CONTENTS

2009 Summit | Sign Up Today!

National | We Need to Hear from You

National | League Advocates for Bicycling in Recovery Bill

National | Final 2007 NHTSA Crash Statistics Released

National | DOT Encourages Funding for Bicycling

National | Clarke to Speak at National Conference

National | Write in Oberstar as Most Valuable Player!

State & Local | Ore. Governor Plans to Expand Bike Bill

State & Local | Colo. Bicycle Friendly Community Awards

State & Local | Mississippi Building Bicycle Friendly State

State & Local | Nashville Outlaws Parking in Bike Lanes

League News | League Board Elections Start Dec. 16

League News | New League Staff

2009 Summit!

Sign Up for the 2009 National Bike Summit!

Be a part of the smart transportation movement and help build bicycling into the transportation bill this March 10-12. Join fellow advocates, industry leaders, and retailers as we speak to the new Congress and Administration. Click here for further information.

National News

We Need to Hear from You!

Take the League's 2008 survey. To thank you for your input, you'll be entered into a raffle for an awesome NiteRider Flight 2.3 (worth $399!). (Your comments will remain anonymous, but you must enter your email at the end of the survey to be entered into the raffle.) Thanks for your membership and your feedback.

League Advocates for Bicycling in Recovery Bill

Congress is talking about passing $500-700 billion dollar economic stimulus package bill in January that could include over $100 billion in transportation and infrastructure funding. Unless we speak up, these funds will go overwhelmingly to road projects -- the same unbalanced strategy that has created our existing transportation problems. Help the League of American Bicyclists continue to advocate for explicit funding for non-motorized projects in the upcoming economic recovery package. Funding active transportation is a cost-effective investment that creates jobs and leads to healthier people, stronger communities, decreased oil dependency, and reduced climate change emissions.

Final 2007 NHTSA Crash Statistics Released

In 2007, 698 pedalcyclists (riders of two-wheel nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles, and unicycles powered solely by pedals) were killed and an additional 43,000 were injured in traffic crashes. Pedalcyclist deaths accounted for 2 percent of all traffic fatalities, and pedalcyclists made up 2 percent of all the people injured in traffic crashes during the year. The number of pedalcyclist fatalities in 2007 is 14 percent lower than the 814 fatalities reported in 1997. The highest number of pedalcyclist fatalities ever recorded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) was 1,003 in 1975. Pedalcyclists accounted for 13 percent of all nonoccupant traffic fatalities in 2007. Click here to read the full report.

DOT Encourages Funding for Bicycling

The Department of Transportation has issued a Memorandum of Understanding in cooperation with the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Interior, and Army to promote uses and benefits of the Nation's public lands and water resources to enhance the physical and mental health and quality of life for all Americans. This effort will encourage healthier lifestyle through diet, exercise and outdoor recreation. This means that the Department of Transportation will further encourage the use of its funding programs to support projects that promote accessibility, walking, bicycling, safe routes to school and other highway safety programs, recreational trails, transportation enhancements, scenic byways, and access to recreation on federal lands. Click here to view the entire MOU.

Clarke to Speak at National Conference

On December 11, League President Andy Clarke will speak to the National Conference of State Legislatures Transportation Committee. The League and Bikes Belong sponsored the publication of the NCSL's brand new report Encouraging Bicycling and Walking, The State Legislative Role. It will be released this week.

Write In Oberstar as Most Valuable Player!

As the 110th Congress nears its conclusion, Roll Call is seeking to recognize those who defined the past two years on Capitol Hill with the 110th Congress Awards. Roll Call has selected nominees across nine categories and have opened the voting to the Roll Call community. Join the the League in a write-in campaign to vote Chairman Oberstar as Most Valuable Player (House). Oberstar's work on behalf of bicyclists is well known. Feel free to recruit friends and colleagues to the cause. Vote early and vote often!

State & Local

Governor Plans to Expand Oregon Bike Bill

Reprinted from bikeportland.org

When it becomes a bill in front of state lawmakers in January, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski's Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009 will include language to expand the Oregon bike bill (ORS 366.514) and put into law a requirement for the Oregon Department of Transportation to spend at least 1.5 percent of its funding for highway projects on bike and pedestrian improvements: that's a 0.5 percent increase from existing law.

Colorado Bicycle Friendly Community Awards

League President Andy Clarke is headed to Colorado next week to recognize two of the state's Bicycle Friendly Communities. On this Sunday, December 14, Boulder Mayor Shaun McGrath will be formally presented with the Platinum BFC award at the city's 2nd Annual Athletes' Holiday Gathering from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. at the East Boulder Community Center. For more information please click here. Clarke will also be presenting Fort Collins will its Gold BFC Award on Monday, December 15 at 7 p.m. at a bike awards gala hosted by the city. For more information on this event click here.

Mississippi Building a Bicycle Friendly State

Bike Walk Mississippi's new executive director Karen Mogridge has hit the ground running as she works to help make Mississippi a more bike/pedestrian-friendly state. Mogridge and BWM has set up five Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) Workshops taking place this month across the state, which ranked 47th in the League's 2008 Bicycle Friendly State Rankings. Mogridge has set a goal to move the state up the list by at least five places. "By bringing cyclists across the state together and increasing education and encouragement in an organized advocacy effort, I am certain we can achieve that goal," said Mogridge. Jeff Peel of the League, a Mississippi native and BFC Program Specialist, will be leading these starting on December 15 in Hernando. Click here to find out more about the workshops.

 

Nashville Makes it Illegal to Park in Bike Lanes

Nashville, Tenn. passed an ordinance on December 2, 2008 officially making it illegal to park in bike lanes. This ordinance expressly prohibits parking in the bicycle lanes unless the traffic and parking commission has determined that parking within the bicycle lane in specific locations is appropriate during certain hours, and signs have been erected in the designated areas allowing parking in the bicycle lane. Otherwise, parking in a bicycle lane would be punishable by a fine of $50, which is to be assessed through the issuance of a parking citation by the police department. This ordinance has been approved by the traffic and parking commission. Click here for further information on Ordinance number BL2008-307.

League News

League Board Elections Begin Dec. 16

On December 16, 2008 the League board elections will open to members! Three seats will be filled by election in 2009: Region 1 (Conn., Mass. Maine, N.H., N.Y., R.I. and Vt.), Region 4: (Ill., Ind., Mich. and Ohio) and Region 6: (Alaska, Calif., Hawaii, Idaho, Nev., Ore. and Wash.). Running for election are: Region 1: John Siemiatkoski, President, Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition Region 4: Rob Sadowsky, Executive Director, Active Transportation Alliance (formerly Chicagoland Bicycle Federation) Region 6: Amanda Eichstaedt, Chair, League of American Bicyclists. The voting will be online, as it was last year. Starting December 16, visit www.bikeleague.org (with your member number handy) and then cast your vote. Voting will close February 10, 2009.

New League Staff

The League would like to welcome Meghan Cahill and Lisa Reitz to our team! Cahill will serve as the Director of Communications and Reitz is Assistant of Membership/Events. Click here to learn more about our staff.

 

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