2015 We Bike. We Walk. We Vote: City Council Edition

Educate yourself on where the candidates stand on our issues and vote in the primary election on Tuesday, May 19. Your safety and well-being depend on it.

Biking and walking are political issues. When you choose to get around by foot or by bike, your actions relate to critically important issues: personal health, air quality, oil dependence, economics, infrastructure, and safety.

Our elected officials are important in making sure that the funding, resources, and policies are in place so that walking and biking is safe and convenient for everyone, no matter what neighborhood they live in, or whether they are 8 or 80.

Each election cycle, we survey the candidates to see where they stand on livability, biking, and walking issues. This was especially important during the 2013 Mayoral election, when we launched our We Bike We Walk We Vote Campaign.

About 12% of Pittsburgh workers have no car available to them to get to work, the 8th largest share out of the top 60 US Cities. Pittsburgh has the 3rd highest walking commuter rate in the nation, with some neighborhoods exceeding a 40% walking mode share, yet sidewalks are still disconnected, crosswalks and wheelchair ramps are missing, and drivers still have the reputation of breaking the speed limit and not yielding to pedestrians.

We know it’s important to our nearly 3,000 members to get to know their elected officials and find out what they think about these quality of life issues. BikePGH member or not, improving road safety is something that every neighborhood in the City desires and recognizes as a problem that needs attention.

We would like to sincerely thank all of the candidates for taking the time to fill out our questionnaire.

Following are the Council Districts with contested seats.

Council District 9

Reverend Ricky Burgess* – did not respond

Judith Ginyard

Andre Young – did not respond

Twanda Carlisle – could not find contact information

* indicates incumbent