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Bicycle Advocacy --
How to encourage cycling
By promoting cycling we can reduce the problems caused
by cars -- global warming, pollution, wars for oil, and the
carnage caused by collisions. Here are ways to promote
cycling.
What individuals can
do
Be the
change you want to see in the world
Usually activists spend their time begging
their government for change. It's easier to
effect that change if you are the
government. Therefore, one of the most powerful
things bike proponents can do is to get themselves
into positions where they help call the shots. Bike
advocates would be well advised to seek leadership
positions in:
- Their local neighborhood organization
(whose power shouldn't be underestimated)
- City commissions
- The City Council
- Regional transportation planning
organizations
Work with the
city
- Get a City Bicycle Program started.
Your city government can accomplish way more
than you or your small group alone can do.
Therefore your #1 priority should be to get your
city to start its own Bicycle Program if it
doesn't already have one. See What cities can
do at right.
- Interact with the City Bike Program.
Meet regularly (at least once a month) with Bike
Program staffers so that there's dialogue
between the City and the citizen bicycle
community.
- Lobby for a strong Bike Program. Get
the City Bike Program to do all the things
listed at right, under What cities can
do.
Bike-friendly
streets
- See our list of ideal
facilities so you know what we need
on the streets.
- Join an established group already working
on these issues. For some reason, most
people who ask me about beginning their advocacy
want to know how to start a brand-new
organization, when there's already at least one
existing group they could work with. Don't
re-invent the wheel, and don't divide limited
resources. Join up with people who have the same
goals and already have something going.
- Join your Neighborhood Association.
Bill Canfield writes: "Neighborhood associations
have a fair amount of political clout in many
cities. They can make or break proposed
bicycle-friendly projects in their area. Most
NA's are open to anyone living in the
neighborhood, not just landowners. They tend to
be run by a small number of enthusiastic people
who want their neighborhood to be a nice place.
Many issues that are important to them are also
important to cyclists (e.g. how to reduce
traffic volume and speed). The cores of the
groups tend to be pretty small, and they are
always glad to hear of someone who wants to
contribute. You can get your hands on some of
the clout just by showing up! You may not feel
like you're changing the world right away, but
by working your way into the city's informal
power structure, you will be able to contribute
significantly in the future." [Here's
are links
to several NA's in Austin.]
- Send specific requests or
complaints about specific roadways to the
City's Bicycle Program (if one exists), or the
Transportation Division (if there's no Bike
Program). Request a response and if there is no
satisfactory answer, take the issue to the City
Council.
- If there is no City Bike Program to do
this work (and you can't get the City to start
one), lobby the city directly for things
like (a) a ban on cars parking in bike lanes,
(b) a requirement for bike lanes to be installed
on every new roadway build, (c) bicycle
boulevards, (d) ciclovias. See What cities
can do at right.
- Learn about the politics of
transportation planning. We didn't wind up
with a crappy transportation system by accident.
Find
out what's driving bad land use planning and why
building more roads isn't the answer.
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What cities can
do
- Create a Bicycle Program within the city
government. Progressive cities have
dedicated bike Programs which work actively to
make cycling safer and to increase the number of
cyclists on the road.
- Adequately fund the Bicycle Program.
A Bike Program does no good if it's underfunded.
It must have sufficient staff and resources to
execute its mission.
- Make any roadway design, redesign, or
construction go through the Bicycle Program
before being approved. It's crucial that the
Bike Program be involved in roadway planning so
that it can identify problems with bike access
and cost-effective ways to address those
problems. Here again, if a city simply creates a
Bike Program but continues its old
roadway-building as usual by leaving the
cyclists out of the loop, you can't expect much
change.
- Task the Bicycle Program with developing
a comprehensive, long-term plan for improving
cycling access. For example, here's
the
plan for Austin, Texas.
- Ban parking in bike lanes.
Fortunately few cities are so short-sighted as
to allow motor vehicles to park in bike lanes,
but unfortunately some do. Probably nothing
sends a stronger message that a city doesn't
care about bike access if it lets cars park in
the one place that's supposed to be for
bikes.
- Require bike lanes on all new
roadways. It's often difficult to install
bike lanes on existing roadways because of space
constraints. But on new roadways, there should
be no excuse. Amend the city code to require
this obvious improvement.
- Install bike parking racks throughout the
city, especially in downtown areas. The
ability to easily park a bike makes cycling more
attractive.
- Require sufficient bike parking at all
new developments, and at existing large
commercial property.
- Require the largest employers in the area
to provide bike racks, lockers, and showers to
employees who want to bike to work. See
Yahoo's
Commute Alternatives Program.
- Create "Bicycle Boulevards". These
are streets with barriers that allow cyclists to
pass through but not cars. When the street is no
longer a thoroughfare for cars, it becomes a
more attractive and safer place for cyclists.
Here's more on Berkeley's
bicycle boulevards.
- Create "Ciclovias". A ciclovia
is the shutting down of certain streets to
automobile traffic at certain times. For
example, Bogotá, Columbia closes several
streets to become car-free every Sunday. Cities
experimenting with this can certainly try it for
only once a month, or as a one-time event to
gauge response, of course.
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Bike Advocacy groups
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America
Bikes
Lobbies the federal government to support
cycling. Also, see how your elected officials voted
on bicycling & transportation-related
issues.
Bikes
Belong's Guide to Advocacy
This national coalition group has published an
online guide for doing bike advocacy work in your
community, with an emphasis on using federal money
for bike-friendly transportation projects.
Bike
Summer 2003 (New York City)
Bike Summer is an annual bike festival with
rides, activist workshops, and fun events. (Earlier
events were: 2002
Portland OR; 2001
Vancouver, Canada; 2000
Chicago IL, 1999
San Francisco, CA.) Activists are encouraged to
hold Bike Summers in their own cities.
Bust
Media Bias against Bicycles
This site exposes media bias against
alternative transportation modes, especially the
bicycle, and to address such bias with action,
facts, constructive criticism and humor.
Chainguard
Online
Lots of info but poorly organized.
girlBike.com
Resources for women cyclists.
International
Bike Fund
Huge advocacy site/organization, with resources
about urban planning, bike to work programs, safety
and more. The group is oddly named, since it has
nothing to do with money or grants.
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League
of American Bicyclists (LAB)
Very large group which supports all types of
cyclists (sports, rec, commuting, advocacy).
National
Bicycle Greenway
These folks are pushing for a national (U.S.)
network of bike paths for both recreation and
transportation. They also held a BIG ride across
the U.S. in the Summer of 2000 to promote the
idea.
National
Center for Bicycling & Walking
Site includes detailed PDF reports on
implementing facilities improvements like bike
lanes and bike boulevards.
National
Cycle Network (U.K.)
5000 miles (with more to come) of continuous
routes, running right through urban centres and
reaching all parts of the UK (eventually passing
within 2 miles of half the population). Almost half
the Network will be entirely traffic-free, built
along old railway lines, canal towpaths, forestry
tracks riversides and urban space.
White
bike memorials for killed cyclists
A group is painting entire bikes solid white
and leaving them in places where cyclists have been
killed by cars.
Regional Bike Advocacy Groups/Sites
USA:
Colorado: Boulder
USA:
Georgia: Athens
USA:
Texas: Austin
Africa:
Johannesburg
Australia:
Cairns
Canada: Ontario: Toronto:
ARC, CBN
England:
Croydon
Ireland:
Dublin
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Another site by Michael Bluejay... |
| Wedding invitations beautifully mounted in frames with real, pressed flowers. |
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