U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at last year’s National Bike Summit
Next week, BikeArlington and friends head across the river to Washington D.C. to join with more than 800 bike advocates and enthusiasts from around the U.S. taking part in the National Bike Summit, which is put on by the League of American Bicyclists.
This year’s theme is “Bicycle Means Business” and will examine the economic benefits of bicycling. On Wednesday, the final day of the Summit, bike advocates will meet directly with their elected officials. The “asks” this year are fairly simple and include:
- Join (or re-join) the House or Senate Bike Caucus
- Endorse a “Dear Colleague” letter asking U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to establish national performance measures for pedestrian and bicycle safety, and
- Invite representatives and senators to local bicycling events or site visits.
Before that, on Monday, the focus will be on women and cycling in the National Women’s Bicycle Forum with a theme of “Women Mean Business.” Long-time business woman and advocate Georgena Terry, Illinois Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, and New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan head the keynote addresses and there will be small break-out sessions afterwards.
Tuesday opens with presentations from LaHood, Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Representative Tom Petri of Wisconsin, and many others. These presentations will be followed by workshops with titles like “Bicycling Means Business,” “Getting the Facts Straight,” and “Bringing Businesses on Board.”
While registration for the Summit is limited, you can take part in the conversation by following along on twitter and Facebook. We’ll be tweeting from the @BikeArlington account and you can follow the hashtag #NBS13 to see what everyone else is saying. For more general information on the National Bike Summit, visit the League’s webpage.
Photo by Tim Kelley