Getting more people on bikes is important for our community, the environment, and our health. We need a comprehensive network of safe bike routes that get people places they want to go. This includes destinations like schools, jobs, shopping places, and restaurants. As more people ride, their presence will also help to change our culture into one more accepting of all forms of transportation. But how will we get there? Read on to find information on strategy and what we’d like to see in Bend.

How will we get more people on bikes?

Better street standards and codes

Street standards and development codes guide how the city and developers build new streets. They include specifications which are the minimum standard for how streets will be built. Bend Bikes hopes to work with the city to change these standards to be safer for people on bikes. We feel the current street standards will result in the same streets we have now which do not promote more people on bikes. This will include things like:

  • Narrower vehicle travel lanes
  • Landscaping strips between the bike lanes and the vehicle travel lanes

Bike and walk friendly schools

The areas around our schools need to prioritize the safety and health of our kids. Every kid should be able to walk, bike, or roll to school safely and conveniently if they choose to and are able. Ideas for helping this along include:

  • More bike parking at schools
  • No car drop-off in front of school entrances
  • Reduced speed limits in school zones
  • School zones last longer in areas around schools
  • Offering bike skills classes in schools
  • Pay crossing guards and bike bus leaders
  • Allow kids on e-bikes
  • Do not expand parking lots

Photo Credit: CicLAvia

Car-free streets

Bend Bikes would like to see areas in Bend that are safe, fun, and don’t include the stress of being arounds cars. Car-free areas would remove the emphasis on being a car focused and dependent society and create community connections in Bend.

  • Car-free spine both E-W and N-S
  • Drake-to-Pilot Butte corridor
  • Car-free shopping zones, perhaps downtown
  • Seasonal closures of certain streets
  • Open streets or ciclovías on certain days of the week or month

Tactical urbanism

Getting change on the ground as quickly as possible is important to showcase the changes we want to see happening now. Infrastructure projects can take years to build and getting a faster turn around on our safety quickly benefits the whole community.

  • Quick build projects
  • Painted crosswalks
  • Temporarily installed speed humps

Photo Credit: Smart Growth America

Photo Credit: OPB

Advocate with City Leaders

Encouraging our local officials to have the political will to make these changes a reality can be a daunting task. There are many voices in the room and it is hard to change a culture when people tend to be adverse to change itself. Ideas we have to create political will include:

  • Advocate with city staff and the city manager with regular meetings and communication
  • Encourage people to run for city council that are pro walking, biking, and rolling
  • Give public testimony at city council meetings
  • Join committees and boards in charge of things like planning, funding, and building

Stop subsidizing driving

Often times, people continue to drive because it is the most convenient and free option. Subsidized costs are baked into our public places so that all people are paying for people’s ability to drive and park. Driving shouldn’t cost non-drivers money. Ways that this could change include:

  • Reduce free parking and explore having less parking lots
  • Add more parking meters/time limits in parking zones
  • Explore options for fees on driving including congestion pricing, toll roads, etc.

Photo by Stephen Andrews on Unsplash