Bicycle Friendly America
Yesterday, I talked about the “WOW” of Bicycle Friendly Communities. Perhaps the most important part of that “WOW” factor, is the “win-over projects.” I call them “win-over projects” because they tend to cause people to turn their heads (maybe even scratch their heads) and get them thinking that maybe bicycling could start working for them. The communities that are really seeing growth in bicycling have done something big and beautiful that people can’t help but notice. I’ve pulled together some of the best “win-over projects” I saw during my trips to Memphis and mutli-city tour of California.
Every time I go home to Orange County, California, I go through the same ritual familiar to many of us. People ask me about my work; I tell them about bikes; they respond with a story about how cyclists are a nuisance, and, while they themselves are too enlightened to menace those bike users, they see others doing it. Therefore, bicycling is a bad idea. I sigh mentally and acquiesce, not because I agree with them, but because I know where they’re coming from. I grew up knowing that driving as soon as I could would be best, because car culture reigns supreme.
Last week, we announced our 2014 Bicycle Friendly State Ranking and, to give you greater insight into the annual assessment, we’re breaking down each of the categories and identifying key trends. Education & Encouragement is a category in which many states excel. This can be seen in the strong growth in Signs of Success associated with the Education & Encouragement category.
On the first day of National Bike Month, the League has released its 2014 Bicycle Friendly StateSM ranking. For the seventh year in a row, Washington continues to lead the nation, but states like Utah, Minnesota and California moved up the ranking in 2014, shaking up the top 10. How does your state rank? Read more…
Year in and year out, it’s consistently the most popular and most requested issues of American Bicyclist: our annual spotlight on the Bicycle Friendly America program. And, the 2013 edition once again showcases the hundreds of communities, businesses and universities that are using the League’s blueprint to make biking better nationwide.
Great things are happening for bicycles on college campuses across the country. According to a new study released by U.S. PIRG Education Fund, colleges and universities are working to reduce driving on campuses by promoting biking, walking, transit, car sharing, and even online distance learning as alternatives to personal vehicles.
Steve Clark On the Road: I’m mostly focusing on infrastructure, but as any good materialist will tell you, ideas too can become a material force! So here are not only the Top 10 treatments I’ve witnessed, but stay tuned tomorrow for 10 city superlatives that might ultimately be a bigger factor in long term success than the infrastructure!
Right now, there is an important opportunity to speak up for safe bicycle access in Grand Teton National Park. The Park Service is accepting public comments on the Moose-Wilson Road project, a precedent-setting project that has the potential to improve safe access throughout the park system.
If you’re as passionate about bicycling as I am, my gig will sound like a dream: I get to travel the country, visiting cities to help them become more bike-friendly as part of the new expanded Bicycle Friendly Community program. And you can thank Trek and Trek’s retailers throughout the nation for making this possible.
The League is excited to announce a new member of our staff: Stephen Clark. A longtime bike advocate, Steve is our new Bicycle Friendly Community Specialist, and he’ll be traveling across the country visiting communities to help them become more bike friendly. So what’s Steve’s story? Here’s a quick Q&A on Steve’s biking background…