FABB Blog

• More people tend to bike or walk to work when a city has strong biking and walking advocacy.

Organizations with 501(c)(3) nonprofit status are prohibited from engaging in political activity in support of or in opposition to any particular political candidate. However, 501(c)(3)s can engage in nonpartisan voter education activity and a limited amount of lobbying.

These guidelines relate to the organization itself, and do not prohibit officers, individual members, or employees from participating, as long as they are acting as private citizens and not as spokespersons for the organization or while using the organization’s resources. If you choose to identify yourself with the organization, you must make it plain that you are speaking solely for yourself and not for the organization. If members do not identify themselves with the organization, but a media outlet does, the members have done nothing wrong.

Here are some guidelines for how bike clubs and advocacy organizations with 501(c)(3) status can (and cannot) get involved in election activities.

“Our enthusiasm to take this momentous step for the movement is matched by a commitment to do this right,” said Noah Budnick, Board Chair of the Alliance for Biking & Walking. The boards of all three organizations must ratify the agreement. Once (and if) that occurs, the transition team will work with a variety of board, staff, partners and advisors to determine the initial programs, membership structure, and staff needs of the new organization. “Changes will be implemented carefully and respectfully over time,” continued Budnick, “and it is important to say that all existing contractual agreements will be honored and the continuity of existing memberships is assured.”

“We can transform communities across the United States and accelerate the creation of a more bicycle-friendly America by combining the programs, resources, and members of these three leading organizations,” said Chris Fortune, Chairman of the Bikes Belong board and member of the transition team empowered to facilitate unification of the three groups. The transition team comprises representatives of each organization and will be working with the boards, staff, and members of each group to implement the process.

“There is a lot of work ahead,” acknowledged Hans van Naerssen, Chair of the League’s board and a member of the transition team. “We must determine how to combine the diverse strengths of a powerful alliance of state and local organizations, a storied national user group, and a vibrant industry association in a way that preserves their unique attributes and realizes the game-changing potential of a single entity.”

Bicycling and Walking Levels

• 12% of all trips are by bicycle (1.0%) or foot (10.5%).
• From 2000 to 2009, the number of commuters who bicycle to work increased by 57%.
• In 2009, 40% of trips in the United States were shorter than 2 miles, yet Americans use their cars for 87% of trips 1 to 2 miles. Twenty-seven percent of trips are shorter than 1 mile, yet 62% of trips up to 1 mile long are by car. Residents of the largest U.S. cities are 1.7 times more like- ly to walk or bicycle to work than the national average.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety

• 14% of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. are bicyclists (1.8%) or pedestrians (11.7%).
• In the 51 largest U.S. cities, 12.7% of trips are by foot and 1.1% are by bicycle, yet 26.9% of traffic fatalities are pe- destrians and 3.1% are bicyclists.
• Seniors are the most vulnerable bicyclists and pedestrians. Adults over 65 make up 10% of walking trips, yet comprise 19% of pedestrian fatalities and make up 6% of bicycling trips, yet account for and 10% of bicyclist fatalities.

The Innovation Award goes to an organization that’s pioneering or inventing new ways to promote biking and walking. In 2010, the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling released a groundbreaking new resource: Guide to Reviewing Public Road Design and Bicycling Accommodations for Virginia Bicycling Advocates. The 28-page booklet simplifies and streamlines the confusing road design process with easy-to-follow flow charts, handy check lists and explanations that make sense to folks who don’t have a masters degree in urban planning. Almost immediately, FABB’s innovative guide was in high demand. Over the past six months, it has been widely distributed, well received by both advocates and transportation officials, and now FABB advocates are working on a template that other organizations can use to tailor the guide for their specific states and transportation jurisdictions.

In some places, there are already strong local groups that work with us in this manner. I'll take this opportunity to plug our friends at Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB) as one good example. They handle local Fairfax County cycling issues wonderfully and have recently released a publication (in partnership with WABA and funded by the League of American Bicyclists) explaining how citizens can be better advocates for cycling in their local communities.

Guide for reviewing bicycling facilities in road projects in Virginia now available

Reston, VA, July 14, 2010 - Virginia bicycling advocates have a new resource to help them review and comment on public road projects. The new guide, prepared by Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB) in consultation with the Virginia (VDOT) and Fairfax County departments of transportation, outlines ways bicycling proponents can get involved in the process of designing, approving, building, and retrofitting roads to ensure that bicycling accommodations are integrated into the plans where needed. Although geared for Virginia, many of the ideas contained in the report could be applied to other locations as well.

As described in the guide, planning, approving, and constructing road projects is a long process that presents many opportunities for bicycling advocates to provide input into the final outcome. Readers will find helpful tips for speaking at public hearings and meeting with engineers. The easy to read booklet covers the basics of understanding engineering plans and also outlines various roadway features (such as intersections, roundabouts, wide curb lanes, and bike lanes) that could be shown in the plans. Design standards and guidelines, design and safety issues, and a checklist for each of these features help advocates review and comment on road design plans.

"As far as we know, no one has compiled material like this before," said Fionnuala Quinn, primary author of the guide. "I wanted to use my background in civil engineering to help demystify the road design process and to help people take advantage of occasions to incorporate bike facilities whenever roads projects are being designed. A crucial point to remember is that the earlier you provide input to the road design, the better your chances of having an effect on the final design. Besides the printed version of the report, we also plan to have an online version on the FABB web site that contains links to additional information."

Funding for the report came from an Advocacy Advance Grant from the Alliance for Biking & Walking. Funding for the grant was provided by SRAM, Planet Bike, Bikes Belong Coalition, and 42BELOW. Additional funding was received from the IEEE.

The report "Guide for Reviewing Public Road Design and Bicycling Accommodations for Virginia Bicycle Advocates," by Fionnuala Quinn and Bruce Wright, will be provided to major bicycle organizations in Virginia and to the Alliance for Biking & Walking. Copies are available free of charge upon request to finnbike [at] gmail.com or can be downloaded from www.fabb-bikes.org.

For more information on the guide, contact Fionnuala Quinn, finnbike@gmail.com, or Bruce Wright, chairman [at] fabb-bikes.org, 703-328-9619. FABB is a grassroots initiative in Fairfax County, VA, affiliated with the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), aiming to make bicycling an integral part of Fairfax County's transportation network. Visit us on the web at www.fabb-bikes.org.

Government officials working to promote bicycling and walking need data to evaluate their efforts. In order to improve something, there must be a means to measure it. The Alliance for Biking & Walking's Benchmarking Project is an ongoing effort to collect and analyze data on bicycling and walking in all 50 states and at least the 50 largest cities. This is the second biennial Benchmarking Report. The first report was published in the fall of 2007, and the next report is scheduled to be published in January 2012.

Washington, DC - June 4, 2009 The Alliance for Biking & Walking is awarding seven grants totaling over $125,000 to grassroots biking and walking advocacy organizations. The Advocacy Advance Grants will be used to jump-start emerging advocacy organizations and to fund innovative campaigns with the potential to dramatically increase biking and walking. These grants are a key part of the Advocacy Advance Partnership with the League of American Bicyclists. Launched this year, the grants are made possible with generous funding by SRAM, Planet Bike, Bikes Belong, and Cannondale. Nearly 100 proposals totaling over $2 million were received in this first round. Awards include:

Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (a local chapter of the DC regional WABA) will receive $9,600 to develop a handbook to help bicycling advocates understand how to best influence and play a constructive role during the design of new facilities. This resource will help bridge the gap between advocates, successful advocacy, and design engineers and will be available online for reference by advocates across North America. FABB is a working group of the Washington (DC) Area Bicyclist Association (WABA). The FABB mission is to make bicycling an integral part of the transportation network of Fairfax County, Virginia, part of the Washington metro area.