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This morning the daily commute for many Boston bicyclists became a whole lot safer and more comfortable — thanks in large part to advocates at the LivableStreets Alliance.

In December 2010, LivableStreets executive director, Jackie Douglas, was a panelist on an Alliance Mutual Aid Call, sharing insight and progress from the organization’s Better Bridges Campaign. Three years ago, the advocates launched the initiative to ensure that a $3 billion investment from the state to shore up dilapidated bridges didn’t bypass accommodations for bicyclists, pedestrians and transit users. Today, LivableStreets celebrated the completion of bike lanes and pedestrian crossing improvements to the BU Bridge over the Charles River.

“This is a major victory,” Douglas said in the announcement this morning — a victory built on wide participation from LivableStreets members and a strong and diverse campaign coalition. “Improvements to the BU Bridge have created a new vital link, providing more transportation options and new opportunities to integrate physical activity into our daily lives. We are witnessing a growing wave of interest in walking, bicycling, public transit and livable communities.”

One commuter who will make use of that new, vital link is LivableStreets member Emily Blood: ““The BU Bridge used to be the major obstacle in my commute to the Longwood Medical Area,” she said. “Now I’ll bike more often, and it will be so much safer to cross.”

The savvy advocates at LivableStreets aren’t letting the victory pass silently. To highlight the improvements, engage potential members and leverage the victory into a stronger relationship with decisionmakers, they’ll be out on the bridge today and tomorrow giving out goodie bags and getting excited users to sign thank-you postcards to transportation officials.

Learn more about the Better Bridges campaign and other bridge initiatives in last year’s Advocacy Advance report — Bridging the Gaps in Bicycling Networks: An Advocate’s Guide to Getting Bikes on Bridges.

And don’t forget: LivableStreets is the host of our Winning Campaigns Training in Boston this April. Register now to secure your spot and take advantage of these winning advocates’ insight.

Photo: BU Bridge with new bike lanes and pedestrian crossings. (LivableStreets)

Winning Campaigns Trainings give you more than tips and tactics to plan a successful campaign. The Alliance’s three-day boot camp for advocates leaves participants energized, excited and prepared to take on new campaigns that reshape their communities.

Since 2009, the Alliance has worked with nearly 300 advocates from across the continent at our signature workshops. By working through the Winning Campaigns Training curriculum, those participants tweaked or launched hundreds of different campaigns to boost biking and walking in their communities.

Over the past few months, as we’ve held the first half of our 2011 series, we tried to give you a taste of this energy by sharing the rave reviews of participants. But, while we can give you a hundred testimonials, you have to experience the training yourself to understand its impact on how you plan and execute your campaigns.

In 2012, we’re giving you four opportunities to jumpstart your next winning campaign with the guidance of our expert facilitators and the assistance of your bike-ped peers. As you begin to plan out your 2012 budget, don’t forget to include space to attend this transformative training.

• January 13-15 in Tucson, AZ; Hosted by Living Streets Alliance
• April 27-29 in Boston, MA; Hosted by Livable Streets Alliance
• June 8-10 in Houston, TX; Hosted by Citizens’ Transportation Coalition
• October 19-21 in Kansas City, MO; Hosted by BikeWalkKC

Registration for each training is already open. Reserve your spot today.

And don’t forget about our final two training in 2011. The Alliance will be in Los Angeles, October 14-16, and in Columbia, SC, November 4-6.

In August 2008, the state of Massachusetts embarked on a massive $3 billion effort to shore up more than 100 dilapidated bridges. Advocates at LivableStreets in Boston seized the opportunity to bring the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians to the surface.

It just so happened that the most visible and badly deteriorated bridge was right in their backyard. The Longfellow Bridge connecting Boston and Cambridge was the centerpiece of MassDOT’s Accelerated Bridge Program. But, according to the Boston Globe, transportation planners didn’t have any intention of addressing the on-street design elements. Until they started getting an earful from advocates at Alliance organizations, like LivableStreets.

“Officials had been proceeding with plans to rebuild the Longfellow largely as is, but they put those plans on hold in May, acknowledging a growing chorus calling for something bolder — to make the Longfellow more of a bike-and-pedestrian-friendly extension of the Esplanade,” the newspaper reported last month.

LivableStreets was a key player in growing that chorus for a better, more bike-ped-friendly bridge. Since the start of the Accelerate Bridge Program, they organized supporters to write letters, attend public meetings and add their input. Because of that visible interest, the DOT established a task force to study the issues and make recommendations. Steven Miller, a board member for LivableStreets, was among those invited to the table.

It turned out, the task force wasn’t just for public show. In that same November article, Miller told the Globe that “the Department of Transportation deserves real credit for being open and listening and ending up much more flexible than anyone had anticipated in the beginning.’’ Last month, the task force released a raft of recommendations, many of which recognize the needs of non-motorized users.

Luisa Paiewonsky, the Department of Transportation’s highway administrator, told the Globe that the task force had prodded the DOT to take a more “modern outlook” on the bridge work and “substantially improve” conditions for folks commuting on two wheels and two feet. “There was strong consensus on the task force that the bridge needed to be able to better serve all of the groups and get them across the bridge safely,’’ Paiewonsky told the newspaper.

That’s the kind of language LivableStreets likes to hear. But their campaign is far from over. More details outlining how they’ve come this far and how they plan to move forward are included in the latest Advocacy Advance Report — Bridging the Gaps in Bicycling Networks: An Advocate’s Guide to Getting Bikes on Bridges.

Not to sound like a broken record, but the report is a must-read. And once you’ve put it down, we’re thinking you might want to chat with the report authors and inspiring advocates. So join us tomorrow for the “Learn from the Bridge Access Report” Mutual Aid Call at 3 p.m. EST. Jackie Douglas (pictured), the director of LivableStreets, will join us as a panelist, along with Eric Rogers of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation and Don Sparks from Charleston Moves.

Add your ideas and experiences to the discussion on this critical topic. Click here to register.

Back in October, we highlighted a major victory in the Show-Me State. After years of targeted advocacy and partnership building, the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation helped cut the ribbon on a new bike-ped path on the Heart of America Bridge in Kansas City (pictured).

“Advocates have been working for this day for more than two decades,” Brent Hugh, MoBikeFed’s executive director, told us. “The Missouri River cuts the Kansas City metro area in half, and a safe crossing point for bicyclists and pedestrians has been the biggest missing piece of the area’s bike-ped network.”

Kansas City is far from unique. Bridge crossings pose significant challenges — and opportunities — for bicycle and pedestrian advocates across the country. To help spur more successes like the one in Missouri, the Advocacy Advance Team has just released its latest report, Bridging the Gaps in Bicycling Networks: An Advocate’s Guide to Getting Bikes on Bridges.

“Bridges provide critical connections in a transportation network,” writes Darren Flusche, policy analyst for the League of American Bicyclists and lead author of the report. “After a generation of building bridges exclusively for cars, it is time for a more inclusive approach. Bicyclists and pedestrians need bridges at least as much as any other road users and advocates are increasingly making progress with transportation agencies. However, because of their scale and complexity, advocates often need to undertake serious, concerted campaigns to ensure accommodations are made.”

“This report identifies some of the common objections to bridge accommodations for biking and walking and offers suggestions on how to answer them,” Flusche adds. “It also contains recommendations based on the experience of several successful and on-going advocacy campaigns.”

The report is a must-read. It brings together all the relevant statistics, policy statements and federal regulations that you need to discuss these critical issues with officials in your community. It includes key insights and engaging anecdotes from advocates across the nation. Click here to download your copy.

Then mark your calendars for our “Learn from the Bridge Access Report” Mutual Aid call on December 15th at 3 p.m. EST (please note the date and time change!). Advocacy Advance staff will join the call to answer any questions about the report and a panel of advocates will share their experiences in waging and winning bridge campaigns in their communities. Be sure to read Bridging the Gaps and dial in to add your voice and insight to this important discussion.

Click here to register for the call.

Beginning this week, thousands of public transit users are hearing the voice of David Watson (pictured right), executive director of MassBike, over the loud speaker.

For decades, the leaders at MassBike have been pressing officials at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for better bike access to Boston-area bus, train and ferry service. But the group’s latest success — a series of bike-promoting public service announcements now airing on platforms across the metro — came from an unlikely source.

“Strange but true story,” Watson says. “At the first Boston Bike Safety Summit last month, a masked bicyclist — Biker Boy — stood up and asked the assembled officials to create bike safety PSAs. The general manager of the MBTA said ‘Yes’ on the spot and invited Biker Boy to record them. The GM later asked me to help. We had asked the T to help us promote biking and safety before, but the charged atmosphere of the summit made it happen. Having a masked superhero make the ask apparently helped, too!”

Though the Bike Week announcement expires on Friday, Watson says the MBTA has committed to airing the other PSAs at least through the end of the summer. Click on the links below to listen. (For later reference, you’ll be able to find them in our Resource Library, too.)

Bay State Bike Week PSA

Biking on the T PSA

Folding Bike PSA

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

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