting Navigating MAP-21 Workshops, too.

Funded by SRAM, these workshops have brought together advocates, agency staff and elected officials, giving them the tools and knowledge to access federal funding for local biking and walking projects and program.

And, from Atlanta, Ga., to Anchorage, AK, those workshops have had a huge impact, leading to more than $10 million in new funding for bike/ped projects in local communities.

Read the full and impressive recap on the Advocacy Advance blog.

 

After Congress passes a transportation bill, it’s up to the U.S. Department of Transportation to figure out how the law should be interpreted — and release “guidance” for your state department of transportation to follow.

Last month, the DOT released its interim guidance on the new transportation law, MAP-21, and there’s good news and bad news for bicyclists.

Join us TODAY, November 28, at 2 p.m. Eastern for our next Navigating MAP-21 webinar to learn the importance of the recently released guidance and what it means for cyclists in your area. Presenters will include Caron Whitaker, League Vice President of Government Relations, and Darren Flusche, League Director of Policy.

Register here!

 

Yesterday, Bill Nesper and I rode our bikes down the Mount Vernon Trail to congratulate BikeArlington for their stand-out performance as a first place finisher in the “Micro Business” category of the 2012 National Bike Challenge.

It was a gorgeous day out on the trail, a fitting place to honor the riders who tallied 7,584 miles by bike over the three months of the Challenge this summer. With fewer than five employees (the definition of a “micro-business”), that mileage was no small feat!

We chatted with them about the 2013 Challenge, and how they plan to get more local businesses involved in the fun. We’ll see if anyone can catch up to this stellar workplace in 2013!

Congratulations, BikeArlington!

 

Whose streets work better: Atlanta or Chicago? According to the most common assessment tool for congestion — the Travel Time Index (TTI) — the answer is Atlanta.

The average trip to work in Atlanta takes 57.4 minutes, while the typical commuter in Chicago spends 35.6 minutes getting to the office. So it seems like the Windy City would be rated higher, right? Well, no. The TTI gives more credit to speed than travel time and destination proximity. Atlanta looks better because their commuters drive faster over a farther distance, even though their trips take longer on average. This example, highlighted in a recent memo from Transportation for America, reveals the challenges and limitations of our current thinking about transportation performance. And, unfortunately, this isn’t just an academic problem.

The new federal transportation bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century (MAP-21), does two things that bring urgency to getting this right:

1. Under the law, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will set up Performance Measures for its largest program, the $22 billion National Highway Performance Program, that will ultimately reward and penalize states for reaching or failing to meet these targets, and
2. The law expands the scope of the National Highway System by 60,000 new lane miles; now it will include many roads (primary arterials) that don’t feel like highways at all.

So, unless the performance measures are set appropriately, state DOTs will treat many roads that cut through neighborhoods essentially the same way they treat interstate highways: prioritizing speed over other factors. Which roads will that affect in your state? You can find the primary arterial routes that will be added to the NHS in here.

Should the performance of this road…

…be measured like this one?

Under the new National Highway Performance Program, the performance of these two roads could be measured the same way. One is a bustling business district, the other is an Interstate highway. (Example provided by Transportation for America.)

Fortunately, the USDOT appears to recognize the challenge before it. In September, the DOT solicited input through an online dialogue, where the public contributed and voted on ideas for these performance measures.

The number one ranked idea for Highway System Performance: “Performance measures should be defined and measured in ways that reflect all of the benefits of an integrated, comprehensive system based on the movement of people, not vehicles.” One of the most popular ideas for Congestion Mitigation: “Performance measures should emphasize spatial and temporal dimensions of congestion” (translation: the measure should consider trip time, as well as distance traveled). Both suggestions would encourage communities to build infrastructure that helps people get where they are going rather than travel the greatest distance possible at the highest speeds possible.

In fact, the DOT received so much feedback that it hosted a listening session late last month. During the session, officials acknowledged the need to address issues like “vehicle vs. passenger movement,” and there was considerable discussion about how to measure people on foot and on bicycle. In the League’s recommendations to DOT, we identified Regional Household Travel Surveys, infrared counters, and traditional bike/ped counts, as possible tools, and pointed to states like Massachusetts, which is setting mode-shift goals as part of its transportation performance measures. We also passed along some of the on-going research into bicycling and walking measurement.

It is good that this dialog is taking place, but we’ll be watching carefully to see what comes out these discussions. Whatever gets put into place now will likely influence transportation decision-making for years to come, so it’s critically important to keep the focus on moving people, not vehicles.

To learn more about what bicycling and walking advocates are doing to get the most out of the new transportation bill, check out our “Navigating MAP-21” resources. And please join us for our webinar on the recently-released interim guidance on the Transportation Alternatives program on Wednesday.

 

On this day, 134 years ago, a cycling legend was born: Marshall “Major” Taylor.

Born in rural Indiana in 1878, Taylor was a pioneer in American sport — not just in bicycling. Shattering cycling records even as a teenager, Taylor was the first African-American athlete to achieve the level of world champion and only the second black man to win a world championship. But, even more than his impressive victories on the track, Taylor was a trailblazer for equity in sport.

According to the Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Minnesota: “What made [Taylor's] accomplishments even more impressive was the fact that he was a black man who overcame open racism and overt threats of violence by those who did not want to see him succeed, because track cycling at that time was dominated by the Europeans. He established several world records during his 16 years of competition. In the 168 races in which he competed, he finished first in 117 and finished second in 32.”

As Taylor himself acknowledged in his autobiography: “In most of my races I not only struggled for victory but also for my very life and limb. Only my dauntless courage and the indomitable fighting spirit I possessed allowed me to carry on in the face of tremendous odds.”

That courage and spirit continues to inspire cyclists today, with dozens of Major Taylor cycling clubs in communities nationwide.

Let’s all take a moment today to tip our helmets to a true leader of our movement.

 

… I can’t resist sharing this amazing picture I found.

 

Yesterday, we all be took some time to think of what we’re thankful for. What was on your list?

A riding club that keeps you pedaling in good company?

Communities where children can ride their bikes to school?

Amazing vintage cards of turkeys riding bikes that tote children?

Here at the League, we’re thankful for all the things that make our communities safe and fun, but we are thankful for one more thing, too: our members! Thanks to you, we’re able to continue to work to make roads safe for everyone who rides and create bicycle friendly communities across the country.

Thank you for your membership. And if you’re not a member (gasp!), you can join here.

 

Gathering with family, eating a good meal — Thanksgiving is about reflection and gratitude. Here at the League, bikes have benefited our lives in many different ways, but we all share an appreciation for how traveling on two wheels has taken us places we want to go.

So, in honor of the holiday, I asked my colleagues to finish the sentence “I’m grateful for my bike…” Here’s what they shared:

Alison Dewey:
I’m grateful for my bike because with three small kids, commuting to work is often my only chance to ride. My youngest will see a cyclist and say “Mama.”  I am grateful they are growing up knowing bikes can be used for transportation and for fun.

Darren Flusche:
I’m grateful for my bike for being the most fun and efficient way to get around my city. There’s no better way to go.

Elizabeth Kiker:
I’m grateful for my bike for powering me from a soul-deadening job to one I love wholly and enjoy absolutely. Without the freedom and inspiration that my bike provided me, I would have never ended up working at the League of American Bicyclists. Thanks, beloved bike!

Ken McLeod:
I’m grateful for my bike because it helps me explore and be active.

Bill Nesper:
I am grateful for my bike giving me a way to get to where I want to go, exercise, save money and have quiet time all at once.

Hamzat Sani:
I’m grateful for my bike introducing me to new avenues of life both literally and figuratively. Without my bike I wouldn’t have the breadth and depth of relationships I’ve shared with people or know where to find the best vintage shop in Atlanta.

Nicole Wynands:
I’m grateful for my bike because it allows me to experience my community up close and to notice details and nuances along the way that I would otherwise miss.

Why are you grateful for your bike?

 

In September, 50 community members participated in an Advocacy Advance Action 2020 Workshop in Harrisonburg, Virginia, to jumpstart the region’s efforts to fund local bicycle and pedestrian projects.

The clear goal of the day: Work together to get facilities on the ground that keep people safe and make Harrisonburg – a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community  – the “bicycle capital of Virginia.”

The mayor, city councilmembers, county administrator, sheriff, transportation planners, and local advocacy attendees were all on board.

Since then, they’ve have taken a giant leap towards meeting that goal: more than $2 million was invested in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in 24 hours.

How did it happen? Read more on AdvocacyAdvance.org.

 

As Carolyn mentioned in her post yesterday, we both attended a the Facing Race conference this past week(end). Why, you might ask, would two League staff members sacrifice their weekends for a conference?

Well, one lesson that almost everyone took away from the recent election was that campaigns must be inclusive of a diverse America to win. Here at the League, our politics are simple: better biking for all. But in recent years that “all” hasn’t been as diverse and inclusive as it should be. We want to change that and it starts with educating ourselves.

After finally finding parking in downtown Baltimore that didn’t cost me a crank arm and a wheelset, I got to the second day of the conference just in time to catch most of the Opening Plenary. The plenary focused on issues of race and gender specifically, but the prevailing theme centered on the power of storytelling.

Panelist and journalist Janet Mock, for instance, spoke about the power of coming out as a transgender woman of color in the midst of an epidemic of LGBTQ kids taking their lives due to bullying and harassment. I couldn’t help but think, we cyclists have some pretty powerful stories to tell about why we ride, what motivates us and how we want to see our world. The plenary definitely reinforced the need for us to share those personal transformations.

Another great take-away from the plenary included thinking about our bi-gendered language, which doesn’t address potential advocates and club members that view gender beyond the binary. A great way to be inclusive is to use language that is multi-gender conscious and respective. Increasingly, local bike co-ops are getting the message and their memberships are seeing the benefits. Cycling facilities, clubs and resources should be developed in a manner where everyone feels safe, invited and considered.

After an energizing plenary, it was off to the first breakout session: Engaging White People in Racial Justice. The room was packed and overflowing into the hall, and there was incredible knowledge from leaders from Philly, Kentucky, New York and even Baltimore about mobilizing people that identify as white in working toward racial justice and equity in their communities.

Just a few great terms and highlights from the session:

• Collective liberation: What affects one, affects us all. In this session, the presenters used the term to frame white people taking ownership in the fight for racial justice as much as non-whites. But I saw it’s application in local advocacy for biking facilities, too. We all know the safest areas to bike in our communities; they have bike lanes, motorists that know you exist and, wait, was that a bike shop/cafe/bar? But once in a while our journey takes us beyond our usual roads and lands us in communities that have none of these things. The term collective liberation reminds me of the freedom we all feel when we get on our first bike and feel we can go anywhere and that we can’t just fight for cycling in our immediate communities but also for greater connectivity in others.

• Mutual interest: A young Jewish organizer spoke about the Jewish community in New York bringing together multi-cultural caregivers and their mostly white employers to talk about fair employment standards and the common ground between both groups. That got me thinking: What are some organizations in your community that share some mutual interest around bicycling? Is a local neighborhood association looking to get a street light or stop sign? Is there a Women in Business incubator in your area looking for opportunities? Is a local business district looking to boost foot traffic?

After lunch I checked out another session: From Colorblindness to Race Equity. By far my favorite quote from this session went something like: “Achieving equity is not a one shot deal; it should be like brushing your teeth everyday.” We already know this from our work: After all, getting a local politician to ride a bike for a photo-op doesn’t mean that she’ll be a sure vote for bike funding in the next legislative session. It’s important to have primers that can be used to make equity habitual and systemic. A primer could be something as simple as a  a few simple questions that remind leaders to consider whether they’re making a decision based on an implicit bias. Does your organization or club have a system in place to ensure that your outreach for members, staff and leadership is inclusive of diverse candidates?

Sadly, the conference had to come to a close, and the final plenary discussion — Culture Trumps Politics — gave us all some key perspective and one liners (you can find a few here) to take home. One thing that resonated with me was a comment from author and cultural artist/activist Jeff Chang: “After the laws change, how are we going to live together?” After we pass legislation like a 3-foot passing law, which is vitally important, we still have to coexist with one another as motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. While Chang’s context was calling for an increase in multicultural equity, it’s hard not to see its application to multi-modal equity.

While race can be a scary word, equity certainly isn’t At the crux of it all, the conference boiled down to discussing ways to create a more equitable America. Whether that equity is ensuring safety and accessibility for all types of transportation users, or ensuring opportunity and access for all groups of people, equity serves our mutual interest. As a community focused on making biking better for all, we have to seek racial equity as well. There are too many potential allies, opportunities and policy successes to gain. After all, we share some pretty remarkable mutual interests: better transportation choices, better air quality, better quality of life and better communities.

Click here to read more about the conference (and keep this event in mind for 2013)!

 

As of Friday afternoon, 350,899 Alameda County voters had voted in favor of ballot measure B1, which would increase the county’s transportation tax from a half cent to 1 cent for road repair, bicycle infrastructure and transit investments. One the other side of the coin, 176,504 county residents had voted against.

Under normal circumstances, a 66.53% to 33.47% vote would have been a decisive victory for the measure and we would not be reporting the vote to the second decimal place. However, in California, when the funds from a local sales tax measure are dedicated for a specific purpose, a two-thirds “supermajority” of 66.67% is required. The vote is so close that election officials are still counting absentee and other ballots. They are not expected to have a final tally until Wednesday, November 21. The best current guess is that the measure will fall short by fewer than 700 votes. A recount is possible.

The fact that at least 66% of the voters opted to voluntarily tax themselves for better transportation infrastructure, including bicycling facilities, signals the direction many communities are headed in an era of uncertain federal funding.

“Whatever the final outcome of Measure B1 here in Alameda County, it’s clear that most residents not only want more transit options, a great network of bicycle lane and trails, pedestrian safety improvements, but they are willing to pay for them by increasing our local sales tax,” says Renee Rivera, Executive Director of East Bay Bicycle Coalition. “That is a huge testament to the appetite for active transportation here in the East Bay. If we don’t gain the couple thousand votes needed to put B1 over the top in the coming days, it will be coming back to the ballot very soon, with the same or stronger investment in bike/ped improvements.” Looking forward, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition and other transportation advocates are going to work on strengthening their campaign efforts in the less dense suburban parts of the county, Rivera says.

According to Rivera, the new revenue would be divided up in approximately the following way.

• 48% public and specialized transit
• 27% local streets and roads improvements
• 11% bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure
• 9% highway efficiency and freight development
• 5% sustainable land use and transportation projects

Anything jump out at you? The share for bicycling and walking is right there next to highways! One of the things that is so exciting about this measure, Rivera points out, is that it does not add any highway capacity.  The Alameda County Transportation Commission recognizes that the freeway network in Alameda County is fully built.  It can be improved but the County will not invest beyond making the existing system work better with HOV conversions and interchange improvements.  The investments need to be made in transit, maintenance and active transport improvements.

The League, with our partners the Alliance for Biking & Walking, is supporting campaigns like the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s to pass Measure B1. In April, we gave the bicycle coalition a Rapid Response grant through the Advocacy Advance program to fight for the measure’s passage. We hope that when the votes are all counted the measure will be successful. One eighth of a percent is excruciatingly close.

The tight vote on measure B1 comes at a time when many transportation initiatives are being passed across the country. On November 6, two thirds of the proposed ballot measures that supported transit projects passed. Campaigns like this are great candidates for Rapid Response Grants.

 

At bicycle gatherings over the past few years, I’ve attended discussions about building an inclusive movement, engaging more diverse communities in our work. We’ve started the sometimes difficult but absolutely critical conversation about race, class and bicycle advocacy.

But it’s not just about who’s at the table when decisions are made about our streets. It’s also about who’s engaged and how we’re doing our work within bicycle advocacy organizations themselves.

That’s why Hamzat and I went to the Facing Race conference last week. We know the League has a lot to learn.

Organized by the Applied Research Center — which addresses racial justice though media, research and leadership development — this national conference brought more than 1,400 people from the public, private and nonprofit sectors to Baltimore to learn how we can address social justice in our diverse work to build better communities.

Now, addressing racial inequity can be an uncomfortable topic, and, in my experience, that unease can push the conversation to the backburner as we scramble to fight the day-to-day fires of grassroots advocacy.  So for the first session I went to a panel on “Changing the Conversation on Race.” Right away, Maya Wiley, founder of the Center for Social Inclusion, made a great distinction about how we even approach conversations about engaging diverse communities.

In many cases, “we’re conflating racism with race,” she said. “If you start with racism, people feel like you’re accusing them of being really bad people. But the vast majority of Americans consciously believe that racism is bad. What they don’t always necessarily see, in a visual way, is how there is structural racial inequity. That doesn’t require bad actors. We want to get at the structural underpinnings — how even when institutions operate race neutrally, they may be reinforcing inequity that continues to exclude communities of color.”

Rinku Sen, ARC’s executive director, took that explanation a step further, explaining that there’s a difference between diversity and equity. Think of it like a party, she said. If she’s invited to a gathering, sure, it adds diversity. “But if I get to the party and the music doesn’t suit me and there’s no way for me to change the music, then I’m not going to stay at that party very long… Diversity is about getting bodies into the room; equity is about what people are able to do once they’re in the room. Diversity can get people to come to the meeting, but, without equity, they won’t necessarily pay any attention to what you say. Diversity is a good start, but equity is the real prize.”

That’s certainly a key point to remember as we work to broaden the number of folks at our growing bike party: Not just opening the door but getting everyone’s input on the playlist.

In many cases, that kind of change isn’t just about shifting folks’ personal beliefs. Perhaps even more importantly, it’s about creating policy, too. “Policy is a fundamental way in which we change attitudes,” Wiley said. “What takes attitude change to scale is changing the policies that continue to drive the decisions.”

Certainly, bike advocates know plenty about the power of public policy — we all work for good laws and funding criteria that lead to better streets for bicyclists. Many organizations and coalitions — like the Community Cycling Center in Portland; City of Lights in Los Angeles; and Local Spokes in New York City — are extending the circle of stakeholders, making sure city leaders hear the voices and needs of day laborers, refugees, low-income people and communities of color.

Especially in tough economic times, Milley Hawk Daniels, from PolicyLink, said her organization emphasizes: “Equity is a superior growth model.” And that’s more than a catchphrase. To help advocates, across a range of issues, advance equity in their campaigns, PolicyLink produced a guide called “GEARs: Getting Equity Advocacy Results.” The resource charts, step by step, the benchmarks, frameworks, and tools for measuring progress in equity efforts for policy change; click here to download.

But policy isn’t just the domain of our city council and members of Congress. Advocacy organizations and clubs create norms and standards, too. That’s why I was particularly interested in the “Internalizing Racial Equity Institutionally” session, which addressed how the policies in our employee handbooks and the overall culture of our nonprofits can make or break our efforts at inclusion.

Gita Gultanti-Partee, of Open Source Leadership Strategies, framed the issue succinctly. “We’re all hoping to be agents of change, but we’re also units of change,” she said. “How can we embody the change we wish to see?”

We spent the better part of two hours exploring that complex question — and many others. How do decisions get made in your organization? How do resources get distributed? How does someone become a leader? As Maggie Potapchuk, of MP Associates, pointed out “If we’re not intentional or explicit, we’ll constantly go to the default — recreating and embodying the same power dynamics we want to change.”

I can’t share the assessment tool we used because it’s still in development, but I can say the interactive session definitely got me thinking. Check out the resources offered by Potapchuk and Gultantee-Partee to start an inquiry into your organization’s culture and process.

… And stay tuned for more insight from the conference tomorrow!

Standing at the corner of Route 355 (also known as Rockville Pike) and Veirs Mill Road in Rockville, Maryland, you might be baffled that this city was recently named a Bicycle Friendly Community. Living just south of this area, I sure was, too. But, continue a block east or west of the Pike and you’ll see why.

Rockville — which is situated in the Washington D.C. metro region — didn’t allow a major state highway to get in its way of becoming bicycle-friendly. Instead, the city focused on off-road bike paths through parkland, connecting their network of lower volume streets, and a Safe Routes to School curriculum.

“The city has plans to redesign Rockville Pike – a great area for all kinds of shopping but very auto-centric,” says Nancy Breen, head of the Rockville Bicycle Advisory Committee (RBAC). “But until the redesign is done, we need to find other ways to invite people to ride a bike.” One of the first steps the city took was to engineer the Carl Henn Millennium Trail (pictured) – an 11-mile bike beltway that circles the city and comes within two miles of all Rockville neighborhoods. The trail was recommended in the city’s 1998 Bike Master Plan and came to fruition in 2006. Rockville then concentrated on connecting their bike network on lower volume streets through road diets, bike cut-throughs, traffic-calming, and bike/ped overpasses. The Sister City Friendship Bridge, that opened in 2007, allows bicyclists to safely and conveniently travel east-west across town over a major interstate, which before was unthinkable.

Bike counting has also been a key tool to determine the best use of city resources. With guidance from their new bike coordinator, Matt Folden, the city collected bicycle user data in 2011 and received a technical assistance grant by the MPO National Capital Transportation Planning Board to analyze the city’s bikeways and transportation network, and recommend improvements for the Bikeway Master Plan.

In addition to the MPO grant, the city received a Federal Transit Administration Job Access/ Reverse Commute (JARC) grant award. The JARC program seeks to provide transportation options to low-income users, as well as individuals who have a reverse peak hour commute. The city plans to install 20 Capital Bikeshare stations, in collaboration with Montgomery County, around the Shady Grove and Rockville Metrorail stations. Rockville will provide a local match of $100,000 annually, for three years, to support this program.

I had the honor of presenting Mayor Marcuccio and the City Council with their BFC award this month. “Designation as a BFC is important for the City of Rockville because it recognizes the Mayor and Council’s commitment to pedestrian and bicycle issues, the dedication of the city’s bicycle community, and the interdepartmental staff coordination necessary to implement bicycle friendly practices,” Folden said. “The BFC application continues to help City of Rockville staff improve the community by identifying bicycle friendly benchmarks and establishing future goals.”

The city has a lot to be proud of — but still has a lot of work ahead. Overcoming a major obstacle such as the auto-centric Rockville Pike is never easy. But year-by-year Rockville is encouraging more bike and less pike.

 

Alison Dewey
League Program Manager, BFB & BFU

Dewey joined the League in 2008. For four years prior to that, Dewey worked for Massachusetts- based Landry’s Bicycles and served on the board of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. Dewey has a MA in International Relations and Communications from Boston University and is a graduate of St. Olaf College. She spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal.

The weekend after Hurricane Sandy, a few eager bicyclists gathered in an old Firemen’s Training Facility in Baltimore, Md., ready to sharpen their skills, boost their teaching know-how and become the latest class of League Cycling Instructors. I had the pleasure of joining this elite force as we learned the ropes from one of the nation’s top LCI coachs: Jennifer Laurita.

LCI seminars are held periodically throughout the year to initiate instructors on how to best serve their communities as resources for bicycle safety. Certified instructors teach Smart Cycling classes to children and adults, as well as spread what we all know already: Safe cycling is the most enjoyable way to get around town. Becoming a League member and taking a Traffic Skills 101 are the only prerequisites for participating in the LCI seminar.

For our group, Laurita was an amazing seminar instructor. Not only did she drive down Hurricane Sandy-battered roadways just for our class, but she kept us upbeat all weekend in the huge and chilly training facility. And, man, was she knowledgeable. Though one of the youngest coaches currently, Laurita answered each question with a confidence and poise that most of us in class could only dream of. Her presentation was not only professional but also disarming, allowing the class to tackle and question some concerns we had about being LCIs. If Laurita is ever in your town, makes sure you take whatever she’s offering.

The seminar class was made up a nice cross section of interests. From the staff of the fast growing Bike Maryland advocacy group to a doctor looking to get more women involved in cycling, there was a great variation of voices at the table. We even had gold medalist Marla Streb in our midst learning how to transfer her ability to navigate a jagged mountain at 40+ miles per hour to teaching the members of her Baltimore community on how to navigate rush hour as a confident city cyclist.

“Having been a cyclist for over 20 years as a professional racer and coaching for 16 of those 20, I thought I knew it all,” she told me. “But evidently I was wrong! I was humbled when I realized just because I can ride a bike, it doesn’t mean I can effectively teach the League’s rules of the road or the importance of wearing a helmet to every eager cyclist that comes along… I thought we could teach our ABC Quick Checks by droning with a bi-colored PowerPoint. But instead we learned we should engage our future audiences with creative sing-a-longs or track-stands on the desk.”

The Seminar covered various aspects of the League’s Smart Cycling program, including instruction on Traffic Skills 101 and 201. However, the largest benefits didn’t come from ABC Quick Checks or mastering the Emergency Quick Turn- which is not an easy skill to master! It came from learning how to teach a class full of eager (or not-so-eager) people how to become safe and confident cyclists. I learned, for instance, that if I want students to learn how to adjust their brakes, maybe, just maybe, it could be helpful to not block their viewpoint with my body. We all came away with some great personal development suggestions to make us effective instructors, as well as a deeper understanding of how to make our way around a bike and various bike facilities.

“This was one of the best ‘Train the Trainer’ programs I’ve participated in,” said local advocate, Joe Piette. “What a comprehensive, well-organized curriculum! The instruction included an in depth presentation of learning styles and the demonstration of style appropriate teaching techniques.”

I can report that at the end of our three-day mission we left no cyclist behind and all our class participants were given recommendation to become LCIs. All of us left the seminar grateful for the opportunity to learn skills that not only apply to life on a bike but life in general. Rest assured the streets of Maryland will be safer. But don’t take my word for it, listen to an expert!

“Passion, knowledge, professionalism, energetic: All words that can describe the newest class of League Cycling Instructors,” Laurita said. “Every once in a while, I get just the perfect mix of candidates in class that brings cycling education to a new level, and this was the case with our most recent seminar in Baltimore. Despite the difficulties of putting on a seminar while everyone was still very much in the middle of the Hurricane Sandy disaster, we had a fantastic and impressive seminar filled with learning, development, and kinetic energy for future cycling classes to be held in and around Baltimore in the upcoming months. I am so proud to be associated with such wonderful instructors and am eagerly waiting to hear how all their new and existing programs continue to develop in partnership with the League’s vehicular cycling initiatives.”

Coach Laurita is part of a group that is even more elite than our graduating LCI class. She is one of 17 LCI coaches nationally certified to “train the trainers” on how to administer the League’s Smart Cycling program nationally. If that seems like a low number, we agree; that’s why the League has initiated a call for more current LCI’s to become coaches. If you’re interested in becoming an LCI coach or even just an LCI please contact our Education Director Alissa Simcox (Alissa@bikeleague.org) for more info.

Ride safe!

 

The parlor games began before all the votes were even counted. Who will be the Secretary of Transportation in President Obama’s second term? Will leadership of Congressional committees that decide the fate of bicycling change hands — and to who? What would these elections mean for transportation and for bicycling and walking specifically?

Well, here’s some of what we’re hearing…

Secretary of Transportation: This one has been simmering for a while. Current Secretary Ray LaHood, an outspoken supporter of bicycling and walking, said back in October 2011 that he wouldn’t serve a second term if the President was reelected. That comment took the president by surprise and LaHood has since backed off a bit, saying he owed it to the president “to sit down and talk after the election and see where it takes us.” We’ll just have to wait and see what he decides. Possible replacements include big city mayors like Los Angeles’ Antonio Villaraigosa and New York City’s Michael Bloomberg, as well as infrastructure champion Ed Rendell, former Governor of Pennsylvania. One also can’t help but notice that Ohio Representative Steven LaTourette’s retirement from Congress makes him available for the job. This would keep a Republican, not to mention a friend to bicycling, in the cabinet as Secretary of Transportation.

UPDATE: Governing Magazine lays outs an extensive list of candidates for Secretary. Streetsblog DC gives you a chance to vote for your choice.

Environment and Public Works  (EPW) Committee Chair: As chair of the EPW committee, California Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has been one of the most influential voices on transportation policy. Many of you in the state probably sent her advocacy alerts over the past two years. As important as that role is, Senator Boxer is next in line for chair of the prestigious Foreign Relations Committee. Will the chairmanship become available? That depends. If Secretary of State Hilary Clinton steps down as expected, Obama will have to appoint a new one. A leading candidate for that position is Senator John Kerry (D-MA), the current chair of Foreign Relations. Kerry’s appointment would allow Boxer to lead the Foreign Relations Committee and open up the EPW chairmanship to Max Baucus of Montana (who leads the Finance Committee), Delaware’s Tom Carper (who could also chair the Homeland Security Committee), or Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey.

Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member: The ranking member of EPW is one of the most important voices in shaping policy. According to Republican rules, Republican ranking members must give up their leadership seat when they hit their term limit. As a result, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), the current ranking member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), who infamously called bike trails frivolous, may become ranking member of the Armed Services Committee instead. That would likely leave Senator David Vitter (R-LA) to become ranking member. Senator Vitter may be less hostile to bicycling — time will tell. EPW staffing changes could also bring fresh perspectives. For example, the idea for the mandatory sidepath law came from an EPW staffer.

In other news…

• Congress lost several supportive voices. Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, a Republican co-sponsor of the Cardin-Cochran Amendment, lost his seat. Three Republicans who strongly supported transit funding – Representatives Dold (R-IL), Biggert (R- IL) and Bass (R-NH) – also lost their seats.
• Rep. Chip Cravaak of Minnesota, the Republican who unseated longstanding bike champion James Oberstar, was defeated. Meanwhile, Tim Bishop (D-NY), a member of the important Transportation and Infrastructure Committee T&I and a co-sponsor of Complete Streets legislation, kept his seat in a tight race.

Overall, we shouldn’t see a lot of changes in transportation policy as a result of this election. The majority party remains the same in the Senate and House. The president returns to the White House. Options for raising transportation revenue remain elusive.

 

It is with a heavy heart that we note the passing of a true bicycle advocacy leader: Ellen Fletcher.

According to Richard Masoner: “The Holocaust survivor, PTA mom, city council member, and bike advocate Ellen Fletcher succumbed at age 83 to lung cancer at her Palo Alto home” this week.

“Ellen was a board member of the League from 1984 to 1990 – and I had the pleasure of working with her then when I was first on staff,” remembers League President, Andy Clarke. “She was recognized with the League’s Paul Dudley White award in 1996 and we also honored her at our education conference in San Jose a couple of years back. She valiantly made her own way from Palo Alto by bike and train to attend. Ellen was a tireless advocate in the Bay area, and served on the Palo Alto city council for many years in the 70s and 80s.”

Ellen shared just a glimpse of her inspiring story earlier this year, contributing to our “31 Days, 31 Reasons” blog series during National Bike Month.

… Moving to the California suburbs in 1958 with a baby, I thought my biking days were over. But it wasn’t long before I was again back on the bike, at least for short trips. But those short trips expanded greatly, partly for ideological reasons during the Arab oil boycott. Although I still owned a 1964 Plymouth Valiant until a few months ago, I rarely used it, filling my gas tank no more than once a year. The rest of my trips were by bike or with my bike on transit.

When my son entered elementary school here in Palo Alto I volunteered to be “Safety Chair” for the PTA. That got me started in bicycle advocacy. Bike lanes, under and over crossings at major obstacles, bikes on trains and buses and the Nation’s first bicycle boulevard.

At one point when the City Council balked at adopting some bike improvement policies in its General Plan, I decided to run for a seat on the City Council myself and served on the Council for twelve years, from 1977 to 1989…

Read her full post here.

Our thoughts are with her family and friends. Learn more about Ellen’s incredible leadership and legacy on SF Streetsblog and Mercury News.

Photo by Richard Masoner

 

Earlier this month, Anchorage advocates celebrated a major step toward implementation of the region’s bike plan.

The Anchorage Metro Area Transportation Solutions (AMATS) is the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). AMATS has been reviewing how it would distribute federal dollars to transportation projects in Anchorage through 2014.

The Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage (BCA) saw the proposed budget and noticed that bicycles were largely left out of the equation, despite a bike plan they helped to develop. The plan was unanimously passed by the Anchorage Assembly in 2010, but implementation of it was not widely reflected in the budget.

More than 100 members and supporters of the Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage sent letters to the MPO’s Technical Advisory Committee – the committee that votes on the budget. Thirty-five bicyclists attended a Thursday afternoon meeting of the committee on November 1.

At the meeting, Committee member Lance Wilber, Director of People Mover (Anchorages transit system), proposed that by moving some of the $19 million around, $1.3 million could be shifted to implementation of the bike plan. The other committee members approved the revised budget.

But there’s more work to be done to pass the budget with these funds included…

Read more at AdvocacyAdvance.org.

 

By Brighid O’Keane, Advocacy Advance Program Manager

Not many people think of New Orleans as a refuge from hurricanes, but it was the welcome location of the most recent Advocacy Advance Workshop The Advocacy Advance team flew down from D.C. in the wake of Sandy and biked with the workshop hosts around a city affected by the power of storms.

Despite – or because of – roads that are ripped up and unpaved, NOLA residents bike and walk the streets in flocks. New Orleans has the ninth highest bike commuter rate among large US cities. The New Orleans Regional Planning Commission (the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization – or “MPO”) has a Transportation Plan that aims to spend 10% of funds on bicycle and pedestrian facilities by 2040 – about $24 million per year. Maximizing available federal dollars are essential to meet that goal.

On November 1, sixty advocates, agency staff and elected officials came together to learn how to fund transportation infrastructure that is safe for all users. Joined by participants from Baton Rouge and Mississippi, discussion focused on bringing in more money with the new transportation bill to fund local biking and walking projects. The workshop was co-hosted by the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission (RPC) and the local advocacy organization Bike Easy.

“This Workshop provided a unique opportunity to bring together agency staff and the public to understand and highlight some exciting opportunities to take advantage of previously unused funding sources,” said Dan Jatres, Program Manager at the RPC.

Read more at AdvocacyAdvance.org.

 

We need your knowledge and expertise to show Congress and the nation that Bicycling Means Business. We’re looking for the very best speakers to present their insight and expertise at the 2013 National Bike Summit.

This year we’re looking for presentations on the following themes:

• Making the economic case for bicycling
• MAP-21 Implementation: Lessons learned
• Making cycling relevant in rural, small town and suburban communities
• Developing an effective strategy for the NEXT transportation bill

We’re also accepting proposals for sessions at the Women Mean Business event, hosted by the League’s new Women Bike program, on March 4 — immediately preceding the start of the Summit.

The Summit has a unique blend of participants from the bicycle advocacy community, the industry, and a wide variety of partners in health, environmental, transportation, and safety organizations. We’re looking for submissions that…

• are relevant to bicycle retailers, elected officials and advocates at the federal, state and local levels
• address equity and diversity in content and speakers
• are creative — thinking outside the box of boring Powerpoints and formulaic panel discussions

If you’re interested in presenting at the 2013 National Bike Summit, please complete this short online application by December 13.

Questions? Contact Katie@bikeleague.org.

 

Perhaps, the one bright spot in the devastation of Hurricane Sandy was the sight of so many bicycles providing mobility options to hard hit New York City. With the Subway flooded, long lines for gas and gridlock on the streets, residents of the Big Apple turned to two wheels to start piecing their lives back together.

Recycle-A-Bicycle, a community bike shop and youth training center with locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan, wasn’t immune to the destruction. The organization’s warehouse and job training center was inundated with three feet of water and the building was further damaged by an electrical fire. But, in the immediate aftermath of the storm, the advocates at RAB looked beyond their front doors first, using bicycles to provide relief to their neighbors.

As Helen Ho, RAB’s development director, explains:

Though we still have no heat at any of our locations, we are keeping our fingers warm by fixing up bikes for our partners and friends helping with hurricane relief.

Even now, the most impacted locations have no heat, water, power and very little cell phone service. Car are flooded, there is a severe gas shortage and bicycles can play an important role in delivering food, supplies, transportation and information. In Red Hook, Brooklyn, right now, bike messengers traveling from building to building are the primary way residents in the neighborhood are receiving information about where hot food and supplies are being distributed on a day to day basis.

In our own way we’re trying to make a contribution to our neighbors recovery. This week, we’ve delivered eight bikes, racks and baskets to two neighborhoods for food and supply distribution. This Saturday, we’ll be setting up a mobile bike shop in Red Hook. We’ve been actively talking to our partners about how to help and will continue to donate and repair bikes for organizations that need it.

Our thoughts are with the residents of New York City. If you want to help, support RAB’s efforts by donating here!

Earlier this week, I wrote about my trip down to Atlanta and my first night helping to organize and execute the Red, Bike and Green bike ride on Sweet Auburn Avenue. Well, after all the fanfare of Thursday night, Friday went by in a blaze. Saturday morning it was time to head off to the Georgia-lina Bike Summit in Augusta, Ga.

Statewide advocacy organizations Georgia Bikes and Palmetto Cycling Coalition in South Carolina decided to go in on a joint summit this year, extending the bike-friendliness across borders. The Summit was full of presentations and speeches from advocacy organizations, club leaders, businesses and local politicians about the importance of cycling and how to move this mode of transportation forward in the South. It was set to be a day filled with awesome bike knowledge.

With all great summits like this, there were so many great presentations and so little time to get to them all, so I scoped out the agenda and plotted my plan of attack.

Session on effective local advocacy? Check!

Presentation about Lionel Hampton MTB Park by ABC and IMBA-SORBA Atlanta? Check!

Economic Benefits of Cycling by Alta Planning + Design? Check!

Lunchtime keynote by Jeff Miller from the Alliance of Biking & Walking? Will there be brownies and sweet tea? Yes! Well check!

Women’s Cycling forum? Check, check and check!

This was going to be a busy day. I had my notes app on my tablet, iPhone camera and Hootsuite twitter account ready.

(more…)

I am delighted to announce that Caron Whitaker has accepted a position as Vice President of Government Relations, starting on December 1.

Caron has a tremendous track record of effective legislative work on Capitol Hill and at the state level, most recently as campaign manager for the America Bikes coalition. In that role, Caron has developed tremendous contacts and a huge amount of respect on Capitol Hill, as well as a great relationship with state and local bicycle advocacy leaders. Caron will continue the League’s critical role representing as the voice of cyclists in Washington DC, with an extra emphasis on connecting the Federal legislation to our members, affiliates and partner groups at the state and local level.

The new transportation bill passed in June of this year really demands a greater focus on state and local campaigns to invest in bicycling, thus Caron will be working closely with the Advocacy Advance team to boost our work in that area.

Welcome, Caron.

 

Guest post from Mary Lauran Hall, America Bikes

America Bikes, the national coalition of bicycling organizations dedicated to improving bicycling conditions in the U.S. through federal policy and investments, today announced a new role for Campaign Director Caron Whitaker.

For four years, Whitaker has led the coalition through the federal transportation bill’s prolonged reauthorization process, which culminated in the approval of a new two-year bill, MAP-21, in July. On December 1, she will become the Vice President of Government Relations for the League of American Bicyclists. Whitaker will continue as a lead contact for the America Bikes coalition.

All the member organizations that comprise America Bikes will work together in 2013 on MAP-21 implementation, DOT policy guidance, and other federal, state and local issues and opportunities that arise. The groups will also collaborate, where possible, to develop, refine and advance a shared platform and to advance long-term goals for bicycling.

The America Bikes coalition includes the Adventure Cycling Association, the Alliance for Biking & Walking, the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, Bikes Belong, the International Mountain Biking Association, the League of American Bicyclists and the National Center for Bicycling and Walking. Additionally, the coalition works in partnership with America Walks, the National Complete Streets Coalition, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, Transportation for America and other groups interested in growing the role of bicycling and walking through federal transportation policy.

 

The Bicycle Friendly Community program is so much more than giving out awards. There’s a greater goal behind our work: helping communities to become places where anyone can ride a bike safely and comfortably to almost any destination for transportation or recreation.

Certainly, the award recognition is important to the people on the ground, from the advocates pushing for better bike facilities, to the educators teaching Smart Cycling classes and city leaders working to improve economic sustainability and quality of life for citizens. But the BFA team is here to provide guidance and support as communities work to get on the BFC board — and move up the ranks.

St. Petersburg, Fla., is a perfect example of a community that’s attained a Bronze-level BFC designation but is continuing to work with the League to make biking an option for everyone. A few weeks back, I took a trip to the Sunshine State and got a chance to see all of the great work being done with Joe Kubicki, the city’s Director of Transportation and Parking Management and Cheryl Stacks, St. Petersburg’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator.

I was excited to see that the city is thinking beyond the self-identified bicyclist, to reach the kid going to school, the tourist going to the beach and the average person headed to the office. A Bronze-level BFC since 2006, the city has made strong and steady progress and is within striking distance of a Silver award.

With a bike program budget of more than $1 million annually, the city has been expanding the bicycling network, now at 109 miles of dedicated bike facilities, including bike lanes, shared-use paths and a downtown cycle track. In addition, the city has added hundreds of bike racks around town, offers regular bike commuting skills classes and has a growing bike culture with regular rides and events.

The best news is that all of these are giving St. Petersburg a return on investment. The new commuter numbers from U.S. Census Bureau show that, over the past 10 years, the percentage of people bicycling to work has more than doubled. The city now has a bicycle commuter rate three times the national average!

So much worth celebrating- Keep up the great work!

 

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