Bike Pittsburgh

A record attendance for the 10th Annual National Bike Summit

Streetfilms produced this video at the 2010 National Bike Summit to show some of the big bicycle initiatives happening around the country. You’ll hear from conference host Andy Clarke, Representative Earl Blumenauer, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, the FTA’s Peter Rogoff, and more.

This year marked the League of American Bicyclists’ 10th Annual National Bike Summit- the largest yet.  The summit has grown from less than 100 participants in 2000 to well over 700 in 2010.  Bicycle activists from 48 states converged in Washington DC for a week of workshops, networking, trading tactics, and most importantly, spending a day inside the US Capital meeting with our elected officials to educate them about the vision of a bicycle-friendly America.  Cyclists tend to be a jovial bunch, so most of our representatives told us that they looked forward to our meetings to discuss new bills and funding opportunities to realize this vision.

The scene inside the Capital.  Four of us from the Pittsburgh contingent wait outside Congressman Mike Doyle’s office.

The week started off with a surprise announcement at the opening plenary meeting.  To a cheering crowd, Google used the opportunity to launch their much anticipated “Bike There” directions on Google maps.

On “Lobby Day,” bike advocates traded our wool jerseys for wool suits, donned our iconic bike pins, and stormed the capital to have meetings with our elected officials.  Our mission was basically to ask our congresspeople to join the Congressional Bike Caucus (if they aren’t already), to educate them on the new Active Community Transportation Act (H.R. 4722), expansion of Safe Routes to School funds to High Schools (H.R. 4021), the Complete Streets Act of 2009 (H.R. 1443), and the Urban Revitalization and Livable Communities Act (H.R. 3734) and to let them know about all the great bicycling initiatives and dedicated advocates in their district.

The Pittsburgh Contingent consisted of members of BikePGH’s staff, Maurice Tierney of Dirt Rag/Bicycle Times, and Eryn Hughes of Velomuse.org.  Our first meeting of the day was with Congressman Mike Doyle of Pittsburgh.  Rep. Doyle made some time to sit down and talk with us, right before he had to go to a meeting about the Health Care Bill that seems to be occupying most of their time.  This meeting was a great way to start the day, as he already joined the Bike Caucus after our meeting with him two years ago, and signed on as a co-sponsor of the Complete Streets Act and the Commuter Benefits Equity Act after meeting with him last year. This year he agreed to co-sponsor all of the bills that we brought to him that he didn’t already have his name on.  Doyle made it clear that he is an ally and advocate for cycling issues. Please thank him for supporting biking and walking and helping make our communities more livable by using this form, or by calling his office at (202) 225-2135.

After Doyle, we also had productive meetings with Kathy Dahlkemper’s office, who’s policy advisor is a cyclist and mountain bike enthusiast.  We followed with productive and positive meetings in the offices of Representatives Jason Altmire, Todd Platts, and Tim Murphy and Senators Robert Casey and Arlen Specter.

Finally, at the end our day inside the Capital, President Obama’s Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, provided possibly the highlight of the Summit.  When he arrived at the final gathering of the Summit, he was treated with a rock-star like welcome.  Realizing that the provided podium wasn’t high enough for the 700+ people packed into the room to hear him speak, he jumped up on a nearby table to address the crowd.  His speech was inspirational and encouraging as he showed the administrations commitment to livable, walkable and bike-able communities.  If you listen to the speech (recommended), when he talks about how he and his wife enjoy riding their bikes on the C & O Canal Trail “as far as we possibly can,” some excited crowd members responded with a jovial, “PITTSBURGH!”

Ray LaHood speaks to the National Bike Summit, 2010.  Pittsburgh content at around 1:18

Here’s a recap from his speech taken from Ray LaHood’s blog: My view from atop the table at the National Bike Summit

Today, I want to announce a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.

We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

To set this approach in motion, we have formulated key recommendations for state DOTs and communities:

• Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.
• Ensure convenient access for people of all ages and abilities.
• Go beyond minimum design standards.
• Collect data on walking and biking trips.
• Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling.
• Protect sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are protected (for example, snow removal)
• Improve nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects.

Now, this is a start, but it’s an important start. These initial steps forward will help us move forward even further.

On his blog, he also announced a new policy of the USDOT and their Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation.

The Pittsburgh group gathers in front of the Capital at the National Bike Summit 2010

For further reading, the best coverage of the National Bike Summit is from our friends over at BikePortland.org. You can also read a nice little “top 10″ rundown from LAB.