Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) graciously pedaled a League of American Bicyclists’ pedicab, sponsored by Planet Bike, on March 11th for the National Bike Summit Lobby Day. He took attendees and anyone else who needed a lift around the Capitol area for the afternoon. Checkout footage, courtesy of Politco magazine, below. Thank you Rep. Petri! We hope you had a great day riding bikes!
Yesterday, BikePortland.org asked whether the bike-partisan movement’s time has passed, citing the lack of Republican co-sponsors for the major legislative asks prior to the main lobby day of the National Bike Summit. Now that 700 bike advocates have had more than 450 meetings with members of Congress, we are looking forward to seeing the Summit’s impact on representatives from both parties. In a show of bi-partisan bike love, Congressman Jack Kingston (R-Georgia) and Senator Merkley (D-Oregon) were undeterred by the rain and came out for the 10th Annual Congressional Bike Ride this morning. I had the fortune to ride alongside Rep. Kingston and Drew Wade of Savannah Bicycle Campaign, We discussed the progress Savannah is making in accommodating and educating its cyclists. We also discussed Rep. Kingston’s bike commute to the Capitol from nearby Alexandria, Va along the Mt. Vernon Trail.
We would like to thank Rep. Kingston for participating in the ride and for his interest in joining the Congressional Bike Caucus. We also urge him to co-sponsored the League’s legislative asks. On the ride, we passed local schools and neighborhoods along traffic-calmed streets and bike lanes made possible through the Safe Routes to School program. The Safe Routes to High School Act that Congress is considering would be a great way to get high school students to begin and end their days in the same healthy, active way the Congressman does. During the ride, Rep. Kingston expressed an interest in organizing a ride with Congressman Blumenauer. We have already passed on the word to Rep. Blumenauer’s staff. Both sides of the aisle were represented on the ride. Senator Jeff Merkley felt right at home in the drizzly weather and remained upbeat throughout the whole ten miles. Senator Merkely said he was “there 100 percent” through the chill day, and we appreciate his continued support for active transportation. Let’s all hope the spirit of the Congressional Bike Ride and bike-partisanship can break some of the gridlock here in Washington, like the Active Community Transportation Act would help the rush hour gridlock back home across Oregon and in the first District of Georgia!
Congressman James Oberstar, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer, and Illinois Congressman Daniel Lipinski received awards from the League of American Bicyclists for their dedication to bicycling. They rallied the 700 National Bike Summit attendees who are set to take Capitol Hill by storm today. In over 450 meetings with their representatives and senators today, the Summit delegates will build support for H.R. 4722 the Active Community Transportation Act of 2010, S. 584/H.R. 1443 – The Complete Streets Act, and S. 1156 The Safe Routes to School Program/H.R. 4021 – The Safe Routes to High Schools Act.
Congressman Oberstar marvels at the growth of the bicycling movement and encourages the Summit delegates before their meetings with representatives on Capitol Hill.
The League of American Bicyclists announces 51 new Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) award winners at the 10th Anniversary National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., March 10. “The League is especially excited to recognize the 2010 winter BFB winners at the 10th Anniversary National Bike Summit,” said Andy Clarke. “The BFB program, along with the Summit, marks the progress the bike movement and business world has made to make bicycling a viable form of transportation and an integral element to happy, healthy and productive employees.”
BFB recipients include nine gold winners: Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin; Dero Bike Rack Company; Mercy General Hospital; Planet Bike; Specialized Bicycle Components; The Hub of Detroit; Trek Bicycle Corporation; University of California, Santa Barbara; and Wheel & Sprocket, Inc.
This round of Bicycle Friendly Businesses was distinctive because of the geographic location of awarded businesses. The majority of winners are located in the Midwest – further proving that you can bike to work regardless of climate and that any state, community or business can be bicycle-friendly – and were from a varied group of businesses. “This group represented a broad range of industries, from world renowned technology firms and hoteliers to hospital and non-profits,” said Bill Nesper, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program. “These Bicycle Friendly Businesses, are clearly making a difference for employees, customers, and communities.” Winners include not only bicycle-related businesses but companies like Ameriprise Financial, Corporate Headquarters; PayPal, Inc.; and International Business Machines-IBM Rochester, MN – all three with 3,000-plus employees.
There are a lot of very simple, effective and creative ways that companies are finding to get people back on their bikes, and the League is proud to recognize the efforts of working America to make our nation a more bike-friendly place. Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, Calif., has reduced the number of parking spaces they need at the hospital by convincing people to ride their bikes to work. “We determined that it was less expensive to pay people to ride their bike to work than to add more parking spaces,” said Dave Brandeberry, Manager of Mercy General Hospital’s Cycling Program.
Companies across the country are realizing that getting their employees moving – either to or from work, in course of work, or even in their own time – is good for business. The BFB program provides a roadmap to all businesses that apply, providing a step-by-step plan to further improve their bicycle friendliness.
This is the fourth time BFB winners have been named since the program’s inception in 2008, marks the ongoing success of the program and continued momentum amongst businesses to provide a more bike-friendly environment. Applying for BFB recognition is easy and free. Applicants receive technical assistance from the League staff as well as tools to evaluate and assess their bicycle friendliness through the application process. The BFB application is available online at www.bicyclefriendlybusiness.org. Click here to see our winter 2010 winners. Click here to see a complete list of winners.
The Bicycle Friendly Community and Bicycle Friendly Business programs are generously supported by program partners Bikes Belong and Trek Bicycle’s One World, Two Wheels Campaign.
The League of American Bicyclists is proud to be the forum for Google to announce what all bike riders have been waiting for – Grab Your Bike and Go with Google Maps. Google is announcing at the Opening Plenary Session at the National Bike Summit that they are adding biking directions in the U.S. to Google Maps. “This new tool will open people’s eyes to the possibility and practicality of hopping on a bike and riding,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “We know people want to ride more, and we know it’s good for people and communities when they do ride more – this makes it possible. It is a game-changer, especially for those short trips that are the most polluting,”
Users can now choose biking when deciding how to get to their destination, starting today, March 10, 2010. If you’re one of the 57 million Americans who ride a bike, mapping your daily commute, and planning recreational or trail rides just became easier. According to Google this has been the most requested addition to Google Maps, and the League is delighted that they have chosen the National Bike Summit to unveil this new feature. Google’s announcement further proves the importance of the Summit and the bicycle movement in helping our nation become a more Bicycle Friendly America. The Google biking directions will make it that much easier for bicyclists to get to work, school or play.
This new feature includes: step-by-step bicycling directions; bike trails outlined directly on the map; and a new “Bicycling” layer that indicates bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly roads. The directions feature provides step-by-step, bike-specific routing suggestions – similar to the directions provided by our driving, walking, or public transit modes. Simply enter a start point and destination and select “Bicycling” from the drop-down menu. You will receive a route that is optimized for cycling, taking advantage of bike trails, bike lanes, and bike-friendly streets and avoiding hilly terrain whenever possible.
Visit http://maps.google.com/biking to try out this new feature. Biking directions for Google Maps is currently in Beta. Follow the League’s news feed on the new Google feature on the League’s Blog, Facebook and Twitter. If you have any further questions, contact Meghan Cahill at 202.822.1333 or meghan@bikeleague.org. Also, download and share our press release here.
The Advocacy Advance Team, a partnership between the League of American Bicyclists and the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking, has released a new report, Distracted Driving: a Bicycling Advocate’s Resource. It describes the current research into the dangers of distracted driving, says which states have texting and cellphone bans and makes recommendation for good legislation. This information is summarized in a two-pageDistracted Driving fact sheet. The full Distracted Driving report also provides advice on making the case for laws, shows evidence that the laws are needed and enforceable, and tells stories of successful campaigns.
National Bike Summit attendees can see Wednesday’s 11:15 am panel session “Traffic Justice – Don’t Be Driven to Distracted Driving,” featuring speakers from NHTSA, AAA, the New York State Police, and Chicago’s Active Transportation Alliance. (I will be moderating — if you are a regular reader, come say hello.) See the Summit program.
The back of a bus suggests that drivers send a text message to Jetta dealership. It also throws in its own (smaller) safety messages.
Just in time for the National Bike Summit, Congressman Blumenauer introduced legislation to make active transportation safer, easier, and more accessible. H.R. 4722 Active Community Transportation (ACT) Act of 2010 will help communities access funding for transportation options that improve community vitality, reduce global warming pollution, boost public health and create jobs in the process. “The ACT transportation grants will make it easier for people to get out of their vehicles and onto sidewalks or bikes, boosting heart rates and community vitality,” said Blumenauer.
H.R. 4722 will be included as one of the ASKS for the National Bike Summit next week. See the Bike Summit program with issue papers and ASKS here.
“Bicycling and walking have real potential to replace short car trips in communities across the country – and increasing active transportation has got to be good for individuals, communities and the nation,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League. “This visionary bill will help us realize that potential, economically, efficiently and effectively, and we thank Congressman Blumenauer and his colleagues for their leadership in bringing it forward.”
It is not too late to register for the Summit and be part of the Congressional Lobby Day. Register here for the Summit so you can personally ask your representatives to support the ACT act and a Bicycle Friendly America. 8144611261
For those of you getting hyped up for the National Bike Summit or just trying to get through winter, here is a (non-exhaustive) list of songs about bicycles. Enjoy.
Blog
It is not too late to register for the Summit and be part of the Congressional Lobby Day. 
Subscribe
