Member News

Bicycle and pedestrian advocacy news from Alliance organizations across North America.

03/08/2010 -- Bike Texas Co-hosts the Texas Trail and Active Transportation Conference

For the first time, Bike Texas co-hosted the Texas Trail and Active Transportation Conference with the Texas Trails Network on February 3-6, 2010.

Attendees included renowned speakers, city and state bike/pedestrian and Safe Routes to School coordinators, trail builders and advocates, elected officials, engineers and planners, and bike shop owners from around the state.

Bike Texas made clear at the conference that many of the improvements they want to see for biking and walking will only come with policy changes, and the vision and leadership of elected officials. The combined attendance of speakers and attendees made the Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference a great success and is sure to positively influence the state’s future in increasing walking and biking.

For more information visit BikeTexas.org

03/08/2010 -- SF Bicycle Coalition to Welcome 12 More Trial Street Plazas and Parklets

The SF Bicycle Coalition recently celebrated the official opening of the “Showplace Triangle” street plaza (at 8th and 16th streets) where San Francisco’s mayor Gavin Newsom, announced that the City’s Pavement to Parks program will be completing 12 more trial street plazas and “parklets” by the end of 2010. This program takes car parking spots and other street spaces and transforms them into various gathering spots for the community.

Since the very first plaza opening in May 2009, the trial street reclamations have proven to be very successful and popular among the public. The new public spaces are built after the idea of PARK(ing) Day, where automobile parking spots are turned into mini public spaces for a day. These temporary spaces include mini-gardens, bike parking, plazas, etc.

The SF Bike Coalition will continue to work closely with the Pavement to Parks program through their own Great Streets Project in order to scout good locations and connect community groups and businesses with the city’s program.

For more information:
Great Streets Project: http://sfgreatstreets.org/
Pavement to Parks Program: http://sfpavementtoparks.sfplanning.org/
PARK(ing) Day: http://www.parkingday.org/
SF Bicycle Coalition: http://www.sfbike.org/

03/03/2010 -- ACT Act Introduced, Alliance Announces Virtual Lobby Day!

Representative Earl Blumenauer(OR) just introduced the Active Community Transportation Act, H.R.4722, on March 2nd 2010. This groundbreaking bill creates a competitive grant program with $2 Billion to help communities build bicycling and walking networks. For the first time, communities would be able to compete for multi-year funding to build active transportation systems, just as they do for transit and road infrastructure.

“Too often we take for granted the value of being able to bike and walk to work,” said Blumenauer. “It’s unfortunate that many communities don’t have the infrastructure in place to make active and healthy forms of transportation more accessible. The ACT transportation grants will make it easier for people to get out of their vehicles and onto sidewalks or bikes, boosting both heart rates and community vitality.”

In conjunction with the National Bike Summit the Alliance is asking that you call your representative next Thursday, March 11th at the same time that over 700 Summit participants will have in-person meetings in congressional offices for a Virtual Lobby Day. For all the details, visit the Alliance action center.

02/22/2010 -- Transportation Alternatives Proposes Bike Buddy Program

Transportation Alternatives is competing for a $250,000 grant that will enable cyclists from all over the country to connect with fellow bike commuters nearby—but they need your vote to win it!

Streets all across the country are getting safer for cycling, but until the roads catch up, riding with a friend is one of the best ways to stay safe. Using Pepsi’s Refresh Everything grant, T.A. will develop a new generation of mobile and web applications to connect cyclists who share the same roads every day. The goal: 500,000 new cyclists on the road, encouraged by the ability to ride with a buddy. It’s called “Bike Buddy.”

Transportation Alternatives Director of Bicycle Advocacy, Caroline SamponaroIf, says “If we win this online voting competition, we would be able to collectively develop a new generation of mobile and web applications to connect cyclists who share the same roads every day. We would be linking newbies and seasoned riders—the sort of one-rider-at-a-time interaction that makes for a strong cycling community. We would pilot the program in five American cities, and with enough funding, many more thereafter.”

By voting for T.A., you’ll help usher in a new wave of green, urban-friendly bike commutes. You can vote once per day, so come back over and over! To vote, visit http://www.refresheverything.com/BikeBuddy.

For more information on Transportation Alternatives and the Bike Buddy Program visit www.refresheverything.com/BikeBuddy and www.transalt.org.

02/22/2010 -- MCBC Welcomes New Multi-Use Pathway Connecting Local Schools

MCBC’s goal of steadily improving biking and walking facilities within Marin County is gaining momentum with a newly completed multi-use pathway in the city of Larkspur connecting neighborhoods to local schools and parks.

The new ADA-compliant pathway replaces what used to be a dirt path that was primarily being used by local schoolchildren. Measure A Safe Routes to School funded the new multi-use trail which also included 54 trees planted along the pathway, a soon-to-be installed bench with a great view of Mount Tamalpais, and a fence to delineate the pathway from the High School property.

The path is increasing the amount of children walking and biking to school and is attracting many other members of the community to walk or bike along the path. MCBC will continue to support the city of Larkspur for their continued commitment to improving the non-motorized transportation system within the City.

Visit www.marinbike.org/Index.shtml for more information.

02/21/2010 -- Columbus Businesses Join Consider Biking’s Cycling Corporate Caucus

Consider Biking has convened a Cycling Corporate Caucus representing more than twenty of Columbus’ largest employers. Since the formation of the caucus in 2009, Consider Biking has held meetings, and in partnership with Leadership Columbus, developed a “Two-Wheel Toolkit”. Consider Biking introduced the toolkit in a meeting with many of Columbus’ largest organizations’ CEOs, presenting information on encouraging employees to bicycle more and providing targeted resources for each specific audience within a business.

ConsiderBiking activated the caucus in late December in order to speak in unified support of a funding request on behalf of the city of Columbus to implement the Columbus Bike Plan. The caucus drafted a “case for support” that demonstrated why investment in bicycling is good for Columbus’ community’s health and economic efforts, but also for a business’s bottom line.

Consider Biking states “We had over 20 of our community’s most prominent business leaders & CEOs, sign our letter of support. No doubt - our business leaders “get it” We believe major organizations and workforces have the ability to affect behavior change quickly. That’s why we’re placing a significant effort on our worksite intervention Mode Shift program. (Bike to Work and Bike Away from Work).”

For more information about the “Two Wheel Toolkit” and to learn more about how the caucus is affecting its community, visit http://www.considerbiking.org/activities/consulting/

02/21/2010 -- SFBC Celebrates Another New Bike Lane

According to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC), “SFBC is celebrating another new bike lane on Otis Street which has created an important one block link between South Van Ness and Gough Street.

Otis Street is the ninth new bike lane to be striped since December. These bike lanes are the direct result of years of hard work by SFBC staff and countless hours of grassroots organizing by committed Bicycle Coalition members. The Coalition is pleased to see these new improvements for bicycling being added all across San Francisco and creating important links in the bike network.”

To find out more about the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and its efforts, visit sfbike.org.

02/11/2010 -- Senate Passes Safety Act in Mississippi

BikeWalk Mississippi claimed a victory on February 8th when the Senate unanimously voted to pass SB3014, the John Paul Frerer Bicycle Safety Act.

The safety bill will provide additional measures to increase safety on the road for both bicyclists and pedestrians. Critical components of the legislation include the implementation of a 3 Feet rule and Anti-Harassment language to protect bicyclists. There are a few more hurdles before the bill becomes official but BikeWalk Mississippi remains active and confident stating “this is an incredible day for bicyclists around the state.”

BikeWalk Mississippi extends THANK YOUs to both Chairman King and President Hewes for their amazing efforts in the Senate, “their leadership navigated the bill as well as our advocates through the legislative process.” To find out more about BikeWalk Mississippi’s efforts and the current status of the John Paul Frerer Bicycle Safety Act, visit www.bikewalkmississippi.org

02/03/2010 -- SFBC Welcomes More Smooth Pavement

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is continuing to see its re-paving project efforts pay off with a now smooth ride from Golden Gate Park to the Pacific Ocean.

The newly paved road means a safe, smooth, and enjoyable ride for commuters and other bicyclists and a win for the Coalition. SFBC and its team of volunteers have been working hard to identify San Francisco streets and neighborhoods in need of both re-paving and adequate bike lanes through their “Good Roads” campaign. Volunteers ride the city streets and tag/spray paint the most dangerous spots. These markings are an immediate help to many cyclists, but more importantly a designated legend for the Department of Public Works (DPW) who has committed to patching and smoothing the indicated spots. To view other resurfacing updates and projects visit www.sfbike.org/?goodroads.

For more information on SFBC and the Good Roads campaign, visit www.sfbike.org

01/28/2010 -- Consider Biking Wins “Take the Lane” Case

On January 14, Consider Biking helped reinforce the right for bicyclists to ride in the road, and take the lane if necessary. The organization provided legal defense in Municipal Court for a cyclist who was incorrectly cited for “not riding as far to the right as possible.” According to Jeff Stephens, Consider Biking’s Executive Director, “We saw this case as a critical means to reinforce the excellent bicycling (traffic) laws we helped Columbus enhance in late 2008.”

01/21/2010 -- Marin County Safe Routes to Schools Launches New Campaign

According to the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, “Marin County Safe Routes to Schools (SR2S) is pleased to announce its new Green Ways to School campaign to combat global warming, funded by a $175,000 grant from the Marin Community Foundation’s Climate Change Initiative. The Green Ways to School campaign will feature the new SchoolPool on-line trip sharing program, new contests, and cash incentives for the schools that show the greatest increase in green trips to school by walking, biking, carpooling or taking the bus.

Building on the success of Marin’s nationally recognized SR2S program, the Green Ways campaign will employ a classroom competition within schools, and challenges between schools with cash awards. Parents will be able to use the on-line SchoolPool program to build a network of friends to share the journey to school modeled after employee ridesharing programs; SchoolPool will provide parents with match-lists of schoolmates who live along their route to school. They can then form a carpool, walk or bike together, or find bus buddies for their children. Walking or bicycling in groups provides safety in numbers and provides socializing time as well as exercise on the way to school, for both the children and the parents. The program will be unveiled on January 21, 2010 at 4 p.m. “

For more information visit www.marinbike.org

01/13/2010 -- MassBike’s and LivableStreets’ Efforts Successfully Keep Sidewalks and Bike Lanes

Livable Streets, MassBike, and other bicycling and walking advocates claimed a victory when the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) agreed to modify its plans to remove a portion of the bike lane on the Longfellow Bridge last week. Removal of the bike lane would have allowed for the installation of sidewalks where none currently exist. After much persistence from advocacy groups MassDOT chose to both build the sidewalks and keep the bike lane by implementing an alternative proposal submitted by MassBike, LivableStreets, WalkBoston, and the Institute for Human Centered Design.

According to MassBike, “MassDOT also agreed to perform further analysis of the traffic patterns on the bridge in order to determine whether the lane configuration currently planned for the long-term reconstruction of the bridge is necessary, or if alternative proposals to provide even more space for bicycles and pedestrians are feasible. Finally, MassDOT agreed to continue the discussion with the advocates about the future configuration of the Longfellow Bridge. “

Livable Streets, MassBike, and their partners will remain active throughout the process continuing to promote biking and walking throughout the state. For more information and to view the rehabilitation proposal visit www.massbike.org or www.livablestreets.info

01/08/2010 -- LACBC Welcomes New Sharrows and Bike Plan

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) is proud to announce that their involvement with the cities of Glendale and Burbank have led to momentous results in the two cities becoming bicycle friendly communities.

According to LACBC, “Due to our participation in Glendale as part of the Safe and Healthy Streets PLACE Grant, Glendale has started to take visible steps in becoming more bike friendly.” The most recent advancement is the newly painted sharrows, or shared roadway markings on some of Burbank’s neighborhood streets. These ‘sharrows’ are a relatively new street marking for bicyclists whose main purpose is to guide cyclists to ride outside the car door zone, where they could potentially collide with a door opened by a motorist.

In Burbank, LACBC welcomed the new Bicycle Master Plan that was adopted on December 15th, 2009. According to LACBC, “This plan offers visionary and creative options for the planning of bicycle infrastructure in Burbank and Los Angeles. LACBC was present at the adoption and brought up important points about how Burbank and Glendale could potentially work together to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes and good connectivity between the two cities.”

For more information visit http://www.la-bike.org/

12/16/2009 -- BikePGH Welcomes Hundreds of New Bike Racks

After the city of Pittsburgh launched its new bike rack request program, BikePGH is welcoming hundreds of newly installed bike racks on Pittsburgh streets.

Upon announcing the program in October of 2009, Bike PGH secured funding for 100 racks, which were all donated to the city, and further matched with another 100 racks through the Mayor’s Taking Care of Business Districts program. With 200 racks available, the city has been taking online requests for the new racks’ designated locations throughout Pittsburgh. Most of the 200 racks are now populating the city’s streets, yet there are still many locations in need of bike parking facilities. The success of the online requests has been so overwhelming that BikePGH is actively looking at options to expand the program and continue their mission of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and ride.

To find out more about the bike rack program visit http://www.bikepgh.org. “> http://www.bikepgh.org.

12/09/2009 -- MassBike Wins Bus Bike Racks

In March 2010, 29 new Pioneer Valley Transit Agency (PVTA) buses will be equipped with new bike racks because of MassBike’s continuing efforts.

Through the organization’s hard work, PVTA buses in the Northern and Southern Tier will now have year round bicycle racks. MassBike and other advocates have been lobbying the Pioneer Valley Transit Agency for years through letters to key officials, comments on the Regional Transportation Plan, and other various advocacy efforts. With these new bike racks, Mass Bike hopes to continue their mission in promoting a bicycle-friendly environment and encouraging bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation. For more information visit www.massbike.org