Make Utah a Better Place to Ride, Right Now!

There are many ways that you can help to make Utah a more bicycle friendly place. Here are five simple things you can do:

1. Ride to work – The main way that the number of bicyclists in a community are counted is through the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Unfortunately, the questions in this survey only ask about where you work and how you got there, rather than any recreational riding. By riding to work, you can help to increase the transportation mode share of bicycling, which justifies more funding for bicycle programs and projects.

2. Reach out to businesses you frequent – If they have great bicycle parking, let them know that you appreciate their efforts because you ride there frequently. If they need to improve their parking, tell them and then tell them again. Let them know that you and people you know would ride there more often if the bicycle parking were better.

3. Attend local meetings and open houses – “Showing up is 80 percent of life.” Give your opinions to planners and engineers about bicycle projects. Let them know when they are doing a good job and when they need to improve upon their projects.

4. Contact candidates and elected officials – There is an upcoming election in Utah. Take a few minutes to tell them that you are one of their constituents, you support bicycling, and you hope that they will as well.

5. Get more people riding – Take a friend or family member out on a ride. Explain the rules of the road so that they can ride more often. Teach your kids how to ride a bike and then how to ride safely on the streets. The more people riding bicycles, the more people we will have who support programs and projects to get even more people riding.