Policy and Advocacy

The Bike League works to make biking better

We are the voice of the nation’s 57 million bicyclists, promoting and protecting your right to ride

From the halls of Congress to the streets of your community, the Bike League is working to make your next ride safer and more convenient with fewer "Bike Lane Ends" signs and more protected places for you, your family, and your neighbors to ride.

Read the lastest Federal Advocacy program updates on our blog

Read the lastest Local and State Advocacy program updates on our blog

Our advocacy efforts span the spectrum, from lobbying Congress for our fair share of funding to empowering state and local advocates with the tools to win campaigns for better bike policies in your town. Since 1880, we have been the hub of information that gets the wheels spinning in communities nationwide. At the federal, state and local level, our efforts unite the voices of people who bike.

Summit Preview: Vision Zero

January 16, 2015

Leah 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 as tragedies out of their control. So, at the start of 2014, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition launched a Vision Zero campaign, calling for a reduction of all traffic deaths to zero in 10 years.

Summit: Crowdfunding Big Ideas

January 5, 2015

If 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 raise cash, in-kind donations, and volunteer power from their own communities.

Capitol Hill Update: Next Steps on Bike/Ped Safety

October 22, 2014

Last 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.

BFC Steve: My Ride with Cherokee Schill

October 21, 2014

I 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.