Why Every Bike Racer Should Also Be A Safe Streets Advocate
Here on the TBD Journal, we’ve written a lot about the importance of giving back to the community in various ways. Our members volunteer to mentor new riders, put on races, volunteer to run local clubs, fundraise for good causes, and clean up our local parks. While supporting the bike racing community specifically is all well and good, all of us (bike racers or not) share the need for a safe environment in which to train, race, travel to or for work, run our errands, play, and gather. We need safe streets to be able to do our niche sport, but also to just move about in our daily lives without fear and anxiety. At a fundamental level, in order for our sport to thrive, we need the infrastructure to support it. That’s why all bike racers should also be safe streets advocates.
I’ve always been a passive member of Transportation Alternatives (TA) a NYC-based safe streets advocacy organization, but I never really engaged much. When the pandemic shut NYC down, and formerly in-person meetings moved online, it was so much easier to attend meetings remotely. I joined TA’s Bronx Activist Committee (there’s one for every borough), started following every #BikeTwitter advocate I could find, started attending my local community board meetings (now also remote), and enrolled in a Bike New York Street Action Now class on safe streets advocacy. I started listening, and learning about the issues impacting my community when it comes to walking, biking, and transit in the City.
Advocacy and #BikeTwitter, in particular, often get a bad rap. Sure, there is a lot of complaining. But who wouldn’t complain when a bike lane takes years of advocacy and many community board meetings just for some paint to be slapped onto the ground, only for drivers to immediately disregard and park in them? On the other hand, the advocacy world is also a diverse community of really smart, fun, empathetic, and interesting folks who are the foundation and driving force behind the transformation in our streets for the better.
Now more than ever, with a climate change disaster looming, a new mayoral and city council administration on the horizon, a new federal administration more willing to prioritize infrastructure spending, and folks starting to realize how much of our public street space is devoted to moving and storing private cars, every single voice in support of the movement to transform our streets is critical. It’s an exciting time, and now’s the perfect time to join in.
But, why should bike racers care? Or, if you do care, how can you get involved?
Grow Our Sport
There is constant hand-wringing in the bike racing community about stagnation of participation in our sport. Well, there’s no better way to introduce more folks to the sport than making riding a bike a ubiquitous, even mundane, part of life, and that starts with making it easier and safer to ride in our streets. The more folks you can get on a bike, period, the more there will be to cross over to becoming athletes themselves, or supporting others who do.
Increase Access To Venues
We have advocates to thank for every permitted bike racing venue in NYC. Car-free Central Park and Prospect Park came to be (only very recently) after years of advocacy. Rainey Park Cx and the official permitting of NYC Cross Practice on Randall’s Island are all thanks to advocates within our community. Good cycling ambassadors, clubs building relationships with Parks dept. & educating members, bike racers infiltrating spheres of political influence and philanthropy, all contribute to the ability for clubs & promoters to put on cycling events in our busy city. We need advocates to continue to build these relationships, and push city agencies to recognize the importance of cycling and bike racing as a safe, healthy, and fun way for folks to enjoy our City’s public spaces.
It’s Easier Than You Think
Within a matter of months, I went from total n00b to co-leading a TA campaign (#WashingtonBridge4People), joining TA’s Advisory Council, meeting local elected representatives to talk about our shared vision for our streets, marshaling a protest ride, and best of all, making a whole new swath of like-minded friends.
But don’t worry, you don’t need to do all that to still make an impact. You should participate however much is sustainable for you. Burnout is real and it’s okay to start small. Here are some (NYC-centric) ways you can get involved, in no particular order. Pick one or a few. The key is to try different things and see which spaces feel right for you, and which types of actions best suits your skills and interests. The most important thing is to make your voice heard. The folks who oppose change can be loud. But, I believe those who are open to change for the better are much greater in numbers, and together, we can easily drown them out as long as we all show up.
Join & support a local transit-focused advocacy organization such as Transportation Alternatives, Riders Alliance, or DSA Ecosocialist Working Group - Transit. They host teach-ins, various in-person and virtual events & actions, social rides, and share info on important initiatives throughout the year.
Participate in NYC Dept. of Transportation (DOT) feedback sessions, such as completing this Streets Master Plan Survey and/or attend a virtual workshop. It’s a direct way to tell DOT what you’d like to see in your neighborhood & beyond during their planning phase.
Fill out an Open Streets Survey to help with data collection on what is and isn’t working in your local neighborhood open street.
Participate in your community board’s transportation or municipal services committee meetings to keep up to date on hyper-local street improvements, and voice your support or concerns. Find your community board here, and search for agendas, minutes, and even find recorded meeting transcripts & videos here. Not able to attend a CB meeting? You can still send in emails/letters of support for safe streets initiatives!
Read Streetsblog and follow bike advocates on #BikeTwitter to keep up on what’s happening locally.
Write an OpEd to highlight a cause or make your case for a transportation issue that’s important to you.
Sign a petition.
Learn about, join, and share important initiatives such as TA’s #NYC25x25 campaign to reclaim streets for people.
Support safe streets legislation by writing your elected representatives. Here’s a few bills you can support to start with: New York Crash Victims Rights & Safety Act & Ride Clean E-bike Rebate.
Support the organizing actions of working cyclists, who rely on safe passage through city streets to earn a living and put food on your table. E.g., Workers Justice Project.
Check out StreetsPAC endorsements before voting in local races. StreetsPAC is a political action committee that does extensive interviews and recommends candidates who are most likely to prioritize safe streets.
Send comments on the New York Metropolitan Council’s next Regional Plan to request complete streets, automated traffic/parking enforcement, more equitable community outreach, better bike access on trains & bridges, to make good use of congestion pricing, etc.
It’s Fun!
I’ve made so many new connections and friends, and attended some really memorable events through advocacy. Here’s just some of the good times.
FINALLY, DO IT FOR THE WINS
While not a victory I can claim, fellow TA advocates from the mighty Bridges4People campaign recently won a commitment from the Mayor to add a bike lane to Queensboro Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge. Check out the progress DOT is making on the new Bklyn Bridge path!
Here’s an update on the Brooklyn Bridge bike lane installation. The barricades are mid-span as of 10 am this morning (photo is looking towards the east): pic.twitter.com/mTY0xzRyBM
— Streetsblog New York (@StreetsblogNYC) July 6, 2021
I am a New Yorker who rides bikes of all kinds, sometimes runs, loves cats, and nerds out on transit justice issues. I am an advocate at heart and a member of the All Powerful Bicycle Lobby, though opinions here are my own.
Instagram: @luciadlite
Twitter: @luciadlite
E-mail: lucia@tobedetermined.cc
