Bike Policy & Funding

Leaders of organization who expect their efforts to last look to policy changes and increases in funding for bicycle improvements and programs. But policy changes and funding increases are not won easily. That’s why we at One Street recommend following proven models that will cause the greatest improvements. Some of these include:

Comprehensive national policies, see: Cycling in the Netherlands
Complete streets policies: overview, Caltrans policy & plan
Safe routes to schools policies: U.S. federal program, U.S. partnership, SUSTRANS U.K.
Safe passing laws in the U.S.
The Idaho stop law that allows cyclists to roll through stop signs; also see this video that was created as part of the campaign to pass a similar law in Oregon
Bicycle and pedestrian retrofit policies for existing streets, see Boulder, Colorado’s excellent example
Region-wide 20mph speed limit campaign in the UK: 20's Plenty for Us
The 30kmh initiative in Europe
Bicycle mode share and safety target policies, Copenhagen has set a goal that 50% of all trips in the city will be by bicycle by the year 2015. Read more
A discussion of bicycle policies in NYC: Cycling in New York: Innovative Policies at the Urban Frontier
Proof of the need for good cycle policy, see: CTC Safety in Numbers, Safety in Numbers 2015, and Active Transportation for America

These are just some of the great examples and of course we’ll add more. But in order to win any bike policy or increased funding for bicycle initiatives, you’ve got to follow a comprehensive campaign plan. Make sure to visit our Campaign Planning page before launching your effort. Find the link to the left.

To see excellent cycling policy in action, watch this video from Copenhagen:

And as you reach out to diverse partners to ensure a successful campaign, you might find the European Cycling Lexicon handy.

You can also research current laws in your country and countries you’d like to aspire to. Here are two particularly good web sites for such research:

And if you feel like your officials will never change their priorities away from serving cars to serving people, take a few minutes to watch these videos from Bogotá, Columbia and The Netherlands that are sure to inspire you and your officials to make it happen

For inspirations on cycling and transport policy, take a look at these two papers by Professor John Pucher and Ralph Buehler:

Source: www.OneStreet.org