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Portland Advocates’ “I Ride” Campaign Expands to Neighborhood Bus Benches

Over the past two years, the advocates at the Community Cycling Center have been snapping portraits of residents who ride, documenting in quick visual fashion why and how Portlanders use their bicycles. Now, with a grant from Kaiser Permanente, the CCC is putting those faces and stories on bus benches in key communities.

According to the CCC: “To broaden access to bicycling and its benefits, change must be initiated on multiple levels. Through campaigns like “I ride”, the Community Cycling Center is working to raise awareness and to affect individual behavior choices. Health behavior research shows that the more people see individuals like themselves engaging in healthy activities, the more likely they are to try to adopt those behaviors.”

But the CCC also recognizes that many area residents don’t have equal access to safe and healthy transportation options. A recent analysis from Portland State University revealed that the local bikeway network is weakest where the highest percentages of communities of color reside. Advocates at CCC are working to change that, pushing for investments for programs and infrastructure to benefit underserved communities.

In that effort, the CCC has partnered with residents in two specific neighborhoods: Hacienda CDC and New Columbia. Since 2009, they’ve provided bikes, helmets and safety education through their Create a Commuter, Bike Club and Bikes for Kids programs. With the grant from Kaiser Permanente, the CCC will be able to boost the visibility of those neighborhoods’ new and veteran bicyclists.

This week, the CCC announced 15 new bus benches that will be located in and feature residents from the Hacienda CDC and New Columbia. The eye-catching, blue ads include residents like Muna, a Somali native who just learned how to ride a bicycle this summer with the help of a CCC volunteer, and Jorge Solo, who uses his bicycle for exercise and to spend time with his children.

“We want to help change perceptions about who is riding bicycles and encourage more people to ride,” CCC Executive Director Alison Graves said in a press release. “Our ‘I ride’ campaign slogan — ‘Bikes take you places’ — leaves it open for people to imagine where they want to go - whether it’s riding to school or getting healthier.”