Posts

National Bike Summit Recap

2014BikeSummitIt’s been a literal whirlwind of a week in Washington DC. Amid several inches of snowfall and high winds, the brightest minds and leaders of the national bicycle movement converged to advance efforts towards a more bicycle friendly America.

Day One – Women Bike

The week kicked off with the third annual Women’s Bicycling Forum. Everyone came together to address the gender gap in the bicycle world. With amazing speakers from government, advocacy, industry and culture, the forum had one goal – getting more women on bicycles.

There is great leadership from women in the bicycle world and amazing progress has/is being made towards the common goal of encouraging more female leadership in the bicycle world and even more women out riding! Follow the progress from Women Bike and the forum on their Twitter feed below.

Day Two – Presentations

AnthonyFoxx

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. Image courtesy of the League of American Bicyclists.

It was an early start to a day full of presentations and speakers who are doing amazing things to promote bicycles across the country. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Texas Senator Rodney Ellis (TX), and Pittsburgh Mayor, Bill Peduto were all present to fire up the crowd in the early morning opener.

Anthony Foxx is in his first year as Transportation Secretary, and filling the shoes of former Secretary Ray LaHood is something he is proud to do. LaHood has long been an ally in the administration, being very vocal about his support for biking and walking, lucky for us, Anthony Foxx continues to carry that torch.

On the new $302 billion dollar transportation proposal released that same day:

“We made sure that this plan increases resources to step up bicycle and pedestrian programs and the resources we need for our public transit systems, which are so important to people who walk and ride bicycles… I’ve made investing in bicycles and pedestrians a priority in the president’s plan… We need to make sure Congress acts on this plan.”

We’re looking forward to working with Secretary Foxx in the future, and thank him for his continued support of biking and walking as key components of our country’s infrastructure. Read more from Foxx’s appearance at the Summit on the Bike League’s blog.

Douglas Meyer

Douglas Meyer. Image courtesy of Streetsblog.com

After Foxx, we heard from Douglas Meyer on a study conducted on the perspectives of mayors  on bicycles. Interviews with 40 mayors from across the country revealed that”Everyone is bought in and support is increasing” for biking and walking. This is true for cities of all sizes where mayor after mayor said that those who oppose bicycle infrastructure are now in the minority.

Quality of life was often cited as a main reason for support bicycle projects. Economic development is also closely related to quality of life issues, and bicycle infrastructure has shown to be an incredible opportunity to attract young talent and businesses to cities of all sizes. 

One of Meyer’s best lines from his talk is something we believe at the Bicycle Coalition as well:

“If you have a One Less Car t-shirt, burn it. Anything anti-car adds fuel to a fire you don’t want to stoke.”

You can view his presentation below, and read some fascinating takeaways from his presentation on the on the Bike League’s blog.

Day 3 – Advocacy Day on the Hill

Lois Capps and advocates from SLO and SB counties.

Lois Capps and advocates from SLO and SB counties.

It was a warmer day than last, making for much easier trekking on Capitol Hill for our annual advocacy day. We had a meeting set with local representative Lois Capps (D-CA, 24th District) who has long been a supporter of better biking and walking on the Central Coast.

The common “ask” all of the advocates were making on the Hill was simple:

  • Co-sponsor the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act (HR3494 and S1708)
  • Co-sponsor the Safe Streets Act (HR3978)
  • Co-sponsor the New Opportunities for Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Financing Act (HR2468 and S2004)

We have a great supporter in Lois Capps, who agreed to the first two and will be paying us a visit here in SLO County later this year, where we hope to highlight some of the new projects on the horizon. Read specifics about these bills and the collective ask from the Summit on the Bike League’s blog.

After meeting with Capps and a few other leaders from across the country to drop off information to their offices, we wrapped up another successful advocacy day with a reception on the Hill to celebrate our hard work! That’s all for 2014, cheers to a bright year ahead and to next year’s trip to Washington DC!

NBS14_TEXT

View more from the National Bike Summit with the #NBS14 tag on Twitter and Facebook.


California By Bike Summit

We are at an exciting and powerful moment in the history of bicycle advocacy in our state. Governor Brown has provided more money than ever for active transportation infrastructure and he’s given us a blank slate regarding rules on how to spend it. Are we prepared to make the most of this opportunity?

CAbikeSummit2013

Our statewide partners, the California Bicycle Coalition, are hosting an incredible summit in November to address the future of bicycles in the state. Aimed at brining bicycle culture, infrastructure and excitement to all corners of the golden state, the California by Bike Summit is guaranteed to inspire!

130601-1063

On November 7-10 in Oakland, CA, California by Bike will bring people together so that we can say, “Yes, we can.”  This is a gathering of more than just bike advocates and the bike industry, but leading bike-minded people in transit, urban planning, health, design, technology, and tourism as we share, envision, connect and collaborate on how to best improve biking in California.

Your Bicycle Coalition will be in attendance to learn and share from others, with the central coast having many recent victories for bicycles. We are also excited to hear what other similar parts of the state are doing to make bicycle riding better in their communities. We’d love to see you there as we all continue to work together to making places better for bicycles!

When: November 7-10, 2013
Where:  685 14th St, Oakland, CA (map)

For more information, to register and receive early-bird registration (ends September 30!) visit the California by Bike Summit online here.

Tammy Duckworth: Rockstar

Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL), shares her story & belief in bicycles with us at the Women’s Bicycling Forum.

20130304-130046.jpg

As an Iraq War veteran, Duckworth lost both of her legs while piloting a helicopter, she truly is an inspiration to us all. On what bicycles have offered for our veterans:

“Bicycling has represented an idea of never giving up, and given us the motivation to keep going.”

“For our wounded warriors the hardest part is not being able to use your body anymore.”

Needless to say, she is a rockstar!

National Women’s Bicycling Forum!

Women Bike, the new League of American Bicyclists program, is hosting the Women’s Bicycling Forum! We’re here all day and are so excited to see a packed house and fantastic styling – looking good League!

We’ll be providing updates throughout the week, including from our day on Capitol Hill meeting with congressional leaders.

Go bicycles!

20130304-090059.jpg

The Capitol Building

Look closely, those are two people riding some Capital Bikeshare bikes here on the Hill.

20120322-210000.jpg

We were finally able to get outside for the first time today and see the cherry blossoms in full bloom, making for a beautiful day in DC. We can’t wait to get out to the national mall and see more of them from the Bikeshare bikes ourselves!

20120322-210114.jpg

More From Capitol Hill

We just wrapped up our day on Capitol Hill, and were able to meet with staffers from both Rep Capps’ and Rep McCarthy’s office, our elected officials from SLO County!

In Lois Capps office with our neighbors from Santa Barbara County

In Kevin McCarthy’s office with his transportation staffer, Rob McCarthy

All of the California delegation almost all posing for a photo! We’ve got people from all across the state, and sat together to make sure we could meet with every representative in the California legislature.

For now, we’re off for a much needed bite to eat, it’s been a long day of meetings all over the hill, and a slice of pizza is in order. We’ll provide a more detailed update of our day on the hill tomorrow.

From Capitol Hill

Today is off to a great start! With meetings scheduled with Sen Boxer & Rep Capps’ offices, we’re excited to share the benefits that biking & walking will provide for our future!

20120322-131438.jpg

In between these meetings we’ve been dropping in to chat with other elected officials, on behalf of those who couldn’t make it out to DC to join us. Our message is concise and extremely relevant, as the federal transportation bill is on the top of everyone’s mind.

House leadership proposed a 3 month extension this morning and it has been the buzz on Capitol Hill in the hallways. This timing allows the conversation to run parallel to what’s being discussed in the House of Representatives today.

Have we mentioned how much everyone loves the bike pins we’re all wearing?!

20120322-131119.jpg

Here we are before our meeting with Capps’ office with our fellow advocates and neighbors from Santa Barbara:

20120322-131722.jpg

Stay tuned for some better photos later today when we have time to upload them from a computer!

Getting Prepped

Going over our last minute details & fueling up in the Rayburn House Office Building before we start our day of meetings of leaders throughout CA!

20120322-092654.jpg

20120322-093016.jpg