creating a "Bike Friendly" town?

I am currently trying to get my town to become more bicycle friendly. Riding more in town, created a facebook page (doing pretty well on that), talking to local business owners and just making my intentions known. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to work city councils into putting money into the community of cyclers/commuters by putting up "share the road" signs or bike lanes? Its a small podunk town in Kentucky about 5 square miles.
Also, what would the requirements be for roads to put bike lanes in?
Thanks,
Billy Dengel
http://www.facebook.com/BicycleFriendlyCampbellsville

This website has a lot of links to bicycle advocacy groups and others who might be able to help you develop bike lanes in your town: http://www.bicyclinginfo.org

You might be able to find a regional advocacy group who can help you.

So while this is about walking, not bicycling, I think the guerilla publicity stunt of it was/is rather brilliant:

Walk [Your City] Kickstarter Campaign
Walk [Your City] website
Walk [Your City] FB page

I kinda wonder if similar awareness signs or such could help with bicycling. I think it's rather inspiring in any case.

OH! Here is a town that adopted the Walk Raleigh model for bicycling: http://handbook.neighborland.com/good-ways-to-make-biking-better-the-broad-to-bayou-bikeway/.

Good on you, and good luck!

speak their language: money. cyclists spend more.

I just got me a 3 wheel adult trike with a basket, for errands and exercise..etc. I tried to put a rear view mirror on it but the one I bought won't fit so I'm still looking. Scarey..I live on a truck route and it is difficult to pull off the road if semi's are passing as it is not a level grade on the road apron..and I have trouble turning to look behind me cause of neck stiffness, etc. but I really want to ride safely and get stronger doing so.

No chance of anyone making bike paths out here or paving the aprons

Oh, cool, Brenda! Have a pic to share?

There was an adult trike for sale in our town a while back and I imagined a whole local, low carbon delivery service business with that basket and maybe a bike trailer.

Brenda, look at motorcycle and scooter mirrors. They are usually heavier, bigger, with real glass and longer stem so they work better on a trike.

There's a big movement right now in city/transportation/land use planning called "Complete Streets". The basic idea is that if a street serves only cars, it's not complete- it also needs to serve pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, disabled people, the elderly, children, and maybe even have traffic calming, ecological landscaping, or other features. Complete Streets is context-sensitive and is a good way for permaculturists to start a conversation with local government and planners. There are some grants and state funding available for Complete Streets projects.

nathan luedtke wrote:There's a big movement right now in city/transportation/land use planning called "Complete Streets". The basic idea is that if a street serves only cars, it's not complete- it also needs to serve pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, disabled people, the elderly, children, and maybe even have traffic calming, ecological landscaping, or other features. Complete Streets is context-sensitive and is a good way for permaculturists to start a conversation with local government and planners. There are some grants and state funding available for Complete Streets projects.

Awesome.

I found the following pic in their slideshow on their Fundamentals page:



I thought this was one of the better street designs for multi-use, even if a bit overly homogeneous in the landscaping.

There were plenty of examples of bike lanes done fairly well, though in my quick look, I didn't see any bike lanes with protective curbs as they have in Europe (I think).

Also from the slideshow:

Every trip starts and ends with walking.

Brilliant.

Greetings from an even smaller Podunk Kentucky Town . One topic you may be able to tie into is the growing obesity epidemic {of which Kentucky is a leader}. Many communities have a GetFit type of campaign. Stop Smoking , etc. One town north of here built a community Gym - nice one. The local hospital offers it's employees a discount and gets a discount on it's group insurance plan. So , getting your town to start by outlining a "Fitness Bike Path" might be a start. If your community is like ours , there are not even good shoulders on the roads. One bad move and your are off into the maple trees . Tax bases are poor and getting funding to enlarge roads for bike paths are not viable options in most small towns. Our county paved a 6 mile stretch of old railroad as a fitness trail /nature trail . Makes a good 50 minute work out on a bike.

An update from the original post.
Well here's what's been going on in Bicycle Friendly Campbellsville. Since I wrote the original post we have been doing a lot. It was a lot like creating a market for something. I started hosting group bike rides and posting videos and biking events on the facebook page for the cyclists in the town. I also got in touch the with tourism department and got them interested in the town hosting one of the biggest cycling events in the state (we get to host 2015's ride). I was invited to the local extension office to speak about cycling to the Healthy Living Coalition where we discuss health issues in the town. The mayor and everybody was there and we are now trying to become a certified "Trail Town" where local attractions are connected by bike trail and we can be connected to other cities by trail. We hosted a Triathlon this weekend and had a good turnout and will probably have another one next year.
To make a longer story shorter, by getting more people involved and interested, talking to the city officials about the economic benefits of trails (speaking their language =$$$), and delegating smaller tasks to trusted individuals it can happen. It's a long road, but it's lined with bikes
We now hold bi-weekly rides for beginning cyclist to teach them how to ride safely in traffic and you can definitely see an increase in cyclists on our streets.
Thanks for your input.
Billy Dengel
www.facebook.com/bicyclefriendlycampbellsville
www.facebook.com/campbellsvilletaylorcountytrailtown

Remarkable work. Well done!

Seconding that! Any pics you'd like to post, Billy?

There's a bunch of photos on the Facebook sites listed above.
This is a photo from an 18 mile ride we have that visits a local vineyard and winery. The owner takes us inside the cave cooled winery and we get to sample the goods. 🍷

Awesome! Looks extra funky upside down!

Full length independent feature mystic film with bikes as a focal point just for fun from the town that made Fat Tire famous. https://www.facebook.com/groups/whensday/ trailer

I apologize for not stopping by here earlier. Like, say, a month go. I am on the county's bicycle advisory commitee here, and I see what you are going through all over around here: How do you make the place better/safer for bikes and peds? Routes and amenities are the two biggies: Places to go and ways to get there. It can be as simple as lowering speed limits and adding bike racks. As a matter of fact, that's a big part of it right there.
Also, you need to make sure local cyclists aren't their own worst enemies. If you want drivers to share the road with cyclists, cyclists need to share, too. I've seen too many "critical mass" rides do far more harm than good when it comes to public relations to promote cycling. Being really annoying (as much fun as it is!) seldom really helps in the long run. And trust me, this is a very long run, indeed. Making any place bicycle friendly takes decades. Seriously. The only thing that happens overnight is that it gets dark for a little bit. You want bicycle friendly? Be in it for the long haul- for years. Run for City Council. Get on committees. Speak at meetings. Be The Cyclist.
And savor the small victories- they do add up.