Colin pointed out that while cities can find funding to build new bike-friendly infrastructure, transportation departments rarely have funding to celebrate new projects once they are on the ground.

“We really wanted to celebrate what the city is doing,” said Colin. “It’s just not possible for a lot of municipalities to publicize their work, so we’re trying to take on that role.”

Colin and his colleagues came up with the idea while brainstorming with partners at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a public policy business trade organization.

“We knew that Google had a few of these conference bikes, and thought it would be a good show of working together,” Colin recalled.

As many advocates know, organizing a critical mass of elected officials in one place can be tricky business, and careful scheduling is a must.

To arrange the event, the advocates first decided on the event’s general flow and timing, then checked on the mayor’s availability. Next, advocates coordinated a date with the councilmember who represents the neighborhood in which the event would be held. After securing a time, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition advocates and Leadership Group staff contacted all other councilmembers’ schedulers with personalized invitations and careful details about the event. The team them kept track of each politician’s availability carefully.

“I had a spreadsheet showing whether each elected official would make the ride, whether they would make the photo shoot, if they’d need a bike, and if they would need a helmet,” Colin recalled.

Elected officials started off on the conference bike from a hidden location, then traveled past a scrum of reporters who had gathered in front of city hall.

“The press didn’t actually know where we had the conference bike hidden,” said Colin. “We’ve learned that if you start an event and the press are there to distract the politicians, the event may never get off the ground.”

The collection of politicians pedaled to the library, where Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition had arranged to station six bikes from the city’s fleet of Breezers and Globes. There, the elected officials posed for photos in a show of bike-friendliness.

Following the ride, councilmembers and the mayor paused at the San Jose library for a bicycle friendly photo op. Image: Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition

Overall, the event was a success — the elected officials were happy to participate in such a celebratory event with positive media coverage, while the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and Leadership Group strengthened their relationships with local politicians and found an opportunity to boost visibility for San Jose’s bicycle friendliness. 

Alliance > Member Services >

Infographic: Why Biking To Work is Great For Your Health

It’s National Bike To Work Week, and many communities will celebrate Bike To Work Day tomorrow. Spring is the best time of year to dust off that bicycle and start riding!

In case you need a few reasons to hop on the saddle, here’s an infographic showing the health benefits of riding a bike to work.

Would you bike more if streets in your neighborhood were safer for cycling? Make a difference by supporting the movement for better, safer bicycling.

Alliance > Member Services >

Bike Walk Mississippi Puts on State’s First Open Streets in Jackson

How do you turn people who walk and bike into advocates for safer streets when they don’t identify as walkers and cyclists?

This is a question that leaders of Bike Walk Mississippi — and advocates across the country — constantly ask themselves.

While many advocacy groups are already filled with devout members happy to preach the gospel of active transportation, Melody Moody — Bike Walk Mississippi’s Executive Director — was looking for a way to engage new members of the Jackson community and get them excited about biking and walking. A little over a year ago, the organization decided they wanted to host Mississippi’s first Open Streets as a way to engage with their partners and citizens in a fun and unique way. With a small grant secured from Bikes Belong, the organization was on its way. After months of planning, Jackson Streets Alive was held on April 27.

The streets between the state’s Capital and Governor’s House were filled with people of different ages, races and backgrounds enjoying streets temporarily free of automobile traffic.

“We were able to attract a very diverse crowd of people to Jackson Streets Alive, groups that aren’t always on the same page,” said Melody, “which could have proved more difficult in the week before a heated mayoral race in Jackson.”

With a small budget, Melody knew the best way to bring the idea to life was to partner with local businesses and organizations, as well as the City of Jackson, to make the initiative a success. She reached out to zumba, yoga, dance and and other fitness studios to hold free classes during Streets Alive, and in the process developed relationships that will help Bike Walk Mississippi going forward. Bike Walk Mississippi also worked with a local coffee shop to put 7,000 promotional stickers on all of their cups at 4 different stores around Jackson for two weeks leading up to the festival.

“We felt this was one of the ways we were able to get the word out to a crowd that wouldn’t necessarily have heard of the event through our social media or printed poster and postcard efforts,” said Melody. 

The list of partners extended to local sports teams, the state tennis association and a regional foundation. The City of Jackson generously stepped up to cover the cost of police and barricades for the event, which kept Streets Alive under budget. In order to give the initiative a local feel, Bike Walk Mississippi brought in local bands and musicians to play throughout the day. 

“We didn’t amplify the bands much because we wanted them to have street performance feel,” said Melody. “In the future, we hope to expand our music even more and have them spread throughout the route organically.”  Many of the bands and supporting activities were held in a park adjacent to the route, leaving plenty of space in the streets for people who were biking and walking.

All the hard work paid off on April 27. Despite a city that is notoriously cautious about new events, plenty of folks showed up for Streets Alive.

“People were drawn to the uniqueness of the event and that people, especially kids, could participate in the event and not just watch and listen,” Melody said.

What’s next for Bike Walk Mississippi? Melody is already thinking about the next Open Streets, not just in Jackson but across the state.

“We loved having Streets Alive downtown, and look forward to holding it in other neighborhoods or near the Museum to Market Trail that is set to break ground later this year so people can both play in the streets and explore Jackson’s first multi-use trail,” she said. “Jackson Streets Alive was able to introduce the concept of Open Streets to Mississippians as a unique way to promote active transportation and something that local communities can work on together with Bike Walk Mississippi to replicable in other parts of the state. People are already asking when they can do it again in Jackson and when can they bring it to their own cities.”

Looking to learn how to open the streets in your community to people? Head over to the Open Streets Project to learn more.

Alliance > Member Services >

Victory in Idaho Speaks to Power of Grassroots

Biking and walking just saw a major win in Idaho. 

Under the new transportation bill (MAP-21), some funding for local walking and biking improvements under the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) became optional for states, creating a big opportunity — and challenge.

If the higher-ups in state transportation agencies decided to preserve TAP funds, small towns and cities would get the chance to access valuable dollars to make neighborhoods safer for kids and adults walking and biking. If state officials decided to nix the funds, the tiny pool of dollars that would build sidewalks, crosswalks and bikeways in small towns could be redirected to large highway projects.

In Idaho, advocates had just a few months to convince the seven representatives serving on the Board of Directors at the Idaho Transportation Department that biking and walking funds are vitally important. When we last checked in with Cynthia in January, advocates were in the midst of a campaign to preserve funds from the Transportation Alternatives Program. Using funding from an Advocacy Advance Rapid Response Grant, advocates were traveling all over the state to build support at the grassroots level — but the transportation board was dragging its feet on a final decision. Even as Cynthia continued their hard work, advocates were unsure just how successful their campaign would be.

Now, four months later, Cynthia Gibson, Executive Director of the Idaho Pedestrian and Bicycle Alliance, is thrilled to declare victory. Idaho’s higher-ups voted to preserve Transportation Alternatives funds for local biking and walking projects.

Organizing grassroots, contacting legislators

So how did they do it? Working closely with her board — including board president Molly O Reilly — and with partners throughout the state, Cynthia executed a well-designed campaign to mobilize grassroots leaders to convince the Idaho Transportation Board to fully fund biking and walking.

“We knew the Board members would listen to their constituents and legislators,” Cynthia said, “so we traveled out to communities who previously received biking and walking funds and understood how these dollars had bettered their community.”

Cynthia’s targeted travels brought her to small cities and towns all over the state — check out this map to see where the campaign brought her.

View Idaho Pedestrian & Bicycle Alliance Travel Route in a larger map

In each community, Cynthia found the engaged citizens who had seen how active transportation improvements can bring a main street back to life or make a neighborhood safer for students walking to school.

“We were talking to mayors and local community groups,” Cynthia said. “They understood how biking and walking had bettered their communities, so we asked them to voice their concerns to their representative.”

These local champions wrote the transportation board to let them know about the importance of active transportation funds.

At the same time, Idaho Pedestrian and Bicycle Association worked to discuss the issue with state legislators. Cynthia spent time meeting with lawmakers, and also collaborated with state partners to increase influence.

“We partnered with the Conservation Voters of Idaho, who had state legislative connections,” said Cynthia. “So we were out talking to legislators, who were receiving phone calls and letters from mayors and community groups.”

Visible progress

Over time, the group’s efforts began to have a noticeable effect.

“Gradually, it seemed like board members’ attitudes were changing,” Cynthia recalled. “Some of the board members who were staunch opponents started talking differently.”

“When we started this, they were saying ‘biking and sidewalks? There’s no money for that, we don’t have the funds,’” said Cynthia. “That’s not what they were saying five months later. Now they were concerned with money coming in to local communities. They picked up information and saw things differently.”

Ultimately, after months of hard work, the board voted to preserve Transportation Alternative Program funds. The board’s decision was a thrilling conclusion to a campaign that gradually picked up steam.

“It’s a movement,” Cynthia said. “It’s just picking up momentum. The legislators are hearing about us and the discussions are happening more often.”

Lessons Learned

Cynthia had plenty of suggestions for advocates in other areas of the country. Idaho’s campaign victory is a testament to the value of face-to-face meetings and building grassroots support.

“You can never give up on grassroots,” said Cynthia. “It’s all about reaching out to the communities. If you can educate people out in the communities whose lives will be touched, they will contact their representative. And once this gains some steam as calls and letters multiply, it can be really powerful.”

Strategic partnerships were essential, too.

“We’re trying to partner with people who can help us and who we can also help,” she explained. “Through our partnership with the Conservation Voters of Idaho, we were able to make a lot of legislative connections.”

Another lesson: be persistent.

“It’s time consuming and sometimes not a lot of fun, but you have to keep chipping away at it,” Cynthia said. “Be persistent and just don’t give up.”

“When all this kept going on and on and on, I just hung in there,” she recalled. “I’d get frustrated, and [Idaho Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance board president] Molly said, ‘just keep going.’ I kept attending meetings and we kept pushing.”

Alliance > Member Services >

Animation: How to Check Your Bike Before You Ride

Riding a bike is a great way to get around, but nothing can ruin your trip like a breakdown.

Bicycle advocates and educators have long taught the “ABC Quick Check,” a simple five-step checklist that riders can use to test all the most essential parts of their bike before hitting the road. Now, educators can point to a great new animation to help people learn how to check their bikes.

ABC Quick Check - HD Version from Active Trans on Vimeo.

The video was made by the Active Transportation Alliance of Chicago, IL. Paul Halupka, Active Trans’ graphic designer, was excited about the opportunity to direct the video.

“Every so often, I have the opportunity to work with non-traditional design interns,” Paul said by email. “This spring, I had the opportunity to art-direct an animation student! The product of our collaboration is the ABC Quick Check video.”

“We’re very proud of our work on this piece,” Paul continued. “While I’m particularly happy with the quality of the work from our talented animator, I’m also excited about this video’s true potential: educating TONS of people about how to get rolling safely.”

Well done, Active Trans! If you like this video, consider passing it on to folks who could use a refresher on how to get that bike rolling this spring.

Alliance > Member Services > Job Board

Advocacy Advance Research Summer Internship

Applications must be received by:

Organization Information

Position Description

The Advocacy Advance Intern will gain knowledge and skills related to federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects and the advocacy efforts to secure and utilize this funding at the state and local level nationwide.  Work includes research of federal transportation funding, collecting best practices of bike/ped organizations, and tracking data to compile state profiles.

Specific tasks for the Advocacy Advance Intern:

• Pilot original and innovative research to accurately measure federal expenditures on bicycle and pedestrian projects by accessing and analyzing state documents
• Conduct data-mining and perform anecdotal research into state bicycle-related laws, policies and practices
• Track relevant data including:
o Current project lists
o Cycling and safety numbers
o Policies
o Funding history
• Gather examples of how advocates and agency staff have successful won and used public funding for bike/ped projects
• Collect data on bikeway networks from US cities

Skills and Knowledge to be Gained
• Knowledge of transportation funding programs
• Knowledge of bicycle and pedestrian projects and programs nationwide
• Hands-on work with state and local advocacy organizations and agency staff across North America
• Specific experience working with national non-profit organizations

Position Requirements

Essential:
• Interest in bicycle and pedestrian advocacy
• Interest in national transportation policy and federal funding
• Strong research skills
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills
• Strong oral and writing skills
• Track record of working well on team projects
• Cheerful, friendly, upbeat outlook

Helpful:
• Graphic design and/or data presentation skills
• Familiarity with the web, content management, and databases
• IT skills
• Familiarity with biking and walking issues

Salary Information

This internship offers a flexible schedule with a fifteen-hour-a-week minimum commitment for a total of 180 hours (3 months). This position is based in Washington, DC. The Advocacy Advance intern will receive a $500 / month stipend. We can work with academic requirements you may have, to help you earn course credit, and give you a unique opportunity to connect to a growing network of organizations making significant community improvements. The internship will be administered by the Alliance for Biking & Walking.

Instructions for applying for this job

Please send a letter of interest, resume, one sample of work (research, writing and/or design), & 2-3 references to Brighid O’Keane, Advocacy & Programs Director at Brighid@PeoplePoweredMovement.org. Applications are due by May 22nd, 2013.  Anticipated start date will be in early June.

This internship offers a flexible schedule with a fifteen-hour-a-week minimum commitment for a total of 180 hours (3 months). This position is based in Washington, DC. The Advocacy Advance intern will receive a $500 / month stipend. We can work with academic requirements you may have, to help you earn course credit, and give you a unique opportunity to connect to a growing network of organizations making significant community improvements. The internship will be administered by the Alliance for Biking & Walking.

Alliance > Member Services >

Pedestrian safety: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners (WHO)

This guide, developed by the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, informs the reader of the magnitude of pedestrian death and injury; key risk factors; how to assess the pedestrian safety situation in a country or area and prepare an action plan; and how to select, design, implement and evaluate effective interventions.

Pedestrian Safety Manual (PDF)(5.4 MB)

Alliance > Member Services >

Additional Resources

For more, visit our Video, Audio, and Image category.

Alliance > Member Services >

Additional Resources

For more, see the PSAs and Instructional Videos category.

Alliance > Member Services >

Additional Resources

Visit our Media Mutual Aid Call Library.

Alliance > Member Services >

Additional Resources

There are many additional resources relating to Open Streets and Ciclovias in other locations on our website, as well as externally.

Visit the Open Streets Project and the Resources Section therein.

Alliance > Member Services >

Cleveland and Pittsburgh Go Head-to-Head in National Bike Challenge

Pittsburgh and Cleveland are no stranger to competition: the two cities regularly clash on the football field when the Steelers play the Browns. But starting this month, the two Rust Belt cities are competing on new turf: miles traveled by bicycle.

May 1 marked the start of National Bike Month and the National Bike Challenge — an initiative organized by the League of American Bicyclists and the Kimberly-Clark Corporation that encourages people to bike for transportation and recreation.

During the challenge, which runs through September 30, individuals can track their miles ridden by bike and rack up points on behalf of local teams, offices, or communities. The teams with participants who hop on the saddle most often and for the longest distances accumulate the most points.

Last year, Pittsburgh won the title of Rust Belt Champion when participants with Pittsburgh zip codes logged miles at a higher rate than Cleveland cyclists.

This year, Bike Cleveland — the Ohio city’s local biking and walking advocacy group — hopes to steal the title from Bike Pittsburgh — its organizational neighbor to the east.

“It’s an age-old rivalry, and this year Cleveland decided to officially challenge Pittsburgh,” explained Dan Yablonsky, SCA Fellow at Bike Pittsburgh. “They’re picking this fight.”

Jacob VanSickle, Executive Director of Bike Cleveland, said it was a member’s idea to start the Rustbelt Rivalry.

“Usually Pittsburgh is better than Cleveland in the football realm,” Jacob said. “Finally, we’ve found something we’re really good at where we can beat Pittsburgh — riding our bikes.”

As of this writing, Pittsburgh is ahead with 654 registered riders and 5,092 logged miles. Cleveland clocks in at 559 registered riders and 3,782 miles logged.

Representatives from Bike Pittsburgh had plenty of smack talk for their rival city.

“After the initial Rust Belt Rivalry excitement wears off, Cleveland’s numbers are going to fall flat,” Dan said in an email, “and there’s no patch kit that can save them. Pittsburgh is in this for the long haul.”

“Let’s face it — Pittsburghers hate to lose to Cleveland at anything,” Scott Bricker, Executive Director of Bike Pittsburgh, said in a statement. “That’s why we’re strongly encouraging anyone who owns a bike in Pittsburgh to sign up and start logging miles.”

Jacob from Bike Cleveland was equally competitive, and hopes to rely on the city’s rambunctious and growing cycling community to best Pittsburgh in the challenge.

“Beating Pittsburgh is in our DNA as Clevelanders,” said Jacob. “Just over the past year, the cycling community in Cleveland has grown. Everybody’s coming together around the idea of finally beating Pittsburgh at something.”

“It’s a David and Goliath story,” he continued. “Bike Pittsburgh has been around for a while, while Bike Cleveland is a new organization. They have a much larger reach in terms of their contacts.”

Bike Cleveland has even contracted with Rustbelt Welding to fabricate an actual Rust Belt Crown for the winning organization. Jacob also noted that the Executive Director from the losing organization may be required to sing the opposing city’s praises at a public location in their home city.

Competition aside, Bike Cleveland and Bike Pittsburgh are excited for the opportunity to collaborate.

“We’re pumped to be working with Cleveland to get positive energy around this,” Dan said. “We both understand that this is an opportunity to promote biking and promote safe streets.”

“It’s a joint collaboration,” Jacob said.

Alliance > Member Services >

Looking Back, a Losing Ballot Measure Campaign Was a Big Long-Term Win

Last fall, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition set out a bold plan.

During the November 2012 election, voters in Alameda County were due to consider a reauthorization of the Alameda County Transportation Sales Tax Measure. The ballot measure, Measure B1, was a bold 30-year plan to raise an additional $7.8 billion for county transportation needs by instituting a penny sales tax. And thanks to the East Bay Bicycle Coalition’s careful advocacy, the measure would direct over 11% of the new funding to biking and walking projects.

The measure’s passage would be big news for transportation in Alameda. Dave Campbell, Advocacy Director at the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, knew that the measure was a golden opportunity to create a local funding source for local transportation improvements.

“The county transportation agency had realized for several years now that federal funding was significantly decreasing, and state funding was decreasing even more,” Dave explained. “They needed to raise more money locally to support the projects they wanted to do.”

Staff at the East Bay Bicycle Coalition readied a full-on campaign to support the ballot measure’s passage. To bolster the organization’s efforts, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition applied for and received a Rapid Response grant from Advocacy Advance. 

The Coalition had its work cut out for it. California law stipulates that funding measures must gain the support of two-thirds of voters in order to pass — meaning a tremendous amount of work ahead. To increase awareness throughout the county, advocates from the EBBC conducted outreach to local community groups and businesses, worked closely with the official “Yes on B1” campaign, and distributed promotional materials to spread the word.

Ultimately, the ballot measure fell just 700 votes short of the two-thirds majority required for passage. The final count was heartbreakingly close — by the final count, 66.53% of voters had voted to support the measure, just a hair shy of the needed 66.66%.

But despite the narrow loss, the EBBC has no regrets.

“The campaign put us in a very strong position,” Dave said.

For one, the measure will be back on the ballot soon, and last year’s high-visibility campaign put the EBBC in a strong position for a winning repeat performance.

“It’s looking like it will come back to the ballot by 2016 at the latest,” said Dave. “Everybody — our congressional delegation, the regional transportation agency, mayors in each city, the environmental community, our partners — wants this thing passed and will work to make it happen.”

Another positive outcome of the campaign: a great partnership with the county transportation agency.

“The Alameda County Transportation Commission has nothing but high praise about our work on the campaign,” Dave recounted. “Our relationship has never been stronger, and it’s only gotten better since the election. They know they’ll need us next time to make sure this thing passes.”

“It’s a great lesson for other advocacy groups,” he said. “You often build clout when you oppose something and defeat it. But you build as much clout or more by partnering and succeeding with a transportation agency.”

Plus, the campaign catapulted donations to the organization, enabling the EBBC to buff up on staff and advocacy power.

“Before 2012, we were still trying to figure out how to have a full-time person doing bike advocacy,” recalled Dave. “We were essentially a staff of 4 before the campaign, and now we’re around 6.5. It resulted in so much support from our members and our donors that we have a full-time advocacy staff. Our volunteer coordination, resources, and procedures are much stronger now.”

Dave attributes much of the campaign’s positive impacts to Advocacy Advance’s support.

“The Rapid Response grant helped us do the work,” he recalled. “Coupled with another comparable grant, we were able to hire a campaign fellow to do a lot of the legwork, including coordinating 100 volunteers.”

“The B1 Campaign got us there,” he continued. “And it feels good.”

Alliance > Member Services >

2014 Benchmarking Report to Include Small and Midsized Cities

The Alliance is excited to announce that 15 new small and midsized cities will be included in the 2014 Benchmarking Report.

We’ve heard the feedback loud and clear and agree that small and midsized cities are a very important addition to our biennial report. Biking and walking professionals use the Benchmarking Report as a reference to further their work, and including new cities expands our understanding of local progress and challenges for biking and walking outside of our nation’s largest urban areas.

Want to help make the inclusion of small and midsized cities a reality? Because this new pilot project goes outside of our current scope of the report — requiring more research, analysis and design time — we are seeking help to fund this effort. We are nearly 2/3 of the way to our goal of raising at least $15K to cover the additional costs of the project.

The following cities are set to be included in the 2014 report:

In our three previous reports, the Alliance has tracked the progression of biking and walking in all 50 states and the 50 most populous U.S. cities. In this new pilot project, our data team will start to benchmark biking and walking data from small and midsized cities across the U.S., similar to what is already reported for the 50 most populous cities.

Download the 2012 Benchmarking Report here.

If your city or organization would like to help make this project happen, please contact Andrea If the pilot goes well, we plan to include small and midsized cities in our regular funding requests as a regular piece of the benchmarking report.

Make a Difference

Invest in biking and walking advocacy where it matters most... on the ground!

Upcoming Events

Spearheading Your Online Fundraising Initiative --Call on June 05

Lobbying and Elections for Biking and Walking Advocacy --Call on June 19

Managing Volunteers for Open Streets Events --Call on June 26

Recent Blog Posts

05/21/2013 - Win a New Bike with Bicycling Magazine’s Photo Contest

05/20/2013 - Alliance for Biking & Walking and Advocacy Advance Seeking Interns

05/20/2013 - Silicon Valley Councilmembers Pedal Together for Bike Week

05/16/2013 - Infographic: Why Biking To Work is Great For Your Health