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Vancouver area bicycle advocacy groups : approaches and effectiveness

University of British Columbia

The bicycle has been proven in many European cities and in some North American cities to be a viable transportation alternative to the car, whether used solely for short distance trips or in combination with transit for longer trips. The topic of this thesis is how bicycle advocacy groups work to get decision-makers and policies to recognize and reflect the needs of bicycle users and commuters and to support bicycle ridership as a viable alternative to the private automobile. The theoretical question explored is what elements contribute to effective lobbying on behalf of cyclists in local government decision-making processes! Public policy literature presents case studies of particular interest groups influencing various phases of the decision-making process. These studies tell about how groups have adapted to different political systems and have exercised influence. However, there has been little research into the types and roles of bicycle advocacy groups, with analysis of their effectiveness in local government decision-making processes. It would be useful for bicycle advocates and bicycle planners to know how bicycle advocacy groups can be most effective. Ten local area cycling transportation advocacy groups are described; Better Environmentally Sound Transportation, Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition, British Columbia Cycling Coalition, Downtown Cyclists Network, Burrard Street Working Group, the A M S Bike Co-op, Bicycle People, Critical Mass, People Not Cars, and Dinosaurs Against Fossil Fuels. The influence of six of these groups are examined in detail through interviews with Cheeying Ho (Executive Director, BEST), Richard Campbell (President ,VACC), Francis van Loon (President, BCCC), Guy Wera (Spokesperson, Bicycle People), Scott Nelson (Spokesperson, BSWG), and Ted Buehler (President, Bike Co-op). Additional interviews were conducted with area decisionmakers and planners. The conclusions drawn in this thesis are 1) the combined presence of different types of advocacy groups and approaches increases any one group's influence over policy, 2) the factors that inhibit bicycle advocacy groups' effectiveness and influence tend to be associated more with external factors than to defects of bicycle advocacy groups themselves, and 3) the lack of cycling education and awareness among the public limits the implementation and success of cycling transportation policies.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-06-17

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/9416

Planning

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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