Learn how to Get Wonky in Your Native Bike Advocacy (and Why You Ought to)

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

Wonk (noun): an individual who takes an enthusiastic or extreme curiosity within the specialised particulars of a selected topic or discipline, 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!

For those who’ve ever tried to get entangled with native planning efforts for higher biking, you would possibly’ve been initially greatly surprised 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 bit time, and the boldness to ask questions.  Getting wonky is de facto about displaying up — and studying as you go!

There’s additionally some excellent news: you don’t should be an skilled to affect how your neighborhood helps biking. And for those who don’t wish to get wonky, you possibly can completely nonetheless be an efficient and changemaking bike advocate.

Step 1: Get Linked (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 could have already got a plan of motion you possibly can be part of. Try our Native Sources map for organizations close to you (although not an exhaustive checklist, it’s a superb place to begin). It’s also possible to run “(insert your city identify right here) Bicycle Advisory Committee” via 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 electronic 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 plenty of motion in your neighborhood, that’s okay! Each advocacy group has to begin someplace. There could also be people close to you who’re on this subject, however they simply don’t have the time, capability, or willpower to drive it.

For those who 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 for those who’ve biked, walked, or navigated locally you reside in, that counts as invaluable native experience.

This publish is about getting wonky, but when that’s not your type, you possibly can nonetheless be an unimaginable bike advocate. Take into consideration what you’re keen on about biking and what you wish to share together with your neighborhood. Organizing a trip, holding up an indication to attract consideration to a problem, or just sharing your experiences with native media or social media are all essential components of advocating for higher biking. Do what makes you cheerful and offers you power for advocacy, or no less than do sufficient of that so that you’ve got the power to slog via some acronyms.

Step 2: Assess Your Group’s Progress

There are a selection of the way to get began.

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

Have a favourite bike lane?
Work backwards and learn the way the bike facility you utilize probably the most was constructed, or how the path system in your space was funded. By researching profitable tasks, 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 seek out out their ideas on roads that might be safer, bike lanes that finish, or networks that might 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 can provide 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 ideas 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: Chances are you’ll wish to experiment with totally different search phrases and particular characters. Search for hyperlinks from websites ending in .gov to be sure you’re discovering correct data, and double-check publish dates so that you simply’re not referencing outdated information.
  • For those who dwell in an space coated 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 tasks are talked about, and examine whether or not there’s a timeline for making them occur. Even simply skimming the plan can provide 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 folks, commissions, or teams to follow-up with and the way they may focus on enhancements you’re thinking about.

Step 3: Converse Up

When you’ve completed your analysis, talking up and displaying up is the subsequent step which you could take. When you’ve discovered a challenge, plan, or hole that wants consideration:

• Ship a message to your metropolis council consultant.
  • Electronic 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 strategy to attain out to native resolution makers, however your message might get misplaced within the shuffle.
  • Telephone calls are nonetheless an amazing 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 some other native knowledge you should utilize to again up your ask. Pictures 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 challenge?” and observe up with data-based proof, similar to, “Bike lanes are an FHWA-proven security countermeasure!”
• For those who can’t get related with native leaders, you possibly can strive elevating your story to native press:
• Lastly — driving your bike is usually a type of advocacy. By displaying up on wheels, you’re representing cyclists and making your presence seen, which issues greater than you might suppose.
  • If you understand of a challenge occurring, trip your bike there to test it out. For those who see roads arising on the repaving schedule, trip your bike there to see for those who can recommend modifications. For those who’re unfamiliar with a part of your metropolis, trip your bike there to see what it’s like on the bottom earlier than reaching out to native teams there or suggesting modifications.

The Wonky Backside Line

Getting wonky isn’t about realizing all the pieces — it’s about staying curious, connecting the dots, and displaying up constantly to maintain momentum going. When nobody’s asking questions, planning areas can develop into echo chambers stuffed with jargon and out-of-touch selections that aren’t aligned with what the neighborhood needs/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 folks with various experiences assist form them — and your lived expertise navigating your neighborhood is a strong type of experience.

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