The Bicycling Magazine People’s Choice Award - a new category in 2014 - is awarded to a state or local bike advocacy organization in recognition of exemplary work, executed within the past year, that has significantly improved bicycling. The People’s Choice winner has made a notable positive impact on bicycling and bicyclists in their community, whether through breaking ground on bike infrastructure or programs to make bicycling accessible to more people more often. Nominations will be received through the Alliance for Biking & Walking, and the winner is decided by popular vote on Bicycling.com.

2015: Bike Walk RVA

Bike Walk RVA – a program of the Sports Backers in Richmond, Virginia – beat out eight competitors to win Bicycling Magazine's People's Choice Award. Bike Walk RVA took the Richmond region by storm in 2014. They started the year by successfully campaigning to increase the Richmond city budget’s allocation for new bikeway and trail projects to $4.5 million (a 90-fold increase from the $50,000 in the mayor's proposed budget). By the end of the year, the money was already beginning to be spent, paying for the city's first buffered bike lanes.

Bike Walk RVA also helped drive the vision behind the city's first Bicycle Master Plan. And in October, the city adopted its first Complete Streets policy and is now moving toward implementing a bike-share system. Bike Walk RVA has been working on a project team with Chesterfield County staff to draft the county’s Bikeways and Trails Plan, which lays the groundwork for a network of 350 miles of paved shared-use paths and on-road bikeways. The plan is up for adoption later this year.

And finally, the organization launched and completed its first Bike Walk RVA Academy in the fall of 2014, a program designed to develop effective, empowered advocates for comfortable and connected walking and biking infrastructure in their communities. Bike Walk RVA’s busy 2014 deserves recognition, and the Alliance for Biking & Walking was proud to present it to them at Tuesday night’s award ceremony.

2014: Bike East Bay

The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART) began service in 1972 with no provision for access by bicyclists — and, sure enough, Bike East Bay (formerly the East Bay Bicycle Coalition) was founded that same year with the specific goal of gaining bicycle access. Early efforts provided limited successes, but it wasn’t until 2013 that a coalition of Bay Area advocates teamed up to convince BART to authorize pilot programs for full bicycle access. Thanks to the advocacy efforts from Bike East Bay, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and Bikes on Board, these pilots resulted in winter 2013 decision to finally allow bicycles onboard BART at all hours.

Thanks to the successful campaign, Bay Area residents are able to traverse the region with their trusty steeds in tow at all hours.