Being a cyclist in Buffalo sucks. Drivers whiz by you. People honk, startling you. And you have to maneuver through the maze of the city grid to find streets suitable for riding on.

Given that gas prices are on the rise and global warming is an international issue, you would think that our car-driving neighbors would salute the cyclists.

Well, someone has finally saluted Buffalo’s cyclists. A new organization, Green Options (GO) Buffalo, has worked unceasingly to push through legislation in support of bicycle and pedestrian-friendly streets. Complete Streets legislation has already passed in cities such as Chicago and Seattle.

Now Buffalo joins the vanguard: This past week, Common Council members voted unanimously to support a complete streets policy. Councilmembers Michael LoCurto of the Delaware District and David Rivera of the Niagara District co-sponsored the measure. Buffalo is the first city in New York State to adopt this sort of legislation.

According to the Complete Streets Coalition Web site, “in communities across the country, a movement is growing to complete the streets. States, cities, and towns are asking their planners, engineers, and designers to build road networks that welcome all citizens”—young, old, bicyclist, motorist, walker, wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper, all will be safe and comfortable using a complete street.

To publicize the passing of the legislation the councilmembers are gearing up for a Bike to Work Day, to take place Friday, May 30. Councilmembers will meet at Lafayette Square, then bike down Court Street together to Niagara Square. A press conference will follow.

Another major supporter of the legislation, Councilmember Michael Kearns of South District, says, “The City of Buffalo needs to make a commitment to this project,” Kearns said. He believes that by getting out on bikes, councilmembers will experience their communities in a different way. “When you ride a bike to work, it’s different than when you drive. You’re going to see things”—glass on the ground, your neighborhoods and streets, your constituents.

Besides the opportunity to see communities up close, Kearns points to other benefits to biking to work. One of his staff members gave up his car and now walks or bikes to work everyday. When Kearns asked him how much he spent on transportation last month, the staffer’s reply was $8. For the entire month.

LoCurto points to the rising price of gasoline as an impetus to pass the complete streets legislation. “With gas up to $4 per gallon, we need more options for how to get to work. Making this city progressive—forward-thinking in terms of transportation—is a plus.”

The complete streets legislation is not the only thing GO Buffalo is busy with these days. The organization is known around town for two educational programs, Recycle-A-Bicycle and Buffalo Blue Bicycles, providing bicycle-maintenance education and reusing discarded bikes. Recycle-A-Bicycle brings urban cyclists with a love for working with kids to after-school programs, where they work with groups of students to take discarded bikes and rebuild them for use by the students.

Buffalo Blue Bicycle provides free bicycles to Buffalo residents at hubs throughout the city. Blue Bikes has workshop space at an old precinct at the corner of Colvin and Linden where volunteer bike mechanics work with prospective members to learn how to rebuild and maintain bikes. Anyone can join Buffalo Blue Bicycles with a $25 donation for the year or six hours of volunteer time at the workshop.

GO Buffalo is also active with the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. Buffalo Public School #74 in the Hamlin Park neighborhood has been chosen as a national example for this initiative.

“Justin Booth and GO Buffalo are bringing a necessary change to our community, providing safe routes to school, tree planting, and especially the work they’ve done at Public School #74,” says Masten District Councilmember Demone Smith. “Because of what they’ve done at the school, a few neighborhood homes have been rehabilitated.”

On Sunday, June 1, in conjunction with Buffalo First, there will be a screening of the film Escape from Suburbia at Squeaky Wheel at 4pm. Squeaky Wheel is located at 712 Main Street in the Theatre District in downtown Buffalo. Following the film, Justin Booth from GO Buffalo will speak about the new organization.

Escape from Suburbia examines how four people in North America have creatively restructured their lifestyles to adapt to the decreasing oil supply. The film will be followed by a special appearance by one of its stars, Kate Halloway, an environmental activist and green entrepreneur.

LoCurto says that creating a bike-friendly city is a quality-of-life issue: “We can attract a certain demographic with this work and people will move back to the city.”

Creating safe streets, with an emphasis on exercise. Providing a forum in Buffalo for cyclists and pedestrians as well as drivers. Giving people reason to move back into the city. This is the work that GO Buffalo is doing.

For more information, visit: gobuffalo.org; completestreets.org; buffalofirst.org.

—rebekah a. williams