The League of American Bicyclists recently recognized Breakstone, White & Gluck with a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) award for the second time. Breakstone, White & Gluck joins 34 other bicycle-friendly businesses in Massachusetts.

Breakstone, White & Gluck, a Boston personal injury law firm, was recognized for its Project KidSafe campaign and 10 years of building strong community partnerships to reach low-income children and others with bicycle helmets. Breakstone, White & Gluck, and its community partners – over 50 police departments, bike committees and local groups – have now given away over 33,000 bicycle helmets to children since 2013. 

By Craig Della Penna

Recently, an interesting “transportation-related”  case was decided-on in DC. A kind of case not normally seen going to the Surface Transportation Board (STB). A case that was a last gasp, Hail Mary Pass of a "Not In My Backyard" group opposed to the development of a rail-trail in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The case, though obscure, will have a great impact on the development of the longest rail-trail network in the northeast. But first, a little history...

Bay State Bike Month is coming back in May 2022 to align with National Bike Month, so it's time to start planning all the bikey fun. Save the dates below and keep reading to kick-start your Bay State Bike Month Prep.

• May 1st - National Ride A Bike Day
• May 16th - 20th - Bike to Work Week
• Friday, May 20th - Bike to Work Day

February 2nd is the legislative deadline to get our bills reported "favorably" out of their respective committees, and we need your help to show the impact bike-friendly bills will have across Massachusetts! Please take a few minutes to write to the chairs of the committees and your local legislators, to share your personal stories about why safe and accessible bicycling is important to you.

How You Can Help

• Learn about our priorities at www.massbike.org/legislation
• Craft your stories: Why is this legislation important to you? Three significant themes we recommend focusing on are:
  
  • Combating climate change and greenhouse gas emissions
  • Reducing traffic congestion
  • Creating an equitable transportation system by improving public safety and welfare for all riders
    
• Contact your local State Representative and Sate Senator to check-in
  
  • Tell your stories and how they relate to the bills
  • Ask them to get in touch with committee chairs
• Contact the chairs of the committees this week!
• Track the bills using the bill numbers and stay in contact with your local reps for support as bills move forward

MassBike has many priority bills, yet right now the bills currently in the Joint Committee on Transportation are the ones we most urgently need to pass to support roadway safety and electric bicycle regulations. Using the contact information below, email your personal comments sharing why you support the bills and request they be favorably reported out of committee. 

Join MassBike for the National Bike Summit! The 2022 National Bike Summit will be taking place online & in Washington, DC from Sunday, March 27 to Wednesday, March 30, 2022. This year's National Bike Summit will be a hybrid event, with online sessions and in-person programming. All keynote speeches, plenary sessions, and panels will be held virtually. In-person attendees in Washington, DC, will be able to join the virtual sessions while also participating in in-person workshops, bike rides, and networking events. We want to bring a group of our coalition from across the commonwealth to share knowledge, learn from each other, and show our legislators that we have statewide support for better bicycling for all in Massachusetts.

Lobby Day will also be hybrid, with virtual House of Representative meetings for all attendees and in-person Senate meetings for in-person attendees. We hope to have a large delegation for the Lobby Day to show our stalwart public servants in Washington how much momentum there is behind better bicycling in Massachusetts.

Interested in attending but want to know a little bit more about what a virtual National Bike Summit entails? Check out our National Bike Summit 2021 Wrap Up and A Youth Perspective on the 2021 National Bike Summit blogs to learn more about last year's summit. You can also reach out to us at [email protected] with any questions you may have.

Early bird pricing is available until January 31st and youth participants (those under 21) can join the virtual summit for free. In-person attendance will require proof of full vaccination against COVID-19. You can find more information on the Bike League Website.

Register Today

On Monday, January 24th at noon we'll be hosting our first virtual MassBike Meet-Up of 2022. We'll be sharing a legislative update about bike-friendly bills in Massachusetts and what you can do to support them. We will also be discussing the National Bike Summit and how you can support bike-friendly initiatives at the federal level. 

Join to learn about:

• The status of bike-friendly bills in MA
• How you can help move bike-friendly bills forward
• The National Bike Summit & Federal Lobby Day

Our virtual Meet-Ups are meeting style which allows for attendee participation and there will be opportunities to ask questions. This session will be recorded and posted on the MassBike youtube channel within a few days of the event.

RSVP: January 2022 MassBike Meet-Up

MassBike Meet-Ups happen every fourth Monday of the month, these virtual chats fill you in on our work, give you a chance to ask questions, and let us know what you’ve been working on in your community. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, let us know by emailing [email protected]

MassBike is growing our team with an exciting opportunity in Central Massachusetts. We’re seeking a part-time employee to implement a 2-year grant program to distribute electric bicycles and track their usage in Worcester. The program will determine approximately one hundred riders in the Worcester area to receive bicycles, train riders through safe cycling and maintenance courses, and coordinate community events to encourage everyday riding. 

Job responsibilities include:

• Develop educational curriculum for e-bike pilot in partnership with program partners and MassBike Executive Director
• Community outreach for e-bike pilot program, and point person for e-bike pilot program participants
• Design and implementation of intake survey with program partners: Central MA Regional Planning, Mathematica, Worcester Earn-a-Bike, Landry’s Bicycles, and others
• Help design and oversee ride tracking platform & ride data collection
• Monthly reporting on e-bike pilot program
• Develops quarterly grant reports for program funder
• Work with Communications Coordinator to generate public-facing program updates for MassBike Website, Social Media, and more
• Coordinate MassBike’s statewide educational programs as point person for cycling instructors, as needed
• Work with other MassBike staff to coordinate regional events in Central MA and as needed 

Applications are due February 15, 2022, with an anticipated start date in March 2022. Any questions can be directed to [email protected]

Learn More & Apply

Photo by Erin Clark

The Massachusett Department of Transportation’s latest Shared Streets and Spaces grant round opened on January 10th and will close on March 1st. This latest funding opportunity focuses on increasing roadway safety and speed management, bike share, and connections to new housing and includes a new award type for relevant equipment purchases under $50,000. The project implementation deadline for awardees is June 30th.

Eligible Shared Streets and Spaces grant projects include:

• New protected bike lanes
• New off-road trails
• New bicycle parking
• Traffic-calming measures
• Capital costs for new bike share

In a webinar hosted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and MassDOT, snow removal equipment for sidewalks and bicycle lanes was discussed equipment that could be funded with the new “equipment purchases” award type. 

Shared Streets and Spaces grants have a focus on data collection and pre & post-project data will be required to help determine project impacts. The Barr Foundation recently published a study about Quick & Creative Streets projects which included projects funded by Shared Streets and Spaces grants that you can view at www.streetimpactma.org. The Barr Foundation will provide free technical assistance to any municipality interested in applying for the Shared Streets and Spaces funding, as they have done in previous grant rounds.

MassDOT is encouraging strong, creative projects and wants to see “every kind of project, community, and idea”. For municipalities interested in traffic calming projects, there is a new Safe Speed Resource, found that can be found at www.mass.gov/safe-speeds that includes a technical toolkit on new roadway treatments. MassDOT also anticipates another Shared Streets and Spaces grant round to open spring/early summer if your community doesn’t have a project ready for this round.

Learn more on the Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program web page. You can get more information from the MAPC & MassDOT webinar by checking out our Twitter thread or viewing the webinar recording and slide deck.

In 2021, MassBike helped make Massachusetts better for every rider through our Education, Legislation, Community Engagement, & Advocacy. By working with our coalition of partners, we were able to make impacts across the state as we rode towards a more bike-friendly future. Read on for a few of MassBike's top wins for bicycling in 2021 that were all made possible thanks to our generous MassBike Members.

Education

Cambridge "Cycling with Confidence" Program

• Teaching bicycling safety to over 2,000 students across the state through the Safe Routes to Schools program. 
• Bicycling education for older adults with our “Cycling with Confidence” program in the City of Cambridge and AARP webinars about getting back on the bike.

Legislation

• Passing a law that unlocks local Community Preservation Act funding for rail-trails across the state by working with champions in our legislature.
• Hosting an e-bike demo event at Hale Reservation for stakeholders & decision-makers to get to know the technology from behind the handlebars and move sensible electric bicycle regulations forward

Community Engagement

• Showcasing over 100 bicycling events statewide on our Bay State Bike Month Calendar and encouraging more folks to ride through Bay State Bike Month activities
• Distributing over 1,000 free sets of bike lights from Cape Cod to the Berkshires through our #LightsBrigade program to ensure cyclists across the commonwealth are riding safer and legally at night

Advocacy

• Honoring the lives of cyclists lost in crashes with annual events like World Day of Remembrance, while continuing to advocate for improvements in dangerous roadways
• Connecting MassBike staff, board, and fellow cycling advocates from across the state on a range of important issues through our monthly Executive Director Meet-Ups 

MassBike's Commitment to Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

• Onboarding new MassBike Board Members who reflect the broad range of cycling interests and regions we serve 
• Participating in ongoing equity, diversity, and inclusion training to better serve bicyclists in all communities

With your help, MassBike will continue to make Top Wins for biking! Join or renew your MassBike Membership before year-end and help shape our impacts in 2022.

Donate to MassBike