Arlington County (as in the government) often says – in promotional posters, event sponsorships, etc. – that it is a bike-friendly place. 
But it’s not always clear to everyone what Arlington County actually does to be a bike-friendly environment.  To help shed some light on that, I’m passing along an Arlington County memo I received earlier today. It’s from March, and discusses a number of events that have come to pass, but I think it remains relevant and will be of interest to many of you:
Date:Â Â March 25, 2009
To:Â Â Â Â Â Â Dennis Leach, Transportation Director, DES
From:Â Â Chris Hamilton, Commuter Services Chief, DES Transportation
RE:Â Â Â Â Â Â 2009 Outreach and Education Efforts to Promote BicyclingThis is to bring you up to date on the staff efforts regarding
calendar year 2009 efforts to promote biking in Arlington. We’re
committed to supporting Arlington’s status as a Silver Level
Bicycle-Friendly City and promoting bicycling as a transportation
option for persons of all abilities through education and outreach.
In response to budget and staff constraints we’re looking at
reshaping some activities, including the Community Bike Ride. Here’s
an overview:Elevating Bike Culture In Arlington. On December 16, we hosted an
inter-departmental work-shop at which nearly 40 staff from DES
Transportation, CPHD Parks and Cultural Affairs, Police, ACPS, CPHD
and others met to discuss elevating Arlington’s bike culture. The
workshop, led by Charlie Denney and a team from Alta Planning
provided best practices from around the world and allowed for
brainstorming on how Arlington could do the same. Next steps include:
setting up a permanent County Inter-departmental Working Group for
Bicycle Issues; prioritizing strategies that can be implemented from
the Bicycle Element of the Master Transportation Plan; expanding the
discussion beyond staff to include the BAC, non-profits, businesses
and the general public; expanding educational and outreach efforts;
implementing bikesharing; and looking into holding Sunday Cyclovia
and other events for 2010.[more after the break]
