SECONDARY RESEARCH-FINAL

How do we get more college students to cycle?
Now that we understand what motivates students to cycle on campus, we need to evaluate ways to
engage non-cycling students. An article by the New Jersey Bicycle & Pedestrian Resource Center
explained 10 ways to encourage non-cycling students to start cycling on campus: (NJBPRC, 1)
- Create bicycle education programs
- Make it easy to obtain a bike
- Construct new bicycle infrastructure
- Provide adequate and varied bicycle parking facilities
- Build bike stations
- Make streets safer
• Create incentives to encourage cycling as a primary mode of transportation
- Adopt policies to minimize use of automobiles
- Improve links between cycling and other modes of transportation
- Promote a culture of cycling with school-wide events and student organizations
Students who currently cycle, as well as those who do not, are important publics of I Am RVA.
This public is integral to the Richmond community and can be a valuable tool for furthering the
organization’s varied goals.
Families
One of I Am RVA’s main goals is to promote cycling safety. Parents are an important tool to achieve
that goal. When children first ride bikes, their parents have a responsibility to teach their children
bike safety rules. For that reason, families are a key public of I Am RVA. The organization can
connect with families to promote bike safety and healthy lifestyles. Our main question relating to
families is how do parents influence their children’s bike safety practices?
There are already numerous resources for parents explaining bike safety practices to teach
their children. An essential item found on every checklist is a properly fitting helmet. Articles that
outline bike safety tips for parents, such as an article by Parents Central, stress that helmets are a
necessary part of gear that protects children.
I Am RVA goal of promoting bike safety and a healthy lifestyle should also include the youngest
members of the cycling community. Parents and families play an important role in furthering I Am
RVA’s cause.
Public Health Officals & Medical Community
Public health officials and the medical community are important publics of I Am RVA because they
can be influential in the life choices others make. We feel that this is an important group because
many of I Am RVA’s goals can be related back to the medical field--i.e. maintaining a generally
healthy lifestyle, preventing traumatic brain injury, etc. When evaluating this group we wanted to
find out what role does--and can--the medical community play in promoting cycling safety?
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