About Us

Bikeable Communities is a non profit 501c3 bicycling advocacy organization based in Long Beach, California.

Mission: BIKEable Communities champions bicycling as a viable, safe  form of transportation in order to create better places to live, work and ride.

Bikeable Communities honors the memory of an extraordinary bicycle advocate and a great friend, the late Mark Bixby, through the continued promotion of his favorite expression “Go Big or Go Home” to celebrate his spirit and to continue the pursuit of his mission for bicycle advocacy.

Bikeable Communities is working to achieve his ideals through the promotion of Safety, Access, Cooperation and Participation for everyone who rides – or wants to ride  - a bicycle in and around their community.

Safety: increase the number of bicycle facilities (e.g., bike lanes and paths, sharrows, separated lanes) and promote education to facilitate bike friendly streets throughout the city.

Access: keep streets, avenues, boulevards and bridges open and safe so bicyclists and pedestrians can navigate their environs (in, around and throughout the city) with a carefree spirit.

Cooperation: foster communication between municipalities to extend and maintain safe routes across city boundaries to inspire bicycle networked communities.

Participation: encourage people to ride their bikes to enjoy the excitement and experience the benefits of two wheel mobility by sponsoring fun, family friendly rides and events for all levels of riders.

Studies have shown, as more people ride their bikes the streets become safer.  Ride your bike and be a part of the solution.  Become a member so we can add your voice to the volume of our message about Safety, Access, Cooperation and Participation.

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What Bikeable Communities does

Accomplishments

Bikeable Communities has been a prominent force for bicycle advocacy in Long Beach since 1998. Led by Mark Bixby before his untimely death, the organization has successfully advocated on a local, regional and national level to shape policies, projects and initiatives that have significantly improved and enhanced the quality of life and raising the profile of Long Beach as a sustainable city to live, work and play.

Notable efforts by Bikeable Communities to advocate, promote and support active transportation include: Leading the effort  to secure a dedicated bike path on the soon-to-be reconstructed Gerald Desmond Bridge; safer bike facilities on Pacific Coast Highway from Long Beach to Huntington Beach by removing bus and tow-truck parking and other unsafe barriers; innovative infrastructure such as protected bike lanes, shared-road facilities and the development of Bikestation, the first bike-transit center in the U.S. now offering 24/7 access.

Other ground breaking initiatives include efforts to help raise Long Beach’s bike-friendly status with the League of American Bicyclists to Silver, and the launch of BikeFest and the Tour of Long Beach, now a charitable operation of Miller Children’s Hospital and a major draw for Downtown Long Beach. Other initiatives include Women on Bikes which facilitated the training of women to be Licensed Certified Instructors as well as promoting the joys of cycling to increase the number of women using bikes; and the successful procurement and execution of the 2012 ProBike ProWalk ProPlace Conference. Support of the City’s Bike Long Beach program remains a priority in order to sustain the City’s status as a national leader as a progressive, bike-friendly place.

Current Efforts

As Long Beach’s world-class bike infrastructure expands and evolves, and greater numbers of people of all levels choose to travel by biking, walking and using public transit, there remains much work to be done. Bikeable Communities is committed to engaging with residents, community leaders, businesses and other nonprofits to ensure that the work that has been accomplished in Long Beach and our surrounding communities will continue to flourish.

Current efforts include engaging with the city’s youth as well as the bike-racing community through cooperation with the Long Beach Park and Rec Department and sponsors to provide training events at El Dorado Park each Tuesday throughout the spring and summer. BC members are also working with Council Members and Park and Rec staff to ensure that venues such as the new Willow Springs Park are bike-accessible.

Bikeable Communities also remains committed to its advocacy and education efforts to engage people about the many benefits and best practices of safe and accessible active transportation through a more robust digital presence, strategic partnerships, educational seminars and skills-training classes and clinics that provide fun, interesting and hands-on experiences and opportunities for both new and experienced riders.

BIKEable Communities will continue to address many of the leading barriers to cycling while promoting the many economic, social and public health benefits of bicycling through technology, professional expertise and the deployment of brand ambassadors to represent focus areas such as underserved communities, women and family populations, healthcare providers, public transit agencies and public officials.

Why you should join Bikeable communities

Your contribution to and participation in Bikeable Communities helps ensure that cyclists and other community members have a voice at the local, regional and state levels. It makes sure that your concerns and issues are covered in the media.  It ensures that you have a voice in what happens in your community that is cycling related.

Bikeable communities gives you a place to share you views on what is important to you with regard to cycling in your community.  It gives you a chance to work with others toward common goals that will help make your community a safer place to cycle.

Notable successes for Long Beach that have drawn national attention

The Sharrows on 2nd Street

 

 

 

 

 

The Vista Street Bike Boulevard – the first bike boulevard in Southern California

The downtown 3rd Street and Broadway separated bike lanes

Separate bike and pedestrian facility included in the design (and ultimately build) phase for the new Billion Dollar bridge that will connect the downtown Long Beach to the Port.

Bike Corrals in downtown

 

 

 

 

The New Bikestation Long Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Future

The future is indeed bright and exciting.  Coastal connections from San Pedro to San Juan Capistrono.  Completion of the coastal trail from San Pedro to Long Beach.  Bike Friendly port policies.  New bike facilities in our regional parks. And working with businesses on bike friendly business districts…that are good business and good the community.  Safety programs aimed at educating both cyclists and drivers.  And working with policy makers to help ensure that all of this not only can…but will happen.

As our friend and mentor Mark Bixby would have said…it’s time to Go Big or Go Home.  And we intend to help fulfill his dream by Going Big.  Please help us by donating…or volunteering.

BOARD of Directors

Graham Baden

John Case

John Case is the founder of the non profit Bikeable Communities and the BIKESTATION, the first non profit bike commuter facility in the United States. BIKESTATION first opened in downtown Long Beach in 1996.  Bikeable Communities was formed in 1998 to promote urban bike transportation issues around the concept of the BIKSTATION. John had been involved in real estate development in the 80′s and was also involved in creating the 1st natural gas vehicle to cross the United States without a support vehicle.

Over the years Bikeable Communities has helped dozens of cities across the United States become more bike friendly. John lives in Long Beach. CA with his wife and son.

Blair Cohn

Blair Cohn was born and raised in Long Beach and studied Business Marketing at USC.  Blair is a founder of International City Racing and was Race Director for the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon. He also serves as the Event Director for the annual Tour of Long Beach. In his role as Executive Director of the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association, Blair helps organize the monthly Kidical Mass bike ride which connects the local community to Bixby Knolls Businesses.

Allan Crawford

Allan Crawford is a consultant who has worked in the areas of knowledge management, research, strategic planning and education for over 25 years.  He is co-director of the Master’s in KM program at  Cal State Northridge where he also teaches the course on Leadership and Innovation. For the past two years he has served as the Bike Coordinator for the City of Long Beach helping to oversee $20mm in grants designed to help make Long Beach the most Bike Friendly City in the US

Allan experience includes work in the energy industry, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, city government and Veteran’s hospitals.  He is also a professional photographer with photos appearing in a wide variety of publications.

Allan’s academic background is in geology, holding a PhD from the University of Wisconsin.

Martin Howard

Martin Howard is the President of Howard CDM, a general contractor and a developer of office, commercial and retail projects. His projects range from ski lodges at Mammoth Mountain to office buildings and the Pike in Long Beach.

Janae Nobel

 

Don Ward

Dorothy Wong

Dorothy Wong is an advocate, race director, bike educator, former elite-pro rider, competing in mountain, road and cyclo-cross bicycle racing. Dot is active in the bicycle advocacy in LA County and a board member of the California Bicycle Coalition.  She directs , an Altadena-based bicycle club that promotes bicycling among women and juniors. As director of Southern California Cyclocross and an ambassador for LUNA Chix Los Angeles Cycling Team, she uses her personal passion for racing to get more women and young people across Southern California involved ​in bicycling.  Advisors

Georgia Case

Melissa Balmer

 

 

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