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Local and State Advocacy
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July 27, 2015by Carolyn SzczepanskiEach summer, kids flock to the Community Cycling Center’s shop with their bikes, imaginations, and goals to expand their geographic and personal horizons. Our Bike Camp program teaches safety, group riding technique, right of way, and basic, hands-on maintenance skills. But the biggest lesson is the empowerment kids receive from a summer adventure on two wheels.
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July 22, 2015by Carolyn SzczepanskiAs a community, we wanted to make an approachable event that gave bike riders from all backgrounds a chance to get together and celebrate. As an organization, we wanted an unpretentious gala that incorporated a bike ride where anyone could participate in without breaking a sweat.
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May 26, 2015by Carolyn SzczepanskiLet’s face it: Bike advocates have it tough. Winning our goal of safer streets is a game played in multiple arenas, where different teams must come together and share in the ultimate victory — or defeat. Sure, bicycling may be a simple solution to many social problems, but, as Darla Letourneau explains so well, the problems that keep people from riding are… complex.
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January 18, 2015by Carolyn SzczepanskiFor Mychal Tetteh, the old adage proved true: Necessity is the mother of invention. Portland may be his hometown, but when he started as the Executive Director of the Community Cycling Center in 2013, he felt like he was working from a disjointed map, an incomplete playbook on how to make streets safer in his community. "As soon as I got the job, I wanted to know everything," he recalled. "From a...
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January 16, 2015by Carolyn SzczepanskiLeah Shahum had a jarring realization in 2013. In the wake of a particularly fatal year for bicyclists and pedestrians in San Francisco, it became clear to her that the slow, piecemeal approach to create safer streets wasn't moving nearly fast enough. It was time to redraw the lines of the debate, shift the cultural compass for the city, the public and advocates to no longer accept traffic deaths...
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January 5, 2015by Darren FluscheIf we know anything about bicycling advocates, it’s that they’re an innovative bunch. At the National Bike Summit this year we are putting the spotlight on exciting new ideas for advocacy – our theme is Big Ideas. One of the ways we doing that is by collaborating with our partners at the crowdfunding platform ioby. ioby is a nation-wide, nonprofit crowdfunding platform that helps local leaders...
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October 22, 2014by Caron WhitakerLast week, the Congressional Bike Caucus hosted a briefing for Congressional staffers to discuss what’s next for bicycling and walking safety — and the event was standing room only. Many Congressional staffers were supportive of HR 3494, The Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act, and are interested in learning what’s coming next.
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October 21, 2014by Steve ClarkI used to think I was about as fearless and empowered as any cyclist out there. Then I rode with Cherokee Schill. When I was in Lexington, Kentucky recently for a Bicycle Friendly Community visit, I rode with Schill, a woman who’s been ticketed and even jailed for biking to work in the travel lane, rather than the shoulder, of a busy state highway.
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October 1, 2014by Liz MurphyImagine you’re a safe-streets advocate living in a dreamscape of an expanding bike-lane network, widespread installation of public plazas and innovative government-sponsored programs aimed at improving street life, from summertime street closures to bike share to virtually on-demand public benches. Progress has been swift under the committed leadership of a mayor who understands the economic...
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July 24, 2014by Caron WhitakerAs August approaches, Washington, D.C., starts to clear out. On August 1, Congress shuts down for a month and members escape the city to return to their districts and meet with constituents to learn what matters to people in their district. This is a great time to invite your member of Congress to visit a new bike project or program, or to join a local club on a bike ride.