Ride Illinois provides technical and strategic help on bike-friendly infrastructure, education campaigns, national Bicycle Friendly Community designation, and more. Since 2001, we have worked as consultants for more than 20 towns and other government agencies. We have also provided limited pro bono assistance to dozens of Illinois municipalities.
Local advocates are the driving force behind positive change in their communities. To learn from the experience of some local advocates, view the recordings and presentations from the Local Bike Advocacy session at the 2020 Illinois Bike Summit by CLICKING HERE.
As a non-profit with experienced staff who are passionate about making Illinois better for biking, we strive to keep our services affordable without compromising the high quality of our work. Our relationships with the myriad agencies and organizations that affect cycling conditions throughout Illinois also makes us an effective partner in the planning process. We have extensive experience in on- and off-road bikeways, comprehensive municipal bike planning, successful plan implementation, bicycle access to transit, successful grant and funding strategies, education programs, and more. Our strong member base also brings local knowledge and energy so critical to developing relevant plans and pushing them forward.
See the information below as well as our Bike Planning Resources page for more information, or simply contact us to see how we can help your community.
As a consultant, Ride Illinois specializes in small to mid-sized bike planning projects. Our clients include municipalities and regional planning agencies. We are flexible in how we work, ranging from providing hourly, as-needed assistance to developing comprehensive municipal bicycle plans. Our Municipal Bicycle Planning Guide describes our typical process. Completed projects include:
Our work includes:
The League of American Bicyclists conducts the Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award program to recognize towns that have made significant strides in improving bike conditions. The application itself provides a great framework of action items to climb the ladder of five BFC award levels. Lately, more municipal bicycle plans are including BFC status as an implementation goal – and a way to attract residents and businesses.
Ride Illinois is a resource for towns aspiring for BFC status as well as local advocates who want their towns to aspire! We can help prepare and review the application and suggest action items, many of which tend to be easy and low/no-cost.
Our state currently has 15 Bicycle Friendly Communities. Illinois BFCs include: Urbana (Gold); Champaign, Evanston (Silver); Aurora, Batavia, Carbondale, DeKalb, Edwardsville, Highland Park, Normal, Schaumburg, Springfield, Warrenville, Washington, and Wilmette (Bronze).
The League of American Bicyclists also recognizes bicycle friendly businesses, universities, and states. Our state has 26 Bicycle Friendly Businesses and 11 Bicycle Friendly Universities. Illinois ranks #15. We are committed to helping our state keep moving up the rankings!