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Wrapping up our Road to Zero Innovation Grant

In 2018, Bicycle Colorado was awarded funding from the National Safety Council’s Road to Zero Coalition to provide Bicycle-Friendly Driver and Auto-Friendly Bicyclist courses across Colorado. Since July 2018, we have reached more than 1000 Coloradans with important information about laws for bicyclists and drivers, how to navigate on street bicycle infrastructure, and how to avoid the most common crashes between bicyclists and drivers. 

As we wrap things up after 16 months of our Bicycle-Friendly Driver program we’re excited to share our results and next steps with you!

Communities we reached with our Road to Zero grant

Our Road to Zero grant by the numbers

Auto-Friendly Bicyclist

Participants

Communities

Classes

Bicycle-Friendly Driver

Participants

Communities

Classes

Train the Trainer

Participants

Communities

Classes

Totals

Participants

Communities

Classes

miles traveled for research and course delivery

Colorado communities where certified drivers live, work, or regularly travel

Feedback on the course

At the end of each course, we collected course evaluations from participants that helped us make sure our program was valuable and relevant. Here’s what we heard from participants who responded to the course evaluation: 

  • 97.2% strongly agree or agree that the course was valuable to them as a bicyclist or driver. 
  • 99.4% strongly agree or agree that the instructor was knowledgeable and helpful. 
  • 94.9% strongly agree or agree that they have a better understanding of laws and crash avoidance behaviors as a result of participating in the course. 
  • 90.4% strongly agree or agree that they feel more confident in their own ability to safely drive a motor vehicle around bicyclists. 
  • 90.3% strongly agree or agree that they feel more confident in their own ability to safely ride their bicycle on the street. 
  • 69.3% indicated that they plan to display their window cling or sticker on their motor vehicle or in a place where others can see.

And here are a few quotes from participants: 

  • “I think this information should be shown in driver education. As a driver, motorcyclist, and bicyclist there was a lot of new information that everyone should know.”
  • “I’ve been hoping there would be a class like this!“
  • “They really know their stuff! Really appreciate that Bicycle Colorado provides this training!”
  • “This course was valuable to me, even as an engineer and designer!”
  • “As an experienced bike commuter I learned a surprising amount from this presentation. I knew more coming out than I did coming in.”
  • “I have decades of bicycling experience both work related and personal riding … I took the test before the class and did not ace it.”

Train the Trainer

To ensure this content would be available in communities across the state after the grant period concluded we trained people in six communities to facilitate the course on their own; Lone Tree, Sterling, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Steamboat Springs and Lakewood. 

Bike Colorado Springs has already trained bus operators with Mountain Metropolitan Transit and we’re excited to see other communities deliver the program to interested audiences! 

Thank you

The success of this program would not have been possible without the support of our dedicated partners across the state. Since my third day in Colorado (my first day with Bicycle Colorado) I’ve had the pleasure of working with advocates and local government employees across the state. It’s been inspiring to get to know their stories and see their dedication to making Colorado a safer place to bike, walk and drive. I can’t think of a better way to get to know a new state than by getting to know people and their stories while doing meaningful work, so I’d just like to extend my gratitude to all of our partners on this project, not only for making the program a success, but for helping me feel at home. 

Where do we go from here? 

Each course we facilitated through the Road to Zero initiative was unique, but there was one consistent theme in the feedback we heard across the state, regardless of the audience: everyone should take this class. We agree.

Direct service education like we offer to the general public and through employers is just one component of creating safer streets for all. There are systematic changes that need to happen – from street design standards that prioritize safety for all people using our roadways to institutionalized continuing education requirements for drivers.

That’s where we need your help. We need to show lawmakers that people all across Colorado care about safer streets. Can you send a quick email to show your support?

Want to support Bicycle Colorado? 

Become a member today!

Molly McKinley

About the Author: Molly McKinley

Molly joined the team from North Carolina in 2018, where she served in advocacy roles with North Carolina Conservation Network and Oaks and Spokes, a local bike advocacy group. She works to build the grassroots movement for safer streets in Colorado by working to engage our members in statewide and local advocacy efforts, serving as the Vice-Chair of the Denver Streets Partnership, and supporting local bicycle advocacy groups around the state.

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