In honor of National Bike Month, the League has released its latest Bicycle Friendly States ranking. In the sixth annual assessment, Georgia achieved a #24 ranking nationally, while placing 4th among southern states.

"We are encouraged to see significant progress in top states like Washington, Delaware, Colorado and Oregon," said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. "But, as the scores clearly highlight, there's much work to be done in critical areas like infrastructure and planning in every state. "

The Bicycle Friendly States Ranking is now even more comprehensive, capturing more information than ever before and delving more deeply into the issues embedded in becoming a more bicycle friendly state.

Georgia’s #24 ranking was based on a number of key indicators, including infrastructure and funding that provide on-the-ground bicycle facilities; education and encourage programs that promote cycling; and passage and enforcement of bicycle-friendly laws that make it safe and comfortable for people of all ages to ride. See GA's report card

Georgia has made significant strides toward improving bicycling conditions in the past year. Most notably, the Georgia DOT adopted a “Complete Streets” policy in 2012. This policy integrates bicycle and pedestrian accommodations into most state and federally-funded transportation projects. In 2011, Governor Nathan Deal also signed into law HB 101, which requires motorists to provide a minimum buffer of three feet when following or passing a person on a bicycle. Future goals to further improve roadway safety include consistent bicycle traffic counts in urban areas, establishing bicycle transportation performance measures, and setting aside dedicated safety funding to plan, build, and evaluate quality bicycle facilities.

“The Georgia Department of Transportation acknowledges the League American Bicyclists rating of 24^th,” says GDOT Chief Engineer Russell McMurry. “We believe that this ranking will continue to improve as we implement more bike friendly projects resulting from the Complete Streets policy, updating of statewide bike and pedestrian plan, and focus on safety improvement opportunities at high crash frequency locations.  GDOT is also committed to work with Georgia Bikes and other groups to improve our standings.”

“There is no doubt that Georgia is an outstanding state for cycling,” adds Harris Blackwood, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “As more motorists become familiar with our three-foot rule and as more on- and off-road biking lanes and trails are built, we believe that our ranking will only increase.”

The BFS program is more than an annual assessment. Throughout the year, League staff will work actively with state officials and Georgia Bikes to help Georgia identify and implement the programs, policies and campaigns that will improve conditions for bicyclists.

Learn more about the BFS program at www.bikeleague.org/states.

Official Bicycle Friendly State Ranking press release

Your Share the Road tag at work!

For the third consecutive year, we are awarding matching grants to assist Georgia communities with the purchase and installation of bicycle safety and way-finding signage. Funding for these grants comes directly from our grant with the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. Their bike safety program is funded in large part by proceeds from the Share the Road specialty tag - if you don't have one for your other vehicle, please get one when it's time to renew your tag. The extra money you pay for the tag directly supports both statewide and local bicycle advocacy and even funds on-the-ground improvements like bicycle signage!

This year's Signage Grants have been awarded to:

Decatur - $2,500

Griffin - $4,500

Oconee County - $500

Savannah - $2,500

Congratulations to our grant recipients, and watch for photos of their grant-funded signage coming soon!

Official Signage Grants press release

" Energized" "Inspired" "Empowered"

These are the words attendees of this past weekend's Winning Campaigns Training used to describe the results of the workshop. Over three days, 25 advocacy leaders representing 11 organizations and 3 states gathered in Athens to learn from the Alliance for Biking & Walking - and from each other - how to define, develop, and execute a "winning campaign."

Over the course of the weekend, we defined our issues, set long and short-term goals, created messaging strategies , and developed tactics and budgets for achieving real improvements to biking and walking conditions in communities throughout the southeast. Between all the work, we enjoyed sublime spring weather with walking meetings, a bike tour of the Athens Greenway, and a New Belgium-sponsored social at the BikeAthens Bike Recycling Program facility.

The end result: nine winnable campaigns for signage, driver education, dedicated funding, and innovative infrastructure for communities from Greenville, SC to Birmingham, AL and all across Georgia.

Julie Smith, an attendee from Rome, GA, said "This is a program that I will heartily recommend to other bike/ped advocates, and we will continue to go back to the [Training] workbook and blueprint for future campaigns."

Our sincerest thanks to the Alliance trainers for such a valuable workshop, to the attendees who spent much of a gorgeous weekend in a classroom, and to our local Training sponsors and supporters: Koons Design, New Belgium Brewing Company, and Jittery Joe's Coffee.

Watch for great things from these participating organizations:

Alabama Bicycle Coalition | Bicycle Columbus | BikeAthens | Bike Walk Greenville | Griffin Bicycle Coalition | Newton Trail PATH Foundation | Oconee County Cycling Organization | Savannah Bicycle Campaign | Sumter Cycling | T.R.E.D. Rome | WeCycle Atlanta

After many months of persistent advocacy, we just received confirmation from GDOT that a new Northridge Rd bridge over 400 will include bike lanes in both directions!

The AJC has the story, which involved a tremendous grassroots campaign led by our very own Board member Joe Seconder of Dunwoody:

"When Seconder discovered early this year that dedicated bike lanes were not in the design plans, he got busy, phoning friends and transportation contacts.

'This bridge is the single point of access between Perimeter CID, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs to cross the Chattahoochee River into Roswell,' he said.

GDOT invited Seconder, his supporters and Sandy Springs officials to a followup meeting March 29 where it presented a redesign that included two bike lanes without changing the width of the bridge. 

'I’ll give him a lot of credit, but I have to give GDOT a lot of credit, too,' said Roswell Mayor Jere Wood, an active cyclist who backed Seconder’s campaign. 'They have a whole new attitude down there.'

The agency officially adopted a Complete Streets policy last fall, requiring that it routinely incorporate bicycle, pedestrian and transit concerns into transportation projects. The Northridge Bridge project was finalized well before that policy took effect.

Georgia DOT engineer Darryl D. VanMeter said budget and time constraints would have normally precluded a late change in plans. However, the department had a productive exchange with bike advocates and Sandy Springs officials which led to the accommodation, he said.

'I think this is a great example of government listening,' Sandy Springs Assistant City Manager Bryant Poole said."

We'll add that it's also another great example of advocacy working- way to go, Joe!