PeopleforBikes Unites 1 Million Members for Better, Safer Cycling in USA

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Friday, December 05, 2014

Üma Kleppinger, GoLocalPDX Contributor

National bicycling advocacy organization PeopleForBikes set out in March 2010 to unite one million voices in support of a better future for biking. Today PeopleForBikes achieved this milestone—one million Americans have joined the movement to making riding better for everyone.

“Today is a historic day for PeopleForBikes. We are proud to have one million individuals standing behind our vision and goals,” said President of PeopleForBikes, Tim Blumenthal. “We would like to thank everyone who has showed their support for better bicycling. We plan to keep growing!”

PeopleForBikes believes that people, wherever they live, should be able to bike safely and comfortably and enjoy the many benefits of bicycling—for health, recreation, the economy, the environment, community and sustainability. PeopleForBikes focuses its efforts to improve bicycling through its Green Lane Project, political work, community grants, national partnerships, and by providing bicycling statistics and resources for use by all stakeholders.

Just a few of the organization's significant achievements along the road to one million:

• Until the PeopleForBikes campaign launched in 2010, fewer than 250,000 people had ever taken action to improve bicycling by joining an advocacy group, yet tens of millions of Americans ride a bike every year. By providing a new, simple way for riders to take action, PeopleForBikes has succeeded in getting a record number of Americans to step up and be heard.
   
• PeopleForBikes has helped grow annual federal funding from $200 million to $800 million, which has increased the number of safe places available for people to ride.
   
• PeopleForBikes’ political work in D.C., combined with hundreds of thousands of letters to Congress from individual PeopleForBikes members, has helped create more than 29,000 bike paths, lanes and trails across the U.S.
   
• PeopleForBikes’ Green Lane Project has catalyzed an increase in protected bike lanes in an effort to create low-stress streets in U.S. cities. Since 2010, the number of protected bike lanes nationwide has quadrupled.
   
• PeopleForBikes has awarded more than 300 grants to non-profit organizations and local governments in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Their investments total nearly $10 million and have leveraged more than $650 million in public and private funding. 
   
• Most recently, PeopleForBikes launched a national road safety campaign called Travel With Care that aims to improve relations between drivers and bike riders.

 

This is only the beginning for PeopleForBikes and its mission to improve bicycling. The organization will now measure its goals against a major initiative called 5X: By 2025, PeopleForBikes aims to grow key elements of bicycling in America by 500 percent. During the next 10 years, PeopleForBikes plans to increase its base to five million supporters—assembling and mobilizing a grassroots army of bicyclists with major political clout.

The 5X vision would also mean that by 2025, the total number of annual bike rides taken by Americans would grow by 5X—from 4 billion to 20 billion—by facilitating better bike infrastructure and safer, more appealing riding conditions. Additionally, PeopleForBikes will work to grow the number of protectedbike lanes in U.S. cities by 5X—from 200 lanes to 1,000 lanes—by working intensively with city leaders through the Green Lane Project. PeopleForBikes envisions 5X the mileage of singletrack trails to be available for mountain biking and a leap in the number of bike parks and other bicycling facilities in communities nationwide. Finally, PeopleForBikes aims to grow public and private investments in bicycling from its current $2 billion to $10 billion.

To achieve this growth, PeopleForBikes will develop a new group of leaders (elected officials, business CEOs, media movers, celebrities and pro athletes) to endorse its goals and boost the grassroots effort.

Learn how you can join PeopleForBikes on the road to 5X at PeopleForBikes.org.

 

Üma Kleppinger is a Portland-based copy writer, author and bike addict. A recovering sesquipedalian who writes about life in the saddle and outdoor adventure, she is also the author of Bike Yoga, a flexibility and recovery program for cyclists. When not writing, she can be found riding and racing her mountain bike throughout the Pacific Northwest.

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