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Healthy employees, lower healthcare costs, decreased absenteeism, and more productivity — these are the hallmarks of a company that embraces bicycling. So it’s makes good business sense that more and…
Read More →Last week, we introduced you to Ken McLeod, our new legal expert here at the League. But he’s not the only new face in our office. With Katie Omberg focused…
Read More →We’ve all heard that Virginia is for lovers. Well, word on the street is the commonwealth’s capitol, Richmond, is for bike lovers! So we were delighted to welcome Richmond as a Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community in our latest round of BFC awards last month.
To better understand how Richmond has become bike-friendly, we interviewed Champe Burnley of Virginia Bicycle Federation and Jakob Helmboldt, Richmond’s Pedestrian, Bicycles and Trails Coordinator. Here’s what they told us…
Cyclist at the 2012 Heart of Virginia Bicycle FestivalDescribe bicycle culture in Richmond and how it has developed.
Richmond has long had a strong competitive cycling community with some notable riders coming out of the city. It has been the home of nationally recognized races like the Tour of America, Tour du Pont and Tour de Trump. There’s also a large and engaged mountain biking community, due in large part to the tremendous amount of public open space and natural areas, especially along the James River. In the past decade, the formal organization of mountain bike advocates and official trail building crews on city staff has resulted in the building of a network of sustainable singletrack in the heart of the city, drawing cyclists from around the state, and playing host to Xterra and other competitive events. The presence of Virginia Commonwealth University, with a very eclectic student body, in the heart of the city has resulted in explosive growth in student bicycle use. As a result, Richmond has a very strong bike culture that has grown organically, as demonstrated by our 2.2 percent commuter mode split; the highest in the state despite minimal bike infrastructure.
How has the broader community responded?
As more emphasis is being placed on making Richmond truly bike-friendly, the community has responded with overwhelmingly positive support from across all demographics. The Richmond Times Dispatch, the paper of record in Richmond, has run numerous articles in support of these initiatives and hosted a Public Square forum on the topic, which was widely attended by a very diverse cross section of the city and regional residents.
Why did Richmond think it important to apply for Bicycle Friendly Community designation?
In May 2010, Mayor Dwight Jones convened the Pedestrian, Bicycle and Trails Planning Commission, a largely citizen-led group, to develop recommendations on how the city could become more bike-friendly and use bicycling as a means to address issues of sustainability, economic development, transportation options, safety, and healthy lifestyles. As a result, Richmond has been working toward those goals ever since. BFC status provides two key things: recognition of the city’s efforts, both internally and externally, to create a community that is recognized in the U.S. as one that is embracing bicycling for it myriad benefits, and, more importantly, developing a baseline to work diligently to advance bike-related initiatives. The BFC program gives us feedback on what is deficient, and though we, the stakeholders, are already well aware of those issues, it validates and advocates for our initiatives. The BFC program also prompts further discussion and consideration of specific initiatives or improvements so we are continually giving consideration to what we should shoot for and prioritize in our efforts.
Read More →Georgena Terry is a pioneer and a visionary. The founder of the first company to manufacture and market bikes built specifically for women, she challenged the very structure and design…
Read More →Before returning to D.C. this fall, I lived — and became a bike advocate — in Atlanta. Late last month, I Megabus-ed 12 hours south to help the Atlanta Bicycle…
Read More →Last week, as Hurricane Sandy brushed the Florida coast, I had the pleasure of presenting the Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community award to Miami’s Mayor Tom Regalado and city commissioners. The…
Read More →The League is excited to announce a new member of our staff: Ken McLeod. A lawyer and a cyclist, Ken is our new Legal Specialist, working with the Advocacy Advance…
Read More →With the passage of the new transportation law, the route to federal funding for biking and walking in your community isn’t as direct as it used to be. With dedicated…
Read More →This week, Hoboken was among the cities hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy. High winds and intense rain battered the New Jersey town, and, as of this morning, much of the…
Read More →Last week we announced the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Businesses and RDG Planning & Design was on the list of more than 70 award recipients nationwide. The Omaha-based company…
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