Turning League Reports into Advocacy Campaigns

The League is always working hard to create resources to advance advocacy and bicycling in communities nationwide. A recent hot topic is bicycle advisory committees (BACs) and how to create an effective group. There was a great session at the Women’s Bicycling Summit and our recent policy report. I’m already hearing great stories of how these tools are being put to use by advocates.

The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, for instance, has been working for more than a year to create new bicycle and pedestrian advisory committees in San Mateo County. SVBC wants to ensure local bicyclists have a voice in how their state and federal transportation dollars are spent, particularly when it comes to bike projects. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (the region’s planning agency) also requires that counties and cities have a BAC to review projects.

San Mateo County has a county-level committee, but SVBC has argued is not enough to have just the one group. “The county-level BPAC does a great job and their staff works hard, but their review should be a second step,” argues Colin Heyne, Deputy Director of SVBC. “The cities should be engaging their own citizens who are interested in biking and walking, having a local review to ensure projects meet local needs.”

To help Colin and others make the case to elected officials and the public, we’ve created a summary of our bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee report. Use this summary when you’re attending meetings, talking with elected officials, or writing a newspaper editorial. And be sure to let us know if there are resources the League can create for your next campaign.

Do you have news from your advocacy organization? Let me know at [email protected]

Photo by Richard Masoner