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National Bike Summit Report

This year’s event educated and empowered NH bike/ped advocates and included meetings with Congressional staffers.

During the last week of March, advocates from BWANH and other New Hampshire bike and trail organizations participated in the annual National Bike Summit hosted by the League of American Bicyclists. The summit was hosted in a hybrid format, with some participants attending in Washington, DC and others remotely. While there’s no match for the in-person experience of biking amidst the peak of cherry blossom season, participating in other group rides, and networking between sessions with bike/ped advocates from around the country, attending remotely was a low-cost and valuable way for BWANH board member Paul Susca to participate in the Summit for the first time.

The key advocacy event was lobbying day, March 29th, when each state’s contingent of participants met with legislators or their staff to request support for specific federal legislative and other policy actions. The New Hampshire contingent was led by Tim Blagden from Friends of the Concord-Lake Sunapee Rail Trail and Central New Hampshire Bicycle Coalition; and Marianne Borowski from NH Rail Trails Coalition (NHRTC) and Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail. Participating remotely were Susca from BWANH and Tom Christensen from NHRTC, Manchester Moves, and Friends of the Souhegan Valley Rail Trail. The four met in person and virtually with staffers of all four members of the NH Congressional delegation to ask for support for (1) research on truck side guards to protect cyclists and other vulnerable road users, (2) the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act (which would enable states to better utilize funding for bike/ped projects), and (3) the E-BIKE Act (which would create a federal e-bike rebate program). These three priorities were set out by the Bike League to improve roadway safety and increase access to electric bicycles. After the meetings, Representative Annie Kuster signed on to the “dear colleague” letter regarding truck side guards as requested. Stay tuned for further developments.

The Bike Summit was also packed with three days of educational sessions and workshops. Topics included campaigning for slower speeds, membership programs for bike advocacy organizations, benchmarks for better biking and walking, partnering on state/local campaigns with national experts, developing e-bike subsidies, using data and technology to improve bike safety, creating partnerships beyond the bike movement to accomplish common goals, and much more.