Blog
In 2013, Jen Charrette suffered a loss that would shatter any parent — the tragic death of her two-year-old son. A longtime bicyclist, the Colorado mother found solace in cycling, pedaling through her grief and finding moments of peace in the saddle. As we mark National Women’s Health Week with posts about the wellness benefits of bicycling, Charrette shares how her bike has helped her heal.
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The Infrastructure & Funding category has long been one of the lower scoring categories that make up our Bicycle Friendly State rankings. In this category we ask tough questions about the infrastructure that is actually on the ground, the money from state and federal programs actually committed to bicycling and walking, and state goals and policies that affect funding and building decisions. When looking at long-term average spending on bicycling and walking as a percentage of all federal transportation funds, we see that less than 2% has been spent on bicycling and walking projects. It is not particularly surprising then that states tend to score low in this category.
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As we continue to celebrate National Bike to Work Week, the League of American Bicyclists today announced its latest round of Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC). With nearly 40 million Americans bicycling in 2012 and U.S. bike commuting increasing more than 61% from 2000 to 2012, there’s growing consensus that making biking better is a key component of a healthy, livable community.
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For Kennetta Gunns, bicycling was a dual pathway to better health. Returning from military deployment in 2007, the veteran faced both physical and mental challenges — and pedaled her way beyond those barriers thanks to a little help from cycling friends and Ride to Recovery. This year, Bike to Work Week coincides with National Women’s Health Week. As we’ve showcased in the past, bicycling is a powerful tool to advance health and this week we’re sharing diverse stories from women who have tapped into biking as an avenue to wellness.
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Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and her leadership colleagues on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee published their eagerly anticipated proposal for the next transportation bill — and the proposal gets a solid B+ rating from the League, offering the certainty of long term-funding that transportation agencies need to make much-needed infrastructure investments while making some small but important changes to make the programs run more efficiently and with greater transparency.
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When Sheclismo adventure racer Crystal Day signed up for the National Bike Challenge, her enthusiasm must’ve been contagious. Her daughters, Baylie and Kiara, asked if they could help out Sheclismo in logging miles. Crystal posted this to Sheclismo’s Facebook group, and in short order, Sheena Christiansen’s daughters Ren and Nevaeh had signed up, too. “I feel like no one can judge my when I’m on my bike. I feel unstoppable!” says Ren, 12. Nevaeh, who is 10, says “I love riding my bike really fast down big hills!”
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For Emily Gresh, her health was her livelihood. As a professional ballet dancer, her body was her medium. When she got cancer, at age 39, that seemless relationship came undone. As she underwent surgey and started the long road to recovery, bicycling rebuilt her strength and reconnected her to the joy of pushing her physical limits — and sharing her inspiration with others.
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Our Evaluation & Planning category showed the second best improvement of any Bicycle Friendly State category this year. This looks at how states plan to accommodate and protect bicyclists. To have good plans and ensure that they are working this category also looks at measurables – such as bicycle commuting rates and bicycle fatalities. This year, we saw a lot of improvement among states that scored either a 1 or a 2 in this category last year. Hopefully this means that these states are putting plans in place to increase cycling rates and decrease cycling-related fatalities, and that we will be reporting on those successes in the future.
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For many bicyclists becoming a parent can change everything. Kidical Mass DC recognized these challenges and created the ABCs of Family Biking to help parents overcome those hurdles. This weekend, at the annual event, organizer Megan Odett and other area advocates, spoke with Stone Soup Films for a 5-minute video that captures the energy and possibility of empowering more families to ride.
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When we examine Policies and Programs as part of our annual Bicycle Friendly State ranking we are primarily looking at the policies that accommodate bicyclists and state staff time for bicycling-related programs. Examples of policies that accommodate bicyclists include complete streets policies, facility design guidelines, bicycle parking policies, and bridge and tunnel access policies.
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