Kory Northrop created these graphics to show the relationship between bicycle commuting, safety, and government spending. His aim, he writes, was to present bicycling-related data ‘in a manner that is more easily digestible [which] is important to informing policymakers and the public about these issues.”
Kory presents, graphically, data from our tables of American Community Survey bicycle commuting data to show bicycle commuter rates by state, with boxes that illustrate the gender mode split (the larger the yellow box, the more female cyclists). The graph is interactive: you can scroll through the years from 2005 to 2010.
Using the list of US cities with populations over 60,000, Kory graphed commuter data, sort-able by the number of bike commuters, the percentage of bicycle commuters, and the number of female and male bicyclists.
Next, Kory presents the number of bicyclist fatalities in the 50 states for each year since 2000. For the years 2005 through 2010 he calculated a fatality rate using the number of bicycle commuters as the denominator.
Then Kory shows the amount of FHWA Federal-Aid transportation funds states spent on bicycle and pedestrian projects since 1992. The size of the circle represents per capita spending. This is a topic close to our hearts. For more information on accessing federal funds for bicycling and walking projects, please visit our Advocacy Advance website.
Finally, there is an overview that shows commuter levels and fatalities over the years.
Vote now. We’d love to see Kory’s graphic win the challenge.
But if you’re not sold, you have another bicycling graphic option to choose. This one shows roadway bicycle “accidents” on several roads in Chicago. (Ed. note, we know the preferred term is crash.)
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.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is an infographic worth?
In an effort to spread the word about bicycling’s benefits and popularity, Bike Walk Twin Cities created this infographic as part of Bike Walk Move, a local campaign to encourage more biking and walking in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.
“The infographic says, ‘Hey, look how many people are getting around on bikes,’” says Hilary Reeves, Communications Manager of Bike Walk Twin Cities. “We wanted to gather some local stats and put them in a bit of context. The stats get your attention; validate things.”
The Bike Walk Move campaign spreads the word about new bicycling options in the Twin Cities resulting from the federal Non-motorized Transportation Pilot Program administered by Transit for Livable Communities. “We want people to know they can make their way all across the metro, and beyond, on a lot of new routes, including bicycle boulevards,” Reeves says. The Twin Cities, along with Columbia, MO, Marin County, CA, Sheboygan County, WI, received the pilot project funds to increase bicycling and walking as transportation.
The numbers show growth in bicycling and walking, suggesting a wider acceptance, generally, of the bike as a way to get around. The Twin Cities have a higher share of female cyclists than most places and, of course, their famously intrepid winter cyclists show up in the data – one in five cyclists ride throughout the winter. Overall, the data show the cost-effectiveness of bicycling investments. “As Minneapolis Mayor Rybak has noted, you get a lot of bang for the buck with these investments,” Reeves says.
The infographic is one piece of an ongoing effort under the Bike Walk Move moniker to expand audiences for bicycling. The campaign has tabled at farmers markets, partnered with the local Major Taylor Bicycling Club, and put ads on buses featuring local bicyclists and their reasons for choosing to bike or walk, such as “infinity miles to the gallon.” “The effort is really trying to be inclusive,” Reeves says, “To say, you can do this, too.”
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.
We are watching this legislation carefully and are raising this issue with Congress. Right now, we want to show the Senate how important the right to the road is to cyclists – and voters. As part of our “I Bike. I Vote.” campaign, please sign our petition opposing the mandatory sidepath provision.
We will keep you updated on our progress on the mandatory sidepath clause and other critical issues in the proposed legislation. An action alert may be needed at some point. In the meantime, you can register for the National Bike Summit, where together we will make the very strong case for bicycling to Congress.
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 annual National Bike Summit has transformed bicycling in the United States since the first Summit 11 years ago. The first Summit was small — only 100 bicycling advocates attended — but as of last year, 800 attended and the nation was listening. Though we have made an amazing amount of progress since 2001 and changed the way many Americans think about bicycling and transportation, most of our current leaders on Capitol Hill have not been touched or changed by our message.
Many of you who follow bicycling advocacy have been riding the Transportation Bill and Enhancements roller coaster with the League and our partners in the America Bikes Coalition. We have been battered this year with our current administration’s threat to change the way bicycling is funded and to simply not fund bicycling at all. Currently, there is even a proposed law to force cyclists off roads on Federal lands and onto sidepaths. This is where you come in.
The National Bike Summit is March 20-22 in Washington, D.C.; and on the third day of the event, we coordinate congressional meetings for all attendees with their representatives. You get to meet your senators and tell them what bicycling means to your state and why bicycling is an integral part of our transportation system. Furthermore, the timing couldn’t be better. The Transportation Bill is set to expire on March 31, 2012 — just a few short weeks after we are on the Hill putting the ask in for bicycling. The bill will either be re-written or extended — more than likely extended — and with your help, bicycling will not be left behind.
Please don’t let let Capitol Hill take us back 50 years to a time when bicycling was not funded and not considered transportation. Our hard fought work must not be thrown away. Register for the Summit by tomorrow, November 11 (11.11.11) to SAVE CYCLING and save $50 off the already discounted early bird registration. Use the code SUMMIT12 when you are filling out the online registration form.
Make your voice heard this March at the Bike Summit. Until then, make your voice heard on Twitter with #nbs12 (National Bike Summit 2012).
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.
Section § 203 (d) (p. 226), the part dealing with the “Federal lands transportation program”, states:
(d) BICYCLE SAFETY.—The Secretary of the appropriate Federal land management agency shall prohibit the use of bicycles on each federally owned road that has a speed limit of 30 miles per hour or greater and an adjacent paved path for use by bicycles within 100 yards of the road.
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. This paragraph would introduce a mandatory sidepath law on roads in our National Parks and other Federal lands.
For those unfamiliar with this term, it’s a provision that used to be found in a lot of state vehicle codes that says that when a sidepath (bike path, trail) is provided for cyclists, they have to use it and can’t ride on the parallel roadway. Over the past 20 years, the number of states with this law still on their books has dwindled to just a handful. The problem with the provision is that the restriction applies regardless of the quality, safety, and utility of the path provided; it disregards the needs of cyclists to be on the roadway to access shops, services etc.; and ignores our fundamental right to the road.
The law is rooted in a couple of mistaken philosophies. One such idea is that it’s just not safe for cyclists to sharing the road with cars going more than 30 mph and thus, for our own safety, we should have to use a path that is provided. This paternalistic (at best) approach is guilty of not only blaming the victim but simply doesn’t make sense unless every higher-speed roadway has a path alongside it.
The second principle at play is the idea that “we provided this path for you, you’d darned well better use it”. To which our response should be…if the path is any good, you shouldn’t have to force anyone to use it; they will use it voluntarily because it works. Our communities are replete with examples of poorly designed, built and maintained paths that are little more than glorified sidewalks. Many of these are throwbacks to the 1970s and 1980s; we are generally getting better about this. Anyway, cyclists routinely ignore these shoddy paths because they are dangerous, slow, and out of the way – but anyone that rides any amount knows that’s kind of hard to explain succinctly as you respond to the inevitable “get off the road” epithets yelled by passing motorists.
The inclusion of this provision in the Senate bill is really troubling on many levels.
Given the Park Service’s general track record on accommodating bicyclists of late – i.e. we really don’t want you in our Parks – it’s hard to assume any positive motives behind this proposal. Is there data or any factual basis for this move?
What precedent does this set? Two pretty awful ones come quickly to mind: why stop at Federal land highways; and if roads with higher than 30mph speed limits are so unsafe for bicyclists to share with motorists, bicyclists shouldn’t be using them, period.
This throwback to a paternalistic 1950s approach to cyclists safety is bad news; flies in the face of a 30-year trend of removing these bad laws from state vehicle codes; and threatens our long-cherished and very basic right to the road. We will do all we can to stop it from becoming law – but that won’t happen overnight.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee just voted the bill out of Committee with minimal changes (the authors had such hard-fought and finely-negotiated language that they really didn’t want to change anything at this stage). There are quite a few things that have to fall into place before the bill comes to the Senate floor for a vote (like the entire transit section, finances to pay for the bill, and floor time on the Senate schedule).
Because there isn’t a specific opportunity to strip the language from the bill right now, you won’t likely see an action alert or all-out campaign – but that doesn’t mean we aren’t working to get the job done. All our colleagues in the America Bikes coalition are on the same page, and can’t believe this language has reared its ugly head again after so many years.
We are ready with proposed changes – in this case, simply striking the provision altogether – and we’ll need to have support lined up to make it happen. For the meantime, you can write your Senators an e-mail or letter saying that you REALLY don’t like this provision. Tell them that it’s the wrong thing to do today and sets an awful precedent for tomorrow. This will help get the issue on their radar and will help with a specific push later.
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.
Transportation for America has put together a helpful visual (above) on their blog showing the consolidation of the various funding programs, as proposed by the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works. As you can see, the main funding sources for bicycling — Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to Schools, and Recreational Trails — would get grouped into the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program category. This category has two parts: traditional CMAQ activities and additional activities. Bicycling projects fall under additional activities. Unfortunately, the total amount of funding for bicycling projects is equal only to Transportation Enhancements’ FY 2009 level. There is also an opt-out clause that allows states to use the “additional activities” money for the traditional CMAQ activities, if “unobligated balances” accumulate.
For more on this, see the America Bikes side-by-side analysis of MAP-21 with SAFETEA-LU (the current authorization act).
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.
Late last week, the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works released their draft of the surface transportation authorization bill, the law that will determine transportation programs and funding. The America Bikes Coalition has reviewed the 600 page document and issued the following statement:
The America Bikes coalition – representing the nation’s leading bicycling and walking groups – today expressed their appreciation for the continued inclusion of funding opportunities for biking and walking in MAP‐21.
America Bikes remains deeply concerned, however, that bicycling and walking programs suffer disproportionate cuts in funding in the new bill, and that significant additional activities are made eligible for these limited funds. We remain committed to working with the EPW Committee and full Senate to resolve these issues, especially in the light of the Senate’s continued, strong bi‐partisan support for bicycle and pedestrian funding as shown in several recent votes on the Senate floor.
The process of honoring the public’s strong support for these programs begins immediately with amendments that have been introduced already by Senate supporters of dedicated funding for non‐motorized transportation.
Specific concerns include:
1. The current dedicated funding programs for bicycling and walking are combined into one program, with significantly less funding;
2. An expanded list of eligible activities are added to this smaller funding pot, including such big‐ticket items as NEPA compliance and land acquisition for wetland mitigation; and
3. The proposed bill effectively allows states to completely opt out of the program and would allow all this money to be redirected to highway construction.
The America Bikes coalition calls on the leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to restore dedicated funding for bicycling and walking in MAP‐21 and remove the opt‐out provision that would encourage States to eliminate funding for these two modes altogether.
When America Bikes, America Benefits.
From San Francisco to Bentonville, Arkansas, and from Oklahoma City to New York City, communities are increasingly investing in bicycling and walking infrastructure and programs to support popular, healthy and cost‐effective transportation. These investments – made possible by dedicated federal transportation dollars – are working:
• Commuting trips by bike have increased nationwide by more than 40% since 2000; bicycling and walking now account for 12% of all trips in the United States.
• Thousands of Safe Routes to School programs are reducing congestion and improving safety in communities across the country.
• Recreational trails are heavily used and provide crucial economic benefits, especially in rural communities. A transportation bill designed to efficiently move America in this new century should continue to include dedicated funding to create safe and accessible places for people to bike and walk.
Since 2005, a total of just 1.5 percent of annual federal transportation funding has been devoted to supporting these activities. Biking and walking not only comprise more than 12 percent of all trips but also account for 14% of annual traffic fatalities.
Dedicated funding for bike/ped projects – one or two cents of every dollar – is a time‐tested, popular, and effective approach to building a truly multi‐modal national transportation system that offers choice, safety and access for all.
Increasing the safety and use of non‐motorized transportation reduces congestion, saves lives and money, protects the environment…and creates more jobs per million dollars of investment than highway‐only projects: exactly what MAP‐21 should be trying to do.
Dedicated funding for bicycling and walking enjoys broad support at all levels of Government. Less than one week ago, 60 Senators voted in bi‐partisan support of preserving the Transportation Enhancement program – the third such vote in support of the program this year. At the state level, transportation enhancement, safe routes to school and recreational trails programs typically receive at least three times more requests for funding than is available. In May, a survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed solid support among Mayors for funding of bicycling and walking infrastructure.
America Bikes is a coalition of leaders from the bicycle community advocating for positive outcomes for bicycling in the federal transportation 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.
Last week in Washington started on a high – and not just the sugar high generated by Halloween candy. We opened registration for the 2012 National Bike Summit. The Summit is a huge deal for us; a lot of work to pull together, but incredibly rewarding to see the growing impact it has each year on our issues and our movement. Clearly, the 2012 edition is going to be as critical as any previous events coming as it does just eight days before the current transportation bill expires.
Our excitement is obviously shared: folks in Arkansas and Oklahoma were proudly telling me later in the week that they had signed up already and even knew what number registrant they were!
Tuesday was a face-to-face America Bikes board meeting…and of course it was also the day of the remarkable Senate vote on Rand Paul’s amendment to strip the transportation enhancements program of all its funding and divert those dollars to bridge repair. Thanks to a massive outpouring of e-mails and calls from tens of thousands of supporters, the amendment was voted down by 60 to 38. We learned the result during the America Bikes board meeting, and it was an exciting moment. Sixty votes in the Senate is actually a pretty big deal. That’s a veto-proof majority and not many issues have garnered that kind of bi-partisan support in this most divided Congress. Yes, Republicans, Democrats and Independents voted together to unequivocally support the continuation of the TE program.
The following day, as if more validation were needed, a huge report was released by the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Researchers found that:
Cutting out short auto trips and replacing them with mass transit and active transport would yield major health benefits, according to a study just published in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The biggest health benefit was due to replacing half of the short trips with bicycle trips during the warmest six months of the year, saving about $3.8 billion per year from avoided mortality and reduced health care costs for conditions like obesity and heart disease.
Wow, that’s just what the enhancements and safe routes to schools programs could help make happen, right? You betcha. So, thank you, Senators, for having the wisdom to maintain funding for such a valuable program with long-term financial benefits to individuals, communities and the nation. Remember, the total amount of Federal funding going to bicycling and walking projects in FY2011 was around $750 million…so $3.8 billion annually in returns is a pretty good investment by anyone’s standards!
Thursday morning I was traveling and picked up a copy of USA Today. The cover story was a new AAA research report on the phenomenal cost of motor vehicle crashes – $6m for every one of the more than 35,000 fatalities in 2009. Two interesting things beyond the staggering overall costs involved: first, the cost and impacts of crashes far outweigh those caused by congestion, which suggests safety should be higher priority than congestion relief for highway departments. Second, the study compared the relative costs of crashes per capita in different sized cities and showed low and high ranges. Lo and behold, all of the low-end communities – where crashes were the lowest – were Bicycle Friendly Communities of note: San Francisco (gold), Colorado Springs (silver) and Boulder (platinum). Coincidence? I don’t think so.
There is tremendous bi-partisan support for encouraging bicycling and walking as part of Federal transportation program. There are incredible health and environmental benefits to be had from such an investment. And in those places that are investing in making non-motorized transportation work, every resident is benefitting in terms of safety and quality of life, whether they bicycle or not.
Could the week possibly get any better?
Well, late on Friday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released their 600-page draft of the next Federal transportation bill. For now, you can look at the bill yourself (enjoy…it is only 600 pages after all), and review thisside-by-side analysis of the critical funding sections for bicycling and walking programs and decide for yourself what impact this might have on funding for those activities. We’ll provide more commentary on Tuesday, ahead of the Committee mark-up on Wednesday – then you’ll discover whether the high’s of the week continued, or the scary part of Halloween came to the fore…
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.
It was great to see the turn-out on Friday when representatives from federal agencies, Maryland and the District of Columbia came together to celebrate the opening of a new section of the Anacostia River Trail at Bladensburg Waterfront Park, part of the Obama Administration’s America’s Great Outdoors program.
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley praises the new Anacostia River Trail as DC Mayor Vincent Gray, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Maryland's US Senator Ben Cardin look on.
Officials in attendance included:
Ken Salazar, Secretary of Interior
Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation
John D. Porcari, Deputy Secretary of Transportation
Bob Perciasepe, Deputy Administrator, EPA
Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland
Ben Cardin, United States Senator for Maryland
Rushern L. Baker, III, Prince George’s County Executive
Vincent Gray, Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Jon Jarvis, Director, National Park Service
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar (green jacket) and Senator Ben Cardin (brown jacket) ride the new trail.
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 Federal Highway Administration is seeking input into which critical areas of research they should invest their limited Surface Transportation Environment and Planning (STEP) Cooperative Research Program funds – and one of the focus areas is bicycle and pedestrian research. The comment period closes November 10, so get your comment in quickly using this FHWA website. This isn’t the place to suggest researching improvements to the bicycle itself, but the environment in which bicyclists operate and the way in which they operate is fair game. The level of interest in bike-related topics is important to the final allocation of research funds, so even if you don’t have a fully-formed research problem statement to submit, please throw your ideas into the hopper.
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.
Thanks to all of you who contacted your Senators, Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) amendment that would have diverted Transportation Enhancement funds to bridge repairs, was soundly defeated. Transportation Enhancements are a key source of funding for bicycling and walking infrastructure. The amendment would not have made a significant impact on the state of repair of bridges, but would have drastically impacted active transportation investments. Sixty Senators voted against the measure.
While Sen. Paul once again railed against “squirrel sanctuaries,” as a possible use of Enhancement funds, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) pointed out that Paul’s amendment would actually hinder bridge repair in certain instances. “The amendment prevents a bridge from being fixed if it is a historic bridge,” Boxer said. “There are thousands of those in this country, including the Brooklyn Bridge.”
Senator Rand Paul's anti-bike amendment failed by a vote of 38 to 60.
This was the thirdtime in two months that the Senate has voted to protect Transportation Enhancements. As long as the attacks keep coming, we’ll keep fighting them. Thank you to the thousands of people who sent action alerts to your Senators. We need to keep reminding them that these are popular, critical, and beneficial transportation projects. So far, they’re hearing us. Now is a good time to thank them.
Here is how the Senators voted (courtesy of www.Senate.gov, hat-tip Eric Rogers):
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.
Senator Rand Paul is proposing legislation that would take away the small amount of money that goes to bicycling programs and redirect it to bridge maintenance. It would be just a tiny drop in the bucket and it won’t even begin to solve the problems with our bridges. But it sounds good and some Senators might buy it. We must let our Senators know how critical the safety of bicyclists is. We need biking AND bridges, not one or the other.
League President Andy Clake explains what this is all about:
The attacks on bicycling spending seem relentless. Fortunately, no one is more relentless than cyclists. If the critics of bicycling in Congress think they can outlast us, they’re wrong. But they are trying again to do away with Transportation Enhancements. We can’t let any attack go unanswered — and this one is for real.
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’s happening again. Just one month ago, Sen. Coburn (R-OK) failed in his efforts to strip funding for Transportation Enhancements from the six-month transportation extension.
Now, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is taking the lead in trying to destroy Transportation Enhancements. On November 1, the Senate will finalize the transportation appropriations bill, which sets funding levels for FY2012. Sen. Paul has offered an amendment to redirect all funding for Transportation Enhancements to bridge repair. Here’s why his arguments don’t make sense.
This is the third time in a month that a small group of Senators have targeted Transportation Enhancements, using a different angle each time. It is a red herring, and a waste of the Senate’s time and taxpayers dollars to focus on this small and valuable program when we are in dire need of real and viable solutions to fix our failing transportation system.
We agree on the need to keep our bridges safe, but the lives of pedestrians and cyclists are important too. That is why we believe Senator Paul should withdraw his amendment now and let the Senate EPW Committee, which has jurisdiction over writing the next transportation bill, do their job. The Committee is actually scheduled to mark-up their bill on November, 9. That is the appropriate time to discuss changes to the overall transportation program, not during the appropriations process.
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.
If you are a student looking to add tens of thousands of dollars of long term debt, care little about the environment, and want to lump two tons of steel around campus while paying through the nose for insurance, gas, and parking…General Motors has got a perfect deal for you. Bonus: it’ll make you fat and unhealthy! All you have to do is give up that dorky bicycle that’s easy to use, practically free, gets you some exercise and is actually fun to ride.
Thankfully, a whole lot of you agreed with us…and took to Twitter and Facebook in large numbers. By the next day, General Motors had heard from so many upset cyclists that they canceled the advertisement. They also responded tweet by tweet to everyone who contacted them by Twitter to apologize. Several of the tweets said, “Want to let you know we’re making changes to the ads based on input. We created w/student input and didn’t mean to offend.”
Though it seems a little unfair to throw students under the bus for the campaign, it is remarkable, and commendable, how quickly GM made the decision and responded using social medial. However, with nearly equal swiftness, a bicycle company joined the conversation. Giant Bicycles responded with this ad, which parodies the original:
This one reads: "Reality DOES suck. Luckily Bicycles don't." We agree.
This version of the ad perfectly captures what most bicyclists were thinking when we saw the GM campaign. Bikes do not suck.
Thanks to Joe Gilpin of Alta Planning + Design for passing this along on the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals listserv.
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.
On October 1, 2010, 15 cyclists left Outspokin’ bike shop in Augusta, Ga. on their weekly ride across the state border into Aiken, S.C. A truck, driven by Daniel Johnson, collided with the group and injured four cyclists and tragically left one other, Dr. Matthew Burke, critically injured with severe head trauma. After 128 days in a coma on life support, Dr. Burke passed away on February 6, 2011. The Palmetto Cycling Coalition and South Carolina cycling attorney Peter Wilborn worked on the case, and Johnson was charged with reckless homicide on February 8, 2011. After eight months of investigation and legal wrangling, Johnson admitted to his crime yesterday, October 17 and pled guilty to felony manslaughter. Johnson was taken immediately into custody and will be sentenced today, Tuesday, October 18th.
“Matt Burke’s legacy is that drivers can and should be treated as criminals for killing cyclists. Throughout the country, cycling deaths are regularly dismissed by law enforcement as mere traffic ‘accidents.’ But often they are not accidental, the needless fatalities are tragic consequences of reckless driving and lawless drivers,” Wilborn writes on his BikeLaw.com blog. “The driver’s felony conviction here proves to police, policymakers and drivers to take cycling safety seriously. This case from South Carolina is an example of how to do it right.”
Johnson claimed to have been distracted while reaching for something. Dr. Burke, a U.S. Army major and orthopedic surgeon, had been home from Iraq for about a year. “The police originally said it was just an accident,” says Wilborn. “We asked the police to just consider the data, and you know what? They listened. They did their job … and charged the driver with reckless homicide — the most serious thing that a driver could be charged with.” The South Carolina Highway Patrol and the Aiken County Solicitor’s office performed the investigation.
Dr. Burke is survived by his wife Bonnie and 1-year-old daughter, Anna. Dr. Burke was only 38. Paul Burke, the cyclist’s brother, stated on Wilborn’s blog: “Today’s felony conviction establishes the criminal responsibility of Daniel Johnson for the senseless death of Matthew P. Burke. Dr. Burke was riding legally in a group of fifteen cyclists when he and four other riders were struck from behind by Mr. Johnson on a long, flat straight road in broad daylight.”
To learn more about improving cycling safety and police enforcement, read “Enforcement: The Final Frontier” in the July/August issue of American Bicyclist magazine.
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.
New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, along with US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Congressman Earl Blumenauer, announced the release of the print version of the National Association of City Transportation Official’s Urban Bikeway Design Guide.
“This is a guide cities should use,” said Secretary LaHood in front of the Union Station Bike Station. He went on to enumerate all of the exciting things that are happening in cities from New York to Chicago to Portland. The Secretary also said today that he won’t serve a second term as Transportation Secretary — certainly bad news for bicyclists.
“The Urban Bikeway Design Guide is a really critical piece for cities across the country who want to encourage bicycling as part of the transportation mix,” League President Andy Clarke said after the event, “And it fills a real void in available information on designing and implementing more innovative roadway designs and designs that work in our cities. The on-line guide is already a valuable resource to aspiring Bicycle Friendly Communities – the print version just makes it seem even more real and impressive!”
From left, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, and League President Andy Clarke show off their new NACTO design guides.
The NACTO Urban Bikeways Design Guide takes a ride on Capital Bikeshare.
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.
In September, the Wilmington, DE, Area Planning Council (WILMAPCO) approved DelDOTs request for $480,000 in federal CMAQ funds for the final phase of the Wilmington-to-New Castle Industrial Track for fiscal year 2012. By tapping into Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) improvement funds for bicycling projects – the first time ever in Delaware – Bike Delaware and its allies have opened the door for the future funding of bicycling projects that give people options to substitute their cars trips with enjoyable, healthy, non-polluting, non-traffic-clogging bike trips.
Every year Delaware spends about $12 million in federal CMAQ dollars. “But in the 20 year history of the CMAQ program, not one dime has ever been used for bicycling, greenways or trails in Delaware,” wrote Bike Delaware Executive Director James Wilson, “Until now. We have broken a 20 year drought and also set an immensely hopeful precedent for the future.”
A completed part of Delaware's Wilmington to New Castle trail
A little background:Federal transportation dollars are divided up into different pots of money, each with different rules and eligible project-types. Over the past twenty years, most bicycle projects have been funded out of a few dedicated programs. But bicycle projects are eligible for several other, larger pots of money for purposes such as safety, congestion reduction, and general surface transportation. It’s these larger funding sources that can really make a difference in the amount of funds dedicated to non-motorized transportation. But it also means that bike projects have to compete against a broader range of transportation projects. We believe bicycling advocates and transportation agencies have come a long way and are ready for the challenge.
As I’ve said before, accessing federal funds can be a daunting task, but it’s one with potentially game-changing pay-off. Bike Delaware has shown impressive leadership and vision in doggedly pursuing CMAQ funds for bicycling, despite no precedent in the state.
The CMAQ chapter of Bike Delaware’s ongoing effort to increase the state’s investment in bicycling and walking projects, started with a major victory. In July, after much advocacy by Bike Delaware and others,the Delaware General Assembly approved “Walkable, Bikeable Delaware” and, a month later, voted $5 million in the state budget for state bike routes. The intention from the beginning was to use that amount as matching funds for federal funding programs, like CMAQ, which require a 20 percent state or local match.
Bike Delaware had several projects prioritized and they set out to get them “programmed” – projects selected for federal funding that would then be added to the Transportation Improvement Plan. The next thing they had to do was understand how projects get programmed in Delaware.
We advise advocates to learn the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHY, HOW of the selection process:
Who makes the selection decisions?
What are the rules and requirements governing the selections (ie. Application form, criteria) and what are the barriers that negatively impact bike/ped?
When are applications due and selections made?
Why do some projects get selected and not others?
And how do bicycle and pedestrian projects compete with motorized projects?
Bike Delaware took up the task. Although the project selection process was fairly typical in its opaqueness, advocates identified the WILMAPCO Technical Advisory Committee as a key decision-making body. With the $5 million in dedicated state funds as a source for the required 20 percent local match, advocates were able to participate in the process to get federal funds programmed and compete on something like an equal footing for the first time with other transportation projects. The result was the breakthrough last month: Delaware’s 1st ever CMAQ-funded bike project.
As we work with advocates and agency staff across the country as part of our Advocacy Advance Action 2020 Workshops, we will be using Delaware as an example of can be accomplished with savvy and determination. We look forward to the upcoming Delaware Bike Summit on Oct 14th. We will be there to talk about federal funding opportunities and celebrating Delaware’s CMAQ break-through.
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 welcomes Matt Wempe, our brand new State and Local Advocacy Coordinator. He comes to us from Fort Collins, CO, where he was a transportation planner and Safe Routes to School Coordinator.
It’s a beautiful fall day here in the nation’s capital, made even better by all the children and parents walking to school for International Walk to School Day. They are joining families from throughout the world to celebrate walking as an excellent way to start the school day. Besides the absolute fun of walking with friends and neighbors, there are myriad benefits: children arrive at school energized and ready to learn, they are closer to the recommended 60 minutes of daily exercise, fewer parents drive (as much as 10 to 14 percent of morning traffic can be generated by parents driving children to school), and there is a greater sense of school community.
Students at Portland, Oregon's Prescott Elementary School walk to school
If this sounds great to you, it does to us as well! League president Andy Clarke joined students in Portland, Oregon on their morning walk to school today. “All over the world, kids are walking and biking to school today,” he said, “and if the students at Prescott Elementary are any indication they are loving it. We do have an important responsibility to make sure our children can travel safe – they’ll take care of the fun!”
Prescott Elementary Students complete their Bike Train ride to school
Today doesn’t have to be the only day of the year your family walks. Safe Routes to School programs in communities nationwide work year round to support walking and biking as viable ways to get to school. The League has been working to protect Safe Routes to School funding in the federal transportation bill reauthorization. These critical funds provide a real benefit for communities across America to directly improve walking and biking infrastructure and programs for some of our most vulnerable citizens. Keep updated and learn more about the program at the League’s Safe Routes to School page.
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.
Last Saturday, we partnered with Bikes Belong for Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play at the White House. Nickelodeon encouraged cities across the globe to host events, and the channel shut off all programming for three hours to prove the point that kids need to go outside and play.
The D.C. event was a big success, with more than 600 kids biking through the bike course on the White House lawn. The participants were shown the proper way to fit a helmet, the parts of the bike and how to make sure they were working properly, how to obey the laws the of the street, and were encouraged to get out and ride more often. The kids all enjoyed the activities and were pumped for the bike zone on the lawn. Some kids were so excited to ride bikes that they wouldn’t listen to their parents when they were told it was time to stop riding — there were a few feet stomping episodes to convince their moms and dads to let them ride more. One little girl was so excited, she brought her own pink and white helmet adorned with glitter, just so she could ride. It was great to see the next generation so excited to ride. Hopefully, they’ll keep that up far into adulthood. To learn how to teach your child to bike, visit the League’s kids bike education info page on bikeleague.org.
Thanks to the the Washington Area Bicycling Association – we couldn’t have done it without you!
Nickelodeon, World Wide Day of Play and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
Alissa Simcox League Director of Education
Simcox joined the League in July 2011. For the 5 years prior, she worked with the Congressional Youth Leadership Council and the National Association of Home Builders. She holds a BA in Education and Recreation and Leisure Administration from Florida State University.
The 2010 US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) bike to work data that we analyzed this weekand last has sparked a lot of conversation and press coverage as communities gauges their biking levels and compare themselves to one another. Not surprisingly, we tend to zero in on the biking data. But there is a whole world of journey-to-work data out there in the ACS results.
That’s where Brian McKenzie and Melanie Rapino at the US Census bureau come in. They reviewed the 2009 ACS journey to work data to give us all a general overview of commuting in America.
The first point they make is a very important one, especially for those of us interested in cycling levels:
In the United States, commutes make up less than 20 percent of all trips taken.
Commutes can present challenges to bicycling that don’t necessarily exist for other utilitarian trips. They’re a fixed distance. We don’t all have the luxury of living near work. Sometimes our commutes are outside of comfortable biking distance. Sometimes there a dress code, and nowhere to get cleaned up. Sometimes bikes aren’t allowed in our work buildings. We don’t all work at Bicycle Friendly Businesses. But none of this means that we don’t ride for other purposes. Our need to look at commuting data — because consistent, comparable data for different geographic areas isn’t readily available — means that we’re only learning about one in five of all of the trips we’re making. The need for better data is considerable.
That said, there’s a lot we can learn from commuter travel data. The folks at the Census Bureau made the following observations (taken directly from their report):
Commuting highlights from the 2009 ACS are:
Over three-quarters of the nation’s workers drove alone to work.
Workers took an average of 25.1 minutes to get to work.
Hispanic workers carpooled at a rate of 16.4 percent, compared with 9.5 percent for non-Hispanic workers.
The rate of public transportation usage among the foreign-born population was 10.8 percent, more than twice that of the native-born population, at 4.1 percent.
Suburban workers drove alone at a rate of 81.5 percent, compared with 72.1 percent for workers living inside of a principal city.
The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area had the longest average commute, at 34.6 minutes.
The 10 metro areas with the shortest average commute times have populations of fewer than 300,000 people.
Using the 2009 ACS data for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (not the city geographies that we use), they put together these tables for bicycling and walking:
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.
Last week, we shared with you the 2010 US Census Bureau American Community Survey bicycle commuting data. Here is a visual representation of the trends:
Thanks to Kate Powlison at Bikes Belong for putting together this very attractive graph using ACS data to show the growth of bike commuting since 2000 in the largest Bicycle Friendly Communities, non-BFCs, and the national rate. Click on the image for a larger version.
Another version here, without the 70 city average:
The notes on the American Community Survey are worth repeating:
ACS limitations, notes, and cautions
The ACS asks only about commuting. It does not tell us about bicycling for non-work purposes.
Results are based on a survey of a sample of the population. Surveys take place throughout the year. The journey to work question asks respondents about the previous week.
The journey to work question asks about the primary mode of transportation to work. The wording of the question undercounts the actual amount of bike commuting that occurs. It does not count people who rode once or twice a week or people who bike to transit (if the transit leg is longer than the bike leg).
Since the ACS is a survey of a sample, the results are estimates. The ACS releases a margin of error along with the estimate. Users can add and subtract the margin of error value from the estimate to find the top and bottom of the range within which the ACS is 90 percent confident in their estimate lies. Refer to the2010 city table for margins of error.
Changes among years may not be statistically significant. Be cautious when drawing conclusions based on one year changes. Look at the trend over a number of years.
The numbers reported here are for the “principal city,” not the larger Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
UPDATE: A note of caution from the US Census Bureau: ”The 2009 ACS and 2010 ACS 1-year estimates use different Census base years for the population estimates used in the ACS weighting. Estimates of population size are not comparable between 2009 and 2010. Estimates of percent distributions, rates, and ratios should be compared with caution. For more details, visit the ACS Research Note Change in Population Controls [PDF 366K].” The Bureau is urging users to use caution in interpreting the results, but not suggesting that users avoid comparisons all together.
For detailed questions about methodology, contact the American Community Survey Office at 301-763-9810.
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.
Hard on the heels of a failed move in the US Senate to strip transportation enhancement funding out of the transportation bill, opponents of the program are now trying a new tack: claiming that bridges are falling down because of the funds diverted to “bike paths” and other beautification projects. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has suggested that enhancement funds – the primary source of Federal funding for bicycling and walking infrastructure – be siphoned off to bridge repair, in part because one key Ohio River bridge in Kentucky is in need of repair and the state transportation agency “doesn’t have the money” to do the repairs.
If this sounds familiar, it is. You may remember some of the same rhetoric surfaced around the time of the Minneapolis bridge collapse, including a statement from then-Transportation Secretary Mary Peters that she later retracted. The arguments being used by Senator Paul don’t improve with age or re-telling and still make no sense. Here are a few of the reasons why:
Safety: Thirteen people died when the Minneapolis bridge collapsed in 2007: since then, close to 20,000 pedestrians and 2,800 cyclists have died on our nation’s highways, largely as a result of poor highway design and an historic lack of safe non-motorized infrastructure – exactly what the enhancement program was created to fix. No bridges have collapsed since 2007.
Fix it First: Between six and ten percent of Kentucky bridges are classified as “structurally deficient” – yet for every dollar Kentucky has spent in recent years on bridge repair, they have spent $6.50 building new roadway capacity; they spent 77% of their stimulus funds on new capacity rather than fixing existing bridges and roadways – the fourth worst record in the nation.
Use it or Lose It: Kentucky isn’t even spending all the Federal transportation money they have already been given for bridges on bridges: in fact, earlier this year they sent $6.9 million of unspent bridge funds BACK TO WASHINGTON DC. They are not alone: nationwide, more than $534 million of unused bridge funds were sent back to Washington DC by state Departments of Transportation.
A Question of Scale: Kentucky has four massive bridge & highway projects in its “transportation improvement program” each one costing between $1.5bn and $4.1bn. The transportation enhancement program for all 50 states is around $900m annually of which bike/ped projects are typically half. This means the entire nation’s primary source of bike and pedestrian program funding for the next 20 years would have to be diverted to rebuild four bridges in Kentucky…bridges that aren’t actually structurally deficient, they are “functionally obsolete”, which means they aren’t as big and wide as the highway lobby wants them to be.
Senator Paul should be a little more skeptical of the rhetoric of many of our state’s highway agencies when they plead poverty, warn of imminent bridge collapse, and complain about “their” funds being taken from them. In far too many cases, state departments of transportation are spending vast sums of public money on the wrong projects in the wrong places for all the wrong reasons. That’s one reason why they often struggle to get approval for projects that take so long to implement – they are still trying to build a 1950s-style highway system long after the sell-by date.
As his Senate colleagues were reminded just a couple of weeks ago, the enhancements program is popular, successful, heavily over-subscribed, and is creating the kind of infrastructure improvements and choices in communities that people want more of, not less.
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.
For the third year in a row, data released by the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey show that more than half of one percent of American workers use a bicycle as their primary mode of transportation to work. While this number represents nearly 40 percent growth since 2000, it also shows that we still have a lot of work to do in making our communities truly welcoming to bicyclists.
Updated with graph:
Kate Powlison at Bikes Belong put together this very attractive graph using the data to show the growth of bike commuting since 2000 in the largest Bicycle Friendly Communities, non-BFCs, and the national rate.
A look at the country’s 70 largest cities shows that the communities that have done the most to promote bicycling through engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation – determined by the League’s Bicycle Friendly America program – have seen greater increases in bike commuting over the past decade than non-Bicycle Friendly Communities.
Since 2005, the 38 Bicycle Friendly Communities among the 70 largest cities saw a 95 percent average increase in bicycle commuting. In contrast, the 32 non-Bicycle Friendly Communities (among the largest 70) grew 46 percent. Since 2000, large Bicycle Friendly Communities grew 78 percent, compared to 55 percent for large non-BFCs.
You can see the variations on the year-by-year table of bike commuting levels for the 70 largest US cities, but overall the general and the specific city trends are upward.
The ACS asks only about commuting. It does not tell us about bicycling for non-work purposes.
Results are based on a survey of a sample of the population. Surveys take place throughout the year. The journey to work question asks respondents about the previous week.
The journey to work question asks about the primary mode of transportation to work. The wording of the question undercounts the actual amount of bike commuting that occurs. It does not count people who rode once or twice a week or people who bike to transit (if the transit leg is longer than the bike leg).
Since the ACS is a survey of a sample, the results are estimates. The ACS releases a margin of error along with the estimate. Users can add and subtract the margin of error value from the estimate to find the top and bottom of the range within which the ACS is 90 percent confident in their estimate lies. Refer to the 2010 city table for margins of error.
Changes among years may not be statistically significant. Be cautious when drawing conclusions based on one year changes. Look at the trend over a number of years.
The numbers reported here are for the “principal city,” not the larger Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
UPDATE: A note of caution from the US Census Bureau: ”The 2009 ACS and 2010 ACS 1-year estimates use different Census base years for the population estimates used in the ACS weighting. Estimates of population size are not comparable between 2009 and 2010. Estimates of percent distributions, rates, and ratios should be compared with caution. For more details, visit the ACS Research Note Change in Population Controls [PDF 366K].” The Bureau is urging users to use caution in interpreting the results, but not suggesting that users avoid comparisons all together.
For detailed questions about methodology, contact the American Community Survey Office at 301-763-9810.
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.
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 system has far exceeded expectations. Program managers had hoped for 8,000 members and 500,000 trips in the first year. Instead, they have 18,000 members and 1 million rides. Like I said, wow.
The bike fleet one year and one million trips ago
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.
Moments ago, the Senate passed a clean extension on the Transportation Bill with a large margin of 92-6. This means that all current transportation funding and programs will continue to March 31, 2012 — the date the extension expires. During this time we will have much work to do to ensure that bicycling is included in either a long term transportation bill or another extension. The National Bike Summit conveniently takes place on March 20-22 — our final opportunity to tell our representatives that we need bicycling in the transportation bill.
Votes are not made public until 20 minutes after passage of bills but here is the Senate link to keep checking.
Thanks to all of you for taking part in this very important action alert; telling your senators that “I bike. I vote.”; and spreading the word in your clubs and stores, with your colleagues, and on your social media sites. All of your calls and e-mails made the difference.
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.
Late yesterday afternoon Senator Coburn spoke on the Senate floor demanding that Transportation Enhancements be stripped from the Extension of the Surface Transportation bill, and that he is willing to shut down transportation in order to do it. (See our previous post on this subject for background.)
Sadly, Mr. Coburn’s demands are based on a misrepresentation of the facts about the Transportation Enhancement program, and a serious misunderstanding of the role bicycling and walking play in our nation’s transportation system. Mr. Coburn described transportation enhancements as not having anything to do with safety, or true transportation.
First of all The Transportation Enhancements program is 1.5% percent of the overall transportation program, not 10% as Mr. Coburn would have us believe.
Secondly – Mr. Coburn consistently highlights museums as primary examples of the projects that are funded by TE to try and make his case that TE has nothing to do with Transportation. The reality is that roughly one half (55%) of the 1.5% is usually spent on bicycling and walking infrastructure-such as sidewalks, crosswalks and bike lanes. Bicycling and walking trips make up 12% of all trips in the United States; bicyclists and pedestrians comprise 14% of all fatal crash victims on our nation’s roads – and yet these two modes of transportation receive barely more than 1% of Federal transportation investment. Active transportation is growing in popularity and significance in communities throughout the nation-and this welcome trend is due in part to the investment of Federal transportation funds in bicycling and walking infrastructure.
Thirdly – TE program has very much to do with safety. As mentioned previously, fourteen percent of roadway fatalities are bike riders and pedestrians- two-thirds of which occur on Federal aid Highways. While roadway fatalities have been decreasing- the percentage of fatalities that are bicyclists and pedestrians has increased. Building biking and walking infrastructure saves lives.
The real shame is that by holding up passage of a clean extension of the transportation bill, which Congress had already agreed to pass, Senator Coburn will keep 1.8 million people from working on highway construction projects for another six months.
We understand the Senate leadership has offered Mr. Coburn a chance to offer his amendment for a vote on the floor and although Mr. Coburn has not done so yet, we expect that that will be the case.
We can only hope the Mr. Coburn either withdraws his hold on the extension or allows the Senate to vote on his amendment. The bill extending transportation funding for the next six months is not the legislative vehicle to pass long term national transportation policy. That responsibility lies with the committees of jurisdiction and they should be afforded the opportunity to work out the details on what our nation’s transportation policy will be.
The League urges Congress to pass a clean extension to the transportation bill, and support continued dedicated funding for bicycling and walking programs. If you have not had an opportunity to contact your Senator yet please visit the League’s advocacy center today to do so. This maybe our last chance to make sure we have sufficient votes to beat back the Coburn amendment.
~Walter Finch Director of Advocacy, League of American Bicyclists
Finch joined the League in 2006 and has more than 20 years of experience in the transportation industry. He worked as a government relations associate with G.S. Proctor & Associates, served as the chief of staff for a member of Maryland’s House of Delegates, and worked at the U.S. Department of Transportation as the Special Assistant, Office of the Secretary, Office of Intermodalism.
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.
Today we have sent a national alert asking you to call, e-mail or fax your Senators and ask them to protect funding for critical and popular bicycling and walking programs – please take a moment to do this if you haven’t already.
The good news is that we understand leaders of the House and Senate have agreed on a six-month “clean” extension of the current transportation programs that would preserve the transportation enhancements and other key funding programs for bicycling and walking infrastructure. That will give them six months to continue their work on writing a new transportation program for the longer term. We do not have to take action on the House side as we expect the House to pass it out.
The bad news is that Senator Coburn (R-OK) is still planning on introducing an amendment to strip the enhancements program from the otherwise clean extension. This is no idle threat. Two years ago a similar effort by Coburn was defeated by 59-39 and it’s a very different Congress today than it was in 2009. The additional reality is that if Coburn decides to pick this one issue on which to filibuster – and there’s every reason to believe he will – we will need not just a majority but a super majority of 60 Senators to vote to end a filibuster. That’s a real challenge on almost any issue these days.
So we need to take this threat seriously and contact our Senators today. The ask is pretty simple – “please support a clean extension to current transportation funding and please support continued dedicated funding for bicycling and walking programs in the next transportation authorization.” (Until we see the specific wording we won’t know whether we are asking for a vote for or against his amendment – last time the wording was such that a “no” vote was a vote “for” the enhancements programs.) Let’s send a strong and unmistakable message to Congress that investing in a smart, sustainable transportation system for the 21st century, one that offers choice and safety for all, includes dedicated funding for bicycling and walking.
The blog post from last week (read it for more details on the debate in Congress) went viral. We’ve sen an impressive response to the advocacy alert already. Thank you to all those would acted then. Please continue to spread the word to other supporters of bicycling and transportation options. Have you made the I Bike. I Vote. graphic your facebook picture yet?
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.
For sometime we’ve been concerned about the proliferation of rumble strips on shoulders that either don’t need them or that do not have at least 4 feet of remaining shoulder space for safe cycling. Last year we wrote a report on rumble strips for advocates. We’ve been partnering with the Adventure Cycling Association and the Alliance for Biking & Walking to work with state DOTs and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to curb excessive rumble strip use.
We were extremely perturbed by FHWA guidance quietly released in May, which set out “much broader” recommendations than in the past. The new FHWA guidance on the installation of both shoulder and centerline rumble strips is significantly worse for bicyclists than the 2001 guidance. The League, the Alliance, and Adventure Cycling submitted specific points that the bicycling community wants added to the guidance.
Cyclist Will Selser rides in the travel lane on US Highway 89 in Montana in order to avoid rumble strips on the shoulder. Photo by Bill Schneider.
Today, Adventure Cycling Executive Director Jim Sayer wrote this update on the partnership’s efforts:
[We] have held lengthy meetings with FHWA’s director of safety and technology, Michael Griffith, plus many of his staff and also officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
At our most recent meeting, we were pleasantly surprised by what we heard. Rather than stonewall us, Mr. Griffith and his staff walked though our litany of concerns, in detail, and acknowledged that they could do better. They shared with us many specific and extensive changes to the TA that they are now considering and hope to move on in the next couple of months. In particular, they are working to improve the language as it relates to the needs of bicyclists and other non-automotive road users, and also the guidance on effective public participation before rumbles are applied. Also, as a good faith measure, FHWA has suspended webinars that it was going to conduct on the new TA until the language is redone.
We agree with Jim’s advice for in the meantime: be on the look out for bad rumble stripping practices and let your transportation agency know that modified guidance is on the way.
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.
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Aiken, S.C. A truck, driven by Daniel Johnson, collided with the group and injured four cyclists and tragically left one other, Dr. Matthew Burke, critically injured with severe head trauma. After 128 days in a coma on life support, Dr. Burke passed away on February 6, 2011. The Palmetto Cycling Coalition and South Carolina cycling attorney Peter Wilborn worked on the case, and Johnson was 
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