One of the most exciting new programs at BNB this winter has been an advocacy class designed to give a new set of leadership tools to participants in the Youth Instructor Program. Every Monday, the youth instructors and youth programs staff learn about aspects of bicycle infrastructure and policy in Boston, participate in professional development workshops, and actually get involved in real live advocacy work.

So far, the youth have heard from Shane Jordan of MassBike; Jack Dennerlein, an associate professor of ergonomics and safety from Harvard School of Public Health; and Nicole Freedman, the city of Boston’s bike coordinator. Pete Stidman, co-founder of the nascent Boston Cyclists’ Union, is teaching the class and inviting in speakers.

Youth compared a map of their own bicycle commuting habits with a map of the various planning, repaving and road reconstruction projects in development around the city.

They found that a BRA planning process underway for lower Hyde Park Ave, near where some youth instructors reside, already includes recommendations for a new bike lane. Because a number of other instructors live in and around Grove Hall in Dorchester, the group decided to add their talents to a Boston Cyclists’ Union campaign to get bike lanes on Blue Hill Avenue and on Warren Street.

The Boston Transportation Department is currently considering installing bike lanes in coordination with a partial repaving on both Warren and Blue Hill as early as this coming summer.

There are many reasons the Blue Hill/Warren project is a good fit with the social and environmental justice issues that BNB teaches in its youth programs. Not only is this area currently unsafe for cyclists, but bike lanes would create an accessible route for the residents of many of Boston’s lowest-income neighborhoods. Air quality in these neighborhoods is poor, and asthma rates are higher than in other parts of the city. Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan also have some of Boston’s highest adult obesity rates. And what’s more, 35% of the people living in the area are under 18.

Youth Instructor Ben Goodman sees that as an advantage: “That’s perfect. If we can get people riding bikes before they’re old enough to have their driver’s license, they’ll be more likely to keep riding. It’s a lot harder to convince someone to try biking when they’ve been driving for 20 years.”

Because this is the first advocacy project this group has ever done, the youth receive weekly support and guidance from Stidman, who provides information and invites guest speakers to expand the youth's knowledge about biking, public safety and advocacy.

Currently, the Youth Instructors are contacting organizations and individuals in Grove Hall, at the intersection of Blue Hill and Warren to gather support for the project.

If you live or work close to either street, ride your bike along it, or want to help out on the Blue Hill/Warren campaign, please contact Pete at: Stidman ( at ) gmail.com.