Overall, the National Bike Summit has been a success and an opportunity for ZICLA specifically to be physically present in such a relevant event regarding cycling. We have had a great chance to meet many of the people who we only know through our computer screen.
What does Washington DC mean to ZICLA?
We have been able to travel to Washington DC after three years. DC is a very significant city for ZICLA in the US. It is one of the main cities that trust our solutions to improve its cycling infrastructure, and it is investing the most in mobility and urban innovation.
ZICLA has been one of the sponsors of the summit, and during its celebration assistants have had the opportunity to visit some of the Vectorial® system platforms installed around the city and experience the feeling of riding their bikes throughout the bike lanes protected with our Zebra® cycle lane separators, recently installed in the city.
Washington DC is a clear example of how a city can choose a better future, be more sustainable, and bet on alternative mobility. This makes direct reference to the event slogan “choosing or future”.
National Bike Summit 2022: Choosing our future.
The Bike Summit is an ideal setting with a wide variety of actors, with diverse objectives and interests. It makes the event very rewarding, due to the multiple issues it addresses and the interdisciplinary character of the participants (city representatives, advocacy groups, consultants, departments of transport, private companies, users/cyclists, etc.) The event is supported by official institutions; the participation of the US Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, is a proof of that.
Although we still have some of the talks pending to listen; overall, the feeling is that the US is choosing its future regarding the cycling infrastructure.
Safe cycling infrastructure in the spotlight.
During his speech, Pete Buttigieg, showed commitment to improving safety in the streets, what passes over the increase of cycling infrastructure, and over betting on bigger use of bicycles or alternative transportation. According to Buttigieg, “we are at the outset of an infrastructure decade… the president’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes things possible that just were not before from a bicycle perspective or an active transportation perspective”. He made direct reference to one of the main consequences of an unsafe street design: traffic deaths. “We can’t tolerate this level of death on our roadways as a natural thing, and I think we have kind of been socialized into thinking it is just inevitable. It doesn’t have to be this way. Safe and efficient bicycle infrastructure is important for local economies, supporting recreational cyclists and bike commuters alike. It is going to be a great decade for American bicyclists”.
ZICLA’s commitment to the upcoming development of the bike infrastructure.
At ZICLA, we have been working closely with cities, advocacy groups, and consulting companies for 15 years now. We are aware that we are living in uncertain times, and we understand the challenges the decision-makers face when promoting a paradigm change and introducing innovative solutions. That is why counting on proven solutions and examples, such as ZICLA products, is very useful to move towards a reversible, reconfigurable street redesign that does not definitively compromise the layout to provide versatility in front of imminent changes and new needs.
Thanks to the American League of Bicyclists.
Finally, we want to congratulate the League of American Bicyclists on the successful event. Also, we want to thank all the staff members for all the support and help that we receive for our participation, especially Bill Nesper and Kevin Dekkinga.
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