TOPIC VIII: STAFF & COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR BIKING & WALKING

Cities show their support for bicycling and walking in a variety of ways. This section looks at indicators of support such as bicycle and pedestrian education in schools, staff working on bicycling and walking-related activities, participation in national award programs, and organizational involvement in bicycling and walking-related issues by League of American Bicyclist (League) member groups and city-formed committees.

Bicycle safety education has been a core part of the work done by the League for at least five decades. Nationally, there are over 6,000 bicycle safety education instructors who have complete the League’s League Cycling Instructor training. The hands-on training of these many dedicated instructors is complemented by resources developed by the League, such as Quick Guides that can be branded for organizations or communities; Smart Cycling videos that show basic skills and techniques of safe bicycling; and tip sheets, such as the A-B-C Quick Check which provides an easy way to remember to check your Air pressure-Brakes-Chain and Quick release before going for a ride.

More information about the Smart Cycling program, including how to become a League Certified Instructor, can be found at: https://bikeleague.org/ridesmart.

Data on this page:

• Training & Events for Bicyclists & Pedestrians
• City Staff for Biking & Walking
• Bicycle Friendly Community Awards, Walk Friendly Community Awards, & NACTO Member Cities
• League Member Organizations & Bicycle/ Pedestrian Advisory Committees

Training & Events for Bicyclists & Pedestrians

Footnote ⁸¹

Over the course of the Benchmarking project, Bike to Work day events and Open Street initiatives have become very commonplace.

• BIKE TO WORK DAY EVENTS can include a variety of community activities, but the classic activity is setting up an encouragement station at a public venue, such as a park, city building, or shared use path. At an encouragement station people who are bicycling to work can find snacks, drinks, and businesses who support bicycling. These activities help provide a reason for people to try bicycling to work and encourage them to ride more. National Bike to Work day is held on the third Friday of May.
• OPEN STREET INITIATIVES are based on the concept of closing streets to motor vehicle traffic and opening them up to be experienced by people bicycling, walking, or otherwise using the space. Open Street events can be structured or un-structured but provide a great way to let people experience their community in a new way and can be a part of outreach for changes to a street.

City Staff for Biking & Walking

Footnote ⁸³

Most large cities (39) report having at least one person who works on bicycle or pedestrian issues, but roughly half as many (19) report having at least one person per 100,000 residents working on bicycle and pedestrian issues.

City staff play an important role in planning, designing, and implementing successful infrastructure for people who bike and walk. Reported data on Full-Time Equivalent employees asks for estimates of each tenth of an employee’s time spent on bicycling and walking issues. The survey questions ask for this estimate so that city’s can include employees who spend significant time on bicycling and walking issues but may not have those issues in their job descriptions.

Many cities express the sentiment that accurately making this estimate is difficult because of the many people involved in discrete tasks related to bicycling and walking, such as the construction workers who build a sidewalk or the contractors who work on a bicycle plan. The survey question attempts to make this easier by asking specifically about government employees, which excludes contractors.

Bicycle Friendly Community Awards, Walk Friendly Community Awards, & NACTO Member Cities

Footnote ⁸⁵

Over 90% of large cities who participated in the Bicycle Friendly Community did so multiple times between 2003 and 2018. In many cases this has led to those communities earning higher awards, with 62% of participating large cities improving their award level in the past 15 years. Slightly more than half of those improvements (15 of 29) were from No award or an Honorable Mention to an award of Bronze.

League Member Organizations & Bicycle/ Pedestrian Advisory Committees

Legend: Green = 5 highest values; Red = Reported as none; Orange = Not reported

Footnote ⁸⁷

Most large cities (46 out of 50) and all other cities reviewed for the Benchmarking Report have at least one member group of the League of American Bicyclists. A similar number also report having Bicycle and/or pedestrian advisory committees composed of citizens that liaise with officials to improve conditions for people who bike and walk.