05 Feb 2010, Posted by Eric Gilliland in Future Forward, 0 Comments

Future Forward – Eric Gilliland

Bicycle activist and Washington area Bicycle Association (WABA) Executive Director Eric Gilliland calls his pairing with Petri Sipilä of HePo, Helsinki’s bicycle advocacy group, a perfect match. Insights began on the airport ride into Helsinki, seeing firsthand the comprehensive network of separate cyclist and pedestrian side paths. Gilliland found fascinating Finland’s lack of a nonprofit culture and HePo’s entirely volunteer efforts. “I understood the state is expected to provide,” says Gilliland. “The government does a lot of bikeway construction throughout the area, but there was no real well developed advocacy group pushing them in a certain direction.”

At the point of Gilliland’s visit, HePo was debating whether to become a formal organization with paid staff to better represent the interests of cyclists, a bridge WABA crossed after its tenth anniversary. With eight full time staff, offices, a dynamic membership program, and electronic advocacy efforts, Gilliland was able to share timely insights with Sipilä on organization building. Conversely, Gilliland learned from Sipilä on the transportation side about how the logistics the Finnish bike network, from planning, construction process, to implementation for accommodating bikes on all roads, a major goal for WABA.

Gilliland discovered a developing trend in Finland toward putting the bike facilities on the road, resembling bike lanes in the States, contrasting with the Complete Streets strategy the US is moving toward, based on the existing European model of separate facilities. “It was interesting in that way, we’re trying to emulate them and they’re trying to emulate us.”

Back in Washington during May—National Bike Month—and the MyHelsinki exhibition and Invitation to Helsinki programming at the Embassy of Finland, WABA provided portable event parking racks, and promoted programming through the WABA website and email list. Gilliland lectured at the Embassy to cycling groups and the interested public about his Helsinki experience and provided resources to those interested in bike touring in Finland.

Gilliland hopes to see his Helsinki counterparts in Copenhagen in June at Velo-City Global 2010, a conference bringing together cycle experts and professionals from all over the world for the first time. “I’d also love to bring a couple of our Helsinki friends over and show them around DC for the week. I doubt we could show them as good of a time as they showed us, they really outdid themselves. But we’d love to have a shot.”