Talk To Decision Makers

The key people to focus on are your elected officials, your employer, and government agencies.

Locally, the most important individuals to connect with are Mayor Ed Gainey (click here to email him) and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato (click here to email her). Call their office, send a letter, or email them stating that you’re a voter and that it’s important to you to make our region’s streets, business districts, and places of employment more safe and accessible for people who bike, walk, roll, and use public transit.

Next, in order of importance, is your city councilperson. It’s the councilperson’s job to represent the interests of the specific neighborhood(s) in which they got elected. They can’t represent those interests if they don’t know what matters to their constituents (i.e. you). So, if you care about making Pittsburgh a better place to ride a bike please take a second to find out who your councilperson is, and write him or her and tell them that you’d like your neighborhood to be made more bike-friendly! Most likely, you’ll be surprised at how engaged they are and the response you’ll receive.

You can also reach out to your representatives in our state and federal governments. Find a nearly complete list of your elected officials here.

Here are some talking points:

• Implement the City of Pittsburgh Bike(+) Plan
• Install bike lanes whenever possible
• Calm traffic using speed humps, “your speed is” signs, pedestrian bump outs better crosswalks, and pedestrian signals
• Install bike route signs
• Installing bike racks in your business district
• Pass Complete Streets legislation in your municipality
• Repair potholes and other dangerous road hazards
• THANK THEM!!!! If you see something you like, let them know! They get a lot of complaints, so praises go really far!

Elected officials and city/municipal staff also pay close attention to what their constituents are saying in local media outlets. Writing a letter to the editor is another great way to get the attention of decision makers. If your letter is published, you can post it on social media and tag relevant decision makers or email it to them.

Remember: Your message will cary more weight if it comes from many people at once through an organization like a Bike/Ped Advocacy Group or Registered Community Organization! Visit our Get Involved page to connect with other advocates in your area.