2024 National Bike Summit Recap
Our Bikeflights event season shifted into high gear last week in Washington, DC at the 2024 National Bike Summit hosted by the League of American Bicyclists. Each spring, the Summit draws hundreds of bike advocates together from across the US to learn from and inspire each other to create more and safer opportunities for biking and walking.
Bikeflights was represented by four Ambassadors, including Tina Beecham, Jessica Brunson and Diana Hildebrand all in person and Kecia McCullough joining virtually.
Vice President Sue George also made the trip to the nation’s capital.
Held over three days at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and on Capitol Hill, the Summit’s energy was overwhelmingly positive. It turns out that now is a good time for bike advocacy. You can see it by simply riding around Washington, DC, where like many other parts of the country, there are increasingly more protected bike lanes, dedicated trails and paths and many other infrastructure improvements that have been proven to increase rider safety, like rumble strips and better lighting and signage.
And the momentum continues with recent infrastructure bills promising more funding to come to states and localities everywhere. Of course, there’s still plenty more work to be done. We were all reminded of a sobering statistic: there’s been a 55% increase in cycling fatalities in the US in the past 10 years.
On opening day, we especially enjoyed the presentation by Veronica O. Davis, author of “Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities.” Davis believes everyone should have access to safe, reliable and affordable transportation, and she shared some of her first-hand experiences creating more such opportunities while working for the City of Houston as the Director of Transportation & Drainage Operations. Davis painted a candid picture of what it’s really like to be on the administrative side of bike advocacy, something useful for bike advocates to better understand as they work with other administrators in similar situations.
Perhaps the most entertaining speaker was Shailen Bhatt, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). With his witty sense of humor, Bhatt made us laugh, even while sharing info about The Active Transportation Infrastructure & Investment Program (ATIIP) and how the FHWA encourages the implementation of projects and programs to improve safety, equity and accessibility for all road users, especially through Complete Streets Planning.
Another big highlight was getting to see our very own Bikeflights Ambassador Diane Hildebrand receive an award upon being named “Educator of the Year” by the League of American Bicyclists. Congratulations to Diane!
The second – or middle day – of the Summit was what is called “Lobby Day.” That’s when Summit attendees swap out their bike shoes and helmets for business attire and meet with their respective Senators and Representatives or their staff to advocate for bills and initiatives that will create a more bicycling-friendly America.
As we rode bikes and walked around Washington, we were treated to the sight of blooming cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin and everywhere. Mother Nature may have brought peak bloom a week or two prematurely this year, but her timing worked out to be perfect for us to enjoy.
Our big takeaway from this year’s National Bike Summit is that the most important thing is to simply show up. Again and again. We were reminded by retiring Oregon Senator Earl Blumenauer and Washington Area Bicyclist Association Advocacy Director Jeremiah Lowery that nothing ever happens to make cycling better and safer if no one shows up.
So while not everyone can take the time or afford the expense of traveling to Washington to lobby their members of Congress for bills that fund cycling infrastructure improvements, there’s a lot we can all do locally… such as filling out surveys to give rider input about proposed local transportation projects, attending your city or county meetings and getting involved in your local advocacy group.
Bikeflights is proud to be a long-time sponsor of the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Summit.
