Celebrating progress, recognizing outstanding members, and supporting safer biking and walking in Pittsburgh

It was an energizing and inspiring day at our 2024 Members Meeting, where we gathered with our community of cyclists, walkers, and supporters. With around 3,400 members, it was fantastic to see so many of you come together to reflect on the year’s achievements and look ahead to what’s next. From community programs to advocacy efforts, your support continues to advance the work that makes Pittsburgh a safer, more connected city for everyone who bikes, walks, and rolls.

This year’s meeting also happened to land on the biggest day of the year for fundraising– Giving Tuesday. Thank you to each and every one of you who participated in our in-person raffle that really helped push us over the edge and meet the day’s fundraising goal! Congrats to our raffle winner Dave Sobal, who is also a wonderful asset to the bike community.

Members also heard from our Advocacy Director Eric Boerer, Events Director Kéya Joseph, Education Manager Ted King-Smith, and Membership & Donor Manager Thom Harr on the year’s highlights, which you can also read about in our 2024 Year in Review blog. Thank you to this group for the entertaining and informative speeches, complete with everything from semi-successful jokes to microphone tricks.

BikePGH presented awards to standout members

We had the privilege of recognizing some outstanding members who have gone above and beyond in their advocacy, education, and volunteer work.

Read on to learn more about the awardees and how their fantastic work furthers our mission, as well as how YOU can get involved in making Pittsburgh better for people who walk, bike, and roll.

Advocates of the Year – Highland Park/East Liberty Bike/Ped Committee & Morningside / Stanton Heights Livable Streets

Award presented by Seth Bush, Advocacy Manager:

“Many advocates were involved with the Safe Stanton Ave campaign that successfully transformed Stanton Ave between Chislett and Meadow Streets into a true Complete Street that is now much safer for people biking and walking with exciting upgrades such as parking protected bike lanes, one of the first bus boarding islands in the city with a bike lane, intersection daylighting, speed tables, and other much-needed traffic calming features. This award goes to members of the two advocacy groups that led this campaign: the Highland Park / East Liberty Bike/Ped Committee and Morningside / Stanton Heights Livable Streets. This wouldn’t have happened without their hard work to lobby their councilperson, lead walk audits, gather petitions, share stories of support, knock doors, turn people out to public meetings, and so much more.”

Volunteer of the Year – Thomas Wagner

Award presented by Nora Andrews, Volunteer & Community Outreach Coordinator:

“BikePGH is endlessly grateful for the dedicated support of our incredible volunteers, who make each event better and brighter year after year. Our events wouldn’t be what they are without the hard work and enthusiasm of this remarkable group.
We are thrilled to recognize Thomas Wagner as our 2024 Volunteer of the Year! Thomas has been a steadfast volunteer with BikePGH for years, and also serves as the chair of Southside Smart Streets. As the PedalPGH Sign Teardown captain, Thomas organized a dedicated team of BNY Mellon volunteers, and completed the process faster than ever. His kindness and attention to detail have been invaluable this event season. We are so thankful for everything Thomas contributes to our community.”

Educators of the Year – Lucy Klug and Sarah Sleva

Award presented by Ted King-Smith, Education Manager:

“Since becoming League Cycling Instructors at our training seminar this April, Lucy Klug and Sarah Sleva have worked together tirelessly to develop their skills as educators and implement educational programs at The University of Pittsburgh. As Pitt’s Mobility Specialist, Lucy has championed cycling as a sustainable and enjoyable form of transportation on and off campus. As Assistant Director of Outdoor and Adventure Pursuits, Sarah has put cycling front and center by planning rides and activities and managing the Pitt Bike Cave- a student-run bike repair shop on campus. Collectively, they have already hosted 23 rides and classes this year including Confident City Cycling classes, POGOH demonstrations, bike maintenance classes, and more! They are models of how educators can build a community to support cycling.”

Thank you to each and every one of you for your dedication— we are deeply grateful for your contributions to the community!

Special thanks to Kim Lucas, Director of DOMI

A special thank you to Kim Lucas, Director of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility & Infrastructure, who joined us to share insights about the City’s 2025 plans, Vision Zero updates, and the past year’s achievements. BikePGH’s Executive Director Scott Bricker also facilitated a fireside chat with Kim so that she could take questions from members and discuss mobility matters in real time, and talk about what we can do as advocates to support the City’s efforts. It’s really the collaborations like these that help push the needle toward a safer and more sustainable transportation system for all Pittsburghers.

As we celebrated our collective wins, we also acknowledged the work still ahead. There’s much more to do to ensure that biking, walking, and rolling are safe and accessible for everyone in Pittsburgh. That’s why we’re so grateful for your continued support, which helps us keep up the momentum for meaningful change.