(Photo © J. Maus)
The Community Cycling Center is taking their “I ride” campaign to new places. The non-profit that sees bicycles as “vehicles for social change” announced today they have purchased bus bench advertisements at 15 locations in north and northeast Portland.
I spotted one of the ads yesterday on NE Prescott Street, right across the street from Harvey Scott School.
The CCC says the ads are meant to initiate change “on multiple levels.” “Health behavior research shows that the more people see individuals like themselves engaging in healthy activities, the more likely they are to try and adopt those behaviors,” says the CCC via a press release.
Here’s more from CCC Executive Director Alison Hill Graves,
“We want to help change perceptions about who is riding bicycles and encourage more people to ride. Our ‘I ride’ campaign slogan ‘Bikes take you places’ leaves it open for people to imagine where they want to go – whether it’s riding to school or getting healthier.”
The location of the ads is no accident. Studies show that where Portland’s bike network is weakest also happens to be in areas with higher percentages of minority residents. The CCC has taken this “equity gap” up as one of their top priorities.
The CCC received a grant from Kaiser Permanente’s Special Initiative Fund to pay for the campaign and the ads are expected to run through October.
You can join a bike ride to visit all the “I ride” bus bench ad locations on June 16th. The ride leaves from the CCC’s bike shop at NE 17th and Alberta at 5:30 pm.
I like! 🙂
Sign:
“Stop sending your income out of the local economy when buying gasoline. Support local businesses and jobs by cycling and spending that extra money here in Portland.”
LOVE THIS!!!
are you sure? because it seems to me that N and NE are the most bike friendly areas of town… I think these would have been way more effective in outer east Portland (east of I-205), or south near Clackamas (south of Johnson Creek)…
I always see tons of bikes and lots of infrastructure on N and NE, but outer E and south of the Springwater are where I usually get yelled at while bicycling…
but it’s still nice to see cycling brought to everybody’s attention in a positive manner…
i think these would provide more benefit if they were installed in some our surrounding communities.
Thank you Spiffy and spare_wheel. Somebody else apparently feels the same way I do about this.
I saw one yesterday on Willamette near Rosa Parks that said “I ride for enjoyment”. Seemed like a step back when “we’re” trying to present cycling as more than just a recreational toy.
Hi everyone,
This is Melinda, the Communications & Marketing Manager at the Community Cycling Center. Thank you for your interest in our “I ride” bus bench campaign. We are excited to finally share it with our community!
There seem to be some questions surrounding the locations of the benches, so I thought I would elaborate on this. We chose to place the majority of the “I ride” campaign in the neighborhoods around Hacienda CDC and New Columbia, where we have been working with residents and families for the past two years. The prominent visibility of the bus benches will allow people on foot, bike, bus, and car to view the campaign.
If you are curious, here is a map of the benches:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=200503374340890327023.00049e8d6f2d0e0e1436b&ll=45.586173,-122.616005&spn=0.137915,0.264702&z=12
To learn more about our campaign, please visit the “I ride” web page at: http://www.communitycyclingcenter.org/index.php/i-ride/
Thanks for your support!
Melinda