Bikes Belong Coalition's Safe Routes To School Media Tour Reaches 20 Million Americans
(Brookline, MA - December 4, 2002) Bikes Belong Coalition, the bicycle industry's advocacy voice, announced today results from the Safe Routes To School Radio Program, which reached out to twenty million radio listeners. The Radio Tour consisted of pre-scheduled, back-to-back-to-back, live, on-air interviews between Safe Routes representative Deb Hubsmith and prepared radio announcers. An Audio News Release was also prepared and was aired on nationally syndicated radio programs. The ANR showcased the Safe Routes mission, the benefits of children cycling and walking to school and gave tips on how parents can get involved.
Deb Hubsmith, director of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition and Spokesperson for the Safe Routes to School initiative, was the spokesperson for the radio media tour. In addition to broadcasting the tour on national radio outlets, programs were also heard on local stations in Detroit MI, Seattle WA, Minneapolis MN, Phoenix AZ, St. Louis MO, Charlottesville NC, Redding and Stockton, CA. The radio tour occurred at prime time morning and early evening slots.
Safe Routes To School programs are community-based approaches designed to encourage more people to safely walk and cycle to school by improving road safety and reducing child fatalities while improving children¹s health and reducing traffic congestion and pollution. America Bikes, a non-profit coalition focused on increasing federal transportation funds for bicycling and walking, is focused on making sure that more Safe Routes programs will be enacted in America. America Bikes is funded largely through Bikes Belong Coalition.
Rich Olken, Executive Director of Bikes Belong Coalition and Media Promotions Manager stated, "The Media Tour constituted a significant investment by the bicycle industry but look at the return: 20 million extremely positive impressions which have promoted cycling and bike / pedestrian access coast to coast across the United States!"
Bikes Belong, the bicycle industry's advocacy voice, was incorporated in 1998 with the mission of putting more people on bicycles more often by promoting bicycling and assisting local organizations, agencies and communities in developing bicycle facilities projects that will be funded by the Transportation Equity Act. Bikes Belong has awarded over $460,000 in facilities grants with a return of over $250 million in funding for bicycle facilities. Bikes Belong has funded over 679 miles and connected 3,185 miles of bike facilities projects- enough to cross the United States. For more information about Bikes Belong Coalition, visit http://www.bikesbelong.org.
