(By Corey Inscoe, CharlotteFive)

According to Jeff Viscount, of WeeklyRides.com, there are the four things the city needs to improve on to become a better bike city and Sustain Charlotte is playing a key role!

(1) Better bike traffic counts.

This sounds simple, but getting an accurate count of how many people ride bikes is important for the city...

(2) Better advocacy.

In this area the city seems to be making progress.

In May, the Knight Foundation Cycling Fund awarded Sustain Charlotte a $204,000 grant to “develop and promote bicycling events and programs in the Charlotte area,” according to an Observer article.

According to Viscount, Sustain Charlotte and the Transportation Choices Alliance will use the grant to employ a full-time bicycle program manager.

What could an advocate like that do? Organize a bike count, for one. But he/she could also be involved with bike education programs and be a voice for the cycling community about any local and state laws that affect the community.

“A full-time staff person to focus on cycling specific issues and to help connect people and ideas within the cycling community is long overdue for a city our size,” Viscount said.

Click here to read the full article.