League of American Bicyclists

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), a cyclist's advocacy group was founded in 1880 as the League of American Wheelmen to improve riding conditions within the United States of America. The League was the leading organization advocating for the improvement of roads and highways in the United States throughout the last part of the 19th century, and has continued to serve as the leading membership organization for bicyclists in the US into the 21st century.

Contents 1 History 2 Advocacy 3 Education 4 Bicycle-friendly communities 5 LAB Reform 6 Contact information 7 External links

[edit] History

The League of American Wheelmen was founded in Newport, Rhode Island in 1880, and was the leading national membership organization for bicyclists in the United States. LAW also served as a governing body for bicycle racing in the US in the late 1800s.

The League was a prominent advocate for the improvement of roads and highways in the United States long before the invention of the automobile. LAW founded and led the Good Roads Movement in the US in the last part of the 19th century, and began publishing Good Roads magazine in 1892 - a full ten years before the founding of the American Automobile Association.

The League continued to play a leading role in bicycling issues in the 20th century. One example was the promotion and distribution of John Forester's Effective Cycling cyclist education program to clubs and educational institutions across the United States from the 1970s through the 1990s.

The League changed to its current name of the League of American Bicyclists in the early 1990s, and continues to serve as the leading membership organization for cyclists in the US.

[edit] Advocacy

LAB claims to serve as a voice for cyclists at the national level, and organizes an annual National Bike Summit to bring together professionals and advocates in Washington, D.C. so that they can meet with government representatives. The major event supporter is the Bikes Belong Coalition (BBC), a 501(C6) trade association for the bicycle industry which lobbies Congress for funds to build bicycle usage in the U.S.

In addition to BBC, LAB works in partnership with other organizations such as America Bikes ("leveraging federal transportation dollars for bicycling", primarily with BBC money), Thunderhead Alliance (lobbies for government money to encourage bicycle usage while receiving substantial industry funding), FHWA, NHTSA, NCUTCD and NCUTLO in order to "create a more bicycle-friendly America".

[edit] Education

LAB coordinates and promotes the "Bike Ed" program, which offers adult and child bicyclist education courses for a variety of skill levels in many locations across the US. Much of the content in these courses is based on the Effective Cycling program developed by John Forester. However, the Bike Ed and Effective Cycling courses are now separate programs offered by different organizations.

LAB also sponsors the biennial Bicycle Education Leaders Conference, and is active in Safe Routes to School programs at a national level.

[edit] Bicycle-friendly communities

As of May 2005, the LAB has formally recognized dozens of U.S. cities as bicycle-friendly communities for "providing safe accommodation and facilities for bicyclists and encouraging residents to bike for transportation and recreation":

[edit] LAB Reform

Some members of LAB are concerned with various decisions made by the LAB board of directors in recent years, and have formed a group calling for reform at LAB. The stated goals of LAB Reform are:

1. Regain control of the League for members by allowing them to elect ALL directors
2. Restore access to the ballot and Bylaws via the petition and referendum
3. Remove the veil of secrecy over the actions of the board and staff
4. Allow members a reasonable process to remove unethical directors
5. Promote the best and safest practices of cycling
6. Protect the rights of cyclists
7. Revive member services

[edit] Contact information

• 1612 K Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006
• 202-822-1333 (phone), 202-822-1334 (fax)

[edit] External links

• LAB website
• Bicycle Friendly Communities, another LAB website
• LAB Reform website