I see Mark Friis as soon as I walk into Stell Coffee & Tea, a popular cyclist hangout in Redlands, CA. He's relaxing at the counter, and as we shake hands he says, "Should we get a sandwich?" The barista, as well as the next 3 people who walk in, know Mark by name. That's because he is a well-known member of the cycling community in the Inland Empire. Mark is the Executive Director of the Inland Empire Biking Alliance (IEBA), an organization whose mission is to advocate for safe conditions for cyclists and pedestrians. The Alliance was born 5 years ago, after a fatality occurred in a local bike club. "I organized a ride," said Friis, "and lo and behold 350 people came out after only 3 days' notice. And then somebody said to me, 'Whatever you did here, you can't let it end here.'" Around the same time, Mark's wife was injured by a vehicle while walking, and that motivated him further. Mark has been commuting on bikes since he was a kid, and his experience in cycling and advocacy in Orange County has guided his leadership of the IEBA.

"Advocacy is a tough sell," he says, "everyone wants to focus on the good stuff, which is great, but the negative side has to be addressed as well – that's the tough part." The IEBA has been growing steadily. "We have come a long way with the board that we've built. We've had a fire chief, traffic engineer, ER doctor—even someone from OmniTrans (a local transit agency)." Having local community leaders involved with the Alliance lends them good access to decision makers. "You have to develop these relationships," says Friis, "we work with them, and often defend public policy, but at the same time, we will call a spade a spade. We will call you out if you are, say, trying to take advantage of Active Transportation funds just to widen an intersection."

According to Friis, education, especially educating kids, is important to advocacy. "Working with kids is one of my loves," he says. In fact, just before our interview he was teaching bike safety to junior high students at a local charter school. The IEBA's education program focuses not just on how to ride a bike safety, but on land use and psychology, giving kids a more holistic view of walking and biking safety. "We also really want to find a way to educate motorists," Friis says, "If you look at a street as just a way for cars to get from point-A to point-B, that road is no longer an asset, but a liability."

Friis believes that a fundamental change in land use is key to making active transportation work. "We need to look at the General Plans and zoning. Everything comes from the top, and if we don't make decisions from the top that make safety mandatory, we are not going to see significant change. There are so many mandatory safety aspects for cars, but for some reason, not for bikes and pedestrians." Friis also wants to see more biking and pedestrian projects get built, "I'm tired of seeing so much money go to just planning. Let's put some stuff on the ground."

As I drive away, I see Friis leaving the parking lot on his most preferred mode of transport (and it only has two wheels).

How does your community address bike and pedestrian safety? What would you do to improve it?

Credits: Photos Courtesy of the Inland Empire Biking Alliance. Data Linked to Sources.