Bicycle safety isn’t typically the sexiest subject. But there are legions of behind-the-scenes advocates from a number of groups working to make the Granite State’s roads and bikeways better places for cyclists, pedestrians and others.
One such group is the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire (bwanh.org).
The 10-year-old nonprofit advocacy group, based in Concord, has a statewide reach and is funded by membership dues, grants and corporate partnerships.
BWANH sees itself as a connecting hub with other bike advocacy organizations from the seacoast to the White Mountains and beyond, seeking to influence policy, infrastructure and education. The alliance works on several local and regional levels and brings its safety message to elementary schools, bike rodeos, bike shops and other events. BWANH works with various agencies from Department of Safety to law enforcement, and it shares resources.
“We’re the only statewide biking and walking advocacy organization in New Hampshire,” says president Paula Bedard, of Goffstown. “We want to help be a voice for active transportation in New Hampshire.”
Bedard is a bicycle advocate, bike commuter and League of American Safe Cycling instructor.
The alliance now has its eyes set on what it hopes to be successful passage of House Bill 1731, a bipartisan bike safety bill. With unanimous passage recently in both the state’s House and Senate transportation committees, the organization is hoping the governor signs it into law as soon as next month.
“The bike safety bill is a bill that updates car-centric verbiage in our laws regarding the interaction of motor vehicles and bicycles on our roadways,” she said.
The bill includes operating requirements for bicycles, including hand signals and headlamp use, as well as requiring the Department of Safety to inform and include bicycle safety in driver license examinations.
BWANH was influential in getting a 3-foot passing law on the books in New Hampshire in 2009. More than half the states across the country have such a measure that requires motor vehicles allow sufficient space to avoid hitting cyclists or causing bicyclist to take action to avoid cars. Vehicles must allow for at least three feet when traveling at least 30 mph when passing cyclists and then one additional foot of clearance for every 10 mph over 30 mph.
But BWANH was unsuccessful in getting a bill passed for adoption of a statewide “complete streets” policy. That bill would have ensured communities address infrastructure needs of cyclists and pedestrians when updating area roadways and sidewalks.
The group also helps with various projects such as strengthening rail trails and getting bike-friendly passages on ventures such as new bridges, including one recently in Dover.
The alliance works with other advocacy groups such as Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation, Seacoast Area Bike Riders and BikeManchester.
During spring, BWANH reaches out to elementary schools, sending a wave of instructors to fourth- and fifth-grade classes to teach bike safety through its Youth Bike and Walk Safety Education program. In a partnership with New Hampshire Department of Transportation, instructors spread out across school classrooms, gyms and libraries to inform children how to bike safely. They’re briefed on important points such as hand signals, laws, bike quick-checks and helmets.
Last year, eight certified instructors visited 33 schools statewide, reaching 3,500 students during the Safe Routes to School program. In its third year, the federally funded project will exhaust its grant and is seeking more money to move forward.
“As our societies are more interested in biking and walking, we want to make sure we are educating our young people, because we are seeing trends that teenagers are not interested in getting their driver’s license until they are older, into their 20s, instead of 15 and 16,” she said.
Another outreach point is bicycle shops. With between 50 and 60 independent bike shops across the state, according to Bedard, it seems a no-brainer that the majority of them would support an organization of cycling stewards. As part of their “hang tag program,” the group asks bike shops to distribute bike safety brochures, that include laws required of cyclists, when they sell bikes to custmomers.
“Some bike shops are more supportive of our efforts than others,” she said. “Some get bicycle advocacy. They understand what we do and help us. At other bike shops, we struggle to get the message across.”
Fourteen bike shops take part.
As of late April, BWANH had 140 members, 12 corporate supporters, 522 Facebook likes and 319 Twitter followers.
Those numbers are but a fraction of those enjoying the roads and trails.
Marty Basch can be reached at marty.basch@gmail.com.