Vision

Ride On Boise is part of the Mayor’s vision of making Boise the most livable city in the country. The Ride On Boise initiative is the City of Boise’s commitment to promoting bicycling as a safe, healthy, and sustainable form of transportation for all of its citizens. By collaborating with local bicycle organizations to address the 5 E’s of Cycling (Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Evaluation and Planning), the City of Boise is dedicated to becoming the Bicycle Capital of America.

Why?

The City of Boise is passionate about bicycling and focused on building a community with sustainable transportation practices. The city can no longer sustain the congestion, financial impact, and health costs associated with increased automobile transportation. It is time to look to the future and commit to more sustainable and balanced ways to use our streets including biking, walking, and public transit.

How?

Beginning May 2015, the Mayor is challenging every citizen to “Ride On Boise” and commute (substitute a car trip for a bike trip) 50 times in the next year. If 5000 people accept this challenge, that’s 250,000 traffic, smog, and stress reducing bicycle trips in 2015. While citizens are pedaling, the City will be taking steps to help Boise becomea Platinum Level Bicycle Friendly Community by 2016.

Goals

  • 50% increase in Boise’s bike communting percentage by 2016 (3.7-5.6%),100% by 2020 (7.4%)
  • Apply for Bike Friendly Community status in 2015. Reapply for Platinum in 2016
  • Create a comprehensive bicycle master plan incorporating the “5 E’s” of bicycling
  • Lead the Nation in number of Bicycle Friendly Businesses
  • Provide accessible bicycle education to all of Boise’s citizens
  • Achieve a 10% annual reduction in the number of bicyclist-motorist crashes
  • Develop effective measurement practices to record biking data
  • Become recognized as one of America’s top 10 bicycle friendly cities (Bicycling Magazine Ranking-32)
  • Establish policies and ordinances that promote long-term bicycle friendliness

Addressing the 5 E’s

A community’s bicycle friendly status is evaluated through the “5 E’s of Cycling. ” These are the City of Boise’s recommended steps in each category to reach a Gold Bicycle Friendly Community status in 2015 and Platinum in 2016. Additional steps will need to be taken by ACHD and ITD to improve infrastructure on Boise’s streets.

Top 10 Steps

  1. Announce the Mayor’s “Ride on Boise” initiative at State of the City Address in June and/or Boise Bike Week Kickoff in May (Encouragement)
  1. Assemble a Mayor’s/City of Boise “Bicycle Advisory Committee”

(Evaluation and Planning)

  1. Recruit 100 businesses to apply for Bike Friendly Business status

(Encouragement)

  1. Create a CityofBoise.org/bicycle webpage featuring: Laws, maps, resources, safety videos, miles/trip tracking (Education)
  1. Create a partnership with the Boise School District to implement bicycle education into all 3rd and 8th (Education)
  1. Make free weekly bicycle-commuting classes available to the community

(Education)

  1. Use commuting classes to create a bike ticket diversion program

(Enforcement)

  1. Implement a Bike Share program

(Engineering)

  1. Create an annual city bicycle parade led by the Mayor during Bike Week / Tour De Fat / June 16th – Mayor’s Ride Day / other?(Encouragement)

10. Pass an ordinance encouraging largedevelopers to provide shower facilities,

bike racks, and other end-of-trip amenities (Engineering)

**Key Long-term Recommendation**

Announce the hiring of a Bicycle/Ped Coordinator for the City of Boise (short term solution- use a current City of Boise employee as liaison to the Advisory Committee).