History
February 2002 Bike Pittsburgh began in the Winter of 2002 when David Hoffman was hit by a car at the intersection of Negley and Penn Avenues on his bicycle commute home from work. Hoffman decided to use the exposure to bring attention to bicycle safety by starting a local website dedicated to it.
June 2002 The site attracted thousands of visitors. Scott Bricker who had a strong interest in advocacy, and Lou Fineberg who had just written and published 3 Rivers on 2 Wheels, a bicycle guide book to Pittsburgh contacted Hoffman to see how they could get involved. Hoffman’s commitment to safety, Bricker’s emphasis on advocacy, and Fineberg’s interest in community building laid the foundation for Bike Pittsburgh’s core values; the purpose of which is to make Pittsburgh bicycle commuter friendly and promote and encourage bicycling as viable form of transportation.
August 2002 David invited his employer at the time Ed Engler, and George Schmidt, a stalwart of the local bicycling community to join them in starting Bike Pittsburgh as its initial Board members.
December 2002 Bike Pittsburgh files articles of incorporation
January 2003 Filed for and received 501(c)3 non-profit status
February 2003 Bike Pittsburgh’s first Meet and Greet was held in February of 2003 at The Sharp Edge and drew about 60 interested people.
May 2003 Bike Pittsburgh started establishing a strong working relationship with Free Ride, a fledging bicycle recyclery based out of Wilkinsburg.
Fall 2003 Free Ride became a project of Bike Pittsburgh and the two have since been essential for each other’s growth and success. Besides close collaborations Bike Pittsburgh is Free Ride’s fiscal sponsor, but it is run independently. It is this role that Bike Pittsburgh has since started to play for another bicycle organization, PTAG (Pittsburgh Trails Advocacy Group).
February 2004 The second Meet and Greet was held at Free Ride and drew well over 100 people. At that event people were asked to sign up for working groups such as the Infrastructure Working Group, which would lay the foundation for the bike routes that the city will start marking and adding lanes to in 2007.
Spring 2004 It was clear at around this time that Bike Pittsburgh should assume the leadership of Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Urban Cycling Committee especially after so many Bike Pittsburgh members came out to a Penn Dot open house to insist on bicycle improvements to the West End Circle. One of Bike Pittsburgh’s strengths is its proven ability to motivate people to attend public meetings making sure that bicyclists are being considered.
Spring 2004 continued Bike Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, and the Sprout Fund collaborate on installing Three Rivers “Public Art” Bike Racks around the city. This proved to be a major early victory that helped garner Bike Pittsburgh a great deal of attention. The racks were manufactured by Red Star Studios and designed by Wall to Wall Studios thus keeping the whole process local. The project demonstrated that bike advocacy was more than just infrastructure and education, but also that art and good design would play a key role.
Spring 2004 continued It was becoming obvious is that the demand for bicycle advocacy and a sense of community among bicyclists was great. David Hoffman quits his full-time job to become acting Executive Director on a volunteer basis.
June 2005 Eric “Erok” Boerer conceives of and chairs the planning effort of the first BikeFest. It was a huge success with over 40 events over the course of a week and a half. Thousands participated. BikeFest has really become Bike Pittsburgh’s signature event. It also benefited from a Sprout Fund grant.
August 2005 Through Sustainable Pittsburgh’s outdoor amenities program Bike Pittsburgh was funded by Richard King Mellon Foundation to assist the city in determining the most desirable bicycle routes for including bike lanes and share the road markings.
August 2005 continued This grant enabled Bike Pittsburgh to hire its first full time Executive Director and a part-time staff member. Scott Bricker was hired to take the helm as the organizations first full-time Executive Director and Eric Boerer was enlisted as part-time staff.
Fall of 2005 Lou Fineberg becomes Board president.
January 2006 David Hoffman takes full-time job with The Alliance for Biking and Walking (formerly the Thunderhead Alliance), a bicycle advocacy group working on the national level.
January 2006 continued Bike Pittsburgh establishes a monthly meeting with Pittsburgh City Planning.
June 2006 BikeFest II a resounding success despite some bad weather. Bike Pittsburgh attracts 50 brand new members and raises $5,000 to pursue its mission.
Summer 2006 Bike Pittsburgh encourages City Planning to form a number of Bike Infrastructure working groups to tackle problems related to trails, road maintenance, bike lanes, bike parking, and bridges.
September 2007 Ed Engler takes over as Board President
November 2006 Bike Pittsburgh launches new website
Spring 2007 Bike PGH’s work gave the city our first commuter-oriented bike lanes and shared lane markings on Liberty Ave in Bloomfield/Lawrenceville
September 2007 Bike Pittsburgh and PennDOT work together to install bike lanes on the popular Birmingham Bridge. This is also the first use in the City of Pittsburgh of the “blue” bike lane, a method used in many bicycle-friendly cities to help cyclists cross intersections.
October 2007 Bike Pittsburgh releases first on-street Pittsburgh bike map in fifteen years. In only a few months, we gave away almost 20,000 copies.
December 2007 Bike Pittsburgh launches the Corporate Sponsorship and Employer Program.
May 2008 Bike Pittsburgh releases the Pittsburgh Bike Map, online. This is one of the most comprehensive bicycle maps of any U.S. city.
August 2008 Bike Pittsburgh and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announce the creation and hiring of a new city position, the Bike/Ped Coordinator. This is the first one in the State of Pennsylvania.
August 2008 The Port Authority, working with Bike Pittsburgh, announces the lifting of some restrictions regarding bicycles. There are no more peak restrictions on the incline, and folding bikes can be brought onto the T and aboard buses (provided there’s no rack) at any time.
September 2008 According to the US Census, Pittsburgh increases its bicycle commuters by 37% from the year before.
October 2008 Bike Pittsburgh launches the 2009 version of our popular Pittsburgh Bike Map. This time we increased the number of copies and made some changes and updates.
October 2008 Bike Pittsburgh and the City work together to give East Liberty Blvd Pittsburgh’s first safety-improving “road diet.” One lane of car traffic was removed to allow for a bicycle-only lane.
November 2008 Launched bikethestrike.org to help cyclists out in the event of an impending Port Authority Transit Strike. Fortunately, the strike was averted, but a concise “how to bike to work” guide was created.
December 2008 Our Pittsburgh Bike Map wins Print Magazine’s Regional Design Annual Award
January 2009 New bike rack installation ordinance unanimously passes City Council making it easy for businesses to install bike racks in the public right of way. Municipal Code 419.05 (b)
April 2009 Prevention Magazine ranks Pittsburgh 10th Best Walking City. The Reason: Hiring Bike/Ped Coordinator (see August 2008). Also that week, Good Magazine ranks Pittsburgh as one of the “7 Best Burgeoning Bike Scenes in North America.”
May 2009 Bike Lanes installed on Wightman and Beacon Sts in Squirell Hill
June 2009 We launch the ambitious Car Free Fridays campaign. It’s a program designed to reward people for not using a car.
August 2009 Sharrows installed on Pittsburgh’s most famous road, Penn Ave through the Strip District connecting to the Liberty Ave bike lanes
September 2009 Bike lanes and sharrows installed on Forbes Ave in Squirrel Hill. This needed “backbone” connects S Braddock Ave to Carnegie Mellon University.
October 2009 We release our Bike Commuting 101 Guide, available in both print and online formats in partnership with the City of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, and the Sprout Fund. This comic book style educational guide makes reading about urban cycling almost as fun as actually riding!
October 2009 200 new bike racks to be installed when the City launches bike rack program including a rack request form
November 2009 We reached the milestone of having 1,000 full-paid members
January 2010 We moved to a new storefront office space in Lawrenceville’s Doughboy Square, at 3410 Penn Ave
March 2010 Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passes the Bike Parking Ordinance, an amendment to the Zoning Code that requires all new or “change-in-use” buildings to install secure bike parking
April 2010 We release the third printing of our award-winning Pittsburgh Bike Map
May 2010 The League of American Cyclists awards Pittsburgh a Bronze Level Bike-Friendly Community status
Current Making History!!
