Encouragement
We envision a community where…
people and organizations openly support and find joy in bicycling as an everyday way of moving around.
Goals
1. Create positive bicycling experiences
Each person deserves to experience the best aspects of bicycling: fun and health. Engagement initiatives should focus on these positive experiences.
2. Offer regular bicycling engagement
Bicycling encouragement initiatives should remind people that their transportation choices are important and valued throughout the year, even in winter.
3. Build a strong and broad coalition for bicycling
Everyone should feel invited to begin bicycling. Encouragement should come from and be received by a diverse, cross-sector group of people and organizations.
the encouragement action plan
Action 1
Start neighborhood-scale open streets festivals.
We know neighborhood-scale open streets events provide the opportunity to experience a street without motor vehicles—a haven where people of all ages and abilities can walk, bike, and roll.
Open streets festivals such as Streets Alive! Ithaca and NYC’s Summer Streets give attendees a taste of roads without motor vehicles. Our vision is to expand the reach and impact of this experience by holding smaller, neighborhood-scale festivals throughout Tompkins County. When we open neighborhoods to this opportunity, residents are given a window of possibility to imagine and create a safer street right where they live.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how important access to recreational activities like walking and bicycling are to mental and emotional well-being. We want more open streets, to provide close-to-home access to healthy activities with plenty of space for social distancing.
There have been 15 Streets Alive! Ithaca events since 2012 🎉
By closing a street to motor vehicles for just a couple hours, people are invited to feel more safe bicycling on the street—possibly for the first time!
Action 2
Develop bicycle mentors for people & organizations.
We are growing a community of bike mentors that support people, businesses, and organizations as they shift toward bicycling as transportation.
We want to develop a volunteer group of community bicycle mentors to support community progress. Volunteers should be drawn from a broad and diverse cross-section of our community and be trained to provide bicycle education, connect people with bicycle shops and groups, and encourage individuals to join community-wide bicycling initiatives. Using a community education model, Bike Walk Tompkins’ Ithaca Bike Champions program gives this initiative a starting point.
Action 3
Launch a bicycling social marketing campaign.
For many people, bicycling for transportation is a behavior change they’re proud of. We support people to embrace this change loudly and visibly, and want to encourage others to do the same.
The bicycling community should be inclusive, so let’s broadcast this message: bicycling is for YOU! By showing that each person is valued for their choice to ride a bicycle, we can encourage people who currently do not bike to see themselves as people who could bike. A well-crafted campaign will magnify the social incentive to change, especially if it is reflective of the wide variety of ages, races, genders, and income levels of the people that currently bike in our community.
Action 4
Provide mini-grants for bicycle programming.
What’s your big (or small) bicycle dream?
We are working to secure funding for your ideas and create pathways to connect you to the people who will help you achieve them. Mini-grants for bicycle programming can help new, creative ideas become reality. Whether expanding on street safety, or leading your neighborhood to make repairs, Tompkins County residents should have the resources to act on their ideas. What do you want to work on?
join the action
There’s a place for everyone as we transition into a more bicycle-friendly Ithaca. Whether you are a parent, college student, community leader, researcher, or business, you are needed.
