Boise Bicycle Project at the National Bike Summit
60+ trained advocates, 50 states of cycling advocates, 3 congressional meetings, 2 donated bicycles and 1 event - the Boise Bicycle Project had a hugely impactful week in DC at the National Bike Summit.
Hosted by the League of American Bicyclists, the National Bike Summit presents a unique opportunity for BBP to meet with thought leaders in the national (and international!) cycling community, learn more about policy, infrastructure, and organizing and pass along the successes and lessons that we have generated in conjunction with our incredible local community of volunteers and cycling advocates.
This session, our Advocacy Director Nina Pienaar was able to co-host two sessions about engaging with public officials, and fostering discussion and collaboration with 60+ bicycle advocates from across the nation - ranging from Kansas to California, Georgia to Arizona.
Nina and Devin were also thrilled to represent Idaho for Lobby Day alongside Boise City Council Member and BBP Hall-of-Famer Jimmy Hallyburton (remember him?). In doing so, they met with the offices of Representative Simpson and Senators Risch and Crapo to continue to advocate for federal support of safe streets (in the form of continued Transportation Alternative Program funding), as well as to firmly request that federal allocations of funding that have already been approved for bike/ped infrastructure projects be released immediately.
Please feel free to contact our federal representatives and request that they ensure that the funding they have already approved for infrastructure projects makes it to Idaho and that they continue to invest in safe streets for Idaho!
In between, Nina and Devin took courses about using street and asphalt art to help facilitate safer streets, learned about DC’s progressive cycling infrastructure, donated two steel frame mountain bikes to Gearin Up Bicycles (DC’s bike coop), and bragged about the Boise community’s inspiring grassroots support of cycling, advocacy and one another.
