The best way to Get Wonky in Your Native Bike Advocacy (and Why You Ought to)

Final Up to date on: thirty first Could 2025, 01:42 am

Wonk (noun): an individual who takes an enthusiastic or extreme curiosity within the specialised particulars of a selected topic or area, particularly political coverage.

As we roll nearer to the top of Bike Month, we wished to demystify the behind-the-scenes native work that makes biking higher — and present how you may be part of it!

In the event you’ve ever tried to become involved with native planning efforts for higher biking, you would possibly’ve been initially stunned by all of the jargon and acronyms flying round. (Anybody hungry for alphabet soup?) Planning and coverage language can certainly sound intimidating and really feel inaccessible to these of us out of the loop, however all it takes to get began is a heaping dose of curiosity, a little bit time, and the arrogance to ask questions.  Getting wonky is basically about exhibiting up — and studying as you go!

There’s additionally some excellent news: you don’t need to be an professional to affect how your group helps biking. And if you happen to don’t need to get wonky, you’ll be able to completely nonetheless be an efficient and changemaking bike advocate.

Step 1: Get Related (or Step As much as Lead) in Your Group

Discover a native bike or transportation advocacy group and see what they’re engaged on. They may have already got a plan of motion you’ll be able to be a part of. Try our Native Sources map for organizations close to you (although not an exhaustive record, it’s a great place to begin). You can too run “(insert your city title right here) Bicycle Advisory Committee” by way of your favourite search engine and see what comes up.

• In some communities, Fb and Instagram are fairly essential for bike-related communications. Try your native social media scene to see if there’s motion there. Bluesky is one other up-and-coming platform for advocates.
• Additionally, signing up for e-mail lists or newsletters out of your metropolis, county, state DOT, transit supplier, or metropolitan planning group (MPO) can all be nice methods to remain up to the mark.

If there’s not loads of motion in your group, that’s okay! Each advocacy group has to begin someplace. There could also be of us close to you who’re on this matter, however they only don’t have the time, capability, or willpower to drive it.

In the event you personally have the capability and willpower to get issues transferring regionally, right here’s your signal to take possession of that function. Don’t give in to imposter syndrome and quit earlier than you begin — take confidence in realizing that if you happen to’ve biked, walked, or navigated in the neighborhood you reside in, that counts as worthwhile native experience.

This publish is about getting wonky, but when that’s not your type, you’ll be able to nonetheless be an unimaginable bike advocate. Take into consideration what you like about biking and what you need to share together with your group. Organizing a experience, holding up an indication to attract consideration to a difficulty, or just sharing your experiences with native media or social media are all necessary components of advocating for higher biking. Do what makes you cheerful and offers you power for advocacy, or not less than do sufficient of that so that you’ve got the power to slog by way of some acronyms.

Step 2: Assess Your Group’s Progress

There are a variety of how to get began.

Is your group a Bicycle Pleasant Group?
Test our map to search out out in case your group has been awarded a BFC designation from the League. If that’s the case, the BFC report card is a superb place to search out out our suggestions for what the group may do higher (and see how far it might have come.)

Have a favourite bike lane?
Work backwards and learn how the bike facility you employ probably the most was constructed, or how the path system in your space was funded. By researching profitable initiatives, you’ll uncover the method that works when contemplating new bike services to construct.

See different riders?
Join with different individuals who bike in your space to search out out their ideas on roads that could possibly be safer, bike lanes that finish, or networks that could possibly be improved.

Able to get wonky? Begin by checking whether or not your metropolis or area has a bicycle plan or a transportation plan — many communities publish these on-line. These plans may give you a way of how your native authorities thinks about biking and whether or not or not they’re taking steps to enhance it.

• Listed here are a number of assets and suggestions for researching bike plans:
  • State: Plans & Insurance policies (newly up to date!)
  • Metropolis: Plans & Insurance policies
  • Or use your favourite search engine to look it up!
    • Tip: It’s possible you’ll need to experiment with totally different search phrases and particular characters. Search for hyperlinks from websites ending in .gov to ensure you’re discovering correct data, and double-check publish dates so that you simply’re not referencing outdated information.
  • In the event you dwell in an space lined by a Metropolitan Planning Group (MPO)you might discover extra bike and pedestrian planning paperwork or funding sources on their web site.

When you’ve discovered your metropolis or area’s plan, search for objectives associated to biking and strolling, see if particular initiatives are talked about, and examine whether or not there’s a timeline for making them occur. Even simply skimming the plan may give you a greater understanding of the place issues stand and what’s lacking. Pay attention to how the plan discusses enhancements, the way it prioritizes investments, and who was concerned within the planning course of to determine individuals, commissions, or teams to follow-up with and the way they could talk about enhancements you’re inquisitive about.

Step 3: Communicate Up

When you’ve executed your analysis, talking up and exhibiting up is the subsequent step you can take. When you’ve discovered a venture, plan, or hole that wants consideration:

• Ship a message to your metropolis council consultant.
  • E-mail is the best and your native authorities ought to have all of your representatives’ contact data on their web site.
  • Social media is one other potential method to attain out to native resolution makers, however your message might get misplaced within the shuffle.
  • Telephone calls are nonetheless a terrific possibility!
  • Present as much as the general public remark interval at a council or fee assembly.
• Take into account pairing your message with the outcomes of a motorbike audit or bike depend, or another native knowledge you need to use to again up your ask. Photographs may be useful, so don’t overlook to snap a number of whilst you’re out observing the problem at hand.
• Ask questions like: “Can we add bike lanes to this upcoming venture?” and observe up with data-based proof, reminiscent of, “Bike lanes are an FHWA-proven security countermeasure!”
• In the event you can’t get related with native leaders, you’ll be able to attempt elevating your story to native press:
• Lastly — using your bike could be a type of advocacy. By exhibiting up on wheels, you’re representing cyclists and making your presence seen, which issues greater than you might assume.
  • If you recognize of a venture taking place, experience your bike there to test it out. In the event you see roads arising on the repaving schedule, experience your bike there to see if you happen to can counsel adjustments. In the event you’re unfamiliar with a part of your metropolis, experience your bike there to see what it’s like on the bottom earlier than reaching out to native teams there or suggesting adjustments.

The Wonky Backside Line

Getting wonky isn’t about realizing every little thing — it’s about staying curious, connecting the dots, and exhibiting up persistently to maintain momentum going. When nobody’s asking questions, planning areas can turn into echo chambers full of jargon and out-of-touch choices that aren’t aligned with what the group desires/wants.

The reality is: anybody can get wonky. You don’t want a level, a dictionary of acronyms, or a collapsible measuring stick like Ken to be an advocate in your individual proper. Communities are higher when individuals with numerous experiences assist form them — and your lived expertise navigating your neighborhood is a robust type of experience.

Article from the The League of American Bicyclists. By Marlee Townsend.