Talk To Decision Makers

For most advocacy campaigns, the key people to focus on are your elected officials and government agencies.

To call for better biking and walking infrastructure generally, the most important individuals to connect with are Mayor Ed Gainey (contact 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.

For more specific requests like getting a bike lane, sidewalk repairs, or traffic calming in your neighborhood, you’ll want to contact 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 bike, walk, and roll please take a second to find out who your councilperson is, and write or call to tell them with your ideas and requests! 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’s a formula for your call or letter:

• Your name and address
• The problem or opportunity you want to have addressed
• The solution you have in mind that you’d like them to consider
• Why it’s important to you and your neighbors
• A specific request such as a follow-up phone call, letter, or meeting.
• Remember to say thank you! Kindness goes a long way.

Try to keep it brief by only saying one or two sentences per bullet point above. Learn more about effective messaging in our Grassroots Advocacy Toolkit.

And here are some additional talking points:

• Pittsburgh City Council voted unanimously to adopt Vision Zero. Uphold that commitment to eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by investing in infrastructure and policies to aid safer biking, walking, and rolling!
• Implement the City of Pittsburgh Bike(+) Plan and Pedestrian Safety Action Plan. A well connected active transportation network makes everyone safer.
• Install bike lanes with proper protection whenever possible
• Calm traffic using speed humps, “your speed is” signs, pedestrian bump outs, better crosswalks, and pedestrian signals
• Install bike route signs
• Install 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 and on social media. 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. Tag @BikePGH too, and we’ll share it!

You may also want to report your issue via 311 or whatever system your municipality uses to gather input from residents. Click here to read our guide.

Remember: Whether via phone call, letter, social media, or 311, your message will carry 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 or attend an Intro to Bike/Ped Advocacy Call to learn how you can take action for safer streets.