Bike Walk Roll Summit 2024 Photo Album
- Two hundred people including 52 speakers attended our 2024 Bike, Walk, Roll Summit in Tacoma from Sept. 11-13.
- From cycle highways to complete streets to community bike rides, the Summit was a forum for sharing best practices and collaborating for solutions.
- Learn more and check out our photos from the event and our evening rides around Tacoma.
Paul Tolmé
Mike Gribner, the deputy secretary for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), opened the Summit with a wish that all participants collaborate to find solutions that make our streets safer for all.
Laura Svancarek, Executive Director of Downtown on the Go, moderated a panel with Tacoma City Councilor Kristina Walker, North Tacoma state Rep. Jake Fey, and Pierce County Councilor Ryan Mello (a candidate for Pierce Executive) about the opportunities and funding challenges of making bicycling safer for all.
Mello noted that Pierce County is retrofitting multiple crosswalks along SR 7 to protect vulnerable road users, an initiative that began following the death of 13-year-old Michael Weilert, who was struck and killed by a driver while biking through a flashing light crosswalk.
Svancarek thanked Michael’s mom Amber Weilert for becoming a tireless advocate for traffic safety following the tragic loss of her son.
Cecelia Black of the Disability Mobility Initiative spoke about the #WeekWithoutDriving during our session "Strategies to Foster Local Elected Champions for Biking Walking and Rolling."
Megan Ramey of the Hood River County School District spoke about engaging students in the process of creating bike infrastructure during the session “Small Money, Big Impact: Quick Build Projects Safer Streets.” Ramey and students successfully advocated for several demonstration projects near schools that became permanent thanks to student and parent support.
Keynote speaker and investigative journalist Jessie Singer, author of “There Are No Accidents,” spoke about the deadly rise of traffic fatalities and how society’s focus on personal errors rather than underlying road conditions is an impediment to safety. “I want to debunk the idea that traffic crashes are the result of human error.” Rather, the cause of crashes is poor road design that rewards speeding. The automobile industry has escaped culpability and benefited from our tendency to blame victims rather than the poorly designed roadways, unsafe streets, and monstrous passenger vehicles that are the true cause, said Singer. We must accept that mistakes will happen on our streets, she says, and design them to minimize the harm caused when drivers inevitably err.
“If you make this world safe for drunks, you make it safe for everybody,” she said, quoting Dr. Susan Baker.
Singer says the auto industry invented the terms “jaywalker” and “the nut behind the wheel” to blame pedestrians and drivers for deaths, rather than poor automobile design and bad streets. She received applause when mentioning that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently announced that it will, for the first time, look at regulating vehicles for their danger to pedestrians.
Cascade’s Statewide Program Officers Tina Castillo (above) and Jacquelyn Billups (below) presented on the benefits of the statewide bicycle education program for youth during the session: Biking and Walking as Tools for Developing Student Leaders.
Day One concluded with a big group ride of Tacoma bike paths and scenic locations, led by 2nd Cycle, whose Executive Director Leon Nettels (below) previously worked as Cascade’s Tacoma MTP Manager.
Day Two kicked off with a discussion moderated by Cascade Policy Director Vicky Clarke with Jon Snyder, senior policy advisor to Gov. Jay Inslee; and state Sen. Joe Nguyễn (D-White Center). They spoke about the huge benefits of the Climate Commitment Act and how repealing it would negatively impact funding for bike programs.
Cascade Executive Director Lee Lambert told attendees about the School-Based Bicycle Safety and Education program and its huge impact teaching Washington state youth essential bike skills. This year, the program will reach up to 30,000 students in 42 school districts and 170 elementary schools, while also benefiting 2,100 students in after-school youth bike clubs.
State Traffic Engineer Dongho Chang (above) spoke about updates to the National Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices—the so-called “bible of traffic safety” that sets street design standards for local traffic engineers nationwide. Chang has helped rewrite this important document to add bike safety improvements that are engineering more safety into our streets for people walking and biking.
Barb Chamberlain moderated the panel “Policy Leadership and Action for Safe System Approach” with Tacoma Deputy Mayor John Hines, King County Councilor Claudia Baldacci, Spokane City Councilor Zack Zappone, and Kirkland City Councilor Jon Pascal. They shared stories of successes in how to effectively advocate for and implement traffic safety initiatives and policies.
Cascade is urging state leaders to consider the creation of so-called cycle highways, which have been effective in many European nations in getting more people to bike rather than drive. Jakub Mamczak of the London Cycling Campaign presented from the UK via Zoom about London’s success in doubling cycling in the city thanks to the addition of protected bike infrastructure. The session was entitled “A Statewide Network of Cycle Highways that Connect Rural, Suburban, and Urban Washington.”
Barb Chamberlain moderated the Day Two keynote with Barkha Patel, director of infrastructure for Jersey City, N.J. Patel spoke about her city’s efforts to get to zero deaths through better infrastructure and citywide policies, including the need to break the mindset that fatalities are inevitable.
Thank you to everyone who attended the Bike Walk Roll Summit, and to the City of Tacoma and our sponsors: the Washington State Department of Transportation, Amazon, Doordash, and Lime. Let’s collaborate and put what we learned to work. Join us for Lobby Day 2025 in Olympia, Feb. 4-5, and look out for the Summit to return in 2026.
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