At the National Complete Streets Coalition, our success truly results from the efforts of our coalition. We’ll be showcasing our Steering Committee members’ work and what drives their commitment to the Complete Streets movement. This month, we spoke with Kit Keller, Executive Director of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.
What is the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals?
Members of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) provide expertise for sustainable transportation. APBP’s mission is to grow the pedestrian and bicycle profession and its influence by facilitating the exchange of professional and technical knowledge, elevating practitioners’ skills, and defining the field.
APBP is a membership association that provides education, information, and networking opportunities to members. It also offers a Listserv that is very popular with members, who use it to pose questions, share ideas, explore policy, and keep up with news and trends.
Why does APBP support Complete Streets?
Why wouldn’t we! APBP believes that Completes Streets is a fiscally sound and responsible policy approach to transportation. The idea of streets that are safe, convenient, and accessible for everyone is one that APBP members embrace wholeheartedly.
Why did APBP join the Coalition?
APBP supports the principle of Complete Streets. As a smaller association (approximately 1,000 members), APBP looks for every opportunity to collaborate with other professionals to advance Complete Streets policy and implementation. Barbara McCann, the Coalition’s Executive Director, is a long-time APBP member and we are eager to support her work.
What has APBP been doing lately to support the Complete Streets movement?
We provide information to APBP members to ensure that professionals know about Complete Streets and can integrate Complete Streets policies into their work.
APBP has an ongoing Complete Streets workshop program, which is administered on behalf of Complete Streets. An important part of the APBP mission is to help define the field and elevate the skills of practitioners: the Complete Streets workshops serve as an important element of that mission. They are also key to helping individual communities advance their Complete Streets policies.
APBP’s biennial Professional Development Seminar will focus on Complete Streets this year. To be held from October 24-27, the conference will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, a living laboratory for Complete Streets implementation and conference sessions will feature successful development and implementation of Complete Streets policies.
Additionally, one of APBP’s monthly webinars recently focused on Complete Streets, which was very popular with our members.
Recently, APBP assisted the Coalition in establishing a Speakers Bureau to share knowledge about Complete Streets at the local, state and national level. (ed: Stay tuned for more details about this new resource!)
Last but not least, APBP collaborates with the Coalition and America Bikes to educate Congress about the wisdom of passing a federal Complete Streets law.