Last year, the United Nations General Assembly declared the third day of June as International World Bicycle Day. The resolution encouraged UN Member States to improve road safety and integrate bicycling into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design. It also encouraged countries to emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, promoting health, preventing disease, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, and promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect. Finally, the UN General Assembly encourage Member States to work to develop a culture of cycling in society.
FABB couldn’t agree more with these goals. As the UN website notes, a bicycle is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally sustainable means of transportation. Riders have long known that, as the UN put it, bicycling fosters creativity and social engagement and gives the user an immediate awareness of the local environment.
The United States should be a world leader in multimodal transportation but, unfortunately, it’s not even close. We need to change this for our future and our planet.
So, get out there and ride on June 3 and every day to encourage bicycling and show that there is a better way. And, won’t you join us in helping to make bicycling better in Fairfax County. Find out more about volunteering with FABB by contacting us at [email protected].
