Kansas may conjure images of the yellow-brick road, but if you’re a bicyclist, the Prairie State doesn’t exactly spring to mind as a prime cycling destination.
Well, think again.
The top team in the National Bike Challenge for the month of June hails from Topeka, Kansas — and they’re proving they’re no fly-over state when it comes to bicycling.
If you’re wondering about that acronym at the top of the leaderboard: KVBC stands for Kaw Valley Bicycle Club. The club takes its name from the Kansas or “Kaw” River flowing through the state’s capital city and the organization, not only hosts three recreational rides per year, but has made the shift to an advocacy organization (and was instrumental in lobbying for Kansas’ 3-foot passing and dead-red laws).
I checked in with some of the members of the KVBC to find out how the Challenge is improving their riding and elevating the profile of cyclists in their community.
How and why did you decide to form a team in the National Bike Challenge?
KVBC team members: Brian Meredith (front L), Bill Lucero (front R), Suzanne Sawyer-Burris (in pink) and Eric Bradford Nordgren (in white)
Alan: I found out about the Challenge when it first was announced. The board of the KVBC thought it was a great idea and wanted to support it. I started a team and asked board members to join and those who had spouses to maybe have them join. Some of the board suggested other riders. We originally had one team member who was more focused on running than biking, so with mutual agreement we substituted another rider I knew who rode a few miles. So the team is a mixture of board members, spouses, and other area bike riders. Most of us know each other since we’ve all been involved with bicycling in Topeka for a number of years.
How has being a team boosted or made your participation in the Challenge more enjoyable?
Alan: I think when the team first started it was just fun to see how we would do as a team. We then had another local team that started talking a little (fun) trash talk, and it was “Game on.” I think everyone was surprised to find we were in the top ten and that has made team members want to put on a few more miles to keep that standing. Who would think a team from Topeka, KANSAS would be ahead of other states known more for bicycling?
Erin: I don’t always get to ride a lot with other bikers, but I feel connected to the other riders on my team just by checking Endomondo to see how far the others went on a particular day. I really enjoy the encouragement and support I get from the others to ride every day.
Brian: It has provided competition within the team and with other teams which has helped motivate me to ride my bike. My wife added me to the team with some reluctance since I do not always put a lot of miles on the bike and she feared I would hold the team back. I have ridden more so I would not let the team down. Since many of the members of the team are friends, it has provided for some friendly competition. There are members of the team I have tried to beat, but by doing so I improve the team standing.
Suzanne: I’m very competitive and want to drive my numbers up!
How has the Challenge improved or inspired your riding thus far?
KVBC team member Erin Chamberlain, one of the top women riders in the country, on her recent cycling trip across the state (Biking Across Kansas)
Erin: I’m having the best riding year I’ve had for several years now. I began biking to work just to get out every day, and I’m having so much fun! My overall fitness has improved and I know more bikers from Topeka now than I did before. It’s a great combination of physical fitness and social enjoyment in my community and around Kansas.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
News out of the conference committee working on the federal transportation bill isn’t good. While Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. John Mica (R-FL) yesterday announced that “the conferees have moved forward toward a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on a highway reauthorization bill,” we’re hearing that important programs that fund biking and walking are in urgent peril.
To shine the spotlight on the critical importance of federal dollars in making our street safe for all users, Transportation for America has released new data showing the tremendous death toll of streets designed for cars alone: 50,000 preventable pedestrian deaths between 2001 and 2010. Those tragedies touched all Congressional district across the country, making the preservation of bike/ped funding a local issue for every single member of Congress.
“Our analysis has found that many of the most dangerous roads in the country were built either with federal dollars or under federal guidelines,” said James Corless, director of Transportation for America. “Having saddled communities with unsafe streets, it would be the height of cruelty for Congress now to take away resources and latitude from local communities trying to improve those conditions and save lives.”
Among the most dangerous districts:
Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30): 289 deaths
Corrine Brown (FL-03): 274
Jerrold Nadler (NY-08): 195
Steve Southerland (FL-02): 164
Ralph Hall (TX-04): 127
Rob Bishop (UT-01): 109
James Lankford (OK-05): 118
Fred Upton (MI-06): 83
“We implore House members of the conference committee to remember their constituents who have died as a result of dangerous conditions on their roadways that could be fixed with the very modest investment proposed in the Senate bill,” Corless urged. Read more from T4 or analysis from Streetsblog.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Despite all the tumult with the federal transportation bill, one modest source of safety funding is likely to continue: the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). The program is used to address a wide variety of safety concerns such as seatbelt use, drunk driving, and high-collision locations (often fixing bad roadway design). Each state is required to adopt a Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) identifying safety emphasis areas and detailed action strategies. States can then use HSIP funds to address these emphasis areas.
Advocacy Advance, a partnership of the League of American Bicyclists and the Alliance for Biking and Walking, published a report several years ago to guide advocates looking to access HSIP funds for bicycle and pedestrian safety projects. One aspect of the report was a matrix of state SHSPs, and if they include bicycle and pedestrian safety emphasis areas. Based on data from the 2012 Bicycle Friendly State survey, we’re providing an updated SHSP emphasis areas matrix. This information is great for advocates looking to increase the amount of safety funding spent on bicycles and pedestrians in their state.
The good news? A majority of states have bicycle and pedestrian safety in their SHSPs. Bicycles can be found in 29 plans, while pedestrians are found in 33 plans. All of the states that include bicycles also include pedestrians, often under a vulnerable road users or similar category.
The bad news? Very few states are actually spending HSIP funds on bicycle and pedestrian safety, especially the least safe states for bicycling (identified in the Alliance’s 2012 Benchmarking Report). Florida spends approximately four percent of their HSIP funds on bicycle and pedestrian safety, far and away the highest of any state. However, biking and walking account for 14 percent of fatalities in the U.S.
There’s definitely room for improvement in how our states spend safety funds. The first step is simple enough – recognize bicycle and pedestrian safety as a concern and a SHSP emphasis area. Check out the Advocacy Advance Highway Safety Improvement Program report to learn what advocates can do to access these funds and create safer streets for bicycles and pedestrians.
Matt Wempe League State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Mr. Wempe joined the League in September 2011. For the three years prior, he worked as a transportation planner and Safe Routes to School Coordinator in Fort Collins, Colo. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Depending on who you listen to the effort to get a new long term transportation bill is either stalling out or discussions are on-going and deals are being made on some issues — including local control over bicycle and pedestrian spending.
In fact, both of these things could be true. Even if the negotiations stall for now, whatever deals are made will most likely carry over to when Congress picks up negotiations again. That’s why it’s critical that we make sure that the bipartisan Cardin-Cochran agreement, which ensures local control over bicycling and walking funds, remains in the bill.
Both our supporters and our critics need to hear from us that bicycling funding and the Cardin-Cochran must be preserved. But here’s where it gets tricky — the key players have been narrowed. The fate of bicycling funds and Cardin-Cochran comes down to just a handful of well-positioned legislators. They need to hear from their constituents today.
We need you in California!
Biking and walking programs will be on the line in today’s meeting between Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative John Mica (R-FL). California residents, please call — yes, CALL — Senator Barbara Boxer today to urge her to preserve the Cardin-Cochran agreement. We are targeting home offices today (not DC offices). You can follow this link to enter your zip code and find the number for the district office. Please share the link with your friends.
If you are a Twitter user, you can also Tweet her at @SenatorBoxer. Here is a sample tweet you can use: “.@SenatorBoxer, please don’t let states opt out of local control over biking & walking funds #keepbikefunding!” Please note that that period at the beginning is not a typo. That keeps the message from being a direct message, so that everyone on Twitter can see it.
We need you in these Congressional Districts!
Rep. Don Young (R-AK-AL)
Rep. Steve Southerland (R-FL-2)
Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8)
Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY-24)
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH-12)
Rep. James Lankford (R-OK-5)
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA-9)
Rep. John Duncan (R-TN-2)
Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX-4)
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3)
Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI-8)
Rep. Shelley Capito (R-WV-2)
The representatives listed above are the ones in a position to attack or preserve the careful Cardin-Cochran compromise. They might think no one cares about bicycling in their district. Let’s prove them wrong! Please call today.
Thank you all for your continued support. We have only made it this far because of the sustained chorus of support from people like you who care about bicycling. This is a key moment to keep it going.
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
With $25,000 in grants, Advocacy Advance will boost the growth of young advocacy organizations and dramatically increase biking and walking in Mississippi and Tucson, Arizona.
Since 2009, Advocacy Advance – a partnership of the Alliance for Biking & Walking and the League – has awarded more than $750,000 in direct grants to 40 state and local advocacy organizations that have used those dollars to achieve powerful improvements for biking and walking in their communities.
In 2012, the grants program specifically targets capacity building efforts and will help grow and professionalize two energetic and promising organizations: Bike Walk Mississippi and Living Streets Alliance in Tucson, Ariz.
“Receiving this grant is a real game-changer for Living Streets Alliance,” says Emily Yetman, Founder and President of Living Streets Alliance. “It will provide us with the resources we need to expand our programs and reach out to entirely new audiences in the greater Tucson region and beyond. Our Pedestrian Safety & Comfort Campaign will make our city a safer, more enjoyable and more convenient place to walk.”
“Although a state typically ranked high in obesity and low in bicycle friendliness, Bike Walk Mississippi believes that local communities have both the drive and passions to do their part to transform Mississippi into a healthier, happier and more bicycle friendly state,” says Melody Moody, Executive Director of Bike Walk Mississippi. “With the help of the Advocacy Advance matching grant, Bike Walk Mississippi will launch a grassroots movement to connect citizens in the public, private and voluntary sector to the resources and tools needed to take action toward becoming more livable communities.”
Advocacy Advance received 47 applications with project proposals requesting a total of $560,000. Capacity Building Grants in 2012 are made possible with generous funding by Planet Bike.
2012 Capacity Building Grants
Bike Walk Mississippi (BWM) will receive a $10,000 matching grant to hire a second staff person to increase their effectiveness throughout the state with targeted campaigns. The new campaign manager will work with communities to develop action plans to increase bicycle friendliness. BWM will create a toolkit of resources leading to increased infrastructure, policy and programs on the local level while increasing representation on and ownership of Mississippi’s statewide Bike/Ped Plan. Learn more about Bike Walk Mississippi.
Living Streets Alliance (LSA) will receive a $15,000 matching grant to hire their first full-time executive director to strengthen bicycle and pedestrian advocacy in Tucson. With 23 pedestrian fatalities in the region in 2011, LSA aims to address pedestrian safety through grassroots mobilization to galvanize support for their 2012-2013 Pedestrian Safety & Comfort Campaign. The goal of this multi-tiered campaign is to make walking a safer and more desirable transportation choice through the inclusion of a $25 million county bond package to create “safe neighborhood streets” in 2013. LSA will also supplement their successful bicycle programs and events with Cyclovia Tucson, the city’s open-streets event. Learn more about Living Streets Alliance.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Adding a very powerful voice to the call for continued federal funding for sidewalks and bikeways, the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution at its annual meeting last weekend that urges Congress to “protect and increase funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs in the next transportation reauthorization law.”
Representing more than 1,300 of the nation’s largest cities, the USCM is certainly an influential ally in the campaign to keep bike/ped in the next federal transportation bill. Since 2008, the League has been cultivating ties with the mayors’ organization and working to elevate bicycling within its policy agenda. In recent weeks, we worked with Mayor Paul Soglin — Mayor of Madison, Wisc., and Vice Chair for USCM’s City Livability/Bicycling sub-committee — who led the development of the federal funding resolution, which emphasizes the benefits of bicycling and the importance of local access to federal dollars for such transportation projects.
WHEREAS, communities that have invested in pedestrian and bicycle projects have benefited from improved quality of life, a healthier population, greater local real estate values, more local travel choices, and reduced air pollution; and
WHEREAS, federal investments in pedestrian and bicycle programs are highly cost-effective relative to road-building projects, reduce accidents by providing safe and convenient places to walk and bicycle, and decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil; and…
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors urges Congress to protect and increase funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs in the next transportation reauthorization law through transportation enhancements, an expanded NTPP [Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program], support for Safe Routes to School, the Transportation Community Systems Preservation Progam (TCSP), expanding the Recreational Trails program and other federal transportation programs.
That wasn’t the only measure related to cycling that passed at the meeting either. The mayors also got behind a resolution in support of bike sharing:
WHEREAS, use of alternative modes of transportation helps all users of the transportation system, including those who choose to or must drive, by reducing congestion and improving safety among other benefits; and
WHEREAS, alternative modes of transportation often support each other– for example, bike sharing programs improve the effectiveness of the existing transit system, integrating into the existing network and providing valuable connections and flexibility; and…
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference of Mayors strongly endorses the planning and implementation of alternative modes of transportation throughout the United States.
The conversation didn’t stop with the resolutions. Soglin also hosted a Bicycle and Pedestrian Coffee Exchange, during which the Mayor and League staff discussed mayors’ efforts to build more bicycle-friendly infrastructure in their communities, and laid the groundwork for a Mayors’ Bicycle Meeting in Madison, Wisc., next spring.
The support of Soglin and the USCM is huge, but we can’t preserve bike/ped funding without you, too. Have you emailed or called your members of Congress yet? Please, take action today!
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
We are close to a milestone. Eight days from now will mark the 1,000th day since the federal transportation authorization bill, SAFETEA-LU expired. You can track the progress at Transportation for America‘s website. That means it’s been three years since we’ve had long-term stability for sound, comprehensive, multi-modal transportation planning. It also means it’s been three years that we’ve been asking you to take action and tell Congress how important bicycling is to your community.
You may well have responded to our calls to action more than once. Your Congressional delegation may well already know your position on cycling issues. And, for that, we thank you.
But, by now we know that this campaign isn’t about a single day or a single vote. This is the fight about the future of transportation in America and we have to counter each threat or bicycling will be swept off the negotiating table — maybe for good. There are folks in Congress who want to cut bicycling all together — despite the fact that 83 percent of Americans want funding preserved!
Make no mistake, YOUR action has kept biking in the bill thus far. Please take action today or the hard-fought progress of the past 20 years could be lost!
The process has been long, complicated, and, yes, frustrating. The last transportation bill expired in 2009 and, since then, has continued only thanks to a series of short-term extensions. RIGHT NOW, the House and Senate are negotiating a longer-term bill. The Senate’s bill includes the Cardin-Cochran agreement, which preserves the 20-year history of funding for locally-directed bike and pedestrian projects. The House wants to make our programs entirely optional, leave all the decisions up to state departments of transportation, and strip away the last vestige of local control.
The League is committed to building a Bicycle Friendly America — and we’ve made great progress in that direction. We could NOT have done it without crucial federal transportation funds that are NOW AT RISK. If communities lose access to these funds, it will be a dramatic major setback.
Yet again, cycling is on the brink. You can save it — just like you have in the past. Please take action today in support of the Senate bill, and the Cardin-Cochran agreement.
Please share this alert with everyone you know who cares about safe, healthy, livable communities. Thank you!
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
So, I spent most of last night on Design Milk. If you haven’t been on it, it’s a beautiful site — basically a tumblr for design freaks who want to binge their eyeballs on architecture, interior design, and other gorgeous items.
On it, I found some gorgeous bikes, but I also discovered some great accessories. They’re not accessories for your bike; they’re accessories made out of bikes! What better way to show off your cycling lifestyle than bringing the aesthetic of your ride off the street and into your house.
Here are some pictures of awesome bike-related creations:
What parts of a bike would you make into a home accessory or jewelry?
Katie Omberg Events and Outreach Manager
Katie joined the League in April of 2010. For the two years prior, she worked at the Corcoran College of Art + Design as a programs coordinator. Katie has a BA in Religion from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. She enjoys biking to work.
In bicycle advocacy, we often cite the troubling statistic that, while women make up 51 percent of the American population, we accounted for just 24 percent of U.S. bike trips in 2009. As we discussed at the National Women Cycling Forum (and will tackle at the upcoming National Women’s Bicycling Summit), there are a number of complex factors that contribute to women riding less than men.
Already, more than 8,800 women from around the country have signed up — making up 37 percent of all participants (who indicated their gender). Over the course of the Challenge thus far, three women have made it well into the top 100 for individual riders, and there are plenty of female riders pedaling their way up the ranks.
As of yesterday morning, here’s how the top 10 women stacked up:
Katie Schanz- Cleveland, OH
Mary Catterton- Oshkosh, WI
Cindy Dodd- Waterloo, IA
Kate Powlison- Boulder, CO
Emily Ponti- Cleveland, OH
Kristen Keyes- Cleveland, OH
Kerin Huber- Pasadena, CA
Erin Chamberlain- Topeka, KS
Abby Watson- Madison, WI
Stephanie Skladzien- Madison, WI
As a former Iowa and Missouri resident, I had to smile at the dominance of the Midwest. And special props to Cleveland and Madison for being home to 6 of the 10 leading ladies. To learn a little more about the women’s leader, I got in touch with Katie Schanz for a short Q&A. Here’s what she told me…
When and why did you start riding?
I started cycling about four years ago. I always hated driving, so I got rid of my car about five years ago. I walked and took public transportation to get around at first. Riding a bike just seemed to make much more sense. It was cheaper, faster and more fun!
How much do you ride now and for what purposes — to get to work, for recreation, etc?
Since I’m car-free I cycle for everything. I’m a transportation cyclist, but I also still ride for fun. It’s not unusual for me to bike to work and do my errands by bike — and then go on a long social ride.
Why did you join the National Bike Challenge and what have been the benefits?
I learned about the Bike Challenge from Bike Cleveland. I thought it would be fun to track my miles and compare them to other people nationally and locally. It hasn’t really impacted my riding all that much. Since I ride for transportation I would be out on my bike regardless. I have been riding a little more than usual but that is more because I am getting in shape for the Pan Ohio Hope Ride.
Do you feel there are any equal number of women as men riding in your community? What do you think it would take to get more women riding?
There are definitely fewer female cyclists in my area than men. There have been many time when I am the only girl on a long ride. I have often considered what it would take to get more women riding and it’s a hard question to answer. There seems to be so many different reasons that women aren’t riding as much men.
What would you say to women to encourage them to join the National Bike Challenge?
I think one of the best encouragements for women to join the Challenge is so they can see how quickly their riding miles add up. I hear people say all the time that a 10-mile ride sounds so far, but they have probably ridden 10 miles themselves and not even realized it. Miles add up quick on a bike. If more women are tracking and see how much they’re already riding, they may be less intimidated to ride more or longer distances.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
U.S. Bicycle Route (USBR) 35 covers nearly 500 miles through Michigan, from its Canadian border all the way to Indiana. In Minnesota, USBR 45 stretches from the Twin Cities area to its southern border with Iowa, a total of 148 miles. Both routes take cyclists through a variety of settings — from quiet beach towns and scenic hideaways to metropolitan and cultural centers.
These recent additions were accompanied by improvements to the existing USBR 1 in North Carolina. This route, first designated in 1982, was realigned to avoid high traffic areas, maintaining a comfortable bicycling environment for both local and visiting cyclists.
For all three routes, the state departments of transportation provided invaluable support for the completion of the projects and dedication to the welfare of cyclists while Adventure Cycling provided technical assistance for the proper route implementation. The progress won’t end here. In Michigan, USBR 35 will continue south through Indiana all the way to Mississippi. The Minnesota DOT plans to see 800 miles of existing trail extend USBR 45, which will eventually reach south along the Mississippi River arriving in New Orleans, Louisiana.
By the time it’s complete, the system will cover more than 50,000 miles — the largest official network in the world. The system is often sold with its promise of tourism dollars, and so far these routes have delivered. Bicycle tourism is on the rise in places like Michigan and numbers in Minnesota and North Carolina show the same. This active and personal way to explore new regions as a visitor has something to offer the locals as well: safe and practical transportation with connections to a state’s most valuable treasures!
Tonight at a Gala event in Portland, Ore., local residents will say thank you to one of the nation’s most important champions of bicycling: Congressman Earl Blumenauer. Since he arrived on Capitol Hill in 1996, Blumenauer has been one of the strongest congressional leaders on cyclists’ rights and bicycle funding. But his 40 years of public service — and visionary support of bicycling — started long before he arrived in Washington, D.C.
As Jonathan Maus from BikePortland summarizes: “During his four decades of leadership, Blumenauer has presided over much of the bicycle and transportation legacy that our region is so well known for. From his position as head of the City of Portland Department of Public Works (what we now call the Bureau of Transportation) from 1987 to 1996, Blumenauer (with Mia Birk as his right-hand woman) oversaw an explosion in bikeway miles. From his office in Washington D.C., where he’s served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1996, Blumenauer is without a doubt the most influential and well-known champion for bicycling on Capitol Hill.”
Of course, League members know Blumenauer has also become a well-known presence at the National Bike Summit. In fact, the Congressman has participated in every single Summit, since the event’s inception in 2001. Thank you, Congressman, for your leadership and support over the year. Here’s to many more Bike Summits to come!
Blumenauer (left) and Congressman Jim Oberstar at the 2001 National Bike Summit
See more pictures of the bike-partisan Congressman from past Bike Summits…
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
If you read the League blog, you got to know Heather Towers last week. When the Maryland resident started commuting by bike last year, she just hoped to save a few dollars in transportation costs. But, with the help of the National Bike Challenge, she discovered so much more: better health, new friends and even a passion for local advocacy!
Well, Towers is just one of more than 26,000 riders who logged nearly 4 million miles during the first month of the Challenge — a friendly, online competition to inspire and empower thousands of Americans to ride their bikes for transportation, recreation and better health this summer. So far, participants have burned more than 100 million calories — and they’re not nearly done yet. The goal: Unite 50,000 Americans to ride 10 million miles by August 31, 2012.
“We’ve been inspired by the astounding number of participants and their remarkable enthusiasm in the first month,” says League president Andy Clarke. “With nearly three months left, we’re calling on all Americans — from New York City to Miami, from Denver to Los Angeles — to join the fun. We want to see 50,000 riders in the Challenge, each with a story like Heather!”
The Challenge is simple, free and open to everyone. Sign up as an individual or as a team, log your miles, share your stories and encourage others to join you. Already more than 100 participants have won great prizes in the monthly drawings and there’s still plenty of time to get in the running for two Grand Prizes: A trip through California wine country from Trek Travel and a trip along the White Rim Trail in Utah from Western Spirit Cycling Adventures.
In May, riders in Vermont, Wisconsin and Nebraska pedaled their states to the top of the leader board (based on points per 1,000 riders). Not surprisingly, Burlington, Vt.; Madison, Wisc.; and Lincoln, Neb., topped the list for communities, as well.
“The National Bike Challenge has motivated more than 1,000 Vermonters to ride more this year and it’s been a great inspirational activity for us,” says Chapin Spencer, executive director of Local Motion, a bicycle advocacy organization in Burlington, Vt. “Yes, we’re in first place by state and by region right now, but nothing would please me more than having countless other states and regions nipping at our heels. Give us Vermonters some competition!”
In addition to encouraging individual riders, the Challenge provides a free and engaging wellness tool for businesses. In May, more than 8,200 workplaces registered, and Trek Bicycle Corporation, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Specialized Bicycle Components, and Ingersoll Rand rose to the top of the workplace ranks.
“At Trek, we’re always looking for new ways to engage our employees and be the healthiest company on the planet,” says Marcus Gagnon, Health and Wellness Coordinator. “The National Bike Challenge has been huge! This is an awesome platform for any company to promote health in a fun and rewarding way, and to share the many benefits of cycling.”
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
There’s no question that John Pucher (Rutgers) and Ralph Buehler (Virginia Tech) are two of the most prominent researchers on bicycle issues here in the U.S. So it’s no surprise the bike world is all abuzz with the fall publication of their new book City Cycling. The 365-page resource is billed as “a guide to [the] urban cycling renaissance” and, being in touch with the pulse of the movement, Pucher and Buehler included a chapter on “Women and Cycling.”
Heels on Wheels ride in Atlanta (Credit: Cameron Adams)
This week, Pucher himself gave a preview of the chapter over on European Cyclists’ Federation blog. Being a friend of the League, Pucher gave me a sneak-peak of the chapter, too. Written by leading researchers Jan Garrard, Susan Handy and Jennifer Dill, the chapter discusses the benefits of cycling for women, patterns of participation and strategies for increasing ridership in countries like the U.S. where female cyclists make up a mere 25 percent of bike transportation trips.
It’s a wealth of insight packed into 23 pages, to say the least. Here’s just three items that stood out to me…
Better bicycling can liberate women from disproportionate time spent driving other passengers. “In two worker households, [U.S.] women were twice as likely as men to pick up or drop off children during their commute… Consequently, when cycling-friendly conditions support independent bicycle trips by children and other dependents, women are the principal beneficiaries of a reduction in these particular household responsibilities.”
Getting more women to bike starts with getting more girls to ride. “Women in low-cycling countries tend to move in and out of cycling at various stages of their lives. In contrast, women in high cycling countries, such as the Netherlands, move seamlessly between cycling as a child, adolescent, young adult, and older adult.”
Women may be less likely than men to get injured while cycling, but more likely to perceive biking as unsafe. “An analysis of cycling injuries in the United Kingdom found that after adjusting for distance cycled, men were more likely to be injured than women… [However] Data from the UK National Travel Survey indicate that women are more likely to express concerns about safety (85%) than men (61%)… In a random telephone survey of adults in Portland, Oregon, 52 percent of women cited “too much traffic” as a barrier to cycling more, compared to 34 percent of men… In the survey of cyclists in Victoria, Australia, women were more likely than men to report “aggression from motorists” as a constraint on cycling, even though men were more likely to have actually experienced harassment from motor vehicle occupants… Overall, these findings serve as a reminder that perceptions of risk may be as important as actual risks, particularly for women, and that “traffic risks” extend beyond risk of fatality or serious injury to include risk of “near misses” and harassment.”
Intrigued? Pre-order your copy from Amazon now and get a $10 discount. Click here to get City Cycling for just $18!
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
“The Washington region is a bike-commuter region,” Buehler told me. As he wrote in his study: “In 2008, 41 percent of all weekday bike trips in the region were commute- or work-related, compared to only 17 percent in other urbanized areas in the U.S. The high share of utilitarian trip purposes in the region is comparable with bike-friendly cities in Europe, such as Berlin or Amsterdam.”
D.C. has a history of planning for bicycling and has made significant progress, but Buehler warned against complacency. “Having big plans now does not mean that it will be implemented in the future,” he said. “It was interesting to see the ambitious plans from the 1970s that only got partially implemented. This could be a little bit of a warning for cycling advocates.”
“The development of the regional trail network was crucial to provide connection between jurisdictions and from neighborhoods to employment centers,” Buehler continued. “The new trend towards bike lanes is encouraging because it will complement the regional network.”
Buehler and his co-authors identified significant “spatial variability” in bicycling rates – some parts of the regions saw higher rider ship than other parts. So, what role did self-selection or ‘demographic determination’ have in explaining this variability?
“There is definitely some self-selection,” Buehler told me. “But the jurisdictions also built great facilities in neighborhoods in which people want to cycle. Most studies show that even after controlling for self-selection, transport infrastructure and the built environment still influence travel choices. If you offer safe and attractive cycling conditions, people will cycle – even those who have not considered cycling a mode of transport.”
At the same time, self-selection cannot be easily disentangled from travel demand. People who want to bike may demand bicycle infrastructure. The city then builds more bike infrastructure and even more people ride. Some may even move to the neighborhood because they want to use their bicycles — it’s difficult to disentangle the two.
So, what lessons can D.C. learn from this study? “I think D.C. and the other jurisdictions have to integrate their own bicycle network and to connect them across jurisdictional boundaries,” Buehler said. “DC, Arlington, and Alexandria have made great progress, but there are still many gaps.” According to Buehler, we’ll see more cyclists in all regions when conditions improve. The study also identified the important role the building shower, lockers, and bike parking play in encouraging bicycling. Plentiful car parking, on the other hand, is negatively associated with bicycling, meaning that the more parking is available, the fewer cyclists you can expect.
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.
Bill Nesper and I were recently invited to host separate Bicycle Friendly Community workshops in Rockhill, S.C. and Salisbury, Md. If you live and cycle on the east coast, both of these cities should be on your radar. Rockhill already has the Giordana velodrome and Salisbury is home to the Sea Gull Century ride. But, when we met residents and learned more about each community last week, we got even more excited for their bright, bike-friendly futures. With the next round of BFC applications due July 20, we’re looking forward to working with each community.
So what impressed us so much?
Salisbury BFC Workshop (Credit: Anna Kelso)
Rockhill BFC Workshop
Supportive mayors leading their communities and making a big deal about bicycling. This kind of support is vital to any community looking to become a BFC.
Giving people opportunities to be bicycling champions. This may be an engineer saying “I can design that bike lane,” or a resident saying “I want to be a trained bicycle educator.” Everyone brings something unique to the table, and the workshops are all about harnessing that energy.
Breaking down “silos” in local government. The workshops offer an opportunity for planners, engineers, accountants, city management, police chiefs, and others to get together and talk bikes. As a former municipal employee, I can say from experience that tackling these silos is indeed a huge step forward.
Connecting local and state Department of Transportation folks to ensure local communities have a say in how their transportation system is designed and built (Cardin-Cochran anyone?).
The opportunity to meet new partners such as businesses, health organizations, civic groups, and anyone else that self-identified as a bicycling advocate. I was excited to see Heather Towers, a frequent commentator on the National Bike Challenge website, at the Salisbury workshop!
Kudos to Rockhill and Salisbury. The League is looking forward to reading your applications!
Reminder: If you’re interested in reviewing your community’s BFC application, sign up now to be a local reviewer.
Matt Wempe League State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Mr. Wempe joined the League in September 2011. For the three years prior, he worked as a transportation planner and Safe Routes to School Coordinator in Fort Collins, Colo. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The U.S. House and Senate are negotiating right now to produce a final federal transportation bill and 20 years of progress on biking, walking and Safe Routes to School could be eliminated.
Only a strong show of support from people like you can make sure this doesn’t happen.
PLEASE ACT NOW to protect the federal funding for local biking and walking.
In March, the Senate passed a bill with bipartisan support that included the Cardin-Cochran agreement, which allows local governments and school systems to access much-needed funds to for biking and walking projects and programs. But the House would prefer to get rid of biking and walking funding by giving states the chance to ‘opt out’ of this funding pot completely — and take away local governments’ ability to access federal funds for small transportation projects.
How did it come to this? According to our partners at America Bikes…
Last week, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and James Inhofe (R-OK) brought a draft offer to the House for consideration. The Senate’s offer included a program called Additional Activities, a small fund available for biking and walking improvements, environmental mitigation, and a variety of other small projects. It also included the bipartisan Cardin-Cochran agreement, a provision that would allow local governments to compete for Additional Activities funds for small-scale local projects.
In response, the House sent a counteroffer that would eliminate local access to biking and walking funds. The House counteroffer would allow states to “opt out” of Additional Activities funding completely, thus eliminating the Cardin-Cochran agreement and taking away local governments’ ability to access federal funds for small transportation projects.
Local governments across the country need transportation funding to build sidewalks, bike lanes, and bike paths. These small-scale, local projects make streets safer and help build more economically competitive downtowns. If the House of Representatives gets its way, though, local governments won’t have the opportunity to access funds for local projects.
You can help save the Cardin-Cochran agreement. You can make sure the hard-fought progress of the past 20 years isn’t lost.
Click here to ask your members of Congress to protect local access to funds for biking and walking.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Last month, the League released its 2012 Bicycle Friendly States Ranking and the Buckeye State came in at #37. But, while they still face challenge in funding, infrastructure, legislative support, and public opinion, bike advocates are making headway — and improving Ohio for bicyclists.
The Ohio Bicycle Federation is making progress for cyclists in the Buckeye State
Ohio has a long history of cycling, but it is only recently that bicycles have been widely seen as a means of transportation as well as recreation. Bicycle-friendly legislation and construction are laying the foundation for better bicycle safety, but laws and lanes aren’t likely to boost cycling without the support of an understanding public. This is where advocacy can make all the difference. Luckily, strong advocates in Ohio are providing support and encouragement for longtime cyclists and new riders alike, while easing the concerns of motorists through awareness campaigns.
In a state where municipal law is so important, local advocacy has an advantage over statewide efforts. Cleveland has passed a complete streets ordinance and Cincinnati was designated a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community both thanks to dedicated local advocates. “Advocacy in Cleveland has shifted from a small group of voices advocating only for rights to the road, to a large voice of people advocating for more livable, bike friendly neighborhoods,” said Jacob VanSickle of Bike Cleveland. “Advocacy’s role in the future will be to push for more progress on street bike infrastructure like cycle-tracks. We will also need to advocate for continued motorist and cyclist education on sharing the road. Our goal is to get more people on bikes more often. To do this we need to design and rebuild our streets to be intuitive. They need to be able to accommodate all types of cyclists, including youth, beginner, and advanced.”
Collaboration among local organizations has played an important role in growing statewide advocacy, too. Groups like Yay Bikes! and Consider Biking have bridged the gap between local efforts and statewide policymaking and the statewide advocacy group, the Ohio Bicycle Federation, has been gaining ground. Board members of OBF hail from all corners of the state and are active in their local communities. The OBF led the charge for the Better Biking Bill, dedication that paid off when the bill was signed into law by Governor Taft in 2006. At each level, advocates play a crucial role in changing hearts and minds, paving the way for a new generation of bike-friendly policies and infrastructure in Ohio.
Steve Magas, of the Ohio Bicycle Federation, has seen his state embracing cycling. “Ohio is an extremely diverse state from a cycling perspective,” he said. “Emphasis here is on transportation, with more and more riders commuting by bike and using their bikes to go places instead of riding in circles. There is also emphasis on recreation — we have many very active cycling clubs in all parts of state. The Cincinnati Cycle Club is one of the oldest in country, founded in 1880. There is definitely an emphasis here on healthy living, too. You see more and more fitness riders, racing teams, triathlons, and other fitness events. More than that, you see people of all ages using roads, trails, sidewalks and single-tracks as a way to stay fit. There is no single definition of cycling in Ohio — it is a dynamic and diverse culture. It is also a changing culture, with the hip, urban rider coming into vogue. I see more and more folks riding in downtown areas — shopping, going to restaurants and clubs, and enjoying the freedom of movement a bicycle has always provided.”
Click here to read last week’s post about progress in Utah — or here to see the full 2012 state ranking.
When you think “bike club,” I’m sure there’s an image that comes into your mind. So you can imagine how surprised I was when I found a bike club that goes against this grain, the Real Rydaz in South LA.
They’re a group of about 30 individuals, but any one of their bikes would put Xzbit‘s masterpieces to shame. With gleaming chrome, hydraulics, and even some fuzzy dice, these low riders are not your ordinary Saturday morning ride. Couple this need for style with a real investment in the community, and you have the Real Rydaz. To learn more about this club with swag to spare, watch this video from Thrash Labs:
For more info on the Real Rydaz and the awesome work they do in their community, click here, here, and here.
Katie Omberg Events and Outreach Manager
Katie joined the League in April of 2010. For the two years prior, she worked at the Corcoran College of Art + Design as a programs coordinator. Katie has a BA in Religion from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. She enjoys biking to work.
Last week, we bid farewell to National Bike Month 2012 — a full 31 days of events and energy encouraging cycling in communities from coast to coast. Lucky for us, the end of May wasn’t the final curtain on this united, nationwide effort to get more people riding. The first week of June proved that the National Bike Challenge is keeping those wheels spinning.
This week, we broke 26,000 riders. By day’s end, we may hit 4 million miles logged. But, even more important than numbers, the Challenge is creating community. One of the most popular aspects of Bike Month was our Why I Ride series, which captured the personal stories of a diverse range of bicyclists across America. That got me thinking: Why are thousands of people riding in the National Bike Challenge?
I asked Heather Towers, a Maryland resident and active Challenge participant, to share some of her story — and here’s what she said.
Heather Towers
When and why did you start riding?
Like most kids, I always loved riding my bike but I lost track of the hobby as an adult. I just started back riding last summer and actually, for economic reasons. I was working as an AmeriCorps volunteer and living on a small stipend. A few months into my contract I realized that I lived, worked, and went to college all within five miles of each other and cycling just started to make sense as a way to save gas money and get a little healthier while I was at it. I actually started on (gasp) an old rusty discount store bike. As that summer progressed, I bought a like new Women’s Raleigh hybrid and that is the bike I use today. It’s heavy but a good utility bike. I have a sweet basket and bell on it.
What role did the National Bike Challenge play in getting you to ride or ride more?
Before the NBC [National Bike Challenge], I didn’t have a way to capture information about my effect on the environment (C02 saved) or my distances traveled. I knew I went a couple of miles each way now and then but I was not competitive about my riding. The Endomondo app helps me realize the multitude of benefits (calories burned, co2 saved, etc.) that I am gaining with each mile and this just encourages me to do even more riding. The prizes associated with the NBC also encourage me to ride more. I am very excited about the possibility of winning a road bike.
How has the group dynamic of the NBC — sharing stories, advice, etc — helped or inspired you?
The group aspect of the NBC has been the most wonderful part of the challenge for me. I have gained knowledge from so many more experienced riders and/or shared inspiration and encouragement with other cyclists in the NBC. The competition is very friendly and the general camaraderie impresses me. I absolutely love this aspect of the challenge and check my feeds and groups several times a day to see who else is out cycling or what they have to say. I would not be doing as well as I am today without this group dynamic.
How did the Challenge lead to your involvement in advocacy?
My riding the bike more often has gained the attention of my community, friends, and family. Recently, I was part of a local newspaper feature about transport cyclists. Thanks to the NBC, I gained the confidence and experience to become involved with a grassroots bike lane project here in my town. We are preparing to implement phase 1 of the project and just this week our community held a Bicycle Friendly Community Workshop, where Matt Wempe from the League came and spoke about BFCs and other tips for getting our project off the ground and formalized. Before the NBC, I wasn’t aware of the League and all the valuable things they do for cyclists and communities. I’ll continue to be an advocate for cycling safety in our community.
How has increased cycling and involvement in the Challenge impacted your life/style?
Increased cycling has given me so much joy in the last five weeks. I have experienced better cardiovascular health, energy, and overall strength. For someone that is used to getting the majority of her fitness in a gym, cycling is so much more fun! It is liberating and exciting — every day brings a new adventure on my bike. Another thing that makes me very happy about my increased cycling is the effect it’s had on friends and family — those that see my contagious joy and want to grab that for themselves. Many of them are getting on bikes for the first time in years and loving every minute. This pleases me so much. I have been even been commuting on the bike so much, that now I am preparing to join a ladies sport cycling group that rides weekly. There are so many exciting possibilities on the horizon for me and my new hobby, thanks to the NBC.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Even if you’re not from Mississippi or Maryland, you may know the names Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Thad Cochran (R-MS). The two U.S. Senators were instrumental in hammering out a bipartisan compromise that is the best hope for continued bicycle and pedestrian funding in the next federal transportation bill.
Right now, a special conference committee with members from both sides of the aisle is trying to negotiate a new bill before the latest extension expires at the end of June. The League and our partners at America Bikes are working hard to ensure the Cardin-Cochran compromise is included.
But what is the Cardin-Cochran amendment exactly? What would it do and why is it so important?
Mary Lauran Hall explains it all over on the America Bikes blog. Click here or the image below to learn more about the two words every bicyclist should know…
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Bridges are a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Advocates must take advantage of the chance to ensure bicycle and pedestrian access to connect communities and complete transportation networks people rely upon. In Albany, NY, the New York Bicycling Coalition (NYBC) has been working to ensure such access as part of the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge rehabilitation. The bridge is the main connection across the Hudson River between the cities of Albany and Rennesslaer.
Livingston Avenue Bridge
Sadly, bicycle and pedestrian access was discontinued in the 1980s due to a lack of maintenance, though the railroad tracks continue to be in operation. The only other crossing for 30 miles is the unsafe Dunn Memorial Bridge with a tacked-on walkway that doesn’t meet current ADA standards. The New York State Department of Transportation, CSX railroad and Amtrak are now working to rehab the entire bridge — but bicycle and pedestrian accommodation is in danger of being left out.
Advocacy Advance, a partnership of the Alliance for Biking and Walking and the League, awarded a Rapid Response Grant to help NYBC seize this opportunity. What started out as a campaign of two people has blossomed into widespread support to include a bicycle and pedestrian walkway on the bridge. Today, the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge Coalition partners include:
New York Bicycling Coalition
Parks & Trails New York
Empire State Future
Capital Region Transit Advocates
Many community leaders, advocates, and stakeholders in the capital region
The high-quality communications and outreach work has not gone unnoticed. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer recently added his support for bicycle and pedestrian access on the bridge. “Senator Schumer’s involvement at this early point in the project design is very timely,” said NYBC’s executive director, Brian Kehoe. “The Coalition anticipates productive engagement with all project stakeholders as this critical project moves forward. We deeply appreciate the Senator’s support for bicycling.”
Lessons Learned
Work continues on the bridge design and the coalition will continue to grow and advocate for a complete design. So what are some of the lessons learned by NYBC?
Grassroots support: After initial meetings with NYSDOT and Amtrak were unproductive, NYBC pursued a strategy of building local support. This included resolutions of support from the cities and counties of Albany and Rennesslaer, and inclusion in comprehensive land use, transportation and parks plans throughout the capital region. NYSDOT has now publicly stated that bicycle and pedestrian accommodation will be part of the design conversation.
Building the Coalition: The demand for bicycle and pedestrian accommodations is obvious now, but the coalition began with only two people. Simple steps such as a Change.org petition, Facebook page, print materials, and dedicated coalition website made that possible.
The Advocacy Advance team is looking forward to the continued success of this campaign. To learn more, get involved in the coalition, and stay updated on future progress, visit the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge Coalition website.
Here at the League, we like to practice what we preach. So a couple of weeks ago, we sat down with the scorecard for the Bicycle Friendly Business program — and rated ourselves.
Safe and convenient bike parking? Check. Incentives to ride to work? Check. Bicycle education materials available? Check. Aside from on-site showers, we were ticking off most of the boxes. But one important thing was long overdue: A group ride.
Yesterday, we happily checked that box. We left the office at 10:30 a.m. and pedaled down a protected cycletrack on 15th Street, cruised along the National Mall, caught up with the Anacostia River Trail and meandered through Capitol Hill before arriving at our lunch destination. Enjoying the gorgeous weather, we talked and laughed — and, yes, took a couple of wrong turns. But after 13 miles of riding (all logged for the National Bike Challenge!) we returned to our desks energized and reinvigorated. Nothing like a group ride to boost morale and keep us all fired up after another successful Bike Month!
Is your business bicycle friendly? Or interested in becoming bicycle friendly? The BFB program can help! Already, more than 400 businesses across the nation have been awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinus status. Applications for the next round of awards is coming up on June 22. Learn more and apply here.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Has anyone ever tried to tell you that there are too few bicyclists to reduce traffic congestion in any noticeable way? Well, new data shows that it doesn’t take large reductions in driving to see major improvements in traffic flow.
In 2011, total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the United States declined 1.2%. That means, due to the economy and other factors, Americans drove slightly less in 2011 than they did in 2010. But what makes that remarkable is the striking result: Congestion decreased 30%.
INRIX Traffic Scorecard
Bicyclists are everywhere, but we tend to flock to large dense cities – many of the places faced with the most congested roads and most likely to benefit from commuters leaving their cars at home in favor of their bikes.
Don’t worry if you’re not a bike commuter. It’s not just work trips that contribute to congestion. About half of all peak-hour trips are not work-related. If you’re riding instead of driving during morning and afternoon rush, you’re helping to ease congestion.
Talking Traffic 2011, NHTS, FHWA, Office of Highway Policy Information
Among other things, this is useful information for making the case to use Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement funds for bicycling and walking projects.
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
In May, we released the latest Bicycle Friendly States Ranking and, over the coming weeks, we’ll explore the building blocks of a BFS and profile some of the leading and innovative advocates and officials. Today, Scott Lyttle, Executive Director of Bike Utah, discusses the role of advocacy, the importance of collaboration, and “The Greatest Biking on Earth.”
Bike Utah partnered with state agencies for a Road Respect Ride in 2011
Guest post by Scott Lyttle
The most exciting thing about cycling in Utah is that the state offers the best of everything.
I’m going to steal our winter counterpart Ski Utah’s slogan “The Greatest Snow on Earth” and translate it to “The Greatest Biking on Earth.” Utah offers scenic recreational rides for families through the national parks. We offer hardcore roadies some of the most challenging climbs and descents. And we offer the best mountain biking throughout the entire state from Park City, Moab, St. George/Hurricane and Vernal.
I’ve only lived in Utah for five years, but I think Moab helped put Utah on the biking map more than 20 years ago when it established itself as the mountain biking Mecca. And since then, we’ve seen cycling grow throughout the state. There has been a 27 percent increase in bike commuting in Salt Lake City. Utah has endless potential. We have great recreational, road and mountain biking all year-round.
As the statewide advocacy organization it’s our role to continue building one powerful voice for cyclists to promote change. Since 2005, when Bike Utah was founded, the organization has been able to establish the state’s 3-foot-passing law, work with the Utah Highway Patrol to promote safe cycling, and create the Share the Road license plate. As we move forward as an organization we’re focusing on building statewide awareness through our annual Utah Bike Summit and the Road Respect Campaign, which is a partnership between Bike Utah, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and Utah Department of Public Safety (UDPS).
Utah Bike Summit
The League’s state ranking has given us some great feedback on what issues we need to tackle in Utah’s BFS Report Card. Funding is Utah’s biggest challenge. As Bike Utah builds the above mentioned relationships our goal is to continue identifying funding sources for new infrastructure.
As a young organization, Bike Utah feels that we can be most effective at building relationships with UDOT, UDPS, elected officials and local, regional and state planners while continuing to make an annual trip to the National Bike Summit and meet face to face with our members of Congress in Washington D.C. Those strong relationships will give Bike Utah a better opportunity to help influence future legislation, and state and federal funding.
Thus far, we’ve relied on many other organizations for help. I’ve personally spoken to Bike Texas, the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, groups from Portland, San Francisco, Minnesota… the list goes on. They have been invaluable in helping us grow as an organization and identify what areas we should focus on. I don’t think we’ll ever stop listening and asking for advice.
Last week, we wrapped up National Bike Month 2012, closing the book on 31 days of incredible energy and creativity from advocates and officials across the country to boost bicycling in their communities.
Here in Washington, D.C., the brilliant folks at Bicycle Space rolled out the red carpet for bike commuters — and, in our mind, everyone across the nation who organized or participated deserves that VIP treatment. THANK YOU for making Bike Month 2012 the best yet!
Unfortunately, we can’t tell you precisely how many (millions?) of people participated in Bike Month festivities, but we can share a few other impressive numbers:
$4,600,000,000: On Bike to Work Day, the League released a new fact sheet, in partnership with the Sierra Club and the National Council of La Raza, that showed Americans save $4.6 billion per year by riding their bikes instead of driving.
3,000,000: The National Bike Challenge kicked off on May 1st, and during Bike Month alone, riders logged more than 3 million miles!
1,006: On May 22, the League released our 2012 Bicycle Friendly States Ranking and the blog post alone was shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook.
700: This year, the Center for Safe Routes to School, in partnership with the League, launched the first-ever National Bike to School Day and more than 700 events took place in 49 states.
318: The Ride of Silence, which honors fallen cyclists, marked it’s 10 anniversary with 318 events in all 50 states and 19 countries. Highlighted as the 2012 Champion, 16-year-old Angelique Martinez in Oxnard, Calif., organized a ride in memory of her 6-year-old brother, Anthony, who was killed on Thanksgiving, riding in front of his house.
163: Sarai Snyder of Girl Bike Love designated May 13 as Cyclofemme — a day dedicated to women’s riding — and female cyclists organized 163 rides in 14 countries.
31: In honor of the “One Ride, Many Reasons” theme for this year’s Bike Month, we shared the inspiring personal stories of 31 cyclists from across the nation in our Why I Ride blog series.
But, perhaps the most important number of all:
361: Number of days until Bike Month 2013!
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
If you’ve ridden on a bicycle trail or a major stand-alone bicycling project, the chances are good that you have taken advantage of a product of the federal funding program known as Transportation Enhancements (TE).
Credit: National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse
As a new report from the National Transportation Enhancement Clearinghouse (NTEC) shows, every state, every congressional district, seemingly every community, has benefited from Enhancements projects, most of which relate to bicycling and walking:
Bicycling and walking infrastructure: 50.4%
Rail-Trails: 6.9%
Pedestrian facilities: 6.3%
Or bicycling and walking safety programs: 0.3%
The report shows the scope of the TE program at a time that a broadcoalition is fighting for the Cardin-Cochran agreement (new link), a measure in the next transportation authorization bill that would increase local control and ensure bicycling and walking funds get spent. Meanwhile, a handful of members of Congress on the transportation bill conference committee are doing their best to eliminate bicycling and walking funds altogether.
This attack comes despite the fact that the program has been popular and over-subscribed. “Transportation Enhancement funding continues to be in high demand,” the report says. “Most states report that they cannot fund all of the qualified projects and many sponsors are providing larger than the required non-federal share of project costs.”
“With the current interest in re-evaluating funding for the TE activities on Capitol Hill, it’s more important than ever to understand what these funds are and are not,” says Tracy Hadden Loh, NTEC’s director. “This report is a tool for decision-makers and their constituents to understand the role of the TE activities in building a complete and high-quality transportation system, and to explore variations in TE implementation from state to state.”
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.
There’s no denying that separated facilities, like buffered bike lanes in Los Angeles, are getting more folks riding. Yesterday in Chicago, our partners at Bikes Belong officially launched their new and exciting Green Lane Project to propel the development of such innovative facilities across the country.
Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez (red) leads the way down the Kinzie Street protected bikeway in Chicago (Credit: Bikes Belong)
Top transportation officials, including Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, headlined the launch of a new initiative to bring protected bikeways to six U.S. cities — Austin, Chicago, Memphis, Portland (Ore.), San Francisco and Washington, D.C. — over the next two years.
“We are seeing an explosion of interest in making bicycling stress-free on busy city streets,” Martha Roskowski, Green Lane Project director for Bikes Belong, said in the press release. “The selected cities have ambitious goals and a vision for bicycling supported by their elected officials and communities. They are poised to get projects on the ground quickly and will serve as excellent examples for other interested cities.”
Integrating “green lanes” — dedicated, inviting spaces for people on bikes in the roadway, protected by curbs, planters, posts or parked cars — has the potential to boost bicycling in a big way. Here in Washington, D.C., bicycle volume tripled after a protected cycletrack was installed on 15th Street, a key connector between residential neighborhoods and downtown workplaces. In Portland, Ore., more than 70 percent of survey respondents said bicycling is easier and safer in green lanes, too.
“Green lanes benefit everyone who uses city streets, not just people on bicycles,” Roskowski continued. “With these facilities, people in cars and on foot know where to expect bicycles. More people on bikes eases congestion. When people ride bikes, they are healthier, and they save money.”
Read more and see additional resources on the new Green Lane Project website: www.greenlaneproject.org.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
One of the many benefits of League membership is a subscription to our magazine, American Bicyclist. The latest issue includes features on the rise of women in the bicycle movement, a wonderful narrative about cycling in Japan, an interview with the “fittest couple on the planet” and so much more.
Click here or the image below to read the online edition.
I’m already working on the next issue, so, if you have comments you’d like to see on the Letters page in July/August, please email me: Carolyn@Bikeleague.org. We welcome and encourage your feedback!
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
More than 70 national organizations united today to urge members of Congress to preserve control over biking and walking projects in the federal transportation bill.
In a new sign-on letter to transportation bill conferees, the League and dozens of other groups asked members of Congress to support the Cardin-Cochran agreement, a bipartisan compromise that would give local governments and school systems access to a small amount of federal transportation funds for projects like sidewalks and bikeways.
While members of Congress may be debating the issue, most Americans overwhelming support these popular projects. A Princeton survey recently found that 83 percent of Americans want Congress to increase or maintain federal funding for sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways, including 80 percent of surveyed Republicans and 88 percent of Democrats.
Here’s what the League, AARP, National Council of La Raza, American Heart Association, and others urged the transportation conferees today:
Dear Members of the Conference Committee on Surface Transportation Reauthorization:
As you move forward conferring on the transportation bill, the 70 undersigned national organizations respectfully urge you to maintain the Cardin-Cochran agreement from MAP-21 in the conference report.
Our organizations care about a diverse range of issues—transportation, safety, accessibility, economic competitiveness, historic preservation, health and obesity. And we are united in asking you to ensure that local governments have flexibility and funding certainty to address these issues by making available to them a small portion of federal transportation dollars.
MAP-21 directs a percentage of funds under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program for “Additional Activities.” This program includes Transportation Enhancements with expanded eligibility for environmental mitigation, Safe Routes to School, and some road and other uses. These programs have traditionally been invested in a variety of smaller-scale, local transportation projects such as building sidewalks, bikeways and other improvements that make downtowns economically competitive and safe for families and pedestrians of all ages.
The Cardin-Cochran agreement is a bipartisan compromise that gives local governments a voice in transportation planning through sub-allocation and grant competitions. It gives local governments—those closest to the needs of their constituents and communities—an opportunity to weigh in on how states spend their Additional Activities federal transportation dollars. The compromise does not change the underlying Additional Activities program or the new eligibilities.
Americans want more biking and walking projects in their communities—rural, suburban, and urban—to provide healthy and safe transportation choices, improve air quality, create jobs and stimulate economic competitiveness in their downtowns. A national poll conducted in March 2012 by the Princeton Survey Research Associates showed that 83 percent of all Americans, including 88 percent of Democrats and 80 percent of Republicans, support maintaining or increasing federal investments in biking and walking.
Maintaining local access to this small portion of the transportation bill by retaining the Cardin-Cochran agreement is critical to ensuring that cities and counties of all sizes have a voice in addressing the needs of their constituents. We appreciate your consideration and urge your support for the Cardin-Cochran agreement.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Last week saw the release of the 2012 Bicycle Friendly State rankings and there was a lot of media coverage of the results. We take this as a good sign that the media and people in general are continuing to take notice of bicycling.
Equally impressive is the response from bike advocates across the country, who have been using the rankings and feedback to make the case for bike-friendly policies, programs, and infrastructure.
Over the next few months, we’ll be delving a bit deeper into the BFS data. There’s a lot of interesting trends and stories to share. For now, here are some quick facts that should be useful for anyone looking to move up in next year’s rankings.
Complete Streets policies have been adopted in 26 states to create safer, more livable streets for everyone.
Safe passing and vulnerable road user laws in 22 states are working to increase awareness of cyclists on the road and provide law enforcement an additional tool to create safer streets. Sixteen of these laws are safe passing, while six are a combination of safe passing and vulnerable road user. Legislation is pending in five states (MI, CA, MA, RI, and CT), with Washington’s law going into effect in July.
In order to spend federal safety funds on bicycles, they first have to be in the state’s strategic highway safety plan. Thirty states (including seven of the 10 least safe states for bicyclists) already include bicycles in these plans. Florida deserves credit for being the best at using these funds to address their bike safety problem.
Only 15 states have a statewide bicycle plan, a pretty sad statement about how state DOTs treat bicycles as part of the overall transportation system. To be fair, some states do include bicycles as part of their overall transportation plan (though the quality of this inclusion runs from recognizing they exist to just as good as a stand-alone plan).
The economic impact of bicycling is becoming one of the most potent arguments to win over state and local officials. So far 14 states have conducted some sort of economic impact study, most of which are focused on the overall impact to the state’s economy. Two of our favorites? Iowa and North Carolina.
Elsewhere in cycling advocacy…
The Missouri Blue Ribbon Committee on Transportation is currently touring the state over the next few months. Their objective is to tackle the current, and very serious, crisis in transportation funding in Missouri and set the direction for a new funding source in the Show Me State. If bicycles and pedestrians are included in this new funding source, it will change everything — for the better. The next meeting is June 1 in Springfield. Visit the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation website for the remaining dates.
Delaware Governor Jack Markell has asked the state General Assembly to invest millions of dollars to support walking and bicycling. The critical committee vote on the Governor’s request will be next week, or the week after. Bike Delaware is asking residents to contact state senators and representatives today to ask them to support this important budget request.
Have news from your advocacy organization? Email Matt Wempe, state and local advocacy coordinator, at matt@bikeleague.org.
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Well, think again.
Bike Walk Mississippi (BWM) will receive a $10,000 matching grant to hire a second staff person to increase their effectiveness throughout the state with targeted campaigns. The new campaign manager will work with communities to develop action plans to increase bicycle friendliness. BWM will create a toolkit of resources leading to increased infrastructure, policy and programs on the local level while increasing representation on and ownership of Mississippi’s statewide Bike/Ped Plan. 
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