Your Bike, Your Voice, Your Capitol
You belong at the National Bike Summit
If you’ve ever felt the thrill of a clear bike lane or, conversely, the white-knuckled stress of a road that clearly wasn’t built for you, you know that bicycling in America is at a crossroads. We aren’t just talking about gears and chains; we’re talking about the fundamental right to move safely through our own communities.
The National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., is where frustration transforms into action.
As we await the next transportation reauthorization bill, this year’s Summit was equal parts inspiration, as we shared amazing progress on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and programs across the country, and urgency to protect and expand the Federal Funding that makes these advances possible.
If you have not attended the National Bike Summit, I encourage you to do so! Dynamic keynote speakers included: Commissioner Rodney Ellis of Harris County Texas, Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report, and Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of the popular podcast The War on Cars. A wide variety of breakout sessions provided practical advice for communities of all sizes and all types of cyclists. Daily morning and evening bike tours explore DC’s excellent network of protected bike lanes, historical buildings and, of course, peak cherry blossom viewing.
Most importantly, a broader coalition of Wisconsin advocates would allow us to visit more legislative offices! For the 2026 Lobby Day, the main goal of bike advocates was to maintain the current programs, and levels of funding that are currently in the Federal transportation budget.
We Had Three Specific Asks For Lobby Day
1. Keep Transportation Alternatives Robust
The Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) is the only formula transportation program that is designed to support local government priorities. For Wisconsin, TAP is the main source of funding for shared use paths, bike lanes, sidewalks and Safe Routes to School programs. In our state, and nationwide, the program is significantly over subscribed. In addition to maintaining funding for TAP, we advocated for including the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act.
Sarah Debbink Langenkamp was a U.S. diplomat and mother of two boys who had been evacuated from Ukraine in the summer of 2022 only to be killed weeks later while riding her bike home on a road in Bethesda, Maryland. Sarah grew up in Oconomowoc, WI and her family have advocated tirelessly for this legislation for the past three years. .
The Langenkamp bill highlights the need to fill gaps in biking and walking networks and makes it easier for states and local governments to use Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) dollars as a “local match” to build safe bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure.
Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson co-sponsored the Sarah Langenkamp Active Transportation Act in the Senate. The bill has also received sponsorship from Representatives Fitzgerald, Van Orden and Steil in the House.
2. Maintain the Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Special Rule
If a state’s VRU fatalities (those involving people biking or walking) account for 15% or more of the state’s total roadway fatalities, the VRU special rule requires that 15% or more of its Highway Safety Improvement dollars be spent on VRU safety. In the last federal transportation bill, Wisconsin did not qualify for the VRU special rule. Unfortunately, we now have more than 15% VRU fatalities. This will mean that Wisconsin will need to spend just over $9 million on vulnerable road users safety in the next transportation budget.
3. Safe Streets and Roads For All Reauthorization Act (SS4A)
SS4A is a discretionary grant program that supports local, triable and regional projects that focus on developing data driven safety action plans and implementing projects that make it safer for people to walk, bike and drive. Since its inception, 77% of communities across the US have received grants.
Currently SS4A dollars are allocated to 40% planning projects and 60% implementation projects. Since implementation is much more expensive, in addition to increased funding for SS4A, our ask was to allocate 80% to implementation and drop funding dollars to 20%. In the last round of funding, Wisconsin received nine awards, with only 2 being implementation grants and 7 planning and demonstration.
Bike Lane Solidarity
A highlight of this year’s Bike Summit for me was joining local bike advocates from WABA (Washington Area Bicycle Association) on a bike ride and protest over the threatened removal of the 15th Street protected bike lane. A lawsuit filed by WABA has delayed the removal of this important bike infrastructure that has seen a 46% decrease in roadway crashes and a 91% decrease in bike injury crashes since they were installed.
Join us in 2027!
The photos and summary in this newspost are from the 2026 National Bike Summit March 24-26.
Please consider joining Bike Fed staff at the National Bike Summit next year. Described as the “family reunion” for people who are passionate about bikes, I promise you will leave inspired, energized and determined to make a difference for people who bike and walk in your community.
And, Speaking of Safe Streets and Roads For All grants …
The Department of Transportation has released the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program.
The SS4A program funds regional, local, and Tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries. Approximately $1 billion is available for the next funding round.
The SS4A program provides funding for two main types of grants, the next deadline to apply is May 26, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. (EDT):
- Planning and Demonstration Grants are used to develop, complete, or supplement an Action Plan, as well as carry out demonstration activities that inform an Action Plan.
- Implementation Grants are used to implement strategies or projects that are consistent with an existing Action Plan and may also bundle funding requests for supplemental planning and demonstration activities that inform the Action Plan.
The NOFO is available on Grants.gov here.
USDOT had scheduled 3 informational webinars on this grant opportunity, with one remaining as of this writing. Go to the USDOT SS4A Webinar Series page for more information and to register.
SS4A Supplemental Planning and Demonstration Activities
Date: April 14, 2026
Time: 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm ET
The timing of the grant window is shorter than in years past, but this is still one of the best federal funding programs for safety improvements and communities can directly apply for grants. Please consider working with your community to apply!