Bricker says BikePGH not only puts on a number of educational initiatives and fun events, it also does public outreach.
“We represent the voice of bicyclists and pedestrians in the city of Pittsburgh,” he says.
The organization added walking as a cause about four years ago — and Bricker says at the time they decided not to rebrand because BikePGH was just becoming recognizable and had good brand association.
“If we’re accomplishing our goals when it comes to both walking and biking, then what’s in a name?” he says.
Teaming up
Change can be slow, because it’s not just physical changes that BikePGH is working toward. It also seeks cultural change — acceptance of the importance of livable streets, while acknowledging the tension between drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians that will play out in any congested urban environment.
When BikePGH wants to get people on board with a new bike lane, for example, it partners with other organizations and creates a coalition around that change. Bricker says they don’t just organize people on the grassroots level, but also at what they call the grass top level — community-based organizations that represent the voice of locals.
That can take a lot of communication, and BikePGH throws as many resources toward it as it can, he says.
With people’s busy schedules, you want to get the word out as early as possible, whether you’re using social media, email lists or another organization’s contact list.
“Also during OpenStreetsPGH this summer, the city of Pittsburgh had a way to engage people on the West End Bridge about their new bike plan that they’re authoring right now, so they got a lot of public feedback that way,” Bricker says. “So, in-person outreach also can’t be disregarded. It’s really important.”
When you’re building a coalition, trust is the key differentiator.
To get everyone working together, you have to make sure you share similar goals for the project, he says. In BikePGH’s case, those goals typically revolve around safety, so it’s easy to build that trust.
“No one wants to purposely create designs that are going to put people in harm’s way,” Bricker says.
“We rarely have those instances where we don’t have the trust of another organization or vice versa,” he says. “It’s not like we’re in the same office together, so typically it takes some phone calls and numerous meetings. It’s Pittsburgh though; you can’t help but know a lot of these people because you see them at the same types of meetings, week in and week out. There’s a familiarity that comes with the territory, and you can build on it.”
