The Next Big Thing: Making America Bicycle Friendly

Hey There! Just returned from the 2012 Pro Walk Pro Bike conference in Long Beach, California. It was a weeklong whirlwind of activity filled with bike rides, walks along the beach, massive amounts of networking and sessions, sessions, sessions.

I've had the weekend to think through the major ah-ha! moments of the conference and so I thought I would mention some major indicators of the 'next big thing' for a bicycle-friendly America.

Many cities get it. Wow, do they. Long Beach goes so far as to proclaim themselves "The Most Bicycle Friendly City in America" (via a plaque on city hall) -- but not because they are. In the words of Long Beach City Council Member Dr. Suja Lowenthal, "We call ourselves the most bicycle-friendly city in the US -- not out of hubris or a belief that we actually are ? It?s a continual reminder of what we want to be.?

Health researchers get it. Active living in the design and policies of our communities, both large and small is on record. Our planners, engineers and community leaders are taking note. Complete Streets is no longer a term no one has heard of, it is now a term that dominates the transportation lexicon.

So if we are creating cities with green lanes, completing networks in our cities and finding support in working in partnership with transit; if we are seeing how health relates to transportation -- what's left?

Well, I think we've only just begun to put the pieces of the puzzle together. In my mind, the next big thing in making our country more bicycle friendly is bicycle tourism.

Now I'm not just saying this because I want job security (though I do). I feel a movement galvanizing. It is growing in strength and voice: With numerous studies documenting economic impact, the growing number of bike tours, the countless advocates working to make bicycle-friendly communities, the natural resource agencies and local partners building more trails, and the tourism agencies that are pulling it all together in a package and selling their state as an active tourism destination.

No other part of the bicycling industry intersects more people and places than those that travel by bicycle. Think: Biking for both recreation AND transportation. There is no "end of bike lane." Bike travelers move through cities, towns, and counties and bridging jurisdictions without ever thinking about who owns the road. Now is the time for the bicycle movement -- from local advocates to national organizations -- to embrace and capitalize on the power of bicycle tourism. We need to work together to make the journey as seamless as possible; to make sure the leaders of our country know the power of this growing sector of the tourism industry; to make sure the transportation providers (airlines, trains, transit) see that accommodating bicycles is good for bottom lines and to make sure transportation policy doesn't hinder our success (we continue to rumble about rumble strips).

So where do we go from here?

We are interested in growing resources for the bicycle tourism industry. If you have a similar interest, I would welcome some conversation about what needs to be done and who needs to be doing it. I have started a Google group which you can be a part of. Just email me at gsullivanATadventurecyclingDOTorg.

Photos by Mitch Barloga.

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BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM (USBRS) is posted by Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, and features news and updates related to the emerging U.S. Bicycle Route System. The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and Mississippi River Trail, Inc.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/09/the-next-big-thing-making-america.html

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