Crisis Situations

Position Paper (pdf)

Following natural or man-made disasters, or disruptions in transit service, the unique characteristics of bicycling allow it to serve transportation needs that can not be served by other modes. Bicycling does not depend on availability of fuel, and is flexible, personal transportation. It is possible to carry a bicycle past obstacles which block the roads to other vehicles.

The League therefore recommends that emergency response plans should include planning for bicycle use, including:
• Planning for traffic management so as to facilitate bicycle use
• expansion of bicycle access where demand warrants (for example, opening a travel lane of a bridge to bicycles where bicycles usually are accommodated only on a bridge sidewalk);
• including bicycles in the fleet of vehicles used by emergency response teams, particularly, police and medical response teams;
• training emergency responders in bicycle use.

(Approved by the Board of Directors, March 2005)