Meet Mark Martin of Baton Rogue, Louisiana, and join me as I welcome him to the growing army of volunteers across America that are helping to create the U.S. Bicycle Route System.
1) How did you first hear about the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS)?
I don’t really remember the first time I heard about the USBRS. I’ve been ardently advocating for bicycling and walking the past five-and-a-half years, and suspect I ran across information about the USBRS at one point or another in that time.
2) What made you want to get involved?
I’ve been working at the local, state, and national levels as an advocate and have worked with a number of people in that time. One of those people, Brian Parsons at the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD), asked me if I would be interested in volunteering to work on getting Route 90 through Louisiana approved. It seemed like a great project to work on.
Part of the reason it's great is that I’ve been hosting bicycle tourists as they pass through Baton Rouge for the past year. One of the first tourists staying with me turned me on to the Adventure Cycling Association's Southern Tier, of which I was completely ignorant.
Now that I’ve had around 30 people stay with me, many of whom were traveling the Southern Tier, I recognize the importance of that route. As Route 90 follows the Southern Tier it seems self-evident that it should be a nationally recognized route.
3) How are you involved?
I’m contacting all eleven parishes the route passes through, and a smaller number of towns and cities the route passes through, to see if they are willing to sign a Resolution of Support for Route 90. Part of that effort involved creating a packet for each parish containing an introductory letter, a partially filled in resolution of support, a copy of the USBRS system map, and a link to an accessible online map of the route (for which I used
Map My Ride).
After first contact I’ve been sending updates as they become available and answering questions that may come my way. I’ve found that simply including the URL for the online map of the route is not very effective. A number of the parish representatives have asked for detailed maps of the route through their jurisdiction, which is exactly what the online route provides. I’ve taken to sending the parish contacts JPG images showing the route through their jurisdiction derived from the online route. Included in those images may be detail maps of the route when it passes through a town or city.
After getting that underway I created a Web page for the USBRS Route 90 in Louisiana. It is available via the
Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets (BRASS) website at the following URL: http://www.brsafestreets.org/route-90-in-louisiana-1.
If we can at least get all the parishes to support the route we can forward those resolutions to the LaDOTD asking the Secretary to support Route 90 in Louisiana. From there, assuming the Secretary will support this, the LaDOTD will make a formal request to the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for a route number designation -- USBR 90.
I’m also attempting to get the spur from St. Francisville to Baton Rouge, and ultimately to New Orleans, designated and numbered. If we can get that designation I’ll start gathering the necessary waypoints for the New Orleans segment of the route.
4) Why is Louisiana implementing USBR 90 as its first route?
I suppose because it is an established route, having been mapped then distributed and updated by Adventure Cycling Association for over 20 years. The LaDOTD “
Louisiana Bicycle Map” indicates the same route as an approved route. Given that it is an established route, and a well-documented one at that, it is easier to show that the route will be used and that use will benefit the communities through which the route passes.
5) Why do you think communities would want to be on a US Bike Route? What are the advantages for them?
First and foremost, every community wants to increase its income even if that increase is small. Bicycle tourists eat, drink, camp, stay in motels and hotels, do laundry, and a host of other activities that add to the economy of the place they happen to be at the time.
Having a US Bicycle Route pass through a town is an excellent opportunity to develop bicycle touring related businesses. Granted, on Route 90 in Louisiana, the heat and humidity of the summer months -- defined here as May through October -- might keep touring bicyclists away during those months. Nonetheless, opportunities for bike tourism exists. Local entrepreneurs and businesses should enjoy the prospect of having this group of consumers to serve.
For myself, I get a kick out of taking bicycle tourists for a look-see around town. I have a background in history and I’m not shy, so it’s easy and fun for me to play the tour guide. I can’t say that I am a typical person but I think people like to leave visitors with a good impression of their town. Taking out-of-town visitors for a ride to show them the sights is a great way to do that.
I also think communities along the route that want to find a way to get more people riding will be able to utilize the USBRS as another tool in that effort. Local groups can organize outings to nearby communities, wildlife areas, or weekend overnight rides between communities. During Mardi Gras the town of Mamou holds a more or less famous Courir de Mardi Gras which would make for a great ride.
6) Tell us about the organization you represent?
I represent the Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets (BRASS) , our local 501c3 bicycling and walking advocacy group. We’ve been around for five-and-a-half years. In that time we have seen a great deal of positive change in town with regard to how the city-parish approaches bicycling and walking and the creation of infrastructure for bicycling and walking. We still have a long, long way to go, but we’re beginning to head in the right direction.
BRASS also works with our metropolitan planning organization, the regional planning organization, the LaDOTD, and other organizations affiliated with the city-parish. BRASS has
also partnered with other citizens organizations to provide information related to bicycling and walking, to support social action, and to have fun!
And now BRASS is working on USBR 90. Bit by bit, we're gaining the necessary Resolutions of Support. Because Route 90 in Louisiana is already extremely well documented, we don’t have to create the necessary route documentation. As we work through the process, we will keep the parishes, villages, towns, and cities up to date on the current status of the effort through the web page dedicated to Route 90 on the BRASS site.
7) What is your long-term hope for this national system?
Well . . . I’d like to see the entire system adopted as soon as possible, but I suppose that goes without saying.
One of the things I almost always see as a comment left on almost any story about the bicycle infrastructure in the Netherlands or other northern European nations is, “Yeah, well, ____________ is tiny compared to the U.S. We couldn't do that here because we’re so huge geographically.” This, to me, is an excellent opportunity to show that a national bicycle route system is viable anywhere, regardless of the geographical size of a nation.
Having a national system will, potentially, encourage local communities to build more and better bicycle infrastructure within their jurisdictions. If only a few of the cities connected by the USBRS began to build up-to-date infrastructure, we could well have a number of Copenhagen-style systems in the U.S. serving local populations as well as the passers-through.
There are plenty of studies showing ridership increases with dedicated infrastructure. There are also plenty of studies demonstrating the benefits of bicycling to individuals and to communities. Put these two together with a national bicycling system and improved local bicycling infrastructure, and nearly everyone profits. All we have to do is do it!
Thanks Mark -- It seems fitting that the lead volunteer for implementing the U.S. Bicycle Route System in Louisiana is pictured all covered in Mardi Gras beads, enjoying a parade!
Photo by Mark Martin
If you are an avid touring cyclist and want an unending supply of beautiful roads with little to no traffic ... negotiate the month of September as your vacation time for the rest of your working days. Then, when you retire, simply continue this travel pattern until your legs no longer spin.
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