Building the People Powered Movement
Member NewsBicycle and pedestrian advocacy news from Alliance organizations across North America.
12/13/2011 -- Complete Streets Vote in the Senate TOMORROW
While we continue to work to preserve federal funding for bicycling and walking, there is an opportunity this week to ensure that federally funded transportation projects accommodate the needs and safety of all users—including pedestrians and bicyclists. This would be a real chance to see Complete Streets policies enacted in every state. On Wednesday morning, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will consider an amendment offered by Alaska Senator Mark Begich to provide safe and adequate accommodations for all users in all federally-funded street projects. This means safer roads for everyone, including those who walk, bicycle, ride transit, or drive cars. According to the National Complete Streets Coalition: “This important amendment would ensure that future transportation investments made by state Departments of Transportation improve safety for everyone… More than 300 communities — including states, MPOs, counties, and towns of all sizes — have already said they will plan their streets in this manner. With additional guidance and support for Complete Streets from the federal level, these localities will have an easier time building the roads they want - roads that make their communities healthier and wealthier.” (Click here for additional details on the amendment.) We need you to voice your support TODAY for the Senator Begich amendment to S. 1950 on “safety for motorized and nonmotorized users.” Please visit the Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s online action center — and share the link with your members and supporters. If your Senator is on the Commerce Committee, you will see a letter asking them to vote for the Begich amendment. If your Senator is not a member of the Commerce Committee, you will instead see a letter asking them to cosponsor Complete Streets legislation. This is the first time in more than six years that our federal representatives will take a vote on Complete Streets language — please, take action TODAY! 12/09/2011 -- Bike Texas Honored by NAACP
Advocates in the Lone Star State are putting that goal into action. At its 75th Annual State Convention, the Texas NAACP honored Bike Texas with a President Award — “For going above and beyond the call of duty to develop interest in biking and green benefits from biking in the African American Community.” The recognition was well deserved. “BikeTexas has a history of nurturing diversity, and bringing leaders into the bike culture,” the advocates note on their blog. One way they’re connecting with the black community is through organized rides with the NAACP in cities like Kileen and Houston. So it was only fitting that the advocates got folks pedaling at the NAACP Convention, too. “Leaders from several NAACP chapters participated, including an enthusiastic group of collegiate chapter leaders,” Bike Texas wrote on its blog. “NAACP President Gary Bledsoe and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price also participated in the ride. Brenda Chuleewah, Bike Texas’ Teacher Training and Program manager, was impressed with all of the women on the ride, saying the group was a broad mix of gender and age.” According to Bike Texas: “This is the first time in the history of the NAACP that a bike advocacy group received an award for helping to create more diversity in the cycling culture. Bike Texas is honored to be a part of this historic moment.” Keep track of Bike Texas’ efforts on its blog. Photo: Robin Stallings, Executive Director of Bike Texas, receiving the award from NAACP president Gary Bledsoe. 12/08/2011 -- ‘Tis the Season to Sign Up for Climate Ride!
Just in time to inspire some holiday cheer, registration for the 2012 Climate Ride is now open. The Climate Ride is a win-win:
The New York City to DC ride is May 19-23, but now is the perfect time to register. Sign up today, so you can tell your friends and family that the best gift they can give you this holiday season is a donation toward your Climate Ride fundraising goal. Your participation can make the Alliance’s new year merry and bright, too. Just select us as a beneficiary of your ride. See you in DC this May! 12/07/2011 -- Action 2020 Workshop Galvanizes Houston to Increase Bike-Ped Funding
But that’s changing fast — thanks to the efforts of a growing number of bike-ped advocates and supportive policymakers. Last week, an Action 2020 Workshop in my previous hometown of Houston captured and built on that progressive energy. Presented by Advocacy Advance, a partnership of the Alliance and the League of American Bicyclists, the workshop attracted nearly 60 stakeholders from 41 different organizations to discuss how to increase funding for biking and walking across the Houston region. Read a recap from Darren Flusche, policy analyst at the League of American Bicyclists, on the Advocacy Advance blog. Or check out the review from BikeHouston, one of the event hosts. With more Action 2020 Workshops planned in the New Year, click here to see if Advocacy Advance is coming to your region. 12/05/2011 -- New Walking App from Every Body Walk
Last week, Every Body Walk launched a new, free app that enables residents and advocates to…
Click here for a short informational sheet and learn more here. 12/02/2011 -- Participate in the National Launch of the 2012 Benchmarking Report
The report contains data on the state of biking and walking in the 50 states and 51 largest U.S. cities including data on biking and walking levels, safety, funding, policies, advocacy, and programs. The release of the report is an excellent opportunity for you to engage the media and local decision makers and let them know how your state or city stacks up. This report will reveal where your city or state is leading and where you fall behind. The report contains numbers and illustrations that will provide data in support of your efforts and help you advocate for a greater investment in biking and walking. The Alliance is inviting advocates interested in working with us on a coordinated national release of the report to sign up for one of two information calls:
Those who sign up will receive a sneak-preview of the report. On the call we will review the report highlights, discuss media talking points, and answer questions. If you can’t make either of these calls but want to get involved, e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). 12/01/2011 -- Charleston Advocates Prevent “Monster” Road Redesign
The project in question was Harborview Drive, a thoroughfare on James Island that backs up with cars and school buses during certain periods of the day. The City Council aimed to remedy the congestion by redesigning the road to funnel traffic even faster. Because the new design would take down a number of live oaks, the first group to raise a red flag was Will You Remember Our Trees? Quickly, the conservation advocates turned to Charleston Moves to examine the design and get involved in the campaign to calm the new beast. The advocates took a particularly keen interest in the stretch of pavement as it represents a key portion of the group’s Battery2Beach corridor — a proposed 24-mile bicycle route that runs from the Isle of Palms to Folly Beach. “We found [the redesign] to be a monster,” Charleston Moves’ advocates wrote on their blog, “almost 70 feet wide, with a two-way multi-use path on only one side of the road, speed limit increased from 40 to 45mph, a center (suicide) lane, and not a single crosswalk!” Drawing on his professional background as an engineer, Charleston Moves’ Vice Chair Chris Tullmann took a closer look at the plans and found that the redesign would do more harm than good. “Instead of helping connect many lovely neighborhoods on that portion of James Island,” Charleston Moves noted on its blog, “the project would instead create a monstrous concrete and asphalt “gash” through it, very likely to diminish property values, cheapen commerce and tarnish the overall quality of life.” So Charleston Moves kicked off a letter writing and publicity campaign that urged the city council to reconsider — and they did. Thanks to the advocates’ mobilization, officials revised their plans and put forward a vastly improved design for the road with bike lanes on both sides of the street, and a sidewalk running among the old live oaks on the south side of the roadway. Of course, it’s not everything the advocates had asked for, but now that the discussion had been reopened there will be another round of public comments next year. Learn more on CHS Moves’ blog. 11/30/2011 -- Strategic Planning Success Leads to New Advocacy Organization in Cleveland
The strategic planning process, facilitated by the Alliance, kicked off in December 2010, when 10 people gathered together as a Leadership Team for the project. The goal: create the organization and design a strategic planning summit that would engage and strengthen the Greater Cleveland cycling community. The Leadership Team intentionally included participants from the Cleveland YMCA and the Earth Day Coalition, two planners (county and city), and a representative from the business community. They were joined by three leaders from the cycling community, and two staff from Slavic Village, a community development corporation in Cleveland committed to improving cycling. Slavic Village had conducted interviews with members of the Cleveland cycling community, and the team used that to design a solid plan to engage the whole community in further strategic planning, to increase the buy-in and support for the new organization. The Alliance facilitated a series of meetings, guiding the team through securing a design team, which came together in March to provide feedback on a rough draft strategy, input on the summit, and more than 800 suggested participants who might have interest in participating in the two-day event. After the March meeting, various committees met to execute planning items for the summit, and the Leadership Team worked to secure a solid board to lead the organization, file important documents to start the organization, and even explore staffing models that the organization could consider. The organization also held other events along the way, such as a naming ceremony for the community to help select a name for the organization, as well as a design team meeting to give feedback on strategy and event development. Finally, September 10 arrived and more than 120 people showed up to Windows on the River, a perfectly designed facility to build a common desire within the group, develop a compelling vision for how they saw the organization serving its stakeholders, and create a clear action plan. I’ve been facilitating groups through this process for 10 years, and was still amazed at the way the Leadership Team was able to secure the funding to hold their summit and create a summit that empowered the community to come together and create a strong organization that can really move itself to the next level. The interaction among members of the cycling community was fantastic and it was great to see creative ideas, building relationships, and the transition of leadership to a strong and committed board to implement the strategy. Since September, the organization has already:
The organization has also secured foundation support. They were awarded $10,000 from the YMCA of Greater Cleveland that is a part of a larger grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health” program. These funds will be used in Bike Cleveland’s advocacy efforts on behalf of “necessity cyclists.” In addition, Bike Cleveland was also awarded a $60,000 start-up grant for advocacy and organizing efforts from The George Gund Foundation, to “make Cleveland a more bike-friendly city.” Chris Alvarado, Bike Cleveland Board President, writes “The Bike Cleveland Summit was a remarkable opportunity to bring together over 120 Clevelanders who are not only passionate about cycling, but who have a deep and abiding love of Cleveland and wish to express that through the establishment of our new advocacy organization. We believe that Bike Cleveland is becoming a force that not only advocates for cyclists, but does so with a heartfelt devotion to the assets that make Northeast Ohio special: the incredible diversity of Clevelanders, our natural assets of rivers, Lake Erie, and greenspaces, our engaging built environment, and our culture of hard work, grass-roots efforts, and a commitment to making Cleveland great. Jeremy has been absolutely instrumental in bringing us together and focusing our efforts towards creating Bike Cleveland. Already, we have attracted over $70,000 in funds (including grants from The George Gund Foundation and YMCA of Greater Cleveland), tens of thousands of volunteer hours, and the attention of cyclists and change-agents throughout Northeast Ohio. We are looking forward to building our relationship with the Alliance for Biking & Walking and with our sister organizations near and far. Bike Cleveland is just one of the organizations that have received Strategic Planning Assistance from the Alliance. Strategic Planning Summits range from big to small, depending on the approach the organization wants to take with the process. Reflects Marie Kittredge, Executive Director of Slavic Village (who hired the Alliance for this project), “I was equally impressed with the process you led us through—truly transformational and powerful, a huge win for Cleveland and cycling”. The Alliance would like to recognize the commitment and direct support of the Bike Cleveland project from Slavic Village Development, Cleveland YMCA, The George Gund Foundation, and, of course, the leadership team and design team of the project. Thank you for the opportunity to work with such a talented group of advocates. The Alliance would also like to thank New Belgium Brewing Company for its overall commitment to helping the Alliance make more strategic planning assistance and other coaching like the process used in Cleveland more affordable to Alliance member organizations. Next month, we highlight the success of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, a project supported directly by New Belgium. Contact Jeremy at jeremy@PeoplePoweredMovement.org for more details, and help your organization take its work to the next level.
11/29/2011 -- Mexican Activists Paint 5 Kilometer Bike Lane to the Doors of Congress
According to event organizers: “We worked for eight hours. We painted five kilometers. We spent less than 1,000 dollars. How much would it cost to actually build the bicycle infrastructure the city needs?” In 2007, the municipal government promised to build 300 km of bike lanes within five years. Due to lack of funding for non-motorized transportation, only 22.2 km have been built. The event in Mexico City this month was part of a nationwide campaign demanding that Mexico allocate at least 5 percent of its transportation budget to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Areli Carreón, president of the bicycle advocacy group (and Alliance member organization) Bicitekas, says event organizers got the word out using social media, including e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. They also posted a How-To guide on the web a few days in advance. Funding was raised through Fondeadora, a crowd-sourcing site that lets people donate money to causes or projects they care about. Three of Mexico’s most influential newspapers — Reforma, El Universal and Milenio — ran stories on the event. “All the activity was covered live by Twitters on the spot, which also generated a lot of noise and support,” Areli says. Weeks later, the so-called “wikilane” remains intact and advocates have drafted a letter to authorities asking that it be designated an official bike lane. The creative action is just one example of how advocates’ efforts are starting to pay off at the national level. “The 2012 annual national budget included, for the first time, the concept of ‘non motorized mobility,’” Areli says. “It’s not the 5 percent we wanted, but it’s a very important step in the right direction. We’re happy with this first positive outcome!” 11/29/2011 -- National Cycling Groups Commend Improved Rumble Strip Advisory
Rumble strips are raised or grooved patterns in a road’s shoulder designed to alert drivers with noise and vibrations that they are drifting off the roadway. Properly applied, rumbles can serve as a safety device for motorists. However, if applied on narrow, shoulder-less roadways or in a way that covers a paved shoulder, rumble strips can make it difficult or impossible for cyclists to use a roadway. The FHWA issued a revised TA on rumble strips in May 2011, the first such revision in 10 years. The TA is important because it provides official national guidance on the use of rumbles and influences state and local agency action in their use of rumbles on roadways of all types. FHWA had indicated that this new advisory would substantially improve the TA’s guidance on the application of rumble strips and how they affected bicyclists. Unfortunately, the May 2011 TA went backwards from the 2001 TA in its lack of inclusion of cyclists’ safety issues. There was little mention of the needs of cyclists or the need for a public process regarding the application of rumble strips during road reconstruction or paving. These three national cycling groups contacted FHWA and the US Department of Transportation with many specific concerns and technical advice about revising the TA, and agency leaders indicated they would revisit the document. The newly revised TA (Shoulder and Edge Line Rumble Strips, Technical Advisory T 5040.39, Revised 1), released on November 16 is a substantial improvement. It includes a new section about the accommodation of all roadway users (Section 9), with a special emphasis on the needs of cyclists, and lays out “a number of measures that should be considered to accommodate bicyclists,” including wide shoulders, bicycle gaps (intervals without rumble strips that allow cyclists to safety cross back or forth), and customized rumble treatments to allow more space for cyclists. The new TA also includes a significantly improved section on public outreach and involvement. There are still sections of the new TA that raise concerns for cyclists, including Section 7b, which identifies the optimal “length” (or width) of rumble strips as 16 inches, a dimension which can make it more likely that these strips will cut into useable road shoulder space for cyclists. The three national organizations reiterate the importance of local citizens and organizations in paying close attention to the proposed addition of rumble strips on existing roadways or added when roads are being built, reconstructed or repaved. In addition to FHWA’s new advisory, further background and guidance can be found in a report by the League of American Bicyclists (Bicycling and Rumble Strips) and a report on state-by-state use of rumbles prepared by Adventure Cycling Association (State Rumble Strip Policies). Adventure Cycling has also developed a Flickr page where people can share photos of well-designed and poorly-designed rumble strips. For more information, contact:
11/23/2011 -- Give Thanks for Bike-Ped Advocacy: Nominate a Leader for an Alliance Award!
Now is the time to show your gratitude for those who work so tirelessly to make our streets safer and more accessible for all. The Alliance is now accepting nominations for our annual, national Advocacy Awards. Established in 2009, our awards program honors those who show exceptional leadership in advancing the bicycle and pedestrian movement. Categories for 2012 include:
Anyone can make a nomination — you don’t have to be part of an Alliance member organization — and the quick, easy, online submission form takes just a few minutes. Do you know someone who deserves national recognition for his or her efforts? Did your local advocacy organization start or win an innovative or high-impact campaign this year? What corporate or business champions have invested in better biking and walking in your community? If you’re like me, a dozen people and a handful of groups just popped into your head. Show your appreciation by taking just a few moments to nominate them for an Advocacy Award. Nominations are evaluated by Alliance staff, board and advocacy organization representatives, and the winners get some high-profile recognition. Each year, we host our Advocacy Awards reception on the first night of the National Bike Summit — and a couple hundred advocacy and industry leaders turn out for the big announcement. Fionnuala Quinn, the recipient of an advocacy award in 2011 on behalf of the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (pictured, left) said: “Much of the work that advocates do is behind the scenes, so it was very unexpected but really appreciated to get recognition for our project. When we had conceived of the project, we had hoped that the end result would be a tool that could be used by other advocates working with public agencies, but it ended up turning into much more for us. To then receive public recognition gave us a boost in continuing our on-going work as we try to improve facilities and conditions for cyclists in our area. Receiving the recognition also allowed us to connect with many more people working in other communities to achieve the same goals and allowed us to exchange ideas and learn from their work too. We are grateful for being part of that supportive network.” Honor someone in your community: Nominations will be accepted until December 18. To submit your nomination, click here. 11/22/2011 -- Tahoe Advocates Unlock Funding for Bike Paths with Successful Ballot Measure
The circuitous story starts in 2000, when the community passed a bond measure, taxing properties for recreation facility improvements. Part of Measure S was the allocation of $5,000 per mile, per year, for new bike path maintenance. At the time, officials projected 25 miles of new bike paths would be built by 2008. But tough economic times put those plans on indefinite hold — and, by extension, put the money from Measure S in a jam. Because of state budget problems, only 8 of the projected 25 miles of new bike paths had been built by 2010. And while the tax dollars for bike path maintenance were coming in — to the tune of $85,000 per year — Measure S language precluded that cash from being spent on paths built before 2000. With those old bike paths in need of renovation and dollars for bicycle infrastructure tough to come by, the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition (LTBC) had its eye on unleashing those locked-up funds. Luckily, an opportunity presented itself in 2010. “A year and a half ago, the Mayor came to me and said she wanted to revisit Measure S and find a way of amending it so that accumulating funds could be used,” Ty Polastri, the LTBC’s president, explains. So the LTBC set out to uncover and understand the finer points and challenges of Measure S. Over the course of many months, Polsatri says, advocates met and listened to the intent of the Joint Powers Authority and even did their own research — preparing a bike path maintenance analysis. But the political nature of the potential ballot initiative, at first, made the Coalition cautious. “We did not take a stand because we believed we couldn’t — so as not to put our 501c3 at jeopardy,” Polastri continues. But that didn’t mean the LTBC sat on the sidelines, especially when it came time for public hearings on the new ballot measure this summer. “We saw how [the language] was still confusing and not clear,” Polastri says. “We decided it was our position to do everything possible to make this process transparent and fight for specificity and clarity of language so the voters could understand the Measure and its implications. We began making suggestions on rewriting the language and still publicly remained neutral. We fought to protect the funds for new bike path maintenance and crafted a compromise that monies could go to old, pre-Measure-S bike paths for funding.” Under the new Measure R, new and old bike paths would receive approximately $2.7 million over the term of the bond for renovation and maintenance — 43 percent more maintenance funding than under Measure S. “At that point, we moved to be all in,” Polastri says. “We had to engage the rest of the community, particularly the bicycle community who still didn’t trust the Measure and the people behind it. The LTBC had to take a strong stance to inform, educate, and promote that this measure was the last opportunity and the best one to get dollars for bike paths.” Staying within the bounds of their 501c3 status — by spending no more than 20 percent of their annual budget on advertising for or against the initiative — the LTBC took a leadership role on Measure R. On November 8, it passed with an impressive 71 percent of the vote. For Polastri, though, the funding isn’t the only win. The effort also boosted the visibility and credibility of the LTBC for future campaigns. “Now, other public agencies have contacted me to help them with other bike related issues of bike trails and highway safety,” Polastri says. “We’ve demonstrated our commitment and leadership to build strategic alliances and help move community to become more livable and sustainable.” Read more and access a number of materials related to the Measure R campaign on the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition website. 11/21/2011 -- Bicyclists First Vehicles to Ride New Bridge in New Hampshire
The primacy of two-wheeling transportation at the November ribbon-cutting ceremony was the result of behind-the-scenes work from advocates at the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire. The effort dates back to 2009, when the BWA-NH got wind that a $175 million bridge connecting Bedford and Manchester over the Merrimack River was designed without accommodations for bicyclists on the main roadway. Because the project also serves as an access road to the Manchester airport, that omission was particularly troublesome to Granite State cyclists. According to BWA-NH: “A side path, not to be illuminated at night, cleared of snow in the winter, or providing a direct connection to local roads, was part of the design but that would not accommodate vehicular cyclists requiring a 24 x 7 x 365 transportation corridor. Mopeds and electric bicycles were also to be prohibited from using the bridge to access local roads where they are commonly used.” So the advocates got to work. They determined that the Sagamore Bridge, connecting Nashua and Hudson downstream on the Merrimack, had the same restrictions regarding bicyclists and mopeds — restrictions that are in contradiction to federal law. Partnering with the Granite State Wheelmen, BWA-NH held a series of high-level meetings with the New Hampshire DOT and the Federal Highway Administration. The result? In March 2010, the DOT removed the restrictions from both bridges. On November 10, bicyclists and pedestrians got the chance to savor the victory at the celebration for the completion of the project. According to BWA-NH: “The public was invited to attend and the first vehicles to cross the bridge were bicycles! Members of BWA-NH and the GSW attended, pedaled the roadways and the sidepath for a comparison, and attended the ceremony. The road was open for general traffic on Veterans Day, Friday, November 11. Again, without the advocacy efforts of BWA-NH and the GSW, the MAAR bridge would just be a link for motorists with vehicular bicyclists and moped users having no way to access the local roads by crossing the new bridge.” Read more about the campaign and victory on the BWA-NH website. 11/17/2011 -- Reflections from the Equity Summit
Nearly every breakout session included a piece on public transportation with some reference to the role of biking and walking in addressing equity issues. What are the benefits of our transportation systems? Who benefits? Who is making these decisions? These are some of the questions that were asked and that inspired the vision coming out of the week. Detroit is a city challenged with the task of overcoming an industrial fall-out. The car-pride of Michigan still carries strong, and partially as a result the transit system is in disrepair and there’s a serious lack of bike lanes. A special Thursday-morning session featured Peter Rogoff, administrator for the Federal Transit Administration, who addressed the need to repair our nation’s crumbling transit systems but there is also a need to ensure safe connections to bus and rail lines that are cut short or close early. The failure to provide pedestrian walkways and bike lanes that are accessible to people of all communities and provide key corridors to school, job, and opportunities is an equity issue that must be addressed. In a country where traffic injuries and fatalities are at $200 billion, 11 percent of motor vehicle access deaths are pedestrians and bicyclists, and the societal costs of obesity is $117 billion, we must take a complete approach to transforming our transportation systems and it begins with the work of local advocates. Many Alliance organizations, like the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and the Community Cycling Center, are leading the way in making sure all residents are at the table for these important discussions about the future of our streets and our communities. Thanks, in part, to an Advocacy Advance grant, the LACBC has hired a bilingual bicycle safety instructor. In Portland, the Community Cycling Center has helped establish bicycle committees at local public housing developments and committed to a “collaborative advocacy” model in its programming. Moving forward, the Alliance will is certainly committed to raising up these best practices, compiling the best research on transportation equity, acting as an active partner in the Equity Caucus, and incorporating these issues into our 2012 programming, including Mutual Aid Calls and discussions at our Leadership Retreat. In the meantime, we’re beginning to build an Equity section in our Resources Library. If you have items to share, please send them to Carolyn@PeoplePoweredMovement.org. 11/16/2011 -- Alliance Partnership Launches Open Streets Project WebsiteAs Open Streets initiatives continue to grow in both frequency and size across the continent, the Alliance for Biking & Walking and the Street Plans Collaborative launched OpenStreetsProject.org today to document the growth of these initiatives and provide resources to foster continued development. An accompanying best practices guide will be completed in the next few weeks and will be available for purchase as a hard copy or as a free download on the website. Open Streets initiatives temporarily close streets to automobiles, allowing residents to walk, bike, skate, dance and utilize the roadways in countless creative and active ways. From Seattle to Miami, and Los Angeles to Ottawa, open streets initiatives have become a way for cities to build community, promote active transportation and reconnect neighborhoods divided by traffic. “I’ve personally seen numerous Open Streets events in cities around the U.S. and, without fail, each of them has been tremendously inspirational,” Jeff Miller, Alliance President/CEO says. “Open Streets are not just an excellent way for cities to promote biking and walking; they inspire citizens to see their streets as public spaces.” Open streets have exploded in popularity across North America in the past six years. In 2005 there were fewer than 10 documented initiatives across North America. Now there are more than 65, drawing hundreds of thousands of participants each year. OpenStreetsProject.org allows organizers to share information on their initiative and explore other initiatives across the continent. The site also provides helpful resources for organizers looking to start a new initiative or grow an existing initiative in their community. “The Open Streets Project aims to support this exciting movement by providing advocates and organizers with a comprehensive overview of organizational and implementation strategies,” says Mike Lydon, Founding Principal of The Street Plans Collaborative. “The Project includes a significant, open source website intended to not only keep information current for all existing and future initiatives, but to also provide a free web presence for those communities who should focus their limited resources on implementation rather than building websites. In this way, we believe the Project will be a catalyst for the continued growth of the open streets movement.” If your city or organization has information to share about an Open Streets initiative in your community, please contact Mike Samuelson, Alliance Member Services and Open Streets Coordinator, at (202) 449-9692 x7 or mike@PeoplePoweredMovement.org. |
Invest in biking and walking advocacy where it matters most... on the ground!
Advocacy Advance Capacity Building Grants Q&A Call --Call on February 16
Advocacy Advance Capacity Building Grants Q&A Call --Call on February 17
Framing our Message for the Public, Press and Policymakers --Call on February 22
02/08/2012 - With a Little Help from Advocates, Facebook “Likes” Bike Trails
02/07/2012 - Seattle Advocates Use Winning Campaigns Training to Win Bike Boulevards
02/06/2012 - Benchmarking Report Debunks Misinformation in Congress
02/06/2012 - Federal Action: A Thank You, Update and Next Steps
Now is our chance!
Whether it’s in our Mutual Aid Calls or at our Leadership Retreat, we talk a lot about building an inclusive bike-ped movement that engages and involves all members of our diverse communities. 
It’s barely been two months since 
When I was 16 years old, my family moved from Bern, Switzerland to Houston, Texas. Talk about culture shock. While there’s a lot to celebrate about the Lone Star State, active transportation ain’t exactly on the short list. 
The Alliance is finalizing the last details of the 2012 Benchmarking Report: Bicycling and Walking in the United States and invites you to join us as we prepare for a national release of the report in January.
By teaming up with a local conservation organization, advocates from 
The very first issue of the 
Frustrated by the slow pace of government action on pedestrian and bicycle safety issues, bicycle advocates in Mexico City took matters into their own hands this month. In early November, a 
Three of America’s largest cycling organizations — Adventure Cycling Association, Alliance for Biking & Walking, and the League of American Bicyclists — wish to thank the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for the significant improvements the agency made last week in an important technical advisory (TA) regarding the application of rumble strips on U.S. roadways. 
As 2011 draws to a close, many of us are reflecting on the progress we’ve made this year. That progress is driven by individual leaders, advocacy organizations and business supporters working to transform their communities into better places to walk and bike. 
Thanks to the advocates at the 
In most cases, new transportation infrastructure is christened by cars. But, this month in Manchester, bicyclists were the first vehicles to travel a new bridge. 
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the fourth national 
