BFA Blueprint

BIKE PLAN BIKE SUMMIT STRONG NETWORK TRAFFIC COMPLETE SKILLS STREETS SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL POLICE TRAINING EQUITABLE TREATMENT BIKE TO WORK DAY ADVOCACY GROUPS BicycleFriendlyAmericaSM The Blueprint contentJAN-FEB 2011 The Bicycle Friendly 2 Community Program Grows Up 6 Bicycle Friendly Community List 8 Bicycle Friendly Business List 13 Bicycle Friendly State List 64 What Can You Do? 14 engineering 50 enforcement 16 Complete Streets 52 Strong Laws 20 Building Bicycling into 54 Targeted Enforcement Transportation Networks 26 Including All Bicyclists 56 evaluation 58 Bike Master Plan 28 education 60 Bicycle Advisory Committee 30 Traffic Skills Training 62 Data Collection 32 Safe Routes to School & Work The articles in this magazine were 34 Educationg Engineers and Planners written by League staff including Andy Clarke, Meghan Cahill, Alison Dewey, Darren Flusche, Elizabeth 36 encouragement Kiker, Bill Nesper, Jeff Peel and Carly Sieff. Cover illustrations by Katie 38 Bike Month Omberg. 40 Leading Advocate 42 Advocacy Groups Copyright 2013, League of American Wheelmen, Inc. dba League of 45 Maps, Guides & Signage America Bicyclists, 1612 K Street NW, 47 Game Changers Suite 510, Washington, DC 20006. The Bicycle Friendly Community Program wice a year, a small group awarded communities – we’ve now state! There are a lot of elements to of League staff disappear reviewed more than 400 aspirants being “bicyclist-friendly” and every into a conference room and recognized 158 at the bronze or one of the questions in our detailed armed with a stack of higher level – and equally obviously application forms is there for a reason Tcommunity applications, and a pile the program has expanded to cover – and yet we know, after reviewing of comments from cycling leaders states, business and universities in ad- literally hundreds of applications in those communities. They spend dition to local communities. We have from small two-person businesses several hours on the phone with more staff and resources to manage to the great city of New York, that other national cycling experts and the program thanks to the ongoing there are some clear projects, policies, emerge with a list of cities and coun- support of Trek and Bikes Belong; the programs and plans that really seem ties that have made the coveted list Bicycle Friendly Business program to make a difference; that make up of “bicycle-friendly communities”… alone is growing exponentially now the foundation and building blocks of and those that haven’t quite made the that it has dedicated staff. We have bicycle friendliness. grade this time around. even been able to export the BFC What gives us this confidence? As True, there are no puffs of white program to Ontario – and hope that the program has unfolded since 2003, smoke emanating from the room before long we will see all of Canada we have seen the Bicycle Friendly when the decisions are made. But as involved. America program: we enter the ninth year of the pro- In the pages that follow, you’ll see • Set standards for what constitutes gram, we are acutely aware of the that as the program has grown up, so a real cycling culture and envi- seriousness with which communities our confidence has also grown – we ronment take the whole process, and of our now think we can identify the DNA responsibility to keep the program of a bicycle friendly community, busi- standards high, maintain consistency, ness, university and even an entire and provide meaningful feedback once the decisions have been made. The Bicycle Friendly America program has really grown up. Ob- viously the program has grown in terms of numbers of applicants and 2001 2005 2 AmericanBicyclist | BicycleFriendlyAmerica • Affect decisions on how commu- how we compare to communities ment and evaluation; we raised the nities and businesses grow and businesses in other countries bar pretty dramatically. • Inspire action and involvement The new program and higher among people that want to im- Setting Standards standard worked – there were very prove conditions for bicyclists In 2003, with the guidance of a few complaints, even from those • Guide progress by acting as a national advisory group of experts, existing communities that tried and roadmap for what communities, we revamped and significantly ex- failed to make the new standard. businesses and states should do panded the Bicycle Friendly Com- Over the years, we have had to down- next munity program. We had to go back grade communities and take them off • Reward persistence as people to almost 60 communities that had the list and we have frequently given respond to feedback, make been designated under the old – and designations well below the expec- changes, and come back again much simpler – program and explain tations of those applying. We have and again to get recognition that many of them wouldn’t make the improved the questions and refined • Raise expectations as to what grade under the new program. We the review process, but have kept really is expected and involved in went from four “yes/no” questions essentially the same system in place becoming bicycle-friendly ... and to more than 70 detailed questions because it makes sense and is setting across the breadth of engineering, meaningful standards. encouragement, education, enforce- Affecting Decisions In that first round, the City of Palo Alto provided early proof that the program did indeed have the potential to influence important political and financial decisions in communities. During presentation of the Gold award to City Council, one of the members expressed shock that their pioneering bicycle-friendly 2011 what’s next? AmericanBicyclist | BicycleFriendlyAmerica 3 John Burke, Trek, presents Jim Oberstar, former House member, with a map commemorating the Bicycle Friendly America campaign. Baltimore, MD BFC Ceremony community was not getting the task force – and subsequent appli- highest, platinum, level of recogni- cations – included the city, county, tion. Later in that same meeting, as three neighboring communities, two they considered a major investment Native American nations, the re- in a bike/pedestrian underpass to gional planning agency and the state Guiding Progress complete a key connection in their Department of Transportation. Two The big gas price hikes of 2008 bikeway system several of the mem- years of intense work was rewarded changed things for the BFA pro- bers said “if we are ever going to be with a move to a gold designation grams. All of a sudden, community platinum this is what we need to be – definite progress! After two more leaders and business owners stopped doing.” That $5 million project is now years of hard work, some local ad- asking “why” they should do more open ... although the city still hasn’t vocates were clearly dispirited to see for bicyclists and started asking quite made platinum! the designation remain at Gold but “what” they should be doing. They the reality is that a leap from silver to discovered that the League’s pro- Inspiring Action platinum is a big one. A lot needs to grams provide a roadmap for what The last thing we want is for happen, especially in a region with they should be doing. Years before applicants to consider their bicycle- a relatively high number of cyclist the city of Louisville, Ky. had come to friendly designation as a reason to fatalities every year. this realization and wrote their first say “great, now we don’t have to do The Tucson region took a hard anything for bicyclists any more ...” look at traffic safety issues and is now The evaluation section of the applica- a pioneer in promoting education tion is forward-looking, seeking to and enforcement programs to key ensure that the plans, funding and audiences. Engaging the law enforce- NEXT STEPS programs are in place to continue ment community remains the weak- This coming year, as we make improvements for bicyclists. We est element of the entire program, so the first announcement of Bicycle require communities to renew their the lessons learned in Tucson will be Friendly Universities and see the application at least every four years of immense benefit to the country. BFC program expand into Canada, and submit an annual progress report Inspiration manifests itself in we are confident that we’ve got a or update. many ways. The Bicycle Friendly well-tested, effective program that We try to strike a balance be- State program, for example, has gen- helps communities, states, busi- tween motivation and discourage- erated a healthy competition between nesses and universities become ment when applicants don’t get Delaware and New Jersey for a spot more bike-friendly. the award they think they deserve. in the top ten. Recently, this inspired We have no shortage of pro- Tucson, Ariz. applied in 2004 and both states to pass complete streets posed bicycle-friendly somethings got a well-deserved silver designa- policies and identify specific actions – schools, national parks, Federal tion. Within five days, however, this they need to take to get ahead of the lands, transit systems/agencies – to spurred local cyclists into creating a other. tackle next, but at least in the im- “Platinum in ’06” task force, co- mediate future our focus will be on: chaired by the Mayor of Tucson and his counterpart at the county. The 4 AmericanBicyclist | BicycleFriendlyAmerica Rewarding Persistence Raising Expectations One of the unique features of the You would expect to see plenty BFA program is that every applicant written about places like Portland, gets feedback on their application. Davis and Boulder (our three plati- During the review process, we seek num communities) and companies in Bike Parking, Chicago, Ill. input from local cycling leaders (club the bike industry that are great em- president, bike shop owner, League ployers and improve their commu- Cycling Instructor) and weave their nity for biking – they continue to set bicycle plan around a timetable of comments into suggestions and next the standard for all of us.

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