Who's Who of Baton Rouge Bike and Ped Advocacy (Part 2)
We at Bike Baton Rouge are proud of the advocacy, social, and community work we do to promote safe and fun biking and walking in the Baton Rouge area, but lucky for us, we are not alone in this venture! Read on for the exciting sequel to our first Who's Who post as we continue introducing you to more groups that share similar goals as us. (Again, if you think we've missed any, please leave a comment and we’ll update the post!)
Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX)
CPEX is a non-profit organization that coordinates urban, rural and regional planning efforts in Louisiana. They have a particular focus on transportation and infrastructure, environmental issues, and quality design for the built environment. In Baton Rouge, they have implemented several short-term projects that demonstrated strategies for improving walkability and bikeabilty. Examples include:
CPEX's 2016 Better Block demonstration on Perkin's Road.
- Baton Rouge Sustainable Transportation Action Committee (STAC): Pilot project using data to identify where key infrastructure updates would have the greatest positive impact for reducing pedestrian, cyclist, and car crashes.
- Better Block Baton Rouge: Temporary installations showcasing how street improvements, public spaces, and street life can improve community connection and local commerce.
These and several other community-based demonstration projects have helped residents see alternatives to our current state of car-dominated street life in Baton Rouge.
Bike Law is a network of independent lawyers and law firms that advocate for cyclists. They are social as well as legal advocates, and provide pro bono legal advice to cycling clubs and teams.
Local government
While change at the city level never happens as quickly as we would like, the City of Baton Rouge does share our goals of more walkable and bikeable streets. Did you know that the city has been recognized for being a Bike Friendly Community by the League of American Cyclists? (We've got Bronze Status!) Two groups below show some of the collaborations that our public agencies are a part of.
Complete Streets Advisory Council meeting. Image from AARP.
Council members, representing governmental organizations and a variety of advocacy groups, work with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to make sure that the State’s Complete Streets policy is being implemented and to develop methods for measuring if the goals are being met. Complete Streets is a policy that supports multimodal transportation options, creating more options for how people move through the region, and improving safety for everyone.
Capital Region Planning Commission (CRPC )
The CRPC is a Council of Governments serving eleven parishes that addresses regional issues related to transportation, land use, economic development and the environment. It focuses much of its resources on transportation planning issues and activities, which includes highway and transit planning, the regional ridesharing program, transportation safety, and air quality issues.