Category: Policy, Politics, & Advocacy

Thoughts on public policy in biking and active transportation, elected officials and candidates and their stands on bike issues, and opportunities to advocate for a bike-friendlier world

Vintage watercolor illustration of red raspberries

Thoughts on Community Engagement Thanks to Picking Berries

Working in the yard, much like walking or riding my bike, frees my brain to run wherever it likes. Last July it brought me to a list of insights into the ways that community engagement is a lot like growing…Continue Reading

Photo of a sculpture in copper, bronze and steel, a woman lifting her arms to the sky with the dome of the capitol building framed by her arms. Behind her, white fencing along a sloping walkway to a dock, buildings, more docks, trees.

Actions You Can Take for Active Transportation: Following a Bill

Legislative sessions have their own pace. There’s often a flurry at the beginning as bills are filed. No worries, you have time to catch up on the reading before it gets down to crunch time. It’s okay if you didn’t…Continue Reading

Actions You Can Take for Active Transportation: Contacting State Legislators

When I served in the Idaho state legislature I quickly learned that many people didn’t really understand what level of government I served in (“Are you home from D.C.?”). If they thought about state lawmaking at all they thought about…Continue Reading

Photo with a long stretch of green grass in the center pointing toward the dome of the Washington state capitol building against a blue sky with puffy white clouds. On the left, an asphalt path. At right, a road bike leans against a sign that reads Visitor Parking.

Actions You Can Take for Active Transportation: Homework

Being an advocate or activist can feel so, so exhausting. You phone and email and call. You show up for the events. You donate and volunteer. Change is slow, progress incremental, sometimes you feel as if you’re going backward rather…Continue Reading

Bike/Life Lessons Learned

Many of my stories about who I am and the way I operate in the world start with a story about my mom. This is true about my bicycling even though I never saw my mom on a bike. She…Continue Reading

Go Ahead. Make My Day.

This post isn’t about what you think it is. It has nothing to do with Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry, or hand guns. Or anime, for that matter, if you’re thinking of a different movie/TV reference. And it’s not about the…Continue Reading

Page from program labeled WOMAN OF THE YEAR. At left, photo of a smiling white woman with short blond hair wearing dark blue glasses, a light grey dress, and pearl earrings. Text: BARB CHAMBERLAIN, ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION DIVISION, WSDOT Barb Chamberlain is a tenacious champion of building pedestrian and bicyclist networks that serve all ages and abilities. As WSDOT's first-ever Active Transportation Division Director, she raises awareness about active transportation safety, equity, and accessibility across the state and at the national level. Barb led the development of WSDOT's award-winning Active Transportation Plan, which is grounded in equity analysis and serves as a decision-making tool for active transportation projects across the state. The effects of her leadership are seen in the historic levels of active transportation funding in the 2022 Move Ahead Washington package. Barb shares her wisdom and expertise through multiple national organizations, raising the bar for transportation plans, standards, guidelines, and professional practice.

A Thrilling Night

Tuesday night brought an incredible event I have to capture: The Women in Transportation Seminar Puget Sound chapter named me Woman of the Year! I want to share my comments from the stage, or at least the version I had…Continue Reading

Photo of a beautiful new-looking sidewalk at the left-hand side of a street. The sidewalk comes to an end at some bushes and gravel. Nice low Landscaping bushes in a buffer strip between sidewalk and streets. Bike lane painted in the street starts up out of a patch of gravel.

No Thanks for No Sidewalks!

You know what people who drive can take for granted 100% of the time? Having a system of roads connected all the way from starting point to destination. I can start from my driveway in Olympia and go all the…Continue Reading

Thank Heavens for Kind Strangers and Transit

Ride #1 of 2024: Sunny, happy, delightful. Ride #2 of 2024: The reason I’m glad Olympia has transit. A few days after ride #1 I set off in the sunshine for a trip to a meeting with Lee Lambert, executive director of Cascade Bicycle Club. The very…Continue Reading

First Ride of 2024

Today I pedaled along East Bay Drive, smiling because I was riding my bike in the sunshine. So far this month we’ve had days of rain interspersed with sun and I’ve been getting in some long walks in Squaxin Park.…Continue Reading

Wheeling Sea to Sound, Day Three

Day three: A delightful finale to a thoroughly delightful Sea to Sound ride! One notable difference between this and many large bike events: There wasn’t any emphasis on finishing quickly, or first, or at all, if that wasn’t within your…Continue Reading