Category: Education

More Questions About The Future Youth Bicycling

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Creating a bicycling culture requires a fair share of effort. As an industry that generates over $8.4 billion annually, it’s clear the culture is worth the effort. However, when examining growth trends across different demographics—adults and youth—it becomes evident that the enthusiasm has not translated into increased participation among young adults and teens.

According to the National Sporting Goods Association (2024) and highlighted by Scott Fitzgerald of Pedal Kids USA at the National Bicycle Dealer Association’s 2024 Annual Summit, youth bicycle ridership has dropped to a generational low. In the early 2000s, 41% of 44 million children and teens (ages 7-17) participated in bicycling. Despite an increase in the youth population to 50 million, only 22% engaged in bicycling in 2024. This means that four out of every five children are without the essential cognitive, physical, and emotional benefits of bicycling. It also means that 4 out of 5 children are uneducated or misinformed on how to ride a bicycle in their city.

Photo provided by Scott Fitzgerald during the National Bicycle Dealer Associations Summit.

Is This Decline Going To Stop?

Is bicycling becoming outdated among younger generations? That’s the ultimate question. As youth ridership widely declines, critical questions arise:

Is becoming outdated an existential threat to the bicycling industry?
Have we seen meaningful growth in cycling participation, or does it feel stagnant?
When was the last time bicycling has modernized itself to align with modern day youth interests?
How do we encourage long-term youth engagement with bicycling?

Over the past decade, despite declining youth participation, there has been an increase in bicycle-related programs, initiatives, and federal funding. If investment in cycling programs is growing, why does youth ridership continue to fall? Are current programs effectively addressing the needs of young riders? Are they sufficient to reverse this decline?

Bicycle shops, like Scott’s, a part of the National Bicycle Dealers Association have been raising these concerns. Youth-bicycle programs across the U.S. are most commonly ask how to “tap into best practices from other organizers and increase resource sharing from other groups” or mention how their “biggest challenge is finding ways to speak to and involve youth in [their] events, advocacy, and education. We could use some help from the experts!”

The core issue is clear: how do we establish a sustainable framework that ensures long-term youth engagement with bicycling?

Photo provided by Scott Fitzgerald during the Youth-Bike Hub webinar: Modernizing How We Think About Youth Cycling

What Makes Youth Bicycling, Youth Bicycling?

Now more than ever, to address this crisis it requires a structured, sustainable approach to youth bicycling. Youth Bicycling is defined as participation with the bicycle of children, teens, and young adults up to age 24. Meaningful engagement begins early and should extend through key developmental stages—elementary school, middle school, high school, and college.

Creating a continuous pipeline of programmatic or spontaneous engagement fosters a cycle of participation, leadership, and mentorship at each stage. Other industries have demonstrated how structured youth involvement leads to long-term retention & volunteerism, career pathways, and leadership development. The cycling industry must adopt a similar approach to cultivate a lasting impact.

For this to be successful, a national alliance or governing body should guide and reward achievements toward long-term engagement. Without a centralized effort, programs will remain fragmented, limiting their potential for sustained impact.

What Makes Youth Bicycling, Youth Bicycling?

Now more than ever, to address this crisis it requires a structured, sustainable approach to youth bicycling. Youth Bicycling is defined as participation with the bicycle of children, teens, and young adults up to age 24. Meaningful engagement begins early and should extend through key developmental stages—elementary school, middle school, high school, and college.

Creating a continuous pipeline of programmatic or spontaneous engagement fosters a cycle of participation, leadership, and mentorship at each stage. Other industries have demonstrated how structured youth involvement leads to long-term retention & volunteerism, career pathways, and leadership development. The cycling industry must adopt a similar approach to cultivate a lasting impact.

For this to be successful, a national alliance or governing body should guide and reward achievements toward long-term engagement. Without a centralized effort, programs will remain fragmented, limiting their potential for sustained impact.

The Biggest Risks of Continued Decline?

If this trend is not addressed, both the cycling industry and public health will face significant consequences. The immediate and long-term effects include:

Within the Industry:

Fragmented messaging about bicycling’s role and who it serves
Inefficient allocation of corporate funds, leading to duplication rather than growing the cycling industry
Difficulty in accurately tracking youth ridership trends
Missed opportunities for collaborative, innovational programs as youth interests evolve
A constant need for corporate giving due to high youth turnover rather than youth-to-adult conversion

Beyond the Industry:

Limited accessibility for underserved communities, who are often reached last
A disjointed experience for young riders who must navigate different bicycling disciplines without clear guidance
Inability to establish a national alliance without industry-wide support
Lack of proactiveness leads to lack of say in how this long-term youth engagement is resolved and low ridership numbers are resolved
Missed opportunities to align with broader, current events: i.e. public health and sustainability initiatives
Bicycling risks becoming socially-outdated

A Future Without Young People Biking Does Not Have To Be Inevitable

A coordinated, long-term approach to youth cycling engagement is crucial to reversing this decline. It’s the task of the focused alliance to answer meaningful questions and create accurate metrics to track success. Key questions for industry leaders & alliances to answer include:

What concrete steps can be taken to ensure every child has the opportunity to experience cycling?
How can we redefine industry support for youth bicycling?

One critical and often overlooked strategy is youth leadership development. Programs that actively integrate youth into leadership roles—such as peer mentors, facilitators, and decision-makers—create an organic pathway for sustained engagement. Organizations that prioritize this approach have demonstrated higher retention rates and knowledge about organizational sustainability.

The Role Of The Youth Bike Summit

The National Youth Bike Council leads the Youth Bike Summit, a three-day annual event that brings together educators, program leaders, and youth advocates from across the U.S. to discuss concepts like this with their peers. By placing youth at the forefront—as speakers, decision-makers, and facilitators—the summit highlights the power of youth-driven initiatives.

Knowledge sharing and modernizing youth bicycling concepts is essential. Supporting initiatives like the Youth Bike Summit and ensuring that educators, community leaders, and organizations can attend is critical to creating a sustainable youth bicycle movement.

The New Threat To Youth Bicycle Ridership

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Author: Council Members Joshua

Joseph, a dedicated instructor at a Rhode Island-based middle school, leads a bicycle program that teaches students how to ride for the first time. His students gain confidence and independence as they explore local trails during school hours. However, the program faces a significant challenge: retention. As students transition to high school, engagement declines, and many never return to bicycling. Without continued participation, the motivation to ride fades, limiting the long-term impact of programs like Joseph’s.

This challenge is not unique. Programs such as Silver Stallion, based in the Navajo Nation and led by Scott Nydam and his team, encounter similar difficulties in sustaining ridership and engagement over time.

Data from the National Sporting Goods Association highlights the severity of this decline. According to their 2024 report, youth bicycle ridership has dropped to a generational low. In the early 2000s, 41% of 44 million children and teens (ages 7-17) participated in bicycling. Despite an increase in the youth population to 50 million, only 22% engaged in bicycling in 2024. This means that four out of every five children are without the essential cognitive, physical, and emotional benefits of bicycling. It also indicates that a vast majority of youth are not learning how to navigate their cities by bicycle, leading to a knowledge gap that further discourages ridership.

IS THIS A CRISIS? WHY IT MATTERS

Beyond the concerns of individual bicycle programs, this decline raises broader questions:

  • Is bicycling becoming outdated for today’s youth?

Photo provided by Scott Fitzgerald during the National Bicycle Dealer Associations Summit, demonstrating the lack of ridership despite the increase in youth population in the U.S.

MENTAL HEALTH THREATENS RIDERSHIP GROWTH

How does a decrease in mental and physical wellness relate to bicycle sales for youth, youth bicycle ridership, and participation in bicycle programs? The Global Mind Project’s 2024 report reveals that distress levels among young people have doubled in the last five years, rising from 15% in 2019 to 30% in 2024, with minimal signs of improvement. The report states, “Younger age groups saw a dramatic decline of over 40 points, while those over age 55 showed little change. Since the 2021 low, recovery among younger generations has been minimal.”

The Global Mind Project, The Mental State of the World in 2024 Report: Shows an increase in distress and struggles for all age groups

The CDC has officially declared youth mental health a crisis. Yet, despite mounting concerns, bicycling—once a natural outlet for stress relief, physical activity, and social connection—is not a first choice of self-prescription or promoted as a solution. As motivation and activity levels decline among young people, how will they rediscover bicycling as a source of well-being?

Joseph’s middle school program provides students with physical activity, social connection, and a sense of achievement. However, when students age out or lack opportunities to continue riding beyond school hours, they lose access to these benefits. In a generation overwhelmed by digital distractions and constant demands on their attention, bicycling is often overlooked in favor of screen time—despite being an unmatched tool for autonomy, stress relief, and overall well-being.

Without intentional intervention, the industry risks allowing this decline to continue, further distancing young people from the benefits of bicycling.

OUR ROLE IN COUNTERING THIS THREAT

Joseph recognizes that to sustain youth bicycling in Rhode Island, he needs support. His search leads him to the Youth Bike Summit, a three-day annual event that brings together educators, program leaders, and youth advocates from across the U.S. Through workshops, discussions, and peer learning, he discovers strategies to keep students engaged beyond middle school, re-engage alumni, and build partnerships that support cycling within families and communities.

At the summit, young people take center stage as keynote speakers, facilitators, and decision-makers. Through their leadership, attendees like Joseph gain fresh perspectives on how to address declining ridership and rising mental health concerns. Equipped with new insights, resources, and a network of fellow advocates, Joseph is better prepared to sustain and expand his program’s impact.

Knowledge sharing and modernizing youth bicycling programs are critical to reversing this trend. Supporting initiatives like the Youth Bike Summit and ensuring that educators, community leaders, and organizations can attend is essential to preserving and growing youth ridership.

Get involved today. Support meaningful bicycling experiences for young people by donating or partnering with us (email us: info@nybcouncil.com) to reverse the youth ridership decline. Together, we can ensure that bicycling remains a vital tool for youth wellness, independence, and community connection.

Student At Brandeis University Plans The Next Bicycle Library

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Author: Council Members Zoe & Joshua

Highlight: Student At Brandeis University Plans The Next Bicycle Library

For some rejection is redirection. For Allan F., a soon-to-be senior at Brandeis University, it’s all about staying motivated through rejection. Fueled by passion and determination, Allan has always dreamed of participating in a more bicycle-friendly community. His desire stemmed from simply riding a bicycle when he was much younger, a hobby that followed him all the way to college at Brandeis University, a college located not too far from Boston Massachusetts.

The opportunity to make a difference came after Allan’s freshman year when he learned about DeisBikes through other students, a now-defunct bike-share program at Brandeis that once ran 15 years prior to 2024. DeisBikes allowed students to “check out” bicycles like library books and return them after a set time. Seeing this as his way to create a more bicycle-friendly campus, Allan planned to revive the program to create a campus where students could easily commute, explore local trails, and embrace a more sustainable lifestyle.

 

Highlight: A Library Of Bicycles

Unfortunately, DeisBikes had been discontinued when its founding members graduated, leaving no structure for continuity. Allan had a reputation for being the “the guy who bikes,” so he quickly found a way to get in contact with the founders of DeisBikes to understand their challenges. Their insights pointed to a critical issue: sustainability. This was an opportunity for the school and Allan to renew the program and increase student and faculty biking overall.

Bicycles at Brandeis – Photo credit of Lin Lin Hutchinson from The Justice

Bicycle Library Challenges For Brandeis

The biggest hurdle for Allan was figuring out how to structure a program that wouldn’t collapse when students graduated. This was fate of DeisBikes, which had 4 super dedicated students back in the day. Adding to the challenge, Brandeis’s sustainability office was defunded last year, leaving Allan without institutional support.

During his junior year, Allan surveyed 300 of Brandeis’s 5,000 students. The results were overwhelmingly positive: 91% of respondents supported a bike-share, with 51% saying they’d use it daily. The survey energized Allan, who began envisioning a team of students from multiple class years to ensure long-term commitment.

Another motivator for Allan is Mo, a Brandeis alum, who has done very similar work on campus before involving sustainability innovations. Mo Re Kim ’24 has been instrumental in helping Allan think through the structure of the program and provide previous Brandeis knowledge for future conversations with its Department of Transportation.

With the newfound momentum Allan submitted a proposal to the university, encouraging the use of a Bike share, bicycle library project: Brandeis Bikes. After much discussion and a bit of waiting, the university rejected the proposal.

Setting A New Vision For DeisBikes

Allan admits the rejection was tough but says it provided clarity. “It showed me where the gaps were and how to strengthen the proposal,” he explains. Feedback from the university highlighted the need for him to have specific storage solutions for the bikes and designated roles for short-term and long-term program management. It will also consider a new location for the bicycle system, “by the gym [instead of] the library” he mentioned.

Allan, a Brandeis student

Drawing further inspiration from other bike-share programs such as Tufts Bikes in Tufts University located near Boston, he hopes to see convenient bike racks at every building, a convenient technical way to checkout bicycles, and campus maps highlighting the best bike routes.

Allan has learned that to create change, it requires collaboration, bringing people together and not having them work alone. “This is just a small obstacle we’ll overcome,” Allan says confidently while also giving thanks “to the continual support of MassBike and the Bike Together Waltham community”. With the second semester ahead, he’s committed to making the Bicycle Library a reality at Brandeis. Allan is calling on his fellow students to help with getting the word out, map-making, and maintenance. Allan can be reached at alfeldman@brandeis.edu.

My Times In Chile Point Out Flaws In Our U.S. System

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Author: Council Member Nora

Hello! This is Nora from the National Youth Bike Council team writing to you from Santiago, Chile! While the US is entering spring here on the other half of the world it’s getting colder and colder as we enter fall which is taking some time for my mind to understand.

I am currently studying abroad and among many things I have learned in my time away from the US is that our relationship with cars and bicycles seems to differ from the rest of the world. According to a report by the New York Times, “In 2020, as car travel plummeted around the world, traffic fatalities broadly fell as well. But in the U.S., the opposite happened. Travel declined, and deaths still went up.”

This report surprised me because I don’t believe Chileans are more accustomed or more respectful towards bikers. There are plenty of gaps in Santiago’s biking infrastructure, but one approach I found interesting that Santiago is doing is that every Sunday major streets are closed to cars and bikers, runners, scooters, and anything without an engine take over. It doesn’t happen all day but it is a good chunk of the day and a great way to feel safe and comfortable on the bike while getting to know the city in a different way.

I also got to participate in a night ride, which had the same set up of street closures but everyone was lit up with lights, there were concerts in parks along the route, and families were out together. I felt like I could safely bike around while also getting to know the community.

Now as to why the US is such an outlier in the world we don’t really know but there are a lot of possible reasons. One is that, as Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board said, “Motor vehicles are first, highways are first, and everything else is an afterthought.” I think for bikers this often manifests itself through a feeling like you are not welcomed or you should not be there often because there is no lane for you.

Other theories deal with the kinds of cars Americans drive: often bigger and automatic. Bigger cars mean slower breaking and that pedestrians are hit at a higher point than the legs. Automatic cars means that drivers don’t have to use two hands whereas a stick shift requires a lot more of a driver’s attention, with less attention required in automatic cars drivers are more likely to become distracted by a phone or messing with the radio. Modern cars are also coming with more technology which means more buttons and screens and dials to distract drivers.

“A livable community is one that provides safe and convenient transportation choices to all citizens, whether it’s by walking, bicycling, transit, or driving.” Around the world and unfortunately increasingly in the US communities are not safe for pedestrians, “Each year, unfortunately, pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities comprise about 19 percent of all traffic fatalities with approximately 6,000 pedestrian deaths and 850 bicyclist deaths. Another 76,000 pedestrians and 47,000 bicyclists are injured in roadway crashes annually.”

For me this is a reminder of why we do the work we do at the National Youth Bike Council. Why we need to take perspective from not just the loudest but also the youngest of all pedestrians, because the problem is getting worse. Even a pandemic which significantly decreased the amount of cars on the road did not decrease pedestrian deaths, which means our infrastructure is falling short.

There are many theories why pedestrian deaths are increasing but there are also many ways we can try and change that. From a personal level this can look like reaching out to your local government about places where you see gaps in pedestrian infrastructure. At a community level we can look at Santiago, starting out by handing over streets to pedestrians once a week. At a national level you can join our volunteers or volunteer for organizations like Vision Zero where we either give resources or help organize initiatives that teach a specific set of pedestrians how to avoid common mistakes drivers make. We work to change the fact that the US is an outlier in the world of pedestrian fatalities. So as Bike Month is coming up I hope we can take some time to learn about the problem (or problems)and the solutions. See you next month!

If you want to learn more about how lower income communities are disproportionately affected check out Smart Growth America. Or additional resources.

For more theories including people moving to the Sun Belt check out the Daily Podcast from the New York Times.

What Did We Learn From Council Chatcasts this year

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Author: Council Member Nora

We have come to the end of 2023! This year was certainly an adventure for me as I am sure it was for everyone. One of the new opportunities for me in 2023 that I am thankful for is that I got to start writing the National Youth Bike Council’s blogs! And as we reflect on this year I wanted to do some reflecting on what the National Youth Bike Council has done.

In this blog I will be reflecting on the 11 Council Chatcasts that we have done. These were Instagram live conversations between members of the Council and youth involved in different forms of transportation from across the US (Pennsylvania, California, Nevada, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, & New York ) and many cities in between. These conversations were able to highlight the experiences of youth across the United States in a range of types of biking, from mountain biking to road biking and the lessons they have learned. One of our lovely Advisor volunteers helped us transcribe the 11 Chatcasts and summarize common themes as well as individual messages from each interview.

I want to first look at the common opinions that were found. One of the themes I thought was particularly interesting is that some of the chatcast participants rely on biking and public transportation because they don’t have a driver’s license. I definitely identify with this. Before I could get my driver’s license I biked to school, because I often had to stay after school for clubs or sports which meant I missed the bus back home. The bike became essential to my independence! Now that I am at college, a lack of a car has led me again to rely on biking, walking, and public transportation.

When you rely on public transportation and biking the shortcomings of the infrastructure become even more apparent. As the Chatcast points out, across the US there is a need for more bike lanes especially near schools and a safer infrastructure for cyclists in urban environments. The Chatcasts point out that the lack of biking infrastructure comes because, as one participant put it, “we live in a country that is dominated by car culture.” I think it’s interesting to see how the experience changes across different parts of the US. One participant, Josh M, talked about their experience growing up in Texas. “Where biking is completely untenable” and “then I moved to New York at the age of 18 and I am now, suddenly flourishing in a world of public transit, buses, and an NYC bike share system.” There are more pedestrian deaths in the South than in the North. Generally in the South of the US cities were built around the automobile where in the North cities are older than the car and were built around pedestrians.

Council Chatcast youth also point out the importance of knowing safe and efficient bike routes when it comes to the logistics of commuting and that we need to make information about routes and education on urban cycling more accessible. Your whole biking experience can change based on which route you take. Josh M said, “You feel silly when you’re on a bicycle trying to cross, you know a six-lane highway underneath, it just feels like you’re about to die all the time.” Without proper infrastructure people are disincentivized to bike because it can feel dangerous and unwelcoming. The exciting part about the Council Chatcast is not only does it elevate the concerns of our peers but also the suggestive solutions as well. Interview 1 “I was gonna say bike packing is accessible, but it kind of isn’t because you need a lot of supplies to make it happen: camping gear, you need bags for your bikes, you need supplies, you need a sleeping bag, dicky sack, sleeping mat, and knowledge about biking or about where to camp or the weather. So that’s the main point of Youth Bike America is that we can make it accessible to people.” Said Dasha, a young commuter who uses bicycling and walking as her main form of commuting and is also leading Youth Bike America.

In addition to how infrastructure and access across the US is lacking and how we can solve it, there is so much that our Council Chatcasts voiced this year that I can’t fit into one blog. Our Council Chatcast participants highlighted including making biking communities more inclusive, biking more accessible, e-bikes, how we design cities, a possible biking utopia, how to engage youth, and more. Interview 6, “I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say flying bikes, but now that you said it, I can totally see that happening. They have to make it happen one day.” I plan to tell you more about their ideas, how our advocacy will play a part, and reveal more youth-thinking in 2024. See you then!

Brian, California is number 9 on the Top 20 pedestrian deaths for 2020 (actually tied with Georgia) do you feel that your experience supports that ranking? What are some trips you did in 2023?

How To Engage High Schoolers

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Author: Council Member Nora

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving! Now we start our progression to the end of the year and with that we get to recount and reflect on all that we are grateful for! Since I am abroad this year in Northern Ireland, I was in charge of cooking the turkey for our Friendsgiving.

One of the opportunities I am grateful for this year was to be able to participate in the Safe Routes to School Summit. During our panel session facilitated by the National Center for Safe Routes to School I talked alongside three other panelists about how to get high schoolers involved in pedestrian advocacy and to ensure they remain involved after high school. Michele Walker, who works at TransForm and is in charge of the Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools high school program, brought her experience as an adult working with high schoolers and tips on how she got high schoolers interested. She emphasized the fact that getting involved in pedestrian advocacy can look like many things as we have talked about in previous blogs. For example, Michele talked about how she had gotten youth interested in transportation through community garden projects and beautification.

Cydney Thompson, a high schooler who is interning at the Civic Design Center, discussed the importance of milestones in order to keep students interested and to recognize their achievements. I think this is especially key in the transportation field where projects can take years to achieve. Working to get approval from the city or school administrations can be extremely frustrating and the bureaucracy can easily discourage advocates from pursuing projects. It can be even more discouraging when you’re working in the timeframe of four years. Some of the projects I worked on in high school I knew would not be completed before I graduated because the planned end date was 10 years. However, this is where organizations can help by keeping a continuity as students graduate and new students join. They can support by making sure projects continue to be worked on and can explain why these projects were started.

Jacob Smith, who started working in transportation in high school and has continued working in transportation as an adult at National Organizations for Youth Safety and National Center for Safe Routes to School’s Vision Zero for Youth, talked about how youth are the “Architects of Change.” Jacob focused on how youth are the ones who will be dealing with the effects of not improving the transportation infrastructure in the future, so it’s important to include them in the conversation because we are the ones who will be impacted by the decisions made today. As discussed, transportation advocacy is an especially long term change whether we are talking about the impact on the environment, health, equity, etc. The way our roads, sidewalks, bike lanes are laid out affect how we move about in life and therefore the effect of small problems can be exacerbated as well as small solutions can have compounding benefits.

Our panel was meant to support Safe Routes to School programs as they transition from focusing on elementary and middle schoolers to including high schoolers. While high schoolers can appear to be more difficult to reach out to, in reality, they are actively seeking opportunities to discover their identity and explore new interests to understand who they are and where they fit in the world. Teens often gravitate toward activities and experiences that resonate with their evolving sense of self and aspirations and Transportation advocacy has a lot of interesting aspects for us. For example, feeling and being an integral part of the conversation on transportation for all the reasons we discussed and more. Youth know about and are close to issues on the ground, they also have the will to make a change. Where organizations like the National Center for Safe Routes to School and the National Youth Bike Council come in is connecting youth to resources and tools in order to empower their voices.

Brian, why do you think it’s important for organizations such as Safe Routes to School to focus on connecting with high schoolers along with elementary and middle schoolers? What are some transportation activities you are thankful for participating in this year?

5 Steps Leaders Are Taking To Enhance Youth Voice

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Without hesitation, the five points shared below should be extended beyond young people’s physical capabilities or academic performance. It challenges the notion that young people’s opinions are not worth consideration and that inclusivity along with many other benefits are lost when not properly engaging youth voices.

Recently, mayors and their staff were joined by Joshua from the National Youth Bike Council, Jacob Smith from National Organization for Youth Safety, Alison Collard de Beaufort with Vision Zero Youth Council, and Grace & Javier, both in 8th grade from the FCCLA to talk about several ways in which different initiatives across the US create meaningful engagement for young people.

These leaders took out some time to challenge their status quo and to learn a new perspective from young transportation advocates. What this teaches beyond transportation advocacy is that motivated young adults, when given the space and place to speak, will take it.

This event, hosted by the National League of Cities, enabled them to create an article called “Five Ways to Engage Youth in Road Safety Initiatives”, where the five ways derived from directly engaging young people. It’s fantastic to see articles created from this method of engagement, making an example of what working towards a more inclusive and collaborative future looks like.

Conversations that are yet to be had can start with these five points and serve as a great first step to uplifting the next generation. The points are as follows:

  1. Meet with your local youth elected officials and organizations
  2. Bring youth voices into Vision Zero and road safety initiatives
  3. Host a day of youth and community education and action
  4. Work with your local hospital to understand how many young people are involved in vehicle-related accidents in your community and find your high injury network (HIN)
  5. Conduct a road safety audit near the schools in your city

Even though all of these do require their own episode, we will focus on the one that is the lowest hanging fruit. That is point number one, being the least local leaders and transportation members can help achieve. Here is a snippet from point number one, “meet with your local youth elected officials and organizations. Many municipalities have youth seats on their city council, committees and boards. Also seek out chapters of youth-led organizations like the National Organization for Youth Safety, the National Youth Bike Council, the Vision Zero Youth Council and FCCLA. Many middle and high schools have divisions of the National Honor Society, a volunteer organization of students dedicated to giving back.”

Simply put, if young people did not want to speak, they would not speak, but here we are speaking up. Additionally, including young people’s novel opinions, their capacity for driving change, and unique ways of thinking naturally fosters policies that create a more equitable and inclusive world for all ages.

This point was brought up by multiple groups during the conversation and is a note we gladly harper on as a basis for our youth leadership. We have to be willing to try and fail. Rather than to worry about our fear of not knowing, we’ll figure it out. It should not be uncommon for city leaders to ask or be asked about ways in which they are supporting the next generation by amplifying their voices and ensuring their active participation in decision-making.

As the lowest hanging fruit in the path to progress, engaging with local youth leaders and organizations can be a significant step towards building more inclusive and equitable communities. Unlike it may seem, even this step reaps great rewards and strengthens social fabrics by example and youth participation.

Here is a link to the full article. If you would like to support the creation of more articles like this, follow us to support our work.

Even Ghost Bikes Have Lives

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Author: Council Member Nora

Wow, it is definitely a hot summer in July! I sympathize with the rest of you dealing with the heat, in Georgia it’s a wall whenever I go outside thanks to the humidity. I came to grips with that heat wall the other day while I was out biking on the Beltline (a terrific pedestrian-only path that runs all over the city of Atlanta). Though, on that trip what caught my attention was a white bike tied to a telephone pole at a crosswalk where the Beltline leads to Piedmont Park. I am familiar with this bike, it sits across from my high school. For a while I paid no attention to it, even when it was first placed there I didn’t really realize it until I learned what it meant.

This white bike is one of many Ghost Bikes. This Ghost Bike is for a student who in 2016 was struck by a car at this intersection and died on the way home from school. She was 3 years older than me.

A Ghost Bike serves as a memorial, to remind the world that a seemingly uninteresting corner completely changed someone’s life. They are usually a bike that is irreparable and unusable, so as not to take a bike off of the street. There are over 600 ghost bikes in the US, there are more than 250 ghost bikes in New York City alone. They can be found all over the world from Ukraine to Ecuador.

They are a reminder that we often view the pedestrian at fault, as was the case of my peer. They are a reminder that a fragile bike stands no chance against a car. They are a reminder that in only the first half of 2022 drivers in the United States struck and killed 3,434 people.

Ghost Bikes are a reminder of the work that needs to be done and the work that has been done. In my case, we testified and worked with the City Council to install a HAWK signal, a scramble (when all the cars have to stop for pedestrians to cross), and cameras to create a safer environment for not only the Beltline traffic but for the students going to and from school. Still in 2022 a student was hit by a car near the intersection, she went to the hospital and is ok now but it is a reminder that more work needs to be done. Shortly after during the 2022 Youth Bike Summit, I lead a group out to this crosswalk. We put flowers in front of Alexia’s white bike and discussed the intersection, and how the 4-lane thoroughfare meeting the 3-lane road was built for cars, not pedestrians. We discussed how we can change the intersection to focus on the pedestrian so that we can prevent any more accidents from happening. Now there are plans to fully rework the intersection by repaving the streets.

What has been insightful for me is that once I learned the story of ghost bikes I couldn’t stop seeing them. When you are aware of them you learn so much more about the design of transportation. So much is said in a white locked-up bike.

Have you seen any Ghost Bikes near you Brian? What has been your experience with Ghost Bikes?

May is Bike Month but it is also National Clean Air Month

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Author: Council Member Nora

We are still in May but since it’s Bike Month, we decided to post two blogs to celebrate! This is your dutiful council member blogger, Nora, here to share the wonders of May with you. As a pedestrian advocate, I have learned that transportation touches so much more than just our roads and paths. By creating a more bikeable environment we improve health, provide more affordable means of transportation, improve the health of the environment, and so much more. Transportation, especially biking, has a positive impact on so many sectors of our lives. Today, I am going to talk about one of those sectors– decreased emissions, and we know we aren’t the only youth group to believe this.

May is Bike Month but it is also National Clean Air Month. Clean Air Month was started by the American Lung Association in 1972 as a week-long event and later initiated the enactment of The Clean Air Act, one of the first pieces of environmental protection legislation. This month allows for reflection on how we can improve air quality both indoors and outdoors. Now in DC as in other places another contributor to air quality is pollen especially during cherry blossom season. As someone who is from Georgia, pollen usually doesn’t phase me but the pollen in DC is on a whole different level. Although the flowers are very nice to look at. However, pollen is not a malicious emission but carbon is. Part of the focus of Clean Air Month is to reduce our carbon footprints and one of the ways you can celebrate both Clean Air Month and Bike Month is to bike to work because vehicles are the biggest air polluters.

Clean air is not just good for the environment, it’s good for all of our health, as poor air quality can contribute to cancer, bronchitis, allergies, and asthma. An easy way to see the effects of poor air quality is by looking at sunsets, heavy orange and red sunsets show that there are a lot of particles in the air either from fires, volcanoes, or pollution. These particles trap the light allowing for the longer wavelengths such as red and orange to show in the dusk sky. But every individual can do something about it! How are you participating in Clean Air Month, Brian? How do your sunsets on the West Coast look?

To see the air quality of where you live click here.

What It Feels Like To Be New To The Bicycle Space

Posted on | by nybc

We try to spotlight youth ages 24 or younger, but Raven, who is currently employed with the League of American Bicyclists, is a recent 25-year-old and the youngest staff member on the daily team. In addition, Raven is also fairly new to the bicycle advocacy space and, believe it or not, she got a chance to participate in her first lobbying session through the National Bike Summit!

Since this was Raven’s first time attending the National Bike Summit (Bike Summit 22) as a staff member, her experience was divided between attending sessions and facilitating others. On top of that, Bike Summit 22 had multiple ways to attend: “It was a love-hate relationship with being able to meet advocates and attend sessions in-person but also balancing attending virtually while taking on the responsibilities of being an admin for the event,” Raven expressed. “I left this year’s Summit knowing that there were still many conversations for me to listen in on and so many more advocates to meet next year.”

Raven was the facilitator for our presentation, where we spoke about how stigma, law enforcement, and infrastructure played into preventing the expansion of urban cycling. She kicked us off and had some great feedback at the end of the presentation: “The topic was really relevant and relatable.”

Other presentations that sparked her interest as a first-time attendee and admin were a presentation on how to encourage local businesses to apply to the Bicycle Friendly Business program and conversations around finding new community spaces to encourage people to ride bikes. Right on point, because she was trying to gain confidence for riding a bicycle to the National Bike Summit in D.C. for the first time. Raven described the journey as a scary, but fulfilling experience, noting that Bicycle Friendly Communities and the topics around expanding infrastructure appealed to her as someone with little to no experience riding in an urban environment.

“The presentation was easy to digest and was broken down very well. Also, no one presented a game at the end of their presentation like what I saw the National Youth Bike Council’s presentation do!” – referring to our version of ‘finding Waldo’. The game was short and sweet and may still be available if you take a look at what participants had to do to win!

Raven mentioned, “I was trying not to lose my ‘host face’ even though I agreed with a lot of what you all were saying.” She goes on to say that statistics aren’t just numbers when it comes to law enforcement. Saying that before she joined the League of American Bicyclists she was not aware of the statistics, but she knew enforcement was an issue from her own personal experience, “it’s good to hear that the stats are not just stats, they are reality.”

“I did not think people could be so angry and resentful towards people on bicycles,” this statement is a common theme among the youth community the Council is boosting and was included by Raven in her feedback to us about the presentation. She also mentioned how she was pretty disconnected from the whole movement in general before joining the League, but not on purpose. Raven was more of a walker and learning about all the notions around bicyclists was an enlightening moment at our presentation and throughout the experience of the National Bike Summit, this makes the reason behind her day-to-day work stronger.

Actually, she did not learn to ride a bicycle until the age of 24, which is a fun fact. She also pointed out that if she had not been embarrassed to tell her friends she did not know how to ride a bike, she would have given the bicycle a chance sooner. She believes that riding bicycles together removes a portion of the fear a younger rider may experience riding alone in the city, “just one other person was enough to get me to ride.”

As said by her team, Raven’s service is a great addition to the team because she has not been exposed to the bicycle space before and brings a fresh and younger perspective. Through facilitated connections and conversations we hope many of the youth in this growing community can get opportunities and be essential to the bicycle space like Raven.

We thank the League for giving us a great experience at the National Bike Summit this year! Happy Bike Month!