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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 2007-2008, districts across the United States spent a staggering $21.5 billion busing students from their neighborhoods to the classroom. At an average of $854 per student, that accounted for more than 4 percent of the entire cost of the K-12 education system.

By helping to create the conditions that get more kids to bike and walk to school instead, the Safe Routes to School movement is reducing that massive price tag. And the advocates at the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation have created a new tool that aims to puts a dollar value on those notable savings.

Of course, busing trumps private automobiles by a long shot, saving 347 million vehicle miles traveled each day. And busing certainly makes sense for students traveling longer distances. “We know that school bus transportation is cheaper, better for the environment, and often better for kids, than being driven in private automobiles,” the Missouri advocates point out. But they also know that: “Walking and bicycling, when feasible and safe, is cheaper, healthier, and generally better for most kids than either of the other options.”

So the federation did some number crunching. They found that a typical student who bicycles or walks to school receives the following amount of savings and benefits:

• Bicycling: $2,749 per year ($1,129 in cost savings and health benefits; $1,620 in enjoyment benefit)
  
• Walking: $1,856 per year ($596 in cost savings and health benefits; $1,260 in enjoyment benefit)

Want to calculate the benefits in your community? Download the federation’s calculator in the Alliance Resource Library. Click here to read more about the data sources.

The Bike Month celebrations continued last week, as two more states adopted Complete Streets measures.

In Vermont, Alliance members Local Motion and the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition worked to advance and win a measure that “ensure[s] the needs of all users of VT’s transportation system — including motorists, bicyclists, public transportation users, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities — are considered in all…transportation projects.” The bill was signed in to law by Governor Peter Shumlin on May 18 (pictured above) and advocates hope its passage will elevate the reputation of the Green Mountain State.

“Among other things, this should help reverse Vermont’s declining bike-friendliness ranking from the League of American Bicyclists,” Local Motion noted on its blog. “Among the 50 states, Vermont ranked 17th when the ranking started three years ago. In 2010, we fell to 34th. This bill, along with the Safe Passing Bill last session, should boost Vermont’s ranking.”

Out in the Midwest, Missouri added to its burgeoning reputation as a Complete Streets leader, too. Last month, the Show Me State had several policies highlighted as model measures in a new analysis from the National Complete Streets Coalition — and last week advocates celebrated a complete streets resolution at the state level, as well.

“The Complete Streets Resolution, HCR 23, passed and encourages agencies to build streets in Missouri that work for everyone — motorists, cyclists, walkers, runners and those who use public transit,” Brent Hugh, director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, said in a press release. “We are extremely pleased with the passage of this resolution, which expresses the General Assembly’s support for Complete Streets and urges cities and agencies across Missouri to pass their own Complete Streets policies.”

That wasn’t the only progress in Missouri this session. Advocates also declared victory in long-running campaigns for:

• The Bicycle and Pedestrian Holiday Observances bill, SB 180, which officially adds Bike Week/Month and Walk to School Day/Week/Month to the state holidays calendar; and
• The educational “Same Roads-Same Rights” specialty bicycle license plate for automobile, which was given final approval by a legislative committee and should be on sale as early as this summer. (Speaking of which: Have you signed up for the Alliance Mutual Aid Call on “Fundraising with License Plates” on June 22? Register here!)

Congratulations to advocates in both states! Read more from Local Motion, VT Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition or the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation.

This month we celebrated with the National Complete Streets Coalition, as they marked the passage of more than 200 complete streets policies across the U.S.

Well, add Kansas City, Missouri, to that quickly growing list.

This week, the Kansas City City Council passed a “Livable Streets” resolution that recognizes “streets and sidewalks are an important part of our community that serve transportation needs and are also a part of the public realm where people live, shop, interact, and travel” and resolves that “Kansas City supports the concept of Livable Streets as a means to promote great neighborhoods, healthy and active people, and a thriving community.” The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation lauded the passage of the complete streets policy as a “a giant step forward.”

According to federation: “Kansas City is moving to the forefront of transportation parity in Missouri following the adoption of similar Complete Streets policies in Columbia, De Soto, Ferguson, Crystal City, Festus, Herculaneum, St. Louis, and Lee’s Summit.”

“The Livable Streets resolution is a sort of capstone to several different polices and plans that are already moving the city forward towards becoming safer and easier to navigate by whatever mode of transportation people choose,” Eric Rogers, the vice president of the MoBikeFed writes on KCBike.info. It builds on recent progress, including a Bike KC Master plan, a walkability plan and the reform of the development code and parking regulations.

“It’s great to see more Complete Streets policies being adopted in Missouri,” says Sarah Shipley, a KC resident and staffer at the MoBikeFed. “It means our roads and streets will be designed for everyone and safer for everyone — the old, the young, people with a disability, people who walk, bicycle, take the bus, or drive.”

Click here to read the full resolution.

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.

As early as 1904, a public library in South Carolina started loading books onto mule-drawn wagons to bring knowledge to the rural masses. Now Bookmobiles are a common feature of many libraries, taking the institutions’ wealth of resources to the streets.

The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation is tweaking the roving library concept and tailoring it to serve students in the Show Me State.

Get ready for the BikeMobile.

Thanks to funding from a Safe Routes to School grant, the Missouri advocates are outfitting a box truck, school bus, or maybe even an old ambulance to carry bikes and safety instructors to elementary students.

“The BikeMobile’s maiden voyage will be this fall when we begin our Bicycle Lesson and Safety Training (BLAST) in the Kansas City area,” says Eric Bunch, the federation’s program coordinator. “BLAST is a three-hour, in-class, on-bike skills and safety training for 5th and 6th graders.  Thanks to a MoDOT [Missouri Department of Transportation] Safe Routes to School grant, MoBikeFed has a target of hitting 10 schools in the KC metro area with BLAST. We have funding for instructors, a coordinator, equipment, bikes and helmets. We just need the truck to complete the puzzle!”

Once they’ve secured their ride, they’ll take their ambitious plan on the road throughout the state.

“The ultimate goal is to take the BikeMobile around the state putting on bike rodeos and providing BLAST to thousands of students,” Bunch says. “Our next round of SRTS funding will hopefully fund a statewide train-the-trainer model by which we will teach PE teachers the ways of BLAST. Our Missouri SRTS State Network is working hard on this concept as we speak. Additionally, it is our hope that the BikeMobile will be as recognizable to Missourians as its inspiration, the Bookmobile.”

Read more about BLAST or donate a few bucks towards the BikeMobile on MoBikeFed’s website.

UPDATE: The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation reports, “A St. Charles County proposal to ban bicycles from shoulderless highways around the Katy Trail town of Defiance was tabled at a County Council meeting last night, but will be reconsidered next month with the possible addition of more roads on the banned list.” Click here to stay up-to-date as the issue develops.

When officials in the small town of Black Hawk banned bicycles from their streets earlier this year, Colorado advocates worried the absurd prohibition would spread to other locales. “Bicycle Colorado is very concerned about it, because we don’t want it to set a precedent that other cities would follow,” said executive director Dan Grunig.

Unfortunately, it appears Grunig’s fear was well founded.

A bicycle ban is now rearing its head in eastern Missouri.

Joe Brazil, a Republican councilman in St. Charles County (which borders the big city of St Louis), will likely introduce a measure at a meeting tonight that would make it illegal to ride on a handful of two-lane highways in the southwest portion of the county. His argument sounds eerily similar to the rhetoric out of Black Hawk: Brazil insists his intent is to protect cyclists, who allegedly are endangered by high-speed motorists on highways with no shoulders.

“You’re going 55 (mph) and there’s absolute limited sight distance,” Brazil told the St. Louis Dispatch late least week. “You come around a corner and come upon a bike in seconds and you have to react.”

“This is a problem we’ve had out here for years,” he added, suggesting that he gets more complaints about the issue than on anything else.

Advocates in Missouri are gearing up to push back against the proposed ban.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, advocates are keeping the heat on Black Hawk officials. On June 29, Bicycle Colorado held a rally that drew more than 100 bicyclists and several state policymakers, calling for a repeal of the ban. “This is a basic freedom issue,” state senator Chris Brophy told the crowd of bicyclists.

Get the latest on the Black Hawk campaign at Bicycle Colorado and stay tuned for updates from Missouri.

The complete streets movement kicked off summer in sizzling fashion, with a handful of policies passing in places you might not imagine.

In recent weeks, measures to make roadways safe and accessible for all users, from cyclists to pedestrians to transit riders, won approval all over the map. A number of those victories are outlined in the latest newsletter from the National Complete Streets Coalition this week.

-  In Pascagoula, Mississippi, the city council passed a resolution on May 18 that “calls for the inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian ways in new construction and reconstruction projects undertaken by the city.” The resolution made Pascagoula the third city in the state to adopt complete streets language.

- The hard work of Alliance member Active Transportation Alliance paid off when the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission became the third, and largest, metropolitan planning organization in the state to adopt a complete streets policy on May 20.

- Also spurred by local advocates, Edmonton captured the distinction of being the first city in the state of Oklahoma to officially embrace complete streets. On May 24, the city council unanimously approved a resolution to provide accommodation for all users on the city’s roadways in a “balanced, responsible, and equitable way.”

- On May 25, the planning commission in Midland, Michigan, unanimously approved a complete streets policy that specifically calls for attention to safe, accessible intersection design and will apply to any new or reconstructed streets.

- In the Show-Me State, residents of St. Louis will be seeing better access for cyclists and pedestrians after the city council passed a complete streets policy on June 11. Chalk that up to the determined efforts of Trailnet, a group of advocates who pressed for the measure for several years.

- Just last week, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed a bill that added complete streets language to state statute. The Colorado Department of Transportation already had an internal policy of “accommodating bicycle and pedestrian use of the highways in a safe and reliable manner for all highway users.” But the new measure puts that policy into law.

- And finally, a group of advocates in Alaska kicked off a new complete streets campaign in the city of Spenard by drumming up more than 100 supporters on Facebook in advance of their first meeting with city officials last week.

For more information about the movement, visit the National Complete Streets Coalition.

To save a professional bicycle race that could bring Lance Armstrong to the Show-Me State, bicycle advocates in Missouri are leaning hard on Democratic Governor Jay Nixon.

The Tour of Missouri — an annual, week-long, staged race that started in 2007 — has drawn more than 1.2 million spectators from 40 states and 20 countries to the Show-Me State. That kind of tourism means big money for Missouri — more than $75 million in economic impact over the past three years. It also means big exposure for bicycling.

But, despite the prospect of Lance Armstrong joining the Tour this fall, the 2010 event is on the brink of death.

Though the Missouri General Assembly specifically allocated $1 million in state support for the Tour, the Division of Tourism and the Governor Nixon are balking at that commitment and insisting the state simply doesn’t have the cash. Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation and vice-chair of the Tour, is rallying cyclists to make Nixon reconsider.

“The Tour is Missouri’s premier bicycling event, an event of global importance, and one that Missouri’s bicycling community — and many others — care deeply about,” Hugh said in a press release last week.

Already, more than 2,200 supporters have signed an online petition urging Nixon to retain funding for the Tour. That’s in addition to the nearly 9,000 Facebook fans on the “Support the Tour of Missouri” page.

Thus far, both the Division of Tourism and the Governor’s staff have refused to meet with Hugh and other Tour officials, despite repeated and written requests. Those political shenanigans have caught the attention of the media. The Riverfront Times in St. Louis has started investigating the dicey politics underlying the decision.

Stay up-to-date on developments and read all about the fight — now dubbed Tour of Missouri-gate — on MO Bike Fed’s Web-site.

According to the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, “HB 1691, to make Bike Month, Bike to Work Week, and Walk/Bike to School Day/Week/Month a permanent part of the Missouri state holidays calendar, has passed the Missouri House as a consent bill.  The bill now goes to the MIssouri Senate.

Rep. Will Kraus sponsored the bill and wrote this summary in his weekly newsletter to constituents:

‘Bill on Bicycle and Walking Days Goes to the Senate
Last week, I presented HB 1691 to the House of Representatives for a vote.  This bill requires the governor to issue annual proclamations for a Walk and Bike to School month and day in October and Bike to Work month, day and week in May.  It received strong bipartisan support as it passed by a vote of 142 yes, one no, and one present.  The bill has been sent to the Senate and has been assigned to the Progress and Development Committee.

I would like to thank Brent Hugh, Executive Director of the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation, Jonathan Hugh, and all others who have helped with this bill.

At no cost to the state, days such as this provide an opportunity for schools to organize safe passage for kids to walk or ride to school; create enthusiasm, knowledge and comradeship for healthy exercise; and lead to positive physical and mental health benefits for Missourians.’”

According to the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, “Ciclovia—the street festival where cities close down miles of streets and residents come out to enjoy walking, bicycling, scootering, skating, and all other manner of fun physical activity—is coming to Missouri in a big way this summer.

Kansas City’s Car Free Weekends on Cliff Drive are entering their third year and have been a very successful program.  By removing cars from the drive on weekends, more citizens are able to enjoy bicycling and walking and crime has been reduced significantly. Now Kansas City is expanded on this successful program by creating the city’s first full-blown Sunday Parkways festival.” St. Louis is also expanding it’s ciclovia programming this summer. 

The Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation is working to bring ciclovia festivals to cities around Missouri.  The state has gone from no Missouri ciclovia festivals in 2007, to one in 2008, and now seven planned for 2010.

Learn more at MoBikePedFed.

According to a press release issued by the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has announced an agreement to save the historic Katy Bridge at Boonville. This comes after Union Pacific railroad moved to abandon the railroad right-of-way through the bridge which would have threatened the legal integrity of about 165 miles of the Katy Trail (currently used for biking and walking).

According to Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation:

“Trail advocates across Missouri have been working years to save the bridge

‘The MKT Bridge at Boonville is beautiful, historic, and surprisingly important for the legal health of a long section of the Katy Trail,’ said Brent Hugh, Executive Director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation. ‘That is why trail lovers from across the state have been working for over six years to save and preserve the Katy Bridge.’

The Governor said that with the announcement of the bridge transfer, the Missouri Division of State Parks was prepared to discuss with Boonville officials how the bridge might eventually be incorporated into use by bicyclists, joggers and hikers using the nearby Katy Trail. Boonville is one of the most populous communities along the trail, which is used by more than 300,000 people each year.

Several groups from across the state took steps to build support for saving the bridge. Boonville’s Save the Katy Bridge Coalition has galvanized local support and fund raising, while groups like the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation have worked to develop statewide support. Great Rivers Environmental Law Center filed legal briefs in support of then-Attorney General Nixon’s state lawsuit designed to save the bridge.

‘In 2005, when the state allowed Union Pacific to abandon the Katy Bridge without taking the proper legal steps to preserve the underlying rail corridor, it put 165 miles of the Katy Trail in a very unfortunate legal situation,’ says Hugh. ‘Transferring the bridge to the City of Boonville will resolve that legal problem while also creating a historic and tourist attraction in Boonville. And some day we’d like to see the Katy Trail re-routed to use the historic bridge.’”

Background on the legal issues surrounding the Katy Bridge:

http://mobikefed.org/2005/12/map-of-rail-connections-to-katy-trail.php
http://mobikefed.org/2005/12/abandonment-of-boonville-bridge.php
http://mobikefed.org/2005/06/removal-of-mkt-bridge-at-boonville.php

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The Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation, founded in 1994, represents the interests of bicyclists, walkers, runners, and trail users throughout Missouri. Through its network of affiliated clubs and groups, MoBikeFed represents over 15,000 Missouri citizens and speaks for the 2 million Missourians who bicycle regularly and the 5.8 million who walk.

The Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation is working to realize its vision of active transportation in Missouri by creating a world-class bicycle and pedestrian network in Missouri, building a movement around walking and bicycling, encouraging more walking and bicycling, and increasing safety for all road users. Find out more or join the federation at http://MoBikeFed.org

Photo: Young bicyclist on Katy Trail with Katy Bridge at Boonville pictured in back. Courtesy of the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Foundation.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation wrapped up their 2009 legislative season with some successes, and some issues to come back to. Among the successes is a Sen. Bill Stouffer’s Dead Red bill which allows bicyclists & motorcyclists to proceed through a red light if the actuator failed to detect the vehicle. The Dead Red bill was signed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and became law on August 28th.  Another controversial bill to allow much greater equestrian access to trails and public lands was strongly opposed by mountain biking and trails groups because of technical details about the way it was written. Thanks to opposition voiced by MoBikeFed and other groups and MoBikeFed’s testimony at two key hearings, the bill was re-written to remove the problematic portions. The improved version was passed and signed by Governor Nixon.

For more related news from Missouri’s 2009 legislative season, visit here…