When I started with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, we had a small membership and barely enough in the bank to pay my salary for two months.

Within a decade, I helped to grow the BCM into a powerhouse organization with strong political influence, media headlines and the largest membership per capita of any state bike/ped organization in the nation!

My secret to success? The Alliance for Biking & Walking. I couldn't have done it without the resources, insight and inspiration I gained from other advocate leaders through the Alliance.

Your support and participation makes those resources, inspiration and progress possible. Please, help us continue our work by... 

• Joining or renewing your organization membership  
• Making an individual pledge 
• Becoming a 2012 sponsor 

The Alliance is the only national organization that provides the training, coaching, networking and resources that make advocacy organizations more powerful agents of change. Since 1996, our coalition has grown from just 12 to nearly 200 member organizations across North America.

Right now, our movement is at a critical moment. At the federal, state and local level, funding and programs for biking and walking are under attack. Now, more than ever, we need strong advocates with access to the best information and most up-to-date resources. The Alliance provides unique and important programs and events that advocates can't get from anywhere else, including: 

• Winning Campaigns Trainings that provide the skills and strategies to craft and manage powerful campaigns to increase walking and biking
• The Alliance 2012 Leadership Retreat, which gives advocates the chance to share best practices, solve collective challenges and reignite their passion
• Our 2012 Benchmarking Report, which compiles biking and walking data from all 50 states -- a key resource for advocates in making the case for biking and walking
• Funding, resources and technical assistance through our Advocacy Advance initiative with the League of American Bicyclists - and new resources and expertise through our Open Streets Project 
• On-call coaching and strategic planning assistance from Alliance experts
• More than 20 Mutual Aid conference calls, an interactive listserv... and so much more!

I took this job at the Alliance because I know how important the organization is, working behind the scenes to stretch resources and leverage collective experience to help local organizations thrive and succeed. Please, take just a few moments to show your support for the Alliance today.     

• Join or renew your organization membership  
• Make an individual gift 
• Become a 2012 Sponsor  

I look forward to working with you as we grow our People Powered Movement in 2012! 

In November, pedestrian and bicycle advocacy leaders gathered in Columbia, South Carolina, for the Alliance's final Winning Campaigns Training of 2011.

Hosted by the Palmetto Cycling Coalition, the workshop drew participants from universities, government agencies, and advocacy organizations. Working with Alliance experts and their bike-ped peers, those energized participants created six campaigns that affirmed their commitment to dramatically improve walking, biking, and livability in their local communities.

"This training has been life-changing for me, giving me the courage to actively engage in change," said Valerie Marcil, from the Columbia Bike / Ped Advisory Committee.

Read more about the training on the Alliance blog.  

It's almost time for our first training of 2012! Sign up now to attend the Winning Campaigns Training, January 13-15 in Tucson, Arizona.   

The Alliance's signature Winning Campaigns Training uses proven curriculum targeted specifically to the unique needs and experience of bicycle and pedestrian advocates.    

This interactive training provides key organizing tactics in strategizing, funding and conducting campaigns that transform communities into better places to walk and bike. These trainings are intended for any potential campaign leader in your organization who would benefit from gaining the tools to craft and manage powerful advocacy campaigns. By the end of the 2.5-day training, participants walk away with one-on-one insight from Alliance experts, feedback from their bike-ped peers and a Campaign Blueprint to guide their efforts to victory.  

Join the Alliance and our host, the Living Streets Alliance, for the January training in Tucson. Sign up by December 23 to receive the discounted rate of just $75 for members / $125 for non-members.  

If you can't make it to Tucson next month, don't worry! Register for a 2012 training near you: 

• April 27-29 in Boston, MA  
• Hosted by Livable Streets Alliance 
• June 8-10 in Houston, TX  
• Hosted by Bike Houston and the Citizens Transportation Coalition 
• October 19-21 in Kansas City, MO 
• Hosted by BikeWalkKC 

The FHWA issued a revised TA on rumble strips in May 2011, the first such revision in 10 years. FHWA had indicated that this new advisory would substantially improve the TA's guidance on the application of rumble strips and how they affected bicyclists.

Unfortunately, the May 2011 TA went backwards from the 2001 TA in its lack of inclusion of cyclists' safety issues. There was little mention of the needs of cyclists or the need for a public process regarding the application of rumble strips during road reconstruction or paving. The Alliance, League and Adventure Cycling contacted FHWA and the US Department of Transportation with many specific concerns and technical advice about revising the TA, and agency leaders indicated they would revisit the document.

The newly revised TA (Shoulder and Edge Line Rumble Strips, Technical Advisory T 5040.39, Revised 1), released on November 16 is a substantial improvement. Read more about the latest TA on the Alliance blog.  

Member News

Subscribe to the People Powered Blog! Stay up-to-date with all the news from the Alliance and stories from member organizations across the continent by subscribing to the RSS feed of our People Powered Blog. Just click on the little orange button on the top of the blog and you'll get our near-daily posts hot off the digital presses!

San Fran Advocates Debut Family Biking Guide, Classes    

Like many advocacy organizations, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is working to create a city where all residents -- from ages 8 to 80 -- feel safe and comfortable walking and biking for transportation and recreation. But, to make that inspiring concept a reality, SFBC knows they need more than crosswalks and bikeways. They need to expand their resources and redefine who they serve, too. If you survey the streets, it's not just individual riders pedaling to work. It's moms with newborns and dads with toddlers two-wheeling to daycare and swinging by the grocery store. So SFBC is making sure the needs of the modern family fit seamlessly with the bicycling lifestyle. With a large and growing membership, the SFBC recognized that: "Family biking is often a very different experience than biking on your own. Whether you biked a lot before becoming a parent, are just getting back to biking after years away, or want to teach your kids to bike, you very likely have questions about how to approach each stage of family biking." So Kit Hodge, along with some SFBC board members and advocates, have endeavored to answer those very questions. The first resource is a new online Family Biking Guide. Read more.

Boulder Advocates Spur Food Delivery By Bike   

A new partnership between Community Cycles and Boulder Food Rescue in Boulder, Colorado, highlights a great way to deliver goods without the use of fossil fuels -- and raise the profile of bicycle advocacy. Boulder Food Rescue (BFR) is an all-volunteer nonprofit that receives donated food from grocery stores and transports it to charities serving hungry, homeless and at-risk individuals. When BFR volunteers found out that Community Cycles offers free bike trailer rentals to members, they contacted the organization to see if they too could access this valuable resource. BFR now does 75 percent of its deliveries by bicycle -- transporting about 150 pounds each day in Community Cycles' trailers. Using Community Cycles trailers saves BFR money on gasoline, car maintenance and other costs, and brings volunteers who deliver food one step closer to the communities they serve. But BFR isn't the only one that benefits from this partnership. "It helps our mission by getting people to do more on bikes" says Sue Prant, Community Cycles' Advocacy Director. The program sets an example that carrying things in bike trailers can be a fun, efficient and cost-effective option for a variety of individuals and organizations. Read more.

New Hampshire Advocates Win Bridge Access Improvements 

In most cases, new transportation infrastructure is christened by cars. But, this month in Manchester, bicyclists were the first vehicles to travel a new bridge. The primacy of two-wheeling transportation at the November ribbon-cutting ceremony was the result of behind-the-scenes work from advocates at the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire. The effort dates back to 2009, when the BWA-NH got wind that a $175 million bridge connecting Bedford and Manchester over the Merrimack River was designed without accommodations for bicyclists on the main roadway. Because the project also serves as an access road to the Manchester airport, that omission was particularly troublesome to Granite State cyclists. According to BWA-NH: "A side path, not to be illuminated at night, cleared of snow in the winter, or providing a direct connection to local roads, was part of the design but that would not accommodate vehicular cyclists requiring a 24 x 7 x 365 transportation corridor. Mopeds and electric bicycles were also to be prohibited from using the bridge to access local roads where they are commonly used." So the advocates got to work. They determined that the Sagamore Bridge, connecting Nashua and Hudson downstream on the Merrimack, had the same restrictions regarding bicyclists and mopeds - restrictions that are in contradiction to federal law. Partnering with the Granite State Wheelmen, BWA-NH held a series of high-level meetings with the New Hampshire DOT and the Federal Highway Administration. Read more.  

Lake Tahoe Advocates Unlock Funding for Bike Paths    

Thanks to the advocates at the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, a previously off-limits stream of cash will now flow to local bike paths. The circuitous story starts in 2000, when the community passed a bond measure, taxing properties for recreation facility improvements. Part of Measure S was the allocation of $5,000 per mile, per year, for new bike path maintenance. At the time, officials projected 25 miles of new bike paths would be built by 2008. But tough economic times put those plans on indefinite hold - and, by extension, put the money from Measure S in a jam. Because of state budget problems, only 8 of the projected 25 miles of new bike paths had been built by 2010. And while the tax dollars for bike path maintenance were coming in - to the tune of $85,000 per year - Measure S language precluded that cash from being spent on paths built before 2000. With those old bike paths in need of renovation and dollars for bicycle infrastructure tough to come by, the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition (LTBC) had its eye on unleashing those locked-up funds. Luckily, an opportunity presented itself in 2010. "A year and a half ago, the Mayor came to me and said she wanted to revisit Measure S and find a way of amending it so that accumulating funds could be used," Ty Polastri, the LTBC's president, explains. Read more.

Mexico City Advocates Paint 5-Km Bike Lane     

Frustrated by the slow pace of government action on pedestrian and bicycle safety issues, bicycle advocates in Mexico City took matters into their own hands this month. In early November, a group of activists painted a five-kilometer bike lane through the Federal District -- straight to the doors of Congress. According to event organizers: "We worked for eight hours. We painted five kilometers. We spent less than 1,000 dollars. How much would it cost to actually build the bicycle infrastructure the city needs?" In 2007, the municipal government promised to build 300 km of bike lanes within five years. Due to lack of funding for non-motorized transportation, only 22.2 km have been built. The event in Mexico City this month was part of a nationwide campaign demanding that Mexico allocate at least 5 percent of its transportation budget to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Areli Carreón, president of the bicycle advocacy group (and Alliance member organization) Bicitekas, says event organizers got the word out using social media, including e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. They also posted a How-To guide on the web a few days in advance. Funding was raised through Fondeadora, a crowd-sourcing site that lets people donate money to causes or projects they care about. Read more. 

Ohio Advocates Help Unveil Sleek New Bike Parking 

In October 2010,  Consider Biking put out the call to its members: Tell us where you'd like to see great bike parking in Columbus. Nearly 100 community members responded with their input. Last month, almost exactly one year later, advocates celebrated the unveiling of the first of 16 large bike-parking shelters in key locations around Ohio's capital city. "With a growing number of people using bicycles for strictly transportation purposes, there is a growing demand for end-of-ride facilities," Jeff Stephens, Executive Director of Consider Biking, said in a press release last week. "These bike parking structures meet that demand with elegance, functionality, and cost effectiveness. But most importantly, they send a highly visible message that bicycling is a viable and mainstream form of transportation, worthy of equitable investment in infrastructure needs." Part of the city's Bicentennial Bikeways Plan, the first shelter is one of 10 that will be installed by spring 2012. The city chipped in $300,000 through its Capital Improvements budget to fund the parking facilities which feature rounded roofs and racks that accommodate six to 14 bicycles. That's just one piece of the overall plan to improve bicycling in Ohio's biggest city. Read more.

St Paul Advocates Boost Active Trips with Direct Marketing     

Residents of a Minnesota community are driving less and walking, biking and busing more -- thanks to St. Paul Smart Trips' efforts to promote sustainable transportation alternatives. Since its inception in 2008, the Smart Trips program has used direct, individualized marketing techniques to help more than 3,000 households in three St. Paul communities make smarter trips. According to the follow-up survey of the most recent program in Highlands Park, residents increased biking by three percent, increased walking by five percent and reduced drive-alone trips by three percent ... all during a six-month period. Even more impressive: More than 80 percent of survey respondents reported taking new walking, biking or transit trips as a result of the program. Smart Trips achieves these impressive results through direct mailings, bike deliveries of Smart Trip Kits and free events that engage households and get them the information they need to explore sustainable transportation options. "We've found that the more engaged neighborhood stakeholders are in the development and implementation of the program, the more successful it is," says Program Director Emma Pachuta. "Each of our past programs has included a coupon book for neighborhood businesses and has engaged local experts to lead rides, walks and classes. These local connections have helped to foster an excitement and commitment to our program." Read more.