BikePGH and our community had some big accomplishments and milestones this year – and your support made it happen.

We’re reflecting on the progress we’ve made in achieving our mission in 2024- From exciting infrastructure improvements and grassroots advocacy, to an amazing OpenStreetsPGH series to brand new education programming, this year has been one of growth and momentum. There’s much to celebrate and look forward to as we continue to make getting around on Pittsburgh’s streets safer and more accessible.

Let’s take a look back at the key highlights of 2024 and what they mean for the future of safer biking and walking in Pittsburgh, and if you love this stuff, please consider donating today!

2024 Highlights include:

Advocacy

• Vision Zero: Mayor Gainey and City Council committed to eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries. BikePGH has long pushed for this important policy that will focus city attention on this national epidemic of fatalities on our roadways. One of the first things passed under Vision Zero was the approval of Red Light Cameras in Pittsburgh. 
• Penn Circle Conversion and protected bike lanes: It’s taken almost a decade, but the Penn Circle Conversion project is built, complete with beautiful protected bike lanes. When the project was first proposed, it was important that BikePGH had a place at the table, as it was unclear if bike lanes would even be part of the project.
• Future Infrastructure: We’ve been working hard to put the pieces in place for bike infrastructure that we’ll be seeing in the next two years. From protected bike lanes connecting Oakland, Uptown and Downtown, to Safe Trips in the Strip, 2025 will be a year of moving the needle. 
• Advocates stepped up! Our network of Bike/Ped Committees and advocates were key in providing a local voice to push for changes along Stanton Ave, E Ohio St, the Strip District, among others.
• Creative traffic calming: We worked with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Woods Run to install a traffic-calming asphalt mural and how-to guide for future communities to add functional art to their streets. 
• Our deep dive into how bike lanes have been distributed across Council Districts and low income communities helps make the case that investments in safe biking are lacking in the areas that need it most – where residents have low car ownership rates. 
• Week Without Driving: Through collaboration with partner organizations, we raised the voices of those who don’t drive (for lots of reasons), and encouraged Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and Mayor Gainey to “walk in their shoes.”
• We wrote an amicus brief to the PA Supreme Court on a case that could affect bicyclists across the state of Pennsylvania. Stay tuned early next year to see if the court allows bicyclists to choose the lane position that they feel is most safe – or if this decision will be up to a police officer.

Education

• We trained six cohorts of Pittsburgh Regional Transit Operator Trainees (250+ bus drivers!) on safe operation around bicycles! Our partnership with PRT also provided information and bike rack demonstrations at Operation Illumination and our other events. 
• We taught 24 students basic bike anatomy and repairs at our Know Your Bike classes in partnership with Free Ride.
• We certified eleven new League Cycling Instructors at our April seminar who have been hard at work spreading the love and skills of biking including both of our Educators of the Year and our very own Advocacy manager, Seth Bush! 
• Our Confident City Cycling program taught 54 adults the skills and hands-on experience to master bike commuting in Pittsburgh. 
• It was our biggest year ever for our Operation Illumination program! We donated more than 750 front and rear light sets and 222 helmets at four events across the city and other giveaways with community partners.
• 2024 was also the first year for our Learn 2 Ride summer event series that provided free riding lessons to first-time riders of all ages at The Bud Harris Cycling Track in partnership with POGOH and CitiParks. 
• BikePGH assisted two more PPS middle schools, Allegheny Traditional and King, to apply for and receive Outride bike programs providing 25 bikes and helmets each so kids can ride during their gym classes. 
• In 2024 BikePGH’s education program worked with over 500 kids across 10 different Pittsburgh schools to provide bike safety education and resources.

Events

• The annual Bike to Work Day celebrations hosted Commuter Cafes in Market Square, Oakland, and the Strip District, distributing free goodies to hundreds of people biking to work. We biked to work with Mayor Gainey (!) and gained 22 new BikePGH members to support our mission.
• OpenStreetsPGH series presented by UPMC Health Plan visited 8 unique neighborhoods, including the Historic Hill District for the first time, inviting residents and community members to bike, walk, run, skate, and play in over 12 Miles of car-free Pittsburgh streets. OpenStreetsPGH once again partnered with over 120 community businesses and organizations to offer free programming + entertainment for all ages and abilities.
• Our 31st Annual UPMC Health Plan PedalPGH fundraiser visited 30+ neighborhoods and partnered with over 25 local businesses and organizations. Over 2500 participants rode an estimated 90,000 miles and raised $275,000 to support safe biking and walking in PGH.
  
• Our WMNBikePGH program had an action-packed year connecting with hundreds of women, trans, and non-binary people who participated in our events.
  • We rode bikes with over 200 people at the 10 community group rides we hosted. 
  • At our Gear Swap over the summer, we brought together dozens of people to “rehome” their gently used bicycle gear and clothing.
  • 25 people joined us for the 4th Annual WMNBikePGH GAP Camping Trip in September. 
  • We held our 11th Annual WMNBikePGH Summit in October, where 60+ friends came together to learn from local and national experts at in-person presentations, on-bike workshops, and activities focused on boosting skills and encouraging women and non-binary representation in cycling.
    
• We partnered on Pittsburgh’s Sixth Annual Campus Bike Week with the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, and Chatham University. We engaged over 1000 students, faculty and staff in biking and walking (as well as other transportation options!) with free classes, rides, info fairs, commuter cafes and more.
• Volunteers continued to be deeply engaged with Bike Pittsburgh, with 202 individual volunteers at Bike to Work Day, OpenStreetsPGH, PedalPGH, and Monthly Volunteer Nights. We also engaged 8 volunteer groups from local businesses and organizations at OpenStreetsPGH and PedalPGH for a total of 1014 volunteer hours donated to our cause (that’s the equivalent of TWENTY FIVE 40-hour workweeks!) 

Membership and Community

• The Pittsburgh Bike People Outreach Team attended 89 community events to spread the word about BikePGH and POGOH’s missions and provide resources to residents across the city.
• Bike People distributed:
  • 8 boxes of Bike Maps
  • 2 boxes Family Guides
  • 1 box E-bike guide
  • 1000  BikePGH branded stickers
  • 500 BikePGH chapsticks (they were really high quality and awesome, fyi lol)
• # Newsletter Sign-ups from Bike People Events: 530
  
• In 2024, over 3,400 individuals supported BikePGH through memberships and donations.
• Our May Membership campaign contributed to 229 folks renewing their BikePGH memberships or joining us for the first time!
• Our Membership Program received a huge upgrade, with the addition of local bike-friendly businesses signing on, offering exclusive discounts to BikePGH members.
• We donated BikePGH merchandise to over a dozen Pittsburgh nonprofits in support of their fundraising efforts.
• Our Lifetime Membership tier launched with an incredible 15 engaged supporters participating (and counting!).
• We collaborated with the Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, selling a limited edition T-Shirt, donating all proceeds to their life saving work to the LGBTQIA+ and HIV communities.
• This December, we hired BikePGH’s first Development Director! We are excited to expand our team and our capacity to explore revenue streams that support BikePGH’s operations and programming

We believe that every walk or ride you take should be a safe one, so please help keep the momentum going forward! Through our Advocacy, Education, and Community, we’ve made so much progress for safer biking and walking in 2024. And yet, there is still so much to do. YOU are the key to making it happen.

We need to raise $100,000 by December 31st, 2024— and this is the best time of year to show your support, as every dollar will be matched. Please donate now! Every dollar you give will double the impact for making Pittsburgh safer and more connected for everyone who bikes, walks and rolls in our beautiful city.