Bikes Belong Update FALL 2012

Transcription

1 FALL 2012 Bikes Belong Update federal policy & funding national leadership community grants bicycling promotion Bikes Belong is the coalition of U.S. bicycle manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers working together to put more people on bicycles more often. Bikes Belong is a coalition of U.S. bicycle manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers working together to put more people on bicycles more often.

2 federal policy & funding generally see great value and multiple benefits in bike projects and are likely to take full advantage of TA. We have momentum on our side. Photo credit: Adam Coppola The New Federal Transportation Bill: What It Means for Bicycling MAP-21, the new two-year federal transportation bill that takes effect on October 1, is likely to reduce the federal investment in bicycling and walking. Bikes Belong and the bike industry will work closely with our state and local partners to maximize federal funds to build and improve bicycling and walking infrastructure. Four questions loom: 1 How much funding will be cut? 2 How will these cuts affect bicycling and all types of transportation? 3 Why did this happen...and what are the lessons? 4 What can supporters of a cost-effective federal investment in bicycling do to minimize the cuts and rebuild a beneficial long-term federal program? During the next two fiscal years, states will no longer be required to dedicate a percentage of federal transportation dollars to bike infrastructure and related programs. Programs that previously received guaranteed funding Transportation Enhancements (TE), Safe Routes to School, and Recreational Trails have been revised, consolidated, or weakened. While bicycling projects traditionally funded by these programs remain eligible for support, they must compete with a variety of other projects some of them new, and many of them costly. The overall effect of these changes is difficult to estimate and may not be noticeable at first. Several hundred million dollars remain in the pipeline from the previous federal legislation, SAFETEA-LU much of it for projects that have been approved but not yet built. We need to make sure states spend all remaining funds for these worthy projects from the Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and Recreational Trails programs. The bad news is that MAP-21 gives states unprecedented flexibility to reallocate (or completely opt-out of spending) money that was previously dedicated to make bicycling and walking safer, more appealing, and more convenient. In the states where highway construction is seen as the only priority, funding for bike projects will likely be cut. The damage will be compounded by the fact that the overall pool of money available for bike-ped projects in MAP-21 is less than the previous bill. Moving Forward The annual federal bike/ped investment has hovered around $800 million in each of the last four years. We expect the sum to be roughly the same for the fiscal year that ends September 30, What happens in the next two fiscal years will depend, in part, on how effective bike advocates and the bike industry are in influencing state and local decisions. Bikes Belong and our key advocacy group partners will provide steady advice in the coming months on achieving this important strategic goal. Why was bike/ped the one category to take a big hit? Cutting or eliminating dedicated transportation funding for bicycling was a top 2012 goal for some Members of Congress. They see it as a low-priority even wasteful investment for the federal government. Our response? Bicycling infrastructure investments rank among the best of all: they re low-cost, quick-to-implement, increasingly popular, and beneficial not only in moving people efficiently, but also in reducing road congestion, obesity, and air pollution. Bike riding saves individuals and government money. We have learned that we must build a stronger grassroots network to help convey this message to lawmakers. The battle to preserve critical federal funding for biking now moves to the states and local communities. While the Transportation Alternatives program is smaller than its predecessors, TA and the larger, core transportation and safety programs still present significant opportunities for federal funding for biking. Bikes Belong is working with our advocacy partners to ensure that states and local governments use every opportunity in the new law to make bicycling safer and more convenient. The continuation of a modest, results-oriented federal investment in bike infrastructure is essential to making bicycling better for all Americans. It is important to the bike business and our economy. As better bikeway networks become available, Americans will bike more and our nation will benefit. Stay tuned to learn how you can help. BikesPAC More Important Than Ever BikesPAC, Bikes Belong Coalition s political action committee, is the bike industry s way to support the members of Congress who back bicycling. The federal government is the number one investor in U.S. bike facilities and programs. These investments which total more than $6 billion in the last 10 years pay for bike paths, trails, lanes, bridges, underpasses, and safe routes to school that make bicycling safer and more convenient. This is important for the bike industry: if these investments continue and grow, they will help get more people riding bikes, which will enable the bicycling business to sell more bikes, more equipment, and become stronger nationwide. It would be nice to think that the best ideas like bicycling as a solution to obesity, road congestion, and air pollution would automatically rise to the top. But, this is a country of more than 300 million people with countless different perspectives on just about every issue. The bike industry is just one of about 1,000 different types of businesses working to influence federal transportation policy and funding decisions. This group includes road builders, auto manufacturers, transit interests, and a variety of other well-organized, well-funded organizations. In this swirl of ideas, it s not surprising that members of Congress listen first to the people they know and the people who support them. BikesPAC moves bicycling into this select group and gives us the opportunity to make our case, face to face. PAC funding will never buy the outcome and that s a good thing but it will give us a chance to be heard. With the elections right around the corner, it is vitally important that we support lawmakers who strongly promote bicycling and Join Us at the Interbike BikesPAC Reception increased bicycle infrastructure to give Americans more safe places to ride, said Bruno Maier, vice president of Bikes Belong. We must participate in the political process to be effective. Since its inception, BikesPAC has contributed more than $200,000 to the campaigns of individual members of Congress. BikesPAC is absolutely bipartisan contributing equally to Republicans and Democrats. Learn more at bikesbelong.org/bikespac. The new transportation bill also creates a promising new way for cities and metropolitan areas to draw on federal funds for bike/ped projects through a new program called Transportation Alternatives (TA). The good news here is that cities and counties To learn more about the federal investment in bicycling, visit bikesbelong.org. Tuesday, Sept. 18, :30 7 p.m. at the V Bar (Venetian Hotel)

3 national leadership (left) Top transportation officials from across the country, including Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, headlined the national launch of the Green Lane Project in Chicago. The Green Lane Project is a Bikes Belong initiative to bring protected bikeways to six U.S. cities. (middle) Bluebonnet green lane, Austin, TX (below) A green lane is installed in Chicago, IL. Three National Bike Advocacy Groups Affirm Shared Goals and Continue Collaboration; Decide to Remain Separate After months of steady dialogue and face-to-face meetings, the leaders of the Bikes Belong, the League of American Bicyclists, and the Alliance for Biking & Walking have decided not to pursue full unification at this time. The three groups continue to operate independently, in close collaboration, to make bicycling safer and more enjoyable for all Americans. Green Lane Project Moves Bicycling Forward Bikes Belong is leading the way toward the next generation of bike lanes with the Green Lane Project. The Green Lane Project, launched in late May this year, is working with Austin, Chicago, Memphis, Portland, OR, San Francisco, and Washington, DC to support each city s development of world-class protected bicycling networks, called green lanes, during the next two years. Green lanes are safe, comfortable spaces for people on bikes on city streets. They are protected from motor vehicles by curbs, planters, posts, or parked cars. A green lane is an invitation to ride to a whole new range of people who otherwise wouldn t feel comfortable biking on busy city streets. Green lanes address this fundamental and common concern about safety by creating dedicated spaces and low-stress routes for almost anyone. Green lanes benefit everyone, not just those people riding bikes today, said project director Martha Roskowski. They re inexpensive to build, they make traveling in the city less stressful for people in cars and on foot as well as on bikes, and they are attractive to innovative businesses that are moving into urban areas. The Green Lane Project serves as a catalyst, convener, collaborator, and communicator, facilitating the spread of knowledge and best practices among U.S. cities. So far this year, the Project has hosted workshops in Minneapolis and Denmark for city officials to share ideas and draw inspiration from some of the most advanced bicycling cities in the world. Additional workshops are being held in the Netherlands and New York this fall. The thinking about urban bicycling is evolving very rapidly, so city leaders are eager to share ideas and learn from one another, said Roskowski. The Green Lane Project creates a direct peer-to-peer conversation. This will help cities transform their streets faster, better, and smarter than if they were working on their own. The Project s newly launched, dedicated website (greenlaneproject.org) provides updates on the progress in the six focus cities and beyond and offers resources and inspiration from around the world. The Project also released its first printed resource this summer, a guide that helps cities build support for innovative bike facilities by sharing key communications lessons learned by other U.S. cities. The 57-page guide, entitled Explain Your Lane, shows examples and best practices for communications and outreach that can be used before, during and after green lane projects. This fall, the Green Lane Project will work with Portland State University (OR) on a research project to study corridors in each of the six cities, looking at ridership, safety, and the economic impact of investments in green lanes. Learn more about the Project at greenlaneproject.org. What s New in the Green Lane Project Focus Cities? Austin, TX opened a new two-way green lane on Rio Grande Avenue in April and will complete green lane projects this fall on Barton Springs Road, serving the city s beloved pool, and on Bluebonnet, connecting to an elementary school. Chicago, IL has installed five miles of new protected lanes so far this year with plans to complete nearly 30 miles more by year-end. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has pledged to make Chicago the bike friendliest city in the country. Memphis, TN is entering final design for the Broad-Overton connector, which will be the first green lane in the city. Memphis has built 35 miles of new bike lanes in the last year. Portland, OR is designing a green lane on NE Multnomah in conjunction with redevelopment of the area, adding to a growing network that includes several innovative green lane projects. San Francisco, CA opened a new green lane on JFK Drive through Golden Gate Park a popular route for families and visitors in early summer.. Additional green lane pilot projects are being explored on Polk, 2nd, and the Embarcadero. Washington, DC is completing a green lane design on L Street NW and starting on M Street NW. A recently completed study of green lanes on Pennsylvania and 15th Street NW showed significant increases in ridership and encouraging safety results. Neighbors, drivers, and pedestrians all see benefits from the lanes as well. These unprecedented unification discussions were marked by goodwill and an open exchange of ideas. They helped U.S. bike advocacy leaders agree on a shared vision, goals, and strategies that will advance the movement and improve bicycling coast to coast. The three groups continue to work together and have committed to achieving the following benchmark goals by 2020: 1. The nationwide percentage of trips made by bike will increase to five percent (from one percent in 2012), and the diversity of people on bikes will mirror the diversity of America; 2. Traffic injuries and fatalities (in all modes) will decrease by 50 percent; 3. Half of all Americans will have front-door access to a bicycling network that will take them to destinations within two miles exclusively on low-stress streets, lanes, and trails protected from high-speed traffic. The League and Alliance are developing plans to help state and local advocates get the most out of MAP-21, the new, two-year federal transportation bill (read more on p. 2), and will work with Bikes Belong on this, and other projects. Bikes Belong has initiated a strategic discovery process to review its overall goals and to refine its focus, and is engaging the League and Alliance to help shape its future direction. The leaders of all three groups began the unification discussion fully aware of the challenges of blending unique legal structures, membership bases, project priorities, and headquarters locations. While these talks didn t produce a merger, the groups will continue to work together to engage, represent, and connect the many different elements of the bicycling movement. They will focus on federal, state, and local projects that best improve bike infrastructure and safety in the United States.

4 community grants A group rides over the Sabo Bridge in Minneapolis using the Nice Ride bikes. A Bikes Belong-funded research study will provide Nice Ride and other bike share programs with valuable data to help boost usage and guide the location of future stations. 245 awards, $1.9 million invested in bicycling Bikes Belong increased the geographic diversity of its grant recipients this year by adding two states Mississippi and New Jersey to those that have received a community grant. We are attracting an unprecedented number of applications for highquality facility and advocacy projects. With these awards, Bikes Belong s investment in community projects exceeds $1.9 million and has leveraged an additional $659 million in federal, state, and private funding. Indianapolis Bicycle Planning Summits (Indianapolis, IN) INDYCOG, the bicycle advocacy group serving Indianapolis, is partnering with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to help five underserved urban neighborhoods develop bicycle infrastructure plans that improve current bike routes and add more to serve key destinations. This $10,000 Bikes Belong grant will fund planning summits in all five neighborhoods. The City of Indianapolis has committed to incorporating the results of these community-led events into their master bicycle planning document. ZAP Twin Cities Bicycle Commuter Program (Minneapolis, MN) Commuter Connection, St. Paul Smart Trips, and the University of Minnesota will use this $10,000 grant from Bikes Belong for an innovative project to track and reward bicycle commuter trips in the Twin Cities downtown areas and the university district. Using RFID technology and ZAP readers, the project will enlist 625 initial riders, record their commuter travel, and provide incentives for choosing to bike. The University of Minnesota plans to conduct an assessment of the program s impact on the health and well being of the participants. Grand Junction, CO Photo credit: Sarah Mah-Withers Mississippi is the 48th state to receive a Bikes Belong Community Grant. Pilot Bike Corrals (Hoboken, NJ) Complementing its ongoing investments in bike lanes, bike parking and a bicycle repair station, the City of Hoboken will use a $5,000 grant from Bikes Belong to install three pilot bike corrals holding 12 to 24 bicycles each. The corrals will be located in high traffic areas and will build on city plans to put bike lanes on 80% of its streets by the end of Three Sisters (Grand Junction, CO) When the value of land slated for development plummeted in the last recession, the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA) partnered with Mesa Land Trust to make the most of the situation. Bikes Belong s grant of $5,000 will help the organizations finalize the land purchase and develop trails on the Three Sisters property. This new network, adjacent to Grand Junction s Lunch Loop trail system, will provide much-needed beginner-level trails and advance the bike path development that will link these trails with downtown. Open Streets: Jackson (Jackson, MS) Bike Walk Mississippi will host the state s first open streets event in which city streets are closed to motor vehicles next spring in an effort to boost walking and bicycling in the capital city. Bikes Belong s $4,000 grant will provide seed funding for this initiative that is expected to engage partners from the business, government, and non-profit communities and make Jackson a healthier and more bike-friendly city. BMX Track Grants Bikes Belong is awarding $2,000 to each of the following BMX projects: Aztec BMX Track Relocation and Rehabilitation (Aztec, NM): The City of Aztec will relocate their track to a safer, more accessible location that connects to an existing trail system. Farmer City BMX Track Revitalization (Farmer City, IL): Farmer City BMX will use grant funding to convert the starting hill from dirt to asphalt and improve erosion control. Tri City BMX (Kearney, NE): Tri City BMX will hardsurface the three corners of their track, drastically reducing maintenance time and improving safety. Bikes Belong Grants in Action Bike Share programs are booming across the country, with cities like Boston and Washington, DC continuing to expand their systems while New York City and Chicago prepare to launch next spring. Minneapolis was an early adopter, launching Nice Ride MN in the summer of 2010 and finding success immediately with 100,000+ rides that season. Now operating 145 stations with 1,328 bicycles, Nice Ride is a great example of how a Midwestern city with challenging weather can get more people on bikes for short trips. The Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota decided to delve deeper into the success of Nice Ride and its effect on the local economy. Research team members Greg Lindsey, Andrew Harrison, Jessica Schoner, and Xize Wang received a $7,500 Bikes Belong Research Grant in the fall of 2011 for a study to examine economic activity around bicycle share stations and how local businesses affect bike share use. The results are in and show that a station s proximity to food-related businesses and jobs nearby significantly correlates to high use of that station. Other factors, such as how close a station is to the central business district, to water, to trails, and to other stations play a role in its use as well. The results of this research are important for bike share programs looking at the best way to maximize the use of their facilities and for businesses considering whether a bike share station near them is a benefit. This study confirms that people use bike share to get to businesses and make purchases on these trips, said Harrison. This is important news for bike share programs because it begins to provide hard data to support their efforts. This study confirms that people use bike share to get to businesses and make purchases on these trips.

5 bicycling promotion Bikes Belong s Kate Powlison and her teammates ride through Provence ahead of the Tour de France. Photo credit: Robertson/Velodramatic. Six Women Ride Entire Tour de France Route for Bikes Belong Foundation In July, Bikes Belong s Kate Powlison and five other women successfully rode the entire Tour de France course (encompassing more than 2,100 miles and 152,000 feet of climbing). The group traveled one day ahead of the race, riding without the benefit of closed roads and the wind-shielding protection of a large peloton. All six riders made it to Paris despite two crashes and even one rider s broken tailbone. Adhering to the actual Tour de France race course, the women rode an average of 105 miles a day, sometimes more than 150 miles, and climbed an average of 7,600 vertical feet per day for 20 days with only two rest days. Looking back on some of those long days (Stages 10 and 16 topped the charts by climbing more than 16,000 vertical feel each), I still wonder how we did it, said Powlison. In addition to fundraising for the Bikes Belong Foundation, the ride aimed to inspire more women to ride more often. The Reve Tour women also hoped that by doing a ride they weren t sure they could complete, it would encourage others to tackle bike rides that they ve never done before. PeopleForBikes.org Launches PSA Campaign This summer, Bikes Belong s PeopleForBikes.org movement launched a new PSA campaign designed to highlight the many benefits of bicycling that, all to often, are overlooked. The PSAs touch on health, transportation, childhood academics, and the economy. They will be featured around the country in newspapers, magazines, on websites, billboards, and street furniture. If you would like to place one of these PSAs in an industry publication, or can assist Bikes Belong with other placements by leveraging your ad buy, please contact Tim Bock at tbock@bikesbelong.org. I did this ride to prove to anyone that no matter how daunting the trip whether it s a Grand Tour, a century ride, a steep hill out of town, or riding to work for the first time with the proper support and belief in yourself it can be done, said Powlison. Read more about Kate s Tour de France ride on the PeopleForBikes.org blog and at Reve.cc. National Bike Challenge: 30,000 riders pedal 12 million miles The 2012 National Bike Challenge, a nationwide initiative to inspire and empower millions of Americans to ride their bikes for transportation, recreation, and better health, ended Aug. 31. Starting at the kickoff in May, the friendly, online competition (sponsored by the Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Bikes Belong, the League of American Bicyclists, and Endomondo) engaged nearly 30,000 bicyclists from communities nationwide to log their miles, connect with fellow riders, and compete for great prizes. Participants from all 50 states collectively logged more than 11 million miles and burned more than 250 million calories during the Challenge. The 2013 National Bike Challenge, already in the works, will include a new website, new partners and sponsors, and a goal of 60,000 riders logging 25 million miles during the same time period.

6 nuts & bolts Bikes Belong Challenges Industry to Build More Than Bicycles If we build more than bicycles, riding will become more fun. We ll have more places to ride, and more people to ride with. At Interbike 2012, Bikes Belong wants to know how you make bicycling better and Build More Than Bicycles. Building bikeways, community, or the next generation of riders anything that improves the future of bicycling counts. Drop by the Bikes Belong booth (L28) and add your story to our map before 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 20 for your chance to win one of three $1000 prizes. Whether your idea is big and established or small and creative, we want to hear about it. Thanks, Interbike, for your outstanding support, and best wishes for a landmark 2012 show. Bikes Belong Coalition Leadership Board of Directors Chris Fortune (Chairman of the Board) President of Saris Cycling Group Michael Mercuri (Vice-Chairman of the Board) VP of SRAM Corporation John Burke CEO of Trek Fred Clements Executive Director of the National Bicycle Dealers Association Paul Collins Advertising Director of Bicycling Magazine Pat Cunnane President of Advanced Sports Steve Flagg CEO of Quality Bicycle Products Chris Kegel Owner of Wheel & Sprocket Jeff McGuane President of Cycling Sports Group, North America Steve Meineke President of Raleigh America Davit Pruitt CEO of Performance Bike Patrick Seidler CEO of WTB Bill Smith President of Huffy Corporation Mike Sinyard CEO of Specialized Yutaka Taniyama Shimano American Corporation Elysa Walk General Manager of Giant Staff Tim Blumenthal, President, tim@bikesbelong.org Tim Bock, Senior Marketing Manager, tbock@bikesbelong.org Erik Esborg, Finance Director, erik@bikesbelong.org Richard Fries, Development Advisor, richard@bikesbelong.org Joan Harrold, Marketing & Communications Manager, joan@bikesbelong.org Lynne Ida, Accounting & Human Resources Assistant, lynne@bikesbelong.org Zoe Kircos, Grants Manager, zoe@bikesbelong.org Bruno Maier, Vice President, bruno@bikesbelong.org Sarah Murer, Office Administrator, sarah@bikesbelong.org Kate Powlison, Research Analyst & Communications Coordinator, kate@bikesbelong.org Ivette Rivera, Vice President of Strategic Planning, Government Relations, ivetterivera@bikesbelong.org Martha Roskowski, Green Lane Project Director, martha@bikesbelong.org Zach Vanderkooy, International Programs Manager, Green Lane Project, zach@bikesbelong.org Fast Facts About Bicycling A new study from Portland State University found that customers who arrive by bike spend more per month than those who arrive by car. (Clifton et al., 2012) After a green lane was installed on Washington, DC s Pennsylvania Avenue, bicycling increased 200% and 90% of users said they felt safer bicycling. (District Department of Transportation, 2012) A recent study confirmed that participation in physical activity is positively related to academic performance in children. (Singh et al., 2012) For more facts and stats to help you make your case for bicycling, visit the Bikes Belong searchable statistic library at bikesbelong.org/statistics. Show Your Support Show your support for Bikes Belong on your rides this year by picking up our newest jerseys at PrimalWear.com. Fifty percent of the proceeds of each sale will be donated back to Bikes Belong Foundation.

7 P.O. Box 2359 Boulder, CO bikesbelong.org Photo credit: Adam Coppola Your Bikes Belong membership is an investment in the future of bicycling in America. Better and safer places to ride will lead to more people bicycling more often, which will increase sales for your business. Together we can increase participation and grow the industry. Please join or renew today at bikesbelong.org. A special thanks to Interbike for their exceptional, time-tested support. Follow Us Keep your finger on the pulse of everything Bikes Belong is doing by subscribing to our RSS feeds for news stories and blog entries. You can also follow us on Twitter (@bikesbelong), Facebook (BikesBelong), and Instagram (@bikesbelong).