Rising Gas Prices Boost Bicycle Coalitions

by Ruth Robertson

At first Tian Harter worked solo from his home in Mountain View, California on his "Don't Be Fuelish!" campaign to promote bicycle commuting. Retired from a hi-tech job, he came up with a simple drawing of a car and bicycle sharing the road with his favorite slogan as the key message. Tian withdrew money from his personal savings and turned that now well-known sketch into a green and white bumper sticker that he passes out to nearly everyone he meets.

"I just wouldn't have predicted a few years ago when I started producing my bumper stickers that I'd be seeing $4/gallon gas so soon," he said recently.

This spring during National Bike Month Tian found another way to help the environment and reduce national dependence on oil. He joined up with the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition to promote "Bike to Work Day".

Every year, this group of bike enthusiasts sets up nearly 50 "Energizer Stations" to provide free refreshments, give-aways, bicycling information, and encouragement to thousands of bicyclists on their way to work in California's Santa Clara County.

Tian explains that, "the idea is to make everybody that rides their bike to work on this day feel special by giving them something. For months the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition had been working to get local businesses to donate items for the occasion. A local health food restaurant donated coupons for a good meal, and a sports equipment store donated 20% off coupons. A lot of local organizations wanted fliers for their upcoming events to go in the bags. To stuff give-away bags, our local bike coalition needed about two dozen people to put in a day's work assembling them for other volunteers to give out in the few seconds they had as bicyclists were cruising by."

Tian and his newfound friends from the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition also work with companies like Google and Yahoo to foster ties between bicyclists and employers. Meanwhile 35 miles north activists in the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition have formed partnerships with major government and community agencies to improve the overall transportation network. It is now common to see bicyclists commuting from home to work, moving from train cars designated for bikes to bike lanes to bicycle parking spaces as they make their way in and around the city. This 9,000-member coalition of bike lovers also co-sponsors the "Co-Exist Campaign" with the city's Department of Parking and Traffic to educate motorists and bicyclists in San Francisco on how to participate in proper road conduct.

"Thanks to our efforts with the City to ensure that cyclists feel safe and welcome on the streets, more people are making the switch to biking," said Leah Shahum, Executive Director of the San Francisco Coalition, whose members have been busy handing out "Give Respect/Get Respect" fliers to motorists and bicyclists alike. They also promote car-free days in Golden Gate Park and encourage commuters to travel by bicycle to work and shop whenever possible.

"Bike to Work Day" started fourteen years ago in the San Francisco Bay area and has spread across the US since then. This year bicycle-friendly cities from Juneau, Alaska to Orlando, Florida celebrated the day with a range of activities, and public service announcements reminded folks, "Whether you drive or ride, please remember...share the road!"