Monday, April 4, 2016
Essential Elements of a Bicycle-Friendly Community
The Urban Land Institute report, Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier, provided other important insights not mentioned in our previous blog about efforts to make bicycling better in Fairfax. One important insight, citing the League of American Bicyclists, notes that there is no single route to becoming a “bicycle-friendly community.” For different communities to capitalize on their strengths to make biking better and safer, the league recommends five key “Essential Elements of a Bicycle-Friendly America”:
>> Engineering. Have facilities been built to promote cycling in the community? What is the total mileage of the bicycle network, both on-road and off-road? Do arterial streets have bike lanes? What is the availability of bike parking? Signals? Repair shops? Does the bike network connect to major community destinations like schools, neighborhoods, and the downtown?
>> Encouragement. Does the community promote and encourage cycling through events, campaigns, and incentives? Is there a bicycle club? A bicycle advisory committee? A bicycle advocacy organization? Does the community promote a bike-to-work day, week, or month?
>> Education. Does the community do education about bike safety for both cyclists and motorists? Is there a community-wide bike map? How about bicycle-skills classes on repairs and ridership? Is the community aware of the location of bike trails and other facilities?
>> Enforcement. Does the community have bicycle-friendly laws and policies in place? Does the community use enforcement to encourage cyclists to obey the laws and motorists to share the road? Do police patrol the bike trails? Are they plowed during the winter?
>> Evaluation and planning. Does the community know how many people cycle and for what reasons? Is the bike plan current? Is it being implemented? Should it be updated? Is there a bike program coordinator or staff person? Does the city have data on ridership, crashes, and fatalities?
With these questions in mind, how is Fairfax doing and what can we be doing better?
With these questions in mind, how is Fairfax doing and what can we be doing better?
Labels: advocacy, bicycle education, bicycle planning, law enforcement
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