A teacher at Langley Middle School made a great video showing their bike safety education program in action. The video includes practicing bike handling skills, learning about navigating intersections, and going on a road ride.

South Whidbey School District joined the Bike and Pedestrian Safety Education program in 2011. Washington Bikes and Feet First trained their teachers in the 8-lesson curriculum, and the program has been rolling ever since. Each year they teach their middle school students how to ride a bike and important pedestrian safety skills. The teachers here have also added elements to the curriculum to cover group riding skills and a road ride to a neighborhood park.

Your school district could have the Bike and Pedestrian Safety Education Program too, thanks to funding from the Washington State Department of Transportation. School districts can apply through the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s call for applications that is due next Monday, December 9th. Encourage your schools to make bike and pedestrian education a part of every child’s life.

This time of year we reflect on the things that make us feel gratitude. I’m so grateful that for over two decades—nearly three—people all over Washington have supported our work on behalf of bicycling through dues, donations, and Share the Road license plate purchases. As a result more kids are riding bikes, more streets have bike facilities, and more towns promote bicycling to improve health and quality of life for everyone while supporting Main-Street jobs.

American stories about Thanksgiving reflect on history as well. In our earliest days we were the Northwest Bicycle Federation (NOW Bike), the Bicycle Federation of Washington joined us, then we became the Bicycle Alliance.

Our programs have changed over the years along with our name, but our mission of growing bicycling statewide has never wavered. Our work has always had the same vision: A future in which more and more of Washington bikes.

And now Washington Bikes is our name as well as our goal. Advocacy organizations like ours around the country are choosing new names that tell you their reason for being as they outgrow names that simply label an organizational structure. We’re making that same strong declaration of identity for the entire state of Washington. 

Washington Bikes: The Jersey

Our new name just happens to look fantastic on the front of the Castelli jerseys we now offer for purchase online. Members receive a 10% discount on all purchases.

Non-members can join now to get the discount and pay their tax-deductible dues (with a special holiday rate) via the jersey order form, so send this page to your friends who appreciate what bicycling does for them, for your town, and for all of Washington.

Made in Spokane, the women’s and men’s jerseys are available in either short-sleeve or long-sleeve versions. All proceeds benefit our work in advocacy, education, and community engagement around the state, and you’ll be telling the world that Washington Bikes every time you wear yours.

Shopping for a Cause: AmazonSmile

One more way you can support our work with a click or two—if you’re shopping online with Amazon go to AmazonSmile.  Enter Bicycle Alliance of Washington in the box labeled “pick your own charitable organization” (we’re working on our name change there), then click Select next to that name on the list.

That’s it! Now Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to us. Nothing changes about your online shopping except the site you start from. Remember to start from smile.amazon.com every time instead of amazon.com so you’re doing good when you shop.

Once you’ve identified us as your charity of choice that information stays in your account unless you change it in your account settings, which you can do at any time.

For more information and news about bike happenings all around Washington, visit WAbikes.org, follow us on Twitter at @WAbikes, check out our Pinterest board, and YouTube channel, and follow our Facebook page.

Happy pedaling and happy Thanksgiving!

What’s Going on in Olympia?

On Tuesday of last week, Governor Inslee called for a special session to pass a package of incentives intended to secure the production of Boeing’s 777x in Washington state. While surprising to many observers, an additional unexpected element included the Governor’s intent to pass a transportation revenue package prior to the expected vote by International Aerospace Machinists 751 on Wednesday, November 16.

The Governor’s timeline expedites his earlier statements to get a transportation package done by the Apple Cup, and as of the previous week the “five corners” had reportedly met to begin discussing details of a potential revenue package.

Will Governor Inslee and legislators make transportation investments for these kids to bike to school?

Now, with sine die of the short Boeing special session behind us, if a package is to happen at all in 2013, a transportation package may still be on the originally assumed timeline of late November or early December.

Where We’re At

Since the start of 2013 Washington Bikes has been engaged with a host of transportation stakeholders working hand-in-hand to develop a responsible, balanced multimodal transportation package that fixes our decaying state transportation system, addresses the immediate demands of transit service, and also builds accessible and safe connections in cities and towns across the state for biking and walking.

In September and November, Washington Bikes worked with our coalition partners in the Keep Washington Rolling  campaign to show the demand and need statewide for balanced and comprehensive transportation investments that include Safe Routes to School, trails, walking and biking connections, and complete streets projects for main streets across Washington. We saw great turnout with residents speaking out at each of the ten cities on behalf of investments for biking and walking.

Spokane local business owner Gage Stromberg provided a fantastic summation in his Spokesman-Review op-ed on the need for investments that make Washington bike more often and safely.

Much is still up for debate, including whether or not the transportation package will support a future in which Washington bikes every day.

Unfortunately, since the beginning of 2013 some legislators have expressed concerns about investing in these smart, cost-effective investments that give kids the opportunity to walk and bike to school and provide safe and accessible streets, transportation choices, and a healthy environment to enjoy.

Washington Bikes, like many of our transportation partners, is committed to a transportation package that works for all Washingtonians, not just a few.

Our Interest Is the State’s Interest: Washington Bikes Every Day

Simply put, a transportation system that invests in roads, transit, walking, and biking means a stronger Washington.

• We need safer streets that give our children the opportunity to bike and walk to school.
• We need investments that help those who are too young, old, unable, or cannot afford to drive the ability to get around safely and easily to work, school, the grocery store, and the doctor’s office.
• We need new investments that add to the quality of life and economic vibrancy of our cities and towns across Washington in an era when it’s quite clear the workforce of the future plans to get around without driving everywhere alone.

Others like him contribute millions to Washington state’s economy

Bicycling means business. Mayors across the country recognize that transportation investments in bicycles attract businesses and talent. Business districts friendly to walking and biking attract more retail business. In Oregon alone bicycle travel and tourism generates $400 million in economic impact annually. These are business-oriented investments for everyone—not just for people who ride a bike. These are investments that grow the state’s economy and provide revenues for local government to fix our streets.

Washingtonians want multimodal investments and without them, a transportation package will be harder to pass with voters. In a January 2013 EMC poll 66% of respondents agreed that any statewide package should include walking and biking investments (with slightly more eastern Washington respondents agreeing to this question than those from the west side). Across the state in the November elections, transit measures passed two for two, while only one of the four roads measures passed.

Where We Stand

Washington Bikes supports a package that:

• invests in safe streets for kids to walk and bike to school;
• improves the over 500 miles of main streets across Washington so they’re more economically viable for retail and business with smart investments in complete streets; b
• builds affordable new connections between towns and neighborhoods to give more people safe and cheap options for where they want to go; and
• works to make efficient investments to reduce peak hour congestion on our busiest roads and interstates by  sensible multimodal investments that include provisions for people on bikes because the person on a bike isn’t in a car in front of you when you’re on your way to work and hunting for parking.

A package short of those investments will fall short of our interests in supporting new investments in Washington’s transportation system.

It’s Not Too Late If You Act Now

Luckily, there’s still time to make sure a transportation package, if it does materialize, makes smart investments in roads, bridges, freight, transit, walking, and, of course, biking.

Much of that will rely on the ongoing negotiations between the House and Senate, but Governor Inslee also needs to weigh in to support his stated goals around more transportation choices, a climate-friendly transportation system, and investments that address the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in Washington state.

In the meantime, write your legislators and Governor Jay Inslee to ask them to support and pass a balanced, comprehensive package that grows our economy and gets people to where they need to go with convenient, healthy, safe and sensible connections for everyone.

From our earliest days as an advocacy organization focused on working all around the state we have focused on one mission: To grow bicycling. Along the way we’ve changed our office location, we’ve changed our programs, and we’ve changed our name. In the early days we were the Northwest Bicycle Federation (NOW Bike); the Bicycle Federation of Washington joined their work to ours and we became the Bicycle Alliance of Washington.

No matter what changes, though, our work has always had one singular, inspiring vision: A future in which Washington Bikes.

The board has looked around the nation at advocacy organizations like ours and we see a growing trend: They are choosing new names that embody the goal of the organization—the very reason it exists. Groups that were initially called a coalition or a federation or an alliance have been choosing new names—strong, active statements that inspire you with the vision of what happens when our work succeeds.

As we announced at our 21^st annual auction on Nov. 2, 2013, we believe a new name will both inspire people to get on board and contribute to our future growth and success. An action-oriented, goal-oriented name will invite in new partners, from individuals to businesses to entire communities, who appreciate the difference bicycling makes whether or not they ride themselves.

We’re going to make a strong statement of identity for the entire state of Washington as the culmination of all our work:

• Because Washington Bikes works to get kids rolling, Washington Bikes to school!
• Because Washington Bikes fights for better laws, Washington Bikes more safely!
• Because Washington Bikes works with local leaders, Washington Bikes everywhere in the state!
• Because Washington Bikes is making the maps and spreading the word, Washington Bikes for tourism and travel!
• Because Washington Bikes gets funding for bicycling connections, Washington Bikes for transportation!

Because the Bicycle Alliance has worked every day since its founding to grow bicycling statewide, Washington Bikes. That’s the name you’ll know us by going forward, and it’s the vision that inspires us.

Where You’ll Find Us Online

• Facebook.com/bikeWA
• Twitter: @WAbikes, @bikeWAblogs
• Pinterest.com/WAbikes
• YouTube.com/user/WAbikes

Watch for our URL to change soon after a bit of site redesign. We’ll redirect from wabikes.org so you can find us at our new home on the Web.

Our New Logo