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Bike East Bay urges mobility justice approach, growth in education and multilingual outreach
Summary
Bike East Bay told the Interagency Transportation Equity Advisory Committee it is scaling education, multilingual outreach and community leadership training to broaden who benefits from bike and micromobility investments across the East Bay.
Bike East Bay officials told the Interagency Transportation Equity Advisory Committee on May 14 that the organization is scaling programs to broaden who can access and influence mobility projects across the East Bay.
The nonprofit's presentation focused on three priorities: building an inclusive movement, advancing mobility justice in project design and policy, and investing in bicycle and micromobility education. "We're not just advocating for bike friendly policies and infrastructure. We're also building a movement where people from all walks of life have a voice and feel empowered to actively shape our communities," said Justin Huynh, co-executive director of Mobility Justice at Bike East Bay.
Why it matters: Bike East Bay said conventional bike advocacy has historically centered a narrow demographic; the group aims to change that by recruiting leaders from low-income communities, expanding in-language classes, and tailoring outreach to communities affected by traffic violence. The organization said these investments also support equity, climate and economic goals by increasing safe active trips to jobs, schools and businesses.
Key programs and metrics the organization highlighted - Movement building: Bike East Bay's strategic plan sets a goal to grow an email list to 50,000 supporters as a proxy for broader public awareness and participation. - Community training and leadership: The Green Mobility Ambassador Program trains local residents in public planning processes, environmental justice and public speaking; the organization has piloted the model in West Berkeley and Hayward. - Bike education and access: Bike East Bay said it runs about 100 classes per year for more than 1,000 participants. The group reported that roughly 24% of class participants come from low-income households, 61% identify as women or non-binary, and 50% identify as people of color. The nonprofit is expanding bilingual instruction and recently hired Cantonese-speaking instructors. - Event and infrastructure support: The group reported it provided secure parking for 1,500 bikes at large events last year and resumed bike valet services in the region.
Questions and follow-up from committee members Members asked about outreach to the disability community and whether curricula and infrastructure planning considered larger micromobility devices and accessibility needs; Justin Huynh pointed to partnerships with the Bay Area Disabled Sports organizations, Oakland mayor—s disability office and other groups that did joint programming. Members also pressed the group to detail policy wins and strategies for funding local street safety projects; Bike East Bay pointed to local levies and measures (Measure U in Oakland; Measure FF in Berkeley) and to recent corridor projects such as Telegraph Avenue bike lanes and San Pablo Avenue planning efforts.
Bottom line: Bike East Bay presented a mix of on-the-ground programs and policy advocacy aimed at expanding who benefits from bicycle and micromobility investments. The group asked agencies and the EAC for continued partnership on multilingual outreach, community leadership training and funding approaches that keep smaller local priorities on track.
