On September 23, the House passed a three-month extension of the federal surface transportation bill by a vote of 335 to 85, despite attempts by Republican leadership to defeat it. The final vote of 335 (247 D and 88 R) is significant in that earlier in the day, the Republican leadership decided to back a 18-month extension proposed by the Senate and the Obama Administration. To see how your representative voted, click here. We await action in the Senate this week.

43 Percent Increase in Bicycle Commuting

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey (ACS), released today, 0.55 percent of American workers use a bicycle as their primary means of getting to work. This is up 14 percent since 2007, 36 percent from the first ACS in 2005, and 43 percent since the 2000 Census. The League of American Bicyclists is analyzing the numbers for various locations, including League Bicycle Friendly Communities. In the meantime, you can look up this information for hundreds of communities and all of the states using the American Fact Finder. Read more on our blog.

The League announced 45 new Bicycle Friendly Business award winners on September 24, including two platinum winners Bicycle Sport Shop of Austin, Texas and Quality Bicycle Products of Bloomington, Minn., at the Industry Leadership Breakfast during Interbike in Las Vegas, Nev. This was the third time BFB winners have been announced since the program's inception in 2008 when the League announced the first 13 designees. "We are delighted so many businesses are using the BFB roadmap to encourage and enable their employees to ride - everyone from two-person neighborhood businesses to major corporations are getting on board," stated League President Andy Clarke. Read more.

The NYC Department of Transportation has nearly completed the Sands Street approach to the Manhattan Bridge. It is a a first-of-its-kind for NYC: a center-median, two-way, protected bike path. The facility is a solution to counter the dangers posed by the mix of roads and highway on-ramps that overrun the area. Ryan Russo, NYC DOT Assistant Commissioner for Traffic Management points out that back in 2005 about 800 cyclists used the bridge daily. In 2009, those numbers have soared to more than 2,600. Visit StreetFilms to read more and view the path in action. Also read an interesting New York Times editorial on bicyclists using the Brooklyn Bridge.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter officially opened new bike lanes in Philadelphia's center city last week. The bike lanes run along the right lanes of Pine Street and Spruce Street, river to river. If this pilot program is successful, the lanes will become permanent, and the city might consider expanding the bike lanes to other east-west streets. Read more at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. View t.v. coverage. Visit PlanPhilly.

In September 2007, Mayor Menino pledged to transform Boston into a world-class bicycling city. Merino has made significant progress this year. Here are the top accomplishments of 2009 so far:
1. Bike Lanes - Boston Bikes installed five miles of bike lanes.
2. TD Bank Boston Cycling Celebration
3. Boston Bikes produced the first complete bicycle map of Boston.
4. Boston Bikes has installed 150 bike racks to date this year, with another 100 coming soon. Request a rack.
5. Boston Bikes launched Stolen Bikes Boston, a community alert program aimed at efficiently tracking down stolen bikes.
6. The City of Boston Bike Pool enables employees to hop on any of the 18 Giant Bicycles located at nine city buildings for work trips.
7. Boston Bikes' Youth Cycling Program provided on-the-bike training for over 600 youth under age 18.
8. Three community bike days.
9. Four Bike Fridays, escorted rides into Boston from all over metro-Boston with free breakfast, music, and an expo at City Hall.
10. Cooler in a Helmet Campaign

Learn more about Boston Bikes.

Ride with West Virginia's Department of Transportation and show your support for bicycle commuting on Friday, October 2 with a scheduled 25 mile bicycle commute. The West Virginia Department of Transportation's Division Director and other staffers from Putnam County will participate in the ride to the Capitol Complex in Charleston, W.Va. Tom Smith, the Division Administrator for the Federal Highway Administration - West Virginia Division will also ride. If you would like to participate, please email Kim Broughton.

The City of Austin Bicycle & Pedestrian Program recently won the State Planning Project Award for their work on their newly adopted 2009 Austin Master Bike Plan. The City will officially accept the award at the annual conference of the Texas Chapter of the American Planners Association in October in Galveston.

The cool factor of the bicycle has come a long way in the U.S., but nowhere is it as mainstream to bike in your suit and tie or your fashionable dress as it is in European cities like Copenhagen. Danish bike culture, often called cycle chic, is central to the Danes' approach to sustainable living, and one of the key factors in their ability to remain energy independent. This supportive culture combines with supportive transportation infrastructure to make biking the mode of choice for nearly 33 percent of local trips in Denmark, compared to just 1 percent of local trips in the United States. What have the Danish done to make biking a national habit? 

Join us this Wednesday, September 30 from 6p.m. to 8p.m. at the  National Capital Planning Commission for a lecture and discussion with Mikael Colville-Andersen with an introduction by Andy Clarke, League President. Check out www.copenhagencyclechic.com; www.copenhagenize.com for more information.

RSVP for the forum here.

The Share the Road Cycling Coalition held Ontario's first Bike Summit last week. Attendees included 170 cyclists, advocates, political leaders from municipal and provincial governments, government officials from several departments, planners, engineers, industry, public health officials and international guests together to share information and discuss how to create a Bicycle Friendly Ontario. Visit Share the Road to read the Summit's recap.

The Hall of Fame is seeking an Executive Director to manage all facets of its operations and facilities which have recently relocated to Davis, Calif. Click here to read full job description.

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington (BAW) seeks an Executive Director to lead the nonprofit organization which is comprised of more than 2,000 members who are engaged in the goal of making Washington state more bike-friendly. Click here to read full job description.