| First National Open Streets Training | Imagine if your local main street were temporarily closed to car traffic each weekend or once a month to make way for walking, biking and playing. How great would it be to see families biking and walking in normally traffic-clogged streets? Now is your chance to jump-start Open Streets in your community. The Open Streets Project is excited to partner with the American College of Sports Medicine to announce the first ever National Open Streets Training in Minneapolis, August 9th - 11th.  The National Open Streets Training will help enterprising advocates, local governments and business groups start their planning processes on the right foot. The training will discuss the key elements of successful Open Streets, including coalition-building, outreach to key stakeholders, marketing and branding, choosing a successful route and more. Plus, participants will get a unique chance to explore an Open Streets initiative in action: the training will overlap with Open Streets Minneapolis, and local organizers will be on hand to offer their expertise and answer questions. |
| Advocacy Advance Tours Southern Bike/Ped Initiatives, Leads Trainings | Biking and walking are booming throughout the American Southeast, thanks in no small part to strong local advocacy and assistance from the Advocacy Advance team, a collaboration between the Alliance and the League of American Bicyclists. Brighid and Darren from the Advocacy Advance team recently traveled to Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee to vist with local advocates and offer trainings on how to maximize active transportation funding under MAP-21, the new federal transportation bill.  Along the way, the Advocacy Advance team encountered a New Orleans second line on wheels, supportive mayors and Department of Transportation Secretaries, guerrilla bike lanes, and a home-brewed community bike shop. |
| Save the Date for the 2013 Walking Summit | It's no secret that walking is the closest thing to a magic bullet for health - and designing neighborhoods to be more walkable can create more economically resilient communities. To join the national "movement about movement," please mark your calendar for the Every Body Walk! campaign's first ever Walking Summit on October 1 - 3, 2013 in Washington, DC. The Alliance is collaborating with America Walks and other national partners to promote the Surgeon General's Every Body Walk! campaign. |
| NYC's Transportation Alternatives Boosts Outreach for Bike Share Launch | After years of advocating for bike share in New York City, Transportation Alternatives celebrated the launch of Citi Bike on Memorial Day Monday. Kristin Purdy, the Alliance's National Campaigns Manager, was on hand to witness the historic launch and sat down with TA Field Orgnanizer Jill Guidera to discuss how the advocacy team helped make the system's inauguration even more successful.  Transportation Alternatives volunteers and staff fanned out to stations all over the city to guide members on using the system, suggest enjoyable routes, hand out Biking Rules booklets, and answer general questions about the system and biking in the city. Even with all information online and on the station themselves, Jill said that "riders are relieved to have that resource of face to face interaction, it makes them feel good about their experience and more prepared for their trips." |
| Help Make Neighborhoods Great for Biking & Walking... Win a Vacation | | When David Lamb donated to the Alliance for Biking & Walking last year, he didn't think that his generosity would end up taking him to Machu Picchu. For the past two years, we have been pleased to enter every person who donates to the Alliance's midyear fundraising campaign into a drawing for a free biking and walking tour from VBT - a value of up to $2400. Last year, David made a generous contribution - and took home the prize! Maybe you'll be the winner this year? Your generous gift to the Alliance will power campaigns to build communities where families have the option to safely walk and bike. Please give today. Learn more about David's story here. |
| Support the Alliance on the Climate Ride | Want to take a massive bicycle adventure while supporting safer neighborhood streets? Join the Climate Ride and fundraise for active transportation organizations, including the Alliance! The Climate Ride is an amazing multi-day bike trip from the heart of New York City to the Capitol steps in Washington, DC September 21 - 25. All riders choose which organizations their contributions support, so you can designate the Alliance and several Alliance member organizations as beneficiaries. And if your organization is raising funds through the Climate Ride, be sure to check out this handy guide from the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. Learn more and register today! |
| Lessons from a Mutual Aid Call: Placeholder for Walkability tip sheet Walking is one of the best ways to stay healthy. Regular physical activity, like walking, has been shown to lower the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and osteoporosis. Public health researchers have long recognized that walkable neighborhoods have the power to increase regular physical activity, having a hugely positive affect on overall public health.  This past month, the Alliance convened researchers and advocates to share the latest convincing research on how walkable neighborhoods affect public health and discuss how advocates can use health arguments to win better walking. Check out our blog for a call recording and tip sheet with takeaway points. |
| Upcoming Mutual Aid Calls and Advocacy Advance Webinars
| Our Mutual Aid conference calls are a great forum to gain insight from your Alliance peers on the specific issues and topics that are important to your organization. Additionally, Advocacy Advance has been hosting a series of calls to help you direct funding sources toward investments in biking and walking.
All calls begin at 2 PM eastern time. This month: -
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Effective fundraising to support advocacy efforts is vitally important for a well-run advocacy organization. From testing smart email campaigns to leveraging social media to employing new crowdfunding tools, Alliance organizations can use many methods and approaches to boost online fundraising. Join this call to learn how experts in online fundraising recommend using digital tools to fund your organization, advocacy and infrastructure projects. Panelists will include: - Chris Choi, Blue State Digital
- Jase Wilson, CEO, Neighbor.ly
- Sarah Shipley, Marketing and Communications Director, BikeWalkKC
- June 13, 2:00 - 3:00 PM eastern: Learn about the Federal Lands Access Program
- The Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) is a new funding source under the new federal transportation bill, MAP-21, for which bicycle and pedestrian projects connecting to public lands are eligible. Join this webinar to learn the rules of this program, the application process in your state and how advocates can partner with local agency staff to win funding. Panelists will include:
- Jeff Mann, Federal Programs Team Leader, FHWA
- David Kack, Program Manager, Mobility and Public Transportation
- Tim Young, Executive Director, Wyoming Pathways
- Brighid O'Keane, Advocacy Advance
- June 19, 2:00 - 3:30 eastern: Lobbying and Elections for Biking and Walking Advocacy
- Among all that biking and walking advocates do, perhaps the most important work is representing the interests of people who bike and walk in the political process. Whether through a public candidate survey, a ribbon-cutting event for local media, or behind the scenes discussions with elected officials, active transportation advocates have used a variety of successful tactics to heighten their political clout and improve street safety. Join this call to hear from expert advocates in our movement to hear best practices and tips on lobbying and participating in elections.
Panelists will include: - James Wilson, Executive Director, Bike Delaware
- Evan Manvel, Director of Policy, Planning and Government Affairs, Cascade Bicycle Club
- Caron Whitaker, Vice President of Government Relations, League of American Bicyclists
- June 26, 2:00 - 3:00 eastern: Managing Volunteers for Open Streets Events
- Without volunteers, Open Streets initiatives cannot happen. Organizers must coordinate a small army of volunteers before, during and after the event. Join this call to learn best practices and tips on managing volunteers for successful Open Streets initiatives. The call will discuss different roles for volunteers, strategies for organizing volunteers throughout the planning process, how to recruit volunteers for Open Streets and much more.
July calls:- July 3: Bike/Ped Advocacy 101
- July 17: Once Upon a Time: Effective Storytelling for Appeals
- July 24: Working with Transit to Win Ballot Measures
- July 31: Partnering with Education and Equity Groups
This past month: | What would you like to discuss on a Mutual Aid Call? Does your organization have expertise to share with peer organizations and other advocates? Email Mary Lauran with your ideas! |
| | Silicon Valley Councilmembers Pedal Together for Bike Week To celebrate Bike to Work Week and showcase a new San Jose bike lane, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition decided to take local councilmembers for a spin. In a striking demonstration of collaboration in local government, six San José Councilmembers joined business leader Carl Guardino and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Corinne Winter to pedal a seven-person conference bike (and one traditional two-wheeler) down a brand new buffered bike lane. Photos and full story » Washington State Wins Neighborhood Safe Streets Law An innovative new law in Washington State helps cities and towns get down to business on making neighborhood streets safer without getting tangled in red tape. Cities and towns will soon be free to develop their own procedures for lowering local speed limits, creating an additional safety tool for local governments' toolboxes to build safer, more livable communities. Learn about the grassroots campaign that made it happen » Bike Walk Mississippi Holds State's First Open Streets Mississippi's statewide biking and walking advocacy organization wanted to host an Open Street initiative as a way to engage with their partners and citizens in a fun and unique way. After months of planning, Jackson Streets Alive was held on April 27. The streets between the state's Capital and Governor's House were filled with people of different ages, races and backgrounds enjoying streets temporarily free of automobile traffic. Read more »
Grassroots Powers Idaho Federal Funding Victory Under the new federal transportation bill, some funding for local walking and biking improvements under the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) became optional for states, creating a big opportunity and challenge for statewide advocates. After a long uphill battle, advocates at the Idaho Pedestrian and Bicycle Alliance were thrilled to declare victory after Idaho's higher-ups voted to preserve Transportation Alternatives funds for local biking and walking projects. Learn more about this big campaign win » New Video Animation: ABC Quick Check Bicycle advocates and educators have long taught the "ABC Quick Check," a simple five-step checklist that riders can use to test all the most essential parts of their bike before hitting the road. Now, educators can point to the Active Transportation Alliance's new animation to help people learn how to check their bikes. Check out the video » Florida Advocates Engage Electeds in Walking Audits BikeWalkLee advocates recently engaged citizens and elected officials in a community walking audit along the streets of Tice, Florida - a great way to encourage grassroots transportation planning to make streets more accessible for active transportation. Following the audit, BikeWalkLee steering group members penned two opinion pieces in local papers, helping to further spread the word. Read more » |
League of American Bicyclists Releases Equity Report The "New Majority" that elected a president is also electing to hop on bicycles as a transportation alternative and tool for health and community development. A new report from the League of American Bicyclists and the Sierra Club highlights the role of youth, women, and people of color in shifting transportation demand towards safe, accessible, and equitable bicycling infrastructure. Learn more » Transportation for America Examines Bridge Collapse In the wake of the second collapse of an Interstate bridge in six years, Transportation for America points out that MAP-21 eliminated crucial dedicated bridge repair funds - at a time when our nation needs them most. Learn more on the T4 blog » "A New Direction" Shows Driving Continues to Drop A new report from the US PIRG shows that the Driving Boom - a six decade-long period of steady increases in per-capita driving in the United States - is over. Americans drive fewer total miles today than we did eight years ago, and the Millennial Generation is demanding a new American Dream less dependent on automobiles. Check out the report's huge findings » |
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