#RideOnBoise, ed.1

A NEW CHALLENGE...

My name is Jimmy Hallyburton and I am happy to introduce a new challenge and new initiative that I believe will help transform Boise into a better place to bicycle for all of its citizens. I’m calling the challenge/initiative #RideOnBoise! The objective of #RideOnBoise! is to keep the community riding, engaged, and informed about what’s happening and what needs to happen in order for Boise to reach its full potential of becoming the Bicycle Capitol of America.

This new challenge is inspired by and a continuation of the #CarFreeForBBP Challenge / Bicycle Capitol of America Journey that took place on May 7th. Check it out.

THE 1st POST & FUTURE POSTS...

They might be wordy, will probably have spelling and grammar errors, and are likely to ruffle a few feathers. I’m fine with all of those things and I apologize to those who aren’t. They will be candid, thoughtful, thought provoking, and hopefully a little challenging. I will post something every Monday, and maybe more if something big comes up in the bicycling community. Each post will end with a call to action. Once a month the post will feature one new “top ten step” for Boise to take in order continue forward on its Bicycle Capitol of America path. Once all ten steps are posted, we won’t add any more until we accomplish one. If this is confusing, follow the blog for a few months and you’ll get the hang of it.

FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW ME...

I started and continue to run a nonprofit bicycle cooperative called the Boise Bicycle Project (BBP). I could not be prouder of my position as BBP’s Executive Director and the opportunities it has created for me to have an impact on Boise’s bicycling community. I believe BBP has done a lot to create an identity for Boise as a “bicycle city.” And now, I believe it is time for the bicycling community to come together to take Boise to the next level.  #RideOnBoise! is not an official program under the Boise Bicycle Project as much as it is a rallying cry and resource for the entire bicycling community.

IT (#RideOnBoise!) HAS A HISTORY…

Several years ago, I met with the Mayor of Boise (Mayor Bieter, of which I am a big fan) to see how BBP and I could play a larger role in making Boise a better place to bicycle. I showed him how BBP’s vision of transforming Boise into the most bikeable city in America went hand in hand with his vision of making Boise the most livable city in America. We talked briefly about the City not owning its own streets (the Ada County Highway Department, ACHD, owns and maintains most of the streets in the Boise) and how this has created obstacles in making Boise more bicycle friendly.

So I offered to create a list of 10 things the City of Boise could do that were not related to its streets. I’m not sure if the Mayor knew how serious I was, but he accepted the offer. Two months later, after meeting with several other bicycling organizations, I presented the Ride On Boise initiative to the Mayor, outlining 10 non-street related steps that I believed would put Boise on a path to becoming the most bikeable city in the country. You can see the original initiative here.  

The initiative came close, but was never adopted in full form. However, it did spur the creation for the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee. This committee meets once a month and often uses the original Ride On Boise initiative as an outline for what to work on next. In January, the committee submitted Boise's first application to become nationally recognized as an official Bicycle Friendly Community. In June, we will find out if Boise was awarded a Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, or the recently added Diamond status. Boulder, Davis, Fort Collins and Portland are the only Platinum level communities in the country. There are no Diamonds…not yet.  

THE 1st #RideOnBoise! CALL TO ACTION...

Boise will find out its Bicycle Friendly Community status on June 10th. This award status is a huge deal because it will give Boise a blueprint on what its doing right and what it needs to do to move to the next level. My guess is that Boise will receive a Gold, or maybe Silver status since this is the first time we’ve ever applied. Either of those will be a huge victory for the Boise’s bicycling community, but neither are enough.

Email, or even regular mail, the Mayor today and ask him announce Boise’s “Bicycle Friendly Community” status during his State of the City Address. Thank him for his formation of the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee and ask him to task the Committee to come up with an initiative that will take Boise to the next award level. Let him know that you are proud to live in a bikeable livable city, and that you believe Boise has the potential to become the Bicycle Capitol of America. Ask how YOU can help and tag it #RideOnBoise!

Email: Mayor@cityofboise.org    Address: 150 N Capitol Blvd Boise 83702

THE 1st OF 10 #RideOnBoise STEPS.

1. Form a City led, community supported, initiative to become a Platinum Level Bicycle Friendly Community by 2018.