BICYCLE ADVOCACY
While Bike Fort Collins is proud of all its great programs that serve the community, Bicycle Advocacy is at our core, representing you and anyone who rides a bike in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado, as a collective voice for more bikes and safer streets.
BICYCLE ADVOCACY WAS THE CATALYST
The catalyst for Bike Fort Collins’ formation in 2005 was to advocate that the Fort Collins City Council fund a paid bicycle position on the city staff to promote bicycling and bicycle safety. Needless to say, we were successful and all these years later, we take pride in the strong relationship we maintain with the city and that position, which has now grown into its own department.
We were at the forefront of local bicycling related issues then, and we make it a priority to stay there now. In an effort to do so, and be able to proactively advocate on behalf of all cyclists in Fort Collins and the Northern Colorado community, Bike Fort Collins is a member of, or a BFC representative sits on numerous committees and groups, including but not limited to the following:
BICYCLE ADVOCACY SPONSORS
- Vision Zero Action Plan – Technical Advisory Committee
- North College MAX Transportation/Right-of-Way (ROW) Working Group
- 2022 Active Modes Plan – Community Advisory Committee
- Northern Colorado Bike & Ped Collaborative
- Larimer County Built Environment Leadership Team
- Colorado State University Bicycle Advisory Committee (CBAC)
- City of Fort Collins Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC)
- City of Fort Collins Downtown Dismount Zone Task Force
- City of Fort Collins Downtown Mountain Avenue Reshaping Project – Steering Committee
- City of Fort Collins Parks & Recreation Master Plan Update – Stakeholder Group
- Urban Renewal Authority North Fort Collins Investment Planning – Stakeholder Group
CURRENT INITIATIVES & PROJECTS
- Continuously advocating for instrastructure improvements in and around town.
- Development of a “Near Miss” tool or application for bicyclists to easily report near misses, enabling better tracking of such data.
- Advocating for and improving intersection safety with a “Paint the Pavement” or “Creative Streets” initiative.
- Ensuring PSD students (who don’t take the bus during the pandemic) travel to school as safe as possible
- Installing new and more communicative county & state highway road signage
- Advocating for a new Downtown Bike Park
- Formalizing urban singletrack connectivity along social trails within Fort Collins
SOME PRIOR BICYCLE SAFETY EFFORTS & INITIATIVES
A sampling of past bicycle safety efforts BFC has intiated or advocated for include:
- “On Your Left” Bike Bell Distribution
- Installation of North Fort Collins Bilingual Wayfinding Signage
- Conception of the Bicycle Friendly Driver Program
- Chain Reaction Program for Offenders in Bike Related Crashes
- Law Enforcement Code Training
- Town Hall Meetings (2015)
- Candidates for Elected Office Interviews on their position on Bicycle Issues
- The repair of the Poudre & Power Trails during COVID-19
- The construction of the Power Trail / Mail Creek Trail Overpass Connection
- Allowing Class 1 and Class 2 eBikes on Paved Trails in Fort Collins
- The construction of Phemister Trail Connection
- The addition of Transfort Sunday Bus Service
- A grade-separated crossing at Harmony Road and the Power Trail
- The Oakridge Crossing
- Colorado State University’s New Student Bike Safety Education Module
- The Big Jump
- Plug Into Nature in Northwest Fort Collins
- CDOT Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Funding for the North College Avenue Sidewalk Installation
LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION
Visit our News-Blog for the latest news on our bicycle advocacy efforts.
R.A.T. (RIDE-AROUND-TOWN) RIDES
RAT Rides are a way for our members and the community to participate in our bicycle advocacy efforts. They are casually paced, fun-rides designed to explore different areas across Fort Collins from a bicycle safety lens. Friendly, experienced ride leaders set a no drop, no attitude pace, and make frequent stops to smell the flowers and talk about road conditions, infrastructure, traffic volume, etc. RAT Rides explore a different low-stress bike route each time and every ride ends with libations at a local watering hole. Learn More
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