As cyclists, we should all care about safe streets. Safer streets is about strong cycling and walking communities which produce positive social gains – reducing health disparities, significantly lowering household transportation expenses, creating jobs and providing access to employment, lowering air and noise pollution, reducing mental health problems, and reducing violence by improving social cohesion. When neighborhoods are excluded from being involved in policy making and bike infrastructure planning, they end up with less access to safe cycling, and are in turn denied its social gains. The tragic irony is that the communities who could benefit the most from cycling are the same communities being neglected in the planning process. This neglect only inflames and entrenches existing inequalities.
By promoting safer streets and cycling in areas that need it the most, we can reduce the problems caused by cars – global warming, pollution, wars for oil, and the carnage caused by collisions. Usually, activists spend their time begging their government for change. While many think it’s easier to effect that change if you are in the government, that’s not always true. Neighborhood watch groups, home owners associations, businesses, and local community organizations can have a huge impact on decisions being made that impact their community. While it may be true that one of the most powerful things bike advocates can do is to get themselves into positions where they help call the shots, bike advocates can also seek leadership positions in:
- Their local neighborhood organization (whose power shouldn’t be underestimated)
- City commissions
- The City Council
- Regional transportation planning organizations
As a cycling advocate today in New York, I attend my homeowners association with neighbors and go to local town hall meetings to discuss local projects that may impact my community for better or worse. We are a proud community that loves our local wildlife, parks, and lakes and we are very protective of them. While cycling is not common transit here, its recreational community is a strong supportive group for safer streets by keeping large trucks off our roads, speed limits low, and bike trails well cared for. There are many ways to get involved with your local bicycle advocacy groups like volunteering, creating art that effects action, working for local cycling advocacy groups, to starting a local advocacy group yourself. Here are a few ways to work with your city:
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 a 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.
I know we have busy lives and our resources can be small but time is the most valuable thing we have and you’d be surprised how a common goal can bring support in many ways.
Bike-friendly streets
1. Ideal bike facilities: protected bike lanes, bicycle traffic lights, protected bicycle parking, bike stations for maintenance, greenways, updates road maintenance.
2. Join an established group 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. Interests may be different for every community which may need another organization but joining up with people who have the same goals could be a lot ore helpful to having something going. It really depends on your goals but absolutely create space for specific issues for your community.
3. Join your Neighborhood Association. From experience, neighborhood associations have a fair amount of political clout in many cities. They can make or break proposed economic or 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 safe 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.
4. 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. Currently I am working on reducing the speed limit in my neighborhood where children, elderly, and our dogs walk and play. Cars fly by through were space is very very limited so I printed local questionnaires for neighbors to to fill out and to take to my city council to propose reduced speed limits. We are still waiting for answers but people power is a great tool to use.
5. If there is no city bike program to do this work (and you can’t get your 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 (e) neighborhood speed cameras etc.
6. Learn about the politics of transportation planning. We didn’t wind up with a crappy transportation system by accident. Read books and get educated about the history of bad land use planning and why building more roads is not the answer to safer streets! I will be sharing with you some great book recommendations so you can build your knowledge and learn more on how to get involved!
If you do decide to get involved locally or you have, please share with us your work so we can educate and encourage one another!
Image: thisismybike