The term “cycling advocacy” conjures up images of large, national organizations with highly visible websites, such as The League of American Bicyclists. On their website, they explain their mission:
“To promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation and work through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America.
We do this by representing the interests of the nation’s 57 million cyclists. With a current membership of 300,000 affiliated cyclists, including 25,000 individuals and 700 affiliated organizations, the League works to bring better bicycling to your community.”
The League has a multitude of programs and advocacy achievements under its belt. It also has the advantage of visibility. With its long history and involvement in promoting bike friendly legislation, its name is recognizable throughout the U.S., even among non-cyclists.
There is value in the League’s prominence; it gives a public face to cycling. And, it makes cycling seem widespread and popular. However, there is a downside to such a large organization — it comes across as a bit impersonal.
Cycling, on the other hand, is personal since it depends upon human power, and for most cyclists, it primarily takes place in a circumscribed area near where they live. So even though we have huge leagues of American cyclists, everyday cyclists are less likely to interact with them than with local organizations.
In states like Massachusetts (where I reside) cycling advocacy organizations of varying sizes exist. On the statewide level, there is the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, also known as MassBike. Since their beginning in 1977, they have continuously worked to improve the laws and cycling conditions for Massachusetts bicyclists. And although they haven’t become a household name, they have earned a reputation among avid cyclists and have been quoted by the media.
Still, among everyday cyclists, knowledge about organizations of this type is sparse. When a cyclist is just riding his or her bike down the street to buy a gallon of milk, the need for an advocate doesn’t arise. Or does it?
I thought it might not until I came across a musical biking video made by a local bicycle advocacy group, Bike Newton, which I could not resist posting on my blog. By “local,” I mean that they focus on bicycle accommodations and cycling issues in just one city, Newton, Massachusetts.
At first glance, this doesn’t seem like much. After all, how much bicycle advocating can you do in one suburban city? I was about to dismiss this type of advocacy as something of benefit only to the people in that town until I noticed something unexpected about their activities.
One of their goals was to qualify for The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Community designation. In 2009, they began the long and arduous process of applying for this designation. For their efforts, they received feedback from The League of American Bicyclists in both 2010 and 2012, but have not yet met the criteria for a Bicycle Friendly Community.
As with most suburban communities, what they can accomplish at present is limited by roads that are too narrow for bike lanes. Despite these obstacles, they decided to create a bicycle network throughout the town.
To outsiders, such a goal would have seemed unattainable, given the narrow roads and the car-centric culture of the city. What was needed to achieve their goals was a way to garner support from local residents. This would allow them to petition for funds to make the city more bicycle friendly.
Reaching cyclists in a car-centric city is not an easy task. Yet, they were able to overcome this by offering a free bicycle valet service at the local farmers’ market. Granted, many towns do not have a farmers’ market, but in those that do, this is a good way to find people who are interested in healthy living. Activities such as cycling and walking are embraced by practitioners of a healthy lifestyle, so it comes as no surprise that many farmers’ market goers expressed an interest in Bike Newton.
I have been to the Newton Farmers’ Market. Even though a relatively small number of people ride bikes to the market, many people stop at the bicycle valet tent to talk to the Bike Newton volunteers. The volunteers take the opportunity to sign up new members. In this way, they managed to get 600 families to join their organization.
To generate further good will, they began distributing a map containing bike routes and bicycle parking accommodations in Newton. According to their newsletter, they have distributed over 1,000 maps to interested parties and are only asking for a small donation to defray printing costs. Just the fact that 1,000 people wanted a map of bike routes in Newton shows that people who aren’t using bikes now might use them if they think they can ride them safely in their town.
None of these activities are particularly unusual, although most local bike advocacy groups don’t seem to do as many things as this one. But what I did find unusual was one of their latest projects.
They have decided to take a census to measure bicycle use in the City of Newton. They are planning to station observers at major intersections throughout the city to determine how many cyclists travel through each intersection. This information will be used in planning for bike lanes and other accommodations.
While I’m sure they’re not the first city to take a bike census, I was surprised to see such an endeavor in a small city. This is very ambitious and shows real dedication to improving bicycle accommodations at the grassroots level.
By the way, if any local readers are interested, Bike Newton is looking for census volunteers. If you live in or near Newton, you can help them to get more bike lanes installed in Newton.
Big cycling advocacy organizations do big things. Small cycling advocacy organizations dream big and do as much as they can. Cyclists benefit from both, even if they can only see the results of the efforts of the latter.
