By providing meaningful and visionary efforts for leaders to study, and investing in city staff and local partners to increase local knowledge and leadership, we can accelerate the installation of complete mobility networks. We encourage cities and states to move faster in creating these complete networks by funding additional planning, outreach and communications.

An integral part of any network buildout is measuring key outcomes with network connectivity, ridership and safety metrics. We provide measurement activities that offer a baseline evaluation of current and future conditions through our Bicycle Network Analysis and City Ratings tools.

Through proactive ballot initiatives, securing dedicated funds for planning and implementation, supporting coalitions that make bicycling a part of a broader narrative and encouraging communities across city lines to collaboratively pursue federal or state grants for regional infrastructure development, we help fund paths, bike lanes, mountain bike trails, pump tracks, bike parks, bike parking and more.

Our nation needs immediate action and long-term planning to mitigate the effects of climate change. Trading car trips for biking and walking is part of a broad suite of solutions. We advance climate and  active transportation infrastructure for carbon emission reduction programs as well as incentives that support climate resiliency.

Building a safe, interconnected network of protected bikeways relies on gaining the support of people who only occasionally bike or never bike at all. We perform research to understand people’s aspirations for mobility and the ways in which bike infrastructure can help achieve those. We use that research to craft messaging and marketing that grows public support for bicycling.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently proposed updates to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), which provides federal funding for states to plan and construct road safety projects, including bike infrastructure. A public comment portal is open until April 22 to voice your opinion about these proposed changes.

Clarifying that "road users" include people who bike and walk and that their needs should be accounted for in HSIP-funded projects

Broadening the perspectives involved in road safety planning to include representatives from public health agencies and underserved communities

Creating a new definition for "underserved communities" to ensure HSIP projects are distributed fairly across all communities

Requiring states to advance a Safe System Approach, emphasizing comprehensive and holistic safety measures that include safe speeds and safe road design as key pillars

Requiring states to conduct system-wide safety risk assessments, including identifying the number of fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads by location and prioritizing HSIP projects based on data to maximize safety

The proposed revisions to HSIP regulations mark a crucial step forward in prioritizing the safety of vulnerable road users, including people who ride bikes. By clarifying definitions, broadening perspectives, and emphasizing comprehensive safety approaches, these proposed changes can enhance road safety across the country. With an increasing need for sustainable and affordable transportation options along with rising concerns about road safety, these proposed updates come at a critical time. According to newly released data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, deaths and injuries of people walking and biking on U.S. roads continue to rise.

Your participation is critical in helping these important updates become reality. By submitting a comment, you can support improved road safety and encourage USDOT to better align the HSIP changes with the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act. PeopleForBikes made it easy for you to take action by drafting a comment that you can customize and submit before the April 22 deadline. 

By lending your voice to this cause, you're not just advocating for safer roads — you're actively shaping the future of transportation for generations to come. Together, we can make a lasting impact on road safety across the United States. 

PeopleForBikes advocates for change at the national, state, and local levels to make biking better for everyone and get more people riding bikes more often. Learn more about our policy pillars and work to create more great places to ride through our Great Bike Infrastructure Project. 

You Can Help Improve Road Safety Across the United States

E-Bike Smart, a new electric bicycle rider safety education program created by PeopleForBikes, the League of American Bicyclists, and Bicycle Colorado, was launched to the public on August 30. Designed to help riders of all ages and experience levels learn best practices for safely and responsibly riding an e-bike, the program has already garnered widespread support from bike industry brands and advocacy groups across the country. 

Studies show that many e-bike riders are new to bicycling, making convenient and easy-to-understand guidance on responsible ownership and safe riding more important than ever. E-Bike Smart was created in partnership between experts in the bike industry and advocacy to offer clear, simple, and actionable steps anyone can take to increase their knowledge and confidence ahead of their next e-bike trip. 

The program contains best practices for many aspects of e-bike ownership, including the different classes of electric bicycles, how to charge and store your e-bike battery, and proper helmet fitting techniques. Once riders understand the basics of e-bike ownership, E-Bike Smart shares tips for safely and responsibly riding an e-bike, including signaling, lane position, collision awareness, etiquette for the road and trail, and the ABC Quick Check developed by the League, highlighting the key parts of your bicycle to check before heading out on a ride.

E-Bike Smart is supported by more than 20 brands and dozens of state and local advocacy organizations. The collaborative program is brand agnostic, allowing manufacturers and retailers to make the content their own and share it across their channels. 

As the U.S. bicycle industry's trade association, PeopleForBikes launched the E-Bike Safety Task Force, composed of industry members, bicycling advocates, and retailers, to help craft the program's curriculum to meet the needs of the diverse and growing audience of e-bike riders nationwide.

"The bicycle industry is all in on rider safety, and E-Bike Smart is a great way to help new and existing riders feel safe both on and off their e-bike," says Jenn Dice, president and CEO of PeopleForBikes. "The proliferation of e-bike purchase incentives at the state and local levels across the country points to the immense potential and growing recognition of the many benefits of e-bikes. As we continue working with our industry members and advocacy partners, we look forward to helping people ride safely and confidently."

As more people discover the joys of riding electric bicycles, communities across the country are grappling with best practices for rider safety and consumer education. This free and easily accessible program can help riders of all ages and abilities better understand how to best enjoy their e-bike.

The League of American Bicyclists is the national grassroots voice of people who bike and has been the leader in bicycling education for more than 50 years. Through a robust network of certified instructors across the country, the League reaches hundreds of thousands of adults and youth every year, providing the skills and tools to bike more often and more confidently. 

"The League is thrilled to collaborate with our industry and advocacy partners to empower people, whether new riders or experienced ones, with e-bike safety information and educational materials," says Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. "When more people ride bikes, life is better for everyone and we know e-bikes are enabling more people to go by bike. E-Bike Smart is designed to help more people focus on learning key skills and building confidence ahead of their first or next e-bike ride." 

Colorado has seen a massive increase in e-bike ridership with the success of Denver's e-bike purchase incentive program. Bicycle Colorado has been instrumental in the success of the program and in leading Colorado to be the first state in the nation to designate a statewide e-bike day (September 21). Recognizing the need for safety education to complement the rise of e-bike ridership across the state, Bicycle Colorado created an innovative educational program — SHIFT Driving — which complements the nationwide educational materials provided in E-Bike Smart.

"Communities thrive when bicycling is safe and accessible. It is so exciting to see all of the new faces finding biking through e-bikes, especially because e-bikes can help people replace short car trips and ride bikes more for fun," says Jace Davis, Lead Educator for Bicycle Colorado. "Bicycle Colorado and the Denver Streets Partnership know that preparation and support can help many of these new riders find ways to incorporate bicycling into their daily routines and we cannot wait to see the E-Bike Smart program positively impact lives in Colorado and beyond!"

PeopleForBikes Coalition members may sign on to support E-Bike Smart and distribute the educational materials at any time. If you represent an e-bike manufacturer or retailer interested in supporting the program, please reach out to PeopleForBikes Electric Bicycle Policy and Campaign Director Ash Lovell, Ph.D., at ash@peopleforbikes.org. E-Bike Smart's free online rider education course can be found at ebikesmart.org.

Alta Cycling Group, LLC., Bend Bikes, Bird Rides, Bosch eBike Systems, Bulls Bikes USA, Diamondback, Feedback Sports, FOX Factory, Gazelle Bikes, Giant Group USA, IZIP, Lectric eBikes, Panasonic Automotive Systems of America, Pedego, Pivot Cycles, QuietKat, Redline Bicycles, Shimano, Specialized Bicycle Components, SRAM, Trek Bicycle Corporation, Urban Arrow, Velotric, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., and Yuba Bicycles. 

Thank you to the supporting advocacy organizations:

Alabama Bicycle Coalition (AlaBike), BAC Bicycle Advisory Committee, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Bicycle Garage Indy, Bicycle Oven Company, Bike Cleveland, Bike California Bicycle Coalition, Bike Fitchburg, Inc., Bike Florida, BikeLoud PDX, BikePGH, Bike & Walk Montclair, BikeWalk North Carolina, Bike Walk Tennessee, Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists, Colorado Springs, Florida Bicycle Association, Georgia Bikes, Hawai'i Bicycling League, League of Michigan Bicyclists, Marin County Bicycle Coalition, MassBike, Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation, Napa County Bicycle Coalition, New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition, Ohio Bicycle Federation, Palmetto Cycling Coalition, Pennsylvania Downtown Center, Ride Illinois, The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, The Street Trust, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, ZeroW.org.

Introducing E-Bike Smart, a New Rider Education Program

From recreational amenities like pump tracks and singletrack trail systems to on-street protected bike lanes and bike parking, we know that safe and accessible bike infrastructure is critical to helping people of all ages and abilities enjoy bicycling in their communities. With the goal of getting more projects over the finish line, PeopleForBikes is proud to announce the opening of our 2023 Industry Community Grant applications.

Our grants are intended to support infrastructure that improves a community’s City Ratings score by building connections in low-stress bikeway networks or by improving opportunities for close-to-home recreation. Grants should support the material costs of infrastructure construction or non-material costs directly related and necessary to getting infrastructure built. PeopleForBikes’ industry grants range from $5,000 to $10,000 and our priority is to support efforts where grants of that magnitude make a difference, especially in support of communities impacted by historic disinvestment. 

Previous awards supported the construction of a bike park in El Paso, TX; the conversion of a tennis court into a bike garden in Flint, MI; the organization of protected bikeways in Durham, NC; the building of trails in Gorham, NH, to connect a mountain bike network to the downtown area; and an advocacy campaign in Salem, OR, to create safe, direct, and protected bike infrastructure.

Investments that build or result in permanent physical infrastructure such as protected bike lanes, neighborhood greenways/bike boulevards, bike paths, pump tracks, bike parks, recreational trail systems, or public bike parking.

Investments in temporary physical infrastructure, such as “quick-build projects” that demonstrate potential infrastructural improvements that are intended to eventually result in permanent infrastructure.

Support for organizing efforts or cultural initiatives that build support for specific bike infrastructure projects. Such proposals must show how the support will result in permanent infrastructural improvements. 

Maintenance or operating costs, Cycling education programs, unless education is an element of an event designed to bring attention to an infrastructure project 

Bike recycling, repair, or earn-a-bike programs

Non-profit organizations, including organizations relying upon a fiscal sponsor for their nonprofit status 

Local or state government agencies or federal agencies working locally 

Small businesses, such as bicycle retailers and community-oriented businesses that serve disadvantaged communities

1. Submit a Letter of Interest by October 20, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Only applications submitted through the online form will be accepted. Applicants may revise their submission as many times as they like until the deadline. 

2. Applicants will be notified of the status of their application by November 1, 2023. Finalists will be invited to submit a full application, also using an online form.

3. Final applications are due by November 20, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PT. 

4. Awards will be announced in early December 2023.

If you have any questions about the grant process, please email infrastructure@peopleforbikes.org. 


PeopleForBikes’ Industry Community Grants program is funded through employee pro purchases, which collect donations from individuals who work in the bike industry and take advantage of pro-pricing discounts on new bikes and equipment. Does your company offer industry pro deals or discounts for athletes, retail staff, and industry employees? Give your customers an opportunity to donate to PeopleForBikes at checkout. For details, visit peopleforbikes.org/giving or email Rod Judd, PeopleForBikes’ director of membership and industry engagement.

Thank you to these brands that currently participate:

Apply for a 2023 PeopleForBikes Industry Community Grant

We’re just halfway through 2023 and there are already notable legislative achievements for bicycles from every corner of the country. States have made commendable strides in promoting safety for vulnerable road users, investing in sustainable infrastructure, combating climate change, and expanding access to outdoor recreation opportunities.

New Laws to Improve Safety for Bicyclists and Pedestrians

Arizona: Advocates successfully opposed Senate Bill 1313,Senate Bill 1312, and Senate Bill 1314, which collectively threatened to remove bike-related requirements from city plans and hinder the tracking of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and climate reduction goals. These victories ensure that Arizona can continue promoting multi-modal transportation and climate-conscious urban planning, preserving essential tools for sustainable communities.

Maryland: The passage of House Bill 70, known as the Safe Access for All (SAFE) Roads Act of 2023, will improve pedestrian and bicycle safety. The legislation requires the Maryland Department of Transportation to prioritize incremental safety improvements for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects, ensuring timely implementation even if the projects themselves take more than 12 months to complete.

Minnesota: Embracing the "Idaho Stop" concept, Minnesota is now the latest state to legalize a more practical approach for bicyclists at stop signs. This change allows bicyclists to proceed without a full stop if there are no vehicles nearby, provided they slow down and are prepared to stop if necessary. 

Illinois: House Bill 2131 will create a statewide task force to chart a pathway toward eliminating traffic deaths. Additionally, Senate Bill 2278 will address a shortcoming in Illinois law by allowing cities and towns to protect their residents by building safer intersections.

Missouri: Senate Bill 398 includes the "Siddens Bening Hands Free Law" which will prohibit texting and the use of other electronic devices while driving. 

New Infrastructure Planning for Active Transportation Laws

New York: Assembly Bill 602 addresses the responsibility of the state for federally assisted projects. This legislation ensures effective planning and coordination between the state transportation commissioner and affected municipalities by estimating costs associated with various infrastructure projects, including highways, roads, streets, bicycle paths, and pedestrian paths.

Washington: Senate Bill 5452 authorizes the use of impact fee revenue to fund improvements to bicycle and pedestrian facilities. This new law enables communities to utilize fees charged to developers for the enhancement of bike infrastructure to support multimodal commuting and create a more sustainable transportation system.

Virginia: House Bill 1510 authorizes localities to grant tax incentives or provide regulatory flexibility to encourage the preservation, restoration, or development of urban green space including greenways.  

New Climate Action and Emissions Reduction Laws

Minnesota: The Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions Impact Assessment bill sets forth requirements for state agencies to track and minimize greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with statewide reduction goals. The legislation mandates the evaluation of emissions impact for transportation plans and roadway expansion projects, offering mitigation measures such as expanding transit services or constructing new bike lanes.

Washington: The passage of House Bill 1181 mandates medium and large cities to consider climate change in their comprehensive plans. This legislation encourages the development of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled, prioritizing the creation of connected bike networks and implementing bike-friendly zoning codes for sustainable transportation alternatives.

New Recreation and Trail Connectivity Laws

Colorado: Senate Bill 059 provides funding to local governments for improved access to state-owned outdoor recreational areas. This appropriation will help build infrastructure that grows recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike.

Florida: Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill allocating $200 million to connect hiking and biking trails to a planned statewide wildlife corridor. This investment expands Florida's Greenways and Trails System and the SUN Trail Network, aiming to link 18 million acres of land from the Florida Keys to the Panhandle.

New Electric Bicycle Access and Regulations


PeopleForBikes' model electric bicycle legislation has gained widespread acceptance, with 41 states adopting the three-class system as a framework for regulation. In 2023, New Mexico, Nebraska, and West Virginia clarified their e-bike laws, defining the three classes of electric bicycles and aligning regulations with those for traditional bicycles. These legislative advancements simplify the rules for retailers, riders, and decision-makers while encouraging the use of e-bikes as a sustainable transportation option. Additionally, the West Virginia e-bike bill allows for Class 1 and 2 on non-motorized, natural surface trails where traditional bicycles are allowed.

Taken as a whole, these legislative achievements demonstrate an increasing nationwide emphasis on bicycles as a tool to advance safety, sustainable infrastructure, climate action, and accessible recreation. By enacting laws that protect vulnerable road users, support active transportation, reduce emissions, and expand access to the outdoors, states are paving the way for a more resilient, healthy, and enjoyable future. 

Legislative Bike Triumphs: A 2023 Mid-Year Review

In 2023, state and local governments across the United States have allocated record funding to support biking initiatives, promote safety, and enhance recreational opportunities. These investments demonstrate a growing commitment to sustainable, active, and more equitable transportation options by building out safe and connected bike infrastructure networks.

Below is a list of some of the most notable funding programs and approved initiatives across 10 different states and various municipalities in 2023.

Funding for Infrastructure and Safety Programs at the State Level

Minnesota: The state of Minnesota allocated an impressive $50 million for biking and walking initiatives, including $40 million in annual funding for general biking and walking programs and an additional $10 million per year for the Minnesota Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School grant. This substantial investment will support the development of infrastructure, safety enhancements, and educational programs. 

New Mexico: With a total of $4,320,000 approved in its latest state budget, New Mexico is investing in numerous biking and pedestrian projects. This includes acquiring land, planning, designing, constructing, and improving pedestrian and bicycle trails in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe. These improvements aim to enhance accessibility, safety, and connectivity for biking and walking.

Washington: Washington state committed $197 million to biking and pedestrian initiatives through its Move Ahead Washington program. The funding includes $72 million for the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program, $73 million for the Safe Routes to School Program, $25 million for Connecting Communities, and $27 million for the School-Based Bike Safety Education Program. These funds will increase safety measures, improve infrastructure, and promote active transportation.

Hawaii: Policymakers approved a Safe Routes to School bill, an important step in achieving Vision Zero and complete streets policies throughout the state. The bill appropriates $10 million for the next two years to be put towards Safe Routes to School projects and programs. In addition to the funding, the bill also establishes a Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee. 

Florida: Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that allocates $200 million to connect hiking and biking trails to a planned statewide wildlife corridor. This investment will expand Florida's Greenways and Trails System and the SUN Trail Network, creating a vast network of recreational trails spanning 18 million acres from the Florida Keys to the Panhandle.

Funding for Infrastructure and Safety Programs at the Local Level

Anchorage, Alaska: Proposition A ($3,950,000) and Proposition 2 ($945,000) will invest in trail rehabilitation, recreational facility improvements, school zone safety upgrades, and transit facility enhancements.

Colorado Springs, Colorado: Resolution No. 03-23 allocates $240 million over 20 years through a sales tax extension. This funding will support trails, open spaces, and parks, growing access to biking and outdoor recreation.

Shirley, Massachusetts: Voters approved the Community Preservation Act, which will raise $840,000 over 10 years. The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is a smart growth tool that helps communities preserve open space and historic sites, create affordable housing, and develop outdoor recreational facilities (such as trails for bike riding).

Duxbury, Massachusetts: Voters approved an increase in their current Community Preservation Act surcharge from 1% to 3%. This will create $8,902,465 to develop and maintain green spaces, creating more opportunities for biking and other recreational activities.

Harvard, Massachusetts: Residents voted to increase their current Community Preservation Act surcharge to 1.9%. This will add $2,859,541 in funds for community development including bicycle infrastructure.

Funding for State Electric Bicycle Incentive Programs

Colorado: The new statewide tax credit is one piece of a larger climate package — fiscal estimates suggest the program would cost the state around $100 million before it expires in 2033. However, if the state's economy grows by less than 4% in a given year, the e-bike tax credit could be cut in half.

Minnesota: The state allocated $4 million to incentivize the purchase and use of electric bicycles, promoting eco-friendly commuting options.

Vermont: Legislature approved a $150,000 program to incentivize electric bicycle adoption, contributing to cleaner transportation and reduced carbon emissions.

Washington: Legislature created a $7 million e-bike incentive program to encourage the adoption of electric bicycles.

Maine: Although details are still to be determined by the program administrator, this new program should dedicate up to $500,000 from the state’s electric vehicle funding to its new e-bike rebate program.

Just seven months into the year, more than $800 million is helping fund biking programs and initiatives, highlighting the growing commitment of state and local governments to support biking, enhance safety, and promote active transportation. This, in addition to the nearly $13 billion in federal funding that could accelerate the planning and construction of biking and walking projects across the country, will dramatically expand access to safe infrastructure for millions of Americans. 

These investments in infrastructure and incentives will benefit more than just those who use them directly — quality bicycle infrastructure can help reduce the number of cars on the road, therefore reducing traffic and congestion, cleaning our air, and making it safer for everyone to use our streets. More money for bikes translates to more sustainable and healthier communities for all.

There’s Already Record Funding For Bikes in 2023

For the first time since our City Ratings program launched seven years ago, Minneapolis, Minnesota, tops the list of the best large U.S. cities for bicycling with a score of 68. In 2022, the city’s score hovered in the 30s, and its leap to number one speaks to a number of notable changes. 

First, Minneapolis’ data received a massive update — while that’s not the most exciting reason, it’s essential. Our scoring system is informed using data from OpenStreetMap, which is essentially the Wikipedia of street maps, meaning anyone can edit it. If a city’s data in OpenStreetMap doesn’t adequately reflect the breadth and/or quality of the city’s on-the-ground infrastructure, then its corresponding City Ratings score will be lower. Thanks to updates to its OpenStreetMap data, Minneapolis saw its score rise.

That being said, the midwestern city, home to a population of about 425,336 people, has also made huge strides in building out the safe, connected bicycle infrastructure that demands OpenStreetMap updates — and defines the world’s best places to ride. 

“What's really unique about Minneapolis — what's different than many of the other notable cities for bicycling in North America — is that the backbone of our network is probably one of the best urban trail networks in the country,” says Luke Hanson, a senior transportation planner for the city. “Minneapolis' status as one of the top cities for bicycling is both a combination of strategic multimodal investments that include that kind of urban trail network, as well as deliberate complimentary policy guidance over time. Those pieces go hand in hand to create our current bike network.”

A key component of Minneapolis’ cycling urban trail network is the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, a continuous, 51-mile loop of off-street bike trails that traverses the entire city. For more than 100 years, the byway has been a recreational and transportation resource for people biking, walking, and rolling — a historical network that the city has been able to build off of over time with strategic and complimentary investments primarily along former rail corridors. That includes the Midtown Greenway, the Cedar Lake Trail, the Hiawatha LRT Trail, and the Dinkytown Greenway, which are all repurposed, grade-separated trails that avoid conflicts with motor vehicles and connect some of the most important destinations in the city. 

“All of this has been augmented by a series of initially painted buffered bicycle boulevard facilities throughout the city that provided network-level connectivity,” says Hanson. “More recently, many of these facilities have been improved by transitioning them from traditional unprotected bike lanes to protected facilities in a variety of different design types, utilizing things like protected intersection design and other tools we have available to us.”

Hanson is quick to point to the various policies that have helped Minneapolis develop one of the country’s most robust bicycle networks: its 2011 Bicycle Master Plan, 2013 Climate Action Plan, and 2015 Protected Bikeway Update to the Bicycle Master Plan. The 2015 plan outlined a long-term objective of creating 174 miles of protected bike lanes as part of the city's bike network. In 2019, the city also conducted a neighborhood greenway study to look at ways to transition traditional bike boulevards to make them more comfortable, safer, and more appealing to a wider group of people. Finally, the city’s 2020 Transportation Action Plan provides policy guidance to continue implementing protected and safe bike facilities throughout the city.

Minneapolis currently boasts 21 miles of on-street protected bike lanes and 106 miles of off-street sidewalk and trail miles. By 2030, the goal is to have 141 miles of newer, upgraded all ages and ability bikeways throughout the city, along with a micromobility mode share of 10% (the Climate Action Plan outlines a long-term goal of raising the bicycle commute mode share to 15%). Unfortunately, the loss of the city’s Nice Ride bike share system earlier this year complicates that vision (and is arguably a huge oversight on the part of the city).

“[Mass mode shift] is still a goal and it’s important to work towards that even with the challenge of not having a reliable bike share system,” says Hanson. “What we're trying to establish is a complimentary transportation network where people have options beyond just driving and single occupancy vehicles. In addition to transit, we're thinking through walking, biking, rolling, and other methods to make sure people have transportation options and choices to help us get to those mode shift goals. Marketing is important but we’re reinforcing that with infrastructure.”

Other complementary policies, such as redesigning intersections and reducing speeds, play an equally important role. In 2020, Minneapolis and its twin city St. Paul lowered their default speed limits, switching from 30 to 20 mph on residential streets and 25 mph for larger, arterial, city-owned streets. Lowering speed limits aligns with Minneapolis’ Vision Zero work by reducing the likelihood of crashes and the likelihood of a crash leading to serious injuries or death. Since lower speeds are critically important in places where people are walking, rolling, and biking — which is most locations in Minneapolis — they correspond with higher City Ratings scores.

“Lowering speed limits is a tool but we're also using street design to compliment those lower posted speed limits,” says Hanson. “Traffic calming measures such as raised crossings, speed humps, speed cushions, medians, and narrowing roadways are equally important. Even if they’re not explicitly a bike project per se, they make it safer and more comfortable for people to bike.”

Other things Minneapolis is doing well include leveraging federal grants to fund projects, taking advantage of street resurfacing projects to upgrade infrastructure, and creating a brand new Street Design Guide. According to Hanson, in addition to providing guidance on what an all ages and abilities bikeway should look like, the guide also includes guidance on when to install them (the short answer: on any major throughway undergoing reconstruction). Notably, the city also eliminated parking minimums and made the choice to transition away from single-family housing, choices that contribute to better cities for cycling (it also helps that Minnesota is progressive when it comes to its state transportation policy).

“It's not as simple as the silo of transportation infrastructure — these things build upon one another to make a functional, practical system for people to rely on and use,” says Hanson. “It’s important to acknowledge that there are a lot of additional projects that aren’t bike-specific that work to make biking safer and more comfortable.”

Having worked on bike projects for more than a decade, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Hanson himself is a regular cyclist, relying on his bike for most trips. He credits the local bike culture as a major contributing factor to what makes Minneapolis such a great place to bike. On any given week, there are dozens of social rides throughout the city, including non-drop rides, family-friendly outings, and meet-ups for identity-specific groups. There are organizations that empower people to be comfortable on their bikes through all four seasons, as well as Grease Rag and other groups that provide inclusive environments for bicycle education.

Hanson also credits local advocacy groups and community-based organizations with helping create a safer, more comfortable, and more equitable environment for bicycling. 

“We've found a lot of value in partnering with established community groups and organizations to perform better, more meaningful project engagement,” says Hanson. “Doing so allows us as city staff to better build relationships with residents through trusted community members. Meaningful relationships are a really, really important resource for us.”

In recent years, Minneapolis has also been the site of racial unrest and the need to connect with and prioritize the needs of historically underserved communities has been pushed to the forefront. The city recently created a Racial Equity Framework for Transportation, which acknowledges that certain populations and geographies in the city have borne the brunt of displacement, pollution, and a slew of other outcomes directly tied to an inequitable transportation system. Importantly, this framework can help city planners be strategic and prioritize transportation investments in those same communities.

Hand in hand with those investments is a tangible plan for lowering barriers to bicycling through youth education. Currently, Minneapolis Public Schools are rolling out universal bike education for fourth and fifth graders in two-thirds of the city’s public schools, with plans for it to eventually be district-wide. After all, an all ages and abilities bike network only benefits youth that know how to ride.

“In the last few years, I think we’ve made some really meaningful progress,” says Hanson. “And I also appreciate that there’s always ongoing work to do.”

How Minneapolis Became a Top U.S. Bike City

When in Washington, D.C., Congressman Earl Blumenauer doesn't drive. That’s an incredible feat considering Blumenauer is 75 years old and has served as a Democratic representative for Oregon’s 3rd congressional district since 1996. For decades, the congressman has commuted to Capitol Hill and around town by bike, living his values while simultaneously advocating for bicycling at the national level.

During his tenure, Blumenauer founded the Congressional Bike Caucus, fought to extend commuter benefits to cyclists, and co-sponsored the introduction of the E-BIKE Act in 2021, which though it has yet to pass, has inspired a proliferation of e-bike incentives at the state level. This Congress, Blumenauer reintroduced the E-BIKE Act alongside the Bicycle Commuter Act, which would offer tax benefits to Americans commuting to work by bike, and the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Act, which would unlock Highway Safety Improvement Program funding for projects that connect two pieces of safe cycling infrastructure.

Blumenauer’s efforts have also directly improved his daily commute: Over the course of two years, he successfully lobbied to get two miles of protected bike lanes built on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol, a powerful symbol of integrating bicycling into our nation’s the transportation ecosystem. 

“The key for me has been to take the bicycle, the most efficient form of urban transportation ever designed, and be able to try and help people understand its power,” says Blumenauer, who regularly positions bicycling as a way to create a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable world. “The ability to be able to make that case, to engage people, to show what a difference cycling makes — that’s something I'm very proud of.”

Blumenauer was a featured speaker at PeopleForBikes’ recent SHIFT‘23 conference in Bentonville, Arkansas. We interviewed the congressman ahead of the conference to talk about federal support for bicycling, the need to close the de minimis loophole, and — in line with this year’s conference theme — all things electric bikes.

Your focus has always been on leaving a better world for our children. Can you speak to that and how a push for bicycling makes sense in that context?

The bicycle is such a powerful tool and we need to make sure that it is integrated in both domestic and foreign policy. As I’ve said, the bicycle is the single most efficient form of transportation ever designed. It liberates young people, it costs relatively little to access, it's better for congestion, and it allows the rider to burn calories instead of fossil fuel, something that is important if we're going to fight climate change. There are also a great number of positive economic impacts.

There's so much money that is, for example, consumed parking cars. We have some estimates that there are six, eight, ten parking spaces or more for every vehicle. Those spaces give the illusion that we provide “free parking” — well, that is paid for with higher rents, more air pollution, and problems with stormwater runoff. Parking spaces cost $8,000-12,000 per parking space, and if it’s structured parking, we’re talking about $20,000-30,000 per space. “Free parking” is extraordinarily expensive.

You can easily park eight, nine, or ten bicycles in a space that would just be one car. And part of what we are finding is that people who bike are actually better customers. If you're biking at 10 or 15 miles per hour, you're more likely to pull over and explore something. You're more likely to have lunch or shop as opposed to when you're whizzing through a neighborhood at 40 miles per hour.

We know that parking reform is key to building bike-friendly cities, but I think it's hard for the average person to see the connection. How do we talk about bicycling more holistically in the context of some of our nation’s most pressing issues?

When parking is removed, that makes it much easier to finance and build affordable housing. There are so many of these elements that are ingrained in the way that we do business. Less parking means more choices and healthier air. You have to show people the impact the bicycle can have.

More bike utilization gives us a way for us to reduce the challenges for housing. It's a way to reduce congestion since every bicycle that's next to you when you pull over a stoplight is a car that’s not in front of you. Bikes provide a healthy alternative to cars and the more people take advantage of it, the more they're sold, which naturally helps build momentum.

What do you think are the chief impediments when it comes to getting people to bike in the first place?

A big part of it is having safe cycling infrastructure. Traffic safety is a huge problem in this country and the carnage on the road is really painful. The more we invest in improving that cycling infrastructure, the more people will actually use it. The bicyclist and the pedestrian are the indicator species of livable communities.

Part of what needs to happen — and I’ve been involved with this work in my congressional district in Portland — is that we need to redesign roads to be more bike-friendly. We need to lower speed limits and create bike boulevards. One of my proposals that was enacted included creating a $1 billion Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program to fund projects that help prevent death and serious injury on roads and streets.

These are things that really make a difference to individual commuters, but they also provide a sense of safety and security so that those commuters then want their family to cycle with them. And when they do, they're healthier and they're happier. They also save money and are making a difference for the health of the planet.

What are you currently working on to address these challenges?

Between the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we’re putting in the resources to ensure local bike projects qualify for federal funds and that much-needed infrastructure gets built. There’s been a 70% increase in funding to create and maintain bike lanes and sidewalks, and we’ve also made it so that shared micromobility like bike sharing and scooter systems are eligible for federal resources. Bike infrastructure is something we’ve dramatically underinvested in in the past and there’s now more funding for it than ever before.

We've also had a proposal to allow electric vehicle charging station credit to be used for two and three-wheeled electric vehicles. There's a lot of talk about the infrastructure for electric cars, but we need the same thing for electric bikes. 

There’s also a piece of legislation that I’m going to introduce soon which would allow people to cash out on their employer-sponsored paid parking. Meaning, that if an employer gives them a free parking space, the employee has the right to take cash instead of that space. It’s about letting the employee make the choice about whether they’re going to drive, take transit, bike, or use shared micromobility — it’s about leveling the playing field so that our default isn’t unlimited free parking. 

What else is giving you hope when it comes to bicycling?

For decades, we’ve basically surrendered to the single occupancy vehicle and that’s had devastating effects on communities. With its Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant Program, this administration is actively trying to heal communities that have been harmed by freeway projects, which have divided neighborhoods and only increased congestion. 

The new vision is a low-carbon, equitable future, which makes a big difference for people of color and low-income households who have been on the receiving end of historical harm. Part of what I hope we'll be able to make more progress on is being able to provide more cycling opportunities for low-income and people of color.

I’ve also been watching with delight some of the work that's being done around the country to broaden the range of people who are involved in bicycling. Whether that’s by putting diverse faces in cycling leadership positions or companies focusing on equity. It's making a difference and there's more that we can do going forward.

Electric bicycles are outselling analog bikes and electric cars, and it seems like every state is coming out with an incentive program of its own. How are e-bikes changing the conversation around bicycling in the U.S.?

An e-bike makes any cyclist into a bike commuter — the barrier to entry is so low, you can immediately begin cycling. There are a number of people I know whose second car is an e-cargo bike so that they can shop and schlep the kids around. We also see more and more companies looking to e-cargo bikes for deliveries. It makes a huge difference to congestion in our communities and to the environment.

It's really remarkable what an e-bike does in terms of ease, in terms of safety, and in terms of dealing with challenging geography. It has also been remarkable watching the number of people now who are using e-bikes, who got introduced to them with bike share.

I must admit, I was a little bit of a snob, holding out on buying an e-bike. But a recent vacation I took had me cycling in areas that were challenging for me on a conventional bike. The next day I took an e-bike and it was magic. So I am a fan. I'm planning on getting my e-bike this fall.

Do you think there’s still hope for a federal e-bike incentive?

I think we have an excellent chance at some point but nothing much is passing in this Congress. We're just trying to hold on to what we passed in the last Congress and get it implemented. But I think the handwriting is on the wall: E-bikes are extraordinarily popular, and they’re expensive for low and moderate-income people. An e-bike tax credit is a way to avoid that.

Many low-quality, uncertified e-mobility products are coming into the U.S. under ‘de minimis,’ the regulatory loophole that allows products under $800 to be imported without being inspected, taxed, or forced to adhere to safety standards. Can you speak to the Import Security and Fairness Act and how it aims to close this loophole?

Over two million packages arrive in the United States that are directly shipped to consumers, uninspected, and untaxed. Oftentimes, we're quite confident they’ve used forced labor. Of these packages, we also have inferior quality e-bike batteries coming in, which have been catching fire.

We're working hard to make sure that we close the de minimis loophole so that countries that are not market economies and are on the watch list do not qualify. People recognize the inequity of the loophole and there’s more interest in closing it from businesses. I think that's a very, very good sign.

Is there anything else you’d like to leave us with?

I don't believe that we have to declare war on the automobile, but we also don't have to surrender to it. There are all these little tiny decisions that we collectively make to prioritize cars, which are not really little tiny decisions when you multiply them by hundreds of thousands of times across the country. We need to move away from cars shaping our communities towards communities being able to shape the vision they have for the future. 

Congressman Blumenauer Is Bicycling’s Biggest Advocate

There are places that are good for bicycling and then there’s Amsterdam, where the entire city feels as if it’s built around cyclists. To drive a car in the city’s center is to be constantly surrounded by swarms of bikes who ride in packs and without fear for their lives. In Amsterdam, the movement of cyclists is prioritized over that of drivers, but that hasn’t always been the case.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Dutch cities weren’t too far off from the American cities of today, where precedence is given to moving single-occupancy motor vehicles above transit, bicycle, or pedestrian traffic. At the time, the growing number of cars saw bike trips plummet across the Netherlands — entire neighborhoods were destroyed to make way for car traffic — and accordingly, the number of traffic deaths began to rise. In 1971, they hit a peak of 3,300 deaths, 400 of which were children.

For the Dutch, this would not stand. In the early 70s, “Stop de Kindermoord,” or “Stop the Child Murder,” became the rallying cry of a group of concerned citizens, many of them mothers, calling on the government to fund the construction of protected bike lanes. Thousands took to the streets and the protests, which coincided with a global oil crisis, worked: The Dutch government began building a network of connected, separate bike paths. The number of people on bikes grew exponentially, and pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities declined significantly. 

By the end of the decade, bicycle paths were built into every new neighborhood and along all major roads. Public outrage at the loss of life translated into tangible change and today, Amsterdam continues to have one of the lowest traffic fatality rates in the world. That change, while monumental, isn’t out of reach for the United States. It does, however, require a shift away from the idea that safety is the responsibility of the user — be they a walker, driver, or bicyclist — and towards an understanding that altering our built environment is how we save lives. 

When it comes to cyclist and pedestrian deaths, the U.S. today is much worse off than Amsterdam was 60 years ago and deaths are trending upwards. In the last 12 years, fatalities for people walking and biking have increased by 60%. The National Safety Council estimates more than 46,000 people in total across modes were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2022. That’s the equivalent of a plane crashing every single day for a year, a level of catastrophe we would never stand for. 

Yet, most of us do nothing, our lack of protest being a quiet acceptance of the status quo. The exception, of course, are those who have directly experienced the epidemic of traffic violence. People like Laura Keenan, a San Diego woman who lost her 42-year-old husband, Matt Keenan, in September 2021. 

Matt, an avid cyclist, had been hit by a car before, an experience that shook him to his core. On the night he died, Matt had just put his 15-month-old son to bed and was biking to the movies. He was in a painted bike lane, with a helmet and bike light on, when Melissa Gonzalez exited the opposite lane and hit him straight on. He died at the scene.

“I had to do something after,” says Keenan. “I knew his death was preventable and I started advocating for safer streets a week or two after he was killed.”

Laura Keenan stands at the spot where her husband Matt Keenan was killed, holding their son.

Keenan was frustrated with a legal system that doesn’t hold drivers accountable (Gonzalez got four days in jail for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, which is a relatively harsh sentence) but she was also frustrated with the safe infrastructure, or lack thereof, that directly contributed to her husband’s death. Keenan soon realized that she could break through and get people’s attention in a way others couldn’t. Just months later, she co-founded a local Families for Safe Streets chapter.

Families for Safe Streets (FSS) was founded in 2014 by the families of loved ones who were killed or injured in crashes in New York City. According to the group’s national director, Thomas DeVito, “It’s an organization that shouldn’t have to exist but because of the epidemic of traffic violence, has to exist to make laws safer.” FSS transforms grief into action by broadcasting personal stories of trauma and loss to bring about policy and legislative change. 

In 20 chapters across the country, people like Keenan work with their cities, counties, and local advocacy groups to refocus the conversation to try and save lives. In San Diego, for example, FSS has hung signs at fatal crash sites that read “Your neighbor was killed here” and hosts a World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in November, helping to honor loved ones lost while raising awareness. Crucially, the group’s biggest focus has been around budget and funding and in 2022, after a multi-month campaign, the city agreed to fund improvements at its more dangerous intersections.

In New York City, FSS has had a series of successive policy wins, starting with the lowering of default speed limits throughout the city from 30 to 25 mph in just one legislative session. Following that win, the group went on to secure the largest speed safety camera system in North America, leading to more than 2,000 cameras deployed across 750 school zones. Last year, the group pushed to expand operation hours of those speed safety hours, driven by data that a large number of crashes were happening overnight. That change has led to a 30% decrease in speeding.

Queen’s Boulevard was known as the “Boulevard of Death” before it underwent a road diet. 

The group has also succeeded in multiple local-level street design campaigns, which have seen hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to overhauling dangerous thoroughfares. One prime example is the redesign of Queens Boulevard, once nicknamed the “Boulevard of Death” due to the 189 people killed on the road between 1994 and 2014. After the city spent just $4 million on a road diet, the road went from having as many as 16 deaths a year to zero. 

As a whole, FSS prioritizes policy and infrastructure changes and is skeptical of education-first campaigns, which puts the onus for change on individuals rather than the things we know make a difference, such as lowering speed limits, redesigning our streets and intersections, and regulating the design of automobiles, which continue to get bigger and more dangerous every year. 

“What that translates to at a basic policy level is our cities and states should be building Complete Streets whenever possible,” says DeVito, referring to an approach to planning, designing, and building streets that enables safe access for all users. “We know that Complete Streets can reduce crashes by over 30% on average.”

From experience, DeVito says that state-level departments of transportation often inhibit local policy implementation when it comes to Complete Streets principles. He believes state-level reform is needed in order to implement Complete Streets and solutions that save lives. As highlighted in our recent Legislative Guide, PeopleForBikes is prioritizing Complete Street mandates that require cities and states to build bike infrastructure as part of regular road construction and repaving projects. Other priorities include more state and local funding for bike infrastructure, reduced speed limits, and better design manuals for engineers. 

There are currently billions of dollars available for bike projects, specifically, a $1 billion Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program to fund projects that help prevent death and serious injury on roads and streets. This is an undeniable win. However, it’s crucial that this money be spent on protected bike infrastructure and connected bike networks, as opposed to projects that prioritize the movement of cars above all other users. That includes painted bike lanes, which as Matt Keenan’s death in San Diego proves, do nothing to protect cyclists from vehicles.

“Paint is not protection — we have people dying in paint-only bike lanes every single year,” says Alexa Sledge, associate director of communications at Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit advocacy group in New York City that works in partnership with FSS. According to Sledge, it’s been a bad year for bicyclists in the city: More cyclists have been killed through the first nine months of 2023 than all but one other year on record, and 94% of the victims were killed on streets without protected bike lanes. “We’re working on passing a local bill that would streamline the process of getting bike lanes in the ground. We need to act with urgency and as such, our processes need to be a lot faster.”

In New York City and other communities across the country, we’re not building infrastructure at the pace traffic safety crisis — or the climate crisis — demands, often due to policy hurdles, decades of status quo roadway designing, and a lack of political will. The pandemic and America’s historic bike boom presented the country with a unique opportunity, one that will slip away if we don’t invest in more and better on-street infrastructure. Communities everywhere should be building infrastructure like our lives depend on it because they do. 

In 2021, the St. Louis, Missouri-based nonprofit Trailnet created its first Crash Report. A response to a spike in local traffic fatalities, the report identified every single pedestrian and bicycle crash, including fatalities, injuries, and/or instances of property damage. Sam McCrory, a community planner at Trailnet and the report’s primary author, used the raw data to identify high crash corridors. He also looked at the conditions around each crash, speed limits, the type of roads, and the neighborhood demographics.

“Our first two Crash Reports also included a section where we highlighted high-level solutions that could be used to lower crashes,” says McCrory, naming things like lowering speed limits, using road diets, and building protected infrastructure. With two reports under its belt, Trailnet secured a 2022 Community Grant from PeopleForBikes to create a third Crash Report, which highlighted more specific, local solutions. Trailnet was then able to use the report as an advocacy tool to accelerate the installation of safe mobility networks throughout St. Louis.

A specific infrastructure recommendation from Trailnet’s 2022 Crash Report.

“We’ve used the Crash Report to amplify the need to make our streets safer for everyone, and to include city government in that conversation,” says Charles Bryson, who leads Trailnet’s policy and advocacy agenda through coalition-building, community outreach, and government relations.

Bryson, who’s spent his career working to support historically underserved communities, sees the epidemic of bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities as an equity issue. In St. Louis, as in most other U.S. cities, high-crash corridors are predominantly in low-income communities of color. 

Bryson has successfully used the Crash Report to speak directly to these impacted communities, explain what infrastructure improvements are needed, and then demand those changes from the people who represent them.

Similar to Families for Safe Streets, Trailnet prioritizes infrastructure-heavy solutions and developed a model for targeting those solutions that it believes can easily be replicated elsewhere. American cities have the ability to similarly identify high-crash data and prioritize investments accordingly, they just need to find the necessity to do it. With pedestrian and cyclist deaths as high as they are, more and more advocacy organizations and everyday citizens are holding cities accountable and demanding change.

For those who want to get involved in saving lives locally but don’t know where to start, PeopleForBikes identified more than 1,000 infrastructure projects nationwide that need support. A key component of our Great Bike Infrastructure Project, these projects are protected bike lanes, intersection treatments, and other Complete Streets components that are in various stages of development and will make a tangible difference when it comes to creating safer and more accessible mobility opportunities for everyone. Accompanying each project are local advocacy organizations — contacting them can serve as a great jumping-off point for getting involved in your own backyard.

PeopleForBikes has identified more than 1,000 infrastructure projects nationwide that need support.

“Everyday folk have to become advocates and have to become vocally involved in some way,” says DeVito, from Families for Safe Streets. “That doesn't mean necessarily throwing yourself completely into the work but ultimately, elected officials are the gatekeepers of what policies are prioritized at any given moment, and they are responsive to the input that they’re receiving at the ground level.”

The transformation that Amsterdam underwent in the 1970s proves that drastic change is possible if we demand it, and the work of Families for Safe Streets, Trailnet, and countless other advocacy organizations showcase a way forward here in the U.S. It’s on all of us to communicate that one more life lost is a life too many — and to ultimately demand the infrastructure that we know saves lives.

PeopleForBikes’ latest initiative, The Great Bike Infrastructure Project, is an ambitious program aimed at transforming communities across the United States by championing pro-bike policies and launching thousands of bike infrastructure projects. The goal of the project is to create safer and more accessible biking opportunities for everyone.

This visionary program comprises three vital components:

1. The implementation of thousands of bike projects

3. Significant investments in local communities 

In this four-part blog series, "A Legislative Playbook to Build More Bikeable Communities," we’ll dive into the legislative arm of our new program, exploring policies that promote safe, complete bike networks while also highlighting states and municipalities that are successfully putting these policies into action.

The policy pillars that make up The Great Bike Infrastructure Project’s legislative arm are outlined in the program’s Legislative Guide. Designed to aid policymakers and advocates in expanding local bike infrastructure for transportation and recreation, this comprehensive guide outlines four highly effective legislative solutions to accelerate the construction of safe and connected biking infrastructure. 

The key strategies featured in the guide include:

Funding for Bike Infrastructure: While there is an unprecedented amount of federal funding available for bike infrastructure, state and local funding are essential to propel more projects forward. Local funding also provides the 20-50% local match required for most federal grants. Our guide offers examples of more than a dozen different state and local funding mechanisms for bike infrastructure, ranging from Tax Increment Financing districts to sales tax revenue and everything in between.


Mandating Complete Streets: The implementation of Complete Streets mandates is a pivotal strategy for advancing bike infrastructure. Complete Streets ensure that all road users — including pedestrians, cyclists, public transit users, and drivers — have safe and accessible ways to reach their destinations. Our guide provides examples of legislation that includes strong and specific requirements for creating Complete Streets, including language that allows for limited exceptions and denotes clear roles and responsibilities to make mandates effective.


Advancing Bike Infrastructure Through Climate Legislation: Our guide underscores how state and local climate legislation can facilitate the construction of bike projects. By including bike infrastructure in climate legislation, communities can help reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately delivering significant environmental and fiscal benefits. We highlight examples of climate legislation in Minnesota, Washington, Rhode Island, and Hawaii, showcasing the most effective components.


Creating Safer Places to Ride: Ensuring streets are safe for cyclists is paramount to encouraging the adoption of bicycling for both transportation and recreation. Our guide emphasizes several strategies for local communities and states to achieve safer streets, including measures to reduce traffic speeds, ban right turns on red, and adopt modern design standards.

In this blog series, we will provide in-depth insights into each of these legislative strategies and demonstrate where we are already witnessing success stories. Promoting safe and connected places to ride remains our overarching goal to get more people on bikes.

Our work at PeopleForBikes to advance bike riding across the U.S. relies heavily on our local advocacy partners in all 50 states. If you are actively involved in improving bike infrastructure in your community, we would love to hear from you and discuss how PeopleForBikes can support your efforts. Please reach out to us at info@peopleforbikes.org. Together, we can make biking safer and more accessible for all.

A Legislative Playbook to Build More Bikeable Communities

Mobility is an essential component of our daily lives — it’s how we move around to access jobs, schooling, healthcare, and all of our other fundamental needs. But for Americans that are Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC), mobility is often “arrested” due to institutionalized structural racism in policy, planning, design, infrastructure, and law enforcement. In the last few years alone, we’ve seen how “routine” traffic stops can turn deadly for Black drivers, a phenomenon that also extends to traveling by foot, bicycle, or e-scooter. 

“If you are Black, you could get harassed, arrested, jailed overnight, brutalized and worse, simply for crossing the street, cycling, or using an e-scooter,” says Charles T. Brown, founder and CEO of Equitable Cities, which recently released a new study on this topic. “Police often weaponize the vague, archaic, and unequally enforced laws that govern pedestrian, bike, and e-scooters in all 50 states.”

The report, titled “Arrested Mobility,” shows how these policies aren’t just propped up by a small number of bad actors but are rather enshrined in state, local, and county laws in the two largest cities in every state. In addition to the obvious trauma that can make even the most essential trip to the grocery store a fraught affair, these transportation policies limit mobility, opportunity, and access for BIPOC. They also have implications beyond mobility, contributing to adverse social, political, economic, environmental, and health outcomes.

People for Bikes

Building Safe Mobility Networks

Assisting Cities and States to Create Long-Term Bike and Pedestrian Network Plans, Faster

Measuring the Effectiveness of Safe Mobility Networks

Creating New Funding Mechanisms for Bike Networks

Developing Programs That Fund Bike Plans to Mitigate Carbon Emissions

Improve Messaging Around What Bike Networks Are and Why They’re Important

People for Bikes