By Mary Lauran Hall, Communications Coordinator, America Bikes
For the past 20 years, the federal Transportation program has included dedicated funding for biking and walking. Over the course of twenty years and three federal transportation laws, federal support for bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure projects has slowly ticked upwards. As a result, more and more communities feature safe roads for people who travel on foot or by bicycle and more people are bicycling — there has been a 40% increase in bicycling from 2000 to 2009 and a surge in Bicycle Friendly Communities.
In 1992, Congress passed ISTEA, the first federal transportation bill to include funding for transit, biking, and walking. As each consecutive transportation bill passed and continued dedicated funding for biking and walking, funding increased from $23 million for 50 new projects in 1992 to $297 million dollars and 971 projects in 2000, to a record $1.2 billion dollars and 3010 projects in 2009.
However, recently there has been a drop in funding and projects — since 2009 — as a result of the decline in stimulus spending that was available for a limited period and uncertainty over the future of the programs. A similar phenomenon occurred between 1997 and 2005. Now, however, a new transportation bill threatens to eliminate federal support for biking and walking infrastructure all together.
Next Thursday, the House Transportation Committee will vote (see timeline) on the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, a bill that eliminates crucial funds for biking and walking. Representatives on the Transportation Committee are key positions to save dedicated funding for biking and walking.
The American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, the long awaited multi-year Transportation bill, eliminates the two largest programs that fund biking and walking infrastructure — Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Without these programs, communities all over the country will lose resources to build the sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that make biking and walking safe and accessible in communities across the country.
We can’t let that happen – take action now and ask your elected officials to preserve biking and walking.
Biking and walking are essential parts of everyday transportation in the U.S., and turning off federal funding for projects that keep Americans safe would represent a significant step backwards.
Federal funding for biking and walking keeps people safe. Two out of three pedestrian deaths take place on roads built with federal funding, and new sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways help end preventable deaths and make roads safer for everyone. Moreover, biking and walking make up 12 percent of all trips, but only 1.5 percent of all federal transportation funding.
America Bikes is working in conjunction with their partners to introduce an amendment that will preserve funding for biking and walking. During Thursday’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee vote in the House, Representatives will have the opportunity to pass this amendment to save biking and walking.
To learn more about this issue and keep up-to-date as the bill moves forward, visit americabikes.org. And please, don’t forget to take action and share the action alert to your fellow bicyclists.
The League of American Bicyclists is currently building a new local reviewer database for its Bicycle Friendly America (BFA) programs. The BFA program provides incentives, hands-on assistance, and award recognition for communities, businesses and universities that actively support bicycling. BFA award winners promote cycling by providing safe accommodations for cyclists, encourage people to bike for transportation and recreation, and provide educational opportunities for both cyclists and motorists.
If you are a regular cyclist, work with or for cyclists, or are otherwise knowledgeable about bike issues – please consider becoming a BFA local reviewer.
As a local reviewer, you may receive applications from communities, businesses and universities that you have specified. The time commitment of reviewing an application and providing input is approximately 30 min to 60 min and you will have 2-3 weeks to complete your review. Reviews are typically requested in February/March and July/August. All local reviews remain anonymous to allow for candid feedback.
Your input is very important to us and the BFA applicants. If you have been a local reviewer in the past or are knowledgeable about bike issues and would like to become a new reviewer, please sign-up here! Contact Nicole at Nicole@bikeleague.org if you have any questions.
Congratulations to Richmond, Va. for winning the 2015 World Cycling Championships – Tim Miller and the team down there did a fantastic job to persuade international cycling’s ruling body, the UCI, to bring their premier event to the historic capital of Virginia. And now the hard work really begins for the entire cycling community in Richmond and beyond!
Four years from now, the eyes of the international cycling community and, to some extent, the world’s media, will be on Richmond. Hundreds of top riders from around the globe will descend on the region for not just the week of the championships but for weeks, months and even years in advance as preparations are made and training is completed. They will bring with them thousands of fans, spectators, team support, sponsors, media – and a lot of them are going to be riding the courses and checking out the Richmond area by bike. If the event took place today, I’m not sure the cycling world would be that impressed! Richmond certainly isn’t Copenhagen, which is where this year’s event is just wrapping up (Go Wiggo and Cav!).
Richmond has got four years to get its cycling act together! Fortunately, the city has a new bike plan underway, a newly hired bike coordinator, and a supportive Mayor and city council. The timeline is tight, but Richmond has a unique opportunity to put itself permanently on the map as a great cycling city – as a destination and a more livable and sustainable city – by using the excitement and urgency of the world championships coming to town. The local cycling community has always been active, and as the state capital Richmond is home to the Virginia Bicycling Federation and Bike Walk Virginia who cover the advocacy, education, and encouragement side of things really well; but this requires a whole new level of action and commitment from local cyclists, businesses and the local bike industry.
Just two hours away, I am sure that we’ll be doing what we can to help. The Bicycle Friendly Community and Bicycle Friendly Business programs are ideal blueprints for Richmond to follow (in our opinion, of course), and there’s a vibrant college scene that could make good use of the Bicycle Friendly University game plan. So, Richmond, Game On! Make us all proud.
Andy Clarke League President
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.
The League of American Bicyclists announces a new round of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designations that includes 11 new and 14 renewing communities today at the Interbike Expo in Las Vegas, Nev. “The League congratulates all of our BFC winners for implementing successful, long‐term bicycle plans and programs that provide quality of life improvements for their citizens,” said League President Andy Clarke. “Cities are choosing investment in bicycling, even in tough economic times, as a key to building the places people want to live, work and visit.” There are now 190 BFCs in 46 states.
“We are proud of the roadmap that the Bicycle Friendly Community program provides for communities to build strong BFCs,” said Bill Nesper, Director of the League’s Bicycle Friendly America program. “We are especially pleased to see so many communities improving their award level.” New Orleans, La. has seen its number of bike commuters increase by more than 150% in the last five years. The city, which had received Honorable Mentions in three previous rounds, implemented the feedback we provided and received the bronze designation this time. New Orleans was recognized for their large biking population, bicycling education programs, a bicycling network that has tripled in length in the last three years and the strong bike culture seen in events like the NOLA Bike Bash.
In addition to the high percentage of new BFCs that had previously received no award or an Honorable Mention, more than half of the renewing BFCs moved to a higher award level including Breckenridge, Colo.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Steamboat Springs, Colo. and La Crosse, Wis.
The third annual Ontario Bike Summit — Moving Ontario Forward – Building Bicycle Friendly Communities — has been taking place the past two days in Ottawa. The theme is right-on too. Ontario’s Share the Road organization has been working to incorporate the Bicycle Friendly Community program into their region, and the summit is a means to get more cities and advocates in Ontario involved. Because the Bicycle Friendly Community program is new to Canada, the summit’s purpose was to teach advocates how to:
Develop a community cycling master plan
Work more effectively with local governments to advance cycling
Use data and research that will help “make the case” for enhanced cycling investments and programs
Learn about the infrastructure, education and awareness and legislative policies in Ontario to encourage cycling
Learn from example what other communities are doing in the areas of law enforcement initiatives – education and awareness – public health ideas, bicycle tourism?
Also in theme with the Summit, several Ontario Bicycle Friendly Communities were announced: Ottawa – Silver; Waterloo – Silver; Ajax – Bronze; Windsor – Bronze.
Find out more by following the live content from Ontario’s Cycle Citizen.
Meghan Cahill League Director of Communications
Cahill joined the League in December 2008 and has a BA in Media Communications with a concentration in Italian Studies from the College of Charleston.
To celebrate May asNational Bike Month, we asked League staff memberswhy they ride and how they made the most of Bike Month. Now that the calendar page has turned to June, we can look back on another successful Bike Month.
It is finally time to profile our fearless leader, League President Andy Clarke.
Hi, Andy. Another Bike Month is in the books. How did this year compare to Bike Months past?
I’m actually pretty excited by this year’s level of activity. Bike Month has been around for decades; it’s part of the calendar for a lot of clubs and advocacy groups and there’s always activity…yet we’ve never really capitalized on that with major national sponsors and participants. We’re still waiting for a national sponsor, but this year everyone from AAA to WalMart was doing something special for Bike Month. And here in DC the local Bike to Work Day soared to 11,000 participants, up from a record 9,000 the year before.
What’s your all-time favorite Bike Month memory?
Wow, that’s really a tough one – sad to say I’ve been through more than a few Bike Months in the USA now and even had a hand in three National Bike Week’s in the UK many moons ago. I’ll certainly never forget the sight of three [bipartisan] MPs and one Lord being bunny-hopped by a BMX rider at the kick-off event of one of those Bike Week’s! About five years ago, I remember the DC Bike to Work Day was marked by the most torrential rainstorm – I mean two inches of rain fell between 6am and 9am, it was ridiculous. I loved doing Bike New York one year…nope, it’s too hard to choose.
You traveled a lot this Bike Month. What did you see across the country? What impressed you most?
Lots of very encouraging work going on in communities and businesses to become more bike friendly – but I’d have to say the energy and enthusiasm generated by students at the University of Oregon and Arizona (in Eugene and Tucson respectively) was fantastic to see; and I think that’s why their Bicycle Friendly University awards were picked up by the University President himself in both cases. Tucson’s fledgling Living Streets Alliance is breathing new life into that region’s quest for “platinum” BFC status, and it looks as if Eugene is going get back to being a leading US bicycling community as it was in the 1980s. That’s exciting to see.
Now that May is over, what can people do to continue the spirit of Bike Month all year long?
Simply keep riding; that’s the best advocacy of all.
As League President, what are you most proud of that the League has accomplished in the last several years?
This is more difficult than any of the interviews I’ve done for Bike Month. I’m really proud that the League is playing its part in the broader bicycling movement – the ever-expanding National Bike Summit, the blueprint provided by the Bicycle Friendly America programs, our education program are all contributing a lot and doing really well. Overall, the effectiveness and impact of the bike industry and advocacy groups has increased ten-fold in recent years, which is good because we have a lot still to do.
What are the biggest challenges facing bicycling advocates right now? What do we have going for us?
Well, we still struggle for relevance and are too easily overlooked, dismissed or short-changed in critical policy, funding and planning decisions in communities across the country – I’d have to say that’s especially true at the state level. What makes this so frustrating is the incredible value-for-money and cost-effectiveness that cycling offers in helping to solve so many of today’s challenges at the individual, local, state, regional and national level. But I remain optimistic we can effectively make the case for bicycling and that we’ll look back on 2011 as the year the bicycling light bulb went off in enough heads to really make a difference.
When and why do you ride your bike?
Mostly to and from work – it’s about 12 or 13 miles each way, so that hopefully keeps me in good enough shape that I don’t embarrass myself riding with our clubs or touring Bicycle Friendly Communities. I rode around 25 miles in Tucson a couple of weeks ago looking at their urban trail loop and was able to keep up! Beyond that, I like everything from riding with my daughter to school to tackling stages of the Tour de France (thanks, Trek Travel).
What’s the longest ride you’ve ever done?
Longest ride is probably cross country…although that was when I was living in England, so Lands End to John O Groats isn’t quite the same as Oregon to Virginia. I’ve done similar rides of about 1,000 miles – Tuscany back to the UK; Washington DC to Chattanooga with tent and the whole works.
What tips do you have for new bike commuters?
One word. Panniers. Forget the backpack and stylish messenger bag for anything other than a really short commute. Invest in a decent rack and bag to carry your stuff.
What do you typically wear to ride?
My daily commute is just a little too long for street clothes, so I’ll typically wear a t-shirt and bike shorts. For longer rides, the magical properties of lycra and chamois work for me, and I have no problem riding around town or to the stores in street clothes. Not something that’s a big deal or issue for me.
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.
Next up is Bill Nesper,Director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program.
Hi Bill, this is your ninth Bike Month with the League. How have you seen the event change over the years?
I think the biggest thing has been the growth in the number of communities and businesses that are promoting National Bike Month. There are a lot of creative ways to do it, too. Bike Month offers all sorts of opportunities for communities, states, businesses and universities to promote bicycling, from simply proclaiming May as Bike Month to community rides and offering incentives to cyclists. Everybody can find a way to celebrate.
What are you enjoying about this year’s Bike Month?
I am enjoying seeing social networking become such big tool for organizing and promoting events. Already this month we have seen tons of events popup on our event calendar.
You can follow Bike Month on Twitter with #BikeMonth.
As the director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program, can you give a few examples of cities that really impress you with their Bike Month festivities?
Lots of public officials participate in Bike Month events. Any notable examples?
A big Bike Month highlight for me so far was kicking off Bike Month in Minneapolis at the Active Living Bike Expo where I presented Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak with the Gold Bicycle Friendly Community designation. Mayor Rybak is a real champion for bicycling and has made the city a model – in a all-weather environment. One cool thing he has done is compete as a bike commuter in the city’s Commuter Challenge – see the video (warning: It’s long and shaky).
When and why do you ride your bike?
Biking for me has always been primarily about transportation, first as a teen getting the freedom to get out by myself to now getting to work, going to the store and transporting my two year-old to the better playgrounds in other neighborhoods. I have to add that there was a period of childhood recreational riding which was based on making ramps to jump on the street in front of my house.
What’s the longest ride you’ve ever done?
I don’t want to point any fingers but my longest rides are those done in places where bicyclists are not accommodated or worse, driven out of the transportation system by angry drivers, poor planning/engineering, etc. We all know these places.
Happier answer: A century…ehem, metric century that is. Sixty-something miles at El Tour de Tucson a few years back.
What tips do you have for new bike commuters?
If you want to be a bike commuter, make a commuting buddy who is already doing it in your neighborhood or workplace give you the lowdown. Bikeleague.org is great for learning important riding tips and finding a cycling class near you. Also, it is important to be visible but do not worry so much about what you wear. If you like Lycra go for it, if you like riding in a sport coat or dress, or whatever, go for it. Lastly, if you want to commute and your town is really not giving you what you need, show up at council meetings, write letters, find an advocacy group near you to join and use the Bicycle Friendly Community program as a roadmap for improvement.
What do you know now that you wish you knew before you started to ride frequently?
Most trips that we make are pretty short and easy to do on a bike. Honestly, my nine-mile commutes, which are the biggest trips of my week, take about 35 minutes and I feel great when I get there.
What do you typically wear to ride?
For my work commute, I usually wear shorts and a tee shirt (add a couple layers and wind pants/jacket in the colder months) and change when I get there.
For most other trips I wear what I am going to want to be in when I get there.
Thanks, Bill!
Darren Flusche League Policy Analyst
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.
The Minnesota winter can’t stop them: Minneapolis receives the Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community designation
The best biking cities of the East race toward Gold: Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. all receive Silver-level designations
The League of American Bicyclists announced the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designations today to kick off May as National Bike Month. This was one of the strongest groups of applicants we’ve seen with a lot of solid projects and programs from communities all across the country – from 1,200 people in Sisters, Ore. to more than 8 million in New York City. Twenty-one communities received awards, out of 45 new applicants. Minneapolis, Minn. earned a gold-level award, the highest award of this round. “We are thrilled to see Minneapolis reach a gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community designation,” said Bill Nesper, director of the League’s Bicycle Friendly America Program. “The city’s great investments in bike lanes, bicycling safety education, and encouragement programs have paid off for its residents. In fact, communities across the country are now looking at Minneapolis as a model.”
Under the leadership of Mayor R.T. Rybak, Minneapolis was first designated as silver-level BFC in May 2008. “We’ve made a deliberate effort to be one of the nation’s top bicycling cities, and those investments mean we have more and more ways for people to commute and experience the city on two wheels,” said Mayor Rybak. Thanks to the city’s efforts, Minneapolis has doubled its number of bicycle commuters over the last nine years, placing it behind only Portland, Ore. among the largest cities in the U.S.-no small feat for a city with a notoriously harsh winter.
East Coast Cities Earn Silver Designations and Race to Gold
To date the Eastern United states has had very few silver-level Bicycle Friendly Communities and no gold-level BFCs. That’s beginning to change. Today, the League of American Bicyclists gave Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C. silver- BFC designations. The cities are now competing to be the first to earn gold.
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.
But what if you could use your love of bicycling to guide your choices and possibly lead you to bracketological glory? Well, that’s where the official 2011 Bicycle Friendly America Bracket Guide comes in. Thanks to our new Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) Program, we can tell you which schools are champions of bicycle-friendliness.
The first ever Bicycle Friendly Universities were announced last week at the National Bike Summit. Five of the 20 Bicycle Friendly Universities made it to the tournament, along with four campuses that received an Honorable Mention. To make sure we had representation from each region on the bracket, for tie-breakers, and to make things more interesting, we also consider Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) status and whether the campus is a Bicycle Friendly Businesses (BFB).
We put all this data into our computers – we have a room full of statisticians on hand just for this purpose – and arrived at the dead-on, can’t miss, sure thing Bicycle Friendly Final Four.
Before we show you the results, let’s see how BFU’s are distributed across the bracket’s regions. All predictions are based solely on bicycle-friendliness. We’ll leave basketball predictions to ESPN. Note that Bicycle Friendly University status is favored over Business and Community recognition in our predictions.
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.
Just last week I was treated to a bike tour from the city’s Acting Bicycle Program Coordinator Hayes Lord. Though I’m a frequent visitor of the city, and there seems to be new pathway or separated lane each time I go. On this particular tour, Hayes showed me the 1st and 2nd Avenue separated lanes that were still being installed as we rode by. There is no doubting the impact these types of facilities are having in drawing out new cyclists. That draw is part of the reason for new political support in addressing safety and throughout the city.
While the separated facilities in Manhattan often receive the most attention, NYC DOT has been busy installing and mapping a variety of infrastructure treatments. Using all the tools in their toolbox they’ve helped make it possible to safely bike in all 5 boroughs via low trafficked streets, a system of sharrows and routes, access across bridges, cycletracks, and other separated facilities as well as standard bike lanes. Clarence Eckerson Jr. of Street Films has a great new video showing how his commute uses a mixture of these facilities and how they work.
How does this compare to your commute where you live? Are there examples in the video that could translate into your community?
Jeff Peel State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Peel joined the League in March 2008 as a Program Specialist for the Bicycle Friendly Communities program. Peel has a BA in American Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi.
I’ve been poring over the 2009 American Community Survey numbers this morning, looking at the 70 largest U.S. cities and their bike to work data. Notwithstanding my colleague Darren’s caveats about the limitations of the data, all of which are valid and important to remember, it’s pretty interesting to see what’s happening at the 60,000 foot level.
For example, some of the “better” cities were worried that after a year of phenomenal growth in 2008, the numbers would look bad in 2009. That didn’t really happen – Portland and Minneapolis dropped 2% and 10% respectively but are still well ahead of the pack of large cities; Portland’s change is well within the margin of error of the survey; and their long term trends are both still really impressive! Overall, it was encouraging to see that there was no decline given many predictions that use would return to its pre-gas price hike level.
From a Bicycle Friendly Community perspective, we were glad to see that some of our newer awardees consolidated their status with good growth: new bronze’s Pittsburgh (76%), Baltimore (72%), Indianapolis (62%), and Tulsa (50%) all posted impressive gains in 2009, as did San Antonio at 25%. There were BIG increases posted in existing BFCs like Colorado Springs (166%) and Lexington, Ky. (137%) and some similarly whopping increases in un-designated cities that are perhaps more surprising – look at Atlanta (111%), Dallas (219%), Raleigh (122%) and Virginia Beach (192%) among the surprises. We weren’t so surprised to see New Orleans (174%), Omaha (151%), Kansas City (53%) and Boston (36%) on the list, as we know how hard they are trying to get on the leader board.
Again, all these numbers are relative. Try finding a Dutch city with a 5.81% mode share for bikes (Portland’s U.S. chart-topping 2009 number); if there is one, it would be considered terribly bike-hostile and would probably be disowned (or given to the Belgians)!
Another thing I looked for: how are my tips for “cities to watch” in the next couple of years doing? Long Beach had a year of consolidation with 6% growth; San Francisco moved ahead of Sacramento with ten percent growth, and would have had Salt Lake City (SLC) right behind them if the latter was just a little bit bigger. Recently upgraded silver level SLC had a 2.65% bike mode share but isn’t one of the 70 largest cities.
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.
The League announced 18 new Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC) and eight renewing BFCs at the Pro Walk/Pro Bike Conference yesterday, September 15. See the complete list of BFCs here.
“The most exciting thing about this round of awards was seeing communities that had implemented past feedback, improved their communities, and achieved a Bicycle Friendly Community designation,” said Andy Clarke, League president.
The third time was the charm for the Charm City, Baltimore, Md. and Knoxville, Tenn. Both received the bronze designation after previously receiving the Honorable Mention the past two times they applied. Other communities climbing the BFC ranks this round include Bloomington, Ind. and Carrboro, N.C., all of which moved from Bronze to Silver designations. Denver, Colo. is another thrilling success story – they rejoined the ranks of silver communities after having been downgraded to bronze for the past five years.
Every round of Bicycle Friendly Community applications seems to have its own story. The last couple of rounds, for example, have seen some really encouraging applications from a whole bunch of larger mid-western cities who are getting with the program – rather than the plethora of smaller western college-towns that dominated some of the earlier rounds. The emergence of communities with really strong mountain bike and off-road credentials enlivened the program beginning a couple of years ago.
We’ve just been poring over no fewer than 48 new and eight renewal applications from the latest round of contenders, which is actually a story unto itself as we continue to see a better than 20 percent annual growth in applicants. The issue that struck me is that for some reason this set of applicants included a lot of places that have been handed some great assets of which they honestly aren’t taking very good advantage. Without naming names – because a) you have to wait til the official announcement of the latest BFCs in a couple of weeks, and b) we don’t publish the list of unsuccessful applicants – we saw communities with perfect year-round weather, well-educated and wealthy populations, large student populations, and relatively dense land use patterns (sometimes several of these attributes). Santa Barbara, Calif. ; Davis, Calif.; and Boulder, Colo. are examples of BFCs that are really taking advantage of these kinds of assets.
We heard from places with well-established and extensive bikeway networks; all manner of great rides and events; pancake-flat terrain; and even some with already high (by US standards) levels of bike use…and yet I found myself wondering why two or three times more people weren’t out riding in these places. They could be SO much better.
Fortunately, one of the other great storylines from the BFC program is that communities are generally hungry for the feedback we give them – regardless of whether they get an award of some kind or not. So I expect that the feedback to a lot of places this time around will be along the lines of “look around you, see how good you’ve got it, let’s figure out how to step up and take advantage of these things”, so that a year or two from now I’ll be writing “wow, look at all these gold and platinum level communities.”
Andy Clarke League President
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.
The League is proud to be a Gold Level sponsor of this year’s Pro Walk/Pro Bike Conference taking place September 13-17. Bronze Level BFC Chattanooga, TN will be hosting the biennial conference. Along with sharing information on the League’s programs to participants from our booth, we’ll be taking part in several plenaries, panel discussions and workshops on connecting offroad riding opportunities to traditional bicycle networks, creating bicycle friendly work places, Bicycle Friendly Communities, state DOT bicycle programs, distracted driving and federal transportation policy. You can see the full list of program items here.
Though the conference is quickly approaching, it’s not too late to sign up. As added incentive, all panel presentations are now qualified for AICP continuing education credit. This not only speaks to the importance and timing of our work in the planning field, but offers added incentive for your community’s planning staff to participate.
Jeff Peel State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Peel joined the League in March 2008 as a Program Specialist for the Bicycle Friendly Communities program. Peel has a BA in American Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Portland is justifiably one of only three platinum level Bicycle Friendly Communities we’ve designated in the United States; they are rightly proud of that designation and thankfully not at all inclined to rest on their laurels. That’s a good thing, because there are some big cities snapping at their heels ready to take away their crown. Minneapolis actually has equally high levels of bike use; New York City has been transformed for cycling in the past two years; Seattle is always looking to outdo their neighbors to the south! But, perhaps the biggest threat comes from San Francisco…because after four years on an enforced hold, the city is about to implement an ambitious bike plan faster than you can imagine.
Last week, an injunction was lifted on the city that had prevented any engineering improvements for cycling on city streets. I wont go into the gory details of the folly of the injunction and the irony of the reasons for it even being granted – its more important now to focus on the tremendous opportunity we all now have to see a big US city really go to town on improving conditions for cyclists. It’s actually going to provide a really interesting case study, just as it has for the past few years when education and encouragement had to take center stage and did a fantastic job of getting more people riding in the city even without any new infrastructure.
San Francisco can now show us how to become a truly bike-friendly community in less than the 40 years it took Copenhagen to be so transformed; in less than the 20 years it took Portland to reach the dizzy heights of platinum and the moniker as America’s best biking city. This is going to be fun to watch. The momentum for cycling in San Francisco is going to shift dramatically; they are going to be able to use more innovative designs and do more experimentation that will help move every U.S. city forward in the future.
Its going to be a great ride and a great thing to see happen. Watch out Portland!
Andy Clarke League President
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.
Last Friday marked the summer deadline for Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) and Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) applications. These programs are a part of our Bicycle Friendly America program, which also includes Bicycle Friendly States and, coming soon, Bicycle Friendly Colleges and Universities. The BFC and BFB programs have grown successfully since 2003 and 2008, respectively. Check out our our Bicycle Friendly America site and map to see profiles of the communities and businesses that currently hold the designation.
This round, with 52 communities and 105 businesses applying, marks a record in the number of applicants in both program!
Bicycle Friendly Community
The two rounds in 2010 have seen a 25 percent increase in applicant communities from the two rounds in 2009. This growth represents a broader range of cities and towns that are realizing the value of being bicycle friendly and making changes in this direction. These communities are located in states including: Mississippi, Maryland, New Mexico, New Jersey, Tennessee and Texas. The range in populations spans from less than 2,000 to more than 800,000. This impressive array of communities both big and small, east coast and west coast, rural and urban have uniquely incorporated bicycle infrastructure, educational programs, and bicycle master plans.
Bicycle Friendly Business
There was a 50 percent increase in applications this round as compared to the Winter 2010 term. This pool of businesses and organizations reached far beyond the bicycle industry to include medical centers, software companies, federal government agencies, city governments, commercial real estate firms, pharmaceuticals, food services and architectural firms. Employers across the country are installing bike racks and showers, organizing company rides and offering bike commuting compensation to their employees– whether doctor, construction worker, engineer or waiter.
We look forward to reviewing these applications and seeing some of the innovative ways that bikes are being incorporated into America’s communities and businesses. Check back in the fall for the announcement of award winners.
Carly Sieff League Bicycle Friendly America Program Assistant
Sieff joined the League in April 2010 with a Bachelors in Urban Studies and Science & Society from Brown University.
The League of American Bicyclists is proud to announce 16 new Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC), five renewing BFCs and 19 Honorable Mentions. As we have seen in the last few cycles, the majority of the new BFCs are in the East and Midwest – three quarters of the awarded communities are east of the Mississippi River. Additionally, two new states now have designated BFCs: Newark, Del. and Simsbury, Conn. “Communities from all areas of the country, climates and populations see bicycling as an integral component of building livable communities. The Bicycle Friendly Community program is recognizing those leading the way,” said Andy Clarke, League President.
The explosive growth of the BFC Program demonstrates how communities across the country see the importance of promoting bicycling to improve public health, improve quality of life, protect the environment and provide better transportation choices. Exciting work is being done to improve conditions for cycling countrywide, and the growth in the quality of bicycling efforts can be seen in the number of Honorable Mentions given out this round. “We are excited to see the level of interest and quality of programs. We look forward to partnering with these communities to improve conditions for cycling,” said Bill Nesper, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America program. “We want these communities to move up the ranks of the program, and our staff is dedicated to providing assistance to awarded and aspiring Bicycle Friendly Communities.” Every community that applies receives a bicycle-friendly roadmap, feedback on how to improve conditions for cycling. The roadmap is working. This round saw several communities returning after implementing previous feedback with good results. Rochester, Minn. moved from an Honorable Mention received in 2006 to a Bronze-level BFC, and two communities Salt Lake City, Utah and Flagstaff, Ariz. moved up from Bronze to Silver.
Under the leadership of Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, a regular cyclist, the city has moved from their 2007 Bronze designation to Silver. “We have seen notable results of Salt Lake City’s commitment to increasing bikeways and creating solutions for alternative modes of transportation,” said Becker. They have used the program and now Salt Lake City has a comprehensive approach to accommodating and welcoming cyclists, and the city’s percentage of bicycle commuters continues to grow – 4 times the national average.
Flagstaff, Ariz. also moved up from their 2006 Bronze designation to Silver. The community is known for its commitment to investing in cycling and encouragement efforts, such as the citywide commuter challenge, the world-class Flagstaff Urban Trails System and 200 miles of singletrack.
The BFC program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress and work toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. The application process to become a BFC is rigorous; currently only 140 of the 359 total applicants have a BFC four-year designation. The renewal process and four levels of the award – platinum, gold, silver and bronze – provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve. The new and expanded BFC program began at the League in 1995, and in the past 15 years it has evolved into the tool it is today – evaluating, recognizing and improving cities, states and businesses.
The Bicycle Friendly Community, Bicycle Friendly State, and Bicycle Friendly Business programs are generously supported by program partners Bikes Belong and Trek Bicycle’s One World, Two Wheels Campaign. To learn more, visit bicyclefriendlycommunity.org.
The New York Times reported today on new cycling counts in New York City that estimate the number of daily New York City cyclists at 236,000. As it happens, this comes the same day an advance copy of a new case study on bicycling in New York City landed in my inbox. Cycling in New York(PDF), by bicycling researchers John Pucher, Lewis Thorwaldson, Ralph Buehler, and Nicholas Klein, will be published in World Transport Policy and Practice this summer.
The report tracks trends in demographics (age and gender), safety, the bicycle facility network (including the new cycle tracks and green lanes), bike parking, bikes on transit and the city’s education and promotion efforts.
The report supports the growth reported by today’s Times article:
“Both the US Census data and NYC DOT indicator show a gradual increase in cycling levels from 1990 to 2000 but show accelerated growth after 2000, especially after 2005. As noted later, that spur in cycling was encouraged by a massive expansion in cycling infrastructure throughout the city, but especially in the core areas with the highest cycling levels.”
There are a number of good visuals to check out. Here’s a sample. The first shows the neighborhoods with the highest share of bike commuting residents.
The second shows that in all boroughs, women more often ride on multi-use paths over on-street facilities.
UPDATE: Added some additional images. The first below describes the growth in bicycle facilities in New York City by type. Order from top: route (green) , on-street (red) , path (blue).
This next graph shows bike commuter levels by borough (order from the top: Staten Island, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan).
New York's Grand Central Terminal (Photo: John Pucher)
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.
Yesterday was Earth Day and May is National Bike Month, so I’m sure many of you are thinking about how you could positively contribute to mother Earth and drive less, right? Bicycling is the answer of course, and the bright future of bike-sharing will make it all the more easier to bike those 2-mile or less trips. Bike-sharing exploded in Europe and has finally reached stateside – first with Smart Bike D.C. and now with B-Cycles debuting in Denver, Colo. this week (reported by Thrillist).
Photo by Caroline Cahill
The Bike-share concept is one of ease and convenience: pick up a bike at a local bike-share station, run your errands, and drop off the bike at ANY bike-share station in the city. B-cycles has now made it even easier, more informative and fun. They have membership options ranging from 24-hour to yearly, membership includes a universal swipe card, the bikes are Trek GPS-enabled cruisers, and the bikes log data on your personal B-cycle account page: length/duration of each ride, your carbon offset, and how many calories you’ve burned. Basically, B-cycle has stepped up the American bike-share concept.
If you’re jealous of Denver and all of its awesome GPS, data tracking bike-sharing, visit bcycle.com and vote for your city to be the next B-cyle location. You could be the next lucky person riding their shiny silver bikes, complete with basket, and visiting their tricked-out wireless, solar powered stations.
Meghan Cahill League Director of Communications
Cahill joined the League in December 2008 and has a BA in Media Communications with a concentration in Italian Studies from the College of Charleston.
Just in case you didn’t believe us that League President Andy Clarke visited Long BEach, CA, last week, LA Streetsblog has provided photographic evidence (and a nice write-up of the visit).
(Photo credit: Drew Reed/ LA Loyalist) Andy points to a local example of well executed bicycle planning
Darren Flusche League Policy Analyst
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.
… but also wonders how replicable a model it is. Here’s the article.
Credit: AP via the Economist
Naturally in an article about Portland, biking gets a prominent mention:
The environment is also the main theme of public policy. The biggest force in local politics is not a party (Democrats in effect rule without opposition) but cyclists. The bike lanes are impressive and getting even better now as streets get “bioswales”, patches of turf and shrub that capture and filter storm water and simultaneously calm traffic and separate pedestrians and cyclists from the Priuses. Those who can’t bike are encouraged to use public transport, which is free downtown.
Darren Flusche League Policy Analyst
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.
League President Andy Clarke was just out in Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community Long Beach, CA. getting a tour of the local bike facilities from mobility coordinator Charlie Gandy. But you don’t have to go out to sunny SoCal to take a look at what they’re doing for bicyclists. Check out this new video from StreetFilms.
Darren Flusche League Policy Analyst
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.
The League of American Bicyclists announces 51 new Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) award winners at the 10th Anniversary National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., March 10. “The League is especially excited to recognize the 2010 winter BFB winners at the 10th Anniversary National Bike Summit,” said Andy Clarke. “The BFB program, along with the Summit, marks the progress the bike movement and business world has made to make bicycling a viable form of transportation and an integral element to happy, healthy and productive employees.”
BFB recipients include nine gold winners: Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin; Dero Bike Rack Company; Mercy General Hospital; Planet Bike; Specialized Bicycle Components; The Hub of Detroit; Trek Bicycle Corporation; University of California, Santa Barbara; and Wheel & Sprocket, Inc.
This round of Bicycle Friendly Businesses was distinctive because of the geographic location of awarded businesses. The majority of winners are located in the Midwest – further proving that you can bike to work regardless of climate and that any state, community or business can be bicycle-friendly – and were from a varied group of businesses. “This group represented a broad range of industries, from world renowned technology firms and hoteliers to hospital and non-profits,” said Bill Nesper, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program. “These Bicycle Friendly Businesses, are clearly making a difference for employees, customers, and communities.” Winners include not only bicycle-related businesses but companies like Ameriprise Financial, Corporate Headquarters; PayPal, Inc.; and International Business Machines-IBM Rochester, MN – all three with 3,000-plus employees.
There are a lot of very simple, effective and creative ways that companies are finding to get people back on their bikes, and the League is proud to recognize the efforts of working America to make our nation a more bike-friendly place. Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, Calif., has reduced the number of parking spaces they need at the hospital by convincing people to ride their bikes to work. “We determined that it was less expensive to pay people to ride their bike to work than to add more parking spaces,” said Dave Brandeberry, Manager of Mercy General Hospital’s Cycling Program.
Companies across the country are realizing that getting their employees moving – either to or from work, in course of work, or even in their own time – is good for business. The BFB program provides a roadmap to all businesses that apply, providing a step-by-step plan to further improve their bicycle friendliness.
This is the fourth time BFB winners have been named since the program’s inception in 2008, marks the ongoing success of the program and continued momentum amongst businesses to provide a more bike-friendly environment. Applying for BFB recognition is easy and free. Applicants receive technical assistance from the League staff as well as tools to evaluate and assess their bicycle friendliness through the application process. The BFB application is available online at www.bicyclefriendlybusiness.org. Click here to see our winter 2010 winners. Click here to see a complete list of winners.
The Bicycle Friendly Community and Bicycle Friendly Business programs are generously supported by program partners Bikes Belong and Trek Bicycle’s One World, Two Wheels Campaign.
Meghan Cahill League Director of Communications
Cahill joined the League in December 2008 and has a BA in Media Communications with a concentration in Italian Studies from the College of Charleston.
The League of American Bicyclists is proud to be the forum for Google to announce what all bike riders have been waiting for – Grab Your Bike and Go with Google Maps. Google is announcing at the Opening Plenary Session at the National Bike Summit that they are adding biking directions in the U.S. to Google Maps. “This new tool will open people’s eyes to the possibility and practicality of hopping on a bike and riding,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “We know people want to ride more, and we know it’s good for people and communities when they do ride more – this makes it possible. It is a game-changer, especially for those short trips that are the most polluting,”
Users can now choose biking when deciding how to get to their destination, starting today, March 10, 2010. If you’re one of the 57 million Americans who ride a bike, mapping your daily commute, and planning recreational or trail rides just became easier. According to Google this has been the most requested addition to Google Maps, and the League is delighted that they have chosen the National Bike Summit to unveil this new feature. Google’s announcement further proves the importance of the Summit and the bicycle movement in helping our nation become a more Bicycle Friendly America. The Google biking directions will make it that much easier for bicyclists to get to work, school or play.
This new feature includes: step-by-step bicycling directions; bike trails outlined directly on the map; and a new “Bicycling” layer that indicates bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly roads. The directions feature provides step-by-step, bike-specific routing suggestions – similar to the directions provided by our driving, walking, or public transit modes. Simply enter a start point and destination and select “Bicycling” from the drop-down menu. You will receive a route that is optimized for cycling, taking advantage of bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly streets and avoiding hilly terrain whenever possible.
Visit http://maps.google.com/biking to try out this new feature. Biking directions for Google Maps is currently in Beta. Follow the League’s news feed on the new Google feature on the League’s Blog, Facebook and Twitter. If you have any further questions, contact Meghan Cahill at 202.822.1333 or meghan@bikeleague.org. Also, download and share our press release here.
Meghan Cahill League Director of Communications
Cahill joined the League in December 2008 and has a BA in Media Communications with a concentration in Italian Studies from the College of Charleston.
Dapper dandies and elegance over exertion, indeed. Kansas City’s first-ever Tweed Ride will take place on April 3, 2010. In the spirit of “The Golden Age of Bicycles” the Groody Bros. Bicycle Restoration Project is organizing this inaugural Kansas City event. We worked a bit with Bill Poindexter to support the event and now we’re excited to see it take over Kansas City for the day!
Riders will be dressed in their finest turn of the century era wools, tweeds, silks and argyles. Riders will also have the opportunity to be judged and awarded prizes based on appearance, authenticity, originality, and creativity.
Tweed rides have been organized around the world and in cities across the nation since the early 1900’s. Check out Washington DC’s inaugural Tweed Ride on November 15, 2009.
Wouldn’t it be great to be paid to ride your bike!? Well, hop in the saddle because that is what many businesses across the nation are doing – paying their employees to commute by bicycle. Your two wheels are now recognized by the IRS as a “qualified transportation fringe benefit” which means that the costs (up to $20/month, $240/year) associated with riding your bike are eligible for reimbursement. Things like spare tubes, bar tape, riding gloves, eye wear, cycling clothes, commuter bags, rain gear, lights, gloves, helmet, cost of maintenance, even the cost of a new commuter bike, basically anything you can purchase at a bike shop qualifies for reimbursement.
The Bicycle Commuter Benefit has been on the books since January 1, 2009, and more and more businesses are starting to use it! Through our Bicycle Friendly Business program we have compiled a list of businesses – big, small, east coast, west coast, and everywhere in between – that are encouraging pedaling through this benefit. Take a look at thelist of BFB applicants who offer the benefit. This list is just a sample of participating businesses. There are a lot more out there. If you are aware of any we didn’t include, let us know. We’ll add them to the list. To learn more about how your business can implement the benefit visit our Commuter Benefit FAQs page.
~Ailson Dewey
Program Specialist, Bicycle Friendly America
Ever want to know how your city and state stack up compared to others in levels of bicycling and walking? Or which state has the lowest rate of bicycle and pedestrian fatalities? Or how your state’s laws treat bicyclists compared to others? If so, you don’t want to miss Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2010 Benchmarking Reportfrom the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking (formerly Thunderhead Alliance). There’s a ton of useful information here for state and local advocates, researchers, and numbers-oriented cyclists. It is an ambitious project – gathering existing data on bicycling and walking – and adding original survey data. It is also a beautiful product. The PDF download is free, but get your hands on a hardcopy if you can.
The Benchmarking report provides information on programs and statistics for the 50 states, as such it is good companion to the League’s state ranking – see the Bicycle Friendly State Rankings by category. It also includes some graphs that illustrate some key correlations.
Let’s start with the obvious. The share of bicycling and walking to work in a state is strongly correlated with the share of the adult population that gets at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. The percent of people that walk and bike to work is still small compared to the populations that meet these minimums, so rather than concluding causation, it appears that the factors that impact bicycling levels – policies, infrastructure, land use, culture – also impact overall physical activity. The commuters who are walking and biking to work probably help the physical activity numbers as well.
Speaking of land use, on average, cities with higher densities have higher levels of bicycling and walking. New Orleans is a notable outlier on the right side of the graph with a high bike/walk mode share and (currently) low density. You could spend a day thinking about the individual cases, but the overall pattern holds up well statistically (r=0.67).
Now it is excuse-busting time. Notice that when I listed the factors that influence bicycling and walking levels above, I didn’t mention weather. That’s because weather doesn’t appear to matter as much as people would often like to believe. You may already know that the hardy folks in Canada bicycle more than those of in the county immediately to their south. The Benchmarking researchers compared bicycling levels to average summer and winter temperatures and didn’t find any statistically significant results. Alaska, for example, posts a significantly higher bicycling mode share than states like Arkansas, North Carolina, Delaware, and Missouri. Cold states such as Minnesota, Idaho, Montana and Maine also manage relatively high mode shares.
Finally, the report includes another safety in numbers-style graph. Often you see these graphs for one city with an increasing bicycling rate and decreasing crash rate over time, or they will compare European cities. This graph presents a cross-sectional look at the fifty U.S. states and fatalities per 10,000 cyclists. Again, you can see that, on average, states with higher rates of cycling have lower fatality rates.
These are just a few examples of the topics covered in the report. I’ve been thinking of the proper analogy to describe the benchmarking report. The Farmer’s Almanac comes to mind. But a book of baseball statistics may be a better analogy. If you were to start a bike-friendly fantasy league, like the baseball and football fantasy leagues out there, this would be your go-to resource. Consider it, you and your friends draft cities that you think will most improve on their bike-to-work mode share in the next year. Is Portland, Ore. going to continue its growth? Is Nashville, Tenn. set to have a breakout year? The Benchmarking report offers a complete look at the state of bicycling in each of the United States and could hold that statistical nugget that will lead your fantasy bicycle-friendly community team to victory. But I digress…Be one of the hundreds who have downloaded the full Benchmarking Report.
Thank you to Kristen Steele of the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking for the Jpegs.
Darren Flusche League Policy Analyst
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.
It is four days before Christmas; and if you live in the mid-Atlantic/Northeast, you might be trapped in your house, surrounded by 20 inches of snow, and unable to visit the nearest mall. That might be a little disheartening if you haven’t had your chance to visit Santa and get your mall-Santa photo but fear not! The League of American Bicyclists has great, online gift ideas for you!
1) Buy your loved ones a bike! Purchase a Trek, and you will indirectly support the League. Trek graciously supports League programs and initiatives. As part of Trek’s One World, Two Wheels campaign, Trek donates $1 to the League’s Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) program for every Trek helmet sold in the U.S., for a total three-year commitment of more than $1 million.
2) Give the gift of League membership! In addition to receiving the premier publication American Bicyclists for cyclists and bicycle advocates, education and industry leaders, your loved ones will become part of the growing bicycle movement, supporting a Bicycle Friendly America and will have access to advocacy updates and education opportunities. Learn more about the benefits of membership.
3) Jazz vocalist Alexis Cole has recently released her latest CD, The Greatest Gift. An interesting element to this release is that proceeds will benefit the World Bicycle Relief — an organization dedicated to providing bicycles to people in developing countries around the world. World Bicycle Relief allows these individuals access to transportation and promotes independence, empowerment, and sustainability. Listen to a track from the album here.
4) And finally, if you would like to give a gift to all of those who ride a bike in America, donate to the League. Protecting cyclists’ rights is absolutely critical. We need your help today to support the work of the League, and we can’t do it without you. Check out the League’s 2009 Report Card to see how your contributions have helped us deliver on the League’s mission.
Happy holidays from the League of American Bicyclists! Hopefully, you can enjoy a wintry ride!
Courtesy of Anna Kelso
Meghan Cahill League Director of Communications
Cahill joined the League in December 2008 and has a BA in Media Communications with a concentration in Italian Studies from the College of Charleston.
Earlier this week on my ride home I stopped at a red light, waiting to make a left turn, when I heard a woman’s voice say, “excuse me.” I ignored it once but she politely persisted, so I finally turned to see a woman in a large four-door sedan with her window all the way rolled down in the lane next to me. I said hello and she asked me if I felt safe on my bike. “Sure,” I said. “Not me. Not enough protection,” she said, gesturing to her car and the traffic around us. Before I had a chance to reply with more than a shrug, the light changed and we were on our way. I believe her. I am sure that woman does not ride because she considers it too dangerous. I’ve been talking to a researcher in New York City who is tired of people asking her why a woman who doesn’t ride her bike around the city would be interested in studying bicycling. Her answer, in large part, is a great desire to ride and a strong discomfort with riding with traffic. These women are alone.
Yesterday, Peter Jacobsen, author of the famous “Safety in numbers” study, Francesca Raccioppi, and Harry Rutter published a paper called “Who owns the roads? How motorized traffic discourages walking and bicycling.” The paper gathers the available evidence on the impact of traffic on levels of active transportation. They found that the “real and perceived danger and discomfort imposed by traffic discourage walking and bicycling. Accurately or not, pedestrians and bicyclists judge injury risk and respond accordingly. Although it can be difficult to measure these effects, observed behavior provides good evidence for these effects, with the strongest association being an inverse correlation between volumes and speeds of traffic and levels of walking and cycling.”
Here are some findings taken straight from the report:
In the USA, 14 percent of people on crosswalks ran rather than walked across the road. In a study of driver behavior at Zebra crossings, only 5 percent of motorists yielded to pedestrians.
When the roadways are equipped with sidewalks, nearly four times as many people walk. More than six times as many people walk along two-lane roads as four-lane roads.
Men and women bicycle as different levels, possibly reflecting different attitudes to risk. In communities with low levels of cycling, more men than women bicycle, but, as the number of bicyclists increases, the sex differences diminish.
For children who live within a mile of school, the share of children walking or bicycling to school dropped from close to 90 percent in 1969 to 31 percent 30 years later.
Alarming as these findings may be, the authors observe that traffic can be made less dangerous and more pleasant with relative ease, compared to changing land use patterns and population density. Traffic calming measures, lower speed limits, congestions pricing, proper bicycling facilities, and otherwise prioritizing the safety of non-motorized users can all be implemented without major changes to infrastructure. And if we make these low impact, low cost changes we can expect higher rates of cyclists; and then increased safety from those numbers.
Finally, the authors rightly question the use of fear-based advertising in safety efforts, calling for more research into the discouraging impact such campaigns have on walking and bicycling. Our friend Mikael at Copenhagenize would agree. If there is a dampening effect then, overall heath can be hurt by reducing physical activity.
UPDATE: A commenter asks what can be done to get city planners in local communities to address these safety concerns. One way is through positive reinforcement. The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Community program recognizes cities that make an effort to improve cycling conditions. The criteria include provision of safe facilities.
Darren Flusche League Policy Analyst
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.
Santa Cruz has numerous encouragement and education programs such as Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, the Zero Interest Bike Loan program offered by Ecology Action, and the Bike Smart! and Ride N’ Stride school education programs. All of these things combined, along with Santa Cruz’s impressive environment for on-road and off-road riding, make the community a model to follow. Santa Cruz Seaside Company provides free breakfast to all employees who bicycle to work on Bike to Work Day, provides secure bike lockers, showers, emergency ride home service. Seaside Company is also a sponsor of the Amgen Tour of California and many other local tours.
While the city and Santa Cruz Seaside Company may find it amusing to still be noted as the backdrop to the film, it is the recognition through our programs that has lasting results to their residents, visitors and employees. The Bicycle Friendly America program staff is here to offer them assistance (and your community and business as well!) to continue to improve.
Jeff Peel State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Peel joined the League in March 2008 as a Program Specialist for the Bicycle Friendly Communities program. Peel has a BA in American Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi.
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