On Nov. 29, 2018, the Savannah Bicycle Campaign became Bike Walk Savannah. It’s a change we’ve been discussing for some time now, and our board of directors approved it earlier this year, along with new mission and vision statements:
The mission of Bike Walk Savannah is to promote people-powered mobility and work toward an equitable environment for walking and biking in Savannah. We seek to redefine our city as a place for people, no matter their mode of transportation.
Our vision is a connected, safe, and vibrant city with welcoming places to bike and walk.
The new name, mission, and vision do not indicate a radical change in the purpose of our organization. Rather, they reflect the work we’ve been doing for many years. They also more clearly define our goals for the future. We were founded in 2008 as an advocacy organization to encourage bicycling and improve our bicycle infrastructure, but our work for safer streets and a healthier community has always been about more than bikes.
Through our efforts we’ve confirmed that making streets safe and accommodating for people who ride bikes makes them safer for people who walk. And safer for people who use wheelchairs. And safer for people who use transit. And safer for people who drive, as well. As an organization we have never been exclusively concerned with bicycle-only infrastructure and have worked hand-in-hand with other nonprofits, government agencies, businesses, and neighborhood associations to improve walking and transit in our city.
As Bike Walk Savannah, we are committed to:
- Expanding mobility options for people of all ages, abilities, backgrounds, and incomes
- Making our streets safe for everyone, no matter how they travel
- Improving neighborhood connectivity and access to goods and services, recreational facilities, and green space
- Ensuring our public spaces are useful and welcoming to all
- Preserving our irreplaceable historic places and precious coastal environment
- Preparing our city to be more prosperous, healthy, appealing, sustainable, and equitable in the future
We will act on these commitments by:
- Advocating for more and better sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, transit, traffic calming, Complete Streets, and other infrastructure and service improvements
- Producing safety and public information programs aimed at people who walk, people who ride bikes, people who use other transportation devices, and people who drive
- Encouraging people to make walking, biking, and active transportation healthy parts of their daily lives
- Organizing biking, walking and other events through which residents can explore our community and meet their neighbors
- Offering consultation and guidance to local governments, businesses, schools, universities, and other institutions on ways to improve safety and accessibility to their customers, clients, or students
- Collaborating with other nonprofits, civic organizations, neighborhood associations, and government agencies — and celebrating our successes together
- Providing reliable bicycles and safety equipment to people in need through our New Standard Cycles program
Through these efforts we will make Savannah a place where:
- People can travel to workplaces, schools, stores, healthcare facilities, service providers, cultural and entertainment venues, and other important destinations in comfort and with dignity — no matter how they get there
- People feel safe walking, biking, pushing strollers, using wheelchairs and walkers, going for for a run, or catching the bus in all areas of the community
- People have access to parks, trails, and recreational facilities no matter what neighborhood they live in, so that healthy activity is just outside their front doors
- People are empowered, informed, and engaged in planning and implementation of better programs, policies, and infrastructure projects
- People from all over the world come to study our city as a model for multimodal mobility, community connectivity, cultural vibrancy, economic opportunity, civic engagement, and environmental sustainability
We are unwavering in our belief that bicycles make Savannah better, but hope our new name will better represent the inclusive nature of our mission and vision, and inspire more people to become involved. We invite you to join our people-powered movement!
