by Chris Burich, Advocacy Associate
From March 11th to 13th, six members of the Bike Newport staff attended the annual National Bike Summit in Washington DC, hosted by the League of American Bicyclists.
Joined by Betty Bouret from RIBike, Donny Green from Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, and Shelby Adams and Susan Mocarski from Cleverhood, the Providence based apparel company, the Rhode Island attendees totaled 10! The smallest state, Rhode Island consistently sends one of the largest groups of advocates to the Summit. For this year’s 25th annual Summit, only California had a larger delegation. Way to go, L’il Rhody!
The Rhode Island team attended three days of seminars, workshops, discussions, and on-road experiences about bike infrastructure, advocacy, and education. We exchanged stories of progress, successes, strategies, and challenges with colleagues from communities across the country. Prominent leaders in the national bike scene shared rich insights, including Wes Marshall, professor and author of “Killed by a Traffic Engineer;” recently retired Senator Ben Cardin, a founder and longtime supporter of the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP); and Jennifer Homendy, current Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board; among many others.
The focal point of the week is “Lobby Day” – when several hundred Summit attendees walk the halls of Congress to update their delegation on urgent issues related to bicycle infrastructure, education, and safety. While most states divide and conquer their large state delegations, our group was able to visit our four representatives and senators and their stellar staff policy experts together: Representative Gabe Amo, Representative Seth Magaziner, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and Senator Jack Reed. We were welcomed warmly and had the chance to address the federal investment in TAP and to seek support of the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Safety Bill, which would make federal funds available for required matching grant funds. We also reviewed funding that is threatened by cuts based on alignment with equity and carbon reduction goals.
Breaking News: Just before we arrived on Capitol Hill, news broke that all federal discretionary grants containing the word “bikes” will be subject to review by the USDOT. Caron Whitaker, Deputy Executive Director of the League of American Bicyclists, relayed information from a USDOT memo sent to state DOT officials. Her interpretation was that all projects related to active transportation will be red-flagged, while projects related to multimodal transportation will be yellow-flagged. The grants that are at risk are RAISE, SS4A, BUILD, and other discretionary grants that include bike/ped considerations from FY22 to FY25. Read the entire Streetsblog article.
Bike Newport Summit attendee takeaways
Jayne Baran, Communications Manager: It was great to be able to connect with cyclists with disabilities and hear their needs. It’s valuable to learn about creative avenues of communicating that can reach a greater audience, especially those seeking community support.
Chris Burich, Advocacy Associate: While advocating to public officials, we are a source of information. In gathering support from local advocates, we can provide information that supports their work. Working with local media, we can be a trusted source of information that leads to important stories being told across the community.
Bari Freeman, Executive Director: It was very interesting to consider how documentation of High Injury Networks and Traffic Safety Corridors can lead to improved consideration of the people who walk and bike in these areas. We can photograph the locations where you “can’t get there” without a car; photograph “crosswalks to nowhere;” and publish more surveys and their results. We can also better use available gps-based interactive platforms to collect information from bicyclists and pedestrians about dangerous sites. This data is invaluable to efforts to make safety improvements.
Allyson McCalla, Director of Operations: I love that our Rhode Island congressional representatives really understand the importance of bikes, bike infrastructure, and want to support our efforts. Also, it feels really good when people remember us year to year. This shows that Bike Newport and our staff are well-respected!
Gail Ruscettta, Community Educator: I realized that bike educators and advocates all over the country are trying as hard as we are here at Bike Newport. We’re on the right path – with everyone pitching in we are making Aquidneck Island and Rhode Island a better, safer place to walk and ride. It was an amazing opportunity, and I felt proud to be part of such a well-regarded organization.
Clare Woodhead, Director of Education: Though it’s not new – listening to inspirational speakers and participating in city rides, it is very obvious that separated bike lanes save lives! Also, it was good to receive both confirmation and new ideas about our bike safety programs. Our e-bike safety program is now a model for other states.
Bike Newport