Advocacy Round-up: Keeping it Local

It’s a somewhat relaxing week in D.C., with the heat wave showing no signs of abating and the Fourth of July breaking up the work week. People are on vacation and the parks and swimming pools are full of families. Oh, and there are bikes everywhere! It’s a nice reminder that cyclists are out there because they love it, despite the heat or any other obstacles.

With that in mind, here are some great stories about local communities’ progress. If you’re looking for some bicycling inspiration, local communities are the birthplace of great ideas (sorry, states!).

Credit: San Francisco Bicycle Coalition/Flickr

• The California Bicycle Coalition has put together a great report on open streets events throughout the state. From large to small, these events are changing perceptions and getting folks to think about the bicycling in their community. Los Angeles’ event, CicLAvia, has grown to 10 miles and more than 100,000 participants. Be sure to check out Open Streets Project for information on how to host these events.

• Bike Salisbury (bike-SBY) continues the momentum after our recent Bicycle Friendly Community workshop. The City Council just approved an ordinance to fund bicycle lanes on Bateman Street. This is the first phase to expand bicycling as a transportation option in the community. As bike-SBY notes, this improvement could have been stopped many times along the way, but the enthusiasm from the cycling community and Salisbury University made it possible.

• Advocates in Rupert, Idaho are asking the county commissioners to approve a local three-foot safe passing law. The Idaho State Legislature has failed to pass a bill that would provide additional safety for bicyclists and others on streets. Many communities are taking a local approach to safe passing legislation stalls at the state level (see Texas for the best examples).

• San Francisco has turned 30 car parking spaces into 336 bicycle parking spaces via on-street bike corrals. Unless all of those parking spaces were for buses, local businesses just got a whole lot more customers at their doorstep. (Hat tip to SF Streetsblog)

• Thanks to a partnership between Granite School District and the Bicycle Collective, high school students in Taylorsville, Utah can take a class in bicycle frame building. The course is designed to teach students that something they perceive as difficult can be within their abilities and reach, plus they get a custom bike out of it.

There’s always more ideas and more people than we can report. Even Martha Stewart is getting into the bicycle decoration game if you need ideas for your next local bike parade. Be sure to send those photos to America Bikes (I personally want to see Uncle Sam on a tall bike or Washington crossing the Delaware in a Bakfiets).

Got news from your community or organization? Let me know at [email protected].