Category: Advocacy

National Bike Summit 2011

Posted on by Paul Adkins
Oregon Delegation and Peter DeFazio

I have just now spent enough time recuperating from the National Bike Summit, processing the experience and thinking about how best to summarize the event, to be able to post something about it.  In a word: “whoa.”  Briefly, the National Bike Summit is an annual event organized by the League of American Bicyclists every year in Washington DC to advocate to our elected officials for increasing support of bicycle programs and funding.  Since 2000, the first year the event took place, attendance has grown from only 100 people to nearly 800 attendees in 2011.

Indicative of the increased prominence of the event was the lineup of speakers: Ray LaHood, US Secretary of Transportation; Ken Salazar, US Secretary of the Interior; Jeanette Sadik-Khan, New York City Transportation Commissioner; and our own Earl Blumenauer, US Representative from Portland; and these were only a few of the many outstanding speakers at the event.  As the above picture shows, one of the amazing things about the conference was the level of access attendees have to many of those notable people.

The key message of the Summit was to protect the federal funding that exists for bikes.  This was primarily through the Transportation Enhancements Program and the Safe Routes to School program, the former being one of the programs House Republicans have proposed cutting.  The challenge to attendees was to demonstrate that the federal government gets a lot of “bang for its buck” when it invests in bicycle infrastructure, since budget deficits and government efficiency are #1 right now on the policy radar.

When those from congressional district 4 (including me) met with Congressman Peter DeFazio, we discussed the value that our communities place on bicycling, and the money that it generates and keeps in the local economy.  Co-owner of Sweetpea Bicycles discussed how, because of overwhelming demand for his bikes, he had to contract with Co-Motion Bicycles here in Eugene to keep up with orders.  In all, over 500 jobs and nearly $30 million in revenue are generated by the bicycle industry in district 4, but this is dependent on being able to use those bikes.  Congressman DeFazio was receptive to our requests and promised to work hard to make sure that federal funding is maintained– keeping in mind that, as a member of the minority, his ability to influence the upcoming transportation authorization bill is significantly impacted.

Aside from the “big names” that I met, what I am left with one week later is a lingering sense of awe; awe, that I was included and even embraced with open arms into this group of seasoned bike advocates from across the country.  Awe, that I was able to meet the President of the League of American Bicyclists, Andy Clarke, and he shook my hand and thanked me for coming all the way from Oregon.  And that Jerry Norquist of Cycle Oregon went out of his way to thank me for attending, noting that young faces at the Summit are the key to a sustained movement.  And I happened to fall into conversation with the Community Advocacy Coordinator of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Carlos Babcock, and we wandered around the Senate for an hour discussing our communities, how we came to be bike advocates, and strategies for engaging decision makers.  All of these encounters have built up not just my network, but the network and name recognition of the Greater Eugene Area Riders.  I feel so lucky to have been a part of the event, and hope that GEARs continues to build on that involvement in the future.

Thanks to all the organizations and individuals that made this trip possible.  Specifically, GEARs, the Oregon Department of Transportation, and point2point Solutions for their generous support, in addition to the many individual donors from the community.

Action Alert- Write Councilors Regarding Willamette Bike Facilities

Posted on by RideCoordinator
TransPlan Map showing Willamette Bike Infrastructure Priority

GEARs Members,

We recently learned that there is going to be a re-paving project on Willamette Street from 29th Avenue to 32nd Avenue and that the city “left out” plans to add bicycle facilities.  This runs contrary to the city’s own policy of adding bike facilities to road reconstruction projects, especially those called out in TransPlan.  While this is a serious error, especially given the fact that the Willamette and 29th area was highlighted at the last Advocacy Committee meeting as a top problem spot for biking, it is not irreversible.

The current project the city is repaving is 29th to 46th. We would like to ask the City to pull the section from 29th to 32nd off the table for repaving this year until the right measures can be taken to facilitate including bicycle facilities on this section of roadway.

We are asking you to write your city councilor (click here to find out who your councilor is) to put pressure on the Public Works Department to correct this problem before the pavement is laid and the paint dries.

Below is an example letter:

—–

Dear [Councilor’s name],

I am writing to express my concern about an upcoming road project on Willamette, from 29th to 32nd Avenues.  This major commercial and residential area is in urgent need of bicycle facilities, and as part of TransPlan it has been identified to include those facilities. Unfortunately this was missed by staff.  This  violation of the city’s own policy needs to be addressed.

We are asking that this section of the project be pulled out of the current scope of work until the proper work can be done to install the required bicycle facilities.  Please talk to Public Works staff to make sure that this oversight is corrected before new pavement is laid and the paint dries on restriping.

Sincerely,

[Your name

Your address]

Advocacy Committee ACTION Meeting, 2/21

Posted on by Paul Adkins

We last held an Advocacy Committee Meeting on January 31 to get everyone up to speed on various bike-related issues, and think about initial steps for the committee to make. Now we are going to be having an action meeting, where the intention is to develop distinct actions for the committee to take. The details are:

Monday, February 21
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Coquille Room, Erb Memorial Union, University of Oregon (near the food court)

The meeting will focus on two items in particular:

1. Developing recommendations for priority bicycling projects for the Eugene and Springfield TSPs.
2. Developing recommendations for potential state legislation dealing with bicycling.

Other groups have already done a lot of analysis and commenting on the above items, and so our deliberations won’t be starting from scratch.  Once we have developed some recommendations, they will be taken to the GEARs Board in March so that they can be formally adopted, and then submitted to the cities/legislature. We can also use these as firm footing when we go to Salem for the Active Transportation Summit in March!

As always, let me know if you have any questions by emailing pricearmstrong@gmail.com.

Why do YOU care about bikes?

Posted on by Paul Adkins

If you are reading this article, bicycling is probably important to you – I know it is to me, which is why I am currently the Chair of the Advocacy Committee.  What we are looking for are stories illustrating how bicycle programs and infrastructure have made a difference in your life.  What we are going to do with those stories is use them as compelling examples to elected officials on why we need their support.

For example, I was very overweight (obese?) as a child, on into high school.  I started biking once I got to college and lost a lot of weight (40 pounds!).  I have mostly kept it off since then by maintaining my active, bike-filled lifestyle.  How much money have I saved myself, my insurance plan, and the government by not developing diabetes or heart disease? How much quality of life have I gained by taking up a hobby, feeling healthier, and improving my mood?  All of these are tough to quantify, but the story itself means a lot when you’re trying to convince a legislator that bike funding IS crucial.

If you have a story like mine, please let me know.  The more inspirational, “mom-and-apple-pie”, personal, or engaging, the better.  Because, when it comes to the world of politics, charts and figures are good, but a unified voice demanding, “Because I want it!” is sometimes more compelling.

Email me, Price Armstrong, at pricearmstrong@gmail.com with your story.

The Oregon Active Transportation Summit Needs Your Active Participation

Posted on by Paul Adkins

This year, the organizers of the Oregon Bike Summit have decided to make a welcomed change to the event, expanding the focus to all varieties of active transportation.  This means that on March 29 – 30 in Salem, bike and pedestrian advocates from across Oregon are going to be gathering for the Active Transportation Summit!

The primary point of the Summit is to meet with legislators to discuss key bicycle and pedestrian issues. As the second largest metropolitan area in the state, it is so important to have the voices of Eugene/Springfield residents heard while the legislature tries to figure out how to untangle the state’s budget mess.  GEARs already has a few members who are planning on going, but we are hoping to employ the tactic of “overwhelming force” when we convene in Salem.  We need to send a strong signal to our elected representatives that without active transportation infrastructure or programs, our great state wouldn’t be nearly as great.

For more information, see http://www.oregonbikesummit.com/.  There are also a limited number of scholarships available through Alta Planning, where the Registration page indicated, “Interested folks should send an email to Julie McDougal with a paragraph describing who they are and why they want the scholarship. Deadline for requests: March 22.”  Finally, if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at pricearmstrong@gmail.com.  Hope to see you in the capitol!

GEARs Advocacy Committee Gearing Up

Posted on by RideCoordinator

Only two weeks into the new year, and already an incendiary bill that would outlaw children riding on bikes has been proposed.  This is exactly the kind of legislation that the GEARs Advocacy Committee needs to watch and comment on, to make sure that the collective voice of the bicycling community is heard.  Since being appointed chair of the Advocacy Committee at the November 2010 Board meeting, I and a few other folks have been working on policy issues at the local, state, and national levels.  I am writing not only to give an update on activities so far, but also to see who else might want to contribute to the effort.

First, some context.  In Oregon and nationally, the budget outlook is not hopeful.  At home, we are faced with a $3.5 billion dollar budget shortfall that is going to have to be closed.  This means we are going to be spending 20% less on education, Medicaid, public safety, and transportation – asking for funding for new bike paths is that much harder.  At the same time in congress there is an intense focus on cutting federal spending, and particularly from the discretionary budget, which includes transportation spending.  Basically, programs are being scaled back or eliminated at all levels of government, which means we need to work that much harder just to preserve what little we have. Continue reading “GEARs Advocacy Committee Gearing Up” →