How to Get Wonky in Your Local Bike Advocacy (and Why You Should)
Last Updated on: 31st May 2025, 01:42 am
Wonk (noun): a person who takes an enthusiastic or excessive interest in the specialized details of a particular subject or field, especially political policy.
As we roll closer to the end of Bike Month, we wanted to demystify the behind-the-scenes local work that makes biking better — and show how you can be a part of it!
If you’ve ever tried to get involved with local planning efforts for better biking, you might’ve been initially taken aback by all the jargon and acronyms flying around. (Anyone hungry for alphabet soup?) Planning and policy language can indeed sound intimidating and feel inaccessible to those of us out of the loop, but all it takes to get started is a heaping dose of curiosity, a little time, and the confidence to ask questions. Getting wonky is really about showing up — and learning as you go!
There’s also some good news: you don’t have to be an expert to influence how your community supports biking. And if you don’t want to get wonky, you can absolutely still be an effective and changemaking bike advocate.
Step 1: Get Connected (or Step Up to Lead) in Your Community
Find a local bike or transportation advocacy group and see what they’re working on. They might already have a plan of action you can join. Check out our Local Resources map for organizations near you (though not an exhaustive list, it’s a good starting point). You can also run “(insert your town name here) Bicycle Advisory Committee” through your favorite search engine and see what comes up.
- In some communities, Facebook and Instagram are pretty crucial for bike-related communications. Check out your local social media scene to see if there’s action there. Bluesky is another up-and-coming platform for advocates.
- Also, signing up for email lists or newsletters from your city, county, state DOT, transit provider, or metropolitan planning organization (MPO) can all be great ways to stay on top of things.
If there’s not a lot of action in your community, that’s okay! Every advocacy group has to start somewhere. There may be folks near you who are interested in this topic, but they just don’t have the time, capacity, or willpower to drive it.
If you personally have the capacity and determination to get things moving locally, here’s your sign to take ownership of that role. Don’t give in to imposter syndrome and give up before you start — take confidence in knowing that if you’ve biked, walked, or navigated in the community you live in, that counts as valuable local expertise.
This post is about getting wonky, but if that’s not your style, you can still be an incredible bike advocate. Think about what you love about biking and what you want to share with your community. Organizing a ride, holding up a sign to draw attention to an issue, or simply sharing your experiences with local media or social media are all important parts of advocating for better biking. Do what makes you happy and gives you energy for advocacy, or at least do enough of that so that you have the energy to slog through some acronyms.
Step 2: Assess Your Community’s Progress
There are a number of ways to get started.
Is your community a Bicycle Friendly Community?
Check our map to find out if your community has been awarded a BFC designation from the League. If so, the BFC report card is a great place to find out our recommendations for what the community could do better (and see how far it may have come.)
Have a favorite bike lane?
Work backwards and find out how the bike facility you use the most was built, or how the trail system in your area was funded. By researching successful projects, you’ll discover the process that works when considering new bike facilities to build.
See other riders?
Connect with other people who bike in your area to find out their thoughts on roads that could be safer, bike lanes that end, or networks that could be improved.
Ready to get wonky? Start by checking whether your city or region has a bicycle plan or a transportation plan — many communities publish these online. These plans can give you a sense of how your local government thinks about biking and whether or not they’re taking steps to improve it.
- Here are a few resources and tips for researching bike plans:
- State: Plans & Policies (newly updated!)
- City: Plans & Policies
- Or use your favorite search engine to look it up!
- Tip: You may want to experiment with different search terms and special characters. Look for links from sites ending in .gov to make sure you’re finding accurate information, and double-check publish dates so that you’re not referencing outdated info.
- If you live in an area covered by a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), you may find additional bike and pedestrian planning documents or funding sources on their website.
Once you’ve found your city or region’s plan, look for goals related to biking and walking, see if specific projects are mentioned, and check whether there’s a timeline for making them happen. Even just skimming the plan can give you a better understanding of where things stand and what’s missing. Take note of how the plan discusses improvements, how it prioritizes investments, and who was involved in the planning process to identify people, commissions, or groups to follow-up with and how they might discuss improvements you’re interested in.
Step 3: Speak Up
Once you’ve done your research, speaking up and showing up is the next step that you can take. Once you’ve found a project, plan, or gap that needs attention:
- Send a message to your city council representative.
- Email is the easiest and your local government should have all your representatives’ contact information on their website.
- Social media is another potential way to reach out to local decision makers, but your message may get lost in the shuffle.
- Phone calls are still a great option!
- Show up to the public comment period at a council or commission meeting.
- Consider pairing your message with the results of a bike audit or bike count, or any other local data you can use to back up your ask. Photos can be helpful, so don’t forget to snap a few while you’re out observing the issue at hand.
- Ask questions like: “Can we add bike lanes to this upcoming project?” and follow up with data-based evidence, such as, “Bike lanes are an FHWA-proven safety countermeasure!”
- If you can’t get connected with local leaders, you can try elevating your story to local press:
- Finally — riding your bike can be a form of advocacy. By showing up on wheels, you’re representing cyclists and making your presence visible, which matters more than you may think.
- If you know of a project happening, ride your bike there to check it out. If you see roads coming up on the repaving schedule, ride your bike there to see if you can suggest changes. If you’re unfamiliar with part of your city, ride your bike there to see what it’s like on the ground before reaching out to local groups there or suggesting changes.
The Wonky Bottom Line
Getting wonky isn’t about knowing everything — it’s about staying curious, connecting the dots, and showing up consistently to keep momentum going. When no one’s asking questions, planning spaces can become echo chambers filled with jargon and out-of-touch decisions that aren’t aligned with what the community wants/needs.
The truth is: anyone can get wonky. You don’t need a degree, a dictionary of acronyms, or a collapsible measuring stick like Ken to be an advocate in your own right. Communities are better when people with diverse experiences help shape them — and your lived experience navigating your neighborhood is a powerful form of expertise.
Article from the The League of American Bicyclists. By Marlee Townsend.
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