Council of Advocates 2024 Second Quarter Update

E-bikes have become a hot topic over the last few years and, as they have become more affordable, they have become much more popular on sidewalks, bike trails, and local streets. E-bikes are great at increasing accessibility for certain folks, and a fun way to get others interested in cycling. However, when motorized electric bicycles share spaces with pedestrians and non-motorized cyclists, how can we make sure those spaces are shared equitably? 

Ken McLeod of the League of American Bicyclists and Colleen Hayes of the City of Madison Bicycle and Pedestrian team joined the council to share their expertise and experience on this matter. Ken McLeod shared some slides on the 3-class system of e-bikes and talked about how the League is monitoring e-bike use to learn more about safety and mitigation strategies. Colleen Hayes then presented on all that the city of Madison was doing when it comes to e-bikes: where each class of e-bike is (or isn’t) allowed in Madison, safety strategies for sharing sidewalks, bike paths, and trails, and education programs to get riders to understand why and how they need to ride safer on all forms of bike. A big thank you to both Ken and Colleen for joining us and sharing their knowledge!

Some other reminders and announcements shared at the June 6th meeting: 

Legislator Visits – The Bike Fed is looking to help set up meetings with local stakeholders and local legislators to bring more attention to cycling and trail recreation in your area!  Do you have a bike/ped project you or your community are working on? How about an area event you would like to bring more support and attention to? If you have an idea, please contact Collin Mead or Kirsten Finn at collin@wisconsinbikefed.org and Kirsten@wisconsinbikefed.org, respectively. 

Rails to Trails Conservancy Trail Grants – Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC) is giving out $200,000 in trail grants to organizations and local agencies that are working to develop, connect, and expand equitable trail networks. Interested in learning more? Please visit the Trail Grants webpage on RTC’s website. The application deadline was just extended to 11 PM on June 11th!

Interested in Joining the Council?
 

Since the Council of Advocates was first introduced at the start of 2022, our membership has continued to grow, with 59 counties now represented. While this is great progress, our vision is to have a member from each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties – if you’re interested in advancing cycling and trails initiatives in Wisconsin and from a county that does not currently have representation, please see which counties are still needed by viewing our past article on the status of the council.